JULY 7, 2024
What in the World? is on summer break from July 8. We'll return on August 15th, the 55th anniversary of the Woodstock Music Festival, "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". Enjoy the summer and see you in a few weeks.
In the interim, you can stay accurately informed of current events by visiting the news sites linked on The Fray's main webpage. A few things to especially keep an eye on over the coming month:
The War on Gaza
The entire Gaza Strip has been reduced to rubble and ash, and still Israeli warplanes and tanks pummel the enclave and block aid shipments. US complicity in one of the greatest assaults on a civilian population in recent times will never be forgotten. For now, we must continue to protest these crimes against humanity and aid the people of Gaza in whatever way we can.
War Criminal Invited to Address Congress (July 24)
It will be interesting to see what toads in Congress suck up to "obstacle to peace" Benjamin Netanyahu, who is scheduled to visit Congress at their invitation on July 24. It will also be interesting to see what protests greet this despicable war criminal and if anyone tries to serve him the ICC's arrest warrant.
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Protesting the New Nuclear Arms Race
With the 21st century Cold War getting hotter in Ukraine and the Pacific Rim and another nuclear arms race just over the horizon, it would do us well to recall the August 1945 nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is again time to protest nuclear weapons.
Letter From Jacqueline Kennedy to Chairman Khrushchev (Office of the Historian) (Dec 1, 1963)
Biden's nuclear flip-flop, the South China Sea, the coming Cold War - Aug 12, 2021
Democratic National Convention (August 19-22)
Biden, in spite of a devastating debate and his decreasingly slim chance of winning re-election, is still "all-in" and ready to lead the Democratic Party to its defeat in November. The replay between a lying, twice-impeached, 34-count-convicted felon with authoritarian ambitions, and a genocide-abetting octogenarian played for a fool by Benjamin Netanyahu has to be the worst choice for voters since Nixon-Humphrey in 1968.
On the Democratic side, there is a striking parallel with that election. Chicago will again be the site of the Democrats' nominating convention, and anti-war protesters will again be out in force. This time, they will be protesting US support and complicity in Israel's devastating, war-crime-filled assault on Gaza.
Even if Biden does the smart thing and steps aside, the "Uncommitted" movement is not going away. Activists from around the country will be advocating for an anti-war agenda at the convention, and are planning to withhold their vote in November unless an adequate candidate steps up, listing policy priorities such as support for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and standing up to the pro-Israel lobby as it meddles in Democratic primaries.