Category Archives: FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

USA: No Kings rallies in all 50 states

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

According to the American Civil Liberties Union , more than 5 million people participated in the No Kings rallies on June 14 to protest the escalating abuses of power by President Trump. Here are photos of No Kings rallies from all 50 states:

ALABAMA


 Montgomery resident Lyn Head holds a protest sign at the “No Kings” rally in Montgomery, Alabama on June 14, 2025. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)
(Alabama Reflector)

ALASKA


Protesters line the street in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News/AP. (CNN)

)

ARIZONA


Frame from a video of NoKings protest in Phoenix, Arizona. (AZCENTRAL)

ARKANSAS

Protesters carry signs across the Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Thousands of people gathered for the No Kings march and rally, part of a nationwide show of dissent against President Donald Trump’s administration. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate). (Arkansas Advocate)

CALIFORNIA


Demonstrators march in the “No Kings” protest with a President Donald Trump balloon in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) (AP News)

COLORADO


Marchers participate in the “No Kings” protest in downtown Denver. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios. (Axios)

CONNECTICUT


Hartford: Demonstrators outside The Connecticut State Capitol chant during a No Kings protest that event organizers said an estimated 7000 people attended. Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public. (NPR)

DELAWARE


More than a thousand people gathered in Wilmington on June 14, 2025, as part of “No Kings” day, a national day of protest planned on President Donald Trump’s birthday and the Army’s 250th anniversary celebration.  ESTEBAN PARRA/DELAWARE NEWS JOURNAL. (Delaware Online)

FLORIDA


Demonstrators hold a “No Kings” rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, on June 14, 2025, near President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
GIORGIO VIERA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. (CBS News

GEORGIA


People take part in a “No Kings” protest at Liberty Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images. ()

HAWAII


A huge crowd of demonstrators rally outside the State Capitol for Honolulu’s “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration today, one of several held around the state and about 2,000 across the country. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM. (Star Advertiser)

IDAHO


Thousands of protesters gathered outside of the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise Saturday, June 14, 2025 as part of the national “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump and his administration. Sarah A. Millersmiller@idahostatesman.com. (Idaho Statesman)

ILLINOIS


Protesters gather at Daley Plaza holding placards and chanting slogans during a “No Kings” demonstration in Chicago, Illinois, on June 14, 2025.
Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images. (Common Dreams)

INDIANA


Protesters chant and march on Saturday, June 14, 2025, during a ‘No Kings’ protest at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. (USA Today)

IOWA


Protesters from Nebraska and Iowa gather at Council Bluffs’ Tom Hanafan Park on what organizers say was a day of public demonstrations against President Donald Trump. (Courtesy of Blue Dot Nebraska/Blue Dots United). (Nebraska Examiner)

KANSAS


Community members gather at Watson Park for Lawrence’s No Kings protest as part of a nationwide movement, June 14, 2025. They hold signs with messages such as “Make America kind again” and “Rejecting kings since 1776”. Molly Adams / Lawrence Times. (Lawrence KS Times)

KENTUCKY


Thousands packed Jefferson Square Park, the steps of Metro Hall and Jefferson Street in Louisville, Ky. as part of the “No Kings” protest on Saturday, June 15, 2025. (USA Today)

LOUISIANA


Protestors walk down Decatur Street during the No Kings Day of Action protest in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune) STAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER. (NOLA)

MAINE


‘No Kings’ protestors rally in Lincoln Park in Portland on June 14, 2025. Esta Pratt-Kielley/Maine Public. (Maine Public)

MARYLAND


Video from Maryland (CBS News)

MASSACHUSETTS


Protesters march along a street in Boston. | Kelly Garrity/POLITICO. (Politico)

MICHIGAN


People take part in a “No Kings” protest outside the Michigan Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on June 14, 2025. JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. (CBS News)

MINNESOTA


St. Paul: Demonstrators rally outside the Minnesota State Capitol building.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images. (NPR)

MISSISSIPPI


A demonstration against the Trump administration was attended by several hundred protestors on the grounds of the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Many attendees of the “No Kings Day” event held homemade signs declaring various causes of protest.  SARAH WARNOCK/SPECIAL TO THE CLARION LEDGER. (Clarion Ledger)’’

MISSOURI


St. Louis: Robert Hull, a 76-year-old demonstrator from St. Charles, left in green, protests alongside his granddaughter Maddie Flynn, 29 of Wentzville, center, during the No Kings protest, in downtown St. Louis. “I cannot stand to see injustices perpetrated against groups of people,” she said. “I have the privilege to speak up and my grandpa taught me to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves.” Brian Munoz/St. Louis Public. (NPR)

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Question related to this article:

The struggle for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

(article continued from left column)

MONTANA


Demonstrators take part in the “No Kings” protests in Livingston, Montana. Photo: William Campbell/Getty Images. (Axios)

NEBRASKA


Roughly 2,000 protesters in downtown Lincoln protest the Trump administration on Jun. 14, 2025. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner).(Nebraska Examiner)

NEVADA


Protesters during the No Kings demonstration against President Donald Trump organized by the Northern Nevada chapters of Indivisible and the 50501 movement in front of the Capitol in Carson City on June 14, 2025. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent). (a href=”https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/photos-thousands-gather-for-no-kings-protests-across-nevada”>The Nevada Independent)

NEW HAMPSHIRE


Protesters began arriving in downtown Concord at noon on Saturday, June 14, 2025, about an hour before the scheduled start of the No Kings event. By early afternoon people lined both sides of the street in front of the State House. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin). (New Hampshire Bulletin)

NEW JERSEY


A “No Kings” rally takes place on Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (USA Today)

NEW MEXICO


Thousands of Santa Feans join millions of other Americans in communities nationwide for a “No Kings Day” rally at the Roundhouse and a march to the Plaza on Saturday. The event is part of a nationwide protest against what demonstrators see as the Trump administration’s growing authoritarian stance and his pricey military parade in Washington that also took place Saturday. Jim Weber/The New Mexican. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

NEW YORK


People take part in a “No Kings” protest in New York on June 14, 2025. Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP. (Common Dreams)

NORTH CAROLINA


People protest in Asheville, North Carolina. Allison Joyce/AFP/Getty Images. (CNN)

NORTH DAKOTA


Emily Mizell, right, of Bismarck holds up her sign and cheers at passing cars near the Capitol in Bismarck during the nationwide No Kings protests on June 14, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor). (North Dakota Monitor)

OHIO


Demonstrators march down a street in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jason Whitman/NurPhoto/Associated Press. (CNN<:a>)

OKLAHOMA


Tulsa: Protesters gather for protest in downtown Tulsa. Ben Abrams/KWGS. (NPR)

OREGON


Demonstrators cross the Hawthorne Bridge as they take part in the “No Kings” protest, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane). (AP News

PENNSYLVANIA


Philadelphia: Demonstrators fill Eakins Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Yuki Iwamura/AP. (NPR)

RHODE ISLAND


Video of protest in Providence. (ABC6

SOUTH CAROLINA


Thousands attend a protest at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia Saturday, June 14, 2025, as part of the coast-to-coast “No Kings” grassroots protest event in opposition to the Trump administration. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette). (SC Daily Gazette)

SOUTH DAKOTA


Sioux Falls demonstrators line Minnesota Avenue as part of the national “No Kings” protest. (Argus Leader

TENNESSEE


People demonstrate during a “No Kings” protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV/AP. (NPR)

TEXAS


People gather at the “No Kings” nationwide demonstration on Saturday, June 14, 2025 in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via AP). (AP News)

UTAH


(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) An estimated 10,000 walk the streets of downtown Salt Lake City for a No Kings demonstration on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (S L Trib)

VERMONT


A drone view shows protesters holding a “We the People” sign in Bennington County, Vermont. Michael Beach/Reuters. (CNN)

VIRGINIA


Charlottesvile, VA.: People take to the streets to protest. Shaban Athuman/VPM News. (NPR)

WASHINGTON


Seattle: Demonstrators cheer after getting a horn from the Seattle Monorail while marching from Cal Anderson Park to Seattle Center. Megan Farmer/KUOW. (NPR)

WEST VIRGINIA


‘No Kings’ demonstrators rallied at the West Virginia Capitol, Charleston, June 14, 2025. (WV Public)

WISCONSIN


Drone footage shows scale of Milwaukee No Kings protest. Cathedral Square Park was filled with people attending the No Kings protest against the Trump administration. (JS Online)

WYOMING


The Jackson Police Department estimated anywhere from 225 to 300 people gathered on the Town Square for a “No Kings” protest Saturday, June 14, 2025. Participants estimated 500. (Rebecca Huntington/WyoFile). (Wyo File)

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America,

Protest and National Guard in San Antonio, Texas

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

Headline and photo from the Texas Monthly

Greg Abbott Sent the Texas National Guard to San Antonio. Protesters Threw a Fiesta.

The stage was set for a photo-worthy showdown in the Alamo City. Instead, protesters marched to mariachi and conjunto music and lots of honking.


People gathering in protest of ICE raids at San Antonio City Hall on June 11.

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Transcript of PBS interview by Geoff Bennett with mayor of San Antonio from PBS, Public Broadcasting Service

Geoff Bennett:
Mayor Nirenberg, welcome to the “News Hour.”
How would you characterize what unfolded in San Antonio last night? What did you see and what did it signal to you?


Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio, Texas:

It was a peaceful demonstration in opposition to very cruel and inhumane ways that the Trump administration is carrying out its interpretations of immigration law.


Once again, San Antonio has demonstrated that we have a long tradition of peaceful demonstrations and protests in support of human rights and civil rights. And it was there last night. And it was also monitored and supported in people exercising their First Amendment rights by our San Antonio Police Department, which does a great job in supporting people’s right to assemble.

Geoff Bennett:


Governor Abbott says the decision to send in the National Guard will allow for what he called a more robust response. Do you agree?


Ron Nirenberg:


Well, we don’t need the National Guard. We know how to handle these kinds of protests and demonstrations. We have a long history of that. We didn’t ask for the Guard. We weren’t notified about it. My hope is that DPS and the San Antonio Police Department will remain coordinated.


But, in my estimation, this kind of anticipatory show of force only feeds into the people that want to escalate tensions. And that’s not the goal if our effort is to protect public safety.

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

The struggle for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

(article continued from left column)

Geoff Bennett:


And how does that complicate your job as mayor?


Ron Nirenberg:


Well, number one, this nation and our democracy is founded on the right to exercise speech and to assemble and to oppose dictatorial law — or dictatorial rule. And that’s what people are doing here in the street of San Antonio and so many other places.


It ought to be supported by people, at the same time protecting public safety. And that’s what we have continued to remind our community. There is a way to do this right and also make your voice heard. And that is to ensure nobody gets harmed and property isn’t damaged. That’s what the police department here is very good at supporting. And they’re going to continue to do that.
National Guard hasn’t been deployed in San Antonio in a very, very long time. And we don’t see it’s necessary, given what we saw last night and what we have seen repeatedly over the years.


Geoff Bennett:


How have the ICE raids affected the San Antonio community?


Ron Nirenberg:


Well, San Antonio is an international city. We are a binational community by heritage. We are a community that’s the largest Latino majority in the country.
And so we treat people with dignity and respect and compassion, and that goes for immigrants too. And so the kind of really cruel and inhumane approach to immigration policy that you have seen from the Trump administration really rips at the fabric of families here. And that’s why you’re seeing the resistance and the opposition out in the street.


We stand up for our neighbors. We stand up for the people that we work with and go to school with and who fight our battles in the military for us. And that’s going to continue. It’s making people very angry. It’s making people who have immigrated here fearful. And that rips away the fabric and social cohesion that is an earmark of the San Antonio community. That’s why people are upset.


That’s why I, frankly, agree with their anger. And that’s why we need to peacefully assemble and oppose these kind of inhumane laws and try to bring some reason back into our lawmakers.

Geoff Bennett:
Ron Nirenberg, the mayor of San Antonio, thank you for joining us this evening. We appreciate it.


Ron Nirenberg:
Thanks for having me, Geoff.


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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, North America

Mazin Qumsiyeh: keep the hope alive

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

An article from the blog of Mazin Qumsiyeh

There are now credible reports from many sources that the levels of extermination and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Gaza strip is higher than officially released and in 19 months could be over 250,000 [1]. The evidence is so compelling that all human rights organizations and the UN documented GENOCIDE and ETHNIC CLEANSING [2].

Meanwhile ‘business’ goes on as usual: billions milked from corrupt Arab dictators, Israeli embassies function around the world (no sanctions), the Zionist lobby infiltrated more organizations and governments globally, blackmailing/extorting weak politicians like Trump and Bin Salman with scandalous videos and information gathered by Mossad agents like Epstein, “Israel” is competing in Eurovision, Arab “leaders” (not one of them elected fairly by people) met in Baghdad to issue yet another useless declaration that their masters feel happy about, famine spreading, expenditure on arms expand to trillions, the climate and environmental global catastrophe deepens, education and healthcare globally get worse.
The tiny 0.5% (in numbers) continue to reap money and get richer from their positions and now own 50% of the world’s money by thievery from the poor [3]. US taxpayers are saddled with trillions in debt thanks to wars fought on behalf of Zionism [4].

The bad news may lead some to despair and tell us we are entering a new dark age [5]. Yet, candles in this darkness are far too many to snuff out by the Zionist/imperial/colonial juggernaut [6]. Actually hundreds of millions of good people acting positively for sustainability, peace and justice.

Look around you for these positive initiatives and support them and create more. Organize. Afterall, every social positive movement came from such people action: there are thousands of examples from women right to vote to civil rights to Zapatista empowerment to Rohingya to Algeria and Vietnam independence.

Even in the heart of the empire today, the movement is tremendous. Look at student movements at universities or even common people in Palestine and how they resist. These are the true heroes. The profiteers (oppressors) will be swept to the dustbin of history. They are the few, we the oppressed are the many and must organize better (it is an existential threat). Action based on knowledge is the best antidote for despair.

For us at the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (palestinenature.org), we do this daily and thus balance our lives by doing positive work/building on the ground and educating globally [6]. This is how we keep our sanity and how we keep the hope alive. We urge you to join us (email PIBS@bethlehem.edu to learn more

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(article continued from left column)

[1]
Lancet article (till July 2024) and life expectancy losses Lancet abstract

[2]
HRW article, Amnesty article, document

[3] There was increased sales and valuation of arms companies like Elbit,
Rafael, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Lockhead Martins. Companies like
Microsoft and Google help Israeli genocide (e.g. look up Nimbus project).
The Zionist billionaires  (article) with some of the being Israeli (article)
while subservience enriches some goyim/gentiles: Gulf monarchs, Trump,
Mahmoud Abbas’ family and their circle, Elon Musk and this character (article) among hundreds of war/oppression profiteers.

[4]
Sachs article, NY Times article

[5] https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-new-dark-age – very good analysis based on things like what Bisan explains (video) illustrated in Hamas Says Witkoff Personally Promised to Lift Gaza Blockadein Exchange for Edan Alexander (article).

[6] Few examples from thousands just last week:
– Ben Cohen from Ben & Jerry’s confronts RFK Jr. and Congress: “you’re killing poor kids in Gaza and paying for it by cutting medicaid for kids here.” video
– Taxpayers against genocide file historic case in US document
– Cannes Selects Film on Gaza Photographer Fatma Hassona (she was killed by
Israel a day later) video
– Students and faculty at Stanford University announce they are joining the nationwide campus hunger strike movement to protest attacks on academic freedom and complicity in the Gaza genocide. Mondoweiss
– Conservative MP Pritchard does a 90 degree change on Israel.(video)
– 15 May Joint Nakba day event held in Beit Jala (Palestine) (video)
– Medea Benjamin deserves a Nobel Prize for her daily, relentless efforts. Examples: video, video

[7] Check out our facebook page for daily posts about activities
and our short video
Also the evolving plans for the new museum video.
I stand beside the mountain gazelle video.
Example talk given 23 April University of Notre Dame “Conflict, War and Ecology” (video)
(in Arabic) Hima magazine from Lebanon includes an article (page 26-27) about us learning from regional experiences
article.

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Mideast

Joint Statement on Palestine by Seven European Countries

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A press release from the Ireland central website for government services and information

May 16: We will not be silent in front of the man-made humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza. More than 50.000 men, women, and children have lost their lives. Many more could starve to death in the coming days and weeks unless immediate action is taken.

Photo by © Abood Abo Salama / SIPA

We call upon the government of Israel to immediately reverse its current policy, refrain from further military operations and fully lift the blockade, ensuring safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid to be distributed throughout the Gaza strip by international humanitarian actors and according to humanitarian principles. United Nations and humanitarian organizations, including UNRWA, must be supported and granted safe and unimpeded access.

We call upon all parties to immediately engage with renewed urgency and good faith in negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of all hostages, and acknowledge the important role played by the United States, Egypt and Qatar in this regard.

(article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(article continued from left column)

This is the basis upon which we can build a sustainable, just and comprehensive peace, based on the implementation of the two-State solution. We will continue to support the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and work in the framework of the United Nations and with other actors, like the Arab League and Arab and Islamic States, to move forward to achieve a peaceful and sustainable solution. Only peace can bring security for Palestinians, Israelis and the region, and only respect for international law can secure lasting peace.

We also condemn the further escalation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with increased settler violence, the expansion of illegal settlements and intensified Israel military operations. Forced displacement or the expulsion of the Palestinian people, by any means, is unacceptable and would constitute a breach of international law. We reject any such plans or attempts at demographic change.

We must assume the responsibility to stop this devastation.

Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland; Micheál Martin, Taoiseach, Ireland; Luc FRIEDEN, Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; Robert Abela, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta; Jonas Gahr STØRE, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway; Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia; Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Mideast,

Eulogy for Pope Francis

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

There will be many eulogies for Pope Francis.

We have a special way to do this at CPNN, because no one else has contributed more to the culture of peace in recent times. This is shown by the following list of CPNN articles.


Frame from video of the Pope’s message

Pope Francis calls for ‘disarmament’ while still hospitalized

Lula meets the Pope, talks world peace

Can Pope Francis bring peace to Ukraine?

Review of Against War: Building a Culture of Peace – a book by Pope Francis

Pope’s Video: “Let Us Develop A Culture Of Peace”

Pope Francis: “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hands off Africa”

The Pope : “The time has come to live in a spirit of fraternity and build a culture of peace”

Pope urges inclusive and sustainable food systems

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Questions related to this article:

How can we carry forward the work of the great peace and justice activists who went before us?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

Pope, in Easter message, slams weapons spending in time of pandemic

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the celebration of the 53rd World Day of Peace, January 1, 2020

Pope Francis’ declaration in Hiroshima marks another historic step in the fight for the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Pope Francis Calls Nuclear Weapons Immoral as Catholic Activists Face Jail For U.S. Nuke Base Action

The Amazon Synod: “Plus Tard Sera Trop Tard”

Pope hopes his Arabian trip will help Islam-Christian relations

Pope Francis denounces nuclear weapons possession

Pope Francis meets ‘The Elders’ to discuss global concerns

Pope Francis: Make active nonviolence our way of life – a statement for the 50th Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace

‘Do Unto Others:’ Pope Francis’ Call to Action

ICLEI Leaders and Members to strengthen Pope Francis’ efforts on climate, modern slavery and sustainability

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

‘This Is Not Trump’s Country’: 255,000 Have Rallied With Sanders and AOC on Nationwide Tour

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Jake Johnson in Common Dreams

Across the United States—from Nampa, Idaho to Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles, California—nearly 255,000 people have turned out in recent weeks for “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive duo that has railed against President Donald Trump and the corporate-dominated systems that spawned him while outlining a vision of a more just future.


U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rally in Nampa, Idaho on April 14, 2025. (Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

Over the past six weeks, according to Sanders’ (I-Vt.) office, 254,931 have attended 17 rallies across 11 states and millions have viewed livestreams of the events online. The most recent swing—which included seven stops across four states in less than a week—drew 146,950 people, including in competitive districts with Republican representatives.

“This week, the American people turned out in enormous numbers,” Sanders said in a statement late Wednesday. “And their message was clear. They do not want oligarchy. They do not want authoritarianism. They are tired of massive income and wealth inequality and the greed of the billionaire class. They are tired of a corrupt political system that allows billionaires to buy elections. And, most importantly, they are prepared to fight back.”

The massive, enthusiastic rallies signal mounting nationwide anger over the Trump administration’s large-scale firings of federal workers, assault on fundamental rights, climate destruction, lawless detention and deportation of immigrants, and push to gut Medicaid and other key programs.

(Article continued in the column on the right)

Questions related to this article:

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

The struggle for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

(Article continued from the column on the left)

“This is not Trump’s country. This is our country,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday. “The working class is coming together to defend democracy, fight for one another, and build a better future for all of us.”

The events also indicate a desire among Democratic voters for their leaders to respond more forcefully to the president and his billionaire cronies, including world’s richest man Elon Musk. One recent survey found that 70% of Democratic voters give their party a C grade or below for their response to Trump thus far.

“We need to fight the oligarchy, like the message says. And that’s real, even in a state like Montana, where we’re very red,” one rallygoer told the Montana Free Press at a Missoula event on Wednesday. In the 2024 election, Trump won Montana by just under 20 points and a Republican ousted three-term Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in the Senate.

Another sign of the U.S. public’s readiness to organize and fight back against the Trump administration’s abuses and far-right policy agenda was mass participation in a Wednesday call hosted by the Hands Off! coalition, which helped bring millions into the streets nationwide earlier this month.

According to organizers, tens of thousands of people joined the call, which comes ahead of another national day of action planned for May.

“What we have begun to build is powerful,” Rahna Epting, executive director of MoveOn, said Wednesday. “As Trump continues to chaotically and carelessly implement his wildly unpopular agenda, he creates more distrust, more outrage, and more backlash against it.”

During a stop in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez told a crowd of 20,000 that “we can make a new world, a better country where we can fight for the dignity of all people.”

“It looks like living wages, Utah,” said the New York Democrat. “It looks like stable housing, Utah. It looks like guaranteed healthcare, Salt Lake City. And it looks like respect for all of our differences, no matter who we are or where we come from.”

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FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America

Voice of the Global South: Multilateralism Can and Must Deliver

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An opinion piece by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Cyril Ramaphosa and Pedro Sánchez, heads of state of Brazil, South Africa and Spain published by the Transcend Media Service

The year 2025 will be pivotal for multilateralism. The challenges before us — rising inequalities, climate change, and the financing gap for sustainable development — are urgent and interconnected. Addressing them requires bold, coordinated action — not a retreat into isolation, unilateral actions, or disruption.

Three major global gatherings offer a unique opportunity to chart a path towards a more just, inclusive and sustainable world: the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville (Spain), the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém (Brazil) and the G20 Summit in Johannesburg (South Africa). These meetings must not be business as usual: they must deliver real progress.

A multilateral moment we cannot waste

Trust in multilateral institutions is under strain, yet the need for dialogue and global cooperation has never been greater. We must reaffirm that multilateralism, when ambitious and action-oriented, remains the most effective vehicle for addressing shared challenges and advancing common interests.

We must build on the successes of multilateralism, in particular the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. The FfD4, COP30 and G20 must serve as milestones in a renewed commitment to inclusiveness, sustainable development, and shared prosperity. This will require strong political will, the full participation of all relevant stakeholders, a creative mindset and the ability to understand the constraints and priorities of all economies.

Tackling inequality through a renewed financial architecture

Income inequality is widening—both within and between nations. Many developing countries struggle under unsustainable debt burdens, constrained fiscal space, and barriers to fair access to capital. Basic services such as health or education must compete with growing interest rates.

This is not just a moral failing; it is an economic risk for all. The global financial architecture must be reformed to provide countries in the Global South with greater voice and representation and fairer and more predictable access to resources.

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Question related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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We must advance debt relief initiatives, promote innovative financing mechanisms, and work on identifying and addressing the causes of the high cost of capital faced by most developing countries. The G20, under the South African presidency, is prioritising these three areas.

At the same time, Seville’s FfD4 will be a defining moment to secure commitments for stronger international financial cooperation for sustainable development, including through better taxation of global wealth and negative externalities, the enhancement of domestic resource mobilisation and for a more impactful and effective rechannelling of Special Drawing Rights.

Just transitions towards climate-resilient development

For many developing countries, just climate transitions remain out of reach due to a lack of funds and development constraints. This must change. At COP30 in Belém, a summit hosted in the heart of the Amazon, we must ensure that our climate finance commitments translate into concrete action.

The success of COP30 will depend on whether we can bridge the gap between promises and delivery. Under the UNFCCC, key foundations for COP30 will be the submission of new and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by all parties and the Baku to Belém Roadmap to scale up financing to developing country parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2025.

We need to significantly increase climate adaptation finance, leverage private sector investment and ensure that multilateral development banks take a greater role in climate financing. The FfD4 in Seville will complement these efforts by ensuring that climate financing does not come at the cost of development.

An inclusive response to global threats

The world is increasingly fragmented, and this is precisely why we must redouble our efforts to find common ground. Seville, Belém and Johannesburg must serve as beacons of multilateral cooperation, showing that nations can unite around common interests.

In Seville, we will work to mobilise both public and private capital for sustainable development, recognising that financial stability and climate action are inseparable. In Belem, we will stand together to protect our planet. And in Johannesburg, the G20 will reaffirm the importance of inclusive economic growth.

As we look ahead to 2025, we call on all nations, international institutions, the private sector and civil society to rise to this moment. Multilateralism can and must deliver — because the stakes are too high for failure.

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Global Day of Action to Close Bases

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An announcement from World Beyond War

We call on individuals and organizations around the world to join the Global Day of Action to #CloseBases on February 23 by organizing protests at military base sites near you.

The thousands of military bases, both foreign and domestic, around the world are a critical piece of the war machine that must be dismantled. Closing bases is a necessary step to shift the global security paradigm towards a demilitarized approach that centers common security — no one is safe until all are safe.

Video for Global Day of Action

Top 5 Reasons Why We’re Calling for a Global Day of Action to #CloseBases

1. Bases often perpetuate colonialism, removing Indigenous people from their lands. From Panama to Guam to Puerto Rico to Okinawa to dozens of other locations across the world, militaries have taken valuable land from local populations, often pushing out Indigenous people in the process, without their consent and without reparations. For example, the entire population of the Chagos Islands was forcibly removed from the island of Diego Garcia by the UK so that it could be leased to the U.S. for an airbase.

2. Bases cost an exorbitant amount of $$. The cost of U.S. foreign military bases alone is estimated at $80 billion a year, money that could be better spent on healthcare, education, renewable energy, and so much more.

3. Bases exacerbate environmental damage and the climate crisis. Military emissions are exempted from climate agreements, like the Kyoto Protocol. The construction of bases has caused irreparable ecological damage, such as the destruction of coral reefs and the environment for endangered species in Henoko, Okinawa. Furthermore, it is well documented at hundreds of sites around the world that military bases leach toxic so-called “forever chemicals” (PFAS/PFOS) into local water supplies, which has had devastating health consequences for nearby communities.

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Questions related to this article:
 
How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

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4. Bases can have violent and harmful impacts on local communities. Militaries have a notorious legacy of sexual violence, including kidnapping, rape, and murders of women and girls in nearby communities. Yet troops stationed at foreign bases are often afforded impunity for their crimes due to Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) with the so-called “host” country. Bases can also bring a rise in property taxes and inflation in areas surrounding them which has been known to push locals out.

5. Bases heighten tensions and provoke war-making. The presence of hundreds of thousands of troops, massive arsenals, and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and ships in every corner of the globe facilitates war-making and promotes an arms race. Additionally, bases make locations into targets for attack. And foreign bases implicate countries in the crimes of foreign militaries.

Actions Around the World on February 23

Click here for the map with details on the planned actions.

Click here for the Action Planning Toolkit.

Core Mobilization Organizers

International Peace Bureau (Global)
No to War – No to NATO Network (Global)
Pace e Bene (U.S.)
RootsAction (U.S.)
Veterans For Peace (U.S.)
War Industry Resisters Network (U.S.)
War Resisters’ International (Global)
World BEYOND War (Global)

Click here and go to the bottom of the page for the full list of endorsing organizations.

RESULTS

Reports from the Global Day of Action to Close Bases

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Mazin Qumsiyeh: Old story- new twist

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A blog Jan 24, 2025 by Mazin Qumsiyeh (abbreviated)

Will history repeat itself but now with a very different outcome especially in the era of global environmental catastrophe powered by greed and militarism? To review reality locally and globally helps us find answers. Locally, Israeli apartheid forces are now doing in our parts of the West Bank what they did to Gaza. Ethnic cleansing, destruction of property, and massive violations of human rights ranging from right to move right to worship, right to simple dignified life.  People here are scared that this is merely the beginning of accelerated genocide and ethnic cleansing  as perpetrated in Gaza.  

We have repeatedly warned of the consequences of Western collusion with genocide and ecocide.  The fate of Gaza will be the fate of humanity if not enough people wake up in time to the global reality of simply unsustainability of “might makes right” colonial policies.  

At Trump’s inauguration, the billionnaires were in the front row while his picks for secretaries were behind them. This image sums the momentous transformations gripping our planet. It used to be argued that the deep state consist of moneyed interests, largely hidden. Now we reached a point that murderous moneyed interests no longer work behind the scenes. The ultraright and fascists and neoNazis and Zionists are front and centre and openly cause millions to suffer with impunity. They even brag about their “common interests”.

For example, let us take the spectacle of the “World Economic Forum”  this past week (for a run-in I had with this forum in 2006, see http://qumsiyeh.org/theworldeconomicsforumcontroversy/). The right wing CEOs and government officials like the President of Argentina openly declared building an alliance of leaders around the world who believe and practice policies of “money trumps people”. At the same forum convicted felon Donald Trump delivered a belligerent, triumphalist, and (textbook) colonialist speech touting a vision of the world where elite business interests trump human rights.

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

The fate of Gaza, will it be the fate of humanity?

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Eisenhauer warned US citizens in his farewell speech: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

Eisenhauer did not anticipate how horrific it would be in the 21st century nor did not anticipate an alliance of neocolonial powers reinvigorated and working towards the same  goals: making the rich richer, the poor poorer, and wrecking the global environment while unleashing militarism and wars in unprecedented cruelly like we see in Palestine (genocide and ecocide). Our species is at a pivotal moment in history never experienced before. We are then many, they are the few. If more of the many mobilize quickly we may still have a chance to save ourselves and our planet. . . .

Stay Humane and keep hope alive

Mazin Qumsiyeh
A bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home
Professor, Founder, and (volunteer) Director
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability
Bethlehem University
Occupied Palestine
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://palestinenature.org
facebook pages
Personal https://www.facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9
Institute https://www.facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH

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For Nobel Peace Prize: Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, Bethlehem, Palestine

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A press release from Mairead Corrigan of the Peace People

Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, to-day nominated Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh for the Nobel peace prize.   Maguire said ‘I have great pleasure in nominating Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh for the 2025 Nobel peace prize. 


Mazin Qumsiyeh

“I have met professor Mazin and have followed his inspiring peace work for many decades.    Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh is a life scientist, teacher and activist for peace, nonviolence and the sustainability of human and natural communities over the past 50 years. 

Qumsiyeh was born in Beit Sahour, the Shepherds’ field on the outskirts of Bethlehem.  He got his formal education in Jordan and the USA in areas of biology and medical genetics.  Yet the pressures of the Israel occupation on his people and the pressure on the environment that culminated in genocide and ecocide ensured Qumsiyeh pursued a life focused on peace-making, non-violent resistance, service to people, and service to nature. 

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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In the l990 he created peace groups like the Triangle Middle East dialogue and led the Palestinian American congress.  He activated and led a chapter of the American Arab anti-discrimination committee receiving the Raymond Jallow award for activism.  He organized a petition garnering over one million signatures supporting the right of Palestinian refugees.  He was the key founder of the Palestine right to return coalition.  (PRRC).  He organized what was at that time the largest demonstrations for Palestine in Washington DC with over 5000 attending (only in 2024 during the genocide in Gaza did larger demonstrations happen).  

He founded the Wheels of Justice bus tour promoting non-violence with justice.  Between 2000 and 2006 the tour team reached 48 states speaking at over 1200 colleges and universities over 400 schools and hundreds of community centers, churches and mosques.  (more background on prof. Qumsiyeh on;   www.//qumsiyeh.org   
 
He oversaw many conservation projects including formulating the national biodiversity strategy and action plan and creating a new protected area network and landscape for nature conservation.  But perhaps his most enduring legacy is the tens of thousands of children empowered in peacemaking and environmental stewardship including with the mobile educational unit.  More background is;   https://palestinenature.org 

(Editor’s note: Mairead Maguire is a laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize.)

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