[pjw] REPORT BACK: at it four years: Friday rally #211 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello peaceful people
This week marked four full years of the Iraq Affinity Group hosting the 
Friday Rally for Peace and Justice. For a moment it seemed as if the same 
two of us who were at that first event after Portland Peaceful Response 
Coalition ended their sponsorship would be the only two attendees, but 
eventually five of us were there at the corner.

There was nice weather and people were generally supportive, those on foot 
and those in vehicles. We gave out all of the remaining 20+ fact sheets 
left over from last week, all of the Guantanamo fact sheets left over from 
January, and a smattering of 1/4 page handouts inviting people to the 
Friday rallies.

Speaking of the fact sheets, when I sent out the text last weekend I 
neglected to include this link to a photo of the mini-tower of peace 
hanging up in the office (I think I mentioned nobody grabbed a picture of 
it on site).

  https://pjw.info/iraq21yl.html#photo


The introduction I give each week is that we tie together issues of 
national, international and local importance because they are all 
interconnected. Here's what we talked about this week:

--The UN Security Council passed resolution for and immediate ceasefire in 
Gaza, 14-0 with the US uncharacteristically abstaining. Israel's two main 
responses were 1) cancel a trip to the US to beg for money and 2) ignore 
the UNSC like they do with resolutions against occupying Palestinian land.

  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/un-security-council-adopts-resolution-calling-for-immediate-gaza-ceasefire

---A reporter asked President Biden if there is a red line for ending 
support for Israel. He said we can't have another 30,000 dead. Wrong: 
We can't have even one more person dead. What's he going to do, drop 
all support for Israel when the 59,999th Palestinian is killed?

  https://www.axios.com/2024/03/10/biden-red-line-gaza-palestinians

---State Department Foreign Affairs Officer Annelle Sheline resigned over 
the administration's policy toward Israel, saying she was supposed to be 
promoting peace in the Middle East but can no longer do so. She posted 
this on CNN:

  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/opinions/gaza-israel-resigning-state-department-sheline/index.html

--Meanwhile, Israel killed at least 42 people in airstrikes on Syria...

  https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/at-least-42-killed-in-israeli-strikes-in-syrias-aleppo-says-war-monitor-5333442

...and at least 16 in multiple attacks on Lebanon. And who's stopping them?

  https://www.yahoo.com/news/latest-hezbollah-launches-rockets-israel-092523023.html

--I only brought one of our two "stop bombing Yemen" signs this week but 
noticed just before I headed downtown that the US bombed Yemen again last 
Friday, so the hostilities continue past the 60 day clock set by the War 
Powers Resolution.

  https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/03/25/us-fighters-hit-storage-facilities-in-houthi-controlled-areas-of-yemen/

--And as if there isn't enough global strife, the US has thrown down 
another gauntlet to China by siding with India in a long-term border 
dispute.

  https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/21/us-rejects-chinas-claim-to-arunachal-pradesh-says-it-is-a-part-of-india.html

--Some good news, though: Julian Assange won the right to appeal his 
extradition at the UK's highest court. One minor victory for free speech.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/julian-assange-hear-result-crucial-ruling-us-extradition-2024-03-26/

--But the US insists that ISIS is still threat in Iraq, even though the 
Iraqis are saying that's not true. Occupiers gotta occupy.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-still-threat-iraq-us-ambassador-says-2024-03-24/

In local news, two weeks ago I mentioned that City Council was going to 
award the Portland Police Association by giving a 6% pay bump to cops for 
when they work on the riot squad-- er, Public Order Team. Well, that was not 
accurate, 40 officers and 8 Sergeants (all part of the PPA) actually get 
a 6% pay bump just for being assigned to the squad, whether or not they 
actually set foot near a protest. This was all being done in anticipation 
of protests happening around the election this year, to which the PPA 
stated "we don't want to see a repeat of 2020." Funny, I remember the 
worst of the worst being the police cracking down on protests about 
racial bias in policing well before the election, after George Floyd was 
murdered.

Along the march route, the bonus story about Israel/Palestine this week is 
that the West Bank settlers who had US sanctions put on them were unable 
to access their bank accounts, so America loosened the sanctions, a drop 
in the bucket gesture to try showing Israel who's (not) boss. Oh, did I 
mention there are only seven people affected by the law anyway?

  https://news.antiwar.com/2024/03/29/us-loosens-sanctions-on-violent-israeli-settlers/

And I think I noted in last week's report back, but it wasn't official at 
the rally time, that the Senate only missed their deadline to pass the 
2023-2024 budget by a little bit. Biden signed the $1.2 trillion bill. A 
Senator who supported it proudly stated that 70% of the money is for the 
military. Um, we're $34 billion in debt and we have people living in the 
streets, shouldn't we be making better decisions how to spend our money?

  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/president-biden-signs-12-trillion-us-spending-bill/ar-BB1kqaWV

The Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign inexplicably froze up (on the 
words "US OUT") on Broadway. I rebooted it and... it made it to that 
same spot across from the Apple Store where it's been going out every 
week lately.

At our end point, one of the march regulars announced this event on 
Tuesday afternoon-- please note that the East Side Democratic Club has 
nothing to do with the Democratic Party. It's a preview for the action at 
the School Board Tuesday night. Also note it's in-person only with no 
virtual option.

  Join the Eastside democratic Club on our monthly meeting with two guest
  presentations.

  Day/Date/Time: Tuesday, April 2, 2024 Time: 12 noon to 2 PM; Doors open
  at 11:30 AM.  Program starts sharply at Noon. 

  Location: Grace Presbyterian Church, 6025 NE Prescott St, Portland OR.
  (Enter church on the church's east side).

  First Presentation: Sylvia Hart-Landsberg, long time member of War
  Resisters League on the team that visits High Schools at the same time as
  Military Recruiters.

  Loud voices on the Portland School Board are leading the district toward
  inviting Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) into our high
  schools. JROTC supporters claim that the program teaches leadership and
  career skills. In actuality, uniformed JROTC students march on campuses,
  practice shooting guns, read inaccurate history texts and spend hours a
  day with military personnel who lure them into the US war machine.  I
  will report on how JROTC works across the country and in Oregon and is
  being pushed-- undemocratically and at full speed-- onto Portland.

  Second Presentation: EdC member, David Delk, will present on Militarism
  and Democracy, addressing the effects of militarism on American
  democracy, the environment, the American budget and why a host of human
  needs are lacking adequate funds to address real national problems.  He
  will make recommendations on how we can fight back against militarism. 

OK, well that's a lot of information to digest. If you are up for it 
please feel free to join us some Friday at 5 PM at the corner of SW 
Yamhill and Broadway. Many of life's troubles are keeping some of the 
regulars from being able to attend lately so even if you can only come 
once a year, once a month or once in a while it would be great to see you 
there!

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