[pjw] REPORT BACK: War and war games : Friday rally #164 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

IAG supporters

Last night at the Friday Rally for Peace and Justice, six of us rallied 
and five marched. Though it was warm out, most of the march route is in 
the shade. I think the only piece of literature we handed out was a 
Copwatch newsletter (May 2023 issue!) to someone who commented on the 
Justice/Police Accountability sign. We had some supportive honks and other 
acknowledgments, but one rather inebriated person who wanted to lecture 
us about how Iraq never had free elections until 2004 because of the 
Taliban. OK. Iraq->Iran->Afghanistan/Pakistan, needs some geography 
lessons this fellow. His questions, though, allowed us to educate him 
about what "apartheid" means in the context of Israel/Palestine.

These are headlines I read into the record, not sure how many folks heard 
them:

--Britain gave Ukraine missiles with a range of 155 miles, further adding 
fuel on the fire there.

  https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/politics/uk-storm-shadow-cruise-missiles-ukraine/index.html

--NATO, including Finland, began a set of wargames in the North Atlantic.

  https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2023-05-08/russia-us-navy-north-atlantic-10050532.html

--The US State Department and several (bipartisan) House Representatives 
spoke out against Syria rejoining the Arab League, hoping to find ways to 
undermine any steps toward normalization.

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-slams-arab-league-move-restore-syria-ties

--Taiwan says they are expecting $500M in free weapons from the US to 
"deter" (or, provoke?) China.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/05/08/us-taiwan-in-talks-on-us-providing-500-million-in-free-weapons/

--The US is also conducting live fire exercises in Iraq and Syria even 
though the Islamic State is nowhere the threat it was 9 years ago and does 
not possess aircraft.

  https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/world/us-led-coalition-conducts-live-fire-exercises-in-iraq-and-syria/ar-AA1b4SeB

--Here in the US, President Biden has replaced the bad COVID-era 
immigration policies with worse ones that require people to apply for 
asylum in any country they pass through on the way to the US, for instance.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/10/us-unveils-rule-rights-groups-say-stifles-right-to-seek-asylum

--Slightly better news, Australian lawmakers called on the US ambassador 
to drop the charges against Julian Assange. (Which reminds me, our tipsy 
friend also said dissidents in China and Russia get jailed but not in the 
US! I asked if he knew Assange's name.)

  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/09/julian-assange-australian-mps-urge-us-ambassador-to-end-extradition-bid

In local news:

a) last night marked 13 years since the Portland Police killed Keaton Otis 
at a traffic stop after saying the young black man driving his mother's 
Toyota "looked like a gangster." They shot at him 32 times and hit him 23 
times.

  https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForKeatonOtis/

b) On Wednesday, City Council is poised to give a $50,000 settlement to a 
journalist who was brutalized by a PPB officer with a baton and pepper 
spray in the 2020 protests.

  https://www.portland.gov/council/documents/ordinance/settlement-donovan-farleys-bodily-injury-lawsuit

c) The officers who killed Jack Watson on April 24 were finally named on 
Thursday, 17 days later... two days longer than the bogus rule the PPB put 
in place and much longer than the 24 hours required in their written rule.

  https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=492864

Along the route I reported that Israeli airstrikes this week killed 30 
Palestinians including six children. No doubt using weapons and/or money 
supplied by the USA.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/11/israel-kills-30-palestinians-in-gaza-as-violence-escalates

As we neared the endpoint of the march, I bemoaned the fact that 
Democrats say they will push the defense bill forward as requested by the 
President despite the debt ceiling crisis. They pointed to Republicans who 
said the defense budget was too low, now want to cut it. The proper 
response would be to say "OK, let's cut the defense budget!"

  https://www.defensenews.com/congress/budget/2023/05/10/defense-budget-bill-hit-with-delay-over-debt-ceiling-fight/
The Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign made it around the corner from 4th to 
Yamhill again but went out across from the Apple Store. We ended the rally 
early so I could head over to the Keaton Otis anniversary vigil, where the 
sign

1) stayed on the whole time (1.5 hours)

2) got compliments from attendees and

3) was featured in a new short documentary about the permanent memorial 
site there at NE 6th and Halsey!

Some questions came up about masking. PJW's policy remains in place while 
we see what happens in the next month or so as people shed their 
precautions with the emergency declaration ended. I think I mentioned 
before that I know six people who got COVID after the hospital masking 
requirement was lifted in April. Better safe than superspreader.

There's always room for more folks at the corner of SW Yamhill and 
Broadway each Friday at 5 if you want to join us.

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