[pjw] REPORT BACK: lotsa bombs flying: Friday rally #179 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello IAG supporters

There were eight of us at yesterday's Friday Rally for Peace and Justice, 
but only six went on the march... mostly because of the high temperature. 
At first the community response seemed muted, with just a few expressions 
of support and two people together checking out the literature rack and 
asking about the rally up front. But along the march route, things picked 
up with lots of horns honking and one person who yelled a slogan stating 
his contempt for war. That security guard at the bar thanked us again and 
said "we have to end that war in Ukraine too."

Here are some of this week's headlines that we talked about, no not that 
one, that guy's "mug shot" isn't worth the bandwidth.

--The US is getting ready to train Ukrainians how to fly F-16s... on 
American soil... in September. Russia says because F-16s are capable of 
carrying nuclear weapons they consider it an act of nuclear aggression if 
Ukrainians start flying them. Hmm.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/08/24/pentagon-to-start-training-ukrainian-pilots-on-f-16s-in-the-us/

--Speaking of Russia, American intelligence says it was not a missile that 
brought down Wagner Group mercenary leader Prigozhin's plane. Lots of 
hand-wringing with no proof yet that Putin ordered the plane be taken 
down, but no acknowledgment how many times the US has done similar things.

  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/24/wagner-fighters-gather-at-makeshift-memorial-to-yevgeny-prigozhin

--East Asian countries are angry that Japan has already begun releasing 
radioactive water from the Fukushima meltdown into into ocean. China's 
banning seafood from Japan. I am surprised, this was just an idea three 
weeks ago on Hiroshima day and it's already happening.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/24/japan-prepares-to-start-release-of-fukushima-radioactive-water

--Back to that old silly question "what wars are you protesting," the US 
killed five people in Somalia this past week in an airstrike.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/08/21/us-launches-airstrike-in-somalia-claims-5-al-shabaab-fighters-killed/

--But the US isn't alone in bombing other nations. Seven Iraqi were killed 
by a Turkish drone strike in Iraq's Kurdish region on Thursday.

  https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/08/24/Four-PKK-members-killed-in-new-Turkish-drone-strike-Iraq-Kurds

---and Turkey also killed a journalist in Syria's Kurdish region with an 
airstrike on Wednesday.

  https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/230820231

----AND Israel killed two Syrians in an airstrike on Monday.

  https://www.barrons.com/news/syrian-soldier-wounded-in-israeli-strike-near-damascus-state-media-5385801a

--The enemy of my enemy is my friend and now my enemy: the US has placed 
sanctions on a Syrian militia THAT IT SUPPORTED AND USED THE CIA TO TRAIN. 
War makes so much sense folks.

  https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/08/22/us-sanctions-formerly-cia-backed-syrian-rebels/

In local news, the report that was given to City Council about the 2020 
protests talked about "protests and riots" in the title. Pressed on this, 
the authors said they needed a way to describe when protests also included 
things like property damage. But "riot" has a specific definition which is 
one of the things the Portland Police used to justify their violence, 
often for propaganda purposes. That said the report does acknowledge harm 
done to the community by tear gas, rubber projectiles and more.

  https://www.portland.gov/sites/default/files/council-documents/2023/imllc-final-phase-one-report.pdf

Also, the Police Accountability Commission (on which I sit) will be 
wrapping up its work and getting a packet of information ready to send to 
City Council this coming Thursday, August 31. I won't be a "city official" 
after that so can talk more about it next week.

  https://www.portland.gov/police-accountability

Along the march route, I relayed a story about Israel's far-right National 
Security minister Itamar Ben Gvir who, this story reveals, lives in an 
illegal settlement in the West Bank. He is quoted saying his family has
more right to move about in the in occupied territory than the "Arabs."

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-ben-gvir-says-rights-outweigh-palestinians

A few weeks ago I talked about the special slush fund for the state 
department that led to the President setting aside $345 million in weapons 
for Taiwan. I don't know why this was in the news feed from this week 
because I think this is the same article I sent out after the July 28 
rally so... it's still an outrage that the US would rather poke China in 
the eye than provide housing, health care and other human needs to people.

  https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-announces-historic-345-million-military-aid-package/story?id=101782645
This week the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign made it around the 
corner and past the first "mystery junction box" by the Pioneer Place 
Mall on Yamhill before conking out. Lit up again at the end of the 
march. Maybe Ann's trying to reach out to us from a spiritual plane 
but we're not understanding her message.

Please feel free to join us any week if you're up for it. I just found out 
that the total number of people I know who had COVID between mid-July and 
early August was eight, not seven... it's out there folks, stay safe! But 
do come and rally with us if you can.

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