As day broke over the small mountain town of Elliston, Virginia one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Today is my 43rd birthday. Two decades ago, this milestone seemed improbable, if not impossible. And yet, here I am, living in improbable, impossible times. Having survived what might have killed me, I sit upright and pour tears and laughter into a keyboard, which lets them loose upon the world. Upon our burning, broken, beautiful world… As I celebrate another year on this Earth, I am also taking…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
The aroma of coffee wafts out from a communal kitchen tent at a Guatemala City protest encampment where people are counting down the days until the inauguration of the country’s next government. For months, leaders from autonomous Indigenous governance structures have spearheaded a movement to defend democracy by ensuring the transition happens, and they have maintained the protest camp outside…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent; Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist; and Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist
At least 10 people are dead and dozens injured after 24 hours of looting in Papua New Guinea, during which several buildings were torched.
Chaos broke out in Port Moresby as looters and opportunists took advantage of a protest by the country’s police and military.
People have been ordered to leave the streets of the capital after yesterday’s violent riots, and have been warned authorities will use “live rounds”.
Looting has spread to at least four other towns, including Kavieng, reports the PNG Post-Courier.
Footage and images circulating on social media show crowds of people leaving shops with looted goods — everything from merchandise to soft drinks to freezers — as the National Capital District (NCD) descended into chaos overnight.
The national daily newspaper PNG Post-Courier labelled the events the “Darkest day in our city” and NCD Governor Powes Parkop appealed to the looters to stop.
Port Moresby General Hospital say eight people have been killed, and another two have been confirmed dead by police central command in Lae, the country’s second biggest city.
‘My heart goes out’
“The cost of the ensuing looting and destruction is substantial, and my heart goes out to all the businesses in the city that have been affected,” Parkop said according reports.
Unverified videos have also emerged of bodies of several men allegedly shot dead who were involved in the unrest on Wednesday and children and women wailing around them in Port Moresby.
RNZ Pacific is trying to verify the footage.
Police and the PNG Defence Force reinforcements have been called from outside the capital to restore order.
Emergency service providers have been working overnight attending to high numbers of people injured in the violence at various locations.
“The ambulance service has received a large number of emergencies calls in the National Capital District relating to shooting incidents and persons injured in an explosion,” St. John Ambulance Service said on their Facebook page.
“The ambulance operations centre are prioritising high-priority emergencies only at this point.”
Stretched to limit
The Papua New Guinea Fire Service has had its resources stretched to its limits as it struggled to contain fires in multiple locations.
The Port Moresby General Hospital had to close overnight while a smaller hospital at the Gerehu suburb, evacuated its patients as a nearby shop was set on fire.
Large businesses suffered big losses in just a few hours.
The City Pharmacy Limited (CPL) group, which owns one of the biggest supermarket and pharmacy chains in Port Moresby, had most its shops raided and burned overnight.
Looters also stole electronic appliances from warehouses and shops owned by the Brian Bell group of companies.
Police Commissioner David Manning called on all people in Port Moresby that to clear the streets and go home.
Mobile squad called in
Last night, additional police from the Highlands Mobile Group (HMG) were flown in from from Lae to help restore order.
The government also issued a call out for the military to assist police.
The events began on Wednesday morning local time, after about 200 police and the military personnel gathered at the Ungai Oval to protest over pay deductions from their wages.
They wanted answers from authorities about the “tax” in their most recent pay period, but a government minister who addressed them could not convince them why the deductions had been made.
The tax office said the issue caused by a “glitch” in the accounting system.
What triggered the chaos
In the last fortnight pay cycle, several service members saw a reduction in their pay, ranging from $100 PNG kina to $350 PNG kina (US$26-US$80).
It was not clear whether it was due to a tax, or a glitch in the system.
Many of them were told later, through a statement from the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), and the prime minister’s office that there was a glitch in the payrolls system.
That triggered a gathering of about 200 policemen and women, military personnel and correctional services personnel in Port Moresby. They demanded an answer from the government, saying a “glitch” wasn’t a satisfactory answer.
They then moved from Unagi Oval to Parliament house, opened the gates of Parliament, and the Police Minister Peter Siamali Jr tried to address them. The security personnel then withdrew their services, and the city descended into chaos overnight.
Initially it was sporadic looting in various suburbs of Port Moresby. In the Gerehu suburb one shop was burned, and a few kilometres down to Waigani there was a shop that was burnt, and over the next three to four hours it became worse and several more shops were looted because there was no police presence there.
Policemen were there, but nothing could be done to the looters, so it has degenerated to a point where there is widespread looting.
The Finance Department and prime minister have tried to explain the so-called “glitch”, saying it was being fixed, but that has not gone down well with the service members.
The Northern Mobile Group, a mobile squad unit from out of Port Moresby which looks after one part of the region, has been flown into Port Moresby, and is expected to restore order.
The military has been called out to assist police.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent; Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist; and Kelvin Anthony, RNZ Pacific lead digital and social media journalist
At least 10 people are dead and dozens injured after 24 hours of looting in Papua New Guinea, during which several buildings were torched.
Chaos broke out in Port Moresby as looters and opportunists took advantage of a protest by the country’s police and military.
People have been ordered to leave the streets of the capital after yesterday’s violent riots, and have been warned authorities will use “live rounds”.
Looting has spread to at least four other towns, including Kavieng, reports the PNG Post-Courier.
Footage and images circulating on social media show crowds of people leaving shops with looted goods — everything from merchandise to soft drinks to freezers — as the National Capital District (NCD) descended into chaos overnight.
The national daily newspaper PNG Post-Courier labelled the events the “Darkest day in our city” and NCD Governor Powes Parkop appealed to the looters to stop.
Port Moresby General Hospital say eight people have been killed, and another two have been confirmed dead by police central command in Lae, the country’s second biggest city.
‘My heart goes out’
“The cost of the ensuing looting and destruction is substantial, and my heart goes out to all the businesses in the city that have been affected,” Parkop said according reports.
Unverified videos have also emerged of bodies of several men allegedly shot dead who were involved in the unrest on Wednesday and children and women wailing around them in Port Moresby.
RNZ Pacific is trying to verify the footage.
Police and the PNG Defence Force reinforcements have been called from outside the capital to restore order.
Emergency service providers have been working overnight attending to high numbers of people injured in the violence at various locations.
“The ambulance service has received a large number of emergencies calls in the National Capital District relating to shooting incidents and persons injured in an explosion,” St. John Ambulance Service said on their Facebook page.
“The ambulance operations centre are prioritising high-priority emergencies only at this point.”
Stretched to limit
The Papua New Guinea Fire Service has had its resources stretched to its limits as it struggled to contain fires in multiple locations.
The Port Moresby General Hospital had to close overnight while a smaller hospital at the Gerehu suburb, evacuated its patients as a nearby shop was set on fire.
Large businesses suffered big losses in just a few hours.
The City Pharmacy Limited (CPL) group, which owns one of the biggest supermarket and pharmacy chains in Port Moresby, had most its shops raided and burned overnight.
Looters also stole electronic appliances from warehouses and shops owned by the Brian Bell group of companies.
Police Commissioner David Manning called on all people in Port Moresby that to clear the streets and go home.
Mobile squad called in
Last night, additional police from the Highlands Mobile Group (HMG) were flown in from from Lae to help restore order.
The government also issued a call out for the military to assist police.
The events began on Wednesday morning local time, after about 200 police and the military personnel gathered at the Ungai Oval to protest over pay deductions from their wages.
They wanted answers from authorities about the “tax” in their most recent pay period, but a government minister who addressed them could not convince them why the deductions had been made.
The tax office said the issue caused by a “glitch” in the accounting system.
What triggered the chaos
In the last fortnight pay cycle, several service members saw a reduction in their pay, ranging from $100 PNG kina to $350 PNG kina (US$26-US$80).
It was not clear whether it was due to a tax, or a glitch in the system.
Many of them were told later, through a statement from the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), and the prime minister’s office that there was a glitch in the payrolls system.
That triggered a gathering of about 200 policemen and women, military personnel and correctional services personnel in Port Moresby. They demanded an answer from the government, saying a “glitch” wasn’t a satisfactory answer.
They then moved from Unagi Oval to Parliament house, opened the gates of Parliament, and the Police Minister Peter Siamali Jr tried to address them. The security personnel then withdrew their services, and the city descended into chaos overnight.
Initially it was sporadic looting in various suburbs of Port Moresby. In the Gerehu suburb one shop was burned, and a few kilometres down to Waigani there was a shop that was burnt, and over the next three to four hours it became worse and several more shops were looted because there was no police presence there.
Policemen were there, but nothing could be done to the looters, so it has degenerated to a point where there is widespread looting.
The Finance Department and prime minister have tried to explain the so-called “glitch”, saying it was being fixed, but that has not gone down well with the service members.
The Northern Mobile Group, a mobile squad unit from out of Port Moresby which looks after one part of the region, has been flown into Port Moresby, and is expected to restore order.
The military has been called out to assist police.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Demonstrators interrupted a speech by President Joe Biden on Monday, demanding that his administration push for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign against Gaza as the Palestinian death toll tops 23,000. Biden’s speech took place at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a historic Black church that was the site of a white…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Hundreds of Jewish progressives in California on Wednesday led the latest mass protest to reject “business as usual” amid Israel’s U.S.-backed slaughter of Palestinian civilians, shutting down the first day of the 2024 legislative session at the state Capitol in Sacramento to demand an immediate, permanent cease-fire in Gaza. As residents of the state with the largest economy in the U.S.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
If demography is destiny, as Auguste Comte tells us, then economics must be current, pinching reality. The Israel-Gaza conflict is invigorating a global protest movement against the state of Israel which is seeing various manifestations. From an economic standpoint, Israel can be seen as vulnerable in terms of global supply lines, potentially at the mercy of sanctions and complete isolation. Both imports and exports are of concern.
Israel, however, has been spared any toothy sanctions regime over its conduct in Gaza. If anything, the Biden administration in Washington has been brightly enthusiastic in sending more shells to the Israeli Defence Forces, despite Congressional reservations and some grumbling within the Democratic Party. This has made such figures as Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who has a long-standing association with the health system in Gaza, wonder why the wealthy states of the West exempt Israel from financial chastisement while economically punishing other powers, such as Russia, without reservation. “Where are the sanctions against the war crimes of Israel?” he asks. “Where are the sanctions against the occupation of Palestine? Where are the sanctions against these abhorrent attacks on civilian healthcare in Gaza?”
The retaliatory initiative has tended to be left to protests at the community level, typified by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement created in 2005. The war in Gaza, however, has resulted in a broader efflorescence of interest. Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems have become specific targets of international protest. On December 21, a global coalition of groups under the umbrella of Progressive International took a day of action against the country’s largest arms company, drawing attention to the tentacular nature of the enterprise in the US, UK, Europe, Brazil and Australia.
Restricting the docking of Israeli shipping at ports, notably from ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, has also presented an opportunity to the protest movement. Actions have been organised as far afield as Australia where “Block the Boat” measures have taken place. During the early evening of November 8, several hundred protesters flocked to the entrance of Melbourne’s international container terminal. On catching sight of a ZIM-branded shipping container, the protestors staged a blockade lasting till the morning of the next day. A similar action was repeated in Sydney on November 11, involving several hundred protestors holding the line on the shores of Port Botany and delaying the arrival of a ZIM vessel.
The assessments that followed the protest were mixed. Zacharias Szumer, writing in Jacobin, admits that such blockades, on their own, “are unlikely to cause a major dint in ZIM’s bottom line.” That said, he is confident enough to see it as part of a globalised effort which “can cumulatively make a difference.”
Then came the sceptical voices who felt that these actions fell dramatically short of substance and effect, a product of righteous, ineffectual tokenism. An anonymous contribution to the New Socialist, purporting to be from one of the protestors, went so far as to call the “Block the Boat” strategy misguided, since it never actually entailed blocking vessels. The promotional materials for the events “indicated that the purpose was actually to say somebody should ‘Block the Boats’, and to ‘call for’ a boycott – a message addressed to ZIM and Albanese.” The writer, clearly agitated, also took issue with the choice of locations (they “weren’t conducive to disruption”) and the “suspiciously rigid, and convenient” timing of the rallies.
Short of these efforts, it is precisely the absence of responses at the highest levels that has precipitated a more global reaction that is upending the order of things. Beyond the protests of activists, community groups, and the more generally outraged come the more direct, state-sponsored measures that have rattled financiers, the carriers and the operators. The crisis in the Red Sea, for instance, where Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels (Ansar Allah), are putting the brakes on international shipping, is the stellar example. While the measure initially began on November 14 to target Israeli-affiliated merchant shipping, largescale operators have not been spared. “Unlike previous piracy related events in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden this is a sophisticated military threat and requires a very sophisticated response,” states a briefing note from Inchcape Shipping Services.
The disruptions are significant, given that 30 percent of all container ship traffic passes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, the point where both the Red Sea and Indian Ocean meet. The actions and threats by the Houthis have seen various oil and gas companies reroute their tankers. Decisions are even being made to suspend shipping through that route in favour of the safer, though costlier and longer route via the Cape of Good Hope. Insurance premiums are also on the rise.
The Egyptians are also raising fees for those using the Suez Canal for the new year. In an October announcement, the SCA promised an increase of between 5-15%, effective from January 15, 2024. The measure is applicable to a fairly comprehensive list of vessel categories, including crude oil tankers, petroleum product tankers, liquefied petroleum gas carriers, containerships and cruise ships.
On December 20, Malaysia, as if heeding the “Block the Boat” protests, announced that it would be preventing Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at the country’s ports. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the decision in a statement, with a specific reference to ZIM. “The Malaysian government decided to block and disallow the Israeli-based shipping company ZIM from docking at any Malaysian port.” Such sanctions were “a response to Israel’s actions that ignore basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians.”
Malaysia also announced, in addition to barring ships using the Israeli flag from docking in the country, the banning of “any ship on its way to Israel from loading cargo in Malaysian ports.”
Blockade, barring, embargo, constriction – all these measures are familiar to the Israeli security establishment as it seeks to strangle and pulverize the Gaza Strip. While closing ports to Israeli shipping is modest in comparison to starving and strafing an entire population, it is fittingly reciprocal and warranted. The Israel campaign against Gaza, and Palestinians more generally, is no longer a local, contained affair.
The post The Economic Incentive: Blocking Israel’s Supply Chain first appeared on Dissident Voice.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
Unions, Jewish groups, and other organizations led a march in New York City Thursday night to demand a cease-fire in the U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza and pressure their members of Congress to stop taking campaign cash from pro-Israel lobbyists. Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A; American Postal Workers Union (APWU); United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) Eastern…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Days after Argentinian President Javier Milei’s security minister announced that law enforcement would crack down on anyone who organizes or participates in protests that block roads, thousands of residents risked arrest and cuts to their social benefit payments by taking to the streets Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, rallying against Milei’s latest package of austerity measures.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Activists from more than 80 advocacy groups took to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to protest what they called the Israeli genocide in Palestine and “cruel” immigration policies here in the United States. The demonstrators demanded a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, an end to American military aid for Israel, and protection for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Dozens of Jewish protesters and their allies were arrested on Wednesday morning after they blocked rush hour traffic on a busy Los Angeles highway to demand a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Palestinians in Gaza. The disruptive protest action, planned by IfNotNow, a movement of American Jews who organize against U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system, sought to push U.S. lawmakers to demand an…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
The Rutgers-New Brunswick chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was notified on Monday that it had been suspended for “disruptive and disorderly conduct” and “failure to comply with university or civil authority.” “Our university has chosen to suppress our voice, experiences and demands,” a speaker at a November 29 SJP news conference said. SJP is a student-activist network of campus…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Hanukkah — often a time of joy and abundance — is here. Throughout these eight days, many Jews eat delicious fried foods like potato pancakes and jelly donuts, sing, spin dreidels and celebrate the story of a bit of oil that lasted for eight nights, lighting an ancient temple. While Hanukkah is considered a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar (and its history is fraught with questions of…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Despite strict limits on protest in the United Arab Emirates, as well as United Nations rules at the climate conference known as COP28 now underway in Dubai, over 100 people demonstrated on the sidelines of the summit Sunday in solidarity with Palestine to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Some held banners with watermelons painted on them, a known symbol of the Palestinian movement, to circumvent a ban…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Since October 7, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has used drones at least 13 times to make 239 arrests at pro-Palestine protests — including on Sunday, when police allegedly used a drone to film people protesting in solidarity with Kings Theatre staff who refused to work an event held by a Zionist organization. According to anti-Zionist activists, the event at Kings Theatre…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
By Vijay Narayan in Suva
The University of the South Pacific Council has reappointed Professor Pal Ahluwalia as vice-chancellor and president amid two days of staff protests.
The council says it has also heard from staff representatives and urged the unions and management to work collaboratively in the interest of the university.
The meeting was chaired by the acting pro-chancellor and chair of council and the New Zealand government representative, emeritus Professor Pat Walsh, in place of the pro-chancellor and chair of council Dr Hilda Heine, who is away from university business.
In a statement released by USP, Professor Walsh welcomed the reappointment of the vice-chancellor and expressed his and the council’s endorsement of Professor Ahluwalia’s performance.
Professor Ahluwalia thanked the vouncil for its continued support, saying he looked forward to serving the university and the region.
The council noted reports from the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor and president on activities undertaken since their last report to council.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia said the university was delivering its priorities successfully against the backdrop of declining enrolment numbers and financial constraints.
Updated on finances
The council was updated on the finances of the university and noted the ongoing challenges USP continues to face.
The council adopted the proposed annual plan for 2024 and noted the financial strategies for the coming year.
It also approved the financial plan for 2024 and adopted the audited financial statements for the half-year ended 30 June 2023.
The council further noted the impact and risks associated with the financial challenges being faced by the university largely due to the decline in student numbers.
The management outlined its strategies for mitigating the challenges ahead.
The council also approved a report by the University Senate and instituted new programmes in Pacific TAFE.
In addition, the council endorsed a proposed scoping study to establish a Pacific Centre of Excellence for Deep Ocean Science and a report will be presented at the next council meeting to be held in Vanuatu in 2024.
Unions want VC out
Meanwhile, The Fiji Times reported yesterday in a front page report that staff unions said they wanted Professor Pal Ahluwalia out.
During a protest on Monday and yesterday, more than 130 members turned up dressed in black with placards listing their grievances against the USP management.
Staff also questioned why a paper outlining their grievances was not included in the council’s meeting agenda.
Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) president Elizabeth Fong said staff had supported the university in its greatest time of need.
Now, they are asking for recompense and recognition in terms of a “fairer and just” salary adjustment.
A statement from USP management said they were still negotiating some terms with staff unions.
However, news reports yesterday said the unions were now planning strike action.
Vijay Narayan is news director of Fijivillage News. Republished with permission.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
In what organizers said was the largest action of civil disobedience in New York City since the Iraq War, more than 1,000 protesters blocked traffic on the Manhattan Bridge for hours Sunday to demand a permanent cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. The action, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, began around 2 pm Eastern Time, and traffic began moving again around 5:30 pm…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Six people have been arrested in a New Zealand a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the Port of Auckland, police say.
Dozens of people blocked the entry and exit into the port yesterday and one of the protesters said several were pepper-sprayed by the police.
The group were calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and want a boycott of shipments to and from Israel.
Inspector David Christoffersen said initially pro-Palestinian supporters were protesting lawfully. However, they decided to block the roadway, entrance and exit to the port.
“The group was warned they were obstructing the roadway and port operations and asked to move, however, they refused to do so.
“Six arrests were made, five for obstruction and one for disorderly behaviour,” Christoffersen said.
He said OC spray “was deployed on one occasion” and one officer was assaulted, suffering a split lip but not requiring medical attention.
‘Excessive force’ accusation
Some of the protesters have accused police of using excessive force to break up the demonstration.
Videos sent to RNZ show a man with raised arms tackled to the ground by an officer, while another shows police pushing back the protesters. Others said officers used headlocks and chokeholds, and one woman said a chunk of her hair was yanked out.
Protester Lillian Murray said about 40 officers were there. One protester, an elderly Muslim woman, was yanked up off the ground and shoved very excessively for any force that she could ever offer back”, Murray said.
“All of a sudden I feel a small but significant tuft of my own hair being yanked from the back of my head, and my leather bag with metal bindings was yanked backwards so hard that the bindings broke and the bag broke off my back.”
Police said the protesters were warned they were obstructing the port operations, but refused to move.
Murray said despite police warnings to move, she believed the protest was for the greater good.
“There’s perhaps the law and then there’s what’s well relationally, we’re small enough in Aotearoa for there to be a different track cut between police and protesters, a different way of being.
‘Reminiscent of Springbok tour protests’
“What I saw today was reminiscent on a smaller scale of videos that I’ve seen from the police brutality during the Springbok tour protests.”
The protest lasted for four hours, ending at 6pm.
Protesters were also asking workers to go on strike as a show of support for Palestinians.
Some port workers tooted their horns in support of the protesters. Others watched while the protesters tried to enlist their support.
A truck driver waiting in the carpark said he had been held up for three hours while trying to bring his truck into the port. He said many other trucks had also had their movements held up.
Christofferson said police had given the protesters some advice on holding their demonstration legally at a nearby site, however, this was ignored.
“This behaviour is unacceptable as it disrupts the operations of a busy workplace and puts those in the area at risk.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
On Wednesday night, the U.S. Capitol Police Department violently dispersed hundreds of protesters who were gathered outside of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) office to demand that Congress call for a ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza. Several organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, members of the Democratic Socialists of…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Democracy Now! speaks to award-winning writers Jazmine Hughes and Jamie Lauren Keiles in their first broadcast interview since being forced out of The New York Times Magazine for signing an open letter condemning Israel’s siege on Gaza. The magazine’s editor Jake Silverstein said the letter violated the outlet’s policy on public protest, but Keiles says there are no clear guidelines…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
New York University law student Ryna Workman was removed as president of the Student Bar Association last month and had a job offer rescinded after expressing “unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination” and assigning blame to the system of apartheid in Israel for “the tremendous loss of life.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
More than a thousand demonstrators from across the Midwest gathered at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago on Monday to demand that the U.S. government pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire in its genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza. The action, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow, Never Again Action and others, began around 9 a.m. Central Time.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Armistice Day is one of those disturbing occasions of the year when humanity’s folly is laid bare. It should be an occasion to remind said humanity about the stupid waste occasioned by war and its war-crazed planners who generally elude the dock; instead, it’s an occasion to extol its virtues and remind the reactionaries that war can be a mighty fine thing to pursue in the name of an ideology, cock-eyed belief or a sense of self-worth. Unquestioning solemnity, medals and tears are the order of the day, the ritualistic plat du jour.
These occasions are never challenged, nor impugned. The origins of the war that gave name to the occasion are simplified, if they are ever mentioned. And never shall that injunction be violated. That is certainly the view of Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary who must be increasingly getting under the skin of the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
Being a cut and dried jingo, Braverman treats Armistice Day as the sort of occasion to be revered and kept in aspic. No politics should ever enter unless she politicises it, nor criticism about war and its viciousness be permitted. Peaceniks are especially reviled. Remember debts and lost lives; never ask why those debts were incurred in the first place.
There is then a supreme irony in terms of Braverman’s views on peace protests that take place on Armistice Day, one which, by definition, involved the laying down of arms and the cessation of conflict. But that is the lot of the war loving demagogue in search of votes: irony is rarely acknowledged.
In a throat grabbing exercise of some ferocity against the vast sea of protests against the Israel-Hamas War, Braverman took to The Times to attack marches running into the hundreds of thousands as an unquestioned “assertion of primacy by certain groups – particular Islamists”. She was particularly beside herself that they should take place on, of all days, November 11.
For the Home Secretary, these were unquestionably “hate” marches that would be more commonly associated with the lusty sectarians of Northern Island. Even worse were those selective senior officers in the Metropolitan Police picking favourites when it came to protests. “Right-wing and nationalist protestors who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?” By the time Braverman had finished her bulldozing, she had insulted the whole constituency of Northern Ireland, mocked those favouring the Palestinian cause for freedom, and lacerated the operational independence of London’s own police forces.
The sense about Braverman making her own unilateral dash in all of this was confirmed by a spokesperson for Sunak. The article, we are told, was not “cleared” by Number 10 ahead of time. Editorial suggestions made by the PM’s office were roundly ignored. As for the Saturday protest, Sunak had met the Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley ahead of time to discuss security regarding the march. Neither thought it problematic that it should take place, given that the protests would avoid the Whitehall area and stay away from The Cenotaph, where the customary, holy delusions were to take place.
Her views have certainly struck a satisfactory note for some, suggesting that such feigned outrage might have some political weight among the spectral majority populists always love screeching about. “In her comments about the pro-Palestinian Armistice Day protests and the actions of the police, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, was bravely stating what the majority of the country thinks,” wrote one reader of The Daily Telegraph.
The Daily Mail agreed, expressing fury at the “soft policing of these protests” packed with “snarling bigots” contemptuous of Britain’s glorious history of war. Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson affirmed the position, claiming the Home Secretary was merely “guilty of saying what most of us are thinking”.
These were certainly not the views shared by a number of Conservatives. Lord Soames, for one, opined that, whether in agreement or not with the pro-Palestinian protests, they should go ahead. “It’s nowhere near the Cenotaph. It’s in the afternoon and most of these people, 90% of those people are not there to make trouble.”
Ex-cabinet minister Baroness Warsi firmly insisted that Braverman be sacked. “She’d been briefed by the Met of what the route of the march was going to be, and the fact that they didn’t have concerns at this stage, she has now made this a live political issue because that’s the way she operates, right?” As a result, patriots had turned into arsonists. “They set this country alight, they pit community against community, they create these fires. And that is not the job of a government.”
Dominic Grieve, who served as attorney general between 2010 and 2014, had one line of advice for Sunak: “The best thing the Prime Minister can do for us is to ensure that there is a new home secretary (before Sunday).” That she remains in office suggests not just Sunak’s absence of backbone, but Braverman’s imminent bid for his job. To now sack her would be something the newly minted martyr would be able to dine out on for months to come, all the time plotting for a Number 10 bid.
This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
The limits of the Republican-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s views on freedom of speech were on full display Wednesday shortly after a hearing on “Free Speech on College Campuses” began, when several pro-Palestinian rights demonstrators were removed from the hearing room and arrested for speaking out. The committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), invited representatives of conservative and…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
On Tuesday, members of the Chicago chapter of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and other constituents of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky blocked traffic in front of Schakowsky’s home in Evanston, Illinois, calling for a ceasefire. Dozens of protesters risked arrest as they demanded that Schakowsky sign Cori Bush’s House Resolution 786, which calls for an immediate deescalation and…
We are living in a messed-up world where the word “ceasefire” has become highly divisive and controversial. Our elected leaders’ inability to get behind the notion that mass killing, mass displacement and mass starvation are violations of international law and that every human life is sacred is an appalling stain on our collective humanity. While a recent poll by Data for Progress shows that the…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
A new report by Greenpeace USA details the widespread coordination between the public and private sectors to monitor activism, punish protesters both physically and legally, and grease the wheels for proposed anti-protest bills that criminalize civil disobedience. “Corporate polluters, and their allies in government, have shown they will go to extreme lengths to silence us…
This morning, over 75 youth activists blocked all entrances to Boeing Building 598, a major weapons manufacturing company located in St. Charles, Missouri. Bringing together members from at least five different local and national grassroots groups, the action aimed to disrupt Boeing’s delivery of more than 1,000 bombs to Israel. “Young people have decided not to wait on Biden and Congress — many…
In April, as the Atlanta Police Foundation erected high fences with razor wire around the site of the planned Public Safety Training Center dubbed “Cop City,” Atlanta organizer Jaye C. began photographing the construction, poking her camera through the chain link fence, documenting as 33 acres of forest became part of a barren expanse. In March, police chased, tasered and arrested activists on…