Rahm's still shedding crocodile tears over Laquan McDonald killing

In his Senate testimony at his confirmation hearing to become Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emmanuel got emotional when questioned about the Laquan McDonald murder that he helped cover up.

“There’s not a day or a week that has gone by in the last seven years that I haven’t thought about this and thought about it.”

Then he quickly pivoted the standard defense for not acting sooner to bring McDonald's killer to justice.

“As you know there’s a long-standing protocol and practice that nothing’s released in the middle of an investigation for fear of either prejudicing a witness or endangering a prosecution. That was the practice, long-standing, not just in Chicago but across the country,”

What Emmanuel didn't reveal was that his police and law departments quickly paid off the McDonald family and delayed taking action for 13 months, allowing Emmanuel to get re-elected. Then when citizen action forced release of the murder in plain sight, voila....his killer was arrested and charged, which could and should have come within weeks if not days.

The tears flowing in the community, the city and around the nation were real. Rahm's weren't then or now.

Peace Coalition to tackle U.S. China relations at Nov. 16 Educational Forum

Those oblivious to U.S. provocations with China, and China’s response, would be well served by attending the Nov 16 Educational Forum of the West Suburban Peace Coalition. That is because the current bellicose U.S. policy toward China may represent the most dangerous tripwire for war between these two nuclear giants. What makes current relations so distressing is that together, China and the U.S. account for 42% of worldwide fossil fuel consumption. Unless these two economic behemoths figure out a way to cooperate on combating climate change instead of military bluster, they won’t have a very livable planet to fight over.

Our guest speaker is Duncan McFarland, an antiwar, peace and social justice activist for 7 decades. His focus is U.S. China relations which he’s acquired from numerous trips to China. Since 2001 Duncan has served on the planning group of a Boston area United for Justice with Peace affiliate opposing U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. His articles have appeared in People's World, Portside, US-China Review and the newsletter of Massachusetts Peace Action. In 2021 he edited the book ‘A China Reader’, Changemaker Publications.

The ‘U.S. China Relations’ program will be held Tuesday, November 16, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM Chicago time via Zoom. Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com for the Zoom link.

Peace, if not now…when?

Cold War with China represents 2 existential threats to human survival

The 2 existential threats to human survival are nuclear war and climate destruction. By ramping up its new Cold War against China, the U.S. increases both threats.  

 

The most ominous is nuclear war. Tho its 350 nukes pail to America’s 5,500, we can’t rule out their use by both sides if war breaks out. Last nite in his CNN Town Hall, President Biden reiterated his commitment to go to Taiwan’s defense if China attacks. He didn’t mention how this is required by America’s national security interests because there are none. Beginning with Trump and continuing with Biden, the U.S. has abandoned its ‘strategic ambiguity’ regarding Taiwan’s defense which made unclear whether we’d go to war over Taiwan. No more. Combined with America’s endless military provocations in China’s neighborhood, it’s no wonder the chances of war are rising.  

 

But simply avoiding nuclear winter is not enough. Unless the U.S. and China stop their schoolyard bluster and start cooperating, Mother Earth faces existential destruction from climate change. That’s because together, China and the U.S. product 42% of fossil fuel consumption. Even if all other 193 countries comply with carbon emission reduction guidelines, it will not be enough to offset that of the world’s two most gluttonous fossil fuel emitters.      

 

We must push back against the continuity in American governance that demands we compete rather than cooperate with China to win the battle of the 21^st century. Unless we do, it will be a pyrrhic victory, with the winner inheriting a world demolished by nuclear winter or uninhabitable summer.  

 

Think about that Mr. Biden the next time you beat the war drums, both economically and militarily, with China.   

Nation’s cops riding Trump’s demagoguery to early death, public disruption.

It Donald Trump never existed, many if not most of the 460 cops killed by covid would still be serving and protecting. And Chicago Federation of Police (FOP) head John Cantanzara would not be threatening an illegal police sick out of up to 50% of cops patrolling Chicago’s shooting gallery this weekend.

Trump’s peculiar hold over most of his 75 million voters is most starkly exemplified by their adherence that pandemic is being exploited by Democrats to end democracy in America. Mask and especially vaccination mandates, in their adoring Trumpian view, have nothing to do with public health and everything to do with authoritarian control.

Nowhere does this detachment from political and social reality cause more harm than police rank and file, inspired by their union leaders, to refuse vaccination or even providing vaccination information to public officials.

The police, overall, idolize Trump. When he campaigned to ‘beat the shit out of anti-Trump demonstrators, and told police chiefs to ‘rough up’ bad guys being shoved into police cars, they roared their approval. As a cop I know informed me, “Trump has my back; Obama’s trying to get me killed.”

Chicago FOP chief John Cantanzara is among the worst in exploiting Trumpian demagoguery to gain notoriety and power within the police community. Fortunately, Chicago Mayor Lorrie Lightfoot, who doesn’t suffer demagogues lightly, sued Cantanzara and secured a Cook County judge to issue a restraining order against Cantanzara’s public safety threatening comments.

It wasn’t just the last year of Trump’s presidency that greatly expanded U.S. covid deaths. He’s still egging on his supporters to resist federal, state and local efforts to reduce our horrific death toll of 744,000. He’s being joined by mayors, governors, school boards and police union chiefs like John Cantanzara; all stoking fear and loathing of sensible pandemic stifling policies. They may not be bullets….but Cantanzara’s words, inspired by Trump, put his minions’ lives at risk.

The top of Powell’s trailblazing resume

Colin Powell died yesterday at 84 from covid. He had an astonishing 47 year career in the military and government. He was a trailblazer; first black to rise to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor, Secretary of State. At his retirement in 1993 he was among the most, if not the most, popular public figures for his straightforward blunt talk, leadership qualities and believability.

Sadly, it was that believability that caused him to make the biggest mistake ever made by a revered U.S. public figure. In 2003, the George W. Bush Administration was struggling to sell their impending criminal Iraq war to U.S. and world public opinion. Anyone with an iota of common sense and decency saw thru the blizzard of lies.

So George W. Bush and his ferocious war cabinet of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice, tapped Powel to present the faked evidence of Iraqi WMD programs before the world community at the UN. On February 5, 2003, Powell’s dramatic, sincere sounding, but utterly false testimony sealed the deal, forcing enough war skeptics off the fence and onto the march to ‘Shock and Awe.’

Had Powell not only refused to shill for a criminal war, but resigned with a public statement of condemnation, the war would almost certainly not occurred. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, over 5,000 U.S. military troops and civilian contractors, and trillions of dollars would have been saved.

In a way, it’s not surprising Powell dutifully ‘followed orders’ to grease the wheels of war. He used his 2 tours of duty in Vietnam, another totally unnecessary war, to begin his meteoric rise in military and government. As Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989, he was key architect of the unnecessary Panama War, which killed over 500 Panamanian civilians along with 26 Americans. Powell’s efforts allowed the George H.W. Bush Administration to claim we’d ‘thrown off’ U.S. defeatism following our devastating loss in Vietnam.

Powell ultimately and publicly regretted his fatal flaw that allowed a monstrous war to go forward. Much of Powell’s obituary will focus on his storied career. But for me, his enabling of the Iraq war goes to the top in my remembrance.

Unlikely supporter

Chicago Federation of Police president John Cantanzara sure has a lot of sway over his membership. His minions lead all other city departments in risking time off without pay for refusing to comply with city vaccination mandates. Over a third of Chicago's Blue Crew failed to update their vaccination status and are now subject to disciplinary action.

Gee, I didn't know Cantanzara was such a rabid supporter of 'Defund The Police.'

Peace Coalition hears case for No First Use of nuclear weapons

Local peace and social justice advocate David Borris discussed the urgent need for the U.S. to sign on to No First Use of nuclear weapons at the West Suburban Peace Coalition’s Educational Forum Tuesday.

Borris, who serves as Board Chair for CAPA, Chicago Area Peace Action, has made No First Use the focus of anti-nuclear efforts to control, reduce, eliminate the greatest threat to human survival.

No First Use is simply the pledge of nuclear powers to never initiate nuclear weapons in any foreign dispute. Only two of 9 nuclear powers, China and India, have taken the pledge. The U.S., which kicked off nuclear attack 76 years ago, leveling 2 Japanese cities, refuses to give up that advantage.

On January 11, 2017, then VP Joe Biden advocated the U.S. adopt No First Use with these hopeful words:

“Given our nonnuclear capabilities and the nature of today’s threats, it’s hard to envision a plausible scenario in which the first use of nuclear weapons by the United States would be necessary or make sense. The next administration will put forward its own policies. But President Obama and I are confident we can deter and defend ourselves and our allies against nonnuclear threats through other means.”

Alas, given the chance to implement No First Use as president, Biden has been ominously silent in his first 9 months.

Borris offered a substantive reason for U.S. approval besides reassuring a troubled world of no first use by Uncle Sam. America’s 400 land based ICBM silos out west, which effectively can only be used for offensive nuclear war, would be rendered irrelevant should we take the pledge. That would begin the discussion of reducing, rather than increasing our nuclear arsenal. It would also save the quarter trillion earmarked to replace the ancient ICBM’s over the next decade.

Borris closed with a plea to keep hope alive that Biden will remember his January 11, 2017 remarks and finally take the pledge. Say it’s so, Joe.