Articles by: Phil Pasquini

CAIR Files Lawsuit to End Islamophobic No Fly List

CAIR Files Lawsuit to End Islamophobic No Fly List

A morning press conference was held on September 18 at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an Islamic civil rights advocacy group, to announce the filing of a lawsuit, Khairullah v Garland, today in U.S. Federal District Court of Massachusetts demanding a jury trial in ending the terrorism watchlist. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 12 Muslim plaintiffs against[Read More…]

by 20/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Little Amal Entertains and Informs on Refugee Children’s Strife

Little Amal Entertains and Informs on Refugee Children’s Strife

With half of the world’s 43.3 million (2022 UNHCR) refugees being children under the age of 18, it is fitting that a 12-foot-tall partially animatronic puppet portraying a 10-year-old Syrian refugee named “Little Amal” has been on a worldwide tour since 2021 calling attention to the children’s plight by conveying the message “Don’t forget about us.” The walks, as the[Read More…]

by 19/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Protesting on the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

Protesting on the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

This being the week of Mahsa Amini’s death a year ago in Iran has seen a number of protests and demonstrations along with think tank panel discussions all centered on the present state of affairs in Iran and the country’s future moving forward. On September 14, two days ahead of the first anniversary of the 22-year-old Amini’s death at the[Read More…]

by 17/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Iranian Regime Braces for Amini Death Anniversary Protests

Iranian Regime Braces for Amini Death Anniversary Protests

“Take off your headscarf, let your hair flow, don’t be afraid my love. Laugh, protest against fear.” In opening a panel discussion titled “The Masha Amini Protests and the Road Ahead for Iran,” Holly Dagres of the Atlantic Council quoted those defiant lyrics in a new popular song by Iranian Pop singer Mehdi Yarrahi titled Roosarito [Your Headscarf]. A panel[Read More…]

by 16/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
A call to free Leonard Peltier After 50 Years in Prison

A call to free Leonard Peltier After 50 Years in Prison

On Leonard Peltier’s 79th birthday, September 12 his family members along with hundreds of Native American activists and numerous supporters demonstrated at the White House calling on President Biden to grant him clemency so that he will not die in prison. Peltier, who was convicted in 1977 of killing two FBI Agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams in a shoot-out[Read More…]

by 14/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
 Union Activists Call on AFL-CIO to Disclose Chile Coup Involvement

 Union Activists Call on AFL-CIO to Disclose Chile Coup Involvement

Making good on their promise at yesterday’s teach-in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1973 US-sponsored coup in Chile in which the AFL-CIO played an active role bringing dictator Augusto Pinochet to power, union activists today held a noontime rally outside of AFL-CIO headquarters. The object of the rally was to inform the public by bringing the union’s involvement in[Read More…]

by 12/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Teach-In on the 50th Anniversary of the Brutal Chilean Coup

Teach-In on the 50th Anniversary of the Brutal Chilean Coup

September 11 is an ominous day for Americans who well remember the horrific events that unfolded in New York in 2001 and what eventually became the War on Terror. But for Chileans, it is a day that is well remembered as the beginning of a US supported military coup that overthrew the democratically elected President Salvador Allende and ushered in[Read More…]

by 11/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa Speaks on Press Freedoms and Democracy

Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa Speaks on Press Freedoms and Democracy

Nobel Laureate journalist Maria Ressa spoke at the National Press Club Headliners luncheon September 5 discussing the existential threat of press freedoms faced by journalists and media worldwide and warned about the demise of democracy in the wake of those threats. Ressa, however, believes countering press repression and misinformation opens opportunities for civil society to rise to the challenge in[Read More…]

by 08/09/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Protesters Call on Google and Amazon to Cancel Apartheid Cloud Project

Protesters Call on Google and Amazon to Cancel Apartheid Cloud Project

In their continued efforts to end Google and Amazon Web Service $1.2 billion Israeli military contract Project Nimbus, workers from both companies along with members of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and other activists demonstrated at San Francisco’s Moscone Center August 29 where the Google Cloud Next’23 conference was being held under the rubric of “Out with the[Read More…]

by 31/08/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Robotaxis Behaving Badly After Approval

Robotaxis Behaving Badly After Approval

A press conference August 23 at the Cruise Autonomous Robotaxi headquarters calling for a halt in the operation of all autonomous vehicles (AVs) on city streets following a number of traffic incidents over the past two weeks implored the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to take immediate action and stop all robotaxis from operating in the city before anyone is[Read More…]

by 24/08/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Fukushima Radioactive Water Release is Set to Begin

Fukushima Radioactive Water Release is Set to Begin

Much to the aggravation of concerned environmental activists, the Japanese government has approved the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plan to begin releasing the “treated” radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean that is stored at the Fukushima nuclear power plant beginning later this month. The water used to cool the radioactive fuel rods from the plant that was damaged in[Read More…]

by 12/08/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Driverless Robo-Taxis Allowed in San Francisco

Driverless Robo-Taxis Allowed in San Francisco

In spite of the huge protests and resistance from the public, California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted 4-1 in favor of the proposal to allow driverless Robo-Taxis in San Francisco. Protesters from a broad range of activists along with supporters demonstrated outside of the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) over their anger for support regarding the commission’s pending vote to[Read More…]

by 11/08/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Trump Indictment Courthouse Demonstration

Trump Indictment Courthouse Demonstration

Former president Trump’s arraignment yesterday at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC on conspiracy charges for his failed attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election was a day of bitter irony and a sad day in American history. All day outside the courthouse on the crowded sidewalks, media from around the world were reporting and[Read More…]

by 05/08/2023 Comments are Disabled World
 Korea: Rally to End an Unresolved War in an Effort for Peace 

 Korea: Rally to End an Unresolved War in an Effort for Peace 

In the severely hot and humid early evening here today in Washington, peace activists demonstrated and marched in a rally to end the war on the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice on July 27, 1953 that called for a formal end to hostilities on the peninsula. The war that has never officially been ended continues[Read More…]

by 28/07/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Photo: Phil Pasquini

Freedom to Vote Act Introduction

At a press conference today on Capitol Hill, the new Freedom to Vote legislation act was introduced to reverse House Republican Conference sponsored H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act). The bill was introduced to counter the ACE Act that would create more restrictive barriers for voting affecting voters of color and the poor while allowing for[Read More…]

by 21/07/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Photo: Phil Pasquini

60th Anniversary of the US Navy “Bombing” of San Francisco

A little known and underappreciated military historical event in San Francisco occurred sixty years ago today at high noon on Friday, July 19, 1963. A Navy A4A Skyhawk attack aircraft flying at 25,000 feet over San Francisco in restricted airspace piloted by Navy Reserve pilot Lt. Richard A. Kines accidentally dropped one of its six 25-pound non-explosive practice bombs that[Read More…]

by 19/07/2023 Comments are Disabled World
What Palestine Brings the World, A Question Answered

What Palestine Brings the World, A Question Answered

Anyone visiting Paris from now until Nov. 19 should include the excellent exhibition “Ce Que La Palestine Apporte Au Monde” (What Palestine Brings the World) at the Instituit Du Monde Arabe. The exhibition, along with related Palestinian programs, afford a look at Palestine, its people, art, culture, concerts, films and presentations through the eyes of Palestinians and others whose events[Read More…]

by 03/07/2023 Comments are Disabled Palestine
“Put on the brakes” Robotaxi Protest to keep SF Streets Safe!

“Put on the brakes” Robotaxi Protest to keep SF Streets Safe!

With the possible addition of 200 more autonomous vehicle (AVS) robotaxis in San Francisco, demonstrators opposed to their deployment vented their frustration this morning outside the offices of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) who will decide whether to move ahead with approving the proposal. The meeting scheduled for this morning at the last minute was moved back to the[Read More…]

by 30/06/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Aussies Say No to Nuclear Sub Base at Port Kembla

Aussies Say No to Nuclear Sub Base at Port Kembla

As the only G20 country to ban nuclear power by federal law, Australia is now considering where to build an east coast base for its new American-British Missouri class nuclear-powered submarine fleet. On the short list of three possibilities are Brisbane, Newcastle or Port Kembla (Aboriginal for “plenty of waterfowl”). The New South Wales (NSW) Port Kembla on the Tasman[Read More…]

by 07/05/2023 Comments are Disabled World
As Americans Pay Income Taxes, Revenue Heads to Israel

As Americans Pay Income Taxes, Revenue Heads to Israel

San Francisco (04-19) – On Tax Day April 18, fourteen activists wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “75 Years of Israeli War Crimes” in front of a backdrop decorated with “Crime Scene” tape, chained themselves at the entry and escalators to the building housing the Israeli Consulate. The human chain achieved its desired effect by closing the consulate and access to the[Read More…]

by 20/04/2023 Comments are Disabled Palestine
Japan Proposes to Dump Radioactive Water into the Pacific

Japan Proposes to Dump Radioactive Water into the Pacific

Activists took to the streets today in front of the Japanese Consulate to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the second worst nuclear power accident in history demanding the Japanese government not allow the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) to dump radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean. They also called for “NO Nukes” for[Read More…]

by 14/04/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Stop Killing Us, Guns in America

Stop Killing Us, Guns in America

For seven years now former Marine and anti-gun violence activist Jamal Johnson has undertaken a three week 140-mile walk from Philadelphia to Washington, DC to participate in the annual Stop Killing Us (SKU) campaign and intergenerational rally. “Every step I take is a step in the right directions” is how Johnson affirmatively surmises his long between the two cities. In[Read More…]

by 02/04/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Spring has Sprung an Indictment on Trump!

Spring has Sprung an Indictment on Trump!

No sooner had Trump been indicted by a grand jury in New York than activist Nadine Seiler was outside the White House with her large homemade banner announcing it to the world. This morning she stationed herself in front of the building expressing her joy with many other enthusiastic visitors and tourists enjoying the moment. Seiler may be remembered for[Read More…]

by 01/04/2023 Comments are Disabled World
DOJ Called Upon to Investigate Environmental Activists Abuses

DOJ Called Upon to Investigate Environmental Activists Abuses

Outside of the Department of Justice during a late afternoon demonstration, protesters from a broad range of ideologies and coalitions called for solidarity with the ‘Stop Cop City’ movement in Atlanta. The demonstrators are trying to provoke the Department of Justice (DOJ) into acting to fully investigate and prevent further abuses against environmental activists by the Georgia police and legal[Read More…]

by 29/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Media and the March to War 

Media and the March to War 

During this past week on the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and the ensuing war one fundamental question on many people’s minds is how it all started. For those who were either too young to remember, or those who were not paying attention at the time or who were not yet born the answer is pivotal in[Read More…]

by 27/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Ihan Omar Introduces Legislation to Combat Islamophobia

Ihan Omar Introduces Legislation to Combat Islamophobia

Representative Ihan Omar (D-MN) on March 23 hosted a press conference this morning on Capitol Hill to introduce a resolution combating Islamophobia across the country and around the world. Also lending their support for the amendment were Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL); Robert McCaw, Director of Government Affairs at The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); Human Rights First Executive Vice President[Read More…]

by 24/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
 Yarrow Mamout Masjid Dedicated at Georgetown University

 Yarrow Mamout Masjid Dedicated at Georgetown University

Georgetown University’s first mosque (masjid) was dedicated on March 18 in honor of Yarrow Mamout, one of the area’s earliest residents. Yarrow was an enslaved West African of the Fulani people who arrived in Annapolis in 1752 at age sixteen and was a slave for forty-four years of the Beall family, first in Annapolis and later in Georgetown. A devout[Read More…]

by 21/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Massive White House Protest Against Endless Wars

Massive White House Protest Against Endless Wars

WASHINGTON (03-20) – Anti-war protesters demonstrated across the country yesterday on the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and the ensuing war. Across from the White House in Lafayette Square protesters heard speakers condemning America’s “eternal wars” and called for a reduction in the Pentagon budget, an end to the war in Ukraine through negotiations and cautioning against a[Read More…]

by 20/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Activists Protest Smotrich’s Visit to Washington

Activists Protest Smotrich’s Visit to Washington

Several hundred concerned human rights, pro-Palestinian activists and Zionists demonstrated outside of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Washington on the evening of March 12 to protest the presence of Israel’s pro-settlement, far-right nationalist, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose recent comments called for the annihilation of the small Palestinian village of Huwara. The village located near Nablus on the occupied[Read More…]

by 13/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
The Modi Question Calls for Press Truth Above all Else

The Modi Question Calls for Press Truth Above all Else

WASHINGTON – The National Press Club’s Journalism Institute last evening hosted a condensed showing of the controversial BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question. The two-part documentary banned in India tells the story of the 2002 riot that saw Hindu extremists attack the Muslim section of Gujarat killing thousands of Muslim Indians. The riot took place in the aftermath of an[Read More…]

by 10/03/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Call for Biden’s Help 

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Call for Biden’s Help 

WASHINGTON – A large and colorfully dressed crowd of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians peacefully demonstrated on March 5 at the White House led by religious leaders calling upon President Biden, the US and the world to intervene on their behalf in an ongoing systematic campaign of oppression and intimidation against their religion by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party. Abiy is[Read More…]

by 07/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Women Over Profit? Activists Say No!

Women Over Profit? Activists Say No!

  WASHINGTON (03-04) – Women’s Rights activists descended upon the Philippine Embassy on March 4 during a march calling for major reforms for the country. The march was held after the first day of a political conference sponsored by the International Women’s Alliance, an anti-imperialist alliance of grassroots  women’s organizations, institutions and individuals who are calling for reforms. Carrying large[Read More…]

by 06/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Gun Violence Memorial Closes as Gun Violence Continues

Gun Violence Memorial Closes as Gun Violence Continues

WASHINGTON (03-04) – Today marked the closing ceremony at the National Building Museum where the shocking and profoundly sad Gun Violence National Memorial Project has been on display since April 2021. With its closing, future exhibitions are now being planned to take place around the country while those involved in its creation are lobbying for a permanent National Gun Violence[Read More…]

by 05/03/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Photo Phil Pasquini

Mothers March on the Israeli Consulate

Promising to return once a month, the group “Mothers on the March,” who have actively engaged for the past decade through weekly vigils in protesting police killings and brutality of Black and Brown people by police, held their first demonstration February 24 outside of the Israeli Consulate, calling attention to the injustice for killings of Palestinians in Israel and the[Read More…]

by 26/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Anti-War Duck and Cover

Anti-War Duck and Cover

As the nuclear “Doomsday Clock” inches towards midnight, peace, anti-war and Climate Crisis activists took the streets today across the country to protest their “Rage against the War Machine” demanding substantive de-escalation of the Russian-Ukraine war and calling for “Not one penny for war in Ukraine” while emphatically calling for substantive changes to reverse the climate crisis. Participants in the[Read More…]

by 20/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Ihan Omar Removed from Foreign Affairs Committee

Ihan Omar Removed from Foreign Affairs Committee

House Republicans, now being in the majority under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (D-CA), having mounted a smear campaign against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for her antisemitic comments, which she later apologized for, removed her yesterday from the Foreign Affairs Committee. House Resolution 76 (H. RES.76) submitted by Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) calls for her removal because “Representative Omar[Read More…]

by 04/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
NPC Calls for Release of Journalist Austin Tice

NPC Calls for Release of Journalist Austin Tice

The National Press Club in Washington, DC today upped the public awareness campaign calling for the immediate release of war correspondent Austin Tice who was kidnapped on August 13, 2012, after being detained at a checkpoint near Damascus, Syria. The campaign is part of the Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership drive to #FreeAustinTice along with several partners involved in press[Read More…]

by 02/02/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Activists Take Over a Street to Protest Tyre Nichols Killing

Activists Take Over a Street to Protest Tyre Nichols Killing

Prior to the Memphis police release of the horrific video this evening showing the beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, activists took over and shut down a block along the busy K Street NW in downtown Washington. Nichols, who was stopped for a traffic violation by the special Scorpion unit, was brutally beaten by a gang of officers without any provocation[Read More…]

by 28/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Legislators Called Upon to Pass the No Ban Act Now!

Legislators Called Upon to Pass the No Ban Act Now!

WASHINGTON (01-26) – A group of legislators in concert with a broad coalition of civil rights groups and immigrant justice organizations held a news conference at the U.S. Capitol House Triangle in recognition of the 6th anniversary of the Trump-era Muslim and African ban. The groups are calling for action by President Biden in living up to his promise of[Read More…]

by 27/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Women Promise Reversal of Roe v Wade

Women Promise Reversal of Roe v Wade

In the wake of the Roe v Wade reversal, women across the nation today demonstrated on the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision by marching in support of reestablishing a Women’s Right for abortion. By organizing their voices and electing Women’s Rights candidates in the 2022 mid-term elections voters have sent a powerful message to anti-freedom politicians. Pledging[Read More…]

by 23/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Anti-War Activists Reflect on MLK’s Legacy

Anti-War Activists Reflect on MLK’s Legacy

On what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s 94th birthday, several ceremonies to honor the fallen Civil Rights Era icon and his legacy were held at the King Memorial today. At the base of the massive and imposing white granite statue of Dr. King, attendees of the various programs reflected on his life and all that he achieved[Read More…]

by 17/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
No Justice for Lt. Alkonis is Justice Denied

No Justice for Lt. Alkonis is Justice Denied

Brittany Alkonis, wife of imprisoned U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis who was convicted in Japan of negligent driving for his involvement in a traffic accident that took the lives of two people, demonstrated along with supporters today outside the White House seeking his release from a Japanese prison. Alkonis, who suffered a medical emergency and passed out while behind the[Read More…]

by 14/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
“Democracy Dies in Darkness” Guantánamo at 21…

“Democracy Dies in Darkness” Guantánamo at 21…

In what has unfortunately become an annual event, activists today from Witness Against Torture and the National Religious Campaign Witness Against Torture held a Close Guantánamo vigil outside the White House marking the 21st anniversary of the extrajudicial prison’s opening at the U.S. Naval Base, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Since it was first opened by the Bush administration on January 11,[Read More…]

by 12/01/2023 Comments are Disabled Human Rights
Ukraine Airlines flight 752 Remembered as Iran Continues Executing Protesters

Ukraine Airlines flight 752 Remembered as Iran Continues Executing Protesters

Iranian Americans this weekend rallied at the Lincoln Memorial in support of the “revolution” taking place in Iran where demonstrations determined to overthrow the Islamic regime continue. Today also marked the third anniversary of the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 by Iran. The civilian flight which had taken off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, was on[Read More…]

by 09/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters King

J6 Threat of Insurrection Continues

Like so many other days, January 6th has always been just another day of no particular note. But in 2021 that day was transformed into one of our country’s least proud moments as insurrectionists stormed the Capitol at Trump’s beckoning to overthrow the government because of his unwillingness to accept that he had lost the 2020 election. That day is[Read More…]

by 07/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
 Musk’s Ticket to Mars Can’t Come Soon Enough for Some

 Musk’s Ticket to Mars Can’t Come Soon Enough for Some

Twitter headquarters was the scene of a demonstration by union and labor activists today under the theme of “Get Your Ticket to Mars, Musk Attacks for Crushing Workers” calling for Elon Musk to depart Earth via his company Space X for the Red Planet. The trope was inspired by Musk’s own words who on numerous occasions has stated that he[Read More…]

by 19/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Memorial

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Memorial

NOVATO, CA (12-14) – On the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, activist groups around the country honored the memory of the 20 first graders ages six and seven and six adult staff members who were murdered. Since then, 89 other students across the country have been killed in twenty-two school shootings. Those who were hopeful that[Read More…]

by 15/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Cleaning up Twitter Just Got Harder for Elon!

Cleaning up Twitter Just Got Harder for Elon!

“The World’s Richest Person” bad boy Elon Musk just can’t seem to stay out of the news or trouble. Instead of cleaning up Twitter as he promised, all he has managed to do is create one mess after another. After firing around half the former work force of 7,500 people at the social media company and opening the tap to[Read More…]

by 08/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Police Killer Robots in SF are on Temporary Hold

Police Killer Robots in SF are on Temporary Hold

  WASHINGTON (12-06) – Feeling pressure from a massive public outcry over the use of remote-controlled lethally armed police robots, the Board of Supervisors today voted 8-3 not to move forward at this time in approving a proposal for their deployment. The board instead voted to send the proposal back to the rules committee for further study meaning that conceivably[Read More…]

by 07/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Killer Robot Cops in San Francisco?

Killer Robot Cops in San Francisco?

The reality of San Francisco police making use of remote-controlled lethally armed robots as part of their arsenal is no longer the stuff of science fiction. An amendment to the Administrative Code in deploying such a force received an earlier 8-3 vote in its favor after a first reading resulting in a swift backlash by concerned citizens. The issue of[Read More…]

by 06/12/2022 Comments are Disabled World
West Bank Attacks by IDF and Settlers Continue

West Bank Attacks by IDF and Settlers Continue

In what has turned out to be one of the deadliest years for residents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2015, over 100 Palestinians and four Israel servicemen and police officers have been killed thus far this year. The Israeli army has been conducting operations with incursions into the  West Bank on a nearly daily basis in what[Read More…]

by 23/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
A Rally for Democracy and the Right to Vote

A Rally for Democracy and the Right to Vote

WASHINGTON (10-20) – With the Capitol as a backdrop today, activists held a “Jan 6 Justice: Our Freedom, Our Vote!” rally in support of democracy and in holding Trump and his MAGA Republican followers responsible for engaging in the violent criminal conspiracy they initiated to overturn an election they lost. Their willingness to engage in violence to see that they[Read More…]

by 21/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Can Activists Change the Ways of the World Bank and IMF?

Can Activists Change the Ways of the World Bank and IMF?

All this week during the annual fall meeting of the IMF and World Bank, climate activists have been attempting to stop “business as usual” at the two institutions. On Thursday, activists demonstrated in a “Drown them out!” across the street from the World Bank headquarters while a press conference was being held by the G-20 finance ministers to announce their[Read More…]

by 15/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Message to the IMF & World Bank – Save the World

Message to the IMF & World Bank – Save the World

WASHINGTON (10-12) – This being October, the International Money Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will hold their annual meetings here in Washington deciding on monetary policy and how the institutions will fund the fossil fuel industries at the peril of the planet. Activists are also calling the groups’ attention as to how funding has ignored our fragile biodiversity so[Read More…]

by 13/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
The U.S. Army Begins to Deal with Climate

The U.S. Army Begins to Deal with Climate

As with all things military, the Army has created an anachronism for correcting its negative impact on the environment and climate titled, the Army Climate Strategy (ACS), setting “targets” to address their massive negative contribution to climate change. The Army is the first service branch in the DOD to release such a climate strategy to meet both short term and[Read More…]

by 11/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Hazara’s Rally in the Aftermath of Horrific School Bombing

Hazara’s Rally in the Aftermath of Horrific School Bombing

On Oct. 8, members of the Hazara and Afghan communities in Washington, DC held a rally in McPherson Square to protest the killing of 35 schoolgirls inside the Kaaj Educational Center in the Dasht-e-Barchi district of West Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept 30. Rallies were also held around the world in 64 countries and 92 cities as Hazara calling attention to[Read More…]

by 10/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
 Can COP27 Make a Difference?

 Can COP27 Make a Difference?

The National Press Club hosted a talk by climate activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Nakate, 25, who addressed the question of reparation payments to developing countries in seeking climate justice to compensate them for their mounting losses and ongoing damages being caused by climate change. Nakate and others will be raising that issue at the upcoming United Nations Climate[Read More…]

by 09/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Big Pharma and Obscene Profits

Big Pharma and Obscene Profits

Obscenely high prices for prescription medicine create billions of dollars of profit for giant pharmaceutical companies to the financial detriment for those whose health depend on their products. Reforming that system in lowering prescription drug prices has become an ongoing contest of money and influence prevailing over the lives and health of those who simply cannot afford the high costs.[Read More…]

by 07/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Clean Water at What Cost?

 Clean Water at What Cost?

This being the first Monday in October means the Supreme Court is now back in a new session along with its newest member and the first Black woman Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Among its many cases the first to be reviewed is Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, pitting landowners Michael and Chantell Sackett of Idaho against the Environmental Protection Agency’s[Read More…]

by 04/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
The Sad Tale of USN Lt. Alkonis in Japan 

The Sad Tale of USN Lt. Alkonis in Japan 

The family of U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis has been rallying outside of the White House this past week seeking to bring attention to the unjust case in hopes of gaining his release from a Japanese prison. Posters and signs at the west gate entrance to the White House calling for his immediate release form a backdrop as his children[Read More…]

by 03/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
 Ending Urban Gun Violence in America

 Ending Urban Gun Violence in America

A profoundly inspiring and positive news conference was held today at the National Press Club addressing the ever-increasing street gang gun violence problem in America. No community in the country has suffered more than that of the African-American community that has seen during the COVID pandemic an ever-escalating increase in senseless shootings and killings. In addressing the pandemic of gun[Read More…]

by 02/10/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Yes, to Water, No to Oil!

Yes, to Water, No to Oil!

Standing behind a large banner proclaiming “Permission Denied,” a coalition of activists from a broad spectrum of environmental groups demonstrated this morning at the U.S. Capitol, calling on both Houses to declare the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) a dead deal. Many held signs reading “Keep it in the Ground” regarding the extraction of fossil fuels and their effect on the[Read More…]

by 28/09/2022 Comments are Disabled World
File photos of a library in Nashik

On the Subject of Book Banning, Can Burning be Far Behind?

This being Banned Books Week, one should first ask why in a free society such a declaration is even necessary. All citizens should be free to read any book they choose without others enforcing their ideals or will upon them. The freedom of choice to read any book offers us exposure to alternative views and experiences of their authors to[Read More…]

by 23/09/2022 Comments are Disabled World
National Press Club Honors Shireen Abu Akleh

National Press Club Honors Shireen Abu Akleh

Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed on May 11, 2022, while reporting from the West Bank during an Israeli military operation was honored last night at the National Press Club in Washington during the club’s 49th Annual National Press Club Journalism Awards Dinner. Al Jazeera DC Bureau Chief Abderahim Foukara noted that the shooting of his colleague[Read More…]

by 02/09/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Vigil for Victims of Israeli Attack in Gaza

Vigil for Victims of Israeli Attack in Gaza

A vigil was held this evening at the Museum of the Palestinian People to honor the 16 children killed in the Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip. The attack on 140 sites in the crowded strip killed 44 people and wounded hundreds of others including children ranging in age from four to sixteen. Museum Curator and Direct Ahmed Mansour[Read More…]

by 10/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
77th Nagasaki Memorial at the White House

77th Nagasaki Memorial at the White House

On the 77th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki during WWII was cause for a small group of anti-war activists to demonstrate at the White House to draw attention to both that disaster and the ongoing legacy of nuclear war that continues to threaten the world. The setting was appropriate as nearby on the sidewalk in a tent at Lafayette[Read More…]

by 10/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Climate Crisis, Tax Reforms and Sausages

Climate Crisis, Tax Reforms and Sausages

The pending massive climate legislation to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 40 percent by 2030 as outlined by President Biden is still being held hostage in the Senate. The $369 billion package that is thicker than a New York phonebook contains 725 pages of text. Like any well-made sausage, the bill includes a myriad of bits and pieces of[Read More…]

by 05/08/2022 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
Climate Crisis and the military

Climate Crisis and the military

  Seven people including veterans and their supporters were arrested this morning while staging a sit-in on the street in front of the U.S. Capitol when calling for action on the military’s massive contribution to climate change. Veterans For Peace (VFP), the organization that sponsored the action, made known their demands to bring about a reduction in the environmental damage[Read More…]

by 04/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Korean War Monument Unveiling Pays Tribute to the Fallen

Korean War Monument Unveiling Pays Tribute to the Fallen

A long overdue tribute to honor each individual service member who gave their life during the 1950-1953 Korean War has finally been added to the Korean War monument here in Washington. In October of 2016, Congress enacted the “Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act” (Public Law 114–230) with the stipulation that related costs for its implementation would not[Read More…]

by 31/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Anti-Mountain Valley Pipeline Protest

Anti-Mountain Valley Pipeline Protest

A small group of dedicated activists today rallied in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters calling for the commission not to issue a second extension certificate to the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) a $5.5 billion 303-mile-long interstate natural gas project. The 42-inch diameter pipeline is facing opposition from numerable groups with issues related to global warming,[Read More…]

by 29/07/2022 Comments are Disabled Environmental Protection
Activists Demand Biden End Support to Marcos 2.0

Activists Demand Biden End Support to Marcos 2.0

A small group of activists marched from Dupont Circle to the Philippine Embassy calling for President Biden to stop supporting the Philippine government of “BongBong” Marcos while calling for the prosecution of former President Duterte for the extrajudicial killings in his “War on Drugs.” Signs in both English and Tagalog were used to inspire resistance and to fight for change.[Read More…]

by 24/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Biden’s Middle East Trip is all about Oil and Mid-Term Elections

Biden’s Middle East Trip is all about Oil and Mid-Term Elections

President Biden’s Middle East trip that was claimed to be undertaken to bolster American interest in the region has instead angered activists around the world. Referring to himself as a “non-Jewish Zionist” to bolster his image and ongoing support while in Israel and at home along with his declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has done nothing to placate[Read More…]

by 16/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Biden “Celebrates” New Gun Laws, Activists Lament

Biden “Celebrates” New Gun Laws, Activists Lament

Today being 7-11, one would have thought it would be a lucky day. But America being America, ever fascinated with guns and gun culture, it’s just another day of violence in which, on average, sees 96 people killed by guns. Oddly, too, it was one week ago on July 4th that a deranged gunman killed seven people at an Independence[Read More…]

by 12/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Saudi Embassy Now Faces Jamal Khashoggi Way

Saudi Embassy Now Faces Jamal Khashoggi Way

Protesting against governments for human rights violations, illegal acts, war and other non-socially redeeming behavior can take many forms. Washington, like many nations’ capitals, is no exception when it comes to shaming governments, including our own, for their outrageous, illegal and immoral behavior. Being creative with bringing a public protest has always been a challenge for any number of reasons.[Read More…]

by 11/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Pro-Choice Activists Call Upon Biden to Act Boldly

Pro-Choice Activists Call Upon Biden to Act Boldly

In demonstrations across the nation today activist rallied under the call of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights and in support of their actions, participants were asked to wear green, the internationally recognized symbol of abortion rights. Here in Washington, women of all ages along with their supporters, marched to the White House after a nearby rally in support of Women’s[Read More…]

by 10/07/2022 Comments are Disabled World
 Activists Tell the Supreme Court to “Shove it”

 Activists Tell the Supreme Court to “Shove it”

In the wake of the highly expected overturning of Roe v. Wade, activists demonstrated their contempt in towns and cities across the country for the Supreme Court and its highly politicized conservative agenda in a National Day of Defiance. In San Francisco alone there were three simultaneous demonstrations with protesters voicing their commitment to reestablish Women’s Rights for Pro-Choice, while[Read More…]

by 26/06/2022 Comments are Disabled World
 Another Palestinian Journalist Killed by the IDF

 Another Palestinian Journalist Killed by the IDF

Only 23 days after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist  Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, they have once again killed another journalist. As reported by the National Press Club Journalism Institute in Washington, 31-year-old journalist Ghufran Harun Warasneh was shot by IDF soldiers on June 1 while being questioned at an Israeli checkpoint in Area[Read More…]

by 06/06/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
America and Guns, the Unresolved Deadly Debate

America and Guns, the Unresolved Deadly Debate

This Memorial Day, as the nation reflects on, mourns and honors the sacrifices of U.S. military personnel who have died in the line of duty, another senseless killing of innocent elementary school children by a deranged gunman has marred the Federal holiday. First observed on May 30, 1868, the holiday allows us for one day to reflect on those sacrifices[Read More…]

by 30/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Climate Crisis, a Hot Topic for the Senate

Climate Crisis, a Hot Topic for the Senate

Activists from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) “Climate Can’t Wait” project assemble on a street corner each week near the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill intercepting senators’ staff members as they walked to work. The group’s weekly action is a unique attempt to get their message across to the legislators through their staff that they need to take[Read More…]

by 29/05/2022 Comments are Disabled Climate Change
 War Photos Exhibited to Promote Peace

 War Photos Exhibited to Promote Peace

Established by Congress in 1984, The US Institute of Peace (USIP) works to promote the building of peace “to prevent, mitigate and resolve violent conflict” abroad. The independent, nonpartisan institute aims to reach that monumental goal through its work by resolving armed conflict peacefully and in thwarting future crises. Apropos of their mission, an exhibition of photographs by photojournalists working[Read More…]

by 27/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Candlelight Vigil for Shireen 

Candlelight Vigil for Shireen 

On the sidewalk at the entrance to the National Press Club a large crowd of journalists, Palestinians and their supporters held a candlelight vigil May 17 to honor the memory of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The popular 51-year-old Al Jazeera TV reporter while on assignment in the West Bank with her crew was slain less than a week ago in[Read More…]

by 26/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Fast-Track to NATO Expansion Hits a Speed Bump

Fast-Track to NATO Expansion Hits a Speed Bump

Brookings, a think tank founded in 1916, presented a timely discussion this week titled “Finland, Sweden, and the future of NATO.” Discussing the urgent need to join NATO were Finnish ambassador to the U.S., Mikko Hautala, and the Swedish ambassador to the U.S., Karin Olofsdotter. The two ambassadors appeared in the wake of last week’s official state visit by their[Read More…]

by 25/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
 74th Anniversary of the Nakba at the Lincoln Memorial

 74th Anniversary of the Nakba at the Lincoln Memorial

WASHINGTON (05-15) – It has been 74 years since 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and land by Zionist forces on May 15, 1948, during the creation of the state of Israel. The global commemoration of the “Day of Palestinian Struggle” acknowledged each year is always mired in conflict. As such the scheduled Nakba (catastrophe) events in Berlin this[Read More…]

by 16/05/2022 Comments are Disabled Palestine
 Abortion Rights Activists Nationwide Solidarity Protest

 Abortion Rights Activists Nationwide Solidarity Protest

WASHINGTON (05-14) – Today in over 450 towns and cities across the USA, abortion rights activists rallied under the theme of “Rise up 4 Abortion Rights.” This follows a week of nationwide abortion rights demonstrations, die-ins, banner drops, walkouts, art installations and chalking to bring their message in a show of support for this vital right of personal choice. According[Read More…]

by 15/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
National Press Club Honors Shireen Abu Akleh

National Press Club Honors Shireen Abu Akleh

WASHINGTON (05-12) – The killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli sniper on May 11 has outraged journalists, human rights defenders and ordinary people around the world. In several countries there have been large demonstrations in protest of the killing of the 51-year-old veteran correspondent for Al-Jazeera. Reporting on an early morning raid by the Israeli military[Read More…]

by 13/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
A sign placed by an activist, comments on how Lockheed Martin’s profits are derived from killings.

 Peace Activists Target Lockheed Martin

In a generic industrial park a short distance from this town’s famous university sits the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center where the military contractor does research and development for its space division. It is here where, according to the company’s website, they “…create game-changing technologies.” Nobody would argue with that as it has over the years created many notable accomplishments[Read More…]

by 01/05/2022 Comments are Disabled World
A bucolic Buena Vista Street

CAIR-Kansas Calls for Removal of Racist Covenants from Property Deeds

Roeland Park, KS: The Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-KS) has called upon Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly to issue an executive order for the removal of the vestigial racist covenants contained in property records across the state. The unenforceable covenants contain insulting, degrading and discriminatory language from a bygone era that are hurtful to many homeowners.[Read More…]

by 30/04/2022 Comments are Disabled World
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