Reader Comments: Campaign Biden Needs to Wage Against MAGA Trump Fascists; UN Commission Finds Israel Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity; Denmark’s Euro Football Squad Refused Pay Raise to Ensure Women’s Team Receives Equal Pay; Cartoons; more....
Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Shorts, AND cartoons - June 20, 2024, xxxxxx
This is the article that all Democratic candidates running for office, any office, this year should read, and act on. This is how to get out and rally the base.
Unlike Biden, when there was a genocide going on during FDR's presidency, he went to war against the genocidal regime, rather than funding, arming, and supporting it.
Convict labor leasing, a remnant of the Jim Crow era, rewards employers with extra cheap convict labor. States have a $$ motive to fill their prisons with, as it turns out, largely prisoners of color, so they can lease them. The historic injustices of these programs are appalling but, even worse, they continue to this day. Thanks to the authors, the NYT and xxxxxx for this essay. Ending the convict leasing programs is long overdue.
It simply is denying that someday, better sooner than later, there will be negotiations around the ending of this god-awful slug fest. And, negotiations mean compromise on both sides. Reality says that Ukraine might have to give up more than it wishes. Or,
Instead of endless war and suffering on both sides., couldn't negotiations begin on a vote to be held in the disputed regions on who wants to live where. I believe the Minsk accords spoke to that, were supported by both sides , but then war started
This war is a growing danger to all of Europe- Weren't 2 World Wars enough!!!!!!!! Of course, US war manufacturers make obscene amounts of money from war. I am not a Russian sympathizer and I abhor invasions of other countries, having stood against them
Since Vietnam which my own beloved country invaded followed by Afghanistan, Iraq, and also conducted bombing in Libya, Yemen, etc We have a leadership of liars and hypocrites. who think they should run the world.
On May 4, 1970, the National Guard opened fire on protesters at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine. That event has never felt more relevant, with images recalling those moments visible in police opposition to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, and more recently, the protests to the war in Gaza on college campuses.
With Kent State so much in the zeitgeist of late, it felt like a good time to talk to Derf Backderf, whose 2020 graphic novel (the aptly titled Kent State) is a methodical recreation of the events big and small that culminated in the massacre.
We met up via Zoom to talk about those moments and their continued significance, the importance of preserving unvarnished history, and the long and varied career that gave him the confidence to take on such a significant subject.
- Jason Bergman
JASON BERGMAN: Well, the last few weeks have been filled with these images of police confronting protesters, and also the anniversary of Kent State, so it's good that we’re talking today. You've spent far more time on this subject than almost anybody, so I’m curious to know what went through your head when you were seeing these images.
DERF BACKDERF: The similarities are chilling. I saw the same thing during the BLM protests, of course. And now the Gaza protests, it's just …dissent in this country is only really accepted when it comes from the right. Public displays of dissent, that is. When it’s from the right, there's all kinds of talk about free speech, and the right to expression, all that stuff. But when it's college students coming from another place, then it's suddenly a threat. And at my alma mater, which is Ohio State, not Kent State, they recently had snipers on the roof of the student union looking down on this group of 50 peaceful protesters. Snipers! It's like, what the fuck? Have we learned nothing here in the 50 years since the Kent State Massacre? Apparently not.
However Denmark perform at Euro 2024 this summer, the men's squad have already given their nation a great cause for celebration.
In mid June, it was reported that the Danish Euro 2024 squad had refused a pay rise in order to make sure the women's national team would earn the same level of basic pay.
Eriksen, who scored in Denmark's Euro 2024 opener, was among the negotiations team who approved the new change
“The men’s team chose not to demand any changes in the conditions in their new agreement," explained the director of the Danish players’ union Spillerforeningen, Michael Sahl Hansen.
“It’s an extraordinary step to help improve the conditions of the women’s national teams. So, instead of looking for better conditions for themselves, the players thought about supporting the women’s team.
"When we presented the plan to the negotiations team, which consisted of Andreas Christensen, Thomas Delaney, Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Simon Kjaer and Kasper Schmeichel, they were very happy."
Denmark Men will take a 15 per cent decrease in their team insurance coverage to allowed the women’s team coverage to be increased by 50 per cent as well as as an over 40 per cent increase for the Under-21 men’s team.
It is hard to sum up just how important the actions of the Denmark national team are - now more than ever.
The organisation Women in Football (WIF) have released their annual discrimination report and some of their findings make for grim reading.
Perhaps the most shocking figure is that 89 per cent of women surveyed have experienced discrimination in the workplace.
It is harder still to read that over 60 per cent of those who reported an incident said that no action was taken as a result - indeed, 16 per cent of them said they were not even listened to.
Another very telling figure revealed that 88 per cent of women working in football believe women have to work harder than men to achieve the same recognition and benefits - and 74 per cent of men agree with them.
There is no major women's football competition this summer outside of the Olympics - an event which the Home Nations will not be involved in after the Lionesses' failure to qualify.
Paired with the fact that Euro 2024 is currently being held in Germany, any many will likely make the mistake of thinking that anything to do with women's football, as well as women in football (note the distinction) has been placed on the backburner over summer.
But that is far from the truth.
As CEO of Women in Football Yvonne Harrison told talkSPORT that the timing of this survey release had consequently been a very deliberate decision.
"The women's football community are very strong and vocal and will continue," she said. "And whilst we haven't got major tournaments, we've got really exciting developments in terms of the NewCo within England and the Barclays WSL and Women's Championships. So I think that will stay live in people's minds."
The film is subtitled in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Where Olive Trees Weep is a beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking new film about the struggles and the resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice. It features Dr. Gabor Maté as he offers trauma-healing work to Palestinian women who were tortured in Israeli prisons.
The premiere is accompanied by 21 days of conversations on Palestine with leading historians, spiritual teachers, trauma therapists, poets, artists and more. June 6-27.
🎬To learn more visit: WhereOliveTreesWeep.com
The film gives background to the current crisis in Israel/Palestine and brings to light the lives of people we met on our 2022 journey in the occupied West Bank. Their universally human stories speak of intergenerational pain, trauma and resilience. We hope they touch your heart, stir compassion and understanding, and give rise to a pursuit for justice. For without justice, peace remains an empty slogan.
Cinema can be a powerful force for change. Our aim is, beyond mere education, to truly move hearts and minds and inspire audiences to echo the calls for freedom, equality and dignity that have gone unanswered for far too long.
The film is our modest contribution towards our dream for an end to the occupation in Palestine, the attainment of equal rights and fair treatment for Palestinian people, and the spreading of healing for all intergenerational cycles of trauma in the region.
"Where Olive Trees Weep" is out now! The film is accompanied by 21 days of conversations on Palestine with leading historians, spiritual teachers, trauma therapists, poets, artists and more. The program will expand on the themes explored in the film and provide a larger historical and social context.
Access to the program and the film is by donation from June 6th-27th. To learn more visit: WhereOliveTreesWeep.com
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