I'm not all that concerned with monuments coming down. I agree with C.I.'s point that nothing is forever and when she quoted Joni Mitchell ("I looked at the granite markers, Those tributes to finality, to eternity, And then I looked at myself here, Chicken scratching for my immortality").
Markers are a way of showing meaning and meaning can change and it's not the end of the world.
So I'm not really that involved in this discussion.
However, now that they're going after Lincoln?
This is from Niles Niemuth and David North (WSWS):
One month after the killing of George Floyd, the mass multi-racial demonstrations against police violence are in danger of being hijacked and misdirected by reactionary political forces who are attempting to promote racial divisions, sabotage the unity of working people and youth, and undermine the development of the class struggle against capitalism. This campaign is now concentrated on desecrating and destroying the statues of figures who led the American Revolution and the Civil War.
It is difficult to find words that adequately express the sense of revulsion produced by the monstrous attacks on memorials that honor the memory of Abraham Lincoln, the United States’ greatest president, who led the country during the Second American Revolution that destroyed the Slave Power and emancipated millions of enslaved African Americans.
On the evening of April 14, 1865, less than a week after the surrender of the main Confederate army, which brought the four-year Civil War to an end, Lincoln was shot in the head by the pro-slavery actor John Wilkes Booth. Nine hours later, at 7:22 on the morning of April 15, Lincoln died of the wound inflicted by the assassin. Standing beside Lincoln’s death bed, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton famously declared: “Now he belongs to the ages.”
Lincoln’s martyrdom produced an outpouring of grief throughout the United States and the world. The working class recognized that it had lost a great champion of democracy and human equality. Karl Marx, writing on behalf of the International Working Men’s Association, wrote in the days after Lincoln’s assassination that he was “one of the rare men who succeed in becoming great, without ceasing to be good.”
Abraham Lincoln was an extraordinarily complex man, whose life and politics reflected the contradictions of his time. He could not, as he once stated, “escape history.” Determined to save the Union, he was driven by the logic of the bloody civil war to resort to revolutionary measures. In the course of the brutal struggle, Lincoln gave expression to the revolutionary-democratic aspirations that inspired hundreds of thousands of Americans to fight and sacrifice their lives for a “new birth of freedom.”
Every period of political upsurge in the United States has drawn inspiration from Lincoln’s life. Since its opening in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC has been the site of some of the most important moments in the struggle against racial oppression and for equality. In 1939, when Hitler’s Nazis were on the march in Europe and fascism had many sympathizers among the American ruling elite, the famous African American contralto Marian Anderson was denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall. So instead she sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of 75,000.
In 1963, at the March on Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the same location as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, calling for equality and racial integration before a crowd of 250,000. Later in that decade, tens of thousands of youth protesting the Vietnam War assembled at the monument.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, July 2, 2020. Turkey just wants a buffer zone. Right. And they just kill 'militants' in Iraq too, right?
2015 will lead into 2016. So is it any surprise that, as the year ends, it appears very likely that the two major party candidates who'll be competing next year will be Hillary and Donald Trump?
What else, honestly, what else could The Year of the Ass produce but a match off between each major party's biggest ass?
That's Dr. John Campbell discussing the coronavirus pandemic in Iraq. This as ARAB NEWS notes, "Iraq announced 107 more deaths from COVID-19 and 2,415 new cases of the disease on Wednesday.
Of the new cases, 341 and 235 were recorded in Baghdad’s Al-Rusafa and
Al-Karkh districts respectively. Southern Iraq’s Dhi Qar province
recorded 252 new cases and Diwaniya 185." Jane Arraf (NPR) also reports on the pandemic:
"This is a war against the coronavirus and we have lost the war,"
says an Iraqi official who has been briefed on the government's response
to the pandemic.
The official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly, tells NPR the true number of cases is believed to be many times higher than reported figures of more than 1,900 deaths and more than 49,100 infections.
He appealed for more international help, and says hospitals in the southern city of Nasiriyah and the port city of Basra are no longer able to treat new patients. Protests in both cities over corruption and lack of government services helped bring down the previous Iraqi government last year.
Saif al-Badr, the spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Health, told journalists on Sunday that large groups of patients' relatives pushed their way into the main Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah last week. They seized oxygen canisters for their family members after realizing the hospital was running out. Health ministry officials say a doctor and other medical staff were assaulted in the scuffle.
The official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly, tells NPR the true number of cases is believed to be many times higher than reported figures of more than 1,900 deaths and more than 49,100 infections.
He appealed for more international help, and says hospitals in the southern city of Nasiriyah and the port city of Basra are no longer able to treat new patients. Protests in both cities over corruption and lack of government services helped bring down the previous Iraqi government last year.
Saif al-Badr, the spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Health, told journalists on Sunday that large groups of patients' relatives pushed their way into the main Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah last week. They seized oxygen canisters for their family members after realizing the hospital was running out. Health ministry officials say a doctor and other medical staff were assaulted in the scuffle.
MIDDLE EAST MONITOR ONLINE observes,
"The rising numbers have sparked fears that the healthcare system could
possibly collapse if the situation does not improve soon."
As
Iraq grapples with that crisis, they also grasp with the terrorism that
the government of Turkey is carrying out. Turkish war planes bomb Iraq
and Turkish soldiers enter Iraq and set up base camps.
Don't worry about the Turkish soldiers because when they're not terrorizing Iraqis, they find time to amuse themselves.
In the AHVAL video below, it's explained that the Turkish government wants to turn northern Iraq into a "buffer zone."
Nine
militants were killed, we're told the Turkish government proudly
claims. However, the Turkish government does not announce the number of
civilians they have killed. (Over six last week alone.)
Like any other normal day, Kaywan Kawa went to his shop in Sulaimani's
Kuna Masi village on June 26, when a Turkish airstrike struck his store
with his young family inside.
"They were all covered in blood," Kaywan's mother said of the moment she arrived on the scene. "I rushed to my daughter-in-law, she had fainted. I then rushed to my son and saw he had a chest wound and was bleeding. In the distance I saw the children lying on the ground."
The strike targeted a pickup truck near the shop, injuring another two civilians and killing one Kurdish fighter. The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish opposition group, announced last Friday in a statement that slain fighter belonged to them.
"Before I arrived at the shop, a Toyota Hilux stopped nearby. A person got out of the car and went inside the shop before me. When I went there later, my wife told me that he asked for eggs. The man asked me to pack the eggs for him," Kaywan recounted to Rudaw. "While packing, I heard a sound and was thrown in the air. All I remembered was that my ribs hurt."
"They were all covered in blood," Kaywan's mother said of the moment she arrived on the scene. "I rushed to my daughter-in-law, she had fainted. I then rushed to my son and saw he had a chest wound and was bleeding. In the distance I saw the children lying on the ground."
The strike targeted a pickup truck near the shop, injuring another two civilians and killing one Kurdish fighter. The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Iranian Kurdish opposition group, announced last Friday in a statement that slain fighter belonged to them.
"Before I arrived at the shop, a Toyota Hilux stopped nearby. A person got out of the car and went inside the shop before me. When I went there later, my wife told me that he asked for eggs. The man asked me to pack the eggs for him," Kaywan recounted to Rudaw. "While packing, I heard a sound and was thrown in the air. All I remembered was that my ribs hurt."
Tony posts video in his Tweet of what he says is Turkey on their 'PKK' mission.
June 29, 2020: Video documenting the firing positions of the Turkish armed forces in the Shirnak province of Turkey, near the border, which, claiming to carry out an action against alleged terrorists, firing in to Iraq at Kurdish positions.
6:33 AM · Jul 2, 2020
If that video is accurate, that's not a PKK camp. Nor is it a village -- it's a heavily populated city.
As
for a "buffer zone," generally when attempting to create a "border
zone," you do it in your own country You really don't have the right to
create a border zone for your country in another country.
But
the Turkish government doesn't get hung up with norms, mores, laws,
treaties. Being in violation of Iraq's national sovereignty doesn't
bother the Turkish government -- nor does violating international law
bother the government.
Threats of airstrikes by Turkey amid its current military offensive are
harming Iraq's already vulnerable ethnic and religious communities, a US
official has said.
In a discussion held by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Iraq’s minority groups, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour condemned recent Turkish airstrikes on the Yezidi heartland of Shingal, near the Syrian border.
“How can people possibly flourish if they are under the threat of airstrikes?” Robert Destro said on Tuesday, in response to a question from Rudaw on Turkish airstrikes in Sinjar (Shingal).
The airstrikes in the early hours of June 15 came just days after hundreds of Yezidi families returned to the Shingal area from displacement camps across the Kurdistan Region. While the area was liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) group in 2015, few members of the community have returned to the area, with basic services yet to be restored and concerns for their security amid the presence of a host of government and non-government military forces.
"The question of how you deal with airstrikes is a little bit out of my portfolio...The only thing I think that can be done is engagement with the Turks and other people who have been acting in ways that are not conducive to the health of these communities," Destro added.
In a discussion held by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Iraq’s minority groups, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour condemned recent Turkish airstrikes on the Yezidi heartland of Shingal, near the Syrian border.
“How can people possibly flourish if they are under the threat of airstrikes?” Robert Destro said on Tuesday, in response to a question from Rudaw on Turkish airstrikes in Sinjar (Shingal).
The airstrikes in the early hours of June 15 came just days after hundreds of Yezidi families returned to the Shingal area from displacement camps across the Kurdistan Region. While the area was liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) group in 2015, few members of the community have returned to the area, with basic services yet to be restored and concerns for their security amid the presence of a host of government and non-government military forces.
"The question of how you deal with airstrikes is a little bit out of my portfolio...The only thing I think that can be done is engagement with the Turks and other people who have been acting in ways that are not conducive to the health of these communities," Destro added.
Stop Turkey's Racist War on Kurds has Tweeted the following:
HEVALNO. Today the Turkish minister is going to Germany to discuss tourism. We invite you to discuss Boycotting Tourism to #Turkey on our TwitterStorm beginning at 8am (uk) 9am (European time).
Let's tell the world to
BOYCOTT TURKEY & support
#KurdishResistance #TwitterKurds
1:48 AM
In other news, Joe Biden continues to bumble along. Anya Parampil Tweets:
In a new ad
mixes footage of Black Lives Matter rallies, the COVID-19 outbreak, & scary images of Trump together to declare "Fidel, Chavez, Maduro, & Trump" are cut from the same cloth Why then has Trump intensified attacks on Cuba & Venezuela during his presidency?
mixes footage of Black Lives Matter rallies, the COVID-19 outbreak, & scary images of Trump together to declare "Fidel, Chavez, Maduro, & Trump" are cut from the same cloth Why then has Trump intensified attacks on Cuba & Venezuela during his presidency?
12:36 PM · Jul 1, 2020
Fidel
Castro is a number of things -- including admired by some Americans.
But it's interesting that all Joe has to offer is fear mongering. No
way to inspire Americans, no way to lift them up. Just an ugly campaign
from an ugly man accused of rape.
So we're back to where we were. As we concluded in "2015: The Year of the Ass:"
2015 will lead into 2016. So is it any surprise that, as the year ends, it appears very likely that the two major party candidates who'll be competing next year will be Hillary and Donald Trump?
What else, honestly, what else could The Year of the Ass produce but a match off between each major party's biggest ass?
We know how that worked out last time. Appalling that the DNC wanted to play the same game again.
We'll close with this from the Feminist Majority Foundation:
Dear Common Ills,
Today,
in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law
mandating that abortion providers have nearby hospital admitting
privileges. If upheld, the law would have closed most clinics across the
state and set an example for other states seeking to restrict abortion
access.
“Today’s
Supreme Court ruling overturned Louisiana’s transparent attempt to
undermine Roe v. Wade, close clinics, and restrict access – reaffirming
that the Constitution prohibits undue burdens on the right to obtain an
abortion,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority
Foundation. “But the decision was a narrow one, showing just how much is
at risk in the fight for reproductive freedom. Anti-choice extremists
will continue their efforts to weaken and overturn Roe and harm those
seeking abortion care. We must work to elect pro-choice legislators in
November who will protect abortion access. The stakes have never been
higher.”
“This
decision is the product of years of work on the ground,” remarked
Feminist Majority’s Louisiana Campus Organizer Ashley Sheffield. “It is
amazing to see human rights upheld in the highest court and we are
grateful to the Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom for this
partnership. Safe, legal abortion is here to stay in Louisiana, and
we’re gearing up to defeat yet another anti-abortion measure that will
be on the Louisiana ballot come November!
"We
rejoice today that Louisiana's law requiring abortion doctors to
acquire hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of their clinic
was struck down. Justice Breyer penned the decision, recognizing in
part, 'As we have seen, hospitals can, and do, deny admitting privileges
for reasons unrelated to a doctor’s ability safely to perform
abortions,’” stated duVergne Gaines, director of Feminist Majority
Foundation’s National Clinic Access Project. "Fear of anti-abortion
violence and harassment is one of the reasons hospitals can and do
refuse admitting privileges to physicians providing reproductive health
care.”
“The
Feminist Majority Foundation led the filing of a critical amicus brief
in this landmark case about the pernicious impact of anti-abortion
violence and harassment on physicians and on hospitals' willingness to
grant admitting privileges to abortion providers,” Gaines concluded.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today implicitly acknowledged the District
Court’s findings. These findings included the likelihood that if the
Louisiana law went into effect, anti-abortion harassment and threats of
violence would force providers to quit out of fear for their lives, thus
radically reducing the number of abortion providers. The Court rightly
concluded that too few abortion providers is an undue burden on
access."
In
December of 2019, the Feminist Majority Foundation along with the
National Organization for Women, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and
the Women’s Law Project filed an amicus brief highlighting the
connection between the Louisiana law and the ongoing threat of clinic
violence.
There
is still work to be done! This case has shown once again how delicately
abortion rights hang in the balance, and that losing a liberal justice
on the Supreme Court could doom Roe v. Wade. Stay tuned for updates on
how we are working to protect abortion access in all 50 states this
November!
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