807 Soros funds Ferguson protests, Black Lives Matter, and Republicans opposed to Trump

Soros funds Ferguson protests, Black Lives Matter, and Republicans
opposed to Trump

Newsletter published on 15 March 2016

(1) Wsws Trots back protestors against Trump
(2) Wsws celebrates Protestors' disruption of Trump rally in Chicago
(3) Soros funds Republicans opposed to Trump
(4) Moveon.Org raising funds from Trump protests, warns more disruptions
to come
(5) Soros pushes "Immigration Reform" ie Open Borders
(6) Soros funds Ferguson protests & Black Lives Matter

(1) Wsws Trots back protestors against Trump

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/03/12/pers-m12.html

Violence, racism and the Trump campaign

Patrick Martin

12 March 2016

The series of violent incidents at rallies for billionaire Donald Trump
is a warning of the increasingly fascistic character of the Republican
front-runner’s campaign.

On Wednesday, at a rally near Fayetteville, North Carolina, a supporter
of Trump attacked a 26-year-old black man, Rakeem Jones, as he was being
escorted out of the Crown Coliseum by Cumberland County sheriff’s
deputies. Jones was one of a small group of anti-Trump protesters at the
event.

The attacker, 78-year-old John McGraw, punched Jones in the face,
knocking him down. Afterwards, McGraw boasted of the attack. He told a
television interviewer, "You bet I liked it," adding, "He deserved it.
The next time we see him, we might have to kill him… He might be with a
terrorist organization." McGraw was subsequently arrested and charged
with battery.

At a press conference Friday morning in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump
defended the attack, blaming it on the victim. "It was a guy who was
swinging—was very loud—and then started swinging at the audience," the
billionaire real estate mogul said. "And you know what? It swung back.
And I thought it was very, very appropriate."

The attack in North Carolina was followed by physical confrontations
between Trump supporters and some of the thousands of protesters who
attended a planned Trump rally in Chicago Friday evening. The event was
called off at the last minute. In interviews later in the evening, Trump
said that if the rally had gone forward, "someone might have been killed."

Earlier this week, when Michelle Fields, a reporter for the right-wing
Breitbart.com web site, tried to approach Trump after a Florida rally,
campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm and shoved her
away, an assault witnessed by several journalists.

These incidents follow a pattern in which protesters at or outside Trump
rallies have been physically attacked by Trump supporters, including
members of white supremacist groups, and Trump security guards, or
forcibly ejected by police. Last week a young black woman who brought an
anti-Trump sign to a rally was attacked physically and cursed with
racist and sexist epithets. Her sign was ripped up and she was
frog-marched out of the rally.

Trump has repeatedly incited violence against protesters, beginning last
fall but with increasing frequency once the primaries and caucuses began:

o On February 1, he told a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, "If you see
somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ‘em,
would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell—I promise you, I will
pay for the legal fees."

o On February 22, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump denounced a protester,
saying, "I’d like to punch him in the face, I tell ya." He added, "You
know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place
like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher."

o On March 9, in Fayetteville, he said of interruptions by protesters,
"See, in the good old days this didn’t used to happen, because they used
to treat them very rough. We’ve become very weak." Shortly thereafter,
the assault on Rakeem Jones occurred.

In the course of Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate in
Florida, CNN moderator Jake Tapper quoted these statements and asked
Trump whether he had done anything to "create a tone" that encouraged
violence.

Trump blandly denied the obvious. Blaming the victims, he said the
protesters had provoked his supporters. "People come with tremendous
passion and love for the country, and when they see protest, in some
cases… They have anger," he declared. [...]

(2) Wsws celebrates Protestors' disruption of Trump rally in Chicago

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/03/12/trum-m12.html

Donald Trump rally in Chicago cancelled amidst mass protests

By George Marlowe

12 March 2016

The Republican Party presidential front-runner Donald Trump cancelled
his scheduled rally Friday night at the University of Illinois-Chicago
(UIC), west of downtown Chicago, as violence and scuffles broke out inside.

Police and the lineup for the event

Thousands of students and workers in the area marched outside the UIC
arena to protest Trump’s attendance at the campus, denouncing his
extreme right-wing and fascistic political views. Protesters marched
from the campus quadrangle along a heavily-barricaded protest route to
the UIC Pavilion with a large police and security presence. The protests
outside were entirely peaceful.

In canceling the event, Trump’s team cited security concerns over
growing protests outside the arena and the highly volatile situation
inside. After doors were opened at 3:00 p.m., protesters who attended
the rally entered into scuffles and altercations with the rally
participants as well as with security.

After significant delay, the announcer told the crowd, "The event is
over." Cheers erupted, as well as more scuffles. Trump’s team told the
media in an official statement that "for the safety of all of the tens
of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena,
tonight’s rally will be postponed to another date."

Prior to the cancellation, Trump’s announcers initially encouraged
conflict by telling attendees to inform police of protesters by placing
a rally sign over their head and chanting "Trump, Trump, Trump,"
according to NBC's Chicago affiliate.

The events in Chicago followed several incidents of violence directed at
protesters from Trump supporters and security, encouraged by the
candidate. This included an incident on Wednesday in which a protester
was punched in the face as he was escorted out of a rally in North
Carolina by police. Trump on numerous occasions has encouraged his
supporters to "knock the crap out of" protesters.

Trump responded to the cancellation of the rally on Friday by denouncing
protesters for violating "free speech."

The anti-Trump rally was attended by many thousands of workers and
particularly young people of all races and ethnicities. It was
originally organized on Facebook by an undocumented UIC graduate
student, Jorge Mena Robles. Robles is a member of a newly formed
political organization called Mijente, which promotes Latino identity
politics and voter mobilization for the Democratic Party. Demonstrators
protesting the Trump event

Support for the demonstration, however, was not limited to such forces.
Over 11,000 responded to the Facebook event page by Friday.

Citing the incidents of violence at Trump rallies across the country,
UIC students and faculty denounced the administration and Chancellor
Michael Amiridis for allowing Trump to host his campaign event on the
campus. Amiridis responded to the anger of students and faculty by
saying, on the grounds of "free speech," that Trump had every right to
rent a space at UIC. Similar considerations have not prevented the
administration from placing enormous obstacles on the promotion of
socialist politics on campus.

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to students, workers
and professionals who attended the protest against the Trump rally.

Adriti, a biology student at UIC, said, "Trump needs to go. His attacks
on Muslims and immigrants are despicable. America is a melting pot. Many
people are fleeing countries as refugees and he keeps attacking them. So
many immigrants have helped advance our country. What is the point of
scapegoating immigrants?" Tim and Adriti

Tim, a student of computer science, added, "And then Trump is calling
for torture, war and assassinating people. We need to stop doing all
that. We need to stop all the wars too, and I realize that both parties
are involved in these policies. We need more equality and to move in
that direction and away from war and torture."

Paul, a UIC student, said, "I think Trump is a fascist and he’s a
homophobe and a bigot. He makes me feel really angry and I don’t think
he would be good for us as president. I don’t like his ideology or his
political proposals. A lot of people want the world collectively to be
peaceful and we don’t need to implement war policies. Things are already
quite dangerous right now." Two of the demonstrators from UIC

"It really frustrates me that Trump is on the platform," said Tim, a
professional who came to see the protests. "He’s channelling the
frustrations of many people and taking it to a really scary place. As
far as Sanders, I like what he is saying. A big reason why I am
pro-Sanders, at least among the candidates that can be elected, is
because he’s called himself a socialist. I think capitalism is a flawed
system and I agree with socialism in general, but I’m not sure if the
United States is unified enough right now for that.

"But I would like to see us go towards a more socialist country. I do
worry that Sanders may not keep his promises, but right now that’s who I
side with. At the same time, I do need to look at his record more
closely and make a more educated decision." Rachel

Rachel, a workers compensation paralegal, said, "I hate Trump. I think
that his policies of wanting to build a wall around Mexico are
ridiculous. That’s not what America should be about. It’s like the
second coming of Hitler. But we also need an alternative that’s not just
a Democrat or a Republican. Politicians make promises to us that they
won’t keep either. The inequality in this country is extremely awful.
America is not a democracy anymore."

Another student, who also works at UIC, said, "His policies are
incoherent. I am here more to protest the fact that UIC is even hosting
Trump. We have an incredibly diverse student body and it’s a completely
inappropriate place for a Trump rally. He’s condoned violence at his
rallies before.

"Trump is also calling for torture, which is an open secret of American
politics now. We have an ostensibly democratic system that doesn’t in
fact represent people, with our crony capitalism and the outsized power
of money and lobbyists. Look at the closure of Chicago State University.
We don’t have money for schools in Chicago, but if one of [Mayor Rahm
Emanuel’s] buddies wants something, they have the money for it. Even
Obama was not as liberal as he claimed to be. He was an idealized candidate.

"If Sanders is elected, it’s going to be really difficult to see how he
actually deals with the conflicts that the US is already in. Does he
actually stop drone warfare? Given that he’s for it? He’s been able to
mobilize grassroots support, but I don’t know how he’s going to govern
if he’s elected. I agree with you though that we need deep structural
change."

(3) Soros funds Republicans opposed to Trump

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/14/report-soros-money-funding-john-kasichs-presidential-bid/

REPORT: Soros Money Funding John Kasich’s Presidential Bid

by Julia Hahn14 Mar 201686

As new reports break that a George Soros-linked group is taking credit
for efforts to violently disrupt GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign
rallies, the Center for Responsive Politics reveals that another George
Soros-linked group is coordinating another furtive operation to stop
Trump by financing the campaign of John Kasich.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Soros Fund Management
is one of John Kasich’s top financial contributors.

George Soros–a liberal progressive donor– has been a top funder of the
push to open America’s borders. According to a 2013 CNS News report,
"Soros’s Open Society Foundation proudly claimed to have given $100
million dollars to ‘immigrant rights‘ projects in the United States."
According to the report, those that have been the beneficiaries of that
$100 million include La Raza (Soros funding $2.4 million), the Immigrant
Legal Resource Center (Soros funding $1.6 million), as well as Amnesty
International (Soros funding $844,088) and Immigration Equality (Soros
funding: $301,667).

In addition, Soros has been financially linked to the National
Immigration Forum—the group behind the "Evangelical Immigration Table
(EIT). As Breitbart reported in 2013, the Evangelical Immigration Table
"is actually a front group for players on the institutional left
including billionaire George Soros… EIT is running a $250,000
advertising campaign in favor of the Senate’s "Gang of Eight"
immigration bill."

Soros money is frequently tied to groups with innocuous sounding names
that promote radical agendas– such as the Evangelical Immigration Table.

Interestingly, as Breitbart News has previously reported, John Kasich
has made a series of extreme statements on immigration that place him to
the furthest leftward reaches of not just the GOP Presidential field,
but the Democratic Presidential field as well. For instance, Kasich has
said that enforcing our immigration laws and deporting the illegal
immigrants is not "humane." Kasich likened deportations to the Japanese
internment camps of World War II. Kasich has also pledged that he will
enact amnesty within the first 100 days of his hoped-for Presidency– in
effect, meaning that those who support John Kasich’s presidential
campaign are voting to enact the largest amnesty in U.S. history by
April 30, 2017.

The Washington Times reported in January of 2015, George Soros was also
behind the funding of the Ferguson protests, "Mr. Soros gave at least
$33 million in one year to support already-established groups that
emboldened the grass-roots, on-the-ground activists in Ferguson,
according to the most recent tax filings of his nonprofit Open Society
Foundations."

As the 2013 CNS report documents, "Soros has aided hundreds of left-wing
groups in America since 2000 under the auspices of his Open Society
Foundations. In just 10 years, he gave more than $550 million to liberal
organizations in the United States. This has included money going to
fund liberal agenda topics like Earth Day, gun control, government
funding of student loans and even the IRS targeting of conservatives."

(4) Moveon.Org raising funds from Trump protests, warns more disruptions
to come

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/13/moveonorg-raising-funds-from-trump-protests-warns-/

By Kelly Riddell - The Washington Times - Sunday, March 13, 2016

Moveon.Org is conducting fundraising activities from the Chicago
protests against Donald Trump that prompted the Republican presidential
front-runner to cancel a rally there Friday, and promises that more
disruptions are on the way.

"Last night, without consulting local police, Donald Trump abruptly
cancelled a rally in Chicago in the face of massive and overwhelmingly
peaceful student-led protests," MoveOn.org wrote in an email Saturday to
members. "We’re being flooded with aggressive emails and social media
posts from Trump supporters. Some of them are threatening. We refuse to
be intimidated by Donald Trump, Fox News, or anyone else."

The email asked members to donate $3 to help the effort. The progressive
group is funded by billionaire George Soros, and has endorsed Democratic
candidate Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders for president.

"We need to double down on our work, showing that America is better than
Trump’s bullying, hate-baiting, and incitements to violence," the email
read. "We are committed to nonviolence, but we will not be silent. We
will not be invisible."

The group detailed its efforts in recent months, highlighting ads it has
run against the real estate mogul and the advocacy its done on behalf of
refugees, who it said are "under attack" from the GOP, and the support
it gave to Trump protesters in Chicago.

"We’ve been ramping up our efforts for months — from the ‘We Are Better
Than This’ ad we helped organize in The New York Times in December, to
our collective advocacy for refugees under attack from the GOP, to the
support we provided students in Chicago last night by printing signs and
a banner and recruiting MoveOn.org members to join their peaceful
protest. We need to double-down in the face of direct attacks on our
community," the email read.

And it pledged to continue its work.

"So here’s the plan: We’ll support MoveOn.org members to call out and
nonviolently protest Trump’s racist, bigoted, misogynistic, xenophobic,
and violent behavior — and show the world that America rejects Trump’s
hate," the email read. "And to keep it going, we’re counting on you to
donate whatever you can to cover the costs of everything involved — the
organizers, signs, online recruitment ads, training, and more."

(5) Soros pushes "Immigration Reform" ie Open Borders

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/explainers/why-does-us-need-immigration-reform

Why Does the U.S. Need Immigration Reform?

Soros Open Society Institute

Last Updated: August 2013

People come to the United States for the promise of freedom and
opportunity. But the current immigration system in the United States is
broken: Families are separated, immigrant workers are exploited, people
die trying to cross the border, and there is rampant discrimination
against immigrants.

How we treat newcomers should reflect the values of fairness and
equality that define the United States as a country. We need a
commonsense immigration process, one that includes a roadmap for people
who aspire to be citizens. Why is it hard for immigrants to "get in
line" for a green card?

For the vast majority of undocumented immigrants there is no "line"
available. As the Immigration Policy Center points out, most
undocumented immigrants lack the necessary family relationships to apply
for legal entry, and those who do face years or decades waiting for a visa.

For America’s enormous economy, current limitations on the number of
total green cards available are unreasonable. Even if a prospective
immigrant meets green card requirements, the wait can be everlasting,
according to the Immigration Policy Center. Why should we create a
pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants?

There are currently 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United
States. People move to make life better for themselves and their
families. We need an immigration system that recognizes the hardships
and contributions of people moving here, keeps families together here in
this country, and creates a rational process of citizenship for new
Americans. That will do more for the United States than expensive and
impractical approaches like trying to deport millions of people or
trying to wall off a 2,000-mile border.

Why are automatic penalties that trigger deportation unfair?

Under current law, noncitizens convicted of what’s known as an
"aggravated felony" face automatic penalties that can trigger
deportation. Yet the current definition of an "aggravated felony" is so
expansive that it includes crimes as simple as a bar fight, theft, and
failing to appear in court.

Judges have little discretion in whether or not to deport immigrants who
have committed crimes in this category. People should not be deported
without a judge being able to evaluate the circumstances of their case.
Due process is central to the credibility of the American justice
system. We should reject any policies that deny due process, for
immigrants or anyone else.

Why is putting people in immigration detention harmful?

Liberty should be the norm for everyone, and detention the last resort.
In the overwhelming majority of immigration cases, detention is not
necessary to effect deportations and does not make us any safer. Among
those unnecessarily locked up are survivors of torture, asylum seekers,
victims of trafficking, families with small children, the elderly,
individuals with serious medical and mental health conditions, and
lawful permanent residents with longstanding family and community ties
who are facing deportation because of old or minor crimes.

This lock-up system is a massive waste of taxpayer dollars, costing $2
billion a year. Detainees are also exposed to myriad abuses—from a lack
of adequate medical and mental health care that has caused unnecessary
deaths to rape and sexual assault. Why shouldn’t states and cities be
able enforce their own immigration laws?

Legislation inspired by Arizona’s "show me your papers" law invites
rampant racial profiling against Latinos, Asian-Americans, and others
presumed to be immigrants based on how they look or sound. Racial
profiling is an ineffective and harmful practice that undermines our
basic values. We need to ensure that law enforcement officials are held
to the constitutional standards we value as Americans—protecting public
safety and the rights of all.

What are the Open Society Foundations doing to address immigrant rights?

The Open Society Foundations support efforts to secure federal
immigration reform and promote fair immigration enforcement, detention,
and deportation policies. We have invested more than $100 million in
immigrant rights in the United States since 1997.

(6) Soros funds Ferguson protests & Black Lives Matter

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/14/george-soros-funds-ferguson-protests-hopes-to-spur/?page=all

George Soros funds Ferguson protests, hopes to spur civil action

Liberal billionaire gave at least $33 million in one year to groups that
emboldened activists

By Kelly Riddell - The Washington Times - Wednesday, January 14, 2015

There’s a solitary man at the financial center of the Ferguson protest
movement. No, it’s not victim Michael Brown or Officer Darren Wilson.
It’s not even the Rev. Al Sharpton, despite his ubiquitous campaign on
TV and the streets.

Rather, it’s liberal billionaire George Soros, who has built a business
empire that dominates across the ocean in Europe while forging a
political machine powered by nonprofit foundations that impacts American
politics and policy, not unlike what he did with MoveOn.org.

Mr. Soros spurred the Ferguson protest movement through years of funding
and mobilizing groups across the U.S., according to interviews with key
players and financial records reviewed by The Washington Times.

In all, Mr. Soros gave at least $33 million in one year to support
already-established groups that emboldened the grass-roots,
on-the-ground activists in Ferguson, according to the most recent tax
filings of his nonprofit Open Society Foundations.

The financial tether from Mr. Soros to the activist groups gave rise to
a combustible protest movement that transformed a one-day criminal event
in Missouri into a 24-hour-a-day national cause celebre.

"Our DNA includes a belief that having people participate in government
is indispensable to living in a more just, inclusive, democratic
society," said Kenneth Zimmerman, director of Mr. Soros‘ Open Society
Foundations’ U.S. programs, in an interview with The Washington Times.
"Helping groups combine policy, research [and] data collection with
community organizing feels very much the way our society becomes more
accountable."

No strings attached

Mr. Zimmerman said OSF has been giving to these types of groups since
its inception in the early ‘90s, and that, although groups involved in
the protests have been recipients of Mr. Soros‘ grants, they were in no
way directed to protest at the behest of Open Society.

"The incidents, whether in Staten Island, Cleveland or Ferguson, were
spontaneous protests — we don’t have the ability to control or dictate
what others say or choose to say," Mr. Zimmerman said. "But these
circumstances focused people’s attention — and it became increasingly
evident to the social justice groups involved that what a particular
incident like Ferguson represents is a lack of accountability and a lack
of democratic participation."

Soros-sponsored organizations helped mobilize protests in Ferguson,
building grass-roots coalitions on the ground backed by a nationwide
online and social media campaign.

Other Soros-funded groups made it their job to remotely monitor and
exploit anything related to the incident that they could portray as a
conservative misstep, and to develop academic research and editorials to
disseminate to the news media to keep the story alive.

The plethora of organizations involved not only shared Mr. Soros‘
funding, but they also fed off each other, using content and buzzwords
developed by one organization on another’s website, referencing each
other’s news columns and by creating a social media echo chamber of
Facebook "likes" and Twitter hashtags that dominated the mainstream
media and personal online newsfeeds.

Buses of activists from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference in Chicago;
from the Drug Policy Alliance, Make the Road New York and Equal Justice
USA from New York; from Sojourners, the Advancement Project and Center
for Community Change in Washington; and networks from the Gamaliel
Foundation — all funded in part by Mr. Soros — descended on Ferguson
starting in August and later organized protests and gatherings in the
city until late last month.

Broaden issue focus

All were aimed at keeping the media’s attention on the city and to widen
the scope of the incident to focus on interrelated causes — not just the
overpolicing and racial discrimination narratives that were highlighted
by the news media in August.

"I went to Ferguson in a quest to be in solidarity and stand with the
young organizers and affirm their leadership," said Kassandra
Frederique, policy manager at the Drug Policy Alliance, which was
founded by Mr. Soros, and which receives $4 million annually from his
foundation. She traveled to Ferguson in October.

"We recognized this movement is similar to the work we’re doing at DPA,"
said Ms. Frederique. "The war on drugs has always been to
operationalize, institutionalize and criminalize people of color.
Protecting personal sovereignty is a cornerstone of the work we do and
what this movement is all about."

Ms. Frederique works with Opal Tometi, co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter —
a hashtag that was developed after the killing of Trayvon Martin in
Florida — and helped promote it on DPA’s news feeds. Ms. Tometi runs the
Black Alliance for Just Immigration, a group to which Mr. Soros gave
$100,000 in 2011, according to the most recent of his foundation’s tax
filings.

"I think #BlackLivesMatter’s success is because of organizing. This was
created after Trayvon Martin, and there has been sustained organizing
and conversations about police violence since then," said Ms.
Frederique. "Its explosion into the mainstream recently is because it
connects all the dots at a time when everyone was lost for words. ‘Black
Lives Matter’ is liberating, unapologetic and leaves no room for confusion."

With the backing of national civil rights organizations and Mr. Soros‘
funding, "Black Lives Matter" grew from a hashtag into a social media
phenomenon, including a #BlackLivesMatter bus tour and march in September.

"More than 500 of us have traveled from Boston, Chicago, Columbus,
Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Portland, Tucson, Washington,
D.C., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and other cities to support the
people of Ferguson and help turn a local moment into a national
movement," wrote Akiba Solomon, a journalist at Colorlines, describing
the event.

Colorlines is an online news site that focuses on race issues and is
published by Race Forward, a group that received $200,000 from Mr.
Soros’s foundation in 2011. Colorlines has published tirelessly on the
activities in Ferguson and heavily promoted the #BlackLivesMatter
hashtag and activities.

At the end of the #BlackLivesMatter march, organizers met with civil
rights groups like the Organization for Black Struggle and Missourians
Organizing for Reform and Empowerment to strategize their operations
moving forward, Ms. Solomon wrote. OBS and MORE are also funded by Mr.
Soros.

Mr. Soros gave $5.4 million to Ferguson and Staten Island grass-roots
efforts last year to help "further police reform, accountability and
public transparency," the Open Society Foundations said in a blog post
in December. About half of those funds were earmarked to Ferguson, with
the money primarily going to OBS and MORE, the foundation said.

OBS and MORE, along with the Dream Defenders, established the "Hands Up
Coalition" — another so-called "grass-roots" organization in Missouri,
whose name was based on now-known-to-be-false claims that Brown had his
hands up before being shot. The Defenders were built to rally support
and awareness for the Trayvon Martin case and were funded by the Tides
Foundation, another recipient of Soros cash.

Hands Up Coalition has made it its mission to recruit and organize youth
nationwide to start local events in their communities — trying to take
Ferguson nationwide. [...]