[pjw] REPORT BACK: more powerful bombs: Friday rally #177 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello IAG supporters

Yesterday at the Friday Rally for Peace and Justice, we had 11 people at 
the rally and march. One was a new cross-over participant from the Arbor 
Lodge Black Lives Matter protest, which rotates locations at noon every 
Friday. There were a lot of people who were appreciative of our signs and 
our presence, though one person who saw a sign about Israeli apartheid 
said "It's not apartheid you idiots" as they drove past. I'd have liked to 
ask how they describe a society where some people get to only drive on 
certain roads, don't have the ability to vote, have their land taken away 
on a regular basis, etc. etc. But they were gone too quickly.

We continued carrying the signs about Hiroshima and Nagasaki since the 
actual anniversaries of those bombings happened between last week and now 
(last Sunday and Wednesday). I noted that some 180 people attended the 
memorial event on Wednesday, many of whom I hadn't seen in a long while! 
By the way Oregon PSR livestreamed the event to facebook... but the video 
came out sideways.

  https://www.facebook.com/OregonPSR/videos/812162930622078

I also forgot to mention here AND at the rally that August 6 was the date 
in 1990 that sanctions were imposed on Iraq in the lead-up to the "Gulf 
War" and the current 32 years of devastation. And August 8 was the date 
that the US started bombing Iraq again to go after the Islamic State 
(after America "withdrew" in 2011).

Here's some of the news we talked about:

--News broke as Pakistan's former Prime Minister was being arrested on 
apparently "trumped-up" charges (see what I did there?) that the US pushed 
Pakistan to get rid of him when he declared neutrality on the Ukraine war. 
Not alliance with Russia, just neutrality.

  https://theintercept.com/2023/08/09/imran-khan-pakistan-cypher-ukraine-russia/

---On that note, Ukraine has declared all Russian ships to be legitimate 
targets, even though their supposed goal is to push troops off of their 
territory on land. Bombing huge tankers and warships in the Black Sea 
likely will also add to the environmental damage done by the war.

  https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-declares-war-on-russia-black-sea-shipping/

--On the US atomic bombs' anniversaries, the Mayors of Nagasaki and 
Hiroshima both had nothing good to say about the idea of "nuclear 
deterrence," which only serves to let countries who have nuclear weapons 
continue to hold them and use them as threats.

  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230809/p2g/00m/0na/006000c

--In Syria, four soldiers were killed by an Israeli airstrike, which I 
think I read was the 21st such strike this year. And... where's the 
International Criminal Court, the UN or others to object? Oh yeah if the 
US can get away with bombing countries at will, so can Israel.

  https://sana.sy/en/?p=314569

--The US is going to invest millions in making their bombs more powerful 
(and deadly) but using a new substance known as CL-20. Interesting that 
the "C" stands for China, but it's because it was developed at a 
Naval Weapons facility in China Lake, California.

  https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/08/07/us-powerful-explosives-weapons/

--The US and Iran have agreed to a prisoner swap and the US will release 
$6 billion in Iranian funds. But not to Iran... the money goes to Qatar 
and South Korea to "ensure" it will be used only for humanitarian 
purposes. Well, it's better than what Afghanistan's getting I guess.

  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/us/politics/iran-us-prisoner-swap.html

--West African states are preparing to militarily intervene in Niger, but 
note they're up against formidable soldiers who overthrew the government. 
Those soldiers were trained by the US.

  https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/africa/niger-ecowas-standby-force-intl/index.html

In local news, there are two key items coming up next week: Monday, Judge 
Michael Simon will hear updates about the status of the US Department of 
Justice lawsuit against the City of Portland for the police using 
excessive force, a case that's been going on for 11 years now.

  https://ord.uscourts.gov/index.php/ct-calendar/day.listevents/2023/08/14/228%7C229%7C227%7C604

Then on Wednesday, the Police Accountability Commission (on which I sit) 
will give its last quarterly report to City Council, focusing on its work 
from April to June. However it's more likely than not that Council will 
weigh in on the draft final plan the PAC is going to hand to them on 
August 31 designing the new oversight system for police. The Willamette 
Week indicates the Council has reservations but won't say what they are.

  https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/08/09/a-plan-for-the-new-police-oversight-board-meets-a-skeptical-city-council/

  https://www.portland.gov/council/documents/report/accept-pac-quarterly-report-april-june-2023

  https://www.portland.gov/police-accountability/documents/pac-preliminary-public-city-code-draft-08-08-2023/download

Along the march route, I relayed the disturbing news that Israeli forces 
continue killing people in the West Bank. In Jenin this week they riddled 
a car full of bullets killing three people including a 15 year old.

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-jenin-target-car-west-bank

And, rather than making sure everyone has a home, healthcare or an 
environment that won't kill us all, President Biden has asked for another 
$24 billion for the war in Ukraine. I've lost track but I think that will 
put the total in 18 months up over $100 billion.

  https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/politics/ukraine-funding-supplemental-joe-biden/index.html

Not sure if it's weather-related (it was really humid again) but the
Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign went out right by the Gucci store on SW 
4th again. It popped back on when we debriefed at the end of the march.

Do remember that you're welcome to join us if you're able and willing and 
feel up to it, any Friday, we'll be there until further notice. Those who 
try to put us down are very few compared to the many who appreciate what 
we're doing.

peace
--dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group