[pjw] REPORT BACK: Is this a test?: Friday rally #198 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello and welcome to the last report back for 2023!

Today's subject line both refers to the breaking points of the 
international response to violence in the news and the trials and 
tribulations I faced getting to and from the rally. I'll spare you those 
details until the end.

Last night's Friday Rally for Peace and Justice met with unseasonably warm 
weather (about 55 degrees) but also seasonal rain (and thus soggy 
outerwear). Five of us were at the rally and four went on the march.

It was strange, there was another burst of honks like last week, this time 
all around 5 PM (the official "start time" but we weren't doing anything 
differently from our usual early arrival about 10 minutes to the hour). 
Then one very enthusiastic supporter honked at us at SW 4th and Washington 
along the march route.

I was able to remind everyone about the Guantanamo event, just two weeks 
from now! But no flyers got handed out. Here's the link to the event page 
again in case you want a flyer (and/or ask and we can put extras out on 
the door of our office for you).

  https://pjw.info/guantanamo22yl.html

Here are some of the headlines we talked about... and as detailed below I 
had to recall them from memory.

--Over 200 people were killed in 24 hours in North, Central and South 
Gaza. Remember people were told to evacuate the north, then the south, so 
there's nowhere to hide from Israel's indiscriminate warfare.

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-bombs-hit-north-south-central-gaza-brutal-24-hours

---You may or may not know that the Palestinian Authority is supported by 
tax money that's collected by Israel. They're refusing to release it now 
claiming it will support Hamas. (The finance minister even said not one 
bit of it would be used to finance "Nazis" which is quite a stretch.)

  https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/382752

---Christians in Gaza numberer over 3000 before the blockade began in 
2007. It was down to 1000 before the current war, and now only 800 remain. 
The community fears being wiped out. (Tell this story to Christians you 
know who shrug about Palestinians being killed.)

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/gaza-war-christian-community-fears-extinction-genocidal-campaign-continues

---Along those lines, Israel conducted massive bombing on Christmas eve 
and killed over 70 people in Gaza.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-airstrikes-kill-dozens-gaza-officials-say-christmas-bloodshed-2023-12-24/

---Meanwhile Israel seems to want to expand the war. For instance, they 
conducted an airstrike which killed an Iranian General in Syria this week.

  https://apnews.com/article/syria-israel-iran-irgc-damascus-airstrike-7ee8496d727ba69834002f0444515a36

---And they're saying that if the Lebanese government doesn't stop 
Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel they will go to war on that 
front too.

  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-warns-about-lebanon-border-hostilities-as-war-in-gaza-rages-on/ar-AA1m9J4b

--Meanwhile in more ramifications from the war, maybe a mildly good 
development? After the US fired upon three militia bases in "response" to 
attacks on American bases in Iraq, the Iraqi government stepped up its 
insistence that's a violation of sovereignty and is now seriously looking 
at expelling foreign troops.

  https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2023/12/28/iraq-plans-to-end-the-presence-of-us-led-coalition-forces-pm-says/

In local news, ugh, we almost made it to the end of the year without 
another such story but three Portland Officers shot and killed Tyrone 
Johnson II, a 33 year old Black man, over allegations of shoplifting at 
Target. Johnson's mother told the Oregonian he wasn't perfect but why 
would you shoot someone running away from you? This is the third Black man 
killed by the PPB in just over a year.


  https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/12/portland-woman-identifies-man-shot-dead-by-police-at-mall-205-as-her-son-he-is-somebodys-child.html

Along the march route, I added to the Israel/Palestine news that now more 
than 300 people have been killed in the West Bank since October 7. The UN 
Human Rights Commission has told the Israelis to cut it out. I don't know 
how effective that will be but glad folks are paying attention.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/28/end-unlawful-killings-in-occupied-west-bank-un-tells-israel-2

And as we headed to our endpoint, I noted that there MAY be a little more 
money to be used for human needs as the final $250 million allotted to 
pour more weapons into Ukraine has been approved for spending.

  https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/us-approves-250m-in-military-aid-to-ukraine/ar-AA1m7Dy5

... in related news, Politico (I think i said Axios last night, sorry) 
reports that the US is ready to ask Ukraine to concede territory to end 
the war through negotiations, since it's a war stuck in stalemate.

  https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211

All right, so here's the stories of gremlins making my life miserable 
prepping for the rally, in addition to the test for humanity posed by 
current conflicts.

--I left the office early to drop bills off at the Post office but
   then realized I left my list of headlines on the table, so
   I turned around and headed back (I was only about 10 blocks away).

---In the parking garage after I assembled the little green wagon of
   Peace, I checked to be sure I had the list, and it was gone. I went
   back to the car and found the piece of paper on the ground
   between the elevator and the parking space.

---Then when I was at the corner, I found that the list was STILL NOT
   IN MY POCKET even though I tucked it firmly in after the first two
   times I didn't have it.

--Upon my return to the parking garage, due to one of two West-side
   elevators being broken (for a month now), after paying for parking
   near that elevator (which had a long line of people waiting for it)
   I headed around to the east side, where a long line was waiting for
   the single elevator there which seemed stuck below ground level, then
   passed us by.

---So I went back around and (no gremlin finally!) got right in the
   sole elevator on the West side. I loaded up the wagon and got
   stuck behind a person unable to navigate payment for 5 minutes or more.
   I navigated into the other exit lane and the machine tried to charge me
   an extra $1.80 even though I'd paid for 2 hours (4:30-6:30) and it was
   only 6:10 PM. What a racket!!! Anti-gremlin parking attended
   called it in and let me out without further expenditures.

--And in my final effort to get the bills paid, I stopped at the
   Post Office on SE 7th Ave, where they had taken away the drop slots
   months ago, so I knew I had to park and get out of the car.
   I walked up the sidewalk to find they have REMOVED THE OUTDOOR MAIL
   BOXES ALTOGETHER.

So I ask again, "is this a test?"

For those keeping track, the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign went out by 
the Gucci store again, but I count that as "run-of-the-mill gremlin 
activity" and not associated with these other tribulations.

We'll be out again next week at 5 PM but don't forget the January 12 
Guantanamo event starts at 4:30....

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