How Can We Make Reparations to Palestine?

by C. A. Matthews

There will come a day when the genocidaires of Israel and its mostly Western allies will be forced to make reparations to the Palestinian people. Justice demands that fair and proper restitution be made to the victims of Israeli war crimes. But what will these reparations look like? How will they be enacted? Who will oversee the implementation of these reparations?

I’ve pondered these questions and came up with an outline of what all should be covered in a reparations plan. I believe reparations should be made to the Palestinian people in the following categories:

1. Financial-Material Reparations

2. Cultural-Historical-Educational Reparations

3. Political-Judicial Reparations

4. Spiritual-Physical Reparations

Israel will have to make reparations to Lebanon, Syria, and Iran in addition to Gaza and the West Bank. In this article, I’m concentrating on reparations to be made to the Palestinian people, although this outline could be used as a pattern to help develop a reparations plan for other peoples Israel and its allies have committed war crimes against.

Financial-Material Reparations

Financial-material reparations are the most obvious ones that Israel and its allies will need to make. All buildings Israel has destroyed in its genocide of Gaza, as well as in its attempt to takeover the West Bank, must be repaired or replaced. This includes public edifices such as hospitals, schools, universities, churches, mosques, and community centers. It will also include restoring parks, beaches, tourist attractions, museums, theaters, and other public gathering places. Bridges, roads, port facilities, utilities, water treatment plants, power plants, and any other infrastructure damaged or destroyed will also need to be repaired or rebuilt and paid for by the war criminals.

Private homes, apartment buildings, business offices, shopping areas, and individual stores or kiosks must also be repaired or rebuilt in a timely manner. And because Israelis have deprived Palestinians of their livelihoods and homes, they would need to make good on the income Palestinians have lost during the commission of their war crimes. Israelis must continue to repay all Palestinians lost income during this period of rebuilding Gaza and the destroyed and stolen homes and villages of the West Bank.

I know what’s going through your head at this point: How will the state of Israel be able to afford the restoration of all the buildings and infrastructure it has destroyed? How will it afford to give financial support to the Palestinian families it has harmed? Who will be the workers to fulfill this plan?

I will discuss the worker situation later, but for now notice that I added “and allies” at the start when I mentioned who all have committed war crimes against the Palestinian people. Israel won’t be the only country that will be making good on these reparations. All of Israel’s allies that have provided funding, bombs, jets, tanks, munitions, mercenaries, military support and surveillance, etc., to attack Gaza will need to make restitution as well. No country that aided or abetted Israel’s war crimes gets to walk free under this reparations plan. All who are guilty will pay to restore the damages their activities and support of the state of Israel have caused. No exceptions...

 

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A system that makes you pay to exist, compete to eat, and obey to survive is not a civlization; it's a prison with shopping privileges. —Anonymous

Round Peg Revolution

by C.A. Matthews

There’s an old saying that goes, “You can’t fit a square peg into a round hole.” When I saw the above meme, I was momentarily taken aback. In this instance it’s the “round pegs” telling the “square peg” that they’re not going to change to fit the “square hole” or system. The round pegs insist that it’s better if the system is changed to fit all pegs. No peg is left behind that way.

Wow. That’s pretty deep, isn’t it?

What is the “system” these pegs are talking about? Could it be the system of government or a political system the pegs live under? Could it be the economic system the pegs have to work in? Could it be the social system that dictates what is considered moral and what isn’t in peg society? Could it be all three?

For ease of argument, let’s say the pegs’ “system” includes all three dimensions—social, political, and economic.

Now notice the square peg’s countenance and gesturing in the meme. It's frowning and pointing. Its demeanor is disapproving and demanding. The square peg is shown carrying a briefcase—sure evidence of a closed mind if there ever was one! 

I’ll admit I’m jumping to conclusions with the scanty facts presented, but you’ve got to admit that any peg which has sharp corners, carries a badge of honor for business-types (the briefcase), and displays a stern, condescending attitude toward others who are different from it is probably not a very nice peg person.

I believe the technical term for this type of peg would be an “asshole.”

The round pegs, on the hand, seem friendly and outgoing. They’re willing to work with the square peg to build a better system—a better world, you could say. Their willingness to think outside the box—or rather the “square hole”—and include a wide variety of pegs in their system demonstrates flexibility and their ability to handle a greater range of experiences. They’re not stuck with four sides and four corners. They’re “fluid” not “rigid,”open to change and desiring that all pegs thrive in their system.

Square peg with its briefcase and finger pointing tells us that it’s “The square pegs’ way or the highway!” The square peg system is unyielding. All pegs must re-shape how they think, how they act, who they are, and what they do to survive in order to fit into the square peg system. There are no options, no consideration for individual differences, talents, or tastes apparently in a square peg world.

 

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Marching Toward Justice

https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-complicity-gaza

Marching Toward Justice

by C.A. Matthews

No justice. No peace!
Know justice. Know peace!

I wore an orange jumpsuit and a black hood over my head this past Thursday (January 11) for two hours. I, along with a couple dozen activists, marched around our county courthouse chanting the above chant as well as many others concerning justice, freedom, and for the end of unjust detention and torture. Ours and many other protests worldwide this week marked the twenty-second anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, an extrajudicial prison operated by the US military that has held hundreds of men, many without charge, for the past 22 years.

(I’m carrying the “Close Guantanamo” sign in this video https://www.facebook.com/reel/1434577297270587)

There are currently thirty souls still detained at Guantanamo, sixteen of whom were supposed to have been released many years ago, but they haven’t been because the US simply doesn’t release these individuals to go back to their homes and families. They are only released to other countries that are willing to lock them up again behind bars or keep a close eye on them. You’re not really being “freed” if you’re simply placed into another prison or detention set-up without a trial and without a chance to see your family again, are you?

There are many parallels between the detainees of Guantanamo and the detainees of the open-air concentration camp known as Gaza. You can learn a lot (I sure did) from the following webinars. I recommend you watch them and share the links with others. Together, we can pull down the walls of unjust detention and tear down the torture chambers that have been built with US taxpayer dollars and used to destroy others in our names.

From Guantánamo to Gaza: Resisting State Violence and Occupation https://www.youtube.com/live/X9A9xUKXUpY?si=OapW7b5gqocTxLib

From Guantánamo to Gaza: Where Do We Go From Here?
https://youtube.com/live/aPxHKEjmCuw

If you feel so moved, please donate to the Guantanamo Survivors’ Fund. If and when a detainee is finally released, he receives no help in making the transition from imprisonment to life outside. He's given no money, no housing, no clothing, and no medical help to deal with his trauma of both mind and body. Please give generously if you’re able and share the link with others.

No justice. No peace.

And since I’m sharing video links, here are some well worth a look. These are the testimonies given at the International Court of Justice at The Hague by legal representatives from the Republic of South Africa and from the state of Israel this past week. The case presented by South Africa is well argued and, without a doubt, revealing of the true natures of Israel's leaders. The South Africans very wisely didn’t state that “Israel is calling for a genocide”—they simply quoted Israeli officials who openly called for the “elimination” or “complete annihilation” of the Palestinian people or the “human animals” of Gaza as the Israeli Defense minister named them. Their own hideously racist words will damn them. 

Day 1 of SA v Israel on Genocide at World Court
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/01/10/watch-day-1-of-sa-v-israel-on-genocide-at-world-court/

22-Minute Speech Details Israeli Officials' Genocidal Statements at ICJ https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-genocidal-statements-2666930604

It doesn’t take much to convince the public that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people when Israeli leaders are openly declaring that it’s what they’re in fact doing. But will the judges rule that a “potential for genocide” is indeed happening in Gaza?

In a perfect world, a ruling would be announced right away, but it will probably be two or three weeks (or more) until the world hears back from the ICJ justices. It is a very biased and political court  from what I’ve learned. Judges from countries that have had similar charges made against them in the past might not want to judge Israel guilty of the same crime in fear it could come back and bite their country at some point. The ICJ in reality, however, has little to no "bite" and no way to hold countries accountable for their war crimes, alas. Politics trumps justice in this imperfect world.

No justice. No peace. 

And now for our third story concerning the march toward justice this past week, The National March on Washington for Gaza (livestreamed in its entirety via BreakThrough News.)

 
“No country that supports genocide will ever flourish! ...Take a look at our irrational relationship with Israel!”-- Sh. Yasir Qadhi, a speaker at the March

“I don’t feel safe as a Palestinian.” – Anees, a Palestinian-American artist reading his poem in front of 400,000 people at the March

Biden, Biden you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!
Your silence is a license for Israeli violence!
We will free Palestine...within our lifetime!
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

I wish I could have attended the massive National March on Washington for Gaza this past weekend, but the march around the courthouse in the cold and damp earlier in the week was about all my old body could take for a while. The buses from our city heading toward DC were full, so I knew we would be well represented there.

Independent journalists broadcast live coverage on You Tube of all the rally speakers and the march to the White House to let “Genocide Joe” know that the majority of Americans want an end to the bombing of Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. BreakThrough News was the only media group that I could find online that followed all the events of the day. Once again, the American mainstream media purposefully ignored an anti-genocide/pro-Palestinian event in the nation’s capital in order to suppress its message and public knowledge of its large turn out.

Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now!

 

Speakers expressed their disgust and sheer horror at how the Biden’s administration continues to ignore the plight of the Palestinians and send even more weapons to Israel. How anyone could ignore the mass murders of so many civilians (now estimated at 30,000+ lives lost with 12,000 of those deaths being children’s) brought forth stern commentary using straightforward terminology. Biden and Secretary of State Blinken were painted as despicable, morally bankrupt, and explicitly complicit in the genocide against the Palestinian people.

That the Democratic Party even entertains the notion that Biden is a viable candidate after this and similar American rallies over the past three months demonstrates that they’re not really serious about keeping the White House. Perhaps that’s the plan of the oligarchy after all—to pass off control of the Executive Branch to the Republicans as a distraction from what’s really happening in the world at the expense of the struggling classes. 

 

The oligarchs probably believe that most Americans can't tell there are no actual differences between the two establishment factions. We are easily fooled. But on-the-street interviews during the march to the White House give evidence to the fact that the protesters know they have a choice in the voting booth. Some expressed their support for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, one of the speakers at the pre-march rally.

Dr. Stein was in good form. Wearing shades of blue, the wind blowing through her silver-white hair, she boldly proclaimed to the crowd as she took the stage, “I see power! I see justice! I see democracy as far as the eye can see!” She ended with, “You have the power! Remember, we have the power to change history. Together we are unstoppable!” Jill is collecting names for a pledge demanding an end to the genocide at her campaign web site now: https://www.jillstein2024.com/pledgetostopgenocide

You can watch Jill Stein's speech here: https://youtu.be/ooUatY8IATc?si=UFqvmOq6kQEgh6gu

The solidarity of the different groups of marchers was lovely to see. A young activist said of Joe Biden when asked why the president continued to send money and arms to Israel: “It’s not the eyes that are blind; it’s the heart that is blind.” “(Biden is) an excuse of a president,” another marcher told a reporter with BreakThrough News. “We are tired of being second class citizens in our own country.”

Very telling comments on this, the weekend of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. If Dr. King were alive today, no doubt he would have gone to DC and marched, proudly carrying a Palestinian flag.

“There’s no turning back,” said Liane, an activist with the Shut It Down For Palestine Coalition as she stood outside of the White House’s double-fence in the bitter cold after sunset. “Biden has lost legitimacy. No one running in either of the two parties has any legitimacy. Consciousness has been raised.”

Well said. It’s impressive how well-informed activists are and how they aren’t swallowing the pro-Zionist propaganda put out by the government. They're fighting back, speaking out, and naming names. They understand they have options, choices in the polling booth. Jill Stein, a strong pro-Palestine/anti-genocide candidate for the presidency, is one of them.

There is no justice and no peace yet for the beleaguered people of Palestine, but at least there is some hope on the horizon. And so we will continue marching on toward justice.

Related Articles and Interesting Links

The National March on Washington for Gaza, January 13, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/live/MCNrimImrH0?si=MAWHW7ZQfOj8XM4X

Chris Hedges: The Case for Genocide https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/12/chris-hedges-the-case-for-genocide/

Genocide is not a political problem. It is a moral one. We cannot, no matter what the cost, support those who commit or are accomplices to genocide. Genocide is the crime of all crimes. It is the purest expression of evil. We must stand unequivocally with Palestinians and the jurists from South Africa. We must demand justice. We must hold Biden accountable for the genocide in Gaza.

‘The Evidence of Genocide Is Not Only Chilling, It Is Also Overwhelming and Incontrovertible’
https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/12/the-evidence-of-genocide-is-not-only-chilling-it-is-also-overwhelming-and-incontrovertible/

What Israel Faces at The Hague
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/01/10/what-israel-faces-at-the-hague/

South Africa’s Impassioned Plea to Stop Israel’s Genocide https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/12/south-africas-impassioned-plea-to-stop-israels-genocide/

Your Man in the Hague (in a Good Way).
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/01/your-man-in-the-hague-in-a-good-way/

US and UK Bomb Yemen, Israel's Pathetic Defense at the International Court of Justice, and More
rumble.com/v46nujl-us-and-uk-bomb-yemen-israels-pathetic-defense-at-the-international-court-of.htm

Give to the Guantanamo Survivors Fund https://www.nogitmos.org/guantanamo-survivors-fund

An Ex-CIA Agent Looks Back at 22 Years of Torture at Guantánamo Bay https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/10/john-kiriakou-22-years-of-terror-at-guantanamo-bay/

Accountability and Legacy at Guantanamo: Some Progress, Still A Long Way to Go https://www.justsecurity.org/91156/accountability-and-legacy-at-guantanamo-some-progress-still-a-long-way-to-go/

Gaza crisis: another hospital facing dire shortages, warns WHO
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145332

 

Screams without proof: questions for NYT about shoddy ‘Hamas mass rape’ report https://thegrayzone.com/2024/01/10/questions-nyt-hamas-rape-report/

Pro-Palestinian household targeted with bomb in Sydney, Australia
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/01/10/sohf-j10.html

Westerners Have An Absolutely Psychotic View Of Airstrikes https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/westerners-have-an-absolutely-psychotic

Western Empire Bombs Yemen To Protect Israel's Genocide Operations In Gaza https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/western-empire-bombs-yemen-to-protect

US and UK launch war against Yemen https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/01/12/vgxz-j12.html

US and UK Bomb Dozens of Sites in Yemen https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/11/us-and-uk-bomb-dozens-of-sites-in-yemen/

We Could Try Simply NOT Provoking A Wider War Via The Continued Destruction Of Gaza https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/we-could-try-simply-not-provoking

Biden Is Everything People Feared Trump Would Be
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/biden-is-everything-people-feared

If You've Just Started Paying Attention To US Foreign Policy
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/if-youve-just-started-paying-attention

We badly need the kind of critical reporting that WikiLeaks supplied on the crimes of the “war on terror”
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/why-gaza-reporting-shows-that-julian-assange-should-be-free/

Abby Martin Explains Why Israel Will Never Be The Same
https://rumble.com/v46mcbr-abby-martin-explains-why-israel-will-never-be-the-same.html

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French Revolution 2.0/American Revolution Nil

French Revolution 2.0/American Revolution Nil

by C.A. Matthews 

 

If a massive series of nationwide strikes and protests occur across France, but American mainstream media completely ignores them, or relegates brief mentions of them to the “back pages,” does this ongoing popular French uprising really exist at all? 

 

This point struck home this week after I had a conversation with a person who said “Huh? What?” when I mentioned the huge number of protests, strike actions, and other activist events happening since the start of the year in France. He didn’t know that France is literally on fire. 

 

It seems odd that an intelligent person who’s reasonably in touch with reality wouldn’t be following the story of how French workers are standing up to President Macron’s unilateral raising of the retirement age. But if you watch mainstream news channels and read rags such as Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post, you might have missed anything to do with the French building barricades and burning automobiles in the streets next to sky-high piles of uncollected garbage bags and brigades of baton-wielding police officers dragging protesters off to jail.

 

Some days I wonder if it’s all worth it. Should I keep following independent journalists and keeping up with what’s happening in the world? Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel and give in to the propaganda machine. What could it hurt? I could live in darkness and believe that things that average Americans believe, like how we haven’t had a series of war criminals for president and American intelligence agencies had nothing to do with either the 2014 Maidan Coup or the Nord Stream 2 pipelines bombing. 

 

 (If you have to look up any of these topics to understand what I mean, might I suggest you check out https://radindiemedia.com and use their search function? You’re welcome.)

Back to the French protesting and burning cars in the streets thing: I’ve wondered if this ongoing protest in France is somehow a chance for Americans to witness and learn what a real, honest-to-goodness revolution is like. Before you object and say, “Hey, Americans had a revolution in 1776!” I’d like to remind you that the French also had a revolution in the 18^th century, around 1789. 

The thing is, the French working class actually toppled their monarch off his throne and marched him to the guillotine. American working classes (excluding enslaved Africans and despised/displaced Native Americans) simply followed a bunch of wealthy, white, slave-owning/land-owning males who threw a temper tantrum (or “Boston Tea Party”) over having to pay their fair share of taxes to the king back home in England—a king who never lost one hair on his head due to rude behavior in the colonies. 

If a despot is still sitting on his or her throne at the end of the day, you can’t say you’ve experienced a revolution, now can you?

The French have experienced a revolution on several occasions besides 1789, and it appears Macron is going to be out on his ear before too long if the people have anything to say about it. Sure, the militarized police and the armed forces are being used and will be used against the people, but the French seem bound and determined not to allow Macron to cross their line in the sand. They’re in it to win it, no matter how physically, financially, or emotionally damaging it could be.

What’s the difference between the French and Americans when it comes to standing up to injustices, such as forcing a raise in the retirement age? Independent journalist Patrick Lawrence in his piece, French Streets and American Sofas, puts it well:

...It is remarkable the world over to watch the French explode into the streets of dozens of cities and towns to protest the imperial president residing in Élysée Palace. It is altogether singular to follow the demonstrations against Emmanuel Macron as an American. The French are still citoyens and take to their streets and public squares. Americans long ago cashed in their citizenship to live as consumers—and take to their sofas no matter how abusively political elites treat them, no matter how many wars they start, no matter how corrupt the financial system, no matter how many people live in poverty, no matter how grotesque the “defense” budget, no matter how poisoned the environment, no matter… let me not go on.

Please pass the Fritos and turn on the big game.

Lawrence has wisely discerned the major difference between the French and the Americans that demonstrates why the French make revolutions and Americans make… simply a change in the TV channel and a choice of chips. The French still see themselves as one people, one body, one class of workers, standing up against the injustices of the king or the emperor or the president. The French don’t sit back and eat junk food and ignore the plight of their fellow workers. Instead, they stand up and take their righteous indignation to the streets and fight for justice for all workers, for all citizens, for all their people. 

Americans have, from time to time, attempted to do likewise—such as in the Civil Rights protests of the 1960s—but basically we’ve never been able to keep that level of righteous indignation going for very long. We profess that we don’t care all that much about our neighbors, particularly if our neighbor wears a red hat or votes “blue no matter who” or attends a different church or happens to use a public restroom we’d rather they didn’t use. Americans have been divided and conquered for so long that it’s as natural to us as breathing. We’d rather give in to the ruling oligarchy and turn on the game and tune out of life than stand up and fight for what really matters. 

Lawrence further elaborates on how the French see the raising retirement age problem as an indication of whose side their government is on: “Macron’s choice lay between raising taxes on the wealthy and the corporations or pushing the problem on the shoulders of the working class. He made the wrong choice.” 

Can you imagine American workers getting upset over the federal government raising the retirement age? Can you imagine American workers getting angry over how the wealthy and the corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes, so the poor and struggling workers are forced to make up the deficit? Of course you can’t imagine Americans having their noses put out of joint over this type of ill-treatment because these two things have already occurred in the US, and American workers have done nothing serious about them. Not. One. Thing.

You owe it to yourself to read the entirety of Lawrence’s article. Here’s one last quote that sums up where Americans have gone wrong in thinking that once we actually experienced a revolution:

The [French] Revolution was an attack on the vestiges of divine right, the notion that a monarch’s authority was God-given. It was about humanity, not the heavens, as the agent of its destiny. And it was class-conscious. There were no illusions in 1789 as to the nature of power. The fate of the French is in the hands of the French: This was the core thought then and it is the core thought now.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this fault in Americans. We don't really believe in ourselves as a people. We don't universally believe in anything really, other than the oligarchs’ propaganda that we gladly consume from our mainstream media like a bag of chips. Americans are indoctrinated from a young age and propagandized throughout our adulthood to do as we're told by our bosses. We have a natural instinct telling us things aren't quite adding up, that they're wrong or unfair, but we can never quite put a finger on it. We are blind to our society's class conflicts and never lose faith in the powers-that-be, no matter how blatantly corrupt they are or how perverted the capitalist economic system has become. 

Oh, to be as class-conscious and community-minded as the French! Oh, to be able to rise up as one people and set the streets on fire to scare the corrupt politician-puppets out of power! 

Maybe one day we shall have the strength, wisdom, and courage to take our destiny into our own hands like the French have done. Maybe we’ll even experience that “First American Revolution” that our poorly written history textbooks tell us our ancestors once participated in. Until then, pass the Fritos and hand me the remote. It’s my turn to pick the channel.

 

Related Links:

UPDATE: The French People Battle Pension Reform in Paris (video)https://unicornriot.ninja/2023/the-french-people-battle-p ension-reform-in-paris/ 

Patrick Lawrence: French Streets and American Sofas
https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/30/patrick-lawrence-french-streets-and-american-sofas/

France Burns! What the F*ck is Going On?! (video) https://youtu.be/drIYG3J86tI

Protests Rage In France For A Tenth Day https://popularresistance.org/protests-rage-in-france-for-a-tenth-day/

'The Movement Has Spread': Strikes Across France Aim to Block Macron Attack on Pensions
https://www.commondreams.org/news/france-protests-macron-pensions-mar-7

Macron Loses Control - Train Tracks Blocked https://youtu.be/lnXOkJzP63U

Women’s rights at the heart of the fight over pensions in France
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/03/07/womens-rights-at-the-heart-of-the-fight-over-pensions-in-france/

Macron Faces National Strike in France (video) https://youtu.be/ChpZ3p6MT9A

Despite Government Attacks: Workers, Students In France Stay Strong  https://popularresistance.org/despite-government-attacks-workers-students-in-france-stay-strong/

Workers in France are still refusing to back down to Macron’s pension reforms  https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2023/03/23/workers-in-france-are-still-refusing-to-back-down-to-macrons-pension-reforms/

Covering Up Anti-War Protest in US Media https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/31/covering-up-antiwar-protest-in-us-media/

How The Rich Are Prepping For End Times & Why (video about the petrodollar crashing) https://youtu.be/bW1bibPhJfA

CNN Pushes Propaganda on French Protests (video)
https://youtu.be/0_KtcRvxJnY

Fresh Clashes Rock France As Protests Shift To Water Dispute
https://popularresistance.org/fresh-clashes-rock-france-as-protests-shift-to-water-dispute/

No to French unions’ “mediation” with the state! Mobilize workers to bring down Macron!  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/30/yyvw-m30.html

Rubbish collectors lead last-ditch strikes against France’s pension reforms https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2023/03/15/rubbish-collectors-lead-last-ditch-strikes-against-frances-pension-reforms/

Massive Anti-NATO Protests Erupt in France (video) https://youtu.be/_sZcC8QAojU

Protesting French Students Denounce Trade Union "Mediation" with Macron https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/04/01/summ-a01.html

UN Security Council Won’t Probe Nord Stream Bombing
https://popularresistance.org/un-security-council-wont-probe-nord-stream-bombing/

Bad Faith UN Report On Nicaragua Whitewashes Violent US-Backed Coup
https://popularresistance.org/bad-faith-un-report-on-nicaragua-whitewashes-violent-us-backed-coup/

Congress Has Been Captured by the Arms Industry
https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/28/congress-has-been-captured-by-the-arms-industry/


The US Has Seen 50 Chemical Spills or Fires This Year, and It’s Only March https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-has-seen-50-chemical-spills-or-fires-this-year-and-its-only-march/

At Least 39 Asylum Seekers Dead After Fire at Migrant Jail in Mexico  https://truthout.org/articles/at-least-39-asylum-seekers-dead-after-fire-at-migrant-jail-in-mexico/

Google founder, former Disney exec to get subpoenas in JPMorgan Epstein lawsuit  https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/31/google-founder-former-disney-exec-to-get-subpoenas-in-jpmorgan-epstein-lawsuit.html

 

Seen on Twitter:

LITERALLY MILLIONS of French PEOPLE are PROTESTING each DAY

Do you think it’s simply over a pension reform……?

It’s not.

#Paris #France #MacronIsScum pic.twitter.com/OOvEg6Viyx

— Concerned Citizen (@cotupacs) March 31, 2023

How French is this? Two French people casually drink red wine and chat, as their city burns in the background.#FranceProtests #FrenchProtests #BeMoreFrench #MacronDemission pic.twitter.com/b9ahhkCjbZ

— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) March 25, 2023

It’s amazing the lack of coverage western media outlets are giving the mass protests in France. Just imagine if this was Russia or China. It would be on constant repeat. But if in the EU, limited cover. Same for Dutch farmers protesting. #Frenchprotests #France #Macron pic.twitter.com/C0KlyQCbzp

— Con Murphy (@ConMurphyCarlow) April 1, 2023

The New Title 42

The New Title 42

info gathered by C.A. Matthews

Editor's note: From the "Just when you hoped things would get better for ordinary people" department comes news of what the Biden Administration wants to replace Trump's infamous "Title 42" deportation program with, and yes, it's fairly horrendous. 

In my day job as an immigration advocate, I have to explain what this new "Asylum/Transit Ban" is to a group of college students in a Powerpoint presentation. Here are my notes--along with a call for action. Everyone who reads this should send in a comment by the March 27th deadline and pass the link along. Lives are at stake.

 

The Biden Asylum/Transit Ban (“The New Title 42”)

What is/was Title 42?  

Title 42 is a public health and welfare statute enacted in 1944 which gives the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the authority to determine whether a communicable disease in a foreign country poses a danger of spreading in the US. If the CDC finds that a disease does pose a threat, it can, with approval from the president, temporarily prohibit people or property from entering the country to avert danger. It was enacted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Title 42 is set to expire on May 11, 2023, when the Biden administration states it will declare the pandemic officially over within the United States.  

What’s the big controversy over Title 42? 

Title 42 has been used to prevent immigrants from entering the US and claiming asylum, even though all persons entering the country must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Throwing up policy roadblocks to prevent people from entering the country and claiming asylum goes against current US asylum law. There have been 2.5 million expulsions under Title 42. A pattern of discrimination against asylum seekers of certain nationalities, ethnicities, races, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ+ persons has been noted. 

Expelled migrants from the US southern border have been sent to wait in the northern region of Mexico under the January 2019 MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols) or “Remain in Mexico”. Mexico will take only Department of Homeland Security expulsions of nationals of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. All others are either sent back to their country of origin or allowed to proceed through a “normal asylum procedure” in the US. 

(Editor's note: Notice that the more melanin in your skin, the more likely your right to claim asylum in the US will be thwarted. And where these folks are being told to wait in northern Mexico is far from safe and pleasant. Read the latest travel advisory from the US Department of State on how very dangerous that part of the world is. Many Mexican states are labeled by the US government as "Do not travel because of crime and kidnapping." This recent story about kidnapped and slain American medical tourists proves it. Photo above: US Customs and Border Patrol agent whipping a Haitian asylum seeker at the southern border last year.)

What is asylum? 

An asylum seeker meets the same legal standard as a refugee. An individual can claim asylum because of past persecution or fear of future persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. 

Congress passed the Refugee Act (1980) to bring the US into compliance with its international obligations under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibits returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 

On a ruling on Title 42, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the act’s “safe third country” provision this scenario can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. 

Asylum seekers are supposed to be given a “credible fear interview” by a DHS officer at their port of entry to determine if their asylum claim has validity. If the officer says the claim of asylum is valid, the person can remain in the US while they await their court appearance to present their case before an immigration judge. The Biden administration’s proposed rule will narrow this procedure down to a “reasonable fear interview,” which has a much higher denial rate. If the officer denies the asylum claim, the migrant will be deported. They can appeal this denial, but most do not understand the appeal process and have no access to legal assistance. 

The importance of winning an asylum claim is that it is often the only path most immigrants can take to obtain a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or “Green Card”) status and eventually become a US citizen. Temporary Protective Status (TPS) or similar statuses are not permanent and do not lead to LPR status or citizenship. 

What is the new “Biden Asylum/Transit Ban” going to do that’s different from Title 42? 

The Biden Administration on February 21, 2023, announced a crackdown on those seeking asylum in the US. The proposed rule would see the rapid deportation of anyone who has not first applied for asylum en route to the US southern border through the use of a smartphone app called “CBP One.” CBP One has been plagued with significant technical problems, preventing many from making “asylum appointments” (two weeks or more out) and has raised serious equity and privacy concerns. The app takes a very long time to fill out and has been known to crash, and the main text is currently available only in Spanish and Haitian Creole, with English only error messages. It cannot be accessed from a computer, and the user must first use an all-English web site, “Log-In.gov,” to set up an account and have their identity verified before accessing and applying for a an asylum appointment via CBP One. 

This proposed rule has been condemned by immigration rights groups, which claim it runs counter to the “humane immigration system” that Biden promised while campaigning for the White House. Some have called it a “hybrid of the Trump transit bans.” It clearly discriminates against those asylum seekers who are too poor to own a smartphone, have no stable internet accessibility, lack computer device skills, or are illiterate. 

The Trump Administration proposed prohibiting asylum for migrants who didn’t first apply for asylum (and been denied) in a country of transit before reaching the US southern border and entering through a port of entry. The court struck down this policy for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the US to apply for asylum. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border—not just ports of entry—and it does not require appointments to be made in advance on a smartphone only app to request asylum. 

 What problems could this “New Title 42” (Biden Asylum/Transit Ban) cause? 

The proposed Biden Asylum/Transit Ban would create a new asylum restriction for adults and families who present themselves unannounced to US border officials at the southern border. If they have traveled through another country or countries on their way to the US, they would have to provide proof that they applied for asylum in one of the transit countries and been denied first. (One lawyer on a webinar noted that a denial of an asylum application in another country could be used against the person applying for asylum in the US, possibly in violation of the Fifth Amendment.) The Biden administration insists that every asylum seeker has the power to avoid the ban by sticking to what it calls “lawful pathways,” implying that it’s unlawful to seek asylum if you enter the United States between ports of entry (enter without inspection), which goes against the Refugee Act. 

The rule also creates a whole new convoluted procedure to determine whether and how the ban applies. For instance, if you fly into the US, this proposed rule will not apply to you. If you come across the border from Canada, this rule does not apply. Those who have received an advanced parole (and have a US sponsor) or come into the US under a work, student, or tourist visa will not be subject to this rule. The rule only applies to persons who have physically crossed into the United States at the southern border.

The biggest problems arise from the so-called “lawful pathways” that don’t really exist for many people. The process migrants could be shunted into instead is tantamount to a near-complete asylum ban when one considers how the process is intended to work and how it interacts with systems on the ground. And the rule doesn’t even attempt to explain these discrepancies! 

To get a feel for the absurdity of the proposed regulation, read How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps. https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

What can we do to express our concerns about this proposed asylum/transit ban rule?   

Go to https://immigrationjustice.quorum.us/campaign/44910/ or https://noasylumban.us     

Individuals can make a comment to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service) about the proposed regulation. Only 30 days were given for public comments to be made (as compared to the usual 60 day comment period). The comment deadline is March 27, so write your comment soon and share the link with others. 

Learn more about the Biden Asylum/Transit Ban at 

https://humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Biden_asylum_ban_factsheet_Feb2023_1.pdf

Last but not least editor's note: If you like to know more about what it's like to be an asylum seeker trying to navigate the complex US immigration system, watch the documentary Seeking Asylum. The filmmakers met a mother and her children fleeing a violent situation and trying to reunite with her husband who was working in the United States. More on how you can view it at its web site https://www.seekingasylumfilm.com/

Quote of the Week: 

 “We have spent the past decade pouring money into the border-security apparatus in an effort to deter asylum seekers. It hasn’t worked because we’ve spent all of that money on border security and we’ve spent almost none on actually building a functional and working humanitarian-protection system on the back end.  

And now we’ve got a two-million-case backlog, more than six hundred thousand asylum applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and three million people on ICE’s non-detained docket. This is not something that you’re going to be able to fix overnight. About the only thing the Biden Administration and Congress could do right now is just declare immigration bankruptcy and start all over again, and have amnesty, but there isn’t the political will for that right now, unfortunately.”

– Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council

Related Articles:

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/28/cbp-one-app-flaws-asylum-seekers/ 

 

Critics Decry New Biden Rule as "Trump's Asylum Ban Under a Different Name  https://truthout.org/articles/critics-decry-new-biden-rule-as-trumps-asylum-ban-under-a-different-name/

  

How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps  https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

 

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/27/labor-exploitation-migrant-children-biden-asylum-policy/ 

 

White House Struggles to Explain the Fate of Title 42 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/06/public-health-emerdency-title-42-00081390

From Still Awaiting Court Dates, Migrants Suffer the Effects of ‘Band-Aid’ Fixes to Our Broken Immigration System https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/08/awaiting-court-dates-notice-to-appear

 

A Pennsylvania Hospital is Attempting to Deport an Undocumented Woman in a Coma https://truthout.org/articles/a-pennsylvania-hospital-is-attempting-to-deport-an-undocumented-woman-in-a-coma/

Other interesting articles I've read this week about the Ohio train derailments (there's now two of them!) and the quest for peace in the world:

Norfolk Southern Cargo Train Derailed Near Springfield (Ohio) https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2023/03/04/cargo-train-derails-springfield-clark-county-ohio/69972311007/

East Palestine, Ohio And The Oligarchy https://popularresistance.org/east-palestine-ohio-and-the-oligarchy/

Angry residents confront EPA and railroad officials at East Palestine, Ohio town hall https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/04/rail-m04.html

Norfolk Southern Used Sick Leave as a Bargaining Chip to Erode Safety, Union Says https://truthout.org/articles/norfolk-southern-used-sick-leave-as-bargaining-chip-to-erode-safety-union-says/

"Too Many Holes": Rail Workers Say Buttigieg Plan of Action is Not Enough https://popularresistance.org/too-many-holes-rail-workers-say-buttigieg-plan-of-action-is-not-enough/

East Palestine Residents Confront Norfolk Southern at Town Hall Meeting https://truthout.org/articles/east-palestine-residents-confront-norfolk-southern-at-town-hall-meeting/

Rail Workers Demand Immediate Action from Lawmakers to Rein in Rail Industry https://truthout.org/articles/rail-workers-demand-immediate-action-from-lawmakers-to-rein-in-rail-industry/

Exposure to Chevron's Climate Friendly Fuel May Pose Severe Risk of Cancer https://truthout.org/articles/exposure-to-chevrons-climate-friendly-fuel-may-pose-severe-risk-of-cancer/ 

The House's "Horrors of Socialism" Resolution Spurred by the Capitalist Class's Greatest Fear https://indypendent.org/2023/02/the-houses-horrors-of-socialism-resolution-spurred-by-the-capitalist-classs-greatest-fear/

China's Peace Plan for Ukraine https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/03/chinas-peace-plan-for-ukraine/

Major US Outlets Found Hersh's Nord Stream Scoop Too Hot to Handle https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/04/major-us-outlets-found-hershs-nord-stream-scoop-too-hot-to-handle/

Abnormal for West to Dodge Nord Stream Explosive Revelations https://enapp.globaltimes.cn/article/1286480