[pjw] REPORT BACK: not making this up: Friday rally #259 since stay-at-home orders

[Peace and Justice Works]

Iraq Affinity Group supporters:

A new attendee who actually heard about the rally at a meeting joined us 
for the whole Friday Rally for Peace and Justice last night, where nine 
people rallied and headed out on the march, but one had to leave halfway 
through leaving eight of us. We didn't hand out many flyers, but one man 
who sometimes comes by and takes handfuls (claiming he will hand them out, 
but I don't really think that's happening) did so.

Despite an unintelligible heckle at the beginning, the rest of the event 
was met with plenty of enthusiastic horn honking and other signs of 
appreciation. And once again it was pretty warm and very dry for this time 
of year in our soggy city.

It's getting tiring keeping up with the news and making the same remarks 
about "it's been a slow news week but..." Here are the curated headlines 
for this week.

--Ever the diplomat, President Trump threatened to destroy the 
Palestinians in Gaza (I think later he narrowed it to just Hamas) if they 
don't release all the captives. Despite that not being a requirement for 
the ceasefire agreement at this time.

  https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/witkoff-trumps-ultimatum-came-after-we-didnt-like-what-we-heard-from-hamas-in-direct-talks/

---A US B52 bomber flew alongside Israeli jets over the Mediterranean, as 
if to back up Trump's threat.

  https://www.airandspaceforces.com/b-52-israel-fighters-bomber-task-force-middle-east/

--Israeli drones wounded two people in Lebanon, despite the ceasefire 
supposedly in place there.

  https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/541545/World/Region/New-Israeli-drone-strikes-wound-two-Lebanon-offici.aspx

---And Israeli airstrikes hit a Syrian port city, even though... well, 
there's not supposed to be a war going on in Syria.

  https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-airstrikes-target-syrias-port-city-of-tartus/3498891

---Not to be outdone, the US also conducted airstrikes in Syria, killing 
(yet another) "leader" of Al Queda. You can't destroy a movement by 
calling everyone you kill their leader, especially when you use that term 
every time you murder someone.

  https://news.antiwar.com/2025/03/02/us-reports-drone-strike-in-syrias-idlib-killed-senior-al-qaeda-leader/

--Keeping up the axiom that Trump is NOT a peaceful President, the US 
conducted two airstrikes in Somalia last Saturday.

  https://hiiraan.com/news4/2025/Mar/200549/africom_confirms_10_airstrikes_in_somalia_in_2025.aspx

---Those two previous stories are probably related to this one, which says 
Trump rescinded Biden's executive order requiring White House approval for 
"counter-terror" drone strikes.

  https://archive.vn/OQpQy
  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/us/politics/counterterrorism-drone-strikes.html

--While conducting military exercises with the US, South Korea 
accidentally dropped live bombs on homes, injuring at least 29 of 
its own people.

  https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/asia/south-korea-fighter-jets-bomb-homes-intl-hnk/index.html

--Maybe trying to save face among those who believe his over-the-top 
rebuke of Ukraine means he's a Russian tool, Trump threatened Russia with 
sanctions. He criticized them for "pounding Ukraine" but said they are still 
easier to work with than Ukraine. Enough to make your head spin.

  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-threatens-impose-large-scale-sanctions-russia-peace-agreement-uk-rcna195333

--Houthis in Yemen shot down not one but two US armed drones this week.

  https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/yemen-shoots-down-us-mq-9-reaper-drone-over-al-hodeidah

--Here in the "homeland" where the military is not supposed to get 
deployed, the US is sending 3000 more troops to the Mexican border (maybe 
to stop the people fleeing from on-again, off-again tariffs?). The total 
number of military personnel there will now top 12,000.

  https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-military-active-duty-troops-mexico-border-c03873cd543a42b493c62741ad2c3977

--In Iraq, Turkey killed a number of members of the PKK (Kurdistan 
independence group), making a total of 26 killed in Iraq and Syria in the 
week _since the PKK called for its members to disarm_ in the wake of 
Assad's fall in Syria. I guess Turkey wants excuses to keep bombing. 
Sounds familiar.

  https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-continues-strikes-pkk-iraq-syria-despite-ocalan-call-2025-03-06/

In local news, the City Council agreed to pay $938,000 to seven 
journalists and two legal observers who were attacked-- sometimes more 
than once-- by police at demonstrations in 2020. This brings the total to 
over $4 million just for the 2020 protests. But a pointed question from 
Councilor Sameer Kanal got the City to reveal how much they spent 
defending the City from police-related lawsuits: $6 million. So for every 
dollar they pay to survivors of brutality (etc.) they spend $1.5 of your 
tax dollars. While they're overturning couch cushions to see how to 
balance the local budget. Hmm.

  https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/03/05/47675016/portland-settles-lawsuit-with-journalists-legal-observers-targeted-by-police-during-protests

Along the march route, I talked about the US-backed Israeli Defense Forces 
killing a 23 year old man in the West Bank this week. The article says it 
was the 336th such raid by the IDF (I think since October 7 2023) and the 
110th person killed in the West Bank just since the Gaza ceasefire in 
January.

  https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-youth-killed-israeli-west-bank-raids-continue

As we got back toward the Square, I noted that DOGE was only able to find 
$80 million (with an "m") in waste at the Pentagon, less than 1/10,000th 
of the defense budget. Most of it is related to diversity, equity and 
inclusion because, well, the straight white men can't deal with the fact 
that they will soon be the minority in this country.

  https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4096431/initial-doge-findings-reveal-80-million-in-wasteful-spending-at-dod/

I added that i was not making up this example of them chasing down stuff 
they think is too "woke": The defense department is going to delete 
pictures of the airplane that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan because it 
was called the "Enola Gay." Seriously.

  https://www.oregonlive.com/nation/2025/03/photo-of-enola-gay-aircraft-among-26000-images-flagged-for-removal-in-pentagons-dei-purge.html

Sadly, I forgot to turn the Ann Huntwork Peace Memorial Sign back on 
at first when I reached the Square, but a fellow demonstrator 
alerted me to it just after 5 PM. It went out once more a few feed 
past the mystery spot near the Apple Store again.

If you can join us sometime, maybe think about coming down to SW Yamhill 
and Broadway for the special event talking about the US continuing to be 
in Iraq 22 years since the invasion, just two weeks from now on Friday 
March 21 at 5 PM. Get information and download flyers here:

  https://pjw.info/iraq22yl.html

peace
dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group