Category Archives: Israel/Hamas War

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Wednesday Night at the DNC: Having Some Church & a Quaker/Interfaith Vigil

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A 2019 (pre-Covid) survey of U.S. protestant pastors showed that nine out of ten held some kind of services on Wednesday evenings.

The pandemic likely reduced that number, but for many churches, it’s still a thing. And if you kept up with the extra-long speakers list for DNC Day 3 (my copy listed 37 names, but still missed a few), it would hardly be a surprise to find a sprinkle of Wednesday churchgoers among them.

Maybe that explains why, when the midweek marathon adjourned after midnight, amid all the hubbub, I had heard, not one but two homilies  from the podium (and maybe missed a few others).

Outside media, with its pronounced secular tilt, hasn’t seemed to notice. I couldn’t find any news coverage of these two speeches (other than YouTube videos).

So as a public service, they are excerpted & summarized below. Continue reading Wednesday Night at the DNC: Having Some Church & a Quaker/Interfaith Vigil →

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“You DO Need a Weatherman” — DNC Protest Forecast (& Cartoons)

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Note: The weather forecast below is real, though I’ve jiggered the format. And reposting it is a bit whimsical, but not a joke.

Among the most effective and non-brutal “crowd control” techniques for events like the coming DNC are: rain (especially with thunder & lightning); and sweltering heat (especially with lakeside humidity). Either one holds down turnout, “dampens” or wilts activist enthusiasm, and discourages media attention, all without swinging a baton or tossing a pepper gas shell.

But this week, the Chicago weather gods are on the side of the insurgents. I’m still expecting, as explained in this earlier post, that the police (and federal backups) will be (at least initially) more professional and skillful in dealing with protests; though anything could happen, and weather can change . . . .

But here’s the data, and some provocative images, to help pass the time til the big party starts.

Continue reading “You DO Need a Weatherman” — DNC Protest Forecast (& Cartoons) →

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Dyer: Gaza Civilian Deaths: Who Really Cares?

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Gaza death toll nears 40,000 — who cares?

Gwynne Dyer — 29 Jul, 2024

Many people around the world are calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and its huge toll of civilian casualties. But Gwynne Dyer argues that this chorus does not include the handful of key actors in the bloody drama.

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip since October’s Hamas attacks on Israeli settlements will reach 40,000 people in the next week or so. (It’s back up near 50-100 civilians dead a day.)

Continue reading Dyer: Gaza Civilian Deaths: Who Really Cares? →

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Bernie! Still All In (Critically) for Joe Biden

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New York Times
Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President

By Bernie Sanders
Mr. Sanders is the senior senator from Vermont.
July 13, 2024

I will do all that I can to see that President Biden is re-elected. Why? Despite my disagreements with him on particular issues, he has been the most effective president in the modern history of our country and is the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump — a demagogue and pathological liar. It’s time to learn a lesson from the progressive and centrist forces in France who, despite profound political differences, came together this week to soundly defeat right-wing extremism.

I strongly disagree with Mr. Biden on the question of U.S. support for Israel’s horrific war against the Palestinian people. The United States should not provide Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist government with another nickel as it continues to create one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history.

Continue reading Bernie! Still All In (Critically) for Joe Biden →

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“You May Say, They Are Dreamers – But They’re Not the Only Ones” — Israeli-Palestinian Peace Movement Reviving, Expects a Long Haul

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‘We all share the same pain’: can the Israeli-Arab peace movement rebuild after 7 October?

As the conflict in Gaza continues, reconciliation may seem a distant dream, but on both sides there are those working for peace

Caitlin Kelly — Tue 21 May 2024
Supported by theguardian.org

On the morning of 7 October, as news emerged of the Hamas attack on Israeli communities near the Gaza border, Naama Barak Wolfman joined thousands of others frantically texting their friends and family. “Checking you’re alright,” she wrote to her colleague, Vivian Silver, a Canadian who spent decades working to foster peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The text was never read. Silver was one of several peace activists killed that day, though news of her murder took nearly a month to reach Silver’s friends and family. Many believed the Women Wage Peace leader had been taken hostage, even picturing her negotiating with her captors.

“We couldn’t find the right words to express the pain, the hurt, and the terror. People on both sides were afraid,” Wolfman recalls. “You shut down, you close the windows. In Israel, that’s what everyone literally did for the first few months.”

Continue reading “You May Say, They Are Dreamers – But They’re Not the Only Ones” — Israeli-Palestinian Peace Movement Reviving, Expects a Long Haul →