[pjw] REPORT BACK: more US bombs: Friday rally #220 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Peaceful people:

Seven of us rallied and marched last night at the Friday Rally for Peace and 
Justice. The weather was pleasant and that led to a lot of foot traffic, 
conversations and positive reception (including from people in cars).

We handed out about 40 flyers for the Noor Ghazi event on June 25, but I 
think I never mentioned it in the announcements. Well, one thing at a time 
I guess.

  https://pjw.info/n_ghazi_livestream062524.html

OK, so what did we talk about this week?

--Some guy who they say used to be President or something was convicted of 
34 felonies. He can appeal the verdict, but can't pardon himself because 
they were state, not federal crimes. He can run for office from jail 
though-- something Eugene Debs did when jailed for being antiwar in 1920. 
Anyway, "cue the appeals!" I said, and they've already been promised.

  https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/verify/trump-could-not-pardon-himself-in-new-york-case-if-he-is-re-elected-president/536-6ed9ecc8-27a5-4eb2-a888-20b5e09aab6d
  https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/running-us-president-prison-eugene-debs-century-ago-110718053

In more war/peace policy news:

--45 people were killed in a Rafah refugee camp when Israel "accidentally" 
targeted it. So much wrong with this story, including that this came days 
after the International Court of Justice told them to stop their attacks 
if they can't protect civilians, AND... some of the bombs were US-made.

  https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/28/middleeast/gaza-us-munitions-rafah-strike-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html

---On a more positive note, Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized a 
Palestinian state. I did some digging and found this means that of the 
"G20" countries, nine now recognize Palestine, and of the 32 NATO 
countries, 13 have done so. The pressure mounts.

  https://apnews.com/article/eu-palestinian-state-spain-israel-gaza-6efe351e53761befc2c539c535bbcc0c

---In Lebanon, Israel attacked at least three times this past week 
including a drone strike on an ambulance that killed a medic.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strike-kills-medic-with-hezbollah-linked-rescue-force-sources-say-2024-05-31/

---Also on the eastern front (where people don't seem to be paying as much 
attention), Israel killed a young girl and wounded 10 with an attack on 
Syria.

  https://www.barrons.com/news/syria-says-israeli-strike-kills-girl-wounds-10-civilians-6928841d

--Meanwhile, President Biden has ok'd the use of US weapons by Ukraine in 
Russia. This was a "red line" after Russia invaded in 2022. I guess the 
red line keeps moving, because the US seems to want to escalate that 
conflict rather than push for an end to it.

  https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/30/biden-ukraine-weapons-strike-russia-00160731

--Speaking of which, after a few weeks of calm, the US joined with the UK 
to conduct another set of airstrikes on Yemen, killing 16 people. This was 
the first joint operation since February.

  https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/30/politics/us-uk-yemen-strikes/index.html

--And, maybe related, the US has decided to resume offensive weapons sales 
to Saudi Arabia. (As I've said before, I find all weapons offensive.). 
Apparently the Saudis' truce with Yemen has led the Americans to believe 
they won't violate human rights any more.

  https://archive.ph/HjAnG
  https://www.ft.com/content/e2c327e4-31e9-4208-afcc-095c0a4ed762

--Showing even more of its moral high ground and expert diplomacy, when 
the UN makes its traditional ceremony mourning the loss of a world leader, 
the US is going to boycott it because the leader happened to be the 
president of Iran. Real mature!!

  https://www.reuters.com/world/us-boycott-un-tribute-iran-leader-killed-helicopter-crash-2024-05-29/

--In Iraq, people who want to get rid of western imperialism made targeted 
attacks on US companies Caterpillar and KFC, and also a British business 
mentioned in this article.

  https://www.newarab.com/news/us-uk-firms-targeted-baghdad-over-israels-gaza-war

In local news, bear with me for this story: During a City Council hearing 
Wednesday about buying the police more crowd control weapons, a community 
member (and council candidate) told a story about being at a pro-Palestine 
protest at PSU. He said that the police corralled the protest into an 
alleyway, where a right-winger tried driving into the crowd. He jumped out 
of the way as others managed to stop the car before it hit the 
protestors-- or the police. When it came time to vote, Mayor Wheeler 
lectured the community saying they had been given nearly an hour to 
disperse and if they chose not to do so, they should not "whine, complain 
and cry" when there are consequences. You may remember that Wheeler 
himself "whined, complained and cried" when hit with tear gas in 2020...

  https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2024/05/30/47229604/city-will-spend-an-estimated-11-million-on-munitions-shields-and-training-for-police

OK, so, back to Israel/Palestine, along the march route I noted that 
almost 9000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since October 
7. The 100+ Israelis in Gaza are called "hostages," what are these folks 
being called?

  https://thecradle.co/articles/nearly-9000-palestinians-detained-in-west-bank-since-7-october

And as we got toward the end of the march I noted that in JUST THE FIRST 
FIVE MONTHS of 2024, the US has spent $5 billion on electronic military 
weapons that can jam radio signals and I think maybe take down "enemy" 
drones. What if we'd spent that money on housing, health care and fixing 
the ever-crumbling environment??? Nah, there's no profit in those things.

  https://www.thedefensepost.com/2024/05/24/us-electronic-warfare-capabilities/

In what now appears to be the "normal," the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial 
Sign went out at the mystery spot across from the Apple store. Though the 
battery in the generator had dipped below 50% (which often leads to a 
precipitous drop) the sign came on again after the march disbanded.

OK, hope you can join us some week on a Friday night, especially with the 
weather getting better. One person who came by was very thankful, took our 
1/4 sheet flyer about the rally and said they'd come back next week... we 
shall see.

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