VFP on Pete Hegseth and the war in the Middle East + new Chuck Fager biography (retired director of Fayetteville's Quaker House)

In related news, a new 569-page biography of Chuck Fager (Charles Eugene Fager, born in Birmingham, Kansas in 1942:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Fager ), the recently retired director of the long-running anti-war or pacifist Quaker House in Fayetteville, NC (he was the director from 2002-2012, and Quaker House was founded in 1969:  Wikipedia and quakerhouse.org ), has been published (during the summer?).  Tell It Slant [Chuck Fager,  A Prophetic Life of Adventure and Writing on Religion, War, and Justice, Love and Laughter] was written by Haverford College history professor emerita Emma Lapsansky-Werner ( www.haverford.edu/users/elapsans ) [with Chuck Fager].  Quaker House's December newsletter quotes a reader, Pam, in the Chapel Hill Friends Meeting (at the corner of 54/South Road and Country Club Road, at the top of a very long slope, probably the big hill of Chapel Hill, nearly across from UNC?), as written – "Chuck, this book is fabulous.  I thought...ugh...it's so thick how am I going to get through it? but, alas! it is a page-turner! So totally interesting....I love it o much."  Quaker House will send a copy for a $100 dollar donation, but maybe it is also available from commercial booksellers.  A 252-page book on Quaker House by Chris McCallum and edited by Chuck Fager, published for the organization's 40th anniversary, in 2009:  www.goodreads.com/book/show/22809460-yes-to-the-troops-no-to-the-wars is available from Quaker House's online store, along with other materials.  Quaker House is part of the GI Rights Hotline network (providing free, confidential, and accurate advising for active-duty military personnel, reservists, veterans, their families, potential enlistees, those who have gone AWOL, etc.:  girightshotline.org ; I think some prominent Catholic anti-war activists I knew in the western Triangle during the "War on Terror" worked for the Hotline) and the center offers free counseling and does organizing around peace promotion, anti-torture, non-violence, conscientious objection, and moral injury.  For a few years the NC Coalition for Peace and Justice (NCPJ; the exact name?) organized a large rally and march with thousands to hundreds of participants every March in Fayetteville, a pleasant, warm, flowery, and sunny time of year in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, but of course it was in late March because the Iraq War began around the spring equinox in 2003.  'United We March,' back then.... but since the Obama-Biden years the anti-war movement has been reduced and it seems quite divided.  Libya, Syria, economic wars, coups, and the continuing legacy of the "War on Terror" and now Ukraine and much of the Middle East/West Asia, and the new cold wars and arms races go by.   I note that Quaker House organized a "Stand for Ukraine," in Cross Creek Park 3-5pm March 12, 2022, when the full-scale Russian intervention or invasion in the Ukrainian civil war was very new:  quakerhouse.org/event/stand-for-ukraine/  What about the role of the NATO countries, especially our country?  I remember that Chuck Fager once recommended my reportback from a large demonstration against the NC-based "torture taxi" Aero Contractors, accused of being a CIA front company, bringing some traffic here, even in 2024, I think, though he made sure to note that he did not share my red politics.  In with Uncle Joe...

[Podcast:  Emma Lapsansky-Werner and Chuck Fager joined Mark Helpsmeet on Northern Spirit Radio, founded by Helpsmeet in 2005 and connected to Eau Claire, Wisconsin Quakers, for a 55-minute interview:  tinyurl.com/35jw4682 ]  [Aired December 7th.] 

Originally posted at:  www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2024/12/19/pete-hegseth-terrible-choice-defense-chief-veterans-peace  His Wikipedia entry:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Hegseth

Pete Hegseth Is a Terrible Choice for Defense Chief – Veterans For Peace

December 19th

The national organization Veterans For Peace, with chapters in over 100 U.S. cities, is calling on US Senators to vote NO on Pete Hegseth for U.S. Defense Secretary, should President-elect nominate him.

Veterans For Peace is astounded that someone with the track record of Pete Hegseth would seriously be considered for the critically important role of U.S. Secretary of Defense. His dubious and questionable qualifications are far overshadowed by the many reasons that should disqualify him. These include a well-documented record of misogyny, sexual assault, white supremacy, Islamophobia, financial malfeasance, alcoholism, and opposition to VA healthcare. Are these the qualities we want in our Secretary of Defense?

Misogyny

Hegseth’s long-running abusive behavior toward women – even decried by his own mother – should be more than enough to disqualify him. His stated intention to reverse progress for women and gays in the military was only reversed by him in recent days, after pressure from key women Senators whose votes he needs if he is to be confirmed as Defense Secretary. Can he be trusted to defend the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in the military? Would he challenge the rampant sexual abuse within the military today?

White Supremacy / Islamophobia

Pete Hegseth sports tattoos on his body that are associated with White Supremacy. In January 2021, Hegseth was one of 12 national guardsmen flagged as potential insider threats and removed from a group providing security for the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, after a fellow Guard member reported he had a tattoo on his biceps reading “Deus Vult,” a phrase associated with the Crusades and, in the 21st century, with white supremacists. Hegseth has said that his National Guard superiors removed him because of his Jerusalem Cross tattoo, a Christian symbol which they determined was connected to extremism.

Post Traumatic Stress / Alcoholism

Pete Hegseth’s bouts with binge drinking and public drunkenness at formal organizational events have been widely reported. On one such occasion, he was heard shouting “Kill All Muslims.” Was it the alcohol talking?  Islamophobia? Or both? As a national guardsman, Hegseth served at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans For Peace recognizes that many veterans who experience Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, or Moral Injury have difficulty returning to civilian life, and have problems with alcohol and antisocial behavior. They need professional help, not the additional stress associated with US war-making.

A Voice of Restraint? Or Nuclear War?

Pete Hegseth should not be making critical defense decisions for the largest military in the world, particularly at this dangerous moment of superpower confrontation and nuclear brinksmanship. The very existence of human civilization is imperiled. Would Pete Hegseth be able to provide the president with wise counsel regarding ending the war in Ukraine? Could he stop sending U.S. weapons to fuel the horrific genocide in Gaza? Would he put a brake on the Neocon drive for wars against China and Iran? Could he be a responsible check on a president’s decision to use nuclear weapons? We fear that the answer to these questions is No.

Financial Mismanagement

Pete Hegseth has a track record of “failing upward.” He has been demoted and forced to resign from several veterans organization and PAC’s, after failing to raise funds, and spending as much as half of the organizations’ funds on Christmas parties for families and friends. Arguably, the stupendous and ever-growing Pentagon budget, which just failed its 7th audit in a row, and for which there is remarkably little accountability, might be the perfect piggy bank for Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth Threatens VA Healthcare

Of particular concern to many veterans is Hegseth’s opposition to VA healthcare. He supports “outsourcing” – or privatizing VA healthcare – a concerted goal of the Koch brothers-funded Concerned Veterans of America, which Hegseth headed up from 2013-16. For all its shortcomings, the Veterans Administration continues to provide excellent healthcare to millions of veterans, who rely on it and greatly appreciate it. Undermining, defunding and privatizing healthcare is an attack on all veterans, as well as an attack on the healthcare system, for which the VA provides one of the very best models. Senators who are interviewing Pete Hegseth should ask him why he would dismantle VA healthcare in favor of the failing private healthcare model.

Poll: Pete Hegseth should not be Secretary of Defense

Veterans For Peace’s opposition to confirming Pete Hegseth as U.S. Defense Secretary is shared by most Americans, only 20% of whom approve, according to a recent poll. Will our Senators get the message? We should make sure that they do.

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Veterans For Peace is dedicated to restraining the U.S. government from intervening in the internal affairs of other nations, and calls on the US to end its complicity in the Gaza genocide by stopping the flow of U.S. weapons to Israel.

Originally posted at:  www.veteransforpeace.org/pressroom/news/2024/10/22/veterans-peace-applaudsisraeli-soldiers-who-refuse-fight-gaz and I might have already posted it here once.

Veterans For Peace Applauds Israeli Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Gaza

October 22nd

Calls for GI’s to Resist Illegal Wars and War Crimes

Veterans For Peace applauds the Israeli military reservists who are calling for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and who say they will not participate in genocide. You are doing the right thing. Your courageous stance may be answered by official threats and even imprisonment. But you will never regret refusing to kill innocent Palestinian men, women and children.  

Palestinian Lives Matter. Yet Palestinians are being systematically slaughtered before the eyes of the world. The ongoing US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza is unacceptable.  It is a stain on human history.  And it must be ended.

Veterans For Peace has consistently called for an end to the genocide in Gaza, for a permanent ceasefire, and most importantly, for an end to US arms shipments to Israel. When U.S. bombs stop falling on Palestinian children, the genocide will have ended.  Veterans For Peace has meticulously documented the US laws that the Biden Administration is breaking when it sends weapons to Israel while it is bombing and starving innocent civilians. As the slaughter in Gaza has continued and escalated, we have sent Open Letters to the State Department, to President Biden, to Vice President Harris and to the Justice Department. 

One thing is very clear – this is genocide, a deliberate sustained campaign to wipe out an entire nation of people. This genocide is now being intensified. And it is illegal a thousand times over. 

As veterans who have participated in too many illegal and immoral wars, we also want to address our young sisters and brothers, daughters and sons in the U.S. military.  The U.S. has 40,000 troops deployed on ships and at bases throughout the Middle East. President Biden recently sent 100 U.S. troop to be stationed in Israel just as Israel is preparing to attack Iran and is bracing for Iran’s promised response.

The U.S. is also backing Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.  The U.S. military itself has recently dropped bombs in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Now there is active discussion about waging war on Iran! 

Are U.S. troops being purposely deployed where they will be targets and casualties?  Is this the way that the Biden Administration will back us into a war with Iran? Such a war is not in the interests of the people of Iran, nor of Israel, nor of the United States.  This is a bold war of colonialism and empire – fought for control of other people’s land and resources. 

Veterans For Peace has joined with several other organizations to promote the Appeal for Redress (v.2), an opportunity for active-duty GI’s to safely present their concerns to their Congressional
representatives.  We refer GI’s who are thinking about becoming Conscientious Objectors to the Center on Conscience and War. We can put you in touch with a GI Rights lawyer if needed. 

Remember, it is right to resist unjust wars and illegal orders. And when you do, you will have the support of Veterans For Peace.

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STOP THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA   –   No More US Weapons to Israel 
REFUSE TO FIGHT ILLEGAL WARS   –   No War with Lebanon or Iran

[###]

NC Stop Torture Now Statement on Gaza and the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

This is or will be posted at: ncstn.org/ [It was August 11th]

NCSTN Statement on Gaza and the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

August, 2024

North Carolina Stop Torture Now (NCSTN) is a grassroots organization formed in 2005 to address the substantial, essential role of NC airports in the Bush-era rendition, detention, and interrogation (i.e., torture) program. Two NC airports launched CIA flights that kidnapped and rendered at least 49 individuals to CIA black sites or to US-allied countries, where they were tortured, between 2002 and 2005. For more information: https://www.nctorturereport.org/

NCSTN unequivocally condemns the horrific attack by Hamas militants against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. Such barbaric violence is indefensible under any circumstances. It occurs in the context of Israel’s decades-long illegal occupation and blockade of Gaza and the West Bank, and its favoring of Hamas in Gaza in order to avoid having to negotiate the creation of a Palestinian state. As long as Israel, backed by the United States, refuses to end the occupation, neither Israelis nor Palestinians will be safe.

We also unequivocally condemn Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and total siege of the Gaza Strip, cutting off water, food, electricity, and medical supplies. It is a crime against humanity, and the United States’ greenlighting of Israel’s violence, particularly its continuing to send Israel weapons that are used to kill Gazan civilians, is indefensible. No life is expendable, yet the hugely disproportionate death tolls tell their own story.

NCSTN’s particular focus is on prevention of and accountability for torture that is supported by US policy. But there is evidence of torture on both sides of this conflict. For example, the UN has found credible evidence of rape and sexualized torture by Hamas during the October 7 attack, and such torture persists for Israeli hostages in Hamas’ captivity.

More specific to our responsibility as US citizens, the torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons has been identified as particularly resembling the horrors endured by US captives in Guantanamo, CIA black sites, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram. Israel continues the sad and appalling practices pioneered in the US “war on terror.” Since our tax dollars are at work here, Congress should immediately investigate these abuses.

We call for accountability for torture perpetrated by both sides in the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Such accountability must come from a credible international tribunal. The international community must address the root causes of the violence, and seek pathways to a just peace based on freedom, security, and equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians. War and occupation are not the answer.

Resources:

Torture of Gazans in Israeli prison: https://www.972mag.com/sde-teiman-prisoners-lawyer-mahajneh/

Guantanamo victims say Israel using “US-style” torture: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/22/happening-again-guantanamo-victims-say-israel-using-us-style-torture

ADC commemorates 76 years of Nakba + the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, Saaed Bakhouche and other former Gitmo prisoners, Zionist terrorism, embassy attacks, and other news

Has the Chapel Hill Public Library decided to go against free local publications, as some of Durham's libraries have in recent years, or are they only targeting left publications?  Could it even be over Israel?  I'm a bystander in this, but just about the only reason I visit the CHPL and Durham County Libraries is to pick up free publications and check the advertisements people put up and I've dropped publications and flyers off in the past.  They have plenty of room for more.  I also have some complaints about how the DCL has changed under new management and at least historically some departments at UNC have students and/or staff evidently especially hostile to left speech.  UNC and local libraries seem to have taken a cold turn recently, despite all of the talk about libraries and free speech during the Trump and Biden years, and I don't mean only regarding anti-war protest.

Slovakia

It sounds like the BBC and NPR blame Slovak prime minister Robert Fico for the attempt on his life yesterday in Handlová, in central Slovakia, and since they say he is in with Putin and Orban, "illiberal," and "populist," it can be thought that they wish that he had been killed.  NPR also doesn't seem to think it is very important news, compared to whatever about Trump, etc, though they avoid directly quoting Trump and Republicans who don't vote the 'right' way, Xi, Putin, Hamas, Iran, etc.  If they aren't "state media," why are there concerns about Congress cutting their funding?  I don't know the details of Fico's politics, or claims that his party had ties to Italian organized crime, but it seems to clearly be a party of the left, even if not that far on the left.  Yet here is the headline on left Common Dreams: "Far-Right Prime Minister of Slovakia Shot in Assassination Attempt," by Julia Conley – www.commondreams.org/news/prime-minister-of-slovakia  So far one comment on "far-right."  I don't recall the media blaming Bolsonaro in Brazil for the attempt on his life or praising it, though NPR doesn't seem very bothered when Russian civilians in Russia and not in the government are assassinated or killed by terrorists, Ukrainian or otherwise.  The BBC made Slovakia sound extremely divided, probably blaming Fico for being "divisive," while NPR brings up the organized crime allegations and alleged, undefined illiberality.  "Liberal" used to refer to free market capitalist positions and often still does, maybe more often in Europe, etc.  In Europe and Canada parties of the right can take positions with or well to the left of the US Democratic Party, but still be considered on the right.  It sounds like Fico led Slovakia into NATO, etc., but how dare he now speak against the war in Ukraine, which borders Slovakia and Hungary and I think includes formerly Czechoslovak territory:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpatho-Ukraine  War in Ukraine and Russia might be a more viscerally concerning issue for people in Slovakia and Hungary than for Americans, and they might know much more of the background.  NPR headline:  Fico is "an ally of Russia" and wants to "control" the "free press?"  I don't think they condemned Bolsonaro, "the Trump of the tropics," like that right after he was stabbed September 6, 2018 in Juiz de Fora.  I recall that Democrats blamed rightist or far right talk radio for encouraging domestic terrorism in the 90's.  The new government of Poland changing the public media is okay, but whatever recently elected Fico allegedly wants to do with public media is harmful and following the example of Viktor Orban?  They haven't gone into detail about it, and the Republic of Georgia seems to have dropped from the news, as did Slovakia after the recent elections, which went against NATO and EU desires.  Speaking of 'divisiveness,' is Biden sowing domestic division over the wars, the anti-China campaign, Trump, TikTok, etc? 

Anti-Fico on Sky News too? – www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/gop-brags-trump-hates-palestinians

In Le Monde?  Quoting the Google translation: "... Mr. Fico's nationalist and ultraconservative left party [!] rubs shoulders with the far right" in the "ruling coalition" and some members are accusing "the opposition of being responsible..." – www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2024/05/16/en-slovaquie-apres-la-tentative-d-assassinat-contre-le-premier-ministre-robert-fico-la-majorite-attise-les-divisions_6233529_3210.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Robert_Fico

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fico

His party:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_–_Social_Democracy

Versus en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Slovakia  Last fall NPR seemed to think that the name "Progressive," and being pro-gay marriage, pro-EU, etc means that this is the main "progressive," center left party in Slovakia.

Did the US materially aid Ecuador's raid on Mexico's embassy?  The US government apparently no longer considers embassies, presidential aircraft, and diplomats to be off limits for attacks, or 'never' did – popularresistance.org/source-reveals-us-secret-services-enabled-glas-kidnapping/

Saaed Bakhouche was sent to Algeria from Guantanamo in 2023, after being held for many years there, but has now been sentenced to another three years of imprisonment in Algeria.  Tina Kaidanow at the State Department is the person to lobby, I'm told:  KaidanowTS at 

Former Guantánamo prisoners from Yemen to be deported by Oman: 

Hello, 

  I am urgently reaching out to shed light on the dire situation facing 28 Yemeni former prisoners of Guantánamo Bay currently residing in Oman. Despite their efforts to integrate into Omani society since their release between 2014-2017, these individuals are now confronting the harrowing possibility of deportation back to Yemen. Oman has served as a sanctuary for Yemeni former prisoners of Guantánamo Bay since their release.

Initially resettled in Oman through a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Omani government, these men arrived without formal assurances but with the hope of rebuilding their lives. Despite the absence of explicit guarantees, they were led to believe by their lawyers that they would find refuge and stability in Oman. Upon their arrival in Oman, Omani officials assured the men they would not be deported, and they told them to forget Yemen, this is their country now. Oman was very welcoming.

However, earlier this year, the Omani government delivered the distressing news of their deportation back to Yemen, citing no specific reasons but hinting at pressure from the US government. This abrupt decision has left the former prisoners and their families in a state of distress, fearing the perilous conditions awaiting them in Yemen amidst ongoing conflict and political instability.

The prospect of returning to Yemen, a country engulfed in chaos, raises grave concerns about their safety, well-being, and legal status. In Yemen, they face the grim realities of potential imprisonment, torture, and lack of provisions for themselves and their families.

As the deportation date looms closer, Oman has taken drastic measures, threatening those who resist deportation with dire consequences, including the withdrawal of essential services such as housing, healthcare, and employment opportunities. This month, Omani authorities refused to extend the residency stay for some of the children born in Oman who also will be deported, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The Omani authorities have informed the men that the deportation process will commence in July, adding to the urgency and gravity of the situation. Omani offers for those who are willing to leave voluntarily will be given a small amount of money.

Efforts to seek clarification and assistance from both the Omani government and the US State Department have been met with silence and denial, leaving these individuals and their advocates in a state of desperation.

Cage International has reached out to the State Department, Omani government, and Yemen embassy in Washington who replied that they will look into the issue, but no reply from either the US State Department or the Omani government. Amnesty International and activists attempted to meet with Omani officials at the Oman embassy, but the Omani ambassador refused to grant them an audience."

Amnesty wrote to the Yemeni government addressing the issue but received no reply.

The plight of these Yemeni former Guantánamo prisoners underscores the urgent need for comprehensive support systems to aid in their transition from detention to freedom. It highlights the enduring impact of prolonged detention and emphasizes the importance of upholding the rights and dignity of all individuals, irrespective of their past circumstances.

We urgently appeal to NGOs, activists, and concerned individuals to join us in advocating for the rights of these former prisoners and to pressure the Omani government and international authorities to halt their deportation. Every voice raised in support of their cause not only prevents another travesty after their ordeal in Guantánamo but also ensures a brighter future for them and their families.

Please, if you have any means to assist or contribute to their cause, do not hesitate to reach out.

 

Mansoor Adayfi

CAGE’s Guantánamo Project Coordinator

5.15.2024

In India:  mronline.org/2024/05/15/elgar-parishad-case-after-4-years-activist-journalist-gautam-navlakha-gets-bail/

On the recently sentenced Australian war crimes whistleblower:  consortiumnews.com/2024/05/16/john-kiriakou-the-heroism-of-david-mcbride/

The Democrats voted with the Republicans to keep Mike Johnson in power, after they joined with the pro-Trump Republicans to remove his predecessor:  www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/05/16/vwxt-m16.html

Bernie Sanders says to vote for Biden despite what he has done in office, because Trump is far worse:  portside.org/2024-05-15/were-pivotal-moment-american-history-we-cannot-retreat  

May 15th an RFK Jr email claimed that a John Zogby Strategies poll of 26,408 likely voters, with representation from every state, says that RFK Jr can beat both Trump and Biden this fall.  Other new polling has Biden losing to Trump in key states, though the media might say that early polls don't really matter and that voters are deluded, still thinking that Biden and Trump will somehow be removed before the election.  RFK Jr joined Biden and Trump on the wrong side regarding the Middle Eastern war, but he is another politician on NPR's target list.  They made sure to talk about his parasitic worm earlier in the week, but in 2024 they have been forced to talk about him some.  They rarely mention Jill Stein, Cornel West, whoever the leading Libertarian primary candidates are, etc., though they are mentioning a few third party candidates by name this time, unlike in 2016 and 2020.

A claim in The Atlantic:  www.rsn.org/001/bidens-weakness-with-young-voters-isnt-about-gaza.html

WUNC's Jay Price on US military training at "Fort Liberty" for tunnel warfare, referencing the "Viet Cong" or Vietnamese NLF, Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaida, etc. today.  Israel claimed to control the north end of the Gaza Strip, and then up popped the guerrillas and apparently rocket fire from Gaza continues.  It seems like the Israeli government is cavalier about the safety of the captive Israelis when it attacks tunnels and buildings in Rafah, etc. without knowing who is inside.  There is a Chinese song labelled "Tunnel Warfare."  And the USA has its tunnels, where the president and the military brass can survive, for a while, if they start a nuclear war with China or Russia, or if other nuclear powers have a regional total war, while the rest of us can burn, starve, or freeze.

"YIMBYism" comes up more often, for example here:  www.slowboring.com/p/housing-reform-should-be-bipartisan  Is "housing reform" now a code word for "YIMBY?" 

Wake Transit Plan survey:  publicinput.com/l8222

Free in Raleigh on Bike to Work Day, today:  raleighnc.gov/transportation/news/scooter-vendors-offer-free-rides-bike-work-day

World Turtle Day May 23rd at the Piedmont Wildlife Center in Durham.

A virtual public forum on lead and other soil contamination at five Durham parks May 22nd at 6:30pm:  us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtd-GurTwoGdM6AKPUEaQfVxDbmnZ3uR5J#/registration

From Keep Durham Beautiful:  

• May 16th - Circular Triangle Lunch & Learn
• May 16th - Bike to Work Day
• May 18th - W Geer St Cleanup w/ Climate Action NC
• May 18th - Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival
• May 18th - Merrick Moore Garden Workday
• May 19th - Día de las Madres Kermes
• May 19th - Workshop: Make Your Own Beaver Tail
• May 21st - Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden
• May 22nd - Biking While Black Film Screening
• May 24th - Our Community Stories - Bragtown
• May 25th - Plant Swap @ Southwest Regional Library
• May 25th - Party for the Planet at MLS
• May 25th - East Durham Block Party with DCLT
• May 26th - Circular Triangle Clothing Swap
• May 30th - Trees for the Triangle Roots and Shoots Celebration
• June 1st - Durham Community Health Day
• June 10th - Durham Environmental Coalition Meeting

Eastern US armored alligator gar and more:  www.atlasobscura.com/articles/worlds-largest-freshwater-fish\

NCSTN meeting online Friday, June 14th 3-4pm

An anti-masking bill in the NC Senate, aimed at protesters, is now going to the House, and where does the governor stand?

Protesters disrupted a UNC Board of Trustees meeting yesterday, probably during the new "Maymester"  Board of Trustees meetings near the main campus in Chapel Hill have been regularly disrupted for various causes, for years   Lee Roberts announced that UNC-Chapel Hill has been 'collecting information' on protesters for about a month now, and will take action at the university level, including for what is just speech, disruption, "shutting down a speaker," etc.?  Anything more will be left to the courts, but what does that mean?  If UNC is turning over information about its students to justice system, they would seem to be implying that the subjects should be prosecuted for some crime.  It seems like Roberts is another political official who needs to be removed from power this year, but he might be given permanent office at UNC instead.  I didn't much notice UNC's top governance when I was a student, rightly or not, though there were issues to bring up with the administration.  I don't recall anyone being punished by UNC over student manifestations.

The Middle Eastern war

Was this Zionist car attack or terrorist attack in New York City ever reported on NPR, etc.? –www.commondreams.org/news/pro-israel-driver-protest  Not bringing up "slow civil war" and "fascism" on NPR, when Israel supporters and mobs, probably ' Trumpists,' are trying to kill or beat people?  It was a regular topic on NPR not long ago, or maybe I haven't been listening when they went into over the top rhetoric again.  2024 is becoming reminiscent of the late Vietnam War era or worse, though unrest and violence probably isn't as widespread as back then, yet.  It also comes out that the flags of Cuba, the ROK, and many other countries were carried by the "J6" rioters for Trump.

There was also a report of a bombing attempt, over a Palestinian flag and a sign displayed at a home in Sydney, Australia, though it might have been a fake bomb; the article includes a photo of the device:  www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/05/16/hfyg-m16.html

More on the mass Zionist mob attack on UCLA:  popularresistance.org/meet-the-violent-zionist-agitators-la-police-havent-arrested/

From HRW:  portside.org/2024-05-15/detailing-israeli-attacks-known-aid-worker-locations

The Biden-Harris' FBI even questioned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe for two hours after arriving at the Detroit airport and took his electronic data, at the request of someone in Israel? – informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/16/us-ilan-pappe-interrogated-by-fbi-at-detroit-airport/11/

"...a historic amount of dissenting memos within USAID over Gaza..." – informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/16/us-holds-direct-complicity-in-gaza-famine-former-and-current-us-officials-say/10/

informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/16/what-about-the-palestinian-hostages/13/

informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/16/what-will-happen-when-the-holocaust-no-longer-prevents-the-world-from-seeing-israel-as-it-is/13/

informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/14/the-us-establishment-is-detached-from-reality/15/

informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/14/__trashed/15/

informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/05/14/who-tried-to-pull-the-rug-on-netanyahu-and-why/19/

A personal Nakba story from Sam Husseini:  husseini.substack.com/p/75-years-of-israel-and-zionisms-continuing

ADC commemorates 76 years of Nakba

Washington, DC | www.adc.org | May 15, 2024 – Today we commemorate 76 years of Nakba - The Catastrophe. This day is a solemn reminder of the expulsion and dispossession of the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland at the hands of Zionist militias and settler military forces. Decades of killing, ethnic cleansing and dehumanization.

 

Decades of generational compounded trauma and grief. Decades of injustice marked by massacres named after the towns and villages where they occurred; proof of the systematic plan to rid Palestine of its indigenous inhabitants: the Palestinian people. From Deir Yassin, to Tantura, to Kufur Qassem, to Lydd, to Qibya, to the current horrific genocide taking place in Gaza, this continuum of annihilation must end now! There are volumes of personal narratives passed down from parents and grandparents, many armed with the keys to their homes, grainy photos of lives stolen and heroic narratives of unfathomable brutality and injustice. 

 

For 76 years, the assault has been as brutal on Palestinian life and history as it has been on the land itself. Olive groves cut down and water aquifers contaminated. Over 500 Palestinian villages permanently erased from maps are now covered with forests of invasive, non-native trees. The village of Al-Tira has been erased by Carmel National Park, and 6 Palestinian villages lay under Birya forest. The village of Sarkas became a garbage dump for a Zionist settlement. Where once stood the Palestinian village of Tantura, and on top of a mass grave of over 200 Palestinian, now is a parking lot for Israel’s Dor Beach. 

 

What can never be erased are stories of Palestinian life from the river to the sea that predates the Zionist entity. On the banks of the Jordan River Palestinians had picnics, enjoying the fruit of their citrus and date trees. To the hills of Ramallah, called by the promise of the cool breeze, many went during the summer heat, where children played in the sturdy branches of mature fig trees. Shepherds roamed the Naqab’s heat, knowing each dune and hardy plant. To Gaza they went for vacations and honeymoons, surrounded by centuries of buried and unearthed rich history. Stories and memories created will forever remain in the golden sand of Yafa, the bride of the sea. 

 

The Palestinian people continue to embrace life and persist. Their stories are a tribute to humanity and the universal quest for freedom and justice. Both the personal narratives and the keys to their homes will continue to be passed down; these are the foundations for the future of liberation for the coming generations.