July 2014

At 6PM on the afternoon of July 29, US Secretary of State Kerry received a home visit protest from Code Pink, demanding he "stand strong against Netanyahu." US support makes Israel's increasingly deadly campaign against Gaza, which has included bombing or shelling at least one hospital and a UN-run school possible. Recent news footage from Gaza resembles bombed-out Berlin in 1945. Secretary of State Kerry and President Barrack Obama have the power to stop this war, probably Israel would pull out to avoid a cutoff of aid from the US.

by Merry PhamArgentina is likely to default barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations with hold-outs or a court order. Argentina's grace period to pay bonds restructured after its 2001 default expires July 30th. United States District Judge Thomas Griesa ruled Argentina cannot pay the 92% of restructured bond holders unless Argentina also pays hold-out predatory hedge funds in full. "Argentina is hours from default," said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious financial reform organization, Jubilee USA Network. "At this point, a deal seems unlikely.

On the 28th of July, the Bad Ass Teachers Association staged a rally of hundreds of teachers, students, and supporters in front of the Dept of Education. They demanded nothing less than an end to high stakes standardized testing, an end to charters schools and privatization, and an end to the sale of student data to corporations.
Video featuring Newark Student Union members who occupied and shut down a school board meeting over the so-called school reform agenda

On the 27th of July, the UN claimed that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known simply as Islamic State, has ordered up to 4 million women in Mosul to undergo horrific "female circumcision" or genital mutilation. Tribal leaders are reporting that these stories are false, and multiple Iraqi sources are calling it false.

Critical Mass rides on the last Friday of every month in DC are growing! Although not as big as the 600 rider Bike Parties (yet), these rides now seem to get bigger every month. The July 25th ride went to the DC General/DC Jail area, then to the SE Waterfront between the Navy Yard and the river and a mid-ride stopover. After that the ride went back through town before ending at a bar just south of U st.

Video of the July 25 ride