Embedded Files
Asylum seekers overwhelm sanctuary cities: where's the Biden Administration? - October 18
What started out as a political stunt by Republican governors has taken on a life of its own. Migrants have been arriving in northern cities in unprecedented numbers, and the resources of these cities to handle the new arrivals are being strained to the breaking point. Democratic governors and mayors in the states trying to cope with the influx are pleading with the Biden Administration to play a bigger role. So far the Administration's efforts have fallen far short of what is needed, but we may be seeing a turnaround in the coming months.
Biden just went from enabling Israeli war crimes to being complicit in them - October 19
On Thursday, the US vetoed a UN security council resolution calling for Israel to allow humanitarian corridors into the Gaza Strip, a pause in the fighting, and the lifting of an order for civilians to leave the north of the besieged territory. Later that day, in a "historically illiterate and hypocritical" speech on Ukraine and Gaza, Biden asked for funding for both the US struggle to get Russia back out of Ukraine and of support for the extremist Netanyahu government’s combination of targeting Hamas and its genocidal campaign against the civilians of Gaza. Sending billions in bombs and weapons to an Israeli military that has already killed nearly 4,000 innocent Palestinians is unacceptable. The Democratic Party needs a new generation of leaders who’ll stand up for human rights and peace. Joe Biden is not that person.
"...none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity" - October 24
In 2013, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain travelled to Occupied Palestine and did a "Parts Unknown" episode on Palestinian food. In the episode, Bourdain was a guest of a Palestinian family in Gaza. He received an award for the courageous episode from the Muslim Public Affairs Council in 2014. Overwhelmed by the support of his work from Palestinians and many others, his acceptance speech concluded with these words, "The world has visited many terrible things upon the Palestinians, none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity." As US and Israeli politicians fan the flames of war and anti-Palestinan sentiment, we would do well to remember what Anthony Bourdain taught us.
"Why are we in Ukraine?" - November 1
In a Harper's Magazine article, "Why Are We in Ukraine?", foreign policy experts Benjamin Schwartz and Christopher Layne provide background on what led to the war and offer a vision of how a Ukraine peace settlement attained through compromise and negotiation might effect Europe. The proxy war between the United States and Russia, which has brought us closer to a nuclear exchange than at any time since the Cuban missile crisi, has entered its 21st month in a stalemate with no end in sight.
Friday November 3: The Week in Gaza - November 3
A summary of some of this week's events as the massacre in Gaza continues. The Israeli ground assault has begun and the unrelenting bombardment continues. The Jabalia refugee camp was bombed on two successive days with 195 killed and 100 missing. The UN says the disproportionate attacks on the refugee camp could amount to war crimes. Israel’s army says it has encircled Gaza City as international condemnation continues to grow over its 28-day assault on the besieged Palestinian territory, where more than 9,200 people have been killed, including at least 3,800 children. Israel, with US backing, is refusing calls for a humanitarian pause to allow more aid into Gaza.
Occupied Palestine Update: November 3 - 10
A summary of some of the week's events as the massacre in Gaza continues. Hospitals, refugee camps, schools and ambulances attacked as Palestinian death toll exceeds 11,000. More than 70% of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced by the fighting. Blinken's failed trip to Israel, global pro-Palestinian protests call for a ceasefire, US House of Representatives' delusional censure of Rashida Tlaib, Israel's "glaringly inadequate" 4 hour humanitarian pauses
2023 elections are over: just one year to the "zombie election" of 2024 - November 10
Some wins for Democrats on Tuesday as polls show Trump leading in 5 of 6 key swing states and historically high voter dissatisfaction with both presumptive presidential candidates. Voters cited dissatisfaction with Biden's handling of the economy and foreign policy. Biden's popularity among young voters, social justice activists and voters of Middle Eastern ancestry has tanked due to his one-sided "I support Israel" stand while the massacre continues in Gaza. Biden should follow LBJ's example and have the decency to drop out of the 2024 race.
War crimes and war criminals - November 13
President Joe Biden has repeatedly labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, while at the same time giving his full support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently overseeing what a former top UN official calls a text-book case of genocide against the population of Gaza. Who's the bigger war criminal? A short comparison as calls for Netanyahu's arrest by the ICC grow, the Center for Constitutional Rights sues President Biden for failing to prevent genocide, international experts reject Israeli and American claims that al-Shifa hospital was being used as a Hamas command center, and Israeli social media disinformation campaign kicks into high gear.
Getting to a negotiated settlement in the war in Ukraine - November 29
The stalemated war in Ukraine has entered its 22nd month. The formula endlessly invoked by Washington policy makers and politicians “Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes” ensures that this stalemate will continue for the foreseeable future. But, as foreign policy experts Benjamin Schwartz and Christopher Layne explain, “Barring either side's complete collapse, the war can end only with compromise.” What might such a negotiated settlement look like and how can we get there?
The best of humanity, 2023 - December 7
A few of this year's peace, social justice, and humanitarian award winners. From the Nobel Prize to the NBA, they represent the best of humanity.
COP 28 has ended - now what? - December 14
The UN's annual conference on climate change has ended. The nations of the world are far behind the timetable for keeping global warming below the 1.5C target. The First Global Stocktake calls for "deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including a provision that calls for "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems." We need to keep trying. But we also need to make the necessary investments to prepare for a radically changed planet.
Unconscionable - Dec 19
US support of Israel's war on Gaza has long passed the point of "standing up for an ally. " Our weapons, our government's statements and our opposition to a humanitarian ceasefire have made us complicit in the genocide and war crimes being perpetrated there now. A few news items from the past weekend shed light on how far down the "atrocity and lawlessness path" the Israel/US war on Gaza has gone.
Latin America Update - Dec 28
December marks the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. In the time since, it has become a tool and an excuse for the US to intervene in the internal affairs of the sovereign nations to our south, almost always to ill effect. An update on some of our neighbors...a victory for democracy in Guatemala, a thaw in US-Venezuela relations, anti-austerity protests in Argentina
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