[pjw] REPORT BACK: Mission Accompished? Friday rally #58 under stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

PJW supporters

In a strange confluence of events, we had a special event at last night's 
Friday Rally for Peace and Justice on the same day Multnomah County 
re-entered "Extreme Risk" for COVID. Four of us rallied and marched, and a 
surprisingly large number of people were out and about anyway, most of 
them who said anything expressing support with just one or two hecklers. 
The most significant new element was that we actually had a cameraperson 
from KOIN-6 news show up and conduct an interview. His questions were 
straightforward and didn't seem to be asking whether we were going to 
engage in property destruction. Watching the news later, I guess our 
little event wasn't as important as the businesses boarding up their 
windows _in anticipation_ of things happening today on May Day. The US 
pledging (probably deceptively) to end the supposed longest war in our 
history? Who cares.

Anyway, a lot of what we talked about at the rally you've already seen in 
the publicity for last night's "Mission Accomplished?" event.

I theorized, though, that it may be that after George Bush (Jr) 
prematurely declared "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003 about the Iraq 
war, which technically is still going on today, Barack Obama chose that 
same day to say "I'll show YOU Mission Accomplished" and ordered the Navy 
Seal assassination of Osama Bin Laden on that day in 2011. Then Donald 
Trump, who famously was trying to erase anything Obama did, used that day 
as the deadline to get troops out of Afghanistan. But Joe Biden, not 
wanting to take away from the Obama "legacy" (or, as he called it, 
"delivering justice"), moved that day to September 11. This last decision 
makes it obvious the dates are chosen for symbolic reasons, so... you tell 
me what you think.

Meanwhile, as they say, a poll shows that 73% of Americans support taking 
all the troops out of Afghanistan, as the withdrawal actually began a 
couple of days ago.

  https://thehill.com/hilltv/what-americas-thinking/551040-poll-73-percent-support-us-withdrawal-from-afghanistan

The US says it may roll back most of the sanctions imposed on Iran since 
Trump left the "nuclear deal" in 2018, but also wants to keep some in 
place.

  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/biden-administration-eyes-major-rollback-iran-sanctions-revive-nuke-deal-n1265821

China reports that there are more US warships off its coast than under the 
previous president, as Biden took time at his national address (where he 
made the "delivered justice" remark) to say the US vs. China is democracy 
against autocracy. We're not that far away from autocracy, so let's not 
throw rocks from our glass house shall we?

  https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-has-ramped-up-reconnaissance-in-chinese-claimed-waters-beijing/ar-BB1gbM2D

In Yemen, the Saudis continue dropping bombs from US-made warplanes, and 
while Biden said we won't support the war, apparently America is still 
repairing those planes.

  https://www.vox.com/2021/4/27/22403579/biden-saudi-yemen-war-pentagon

In local news, I noted that in a nearly unprecedented move, the Oregon 
Attorney General will be working on the investigation of the police 
killing of Robert Delgado in Lents Park last week.

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2021/04/oregon-ag-and-multnomah-county-da-expected-to-jointly-investigate-fatal-police-shooting-of-robert-delgado-in-lents-park.html

I say nearly unprecedented because the AG's office investigated a police 
shooting in Klamath Falls in 2018-- and found no wrongdoing.

  https://www.klamathfallsnews.org/news/dept-of-justice-determines-no-criminal-actions-warranted-in-officer-involved-shooting

Along the march route I noted that while the Israeli elections still have 
failed to produce a functioning government, the Palestinians are now 
delaying their first elections since 2006. While Mahmoud Abbas says he 
wants to ensure Palestinians in East Jerusalem can vote, some see it as 
his trying to cling to power.

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-officially-delays-palestinian-elections-blaming-israel/

In the last stretch of the march, talking about money for human needs not 
war, I noted that the City asked all Bureaus to take a 5% cut due to low 
resources under COVID, but the Mayor is only proposing a 1% cut for the 
Police Bureau... after a year of protests and demands to defund. We joked 
that maybe he thought people were shouting "Fund the police," or that he 
only heard that chant coming from the Portland Business Alliance in their 
unregistered lobbying contacts.

  https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/04/29/33180318/whats-in-mayor-wheelers-proposed-57-billion-budget

  https://www.opb.org/article/2021/04/27/portland-business-alliance-lobbying-rules-violations/

The Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign went blank again in front of 
the Gucci store on SW 4th. One day I'll work up the courage to ask them if 
they have some kind of electromagnetic field protecting their expensive 
wares.

As always, we welcome more folks to come down and join us, but also to 
only do so if you are comfortable with traveling and being in a crowd-- of 
4-6 people. As I noted earlier, if the rally gets too big we can split to 
cover both sides of the street.

Thanks

dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group