Friday, August 23, 2024

How global media covered PM Narendra Modi's historic Ukraine visit, meeting with President Zelensky

HT News Desk | Edited by Aniruddha Dhar
Aug 24, 2024 

PM Narendra Modi's visit marks the first ever by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since diplomatic ties were established between two countries in 1992.

PM Narendra Modi Ukraine visit updates: In a landmark visit to Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered “as a friend” to help bring peace to Ukraine in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with many in the war-torn country hoping that it would pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on August 23, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Russia is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.
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News agency Reuters reported that the optics closely resembled the PM Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital on the same day.

Also Read | ‘Putin doesn’t respect you': Zelensky flags India-Russia trade amid conflict

The BBC reported that “it was surely no coincidence that the first place Mr Modi was taken on Friday was Ukraine’s history museum where he was invited to watch an exhibition remembering all of the 570 Ukrainian children reported to have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during presentation of BHISHM cube to Ukraine, in Kyiv, Friday. (PTI Photo)

“Conflict is particularly devastating for young children,” Modi wrote on the social media platform X. “My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief.”

They laid teddy bears at the memorial at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II before observing a moment of silence.

Also Read | In Ukraine, PM Modi urges Zelensky to sit down for talks with Russia

News agency Associated Press, citing analysts, reported that visit to Ukraine could also be an attempt by Modi to strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as his lean toward Russia.

He also chided Modi for hugging Putin during their meeting. But on Friday Zelenskyy also hugged Modi, apparently putting aside his criticism, the AP report added.

A Ukrainian analyst said the outcome of Modi’s first visit is likely to be modest, as this is just "the beginning of a complex dialogue between India, Ukraine, and Europe”, the report said.


“Establishing relations with India will be challenging and a long process,” AP quoted Yurii Bohdanov on his Telegram channel as saying.

If India were to support Ukraine’s approach to a peace settlement, it could enhance Kyiv's chances of gaining more backing from other countries in the “Global South", where “India remains China’s main competitor for influence,” he said.

“This will further increase pressure on Russia,” Bohdanov added.

In another report, the BBC, citing Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre think-tank in Washington, reported the trip will further reassert India’s strategic autonomy.

“India isn’t in the business of placating Western powers, or anyone for that matter. It’s a trip meant to advance Indian interests, by reasserting friendship with Kyiv and conveying its concerns about the continuing war,” Kugelman said.

'Significant visit'

In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelensky's office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi “really has a certain influence” over Moscow.

"It's extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is - and that it is also in their interests," he said.

As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties.

Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow's top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India's oil imports.

The chief of Ukraine’s Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said Modi's visit was historic and emphasised Ukraine’s expectation that India could play a role in ending the war with a “just peace,” referring to Ukraine’s peace formula.

“It’s important to have diplomatic evidence that the picture is more complicated, and these players also respect Ukraine and engage with Ukraine under these circumstances,” New York Times quoted Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying in an interview.

The NYT reported claimed Indian officials have said they are not seeking a mediating role but will convey messages between Ukraine and Russia if requested.

“India is seen as interested in a resolution to the war to avoid further isolation of Russia in the West, which could push Moscow into a closer embrace with China, India’s rival in Asia,” it reported.

Modi's visit, said Kuleba, is a “big diplomatic breakthrough” for Ukraine in its effort to press neutral nations to show balance in their relations with the warring countries. He added that Ukraine is not seeking a mediating role by India in potential talks, the report added.


‘Today, history was made’: Zelenskyy on Modi's Ukraine visit. His Instagram post breaks record

By HT News Desk
Aug 23, 2024


Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Modi’s visit “friendly” and “symbolic” because Modi came the day before Ukraine’s Independence Day.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv on Friday, as he listed the agreements reached by the two countries to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

“Today, history was made,” Zelenskyy posted on X. “The Prime Minister of India @narendramodi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day.”

The Ukrainian leader highlighted the signing of four bilateral agreements covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture, signalling a new chapter in Ukraine-India relations.

The visit saw the two leaders agree on a joint statement emphasising the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation.

“India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter,” Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskyy's Instagram post with Modi

Zelenskyy also posted pictures of his meeting with PM Modi on his Instagram account, which quickly became his most popular post on the platform, garnering over 1 million likes within hours of being uploaded.

In his post, Zelenskyy said, "Our meeting is important for strengthening the dialogue and relationship between India and Ukraine."

Also Read | Jaishankar on those ‘upset’ over PM Modi-Putin hug in Moscow: ‘In our part of world…'

Prior to the meeting, Zelenskyy's most popular Instagram post had garnered 780,000 likes. The new post with Modi, however, surpassed 1 million likes within a few hours, a testament to the increased engagement world leaders often experience when associated with Modi.

Modi enjoys more following than any head of government on various social media platforms.

The backdrop of the visit is deeply intertwined with the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. During their meeting, Modi reiterated India's position on the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also offering to play a mediating role to bring peace to the region.

"We say it very loudly and clearly that we support the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," Modi said, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to resolve the conflict.

Also Read | Modi, Zelenskyy visit exhibit dedicated to Ukrainian children killed in conflict

The Ukrainian President described Modi’s visit as both "friendly" and "symbolic," particularly because it occurred on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day. The two leaders commenced their meeting by visiting a memorial dedicated to the Ukrainian children who have died in the ongoing war. The solemn moment was captured in a video shared by Zelenskyy on Telegram, showing the leaders laying teddy bears at the memorial and observing a moment of silence.

What is a BHISHM cube, PM Modi's life-saving gift to Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy


It is a cutting-edge portable medical unit that delivers healthcare service

THE WEEK
Web Desk Updated: August 23, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting four BHISHM Cubes to the Ukrainian government | X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Ukraine visit, made a unique gesture by gifting Ukraine four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri) Cubes, in his bid to showcase India's willingness to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

A statement by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the Prime Minister presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to Ukraine on Friday, for which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked him'.

A post on Modi's X read: Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President @ZelenskyyUa"

The gesture, according to the Indian government, underscored India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine.

But what is a BHISHM cube?


A BHISHM cube is a cutting-edge, portable medical unit designed to deliver essential healthcare services in disaster-stricken areas. This will help in speedy and effective treatment of the injured and thereby save precious lives.

Besides containing medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations, each BHISHM cube also contains equipment to handle over 10-15 surgeries every day. "The Cube can handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergencies such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc," the statement added,

Each cube is 15 inches wide and weighs 20 kg. The cubes are then positioned on a framework that makes them potable by air, sea, land and drone. Another feature of the cube is that it can generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts and duration.

According to a PIB statement, the cubes integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics to facilitate effective coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient management of medical services in the field.

The BHISHM cubs were made under the umbrella of Project Aarogya Maitri, a programme to provide essential medical supplies to developing countries as humanitarian assistance, the government has created the BHISHM initiative, which provides the means to deliver all basic facilities and equipment for providing emergency medical care in an easy to use and rapidly deployable manner, they noted.

 

Hostage-Taking Crisis In Russian Prison Ends With Eight Dead

This photo released by the Russian National Guard shows soldiers standing near correctional colony No. 19 in the town of Surovikino in the Volgograd region on August 23.
This photo released by the Russian National Guard shows soldiers standing near correctional colony No. 19 in the town of Surovikino in the Volgograd region on August 23.

The Russian National Guard said its snipers killed four hostage-takers when security forces stormed a prison in the southwestern region of Volgograd after knife-wielding prisoners reportedly launched a deadly attack on guards and held some staff hostage.

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said in a statement that four prison guards died on August 23 after four inmates took eight guards and four other inmates hostage at the correctional colony No. 19 in the town of Surovikino in the Volgograd region.

"The perpetrators inflicted stabbing wounds of various types on four prison employees, three of whom died. The other four, who resisted, were hospitalized, and one of them died in hospital," the FSIN's statement said, adding that four other inmates also were wounded in the hostage-taking crisis.

Media reports as the incident began said several people died when the hostage-taking took place while a disciplinary commission was in the penitentiary.

Telegram channels close to the penitentiary service issued a video showing four inmates who called themselves "Islamic State fighters" wielding knives and standing next to three bodies in FSIN uniforms and another uniformed person who was injured.

One Telegram channel identified the four inmates as two men from Uzbekistan and two from Tajikistan, three of whom are serving terms for illegal drugs and one for inflicting serious damage to a person’s health. That information has not been confirmed officially.

In another video, an inmate states that prison guards "had violated Muslims' rights."

"We killed those who humiliated and tortured Muslims. They took away books from some of us, prayer rugs from some of us. So, we did the same to them. No mercy," the man in the video says.

The reports are likely to further exacerbate the xenophobic aftermath of the worst attack inside Russia since 2004, which left 145 people dead after gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow on March 22. Ten Tajiks have thus far been arrested in Russia in connection with the attack claimed by the Islamic State group, including four accused of being the gunmen.

The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to law enforcement structures, reported that the prison’s warden Andrei Devyatov was hospitalized with wounds after he and four other hostages, including an inmate, managed to escape.

In another video, an inmate urges Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet the hostage-takers' demands and says he needs a doctor. Putin said in televised remarks that he had been briefed on the situation by the head of the FSIN.

One video shows four inmates standing next to a black banner with an Arabic inscription on it, chanting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is great!"), while one of them holds a uniformed man.

Media reports say riot police units are deployed near the prison and the imam of the Volgograd region had arrived at the site to hold talks with the hostage-takers.

This is the second hostage-taking event in a Russian penitentiary this summer.

In June, several inmates took hostages at a detention center in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Russian officials said at the time that the hostage-takers were members of Islamic State. Five hostage-takers were killed and two hostages wounded during that crisis.

Another incident occurred in the mainly Muslim region of Daghestan, where at least 20 people were killed in shootings in two cities in the southern Russian area.

How Shirley Chisholm & Fannie Lou Hamer Paved the Way for Kamala Harris

DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.Donate

Guest  Barbara Ransby
historian, author and activist.

Links"Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century"

Vice President Kamala Harris made history Thursday as the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent in the United States to be nominated to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. We speak with historian Barbara Ransby about two Black women pioneers who helped pave the way for her historic nomination: former Congressmember Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress who sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1972, and civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, who led the fight to desegregate the party’s Southern delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Please check back later for full transcript.

Thousands March Against U.S. Arming of Israel as Harris Accepts Presidential Nomination

DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today. Donate

Thousands of protesters marched on the DNC on Thursday night calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Protesters rallied into the night as Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on the DNC stage. Demonstrators had planned to march toward the convention site but were blocked by hundreds of police in riot gear who forced the march to disperse. We hear from some of the protesters who took to the streets.



Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.


JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Meanwhile, outside, thousands of protesters marched on the DNC calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The protesters rallied into the night as Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on the DNC stage. They had planned to march toward the convention site but were blocked by hundreds of police in riot gear, who forced the march to disperse.

AMY GOODMAN: Democracy Now!’s MarĂ­a Taracena was in the streets speaking to protesters.


MARÍA TARACENA: If you had the opportunity to deliver a message to Vice President Kamala Harris, what would you tell her?


BENEEN PRENDIVILLE: I am asking her to look into her humanity and to look at photos like this and recognize that this is what happens every day, hundreds of times a day, for decades, and in particular the last 10 months. And our humanity, the Palestinian people’s humanity, does not rely upon the humanity of others, meaning it does not need to be within that context, meaning I am sick of seeing the media only relay the inhumane conditions in Gaza within the context — or, October 7th within the context of what is happening to Israelis. It just has to stop.


MARÍA TARACENA: Could you describe the photo that you were showing us?


BENEEN PRENDIVILLE: This is a child that has been burned. There’s no anesthesia. There’s no antibiotics. This child is suffering in filth and pain. And this is just one out of tens of thousands.


EDUARDO: This didn’t start on October 7th. And I don’t think — and it’s ahistorical to pretend that it did. You know, this has been an almost centurylong liberation struggle. My partner is Palestinian. And everybody that knows a Palestinian knows their family’s Nakba story. I know my partner’s grandparents’ Nakba story. They came from a town called al-Lidd in '48. And, you know, you can't erase a people off the face of a planet.


I’m a Chicano. My family’s from Guadalajara, so I’m wearing a Mexican flag around my back and a keffiyeh on my neck and a Sox hat on my head, because I’m a Chicagoan. Ni de aquĂ­, ni de allĂĄ. But, you know, I don’t know. I think that people in struggles recognize each other in this moment.


JOSEPHINE GUILBEAU: The message we want to give is that veterans, we understand what’s self-defense. We understand what war is. What we are witnessing, the footage coming out, is not self-defense. This is not war. This is a genocide. We have a duty as a country to follow international laws, to respect the Geneva Conventions. And we’re not doing that right now by unconditionally supporting a country, a foreign country, who’s committing a genocide.


PROTESTERS: The whole world is watching!

AMY GOODMAN: Just a few of the thousands of people who marched through the streets of Chicago on Thursday night. Special thanks to Democracy Now!’s MarĂ­a Taracena and Hana Elias.

Coming up, we look at how Shirley Chisholm and Fannie Lou Hamer helped pave the way for Kamala Harris. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: “Hold On I’m Coming” by Sam & Dave, written by Isaac Hayes. The Hayes family has sued Donald Trump for copyright infringement for using the song in his campaign. They say, since 2022, since telling him to stop, he has used it more than 120 times at various rallies and events.
“A Generational Fight”: Political Organizers on Kamala Harris, Defeating Authoritarianism & More

DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today. Donate

GuestsBarbara Ransby
historian, author and activist.

Maurice Mitchell
national director for the Working Families Party.

Mohammed Khader
manager of policy and advocacy campaigns at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Link  sUS Campaign for Palestinian Rights

Vice President Kamala Harris made history Thursday as the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be nominated to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. There are now just two-and-a-half months left before the November 5 election, when she will face Republican nominee Donald Trump at the polls. For more, we speak with two political organizers — Maurice Mitchell, national director for the Working Families Party, and Mohammed Khader, manager of policy and advocacy campaigns at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights — and with historian and activist Barbara Ransby.

Please check back later for full transcript.


 



DNC 1968 was rocked by protests. 
2024 protesters consider history of Chicago convention riots.

 Aug 23, 2024 • #news #politics #history
The protests outside the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago did not reach the level of violence seen in 1968 when riots broke out over the state of the U.S. Here's a look back at the protests and the figures from the past and the present who are still calling attention to the issues affecting Americans.


“A Testament to Our Power”: 
Chicago’s Little Palestine Resists Racism, Disenfranchisement & War

DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024

The city of Chicago, which hosted the 2024 Democratic convention, is home to the highest concentration of Palestinian Americans in the United States. In the suburbs of the city, residents of Bridgeview — known as “Little Palestine” — have been hard hit by Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed over 40,200 Palestinians. We take a tour of Little Palestine, where Palestinian flags and signs reading “Free Palestine” adorn many of the streets and businesses, and traditional pastry and coffee shops have colorful murals of Palestinian landscapes on their walls. And we speak with residents about how they are organizing against anti-Palestinian racism and pushing for an end to uncritical U.S. support for Israel.



A Message from Michigan Undecideds


 
 August 23, 2024
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Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

On August 7, 2024, David Bumgardner, a young Texas-based Southern Baptist Preacher ousted from his church internship in 2020 because of his support for Biden, penned a column for the moderate Baptist News Global online news organization under the title Blinded by Their Hatred of Biden, Arab Voters Cut Off Their Noses to Spite Their Faces. 

Bumgardner’s biased and disheartening column takes American Arabs, especially Michigan Arabs, to task for having refused to support I am a Zionist to the Core Joe Biden.  He States the following: “Arab Americans remain furious at what they see as many Democrats’ complicity in various reported civilian casualty events and alleged war crimes attributed to Israel.”

Alleged war crimes? If killing 40,000+ people  in 10 months’ time, half of whom are children,  and pulverizing Gaza to mere rubble isn’t a war crime, then what is? I had thought that Professor David Gushee, Mercer University’s ethicist/genocide expert in residence and Baptist News Contributor contributor would have, by now, opined on the Israeli killing machine, a meat grinder aided and abetted by the United states – jet fighters; 2,000 lb.  bombs; reconnaissance drones and eavesdropping; helicopters; political cover;  an armada of aircraft carriers and navy destroyers; direct military support (intelligence and personnel on the ground in an advisory capacity); and a whitewashing of the worst carnage of the 21st century is a crime that has affected the lives of many Michigan Arabs whose Gaza relatives have been forgotten by an apathetic world.

As long as the no-holds-barred, generous and dollarized umbilical cord between Fort Knox and Israel remains a vibrant conduit of unlimited  (gratis) military killing hardware, and as long as successive US administrations, State Departments, and Congresses shield Israel in international forums as though Israel is America’s  appendage and 51st state, Israel will continue to kill, maim, and steal more Palestinian lands.

On August 19, 2024, a Gaza mother was slaughtered in one of Israel’s daily air strikes. She, her quadruplets, and 2 other children were slaughtered to avenge Netanyahu’s Hebraic God of vengeance. Entire blood lines have likewise been slaughtered in single bombings: great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and many children, including uncles, aunts, nephews, and nieces, totaling 90+ family members were pounded to death and buried in a collapsed structure – compliments of Genocide Joe and his ilk.

If Killing 168 journalists, over 280 aid workers, hundreds of medical staff, and the bombing and destruction of 341 mosques, 3 churches, Gaza’s 11 universities, all but a few schools, water and sewer treatment systems, every single bakery, and every single hospital is not a crime, then what is?

That Biden has been impotent in stopping the deliberately imposed famine makes him an accomplice. Late last week he approved another 20 billion dollars’ worth of military aid to Israel.  That he lied about seeing photographs of beheaded babies (he was advised by his aides not make such a statement because no such thing happened) only to curry favor with Jewish voters exposes him for what he is: a manufacturer of facts.

That corpses have been left to decompose and, in some instances, preyed upon by hungry dogs, flies in the face of Western democracies that preach democracy to the Global South – all the while exploiting their natural resources, supporting the tyrants that rule them, and getting rich selling them destructive weaponry.

But I digress.

Bumgardner’s faulty arguments include a caveat to Michigan voters. He warns that “If cutting aid to the West Bank and increasing military assistance to Israel are Dearborn’s idea of holding Joe Biden to account for his perceived failure in Gaza, then they are fish jumping out of a frying pan and straight into the fire.”  Honestly, now,  “Perceived failure”?  Biden cannot be a pyromaniac and firefighter at  the same time. And hasn’t Joe Biden, at Israel’s urging, cut off funding to UNRWA and other Palestinian agencies? And hasn’t Biden provided taxpayer dollars to Israel to the tune40+ billion dollars – since October 7, 2023?

Bumgardner is on target when he discusses dispensationalism, John Hagee’s Israel right or wrong beliefs, and Mike Pence’s toting the Evangelical line. I only wish that mention was made of Pence’s ceremoniously joining Israeli President Herzog in signing the US made 2,000 lb. bombs, a sinister act (and photo op for future political gain) proudly executed by a man who professes to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Where is the outrage, Mr. Bumgardner?

Add insult to injury, more like murder to genocide, Bumgardner states that “Despite their rage at the Biden Administration and the pro-Israel wing of the Democratic Party, Dearborn’s voters are either profoundly uninformed or willfully lying to themselves if they claim they do not know how Trump would handle the conflict.”

If one were to extrapolate the number of disoriented and  displaced Gazans, that would mean that 240 million Americans would have be displaced because their homes and communities have been wantonly destroyed. But then who is counting or paying attention: Gazans are, according to Israelis, sub human, they are brown folks thrown into the American/Israeli meat grinder.

And yes, Israel has a right to defend itself. But do Palestinians not have a similar right – this, after 76 years of brutalities and dispossession?

Recently a  Michigan friend stated the following: “We know that Trump will throw our Gaza relatives under Israeli tanks. But how is this different from Genocide Joe? They call us  Dearborn Jihadis. Yet they wouldn’t dare call New York, Miami, and Los Angeles Zionist Colonial Settler extremists. We are voting Undecided to give American politicians a message. We will not be taken for granted.”

Despite his full of platitudes convention speech, Biden will go down in history as a war monger whose penchant for violence and cheerleading for wars will be writ large. And the Genocide Joe monicker will be a blight on his record. Biden has always cleaned and will continue to clean Israel’s toilets and serve as Israel’s water boy – even after all the Netanyahu abuse to which Biden was subjected during his years as VP, a choke hold that continues to this day.

Had Mr. Bumgardner expressed even the slightest concern for the dead, dying, starving, thirsty, disease-stricken (cholera, scabies, polio), limbless, homeless, orphaned, crippled, the grieving, and the uncounted thousands of dead and rotting corpses under steel and concrete,  I might not have taken umbrage at his callous disregard for and of Palestinian lives, precious souls swatted like flies and en masse, because they are disposable creatures whose very existence is a threat to Israel’s expansionist plans.

Off the Gaza shores is a proven 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Netanyahu’s’ cross hairs. And carpetbagger venture capitalist Trump son-in-law  Jared Kushner is proposing a real estate scheme to sell Gaza beach properties to wealthy Americans.

Weeks into the Russia/Ukraine war the American Medical Association passed a unanimous resolution condemning Russia’s atrocities. Yet the same American Medical Association has repeatedly refused to consider a similar resolution – even though the Gaza carnage is exponentially more destructive, and even though the norms of war have been trampled by an Israeli leader who wants to prolong the war so as to save his skin. Bibi, your day of reckoning will come when you are voted out of office.

Bumgardner’s concern that Arab Americans will create “a fissure in the Democratic Party does not bode well for Democrats” has been mitigated by Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, a decision he should have made when he was at the apex of his career – instead of being forced out.

Democrats, beware. In 2000 Al Gore refused (and returned) a $3,000 donation from Florida Arab Americans. George Bush’ insincere pro forma  statement about “solving the Israel Palestine conflict” resonated with Florida’s Arab Americans, who overwhelmingly voted for Bush. just a handful of non-hanging chads would have given Gore the edge, and America and Iraq would have been spared Abu Ghraib, Falluja, and a war that sent Iraq back to the stone age.

And Beau Biden would not have had to endure the fallout from the burn pits resulting from a war for which his father led the charge.

I recently sent the following to an 88 year old Palestinian Christian Jerusalemite grandmother, a lifelong active Anglican church leader:

“Dear S, I am reminded of Jesus’ parable. When asked by those maligning his ministry with : “Who is my neighbor?”  the Palestinian Jew responded by narrating the parable of the Good Samaritan: Gaza and West Bank Palestinians were set upon by thieves and left for dead. The American and European Levites and Pharisees are not only walking away, but they are also  part and parcel of this sordid genocide. And the Arabs (really the Jarab [mangy])? where are they? Way back in the aftermath of the 1982 Israeli invasion which left over 22,000 dead, including 2,500+ Palestinian refugees butchered at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps of Lebanon,  a photographic documentary in book form, depicting Israel’s horrible carnage, another Israeli meat grinder of surrealistic proportions,  was published    under the title God Cried (Tony Clifton and Katherine Leroy/Amazon).  Since that war God hasn’t stopped crying. And I sometimes feel as though he is on an extended leave. In solidarity, Ya S,  with the utmost regard for your resilience in the face of daily personal, familial, and communal atrocities and challenges.”

Raouf J. Halaby is a Professor Emeritus of English and Art. He is a writer, photographer, sculptor, an avid gardener, and a peace activist. halabys7181@outlook.com

Watch: Palestinian American Lawmaker Gives Speech the DNC Wouldn’t Allow on Stage

DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today. Donate

Guest
Ruwa Romman
Democratic Georgia state representative.

Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination Thursday after a four-day convention in Chicago where her campaign refused to allow a Palestinian American to take the stage to address Israel’s war on Gaza. We hear Georgia state Representative Ruwa Romman, who was among the list of speakers offered by the Uncommitted National Movement that the Harris campaign rejected, reading the speech she would have given on the convention floor had the DNC and the Harris campaign allowed her onstage.



Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.


AMY GOODMAN: So, let’s go to what wouldn’t have been a throwaway line.

BARBARA RANSBY: OK.

AMY GOODMAN: And this is what the “uncommitted” delegates attempted to get all week. You have Harris accepting the Democratic nomination Thursday night, after a four-day convention where the Harris campaign refused to allow a Palestinian American to take the stage. There were private negotiations that were going on throughout the week. But at a news conference on Thursday, delegates with the uncommitted movement said the Democratic National Committee told them it was the Harris campaign that denied their request to have a Palestinian American speak. After receiving the news on Wednesday, many of the delegates and their allies staged a sit-in and spent the night on the sidewalk just outside the United Center.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: [Uncommitted delegates were selected] in state Democratic primaries earlier this year to call for an end to the Biden administration’s backing of Israel in its assault on Gaza and for an arms embargo. The Uncommitted National Movement called on Harris to come to Michigan, where the uncommitted movement was launched, to meet with them and discuss U.S. policy on Israel-Palestine by September 15th.

AMY GOODMAN: Among those who spoke at the press conference yesterday was Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American who is a Georgia state representative in the Georgia Legislature. She was among a list of speakers offered by the uncommitted movement that the Harris campaign refused to allow onstage. In her remarks, she read out the speech that she would have given at the convention had the convention allowed a Palestinian American onstage. This is Ruwa Romman.


REP. RUWA ROMMAN: So, what I’m about to read to you is, frankly, very sanitized. It was meant to have an opportunity to represent a Palestinian voice. But I’m incredibly dismayed, because we came here to offer a gift. We came here to offer an opportunity to bridge the gap between our party and our voters, because when you looked around that convention, everybody — I mean, you literally looked around, so many people wearing their pins, their keffiyehs, their flags. It’s very unfortunate.


My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention.


My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to al-Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was 8, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.


Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner-in-chief, whether it was sneaking me sweets from a bodega or slipping me a 20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and a smile. He was my rock. But he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.


This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other, I wanted to ask him: How did he find the strength to walk all of those miles decades ago and leave everything behind?


But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound: a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike, to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here, members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world. They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer, shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.


But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength. Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump, who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue, from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza.


To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, “Yes, we can.” Yes, we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars, that fights for an America that belongs to all of us — Black, Brown and white, Jews and Palestinians — all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American who is a Georgia state representative, reading the speech she would have given had the Harris campaign allowed a Palestinian American to speak onstage.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: After holding a press conference outside, uncommitted delegates locked arms and walked inside the convention hall wearing Palestinian keffiyehs.


UNCOMMITTED DELEGATE: We are going to walk in single file. Abbas and I will lead the way. [inaudible]


JUNE ROSE: What we’re demonstrating is that in a party that stands for freedom, there should be space for freedom for Palestine. So we’re taking up space as we walk a full lap of the halls of the United Center to stand for a free Palestine, to make sure that every person in this arena right now has to think about Palestine, as the war has killed over 16,000 Palestinian children, as the Israeli government uses bombs provided by the United States. We take up this space. We take this to the delegates head on, to our elected officials head on, with our message of peace, of freedom, of no more war, of no more violence, a future safe for Israelis and Palestinians alike, Jews and Muslims alike.


UNCOMMITTED DELEGATES: Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now! Ceasefire now!


HASSAN SAFFOURI: My name is Hassan Saffouri.


SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Do you feel that the other delegates in this convention see you?


HASSAN SAFFOURI: I hope they do. I don’t know that they have so far. I know that in the last couple of days, there have been a couple of moments where they have tried to block us. And when we did the roll call, there were delegates who stood up and took their signs, “U.S.A., U.S.A.,” and blocked us so that the media couldn’t see us. Now, that’s not just having blinders on. That’s putting blinders on. So, we want to make sure that that doesn’t happen anymore. I’m sure that the whole delegation, that everybody here is seeing us now.


UNCOMMITTED DELEGATES: I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win! I believe that we will win!

AMY GOODMAN: So, that was the protest — that was the uncommitted delegates walking arm in arm inside the convention center through the halls before they took their seats in their various delegations.
“Two Faces of American Capitalism”: Juan GonzĂĄlez on What the RNC & DNC Reveal About U.S. Politics


DEMOCRACY NOW!
August 23, 2024
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GuestsJuan GonzĂĄlez
co-host of Democracy Now!

The Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Chicago on Thursday with Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepting the presidential nomination, capping a week of political showmanship and celebration for many party members. “One of the things that struck me most was the level of choreographed mass spectacle of this convention that would be really worthy of Leni Riefenstahl,” says Democracy Now! co-host Juan GonzĂĄlez. He says Democrats and Republicans presented “the two faces of American capitalism” at their respective conventions this summer, with the GOP home to “white supremacist capitalism” while Democrats promote a “multiracial neoliberal capitalism.” He adds that despite the constant chants of “U.S.A.” throughout the week, “the reality is that the United States has never been lower in its prestige and never more discredited around the world than it is today.”

Please check back later for full transcript.


“We Have to Push”: Congressmember Greg Casar on Bringing Progressivism Back to Immigration Policy

August 23, 2024
DEMOCRACY NOW!
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 Please do your part today .Donate

Guests Greg Casar

Democratic congressmember from Texas.


Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday, vowing in her speech to the Democratic National Convention to continue the Biden administration’s tough line on immigration. While describing the United States as “a nation of immigrants” and promising to “reform our broken immigration system,” Harris also said that, as president, she would revive a harsh border bill that Republicans blocked from passing this year that limits asylum rights, speeds up deportations and hires more border agents. The Biden administration implemented many parts of the border bill through executive action after Donald Trump pushed Republican lawmakers to vote it down. “Our politics have been pushed so far to the right on immigration by Donald Trump that we have to fight back … to realign our politics on immigration back to where they were just a few years ago,” says Congressmember Greg Casar of Texas.