Tucson, AZ – Nearly a dozen people took to the crosswalks of a busy intersection here, May 13, to create more visibility for the close to 2000 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Receiving many more honks in support than Zionist jeers, the group flew Palestinian flags and held signs reading, “Support the Palestinian hunger strike.” Passersby also saw the popular hashtag #DignityStrike, which is being used to spread information on the hunger strike via social media.
Washington, DC – The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) is reporting that Syrian prisoners in Israeli jails have joined the open-ended hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners.
“Trump and the government are once again flirting with war”
St Paul, MN – For the second week in a row a Twin Cities peace vigil focused on opposition to U.S. war on Korea. On May 3 over 25 people attended the weekly vigil to speak out against the danger of U.S. war in Korea. The vigil is held on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
San Salvador, El Salvador – Decenas de miles de trabajadores salvadoreños salieron a marchar aquí en el día internacional de los trabajadores. El evento inició con tres marchas en diferentes partes de San Salvador que culminaron en la Plaza del Salvador del Mundo con un mitín conjunto. Las marchas empezaron en la Plaza Schafik Handal en Mejicanos, Árbol de la Paz por el Estadio Cuscatlán, y Boulevard de los Héroes. A la marcha se unieron muchos sindicatos, organizaciones sociales y organizaciones de izquierda. Los trabajadores celebraron sus logros incluso un aumento del salario mínimo. También expresaron su rechazo a la propuesta del sector privado para privatizar las pensiones. Los sindicatos presentaron su propia propuesta al gobierno del FMLN de una reforma al sistema de pensiones que garantice el derecho de los actuales pensionados y de los futuros pensionados.
San Salvador, El Salvador – Tens of thousands of Salvadoran workers came out to march here on International Workers Day. The event started with three marches from different parts of San Salvador that converged in the El Salvador del Mundo plaza for a unified rally. The marches started at Schafik Handal Plaza in Mejicanos, at Árbol de la Paz by Cuzcatlan Stadium, and on Boulevard de los Héroes. Many unions, social movement organizations and the left participated in the march. Workers celebrated their accomplishments including an increase to the minimum wage. They also expressed their rejection of a proposal from the private sector to privatize pensions. The unions presented their own proposal to the FMLN government to reform the pension system to guarantee a pension for current and future retirees.
St. Paul, MN – The organizers of a weekly peace vigil in the Twin Cities issued an urgent last minute appeal for people to join their vigil on April 26 to make a statement against the growing danger of U.S. war in Korea.
Delegation from Chicago Teachers Union meets with Brazilian teachers
Sao Paulo, Brazil – Labor unions, progressive political parties and social movements across Brazil have called for a general strike of all workers to protest the neoliberal anti-worker policies being imposed by right-wing politicians including the new president Michel Temer. Temer was put in office only after the illegal removal of progressive President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party.
New York, New York – About 50 protesters gathered at the U.S. Military Recruiting Center at the heart of Times Square, April 14. The protest was an emergency response to Donald Trump’s escalation of the war on war on Afghanistan. On April 13, a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” was dropped on what is purported to be “ISIS targets” in Afghanistan. This is a continuation of a conflict started by the U.S. and NATO 16 years ago, the longest imperialist war the U.S. has ever been in. The dropping of the MOAB on the Achin district has death counts estimated to reach up to 94 people, and a blast radius estimated at one mile.
_ Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)_
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine denounces the U.S. imperialist aggression on Syria. This attack aims to pre-empt any serious international or impartial investigation into the events in Khan Sheikhun and instead acts to liquidate Syrian sovereignty and support the most reactionary, violent forces, exposing the falsity of the Trump administration’s claims that it wants to “fight terrorism.”
Minneapolis, MN – 75 people protested in front of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office near the intersection of Washington Avenue and Interstate 35W in Minneapolis to denounce Trump’s increasing attacks on Syria, Iraq, and the threats against North Korea. The protest came days after the Trump administration launched air strikes against Syrian military air base.
Tampa, FL – On the morning of April 7, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Syria, firing over 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian government targets near Homs, Syria’s third largest city. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that only 23 of 59 missiles struck intended targets, with the majority assaulting nearby villages. Syrian media sources are reporting at least nine civilians died in the attack, including four children.
Fort Lauderdale, FL- After the U.S. fired 59 missiles at a Syrian airbase, activists in South Florida came together, April 8, to oppose all U.S. military intervention in that country. A diverse group of 50 activists, from young children to Vietnam War veterans, met outside of the Federal Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale with one simple message, “U.S. hands off Syria!”
Minneapolis, MN – In a March 30 statement, the Federation of Cuban Workers said, “The Federation of Cuban Workers and Cuban trade unions declare our unconditional support and militant, internationalist, revolutionary solidarity with the energetic, resounding response of worker-President Nicolás Maduro Moros, to the debate on the situation in Venezuela convoked by a small group of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Commission, March 28, 2017, in defense of the country's sovereignty, independence, and self-determination, asserting the dignity of Venezuela and all of Our America.”
Milwaukee, WI – On March 29, the Venezuelan Supreme Court stripped the National Assembly of its authority and took over legislative responsibilities for the government. This decision, one which they have the constitutional authority to do, has been met with widespread condemnation in the U.S. Media sources like NPR and CNN have referred to it as a “self-coup d’etat” and the establishment of a “dictatorship” by Venezuelan President Maduro. Members of the right-wing opposition, always the first to call for violence, have even hinted at this being the beginning of civil war.
Houston, Texas – On March 27, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) hosted a discussion at the University of Houston called “The Black Radical Tradition and Palestine” with Dr. Gerald Horne, chair of African-American Studies at the University of Houston (UH). Over 50 students and people from the community who showed up to learn about the history of Black activism and about the importance of solidarity between Black people and Palestinians in America.
