[pjw] REPORT BACK: "slow news week": Friday rally #253 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Hello peaceful people

Yes, I joked that this was a slow news week when doing the announcements 
at last night's Friday Rally for Peace and Justice. There were eight of us 
at the rally and seven went on the march, though one had to go midway 
through. We also had an eighth marcher who never picked up a sign but was 
there to chat with folks.

We had a lot of enthusiastic support including a pedestrian who said they 
would honk a horn if they were in a car, a car driver who honked more than 
everyone else combined, and a man who said he's half Palestinian who 
expressed his thanks. We handed out over 30 Guantanamo fact sheets. It was 
slightly cold but thankfully dry.

So, here's the news chosen to discuss-- nothing about changing the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Gulf of America (what????) or other relatively silly 
white-supremacy laced nonsense.

--The ceasefire in Gaza went into effect on Sunday. Over 50 bodies 
have been found in the rubble. The total number of dead is now 
over 47,100, including four killed _since the ceasefire_. Almost as if 
Israel doesn't intend to uphold its end of the deal. Hmm.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2025/01/22/gaza-death-toll-rises-as-more-bodies-are-dug-out-of-the-rubble/

--On that note, Israel won't withdraw from Lebanon by the 60 day deadline 
on Monday. They claim Lebanon hasn't upheld their part of the deal. WELL 
MAYBE THEY ARE WAITING FOR YOU TO SHOW GOOD FAITH BY TAKING THE FIRST 
STEP. Sorry, the caps lock must have gotten stuck.

  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-continue-occupy-lebanon-beyond-deadline

--Under cover of the ceasefire in Gaza, the US-backed Israeli Defense 
Forces are stepping up human rights infringements in the West Bank, 
including destroying infrastructure.

  https://thecradle.co/articles/israeli-forces-ravage-infrastructure-in-jenin-as-deadly-operation-enters-second-day

---Part of the ceasefire deal... meaning Hamas agreed to this... there 
will be private security from Egypt and the US running checkpoints at the 
passage between southern and northern Gaza. Somehow US private security 
operating in an occupied zone doesn't sit well (*cough Abu Ghraib cough*).

  https://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/us-private-security-contractors-will-operate-key-gaza-checkpoint

--Meanwhile, in more shocking white supremacist nonsense, the President is 
sending 1500 troops to the Mexican border for immigration enforcement, 
using helicopters to support the 2500 National Guard/Reservists already 
there. Post-Civil War laws about not deploying the military within our own 
country notwithstanding.

  https://apnews.com/article/troops-border-deploy-active-duty-09324578d2b89db5c44e0ba08f42df47

--As predicted last week, Trump put Cuba back on the list of states who 
sponsor terrorism (he needs to add the USA to that list too!). So they had 
a very short lived reprieve from Biden's ridiculously last minute change of 
heart.

  https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/trump-reinstates-cuba-as-state-sponsor-of-terrorism-reversing-bidens-decision/

--In Syria, Turkey continues to add to the chaos, this week killing a 
Syrian Kurdish leader. Now, remember the Kurds are friends of the US 
(until they don't need them any more, see Iraq in the 1990s etc), but so 
is Turkey. The new Syrian government is unlikely to object. A real mess.

  https://shafaq.com/en/World/Kurdish-party-leader-killed-in-Turkish-airstrike-in-Syria

--Hard to get this one out in writing: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.... 
OK pause to contemplate that. Rest of sentence: Rubio says that the 
Ukraine war must end, but didn't provide details what that means. Probably 
some kind of intimidation, force or financial pressure will be involved. 
Ending the war would be good, though.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2025/01/21/new-secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-says-ukraine-war-needs-to-end/

--In Iraq, they want good relations with the US, but have to grapple with 
the fact that they still have an arrest warrant out for Trump from when he 
had Iranian General Soleimani killed on Iraqi soil in January 2020.

  https://www.newarab.com/news/iraqi-officials-seek-stronger-us-ties-amid-trump-arrest-warrant

In local news, Portland Copwatch and others involved in the Joint 
Terrorism Task Force campaign have been warning local officials-- who 
support the state's sanctuary laws-- that Customs and Border Patrol are 
part of the JTTF. Now it looks as if the Portland Police should really 
reconsider working with them on a "case by case basis" as the new 
Department of Justice wants to use JTTFs to deport immigrants.

  https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/22/donald-trump-justice-department-immigration-005783

Along the march route I talked about my speculation of why Israel agreed 
to the ceasefire and is stepping things up in the West Bank. Likely Trump 
gave them a deal that they can annex the West Bank if they stop bombing 
Gaza. This may be what's been playing out as the Palestinian Authority's 
been acting as an arm of the Israeli government lately. They shut down Al 
Jazeera's office there (as previously noted), started going after 
"militants," and this week, arrested an Al Jazeera reporter. Yay free 
speech and democracy, not.

  https://asiapacificreport.nz/2025/01/24/al-jazeera-says-correspondents-arrest-latest-bid-to-gag-jenin-coverage/

In another move that we might agree with for different reasons, Trump is 
wondering out loud whether the US should keep sending $3.5 billion a year 
to NATO. He wants European countries to pay 5% of their budgets to fund 
the military alliance. Huh, but $3.5 billion is less than half a percent 
of just the US's military budget. And yet, people still don't have health 
care, places to live, or enough money to pay for college.

  https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world/trump-says-he-is-not-sure-us-should-be-spending-anything-on-nato/ar-AA1xKR91

The Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign ran through the rally and stopped 
again by the Apple Store, 3/4 of the way through the march. It popped back 
on as we were putting the signs away at the end.

We hope you can join us some Friday evening at 5 PM at SW Yamhill and 
Broadway for a refreshing experience educating the public.

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