[pjw] REPORT BACK: offensive weapons: Friday rally #181 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Greetings Iraq Affinity Group supporters

Last night we had a relatively large crowd of 12 people at the Friday 
Rally for Peace and Justice, though only 10 went on the march. There were 
a lot of enthusiastic honks from drivers, even though to some extent 
traffic, both pedestrian and vehicle, seems a little slower than usual.

We handed out flyers for the September 29 rally which will commemorate 9 
years of the US war in Syria and 22 years after the invasion of 
Afghanistan.

https://www.pjw.info/afghanistan22yl.html

Remember it was that invasion that prompted Portland Peaceful Response 
Coalition to start the Friday rallies in November 2001.

So what did we talk about this week? Here's a sampling:

--Secretary of State Anthony Blinken went to Ukraine and pledged another 
$1 billion including toxic Depleted Uranium ordnance. In contrast, he 
posed for a picture with a puppy.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2023/09/06/blinken-announces-1-billion-more-for-ukraine-including-depleted-uranium/

---Deaths by cluster bomb in the war in Ukraine now outpace those in the 
second highest war zone-- Syria. Wasn't aware how often these lethal and 
banned-by-most-of-the-planet weapons were being used in Syria.

  https://apnews.com/article/syria-ukraine-cluster-munitions-bombs-convention-0ffa6fccfd4bf335f8b3e345afbe8e8a

---Russia fired artillery at Ukraine and debris fell in Romania. Luckily, 
NATO realized this wasn't an attack on one of its members so refrained 
from jumping (more directly) into the war.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-does-not-see-indication-intentional-russian-attack-romania-2023-09-07/

--The US is moving troops around inside Niger and is taking some out, 
but they won't say how many of the 1100 soldiers are staying.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/us-military-repositioning-some-troops-within-niger-withdrawing-non-essential-2023-09-07/

--America "signaled its strength" by testing and Intercontinental 
Ballistic Missile. That'll show China, Russia, Iran and North Korea 
that they should stop conducting such tests. Because only we can do that.

  https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-launches-unarmed-icbm-test-nuclear-capabilities-tensions-with-north-korea

--The Philippines joined with the US for the first time ever to jointly 
sail warships through the South China Sea. Another great way to 
de-escalate tensions.

  https://www.voanews.com/a/philippines-us-navies-conduct-joint-sail-in-south-china-sea/7253355.html

---In related news, Taiwan had troops training on US soil this week with 
Michigan National Guard members. What the heck???

  https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2023/09/04/2003805719

--The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Iran is slowing its 
enrichment of uranium, which is likely a sign that negotiations about 
prisoner swaps and maybe even sanctions relief are progressing.

  https://apnews.com/article/iran-uranium-enrichment-iaea-us-tensions-af4a183a2e97375708a494d5324c2836

--Iraq says the US is storing offensive weapons on its bases there in 
violation of agreement. Frankly, I find all weapons offensive.

  https://www.newarab.com/news/us-storing-offensive-weapons-iraq-base-military-official

In local news, there's at least a tentative date for the City Council to 
approve the Police Accountability Commission's plan for a new police 
oversight system: Thursday, September 21 at 2 PM.

Portland Copwatch has posted handy information online about the 
differences between the current and new systems, feel free to share this 
link out with folks!

  https://www.portlandcopwatch.org/proposed-oversight-system2023.html

Along the march route, I commented that it's probably commonly known to 
many, but that an Israeli paper actually reported on the regular practice 
of Israeli forces strip searching Palestinian women. Just another way to 
dehumanize and subjugate people whose land is being occupied.

  https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-forces-regularly-strip-search-palestinian-women

You may have heard that the country is heading for another possible 
shutdown if Congress doesn't approve the 2024 budget this month. To help 
make that happen, Republicans are planning to debate that back-and-forth 
$880 B defense spending bill next week. I have a suggestion about how to 
balance the budget: QUIT FUNDING THE MILITARY. And invest in human needs.

  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-house-republicans-set-to-debate-2024-defense-spending-next-week/ar-AA1gs6oW

The Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign made it around the corner and past 
the first "mystery junction box" for the third week in a row, but went 
off again. I have been trying to run past the junction box and maybe I need 
to move farther away... we'll see next week.

Hey, you probably heard that First Lady Jill Biden got COVID this week. 
The number of people I personally know who've gotten it in the last six 
weeks is now up to at least 12, with just four of them in the same 
household. We're still encouraging people to mask up and stay distanced 
for safety, and while we were down to about 50% compliance last night I am 
hoping that the media focusing attention on this issue reminds people to 
cover up their noses/mouths. If you're feeling comfortable please do join 
us if you can!

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