Reader Comments: Bombing Rafah Children; Where is "Red Line?"; Trump and Palestine Protests; Response-Women Are Changing Labor Unions; NYC and Medicare Advantage; Organizations Raising Money for Humanitarian Relief in Rafah; Announcements; Cartoons;
Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Announcements, AND cartoons - May 30, 2024, xxxxxx
”Inside this dove are 14‘000 dots - this was back in February, when the number of killed children was at 14’000. One dot for every child. Since then, thousands more have been killed. All children are our children. It has to stop. Now.” 💬 @yaeljamina https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7PAQ5jMZ2b/
Can you imagine the firestorm if one of the liberal justices was caught flying not one, but two flags sympathizing with — um...well, I can't think of a group of liberals that tried to storm the U.S. Capitol and overturn an election, so there's simply no moral equivalent here. None. Justices Alito and Thomas have so thoroughly discredited themselves they should both resign. Of course, we know there will be no consequences. Consequences are for Democrats.
In a closed meeting with Jewish donors, Trump promises swift action against student protesters if elected, while affirming Israel's right to conduct its 'war on terror' in contradiction to previous statements calling to end the war.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump recently told a group of Jewish donors that he will deport pro-Palestinian campus protestors, according to a new Washington Post report.
On May 14, Trump held a private round-table event with supporters who he referred to as "98% of his Jewish friends," where he reportedly told them, "One thing I do is, any student that protests, I will throw them out of the country."
He’s saying he’ll deport Americans and criminalize dissent - exactly what I’ve been screaming about. That’s some dictator bullshit right there. WAKE THE FUCK UP AND VOTE BLUE, PEOPLE.
Linda LeTendre, too many view voting as a public declaration of their ideology and character, which is silly. It's just one tool. Voting alone will never bring substantial change.
Trump has been a stranger to and estranged from others his entire life and this is a vacuum of personal warmth and concern for others foremost and only aligns with some individuals of like demeanor. At the same time it finds neither friendship nor support with loved family, friends and neighbors who mutually hold each other dear and near
I moved back home to San Francisco from Manhattan several years ago. But I keep track on New York by listening to the Brian Lehrer Shoe. Adams is absolutely corrupt and awful. Hopefully one of the progressives who is planning to run across—Stringer and Zellner—will be able to defeat him next year.
A follow-up to “How Four Black Women Changed Labor Organizing Forever”, this article captures the contract fight that followed and the genius and fortitude required to create one of the most important unions in U.S. history.
Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
kentuckyalliance.org
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
While I appreciate the attention to women in the labor movement, I find the focus on building trades a little odd. Despite decades of federal lawsuits, diversity programs, etc., the number of women in building trades jobs remains miniscule, very little different, and maybe even lower than they were in the 1970s. And the problems they experience - especially sexual harassment on the job, as well as all kinds of other harassment - persist. A lot of them are tough enough to take it and eventually succeed, but it ain't easy and not all stick it out. I could tell you many stories of horrifying mistreatment by coworkers that would drive most of us away.
Most union women work in the service and public sectors. They're social workers, librarians, teachers, health care providers, food service, hospitality workers, and what's left of the clerical workforce after computerization pretty much eviscerated that profession. And many others that are not building trades. They are more inclined to favor unionization and often lead organizing campaigns. They can increasingly be found in union leadership positions, despite the longstanding underrepresentation at the top.
I also very much appreciate you seeking comment from Virginia Rodino at CLUW (though you misspelled her name in all but one instance). Lots of CLUW members have run for public office, in part thanks to training and support they've gotten from CLUW. Many have run for office in their unions too, and there's no question they make up the majority of campaign workers from the labor movement. CLUW has been an enormous source of support, education and encouragement to me and is a major reason I was propelled into major positions of leadership in labor during my long career, which I am now happily and securely retired from. All women union members should join!
Thanks again. I look forward to future commentary on women in labor.
Solidarity,
Kathy Black, Philly CLUW President Emerita
Former Co-Convenor, US Labor Against the War
Retired Health & Safety Director, AFSCME DC47
I have only spent time in southern India which I really love especially for its multiculturalism and hope will not be destroyed by Modi. Southern India does seem to be charting its own course. I certainly hope it continues to do so.
Another option, that would solve the problem and enhance electric reliability, would be the scattered site approach. As recent storms have indicated, tens of thousands of people can loose power when the grid goes down. If each house, or small group of houses (or apartment building, or factory, you get the idea) had its own power system the whole system would be far more resilient. When you factor in the cost of maintaining power lines (the single largest cost in suburban and rural electric bills) , scattered sites are a very cost effective alternative. Smaller scale wind and solar would be employed along with recent battery technology for storage.
As someone who has lived off grid since 1978 , we have never been without power...
Even though half of America’s jobs are working class, barely 1% of our nation’s 7,300 state legislative seats are held by the working class people who actually make America work.
WE NEED MORE WORKING CLASS LAWMAKERS
We’d take better care of ourselves with policies written by plumbers, housekeepers, and child care workers than lawyers, bankers, and ideologues.
What’s the matter with Congress? And most of our state legislatures, too? Why do these so-called representative bodies keep stiffing middle-class and poor families, refusing to respond to the most urgent needs and goals of this vast majority of Americans?
Take lawmakers’ indifference to the child care crisis crushing the finances, health, and spirit of millions of working families. Plus, intentionally denying basic health care for low-income children in this spectacularly rich nation.
These common incidents of child neglect are products of the creeping plutocratic ideology now dominating capitals across America. Most legislatures today push corporate profiteering, including re-legalizing robber baron exploitation of children. Bills to reinstate child labor are being advanced in 28 states, and 12 have already passed!
Why is the workaday majority being ignored and corporate supremacy being imposed over the common good? In a word: class.
Think about it: Who holds nearly all of the seats in Congress and in state legislatures? Not plumbers, mechanics, taxi drivers, trash haulers, hotel housekeepers, computer programmers, farm workers, or child care providers. Instead, it’s bankers, lawyers, corporate executives, lobbyists, millionaires, and ideological goofballs.
Even though half of America’s jobs are working class, barely 1 percent of our nation’s 7,300 state legislative seats are held by the working class people who actually make America work.
As the old saying goes: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. And our political system has been rigged by corporate lobbyists, lawmakers, and judges to hold public office hostage to big money — intentionally excluding the working-class majority from its rightful place at America’s policy table.
To start freeing democracy from corrupt corporate money, go to Public Citizen at citizen.org.
[OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.]
Displaced Palestinians gather to receive food at a donation point in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 7,2024 (Photo: Yasser Qudihe // Teen Vogue)
Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas have hit a road block as Israel pushes an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where tens of thousands of civilians sought shelter amid Israel’s incursion in Gaza, and now face an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis. Aid for civilians has been extremely limited across Gaza, where the United Nations warns famine is imminent. In Rafah, shortages have already forced one hospital to end operations, while the two remaining hospitals are rapidly running out of resources, according to the World Health Organization. More than 360,000 Gazans have fled the city since the Israeli military called for evacuation on Monday, May 6.
For the past seven months, Rafah has been a crucial passage for humanitarian aid in and out of Gaza, after Israel began a full military response to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 Israelis. According to the Associated Press, at least 34,500 Gazans have been killed by Israel’s incursion. UNICEF has warned that there is “nowhere safe to go” for the children of Gaza.
As the threat against Rafah has escalated, so too has the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Though it can be difficult to know how exactly to help in a situation like this, tangible actions can be taken to support humanitarian relief, including donations to organizations like the ones below.
These are a few of the organizations working to provide humanitarian aid in Rafah.
The IRC has delivered emergency aid to conflict zones across the world, through its network of educators, first responders, relief workers, and healthcare providers. It has partnered with Medical Aid for Palestinians to bring emergency medical teams and direct care to hospitals in Gaza, as well as Anera to help offer psychosocial services to children sheltering in schools in Rafah. You can donate to the IRC here.
This organization responds to children affected by global conflict and displacement and has contributed support to Palestinian youth since 1953. With stations in the West Bank and Gaza, the organization has provided shelter, medical aid, and water to children over the past seven months; it plans to scale up its services through mental health support and continued distribution of essential supplies. You can donate directly here.
This United Nations agency has dispatched supplies spanning nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation to Gazan children and has set up an emergency relief fund for mental health and psychological support to help young people cope with trauma. You can designate your donation to children globally or those directly in Gaza and West Bank here.
Calling themselves, “food first responders,” World Central Kitchen goes to the front lines of humanitarian, climate, and community crises to provide meals to those impacted or displaced. Since the October 7 Hamas attack, World Central Kitchen has operated in Gaza, Lebanon, and Israel to help people impacted by the war. On April 1, an Israeli attack killed seven of the group’s aid workers, causing them to halt operations in Gaza briefly. They are now back in Gaza, where they have field kitchens in both Rafah and Deir al-Balah. You can donate to their relief efforts here.
Please join the NLG D.C. chapter, the NLG Mass Incarceration Committee, Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, and Muslim Counterpublics Lab for this inside look at the current state of the U.S. prison system.
Lyle May has spent over twenty years residing on death row in North Carolina. In the release of his book by Haymarket Books, he tells his story, offering a scathing critique of the carceral system through an abolitionist lens. Please join us to hear directly from Lyle, who will call in from death row for fifteen minute increments, recounting his journey and discussing his important book which Mariame Kaba calls “essential reading.”
Lyle has earned a certificate in paralegal studies and is currently finishing a degree in criminal justice at Ohio University. He is a journalist, activist, and speaker. Sundiata Jawanza of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, will also be in attendance.
Mark your calendar for 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, to hear journalist KIM KELLY, author of "Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor" at the annual meeting of the Michigan Labor History Society. An added bonus is a free labor history bus tour of metro Detroit at 1 p.m. prior to Kim Kelly's talk. Register soon using the attached QR, as seats are limited. Check the Facebook Page for the Michigan Labor History Society for further details. https://www.facebook.com/events/817387186529764?ref=newsfeed
Join the Michigan Labor History Society on June 22nd for its 2024 Annual Meeting, featuring guest speaker Kim Kelly!
This year’s annual meeting promises to be exceptional, featuring one of the most dynamic labor writers in America as well as a free labor history bus tour.
Meet author and journalist KIM KELLY, who will talk about her recent book FIGHT LIKE HELL: The Untold History of American Labor, chronicling the struggles of American workers.
“Kim Kelly is an independent journalist, author, and organizer. She has been a regular labor columnist for Teen Vogue since 2018, and her writing on labor, class, politics, and culture has appeared in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Baffler, The Nation, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Esquire, among many others. Kelly has also worked as a video correspondent for More Perfect Union, The Real News Network, and Means TV. Previously, she was the heavy metal editor at “Noisey,” VICE’s music vertical, and was an original member of the VICE Union. A third-generation union member, she is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World’s Freelance Journalists Union as well as a member and elected councilperson for the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE).”
-- Simon and Schuster
Admission is FREE, and there will be light refreshments. A brief annual business meeting will follow.
Your attendance and your support help us continue to uplift the history of the working people of Michigan. Our activities include maintaining the “Transcending” Labor Legacy Landmark at Detroit’s Hart Plaza, hosting thoughtful historical programming, and partnering with community organizations on various local labor history initiatives.
Plus, come earlier for a FREE Michigan Labor History Bus Tour presented by Motorcities National Heritage Area. This tour will visit historic sites where Detroit workers fought for their rights over the years. It will leave at 1 p.m. and return in time for Kim Kelly’s talk. Seats on the tour are limited, so please register soon (https://forms.gle/bJH2DYfVyPrTbztN8)! The bus tour is made possible with funding from a generous grant from the Motorcities National Heritage Area.
MLHS Annual Meeting and Labor History Bus Tour
SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2024
Operating Engineers Education Center (1550 Howard St, Detroit, MI 48216).
1:00 - 3:30: Labor History Bus Tour presented by Motorcities National Heritage Area (registration required)
4:00 – 5:30: Kim Kelly reception and talk.
Annual meeting and bus tour departure are both at the Operating Engineers Education Center
The Global Network is proud to be in our 32nd year of organizing to stop the arms race in space.
It's actually a mixed blessing. We've not faded into the sunset but we've not yet stopped the aerospace industry from their agenda to move weapons and nuclear power into the heavens. We still have much work to do. So we continue to educate, organize and activate people around the world to join this quest.
Please mark your calendar now to join us on July 20th for our two-hour annual meeting.
We'll begin with a handful of 10-minute presentations by our leadership and then open the floor for questions and comments from those in the audience.
Latest developments from GN board members
Koohan Paik-Mander (Hawaii): Missile defense: the big "KICK ME" sign
Agneta Norberg (Sweden): US presence & military development in Sweden
Dr. Dave Webb (UK): Concerns about spaceports & militarisation of space
Choi Sung-Hee (Korea): Role of the space industry in South Korea
Aruna Kammila (India): Israel and Hamas issue
Karl Grossman (US): Mining the Sky
Dr Sandeepa Bhat B (India): Space Security from the Indian Perspective
