Global

A Palestinian man, Atef Yousef Hanaysha, was killed by Israeli occupation forces on March 19 during a weekly protest against illegal Israeli settlement expansion in Beit Dajan, near Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

When a lost soul attempts to reclaim himself in the American way, it becomes, far too often . . . we all know this . . . another mass murder.

In the past week or so, there have been two more of them.

“This cannot be our new normal. We should be able to feel safe in our grocery stores. We should be able to feel safe in our schools, in our movie theaters and in our communities. We need to see a change.”

When I first saw this quote by U.S. Congressman Joe Neguse, whose district includes Boulder, Colorado, site of one of the shootings, I initially misread that last sentence and thought, oh my God, he’s right. We need a sea change!

Six years ago, on March 26, 2015, the US green-lighted and provided logistical support for the Saudi bombing of Yemen that continues on a daily basis. The US/Saudi war, which includes as allies the several members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, is an undeclared war, illegal under international law, and an endless crime against humanity. The US and the Saudis have dropped cluster bombs on Yemen since 2009. Yemen has no air force and no significant air defenses. Two years ago, even the US Congress voted to end US involvement in the war, but President Trump vetoed the resolution.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- U.S. Homeland Security helped Thailand confiscate
"numerous infants," including Caucasian and Chinese, and arrest an
American woman and others who allegedly paid Thai females to be
artificially inseminated for customers in foreign countries.

At least one baby, born premature in Thailand four months ago, was
suffering a brain hemorrhage requiring hospitalization in Bangkok,
officials said.

"An investigative lead on an American citizen, with numerous infants
in her care, turned into a large-scale transnational organized crime
investigation," the U.S. Embassy in Thailand's Homeland Security
Investigations Country Attache Leonard Mancuso said on February 26,
responding to a request for details.

"In a coordinated effort between Homeland Security Investigations
(HSI), the Thailand Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the
Royal Thai Police (RTP), and other government and non-governmental
organizations, Thai authorities arrested an American citizen and her
employees in connection to an ongoing investigation of alleged illegal

Witness For Peace Southwest Invites You To Join The:   COLD WAR TRUTH COMMISSION

A Day of Education, Testimonials & Action

Come Spend The Day While We Put: “THE COLD WAR ON TRIAL” 

Sunday, March 21st - 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM (PST)

Here Are The Speakers We Have So Far:

Medea Benjamin, Daniel Ellsberg, Kathy Kelly, S. Brian Willson, David Swanson, Norman Solomon, Peter Phillips, Jeff Cohen,

Ann Wright, Peter Kuznick,  Roy Bourgeois, Bruce Gagnon, Joel Andreas, Gerald Horne, Matthew Hoh,

David Vine, Mickey Huff, Eric Mann, Jodie Evans, Gerry Condon, Carl Boggs, Jim Lafferty, John Parker 

Marcy Winograd, Jeremy Kuzmarov, Alice Slater, Michael Novick, Carley Towne, Ed Rampell & Others.

A much anticipated American foreign policy move under the Biden Administration on how to counter China’s unhindered economic growth and political ambitions came in the form of a virtual summit on March 12, linking, aside from the United States, India, Australia and Japan. 

Is it possible that the country is truly rebuilding itself . . . from the soul up?

Deb Haaland has been confirmed as head of the Department of the Interior. A Native American congresswoman and, as she describes herself, 35th-generation New Mexican, has been given the reins of the department that has essentially been at war, not simply with her people but with the planet itself and, therefore, all of us, pretty much since its inception. That is to say, the department’s values are those the European colonialists brought with them to the new continent: steal the land from those who live there, then proceed to exploit it.

The Lorax speaks for the trees.

Trump canceled him.

Trump’s Zombie Cultists are in a snit about Dr. Seuss. They whine about questioning his older books over issues of racism, sexism, and antisemitism. They moan about a “cancel culture.”

WE CALL BS!!!!

Theodore Seuss Geisel’s sixty-plus books have sold more than 700,000,000 copies worldwide. They are uniquely brilliant …charming, funny, irreverent, sassy, thought-provoking. They preach tolerance, fellowship, responsibility, good will, creative thinking … all the stuff Trump and his disciples so clearly hate.

Anti-authoritarian (Yertle the Turtle) and anti-materialistic (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas), Seuss provoked (like Mad Magazine), some of the first out-of-the-box excursions for millions of readers, young and younger.

Like early Disney, the Marx Brothers’ Day at the Races, and other ancient icons, some of Dr. Seuss’s early works have cringe-worthy passages with racist and sexist imagery.

Recent statements made by US officials suggest that Washington will continue to pursue a hardline policy on Venezuela. The new Biden Administration, however, needs to urgently rethink its approach.

US State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, remarked on February 3 that he “certainly” does not “expect this administration to be engaging directly with (President) Maduro.” Namely, Price expects that the Biden Administration will adhere to the strategy of its predecessor, which is predicated on completely ignoring the current government in Caracas. 

Many Palestinian intellectuals and political analysts find themselves in the unenviable position of having to declare a stance on whether they support or reject upcoming Palestinian elections which are scheduled for May 22 and July 30. But there are no easy answers.

The long-awaited decree by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last January to hold legislative and presidential elections in the coming months was widely welcomed,  not as a triumph for democracy but as the first tangible positive outcome of dialogue between rival Palestinian factions, mainly Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas. 

As far as inner Palestinian dialogue is concerned, the elections, if held unobstructed, could present a ray of hope that, finally, Palestinians in the Occupied Territories will enjoy a degree of democratic representation, a first step towards a more comprehensive representation that could include millions of Palestinians outside the Occupied Territories.