LIES AND FALSE STATE SPONSORED " RECONCILIATION "

 Any time the capitalist/imperialist state talks about anything resembling " truth and reconciliation" , look out. There will never be anything close to liberation while this system is alive , and any talk about freedom is a complete and absolute lie designed to shut everyone up while they cry their fake fucking tears with the help of their liberal allies. Recognize and and acknowledge the injustice , but know that the state is not on the side of the oppressed , ever.

Here are a couple of articles from an organization that I don't see eye to eye with, but they occasionally hit the target.

Canadian People Must Put an End to Police Impunity

Condemn State-Sanctioned Police Violence Against Indigenous Peoples!

Since August 29, eight Indigenous people have been killed by police in five provinces. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) condemns these brutal police killings and all state violence against Indigenous Peoples and joins the call for justice for the victims and for those responsible to be held to account. We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and communities.

These are the names of those who died since August 29:

Jack Piche, 31, a Clearwater River Dene Nation man, 31, was struck and killed by RCMP on Highway 909 between Buffalo Narrows and Turnor Lake in Saskatchewan on August 29.

Hoss Lightning Saddleback, 15, from the Samson Cree Nation was shot by RCMP in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, after he called them for help on August 30.

Tammy Bateman, in her 30s, a member of the Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation was struck and killed by a Winnipeg police car in a park on September 2.

Jason West, 57, a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, was shot by Windsor police on September 6.

Daniel Knife, 31, a member of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan was shot by RCMP on September 8.

Steven "Iggy" Dedam, 34, was killed by RCMP responding to a call in Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick on September 8.

Jon Wells, 42, of the Blood tribe, was killed by Calgary police who responded to a call at a hotel and conference centre in the city September 17.

Joseph Desjarlais, 34, was killed during a police chase on Fishing Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan on September 24.

The Assembly of First Nations, alongside other Indigenous groups and organizations and Canadians and Quebeckers of conscience have spoken out in condemnation of the ongoing police violence against Indigenous people, many raising the issue of why the police continue to go directly to deadly force and not de-escalation, when dealing with them.

Christa Big Canoe, Legal Director of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto and partner on the Tracking (In)Justice project, a project of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, speaking about the police killing of Indigenous people in 2023, pointed out "... [T]hese numbers, these deaths, must be situated in a context of systemic discrimination within the criminal justice system. While we have known anecdotally that Indigenous people are over-represented in police use of force-involved deaths in Canada, this data provides us a clear picture of ongoing colonial racial injustice. While 5.1 per cent of people living in Canada are Indigenous, 16.2 per cent of people killed in police involved deaths are Indigenous."

The killings of Indigenous people and members of other marginalized groups continue and increase because the Canadian state and the Criminal Code enables the police to act with impunity. The Criminal Code empowers police to use deadly force if they have "reasonable grounds" to believe it necessary to protect the officer or any other person involved. "Reasonable grounds" is used to justify police violence including choke holds, tasers and lethal force even when there is ample evidence that there is no credible threat to the police or the public that cannot be handled without violence.

When it comes to accountability, often police stonewall, refuse to comply in investigations and refuse to tell the truth about the actions of their fellow officers, something Winnipeg defence lawyer and former Toronto police officer James Lowry calls "the blue wall of silence." The end result is that between 2000 and 2018, there were 461 deaths at the hands of police in Canada. There were 18 officers criminally charged and only two convicted. Governments at all levels fund and protect the police as a top priority, while cutting funding for social programs. Police are the "enforcers" of the anti-social order. The call across Canada to "defund the police" is a demand by the people to put an end to police impunity and to fund social programs instead of the police.

In its June 2021 report to Parliament on "Systemic Racism in Policing in Canada," the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security acknowledged widespread racism within the RCMP and other police forces across the country. It made 42 recommendations aimed at "building trust" between "Indigenous and racialized communities" and the police. This report, like countless others before it, is meant to disinform and divert attention from the fact that the Canadian state, its courts and institutions were founded as part of the genocidal colonial project of the British colonialists which denies the rights of the Indigenous Peoples, immigrants, workers and everyone else. The police are the enforcers of the "rule of law" that supports this ongoing violation of rights.

Canadian democracy is in need of profound changes, modernization and renewal. Fundamental to this is a modern constitution which upholds the rights of all, including the hereditary rights of the Indigenous Peoples, and which puts the police and armed forces under the control of the people.

---

Emergency Debate in Parliament Shows It Is
Part of the Problem, Not the Solution

An emergency debate on the police killing of six Indigenous people in less than two weeks was held after the House of Commons business of the day on September 16, the first day of Parliament's fall session.

Lori Idlout, the NDP MP from Nunavut, requested the Emergency Debate. APTN National News reported that in her letter to the Speaker of the House requesting the Emergency Debate, Idlout said, "The lack of media coverage of these tragedies shows that systemic violence and deaths of Indigenous Peoples in Canada is normal and expected." She wrote "After years of hearing about police reforms in the wake of Black Lives Matter, the government's commitment to community policing in Northern, rural and remote areas, and a commitment to pass a First Nations Policing Act, Indigenous Peoples are owed answers by this government as to why Indigenous people continue to be victims of violence carried out by the government." She said, "There is a clear, urgent interest for Parliament to debate this disturbing pattern, so that parliamentarians can discuss immediate measures that can be taken to save Indigenous lives, today."

The Emergency Debate ended at midnight and clearly demonstrated to anyone who watched that Parliament has neither the interest nor the ability to address the problem of police impunity in the killing of Indigenous people. All the "interesting ideas" put forward in the debate did not once address how to end the police violence against Indigenous Peoples on which the Canadian state was founded. Idlout's hope that the killing will end if the government implements all the calls of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report does not get to the heart of the problem, never mind that there is no chance of the calls of the TRC or of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls being implemented because the Canadian state does not recognize the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. If it did, the recommendations would have been implemented long ago.

The Emergency Debate was rife with diversions. The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Toronto Liberal MP Gary Anandasangaree mused: "We have been struggling with the notion of systemic racism in law enforcement for many years and across different jurisdictions. In this particular case, it was in different areas and involved different police services. What would accountability and truth look like in these cases? I know there cannot be one particular answer because they are all different, but I would like to get a sense from the member of what she feels justice would be."

Ms. Idlout's response missed the crucial point that it is the Canadian colonial state and not the Canadian people which is responsible for the racist colonial laws and policies that make Indigenous people "fair game." She said, "Part of the reason systemic racism still exists is that there is still too much ignorance. There is still too much denialism about residential schools, for example. We need to make sure we are opening the eyes of Canada."

Fueling the fire of blaming the people and not the state, Elizabeth May of the Green Party stated: "Truth and reconciliation starts with understanding the truth of 167 years of racism and genocide. We must recognize that individuals, settler culture Canadians, are very uncomfortable with the word racism. They say, 'Well, gee, I am not a racist.' White fragility is also an issue."

During the course of the debate, proposals were made to increase funding for Indigenous policing, including a proposal from the Conservatives that if they formed the next government they would decentralize policing and put it in the hands of Indigenous organizations and communities. Liberal MPs patted themselves on the back for what they claimed were advances in Crown-Indigenous relations. Altogether the debate was treated as an opportunity for Parliamentarians to take cheap shots at one another and blow their own horns, exposing the institution's deep disrespect for Indigenous Peoples and all Canadians and Quebeckers. In the Parliament, even an "emergency debate" about an urgent matter of six lives lost to police violence, is turned into fodder to advance the self-interest of the cartel parties. It was a charade.

Toward the end, Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons offered: "Mr. Speaker, listening to the debate this evening, one of the things that crosses my mind is that we have the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. As with all other standing committees, there is always an agenda set. There are individuals such as the national chief of the AFN [Assembly of First Nations] Cindy Woodhouse, who has always been a very strong advocate for Indigenous policing. As well, I know the member for Sydney-Victoria moved a motion at that standing committee saying that we should be conducting a study on the issue. The member opposite [Conservative MP for Battle River-Crowfoot Damien Kurek] knows having an emergency debate is not that common on the floor of the House of Commons, especially on this issue. Given that we are having this debate tonight, would he not agree that the standing committee should look at what has been suggested by the member for Sydney-Victoria so we can actually have that committee deal with what is being talked about this evening?"

Such "debate" went on until midnight with not one concrete action to change the situation coming out of it.

Parliament, with all its trappings and underpinnings of British colonialism, is no more capable of addressing the problems facing Canadians than are the colonial courts and police. As an institution of liberal democracy it is neither representative nor democratic and is an anachronistic holdover of a past era. The people need to build new institutions based on a modern constitution they write which upholds the hereditary rights of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of all.

(With files from Hansard, APTN)

DELAYED REACTION

 Sorry for the delay on last Friday's show, but shit gets hectic .

The story of the night last Friday was the debut of Victoria's Pepper Spray ! Holy crap were they ever great , and that opinion is unanimous. Punk rock with melody, not in a sugary sweet type of style, but more raw than that . I need to say that Paul absolutely kills it on drumming duties. He's so fun to watch play.

Here's a photo taken by none other than AK drummer extraordinaire Jamie Willis :

And after they were done, Hayley and Elena also did a set with Hung Up , who were also excellent by the way.

We played after that , and The Forgotten Rebels finished the night off, to a greatly enthusiastic crowd. It was a terrific show, once again put on by Esther.

Thank you Esther, for everything you do , sometimes despite overwhelming odds and annoyances.

TOMORROW NIGHT

 Come and see The Forgotten Rebels tomorrow night ! They've been belting out the anthems since 1977 , and are blessing us with their presence for the first time in many years.

Opening are brand new rockstars Pepper Spray , and the always enjoyable Hung Up. You will not be disappointed, except for the fact that there are very few tickets left.

Come out and tell Esther you appreciate all she does for the Vic Scene.

Oh yeah, we're playing also.

WHAT'S A LIFE WORTH ?

 The answer to the above question is " approximately $ 2.90 " , at least in the u.s.a.

NYPD mass subway shooting over $2.90 – Fare evasion or fatal excuse?

By Bronx Anti-War Coalition posted on September 20, 2024

This statement was issued by the Bronx Anti-War Coalition on Sept. 16, 2024, in response to the Sept. 15 shooting of four people by New York Police Department officers after a man allegedly evaded paying a subway fare.

Yesterday, the NYPD shot Derell Mickles, a Black man in Brooklyn, for the alleged “crime” of jumping a turnstile. This marks the second NYPD shooting in just 48 hours. Amidst a landscape where Democratic political figures swiftly condemned recent assassination attempts on Donald Trump, proclaiming that “violence has no place in America,” we ask: Where is this sentiment when it comes to the NYPD shooting Black men?

Protest demands justice for Derell Mickles, shot by New York City police for alleged fare evasion, and free subway fares. Brooklyn, New York, Sept. 17, 2024.

Once again, the state used the hollow excuse of “fare evasion” to justify an assassination attempt on a Brooklyn man. This is not an isolated incident but a pattern of state violence targeting the working class in general and Black people in particular. Mayor Eric Adams took to Twitter, rather ironically, calling this shooting an act of “bravery.” Only in our Orwellian city of escalating fascism is the victim painted as the villain and the aggressor as a “hero.”

Freedom of movement, as on public transportation, is a right, not a privilege. The MTA should be FREE for ALL New Yorkers. The increased police presence in our subway system has not made us safer. Instead, it led to a horrific mass shooting where a police officer shot four people, including the man accused of fare evasion, two innocent bystanders and even another officer. All this over a $2.90 fare — a fare that should not exist in the wealthiest city in the United States.

The normalization of state violence, whether in Gaza or on the streets of New York City, has desensitized us to the ongoing war against Black and other colonized communities. This incident took place in East New York, Brooklyn, where the majority of individuals on that train were Black and Brown, seen by the establishment as disposable. It’s precisely this context that allows the Israeli-trained NYPD and Mayor Adams to attempt to cast this incident aside as just another “normal” occurrence.

Had this shooting occurred outside of the hood, it would not have been so easily dismissed. The outcry and mobilization that once followed such acts of violence have faded. Where are the voices of celebrities and influencers that once proclaimed Black Lives Matter? The silence is deafening. Yet, across the city, we working-class Bronxites are listening and ready to act.

Free subway fares now!

We call upon all people of conscience to resist this state-sanctioned violence. Our resistance is not an act of aggression but a necessary response to the violence imposed upon us by the state. While the media will likely portray our rebellion as violent, our actions are a justified defense against the police brutality we face daily. We know the police to be the true instigators of violence, and the people must bring an end to this brutal occupation.

In addition to demanding free public transit for all, we call for the immediate removal of all NYPC officers from our subways, a prohibition on guns for the NYPD and the immediate and transparent release of body camera footage. While the NYPD creates propaganda against pro-Palestine protesters with urgency, it will never show that same urgency to take accountability for its mass shootings.

The NYPD’s actions reflect a broader war on Black people, poor people and those who courageously oppose fascist state violence. This subway shooting serves as a stress test of public tolerance to unmitigated police violence. If we do not resist, if we do not rise up, this violence will only escalate, paralleling the escalation of the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

This incident is not an anomaly. It is a frequent occurrence in colonized communities, from the South Bronx to East New York, that underscores the corruption entrenched in policing. The top brass are under investigation, yet the problem has worsened. Policing itself is the problem.

To those who do not support free MTA, we say this: you stand only for profit and against humanity. Let us rise together in resistance, demand justice and fight for a future where public resources serve the public good.

In solidarity,

The Bronx Anti-War Coalition

THERE IS HOPE

 There is hope that the fascist state of israel has gotten itself in too deep in their attempted genocide of the Palestinians of Gaza, even with the support and encouragement of the entire western world .

Maybe killing thousands of children isn't really self-defense after all ?

Zionist quagmire – sinking deeper

By Sara Flounders posted on September 19, 2024

In a blasting news interview on Israel’s Channel 12 on Sept. 15, Major General Israel Ziv, the army’s former head of operations in Gaza, asserted that the Zionist military is stuck in Gaza and has suffered significant losses during its 11-month offensive in the besieged Strip. Ziv stated that Israel “must withdraw immediately” and is “bleeding and trapped in a dire quagmire.”

Ziv, who formerly commanded the Gaza Division, added that after a year of what he called “the longest and most exhausting war in Israel’s history, the country finds itself trapped in a continuous security crisis with no end in sight.” The interview received wide coverage and commentary in both the Zionist media and in Arab and Iranian media throughout the region.

Israeli general says military is trapped in a quagmire in Gaza.

Quagmire: the defining word

A quagmire exposes the dilemma. Stuck! The Zionist military campaign can’t maintain its position and can’t move forward, meaning Israel can’t win against a Palestinian resistance that is engaged in an unequal battle, but is well-schooled in the tactics of protracted guerilla war — or people’s war — with support from the overwhelming majority of the occupied population against an opponent with vastly superior military equipment.

Israel is stuck because its leaders know that pulling out is an announcement of their defeat. 

As Ziv cautions Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “In the north, Israel is in a war of attrition with no end in sight, and the Galilee is Hezbollah’s main range, with the northern residents as its cannon fodder.”  He warned that “any ground entry into Lebanon without an exit strategy or a clear objective, even if it’s a limited invasion, would further complicate the situation.”

This admission from Ziv is in regard to Netanyahu and other voices in the Zionist media who are wildly encouraging and talking up an invasion of Lebanon. They are desperate to widen the war and draw in more active U.S. participation. However, the endless supply of U.S. weapons and satellite coordination is insufficient to save them from the “quagmire” where they are sinking fast. 

Ziv contends that entering southern Lebanon would not force Hezbollah to cease firing, but would instead increase rocket and drone attacks on Israel, similar to what happened in Rafah in southern Gaza following the invasion.

New mass protests aimed at Netanyahu

Israelis have held a new wave of protests to demand Netanyahu secure the release of captives held in Gaza. The rallies were held in several cities, including Haifa and al-Quds. In Tel Aviv, protesters near Netanyahu’s residence blocked his motorcade to demand a deal with Gaza’s resistance groups.

Anti-Netanyahu protests have been going on for months in Israel. Families of the Israeli captives have released statements denouncing Netanyahu’s continuing attacks. They said if he remains in power, the war will continue forever, and all the remaining captives will die. The opposition rallies by Israelis have been hit with tear gas, assaults and soldiers on horses.

Meanwhile, Zionist settlers are waging a reign of terror in West Bank cities using bombs, bulldozers and tanks. Increasingly they face return fire.

The Israeli regime added new conditions to a truce proposal by the U.S. that Hamas had already agreed to months ago. Ziv asserted Netanyahu might be prolonging the war to secure his political position and delay his corruption trial, which could result in his imprisonment. He also noted that while Netanyahu claimed six months ago that victory was near, the war now seems endless.

Israel’s economy is sinking fast 

Inside the Zionist state, the economy is sinking fast. Israeli ports are closed based on the Yemeni resistance force Ansarullah’s enforcement of a blockade that has extended beyond the Red Sea into the Mediterranean Sea. The Times of Israel reported on July 18 that 46,000 businesses have shut down since October 7. This number is expected to grow to 60,000 closed businesses in 2024.  (tinyurl.com/mr2vn25y)

An article in the Aug. 16 Foreign Policy, a magazine that is uniformly pro-imperialist, declared: “Israel is in serious trouble. Its citizens are deeply divided, and this situation is unlikely to improve. It is bogged down in an unwinnable war in Gaza, its military is showing signs of strain, and a wider war with Hezbollah or Iran remains a possibility. … Moreover, Israel’s openly exposed genocide in Gaza, seen around the world in many thousands of videos, has gravely damaged its global image, and it is becoming a pariah state in ways that were once unimaginable.” (tinyurl.com/4vu93x4y)

Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, has applied for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Meanwhile the International Court of Justice has issued preliminary findings describing Israel’s actions as plausibly genocidal in nature and intent, and the court has at long last issued a report that states the occupation and colonization of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem is a clear violation of international law.

New missiles assumed to be from Yemen, broke through the Iron Dome and hit Israel from the east. They appeared to evade Israeli and the complicit Jordanian and Egyptian surveillance systems and successfully made an impact at the Gezer Power Plant, southeast of Tel Aviv.

Resistance News Network reports that several middle batteries, which are basic missile firing units, were unable to protect Tel Aviv’s infrastructure. Hezbollah missiles fired from Lebanon have repeatedly breached the Iron Dome. All settlements in the northern part of the Zionist settler state have been forced to evacuate. These missile attacks are increasing in accuracy and intensity.

HEROIC SELF DEFENSE

 This is how the heroic israeli fascist army are defending their country, by executing elderly Palestinians . This is what they call self-defense, and what the western powers uphold and encourage. This is fucking pathetic .

‘Executed and Set Ablaze’ – Euro-Med Urges Probe into Killings of over 2,000 Elderly Gazans

September 16, 2024 Blog, News

Israeli forces continue to carry out massacres in Gaza. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“These crimes, which have been committed hundreds of times, are unjustified and particularly cruel to this defenseless civilian group…”

The recent killing of an elderly couple by Israeli forces in Gaza and an elderly man in the occupied West Bank constitute grave crimes that require international investigation, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has said in a new report.

Since October 7, a total of 2,122 elderly men and women have been killed in the Gaza Strip, representing “roughly 2% of the 107,000 elderly people who live in the Strip and roughly 4% of all Palestinian deaths,” the report said.

“These crimes, which have been committed hundreds of times, are unjustified and particularly cruel to this defenseless civilian group, which Israel has been targeting ever since it launched its large-scale attack on the Gaza Strip,” Euro-Med said.

Most of the elderly were crushed to death under the debris of their homes or shelter centers after Israeli aircraft bombed them, “or during their forced evacuations in the streets or visits to markets to meet their basic needs.”

“Shockingly, however, dozens of them were killed directly through field executions and liquidation operations,” Euro-Med said.

‘Shot in the Head’

The report cited the discovery of the bodies of an elderly couple, Wajih Misbah Shaath (71) and his wife Sabah Shaath (65), following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Yunis on August 30.

“My husband went home in the early hours of 30 August to see how his brother and his wife were doing after learning of the withdrawal of the Israeli army, only to discover that they had been killed by Israeli army bullets that struck them squarely in the head,” Shaath’s sister in law told Euro-Med.

She said, “It was evident that the occupation forces had set off a hand grenade at the entrance of the house before raiding it and opening fire at the couple.

“Their bodies were discovered with bloodstains all over the floor of the room they were hiding in, empty bullet casings next to their blood, and bullet fragments scattered throughout the house.”

Alzheimer’s Sufferer

The rights group said “numerous other horrific accounts of physical liquidations and field executions of elderly people over the age of 60” in Gaza have been documented.

During their second incursion into Al-Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings, for example, Israeli forces “executed and set ablaze” a 92-year-old woman named Naifa Rizk al-Sawda.

The woman’s daughter, Maha Al-Nawati, told the Euro-Med Monitor team that after the Israeli army stormed Al-Shifa Hospital and invaded the surrounding area, they raided the residential building “where my mother and married brothers live.”

“As soon as they got inside, they separated the women from the men and told the men to undress. After searching and interrogating them, they ordered both the men and the women to evacuate towards the south,” al-Nawati related.

She added “My 92-year-old mother was at home at the time. She suffers from Alzheimer’s and cannot walk, speak, eat, or do anything on her own. I think she probably would not have known how to respond if they had asked her about her name.”

Her sister-in-law then said to the soldiers:  “‘This is my mother, I will take her with me,’ my brother’s wife said to the soldiers. An Israeli officer responded, ‘No, you go, we will take care of her,’ and ordered her to leave my mother behind and evacuate right away.”

‘Burned Alive’

Al-Nawati said that about two weeks during the siege of the area, they had no information about their mother’s plight.

“We had no knowledge about her fate during that time, nor did we know if they had left her alone inside the house or taken her with them to Al-Shifa Hospital,” she explained.

After the soldiers left the area, her siblings went back to the house. They climbed the roof only to discover the bodies of “my niece and her husband …with burned bones.”

“Upon entering my niece’s flat, they discovered my mother lying on the bed in a fully burned-out room. Only a few of my mother’s bones were left, and her body was severely burned. It seems that they killed her or burned her alive inside the house,” said al-Nawati.

West Bank Killing

Last month, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli occupation forces executed Tawfiq Ahmed Younis Qandil, an 82-year-old, in the eastern neighbourhood of Jenin city, during the incursion that lasted for five days in Jenin and other areas.

According to local medical sources, nine bullets fired by Israeli army snipers struck the elderly man, killing him. Ambulances transporting the elderly man were also fired at.

Elderly Detained

Israeli forces have also arrested elderly Palestinians, both men and women over the age of 70.

“Many of those arrested have been subjected to abuse, torture, and denial of basic rights, without regard for their advanced age or health conditions. As a result, many of them have died in Israeli prisons and detention centres,” said Euro-Med.

The rights body warned that tens of thousands of elderly people in the Gaza Strip are at serious risk of dying, as 69% of them have chronic illnesses.

In addition, the majority have not received any medical attention as a result of the Israeli army’s systematic and pervasive destruction of the healthcare system, as well as Israel’s arbitrary blockade of the enclave, said Euro-Med.

“Israel continues to prevent the entry of medical supplies, including medical devices and essential medicines, as well as sufficient and nourishing food, in an effort to deprive Palestinians of the necessities of life and subject them to intolerable living conditions meant to destroy them,’ the organization emphasized.

International Law Protection

The report noted that in addition to the protection guaranteed to civilians by international humanitarian law, the elderly are entitled to additional protection as a vulnerable group of people.

“This protection should include setting up organised recovery and safety areas and sites for them as well as making the necessary arrangements to safely transport them out of besieged or encircled areas,’ said Euro-Med.

‘Stop Using Hunger as a Weapon’ – Three Elderly Men from Gaza

“Yet amid the international community’s silence and complicity, Israel has violated these rights, turning all people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including women, children, the injured, the ill, and the elderly into targets.”

The rights body said international pressure must be applied immediately to Israel to stop all of its crimes against the Palestinian people, “including the ongoing genocide” in the Gaza Strip.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 95,413 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

ONE OF HIS OWN

 I know it's hard to believe anyone would want to assassinate fuckface trump, but I'll bet it was someone who believes he isn't fascist enough anymore, or that he's " gone soft ". His lunatic followers have no limits as to what they'll believe without any basis in reality whatsoever .

FBI investigating another apparent assassination attempt against Trump. Here's what authorities say happened at a Florida golf course.

One suspect was in custody, authorities said at a press briefing on Sunday.

David Artavia

·Reporter

Updated Sun, September 15, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. PDT·5 min read

The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump after a man armed with an AK-style rifle was spotted near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday.

The Associated Press reported, citing three law enforcement sources, that the suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.

Trump, who was golfing with longtime friend and adviser Steve Witkoff, was unharmed and quickly moved to a secure location. This is the second apparent assassination attempt against Trump’s life within the last nine weeks.

What happened on Sunday, according to authorities

During a press briefing on Sunday, officials said that U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after spotting the suspect near the golf course's perimeter. It remains unclear if the individual fired any shots before fleeing in an SUV. The suspect was taken into custody in a neighboring county.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. ET, authorities said. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw stated that the suspect, armed with an AK-style rifle, was positioned roughly 300 to 500 yards away from Trump, concealed in shrubbery that lines the course just a few holes ahead of where Trump was.

• Read more from the Associated Press: Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf club, the FBI says

Witness helped authorities track down suspect

The suspect fled in a vehicle but was quickly apprehended on I-95 in Martin County, north of Palm Beach.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the suspect was unarmed at the time of the arrest. Bradshaw said that a witness saw a man fleeing the golf course bushes. The witness took a photo of the suspect's black Nissan, and a license plate reader spotted the vehicle, which was apprehended by police a short while later.

Authorities showed photos of an AK-style rifle, a backpack and a GoPro camera on a fence that were located outside Trump International Golf Club taken after the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday. (Stephany Matat/AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FBI calls it another apparent 'assassination attempt' on Trump’s life

The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating the incident as a potential assassination attempt. Law enforcement officials recovered the AK-style rifle from the scene and are processing additional items found at the location, including two backpacks and a GoPro camera.

The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Martin County Sheriff's Office vehicles surround an SUV on the northbound I-95 in Martin County on Sept. 15. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Trump responds: 'I AM SAFE AND WELL!'

After Sunday’s incident, Trump remained at the club for several hours while Secret Service agents double-checked the security at his Mar-a-Lago residence before he returned there safely, according to law enforcement.

Trump emailed his supporters: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!"

He added, “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

Custodian patrols around Mar-a-Lago after the apparent assassination attempt on Sept. 15. (Giorgio Viera/Reuters) (REUTERS / Reuters)

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, said on social media that the former president is “in good spirits.”

Fox News host Sean Hannity said on air that he spoke to Trump and Witkoff after Sunday's incident. According to Hannity, the pair were golfing at the fifth hole when they heard "pop, pop, pop, pop." Witkoff said that within seconds, Secret Service agents "pounced" and "covered" Trump.

According to Hannity, Witkoff said that after Secret Service agents protected him, Trump thanked all of them individually before saying: "'I was even. It was the fifth hole. I had a birdie putt. I really wanted to finish the hole.’ So classic Trump, if you ask me.”

Vice President Kamala Harris said she was "glad" that Trump was safe. "Violence has no place in America," she posted on X.

President Biden in a statement commended the work of law enforcement agencies who protected Trump and said he was "relieved" that Trump was unharmed. "As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety," Biden's statement read.

• Read more from the Guardian: 'My father is running out of lives here': family and leaders shocked by Trump shooting

Questions about security

On July 13, Trump was grazed by a bullet during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa. One rallygoer was killed and two others were injured. The Secret Service killed the shooter, identified as a 20-year-old who climbed to the roof of a building nearby.

A bipartisan House task force investigating the July assassination attempt requested a briefing from the Secret Service this week about Sunday's apparent assassination attempt.

"The Task Force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon. We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded,” Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said.

After that attack, the Secret Service came under scrutiny. The agency acknowledged denying some requests from Trump's team for increased security at his events in the years leading up to the most recent incident. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned amid scrutiny over the agency's handling of Trump's security.

Since July, authorities have increased security measures around Trump. However, because Trump isn't the current president, the entire golf course was not surrounded with security — and an agent was sweeping the grounds just one hole ahead of Trump, Bradshaw said. "If he was [the president], we would've had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible," he continued.

"They provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agent did a fantastic job," Bradshaw added.