Thousands of protesters in New Zealand take knee outside US consulate

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Independent

AFP, Wellington Sunday 14 June 2020

Thousands of people took the knee outside the US consulate in Auckland Sunday as New Zealanders demonstrated for a second week to support the Black Lives Matter movement and highlight local discrimination issues.

As Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” played in the background, the protesters chanted “No justice, no peace” and “Ain’t no power like the power of the people, because the power of the people don’t stop”.

In Wellington, more than 2,000 people marched on parliament after gathering in the city centre to hear speeches on racial bias within the police, New Zealand’s high Maori imprisonment rates and the push to remove statues of colonizers.

The city of Hamilton has already torn down a statue of the colonial military commander it was named after following threats from anti-racism protesters to topple the bronze sculpture of Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, who they accused of murder.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-news-live-twitter-rally-2020-election-black-lives-matter-polls-westpoint-today-a9565046.html

[Submariner]

1. Did Ambassador Scottie 'centerfold' Brown come out and physically or verbally abuse

Samoan or Maori women again and embarrass the U.S. again?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Hadn't heard about that, looked it up, and OMG. What a jerk!

Scott Brown: more complaints surface over behaviour of US ambassador to New Zealand

US officials investigated Brown after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour at a party in Samoa and was alleged by one woman to have stared at her breasts

Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin and Julian Borger in Washington

Thu 26 Oct 2017 13.05 EDTFirst published on Thu 26 Oct 2017 08.47 EDT

It was a balmy 32 degrees when the US ambassador to New Zealand, Scott Brown, touched down in Apia, the capital of the South Pacific island nation of Samoa.

Brown had flown in with his wife, Gail Huff, in July for a party to celebrate 50 years of the peace corps in the country. It was his inaugural visit to Samoa – of which he is also the official US representative – and one he was looking forward to.

The party was intended as the climax of the ambassador’s trip, a night for celebration. People were in high spirits. They were offered beer, wine, champagne and local hors d’oeuvres, including slices of taro topped with palusami, spring rolls and chicken skewers.

But something went wrong that night. As one attendee describes it, something was “off”, and the party has been at the centre of a US state department investigation over the ambassador’s conduct towards two women.

. . .

Brown responded to the allegations by saying that even though two people may speak English, they sometimes do not understand each other.

But the Guardian has, over the past two months, spoken to multiple witnesses who attended the party who claim the behaviour of the ambassador – the first appointed by the US president, Donald Trump – was worse than he has admitted.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/26/scott-brown-more-complaints-surface-over-behaviour-of-us-ambassador-to-new-zealand

What a total @$$hole.


Thanks for letting us know what this Trump ambassador did to wow them, to send them love from the "shining city on the hill!"



Hope the next president might send him so far away Brown will never find his way home.

[Submariner]

3. That's just the beginning, he got the job as Dean of New England Law - Boston

the "first all women law school" in the nation, until going co-ed in 1938.

The faculty and students are furious.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2019/11/12/scott-brown-new-england-law-dean-petition/

New England Law “Betrayed” Students by Naming Scott Brown Dean, Petition Says
The former senator's new appointment is not going over well with students.

by ALYSSA VAUGHN
11/12/2019

Last week, New England Law Boston announced that, after a five-month national search, the institution had selected a new dean and president: triathlete, ex-senator, and current Trump-appointed ambassador Scott Brown.

Pretty unsurprisingly, the news of Brown’s appointment immediately sparked backlash on campus, and a petition imploring the school’s board of trustees to reverse its decision has gathered 202 student and alumni signatures since Friday evening.

The petition lists Brown’s historically anti-LGBTQ stances, insensitivity to racial and gender issues, and endorsement of Donald Trump as the main reasons why the ambassador shouldn’t be involved with New England Law Boston, a school that—as the first all-female law school in the country—has long prided itself on its diversity and inclusion efforts. In naming Brown as the future dean and president, the petition states, the institution has betrayed its students.

“I feel that this is a very political decision on behalf of New England Law,” Lang said in a phone interview. “He [Brown] is not a legal expert. He is not published. He hasn’t done anything academic in his lifetime…So it’s hard to believe he would really be the best choice.”

snip >

This is an insult to the city and state. I believe Warren tweet was either being snarky about Brown, or avoiding a minefield this election season.

[dalton99a]

4. So they searched far and wide and that's the best person for the job

What a load of shit

[Judi Lynn]

5. That's a total insult, desperately out of line. Doesn't seem possible. It's so good you posted this.

So much has gone wrong so fast.

Thank you.