[pjw] REPORT BACK: UN wants "truce": Friday rally #189 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hi again PJW supporters

Last night at the Friday Rally for Peace and Justice, we had a little fun 
math issue-- six of us rallied, one person left, and two people arrived in 
time to march, so... overall 8 people but 7 on the march. We had many many 
honks and supportive gestures, including the first-I-can-remember peace 
sign held up through the sunroof of a car. No real detractors/hecklers to 
speak of.

For the third week in a row, most of the news revolved around Israel and 
the Palestinians, sometimes more directly than others.

I began the talk acknowledging that when we tie together local, national 
and international issues we need to acknowledge the similarities to the 
plight of indigenous people in "North America" to what's happened to 
Palestinians.

Here are some of the other things we talked about... and once again I had 
to rebuild my list from memory as I put my "to do list" in my pocket 
instead of the news items. Did pretty well though.

--As part of its intensifying bombing, Israel hit underground sites which 
cut off Gaza's internet and phone service, severing their ability to 
communicate. This in addition to cutting off food, water and medicine.

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-air-strikes-pummel-gaza-severing-phone-and-internet-services

---With at least 7300 Palestinians dead following the October 7 killing of 
1400 Israelis, I asked, "when is enough? Is your blood lust so great that 
you must keep killing?" Joe Biden thinks the Palestinians are lying about 
the death toll. Aid groups and news agencies differ.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/25/president-biden-accuses-palestinians-of-lying-about-civilian-casualties/

---Two UN Security Council resolutions to halt the fighting didn't pass. 
The first was because the US insisted in adding Israel's "right to defend 
itself" (10 yes, 3 no including China/Russia's vetoes, and 2 abstain), the 
other by Russia/China calling for a ceasefire only got four votes.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/26/two-more-resolutions-to-end-gaza-violence-fail-at-un-security-council

---HOWEVER, the UN General Assembly voted for an extended humanitarian 
"truce" with 140 votes in favor and 45 abstentions. There were 14 "no" 
votes, can you guess who two of them were? If you said the US and Israel, 
good for you (though that's like a $100 question on Jeopardy).

  https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142847?reload15

--Meanwhile, the US conducted airstrikes in Syria, supposedly against 
Iran-backed militias who were among those that attacked US bases in Syria 
(why are they there??) and the US claims this has nothing to do with 
Gaza... though there are more indicators they want war with Iran.

  https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/26/politics/us-strikes-facilities-syria/index.html

---HOWEVER, in the last week there were 13 attacks on US bases, 10 of 
which were in Iraq and 3 in Syria, and a US contractor died of a heart 
attack in Western Iraq due to the fear of the situation...

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/24/pentagon-us-forces-in-iraq-and-syria-attacked-13-times-in-last-week/

----BUT an Iraqi militia claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in 
Syria. So is it Iran's fault, or is this another parallel to 9/11 where 
instead of looking at the individuals who may be guilty of attacks the 
responding country (countries with the US) go after entire nations?

  https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/251020231

--Back here in the US, the Senate voted 11-86 not to get out of Niger 
after the coup. Have to keep those drone bases going folks! Good news, two 
of the 11 yes votes were Senator Sanders and Oregon's own Jeff Merkley.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/26/senate-votes-down-bill-to-withdraw-troops-from-niger/

---On the other hand, the House voted 412-10 to "stand by Israel"... 
(presumably right or wrong, since they're in the middle of extending their 
track record of committing war crimes. No Oregonians in the no votes BTW.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/25/house-approves-resolution-backing-israel-in-new-speakers-first-move/

--One story I forgot to talk about until the end of the march is that the 
US has sent military advisors to Israel, further erasing their credibility 
to resolve the situation in a neutral way. They include specialists in 
urban warfare. Oh great.

  https://apnews.com/article/israel-military-iran-navy-gaza-1a906598be5baccc614897768b1824a8

--And the only story I forgot about completely is that some of the 
attacks by Urkaine inside Russia are being done with the express help of 
the CIA.

  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-spies-with-deep-ties-to-cia-wage-shadow-war-against-russia/ar-AA1iGWKg

In local news, City Council is poised to pay out the largest settlement 
for police brutality at a protest since 2018, $300,000 to Michael 
Weisdorf, whose face was smashed and whose elbow was broken the the PPB. 
Photos if you care to see them in this Oregonian article:

  https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/burns-bloody-wounds-broken-bones-injuries-mount-at-portland-protests.html

The Council agenda item is here:

  https://www.portland.gov/council/documents/ordinance/settlement-michael-weisdorfs-bodily-injury-lawsuit

Which reminds me, among the literature we handed out last night were a 
bunch of the fact sheets about the Police Accountability Commission's 
recommendations to Council... which seem to be getting gutted by the City 
Attorneys office? So maybe folks interested in oversight issues should 
contact the City Attorney in addition to City Council

  https://tinyurl.com/pdxoversight2023

Along the march route, though I'd already reported a lot on 
Israel/Palestine, I just had to add that Israel called for Secretary 
General Antonio Guterres to resign for saying that attacks on October 
7 did "not happen in a vacuum." This even though he made clear that what's 
been done to Palestinians for 50+ years didn't justify what Hamas did. 
There is a lot of stifling of people trying to give context to the current 
fighting as though discussing what led up to it is illegal or immoral.

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-livid-after-un-chief-says-hamas-attacks-did-not-occur-in-vacuum/

And as we headed back toward Pioneer Courthouse Square, I relayed the 
"exciting" news that the boost in military spending from all these wars 
has led to the first boost in the economy since 2019. Nothing going toward 
housing, health care, education or the environment though!

  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/defense-spending-boosts-us-economy-with-fastest-rise-since-2019/ar-AA1iTiFN

For a short time I though the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign was being 
shielded by a fellow protestor walking just ahead of me, but it eventually 
froze for the third time on the "Justice 4" message, halfway up the block 
on 4th Ave by the Gucci store and went out again as we approached the 
metal mystery box by the Apple Store. Dry weather again. Just gremlins.

The two people who showed up as we started marching are folks I've known 
since the original weekly Friday rallies were held before, during, and for 
a little while after the "Gulf War" in 1990-1991. Next week will mark 22 
years of this iteration of the Friday rally! So if you feel like joining 
us, come on down. We continue to urge masking and distancing, a relative 
of a PJW member has developed long COVID after being infected earlier this 
year. This stuff's no joke folks.

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