Sunday, August 18, 2024

 

A Coast Guard Lifesaving Hero Rests in an Unmarked Grave

Lifesaving crew lands survivors of a wreck (USCG illustration)
Lifesaving crew lands survivors of a wreck (USCG illustration)

Published Aug 18, 2024 11:06 AM by U.S. Coast Guard News

 

 

[By Capt. W. Russell Webster (USCG, ret'd)]

In an unassuming burial plot in a rural cemetery in Pueblo, Colorado, the grave of a Coast Guard hero, Joseph Doyle, remains unadorned — no marker, stone, or flag. Joseph Doyle was born in New York on April 17, 1836. When he was 42 years old, he led two famous rescues during his tenure as the Keeper of the U.S. Life-Saving Station in Charlotte, New York, a post to which he was appointed on July 11, 1878. 

On Sept. 11, 1878, around 9:30 p.m., the schooner E.P. Dorr of Chicago stranded about one mile west of Doyle’s station. In a raging rainstorm, with six men and one woman aboard, the survivors were brought to shore “under the steady oar of the keeper.” Within a few months, on October 23rd, when the schooner Star from Mill Point, Ontario, foundered in Doyle’s area of responsibility he again showed “great skill and bravery.” Doyle received the prestigious Gold Lifesaving Medal for his heroism in those two rescues. 

Doyle served as the Keeper at Charlotte for 16 years. He is acknowledged as one of the U.S. Life-Saving Service’s most distinguished surfmen. The service was a forerunner agency of the Coast Guard.

On June 8, 2019, the Coast Guard commissioned the Fast Response Cutter Joseph Doyle at Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Puerto Rico. The FRCs are part of the Sentinel-Class, which are named for enlisted heroes. 

Despite these accolades, no headstone or appropriate grave marking distinguish Doyle’s final resting site. Why is this? It could be that Doyle had no family to see to this. But whatever the reason, the Coast Guard has been notified and has assigned a project officer to investigate the oversight. 

Little is known about Joseph Doyle’s early life. He lived a quiet and unassuming existence near his Canadian homestead until 17 when he went to Oswego, New York, to build boats, trade fruit and fish between U.S. and Canadian ports. Author Christopher Haven noted, “It was while engaged in this business that he was capsized by the carelessness of his mate and swam through heavy surf to Yorkshire Island, where he lived for eighteen days until rescued by a passing schooner.” 

One can only imagine Doyle’s solitary experience on the desolate island at the far end of Lake Ontario. His shipwreck experience likely motivated him to remain near the water and pursue equally dangerous adventures as a rescuer on behalf of others in similar circumstances. 

After a series of maritime tragedies at sea and on the Great Lakes in 1870 and 1871, and an accompanying public outcry, Congress authorized the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish lifesaving stations and crews of paid surfmen in 1871. Doyle joined the ranks of the federal ‘storm fighters’ from the U.S. Life-Saving Service, established by President Rutherford Hayes on June 18, 1878. 

The Life-Saving Service created 280 lifesaving stations along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and the Great Lakes. By 1915, when the service was assimilated into the Coast Guard, “the rescuers of the United States Life-Saving Service — fishermen, lobstermen, crabbers, and others who grew up along America’s shores — had saved more than 186,000 lives, becoming collectively the greatest institution of their kind in the world.” 

Doyle was appointed federal Keeper of the Charlotte, New York, Life-Saving Service Station and his first day on the job was on July 24, 1878. Within three months, he would lead his station crews on two significant rescues. Nothing about becoming a lifesaver was easy. Each day was rigorously scripted, and featured a different drill to practice, and housekeeping chores like cooking were rotated.

 

According to the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association website: 

On clear days, from sunrise to sunset, a surfman on day watch always manned the lookout tower.  At night and on foggy days, the men walked beach patrol. They would light Coston signal flares to warn off ships straying too close to the shore. While men with small-boat-handling experience were wanted in the service, it took extensive training and continual practice to be able to successfully launch a lifeboat or surfboat in heavy seas and shoot the Lyle Gun to a ship offshore to set up the breeches buoy. 

These daily activities provided consistency throughout the service. Mondays and Thursdays were devoted to drilling with equipment needed for rescues attempted from the beach such as the Lyle Gun and Breeches Buoy. Tuesdays featured lifeboat and surfboat drills with at least a half an hour using the oars. Wednesday was signaling day where crew practiced with flags and flares for communications with stranded ships. Friday’s training was designated for giving first aid to drowned mariners. Saturdays were devoted to the grounds and station upkeep and Sundays were a day of rest. This training would prove essential to what followed. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1878, the 120-foot-long wooden schooner E.P. Dorr left Oswego, New York, loaded with coal, and was later stranded about 1,200 yards offshore and a mile west of Life-Saving Service Station No. 4. Soon thereafter, Keeper Doyle was walking a night beach patrol, and saw a torch off a short distance on Lake Ontario and according to the station log, “I hurried back to the station, and I soon had mustered the crew and put the surf boat on the wagon, and together with assistance from those gathered around, drew the wagon by hand up the beach abreast of the vessel. By this time, she had stranded and was burning torch.” 

Keeper Doyle and his crew maneuvered the heavy rescue boat down a 200-foot embankment to the best point to launch the boat to get to the wreck. The weather was horrific with dark skies, steady rain, and tumultuous seas. The Keeper and his crew were quickly away and encountering “fearful seas.” By 11:15 p.m., the surfboat reached the wreck and found it “lying head to the seas” with water rushing along her sides and “tumbling in around the stern.” 

Doyle constantly maneuvered the boat to keep it close to the vessel. Their efforts were extremely tiring and were prolonged as they struggled to convince the wreck’s crew and a woman to get onboard the tossing lifeboat. The sea “rose upon the great swell and the woman, dropped over the side by the sailors, was caught by the surfmen’s strong arms. The boat then fell away. On another run up alongside, the mate jumped for the boat, fell partly overboard, and then was hauled in. Just then a terrible sea swept the boat 50-feet astern.” 

The life-saving crew had stayed close to the schooner with a line that parted after the mate fell on the boat “and threw her up on the stern in an almost perpendicular position. This nearly pitched her end over end. To add to the terror, the same blow that flung the boat up on her stern broke out the starboard scull-hole in which the steering oar lay.” Doyle improvised and lashed down a new oar near midships and again took control of the rescue. 

Despite the late hour, the storm and the darkness, a large crowd of men and women had gathered on the beach. They saw the boat, with the six men and the woman aboard, drive swiftly toward the beach under the steady oar of the keeper. At length her bows grated on the sand, and it was safely over. 

Within six weeks, Capt. Doyle again demonstrated great skill and bravery involving the wreck of the schooner Star from Mill Point, Ontario, on Oct. 23, 1878. Fortune would find the crew of Station No. 4 drilling and practicing signaling. The Star, laden with 12,000 bushels of wheat and valued at $7,500 (roughly $202,000 today), tried to enter Charlotte harbor during a fierce northwest gale, but missed the entrance and dropped her anchors to ride out the storm. At 6 p.m., when the decks were awash, the seven-man crew climbed into her rigging for safety. The night was very dark, and the rain fell in torrents. The sea ran so high that it dashed in the windows of the lower lighthouse and leaped over the tower. This prevented the lighting of the lamp. 

Capt. Doyle and his men were assembled on the beach and could only watch due to the conditions. It was equally impossible to reach the wreck with a shot-line. All Doyle could do was to wait until the wind direction changed. The station lit their large beach lantern. Signals were continuously exchanged with the schooner to encourage the stranded crew. 

About 11 p.m., Keeper Doyle decided to risk a launch. The boat, “dizzily lifting and falling cleaved its way with a strong roll of oars. It was some time, but the skeleton masts and rigging were seen dimly looming above the sunken hull in the darkness. The seven exhausted men, still in the crosstrees of the foremast eventually got into the boat and at ten minutes after midnight were landed on the beach. The schooner was demolished by the waves.” 

The Gold and Silver Lifesaving medals were established in 1874 by an Act of Congress, which authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to bestow the medals upon individuals who endanger their own lives in saving or endeavoring to save lives from the perils of the sea, within the United States, or upon any American vessel. On August 2, 1879, Keeper Doyle would be awarded the prestigious Gold Lifesaving Medal for the two rescues. 

After 16 years of service, Captain Doyle was medically retired on Oct. 23, 1893, from “injuries received in service.” Approximately 11 percent of Keepers from 1871 to 1913 left service due to reasons of health. At the time Doyle retired, the USLSS had no formal “retirement benefits and very little compensation in case of duty related injury,” likely contributing to an average service time for Keepers of eight years. 

A newspaper report detailing his injuries noted that “during the year 1891, he was disabled by hernia and as all men in the lifesaving service over the age of 55 years of age must pass a physical every year.” The account went on to indicate that, “he will be retained on the payroll for two years as is customary in cases where captains and surfmen are disabled in the service.” 

Little is known about Doyle beyond the rescue station’s logs and abbreviated newspaper accounts regarding the rescues in which he participated. According to Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian, Dr. William Thiesen, “Doyle is the only hero without background information because his service predates the advent of personnel records.” Doyle “found a large boat building establishment at Charlotte.” Here, he would continue building a “non-sinkable, non-capsizable lifeboat, the model of which he has been working on for several years.” 

Doyle would eventually head West and purchase and manage several gold mines in Colorado. He died in Pueblo, Colorado, on Aug. 20, 1905, at the age of 69 and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Pueblo. 

The U.S. Coast Guard, the successor rescue organization to the Life-Saving Service, would go on to commission a new fast response cutter (FRC) in his honor in 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. FRCs have been named for enlisted heroes. Ironically, no headstone marks Doyle’s remains in the Colorado cemetery where he is buried. An image from Findagrave.com indicates “Joseph Doyle is buried with Gar Olin. Joseph has no marker."

Captain Webster is an advisory board member of the U.S. Life Saving Service Heritage Association. He was recognized by the Foundation for Coast Guard History for his decades of commitment to service heritage in 2012. Webster, a recognized search and rescue expert, was an invited speaker at the 2024 Coast Guard SAR workshop.

This article appears courtesy of The Long Blue Line and may be found in its original form here

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

CMA CGM Vessel on MV Losses 99 Containers During Storm off South Africa

CMA CGM containership
CMA CGM's brand new containership has lost up to 99 boxes overboard in a storm off South Africa (Hudong-Zhonghua)

Published Aug 18, 2024 12:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

For the second time in approximately a month, one of CMA CGM’s large containerships, the newly inaugurated CMA CMG Belem (13,000 TEU) has lost boxes overboard in storms off South Africa. Industry observers had noted that the large boxships would encounter difficult weather on the Cape of Good Hope route as they divert from the normal routing through the Red Sea.

The South Africa Maritime Safety Authority received a report from the containership that it has lost as many as 99 containers off the east coast of South Africa. The incident happened on Thursday, August 15, with SAMSA saying it had also been informed there was a “significant stowage collapse,” and that the vessel was seeking a port of refuge.

“The vessel had initially sought refuge at Maputo Bay. However, after further assessment, the decision was made to redirect the ship to Qheberha (Port Elizabeth). The CMA CGM Belem is currently slow steaming towards Port of Ngqura, with an expected time of arrival on August 18, 2024,” said SAMSA.

Given the size of the vessel, 145,650 dwt with a length of 1,102 feet (336 meters) and a draft of 48.5 feet (14.8 meters), SAMSA said the Port of Ngqura terminal is the only one in local area suitable for the vessel. The vessel’s AIS signal shows that as of late on Sunday she had arrived in the Port Elizabeth anchorage. CMA CGM has not issued a statement, but it is likely undergoing a full damage assessment at the moment.

“Stowage collapses have been confirmed, and the affected containers will need to be discharged at a container port facility upon arrival,” according to SAMSA.

The vessel which is registered in Malta, was delivered to the French company in late June. It is the fifth of six dual-fuel LNG vessels built by CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua yard under its latest contract CMA CGM. The vessel sailed from Qingdao, China on July 18, making stops at three additional Chinese ports and Singapore. It is bound for Rio de Janeiro and Santos, Brazil, where it was due at the beginning of September.

A month ago, on July 9, the ultra-large container vessel CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin (18,000 TEU), also reportedly lost up to 40 containers in the same region of the South African Indian Ocean area, while also sailing past the country from Asia to Europe. The vessel put into Algoa Bay and finally resumed its trip on July 16.

South Africa has been experiencing a series of strong later winter storms this year. Industry experts had warned that ships would find the routing around South Africa possibly more challenging in addition to the distances required. The storms have disrupted operations with the bulker Ultra Galaxy also being caught in the July storms. The authorities speculate the vessel’s cargo of bagged fertilizer shifted causing the ship to take on a heavy list. After the crew abandoned the vessel, it capsized and washed ashore north of Cape Town. The vessel broke apart in subsequent storms.

Harris to meet with Teamsters, but union president isn’t invited to speak at Democratic convention

TEAMSTERS ENDORSED NIXON


FILE - Sean O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, speaks during the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee.
 (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)


BY TOM KRISHER
August 17, 2024

DETROIT (AP) — Members of the Teamsters will host Vice President Kamala Harris for a roundtable discussion in the near future, but union President Sean O’Brien has yet to get an invitation to speak at next week’s Democratic National Convention.

Kara Deniz, a spokeswoman for the 1.3 million member union, said in an email Friday that the Teamsters are working with Harris’ campaign on dates for the roundtable.

But O’Brien, who angered some Democrats by speaking at the GOP convention last month, has not received a reply to his request to speak at the Democratic National Convention, which begins Monday in Chicago, Deniz said Friday night.

O’Brien made the request to the Democrats at the same time he asked Republicans, she said.

A person briefed on convention planning said Saturday that O’Brien will not speak, but the Teamsters will have a presence on the convention stage. The person, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the schedule, would not give further details.

Democrats have been the party of labor unions for decades, while Republicans largely have greeted them with hostility. Most major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, already have endorsed Harris.

But the Teamsters met with her GOP opponent, Donald Trump, in January, and O’Brien received a tepid reception when he spoke on the opening night of the Republican convention in Milwaukee. In his speech, O’Brien criticized both major political parties for not doing enough to help working people.

The Teamsters say the decision on a presidential endorsement will be made after the conventions.

Earlier this year, Trump sat down with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in an effort to earn the union’s support. Emerging from that meeting, Trump boasted that a significant chunk of union voters has backed him and said of a possible Teamsters endorsement, “Stranger things have happened.”

But in a Monday discussion on the social media platform X with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Trump praised Musk for firing workers who went on strike. Musk laughed and agreed with him. Although it wasn’t clear what Trump was referring to, the statements brought rebukes from unions accusing Trump and Musk of being anti-labor.

The United Auto Workers even filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that statements from Trump and Musk interfered with workers who may want to join a union. The NLRB said it would investigate.

“Both Trump and Musk want working class people to sit down and shut up, and they laugh about it openly,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

Trump’s campaign called the allegations frivolous and a “shameless political stunt.”

O’Brien also criticized Trump and Musk in a statement. “Firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism,” he said.
Does hosting your political convention in Chicago equal victory? History has an answer

John A. Tures
August 17, 2024 7:02AM ET

A scoreboard displays "DNC 2024" ahead of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 16, 2024 in Chicago. The United Center will host the Democratic National Convention, which is officially scheduled to kick off on Monday, August 19, and run through Thursday, August 22. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. 

As Democrats converge on Chicago in what appears to be an organized show of unity at their 2024 convention, it’s a far cry from what transpired 100 years ago in New York City.

There and then, the Democratic party fielded 16 presidential candidates and conducted 103 ballots votes for a nominee. Battles raged over whether the party should insert a platform plank condemning the KKK. A delegate allegedly quipped, “We’re either going to have to pick a candidate tonight or a cheaper hotel.”

The New Republic reported that the event that occurred just before the Democratic National Convention that year in Madison Square Garden was the Barnum and Bailey Circus. Attendees of the 1924 Democratic National Convention probably couldn’t tell the difference between their event and the ones with clowns and dancing bears.

Even in our age of sanitized, made-for-TV national political conventions, where organizers do their best to promote unity and quell dissent, there’s always the possibility of flashpoints — internal or external — when thousands of delegates descend upon a city.

Countering Democrats’ exercise in comity this year is like to be a series of pro-Palestinian protests. Here, on the weekend before the convention begins, there’s no predicting whether these protests will be peaceful — or less than peaceful. Visions of Chicago in 1968, where anti-war protesters battled Chicago police in the streets, loom large.

But Chicago is no political convention rookie. In fact, Chicago has hosted 25 national political conventions over our nation’s history — 15 more than the next closest city, Baltimore.

In 14 of these 25 cases, Chicago’s winner has gone on to win the presidency — a 56 percent success rate.

On balance, Chicago has been kind to both parties. The GOP has hosted 14 national conventions in Chicago (with their presidential nominee winning eight) while Democrats opted to hold their party convention in Chicago 11 times (winning six).

The second most popular site for a national political convention is Baltimore.

But all but one (1912) took place in the 1800s, when Baltimore was one of the largest cities in America. In 1831, the first political party convention occurred. It was in Baltimore, put on by the Anti-Masonic League, and nominated William Wirt. Whigs and Democrats soon followed suit later that year and in 1832. In 1860, when the Democratic Party fractured in Charleston, S.C., Northern Democrats fled to Baltimore to nominate Sen. Stephen Douglas.

Philadelphia is the site of the third most political conventions in American history — nine. A little more than half of these conventions led to success in November.

Surprisingly, New York City has only hosted six, with three producing a win. Holding fifth place for convention sites is St. Louis, with five (only two nominees at those events won). San Francisco has held four conventions, with a party winning only one of those. Kansas City has only led to victory as a national convention site in one of three elections.

Six cities have hosted at least one convention and never yielded a winner Atlanta, Boston, Charleston, Houston, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tampa.

Houston, which has lost twice before, is slated to host the GOP convention in 2028.

The smallest city to host a convention, by population rank at the time of the census, is Atlantic City, N.J. (1964), followed by Tampa (2012), Minneapolis/St. Paul (2008), Cleveland (2016) and Miami Beach (1968, and 1972 twice).

Atlantic City (1964), Dallas (1984), Detroit (1980), and New Orleans (1988) have won their solo shot at a convention.

So has Milwaukee in 2020 for the Democrats, although that largely virtual convention was decidedly unconventional given the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll see what happens for the Republicans in 2024, as Milwaukee hosted their national convention last month.

Miami Beach, Cleveland, and Cincinnati have also fared well, with each being a successful site in two of three elections. Denver and Los Angeles have each won half of their convention host years.



Then-Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) with running mate U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, and daughters Malia and Sasha on day four of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at Invesco Field at Mile High August 28, 2008 in Denver, Colo. (Photo by Charles Ommanney/Getty Images)

Bottom line for bigger cities as convention sites?

During the last 12 elections, the convention that’s been conducted in the bigger city has won eight of them. Overall, in a head-to-head comparison, the bigger convention city has nominated an eventual presidential winner 21 times, while the smaller city has prevailed 15 times. (In six cases, both parties held their convention in the same city in the same year.)

This history bodes well for the Democrats, whose 2024 convention city (Chicago) is larger than the 2024 Republican host city (Milwaukee).

For the record, the largest cities never to host a convention are Phoenix, followed by San Antonio, Texas; San Jose, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Indianapolis; Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Worth, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; and Seattle. (Jacksonville did play an odd and ill-fated role during the 2020 election, however.)

Numerous factors go into the success — or lack thereof — of a presidential candidate. But if they want a historical tailwind at their backs, Democrats and Republicans both may want to consider city size when making their choice for their convention site for 2028.

Given the track record for the larger city, perhaps Los Angeles, New York City or yet another return to Chicago might be the better option in four years, although that probably doesn’t mean a cheaper hotel room.

John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His “X” account is JohnTures2.
Thousands of us are protesting at the DNC
 in Chicago this week. Here's why

It's time for the Biden/Harris administration to stop supporting Israel and recognise that the oppression of the Palestinian people is inherently connected to the oppression of Americans here at home.



Kobi Guillory
Freedom Road Socialist Organization



Reuters

A lectern is pictured at the United Center, the host venue of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago, Illinois, August 15, 2024. / Photo: Reuters

By the time the Democratic National Convention (DNC) opens in Chicago on August 19, the Jewish state of Israel will be 319 days into its campaign of open genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The United States government is the biggest sponsor of this genocide, and it has financially, politically and militarily supported the occupation of Palestine since 1948.

Those of us in the belly of the US imperialist beast have a responsibility to stand up against our genocidal government, which is why tens of thousands of us will be marching on the DNC to demand an end to all US aid to Israel.

US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris' administration has gifted Israel at least $15 billion in military and financial aid since October 7. While millions of people in the US do not have adequate food, housing, education or healthcare, the government prioritises paying for bombs to massacre Palestinians.


Why we march



Last year, as soon as the locations of the Democratic and Republican national conventions were announced, several organisations formed coalitions to march on both of them.


These have grown thanks to more than a year of consistent outreach and buildup. The RNC took place in Milwaukee last month, on July 15, and was met by over 3,500 protesters from all over the country and across various movements for liberation.

These people showed up in spite of threats of right-wing violence in response to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump two days earlier.

Due to the Democratic Party being in the driver's seat during the ongoing US-backed genocide in Gaza, we are expecting tens of thousands more people to march on the DNC in Chicago this week.

The Coalition to March on the DNC consists of over 200 organisations, thousands of people of diverse backgrounds united in solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle, and opposition to US support for Israel.



We are united in understanding the connections between our struggles and the Palestinian struggle. Nelson Mandela said "our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians," and he meant it literally.

Here's a simple example: Police in the US are often trained by Israeli soldiers in repressive tactics. Since 2001, thousands of officers from local, state, and federal agencies have learned surveillance and crowd control methods from Israel under the guise of "counter-terrorism."

US imperialism is a global system, and each crime it commits on oppressed people anywhere allows it to inflict greater injustice on oppressed people everywhere.

The global connections between oppressors also create space for solidarity among the oppressed.

When Black people in Ferguson protested the murder of Michael Brown in 2014, Palestinians were able to give advice on how to deal with tear gas, because they had faced the same US-manufactured tear gas while protesting in Gaza.

Broken promises

The Democratic Party relies on the votes of working and oppressed people to win elections, yet they routinely break promises made to those communities once they get in power.



Biden and Harris won the 2020 election largely due to the momentum of the George Floyd uprising, but their lip service to police reform has not stopped police from killing over a thousand people every year since 2020.


Meanwhile, several Democratic administrations failed to codify Roe v Wade into law, so there was no defence against the conservative Supreme Court's decision to revoke women's reproductive rights in 2022.


In terms of immigration, while Biden condemned former US President Donald Trump's administration for its policy of putting kids in cages, he is on track to deport as many people in his term as Trump did.


And now presumptive nominee Kamala Harris is promising to be tougher on the border than Trump.



So the march on the DNC will also be a march for the people's agenda, because we know Democratic Party leaders will give us nothing without mass action.

Protective measures

Democratic Party leaders have spent almost a year repressing the Palestine solidarity movement rather than ceasing to fund genocide and occupation with our tax dollars.

Notably, police have brutalised thousands of students who formed encampments to demand their universities divest from Israel. Protesters in Chicago and around the country have faced arrests and charges for their righteous actions.

Repression has always been a tactic of the US government, which is why we have made extensive preparations to protect the people who show up to march on the DNC.

Since November, we have fought the City of Chicago for a permit to ensure that police leave our march alone. We have a large team of volunteers prepared to separate police from protesters and de-escalate tense situations.

We have legal observers documenting police crimes in case they happen to take appropriate legal action. We are building a march that children, elders, disabled people, undocumented immigrants, and people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system can safely attend.

We have teams of volunteers throughout the country doing outreach and creating signs and banners for the march. We have buses bringing people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, and even as far as New Mexico. The members of the coalition have poured months of work and years of collective experience into making this march successful.

The March on the DNC will be a historic moment in the anti-imperialist movement. We have learned from those who fought against the US wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, those who stood in solidarity with South Africans fighting apartheid, and everyone who has fought to defend their rights, that freedom is a constant struggle.

Goals go beyond the ballot box

The march on the DNC will be a milestone in building the struggle for collective liberation, and we will continue the fight until imperialism is destroyed.



We will not be swayed by non-committal comments about a ceasefire from Harris while the Biden/Harris administration is still giving the green light for more arms sales to Israel.

We will not be divided or intimidated by the rhetoric of the Democratic Party leaders who invoke the name of Donald Trump rather than ending their support for genocide.

We will not be swayed by non-committal comments about a ceasefire from Harris while the Biden/Harris administration is still giving the green light for more arms sales to Israel. We will not settle for anything less than an end to all US aid to Israel.

Martin Luther King Jr. said "The time is always right to do what is right." Now is the right time to demand justice for Palestine and for oppressed people internationally.

If the Democratic Party loses in November, it will not be the fault of people who are doing the right thing. It will be the fault of party leaders who spent almost a year funding one of the worst crimes against humanity while neglecting the communities who got them elected.

Our goals are far bigger than the ballot box. We aim for a free Palestine, and freedom for all people in the world.

SOURCE: TRT World


Kobi Guillory
Kobi Guillory is a middle school science teacher in Chicago. He grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has been organizing with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression since 2019 and with CTU since 2022. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Chicago braces for protests during next week's Democratic National Convention


Preparations continued on Friday at the United Center, which will be the location of the evening activities at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Officials in Chicago are bracing for several different protests after the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday.

Demonstrations pushing multiple different causes are expected to blanket the Windy City.

The groups include pro-Palestinian supporters calling on the Democratic Party to help end the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The Chicago area is home to the largest Palestinian population in the United States.

"We're going to march regardless, but we're fighting for the best route possible," March on the DNC coalition spokesperson Fayani Aboma Mijana said on the group's website.

"We've got our park permit, but the city has refused to allow us to use [portable restrooms], a stage and a sound system."

Earlier in the week, a federal judge ruled that a planned protest expected to draw thousands of participants during the DNC will have to use the current route provided by City of Chicago officials.

U.S. Northern Illinois District Judge Andrea Wood ruled the current route near the convention's site at the United Center enables protesters to "speak near their intended audience" and does not violate their First Amendment rights.

"Biden and Harris have the power to stop it, and they haven't," Arab American Action Network Executive Director Hatem Abudayyeh told reporters Thursday.

"The Democrats must end all U.S. aid to Israel immediately. It's illegal for the city attorneys to stop us from saying this."

On Friday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other city officials officially unveiled a new police helicopter.

The $11 million Bell 429 twin-engine helicopter is expected to be busy during the coming days.

"We ensure that this helicopter would be here for the upcoming Democratic National Convention to assist with securing our city from the air, the areas around the convention, as well as keeping eyes on activities city-wide," Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling told reporters during a Friday news conference.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of this helicopter of our public safety efforts during the DNC and for years to come."

Democratic National Convention: what can Kamala Harris learn from Chicago ‘68?


























ONE OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN (1968)





























Chicago Seven, U.S. political activists who were arrested for their anti-Vietnam War activities at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.


Sep 23, 2022 ... The Chicago 7 Trial ... September 24, 1969, marked the beginning of one of the most infamous trials in U.S. history for eight (later seven) ...


Democratic National Convention protesters win the right to pee

Jordan Green, Investigative Reporter
RAW STORY
August 16, 2024 


Portable toilets. (ABB Photos / Shutterstock)

CHICAGO — Thousands of left-wing activists who plan to protest the Democratic National Convention next week won a court battle today, as the city government agreed to allow portable toilets where the protesters plan to march.

Previously, the City of Chicago had argued that portable toilets at Union Park, four blocks from United Center — where Vice President Kamala Harris will ceremonially accept the presidential nomination on Aug. 22 — posed a public safety risk.

The portable toilets, city officials said, could be used to launch terrorist attacks or fashioned into weapons.

“Regarding portable restrooms, these offer a space for concealment of weapons or unsanitary materials that can be used against other persons or law enforcement officers,” Bryan Gallardo, an assistant commissioner at the Chicago Department of Transportation, wrote in a letter to protest organizers on Wednesday. “They can be used as a base from which to inflict mass casualties. They may also be broken down into pieces that can be used as weapons against other persons or law enforcement officers or used to repel law enforcement.”

ALSO READ: How Gaza protesters plan to roil the Democratic National Convention

Gallardo added that “CDOT is not suggesting that your particular group will use these items in these ways,” but said the city was concerned that others might misuse the facilities “to harm members of the public or law enforcement officers.”

The left-wing protest groups are organizing under the umbrella of the Coalition to March on the DNC, which is primarily focused on opposing U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza.

Faayani Aboma Mijana, a spokesperson for the coalition, told Raw Story that the city's concerns were "bogus," while citing the protest group's due diligence in securing permits, and training parade marshals to guide the marchers and deescalate conflict with counter-protesters.

"We went to great lengths to show that we can have a safe, family-friendly protest," they said.


But in a statement hailing the decision, the coalition described the fight for portable toilets as evolving into “an almost absurd dispute.”

The protest group had filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court to challenge the restrictions, and lawyers for the two sides had been expected to appear before Judge Andrea R. Wood for a hearing this afternoon.



Workers continue to expand the security perimeter into the neighborhood around the United Center in preparation for the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 16, 2024 in Chicago. The Democratic National Convention will run from August 19-22 at the United Center. Large protests around the United Center are expected. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

But before that happened, the city agreed to meet the protesters demands, and Wood canceled the hearing.

The city confirmed the agreement on Friday.

“In preparing to host the Democratic National Convention as mayor of the city of Chicago, I have remained committed to upholding the diverse, multi-generational movements that brought me by exercising the right to protest and First Amendment rights,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a prepared statement. “We are focused on collaborative solutions and have extended this approach to our convention preparation to balance the need for security with our commitment to free expression.”

The city’s statement also included march routes for a handful of allied left-wing protest groups staging from Union Park on the first and last days of the convention, but Mijana said the city-approved routes do not meet the needs of the 30,000 to 40,000 people expected to show up for the protests.

The protest groups vowed “to keep fighting through other avenues to extend the length of the protest march route, to allow for more portable toilets, and to allow for tents in Union Park to house medics and media.”

Relatedly, the City of Chicago agreed to allow the protesters to use a stage and amplification system at the park where marches will begin on the first and last days of the Democratic National Convention.

Jordan Green is a North Carolina-based investigative reporter at Raw Story, covering domestic extremism, efforts to undermine U.S. elections and democracy, hate crimes and terrorism. Prior to joining the staff of Raw Story in March 2021, Green spent 16 years covering housing, policing, nonprofits and music as a reporter and editor at Triad City Beat in North Carolina and Yes Weekly. He can be reached at jordan@rawstory.com. More about Jordan Green.


TV BROADCAST:
"THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING "
PROTESTERS  CHANT AT DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION 
CHICAGO 1968

 

CHICAGO

Someday (August 29, 1968) (2002 Remaster)

The Whole World is Watching ,,,,, replay of yesterday is playing again Today! Nothing has changed except the numbers on the calendar. Chicago knew it . This song is still  relevant today !



Thousands of activists expected in Chicago for Democratic convention to call for Gaza ceasefire

Chicago’s police superintendent is touting extensive officer training as a critical part of the city’s preparations for the Democratic National Convention 

BY SOPHIA TAREEN
August 17, 2024


CHICAGO (AP) — Thousands of activists are expected to converge on Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, hoping to call attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza.

While Vice President Kamala Harris has energized crowds of supporters as she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination, progressive activists maintain their mission remains the same.

Activists say they learned lessons from last month’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and are predicting bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations in Chicago, a city with deep social activism roots.
Who is protesting?

Demonstrations are expected every day of the convention and, while their agendas vary, many activists agree an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war is the priority.

Things are set to kick off Sunday on the convention’s eve with an abortion rights march along iconic Michigan Avenue.

Organizer Linda Loew said even though Democrats have pushed to safeguard reproductive rights at home, the issue is international. They will march in solidarity with people everywhere who struggle for the right to control what happens to their bodies, as well as to protest the money the U.S. spends to back wars that could be used for healthcare, she said.

“We believe that the billions of dollars that continue to flow to the state of Israel and the flow of weapons are having an inordinate and horrific impact, but in particular on women, children and the unborn,” she said. “All of these things are tied together.”

The largest group, the Coalition to March on the DNC, has planned demonstrations on the first and last days of the convention.

Organizers say they expect at least 20,000 activists, including students who protested the war on college campuses.

“The people with power are going to be there,” said Liz Rathburn, a University of Illinois Chicago student organizer. “People inside the United Center are the people who are going to be deciding our foreign policy in one way or another.”


Where are they protesting?

Activists sued the city earlier this year, saying restrictions over where they can demonstrate violate their constitutional rights.

Chicago leaders rejected their requests for permits to protest near United Center on the city’s West Side, where the convention is taking place, offering instead a lakefront park more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.

Later, the city agreed to allow demonstrations at a park and a march route closer to the United Center. A federal judge recently signed off on the group’s roughly 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) route.

Coalition to March on the DNC spokesman Hatem Abudayyeh said the group is pleased they won the right to protest closer to the convention, but he believes their preferred 2-mile (3-kilometer) march would be safer for larger crowds. The group is chartering buses for activists from about half a dozen states.

“We’re going forward, full speed ahead,” he said.

The city has designated a park about a block from United Center for a speakers’ stage. Those who sign up get 45 minutes.

The Philadelphia-based Poor People’s Army, which advocates for economic justice, plans to set up at Humboldt Park on the city’s Northwest Side and will feature events with third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, plus a 3-mile (5 kilometer) march Monday to the United Center.

Some group members have spent the last few weeks marching the more than 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Milwaukee, where they protested during the Republican convention.

“Poor and homeless people are being brutalized, with tents and encampments destroyed and bulldozed away, from San Francisco to Philadelphia to Gaza and the West Bank,” spokesperson Cheri Honkala said in a statement as the group reached Illinois. “These preventable human rights violations are being committed by Democratic and Republican leaders alike.”

How does a new nominee change things?

Many activists believe nothing much will change because Harris is part of the Biden administration.

“The demands haven’t changed. I haven’t seen any policy changes,” said Erica Bentley, an activist with Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity. “If you’re going to be here, you’re going to have to listen to what’s important to us.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters in Chicago have been highly visible, shutting down roads to the airport and staging sit-ins at congressional offices. Some are planning their own one-day convention Sunday with third-party candidates.

“Regardless of who the nominee is, we’re marching against the Democrats and their vicious policies that have allowed Israel to kill over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” said Fayaani Aboma Mijana, an organizer with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

It’s unclear if the convention will draw far-right extremists who ardently support former President Donald Trump.

Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge Derek Mayer said last week there are no known specific security threats against the convention.

Is Chicago ready?

The convention will draw an estimated 50,000 people to the nation’s third-largest city, including delegates, activists and journalists.

The city says it has made necessary preparations with police and the Secret Service. Security will be tight, with street closures around the convention center.

To combat traffic concerns, city leaders are touting a new $80 million train station steps from the United Center. They also have tried to beautify the city with freshly planted flowers and new signs. City leaders also cleared a nearby homeless encampment.

Police have undergone training on constitutional policing, county courts say they are opening more space in anticipation of mass arrests and hospitals near the security zone are beefing up emergency preparedness.

But some have lingering safety concerns, worried that protests could become unpredictable or devolve into chaos.

“We’re going to make sure that people have their First Amendment rights protected, that they can do that in a safe way,” Mayor Brandon Johnson told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Activist Hy Thurman protested and was arrested at the infamous 1968 convention, which is best remembered for brutal clashes between police and protesters opposing the Vietnam War. The 74-year-old now lives in Alabama but plans to come to Chicago to protest the war in Gaza.

“It’s extremely personal for me,” he said. “I see parallels.”



Russian Antiwar Activists Remember Navalny, Criticize Putin At Demonstration In Montenegro

Russians hold anti-war protest in Montenegro.
Russians hold anti-war protest in Montenegro.

A group of Russian antiwar activists held a gathering in the Montenegrin city of Budva on August 18 in memory of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and to express their opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine.

One of the organizers of the gathering, a man who identified himself only as Artem, said the demonstrators also wanted to show support for Russian political prisoners.

"We are here to pay respect to Navalny for everything he has done for our country and to say that we support Ukraine," he told RFE/RL.

Authorities allowed the gathering on the main square in Budva with the condition that there be no banners or musical performances, the organizers said. Some of those gathered ignored the condition and carried pictures of Navalny and banners saying "Russia without Putin, stop the war."

They also showed photos of 20 Russian political prisoners who they say were killed or died in prisons.

Navalny, the most prominent among them, had been convicted in trials that he and his associates judged to be politically motivated before he died on February 16 in a prison in Russia’s Arctic under suspicious circumstances. Many Russians living in Montenegro turned out then to pay their respects to him.

Those gathered on August 18 said there are still around 1,600 political prisoners in Russia, quoting data from the civil sector.

A protest participant who gave his name only as Vasily said he and the others wanted to assure them that they are not alone.

"We do not forget you and we are proud of you, [proud] of people who have the courage to publicly say what they think," Vasily told RFE/RL.

Vasily also said he believes that the only chance for change in his country is Putin's departure from the political scene.

Another participant, Russian dissident and artist Marat Gueljman, said that a change of government is the only hope for Russians in the country.

Gueljman said three years ago, Putin's power in Russia was "incredibly strong” and no one could have guessed then that the army of another country could be on Russian territory and that thousands of people would be in prison for opposing Putin.

"So, with this war, Putin made a mistake. No one can destroy the system better than the people who built it. Putin will destroy that system," Gueljman said.

SHIPS OR PLANES IT'S THE SAME
Live animal exports: 80 sheep die while being air freighted from Australia to Indonesia

AAP
18 Aug, 2024 


Authorities are investigating an air shipment of sheep to Indonesia. Photo / Pixabay

About 80 sheep have died while being air freighted from Australia to Indonesia.

The Australian Livestock Exporters Council said the breeder sheep deaths occurred on Saturday evening and it characterised the incident as regrettable.

The sheep were headed to Jakarta.

The federal agriculture department, which is the industry regulator, has received an immediate report.

The council, LiveAir, the exporter and the air freight operator will work with the regulator as the investigation progresses.

The Australian government announced live sheep exports by sea will be banned from May 2028 after legislation passed the Senate in July.

Australia’s Labor Party vowed to end the trade amid animal rights concerns after thousands of sheep died of heat stress while en route to the Middle East.

The RSPCA has long campaigned against live exports and says the industry is “unfixable”.

The federal government has slated a A$107 million ($117m) transition package to flow to affected farmers.

Last-minute lobbying by Western Australia farmers and exporters was not enough to have the legislation blocked.

Discover more
UN: Malnutrition worsening in Yemen's government-controlled areas

U$A/ KSA BACKED GOVT

August 18, 2024 
By Reuters
Displaced Yemenis receive humanitarian aid in the Hays region, south of Hodeidah governorate, Yemen, Aug. 16, 2024. Malnutrition is rampant in the country's government-controlled areas.

Aden, Yemen —

Acute malnutrition is rapidly increasing in areas of Yemen controlled by the government, with the most critical cases along areas of the Red Sea coast, U.N. food security experts said in a report issued on Sunday.

The war between the Saudi-backed government and Iran-aligned Houthi militia, stalemated for years, has caused the economic collapse of the already widely impoverished Arabian Peninsula country and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

In a report, the U.N.'s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Technical Group in Yemen said malnutrition had worsened from the combined effect of the spread of diseases such as cholera and measles, a shortage of nutritious food, a lack of drinking water, and broader economic decline.

The number of children in Yemen under the age of five suffering acute malnutrition, or wasting, has risen by 34% compared with the previous year across government-controlled areas, the report said. This equated to some 600,000 children, including 120,000 who were severely malnourished.

For the first time, it said, "extremely critical" acute malnutrition level was reported in the southern Hodeidah lowlands, including the Al Khawkhah and Hays districts, fringing Yemen's Red Sea coast, as well as the Al Makha district of the Taiz lowlands between November 2023 and June 2024.

The report did not say whether there had been any recent deaths from severe hunger or what conditions were like in Houthi-held areas of the country.

Houthi forces hold most large urban centers of Yemen including the capital Sanaa while the Saudi-backed government is based in Aden in the south.

The Riyadh-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

The multifaceted conflict, in which several factions are vying for power, has killed tens of thousands of people.
Myanmar earns over USD 1.72B from agricultural exports

August 19, 2024

XINHUA – Myanmar earned over USD1.72 billion from agricultural exports in the first four months of the 2024-2025 fiscal year (from April 1 to July 26), the state-run media Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) reported yesterday.

The country generated over USD1.4 billion from sea exports and USD298 million from border trade. Key agricultural products in Myanmar are rice, broken rice, beans and pulses, corn, edible oil crops and rubber.

During this period, Myanmar earned over USD290 million from rice and broken rice exports, over USD700 million from beans and pulses exports, and over USD365 million from corn exports.