#U.S. Northern Command

[collapsedsquid]

The roughly 700 Marines recently ordered to deploy to Los Angeles have not yet completed training on less-than-lethal weapons and training on the Standing Rules for Use of Force, which governs the use of force for military personnel within the United States, said a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM. It is not yet clear when the Marines will complete the training, or when they will join NORTHCOM’s Task Force 51, which is overseeing U.S. troops responding to the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles, the spokesperson said.

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

Pictured above: Brig. Gen. Anthony C. Mcauliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, gives his various glider pilots last-minute instructions in England before the take-off on September 17, 1944 for Operation market Garden.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. Its objective was to create a 64 mile salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine River), creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany.

In the end, Market Garden was one of the costliest Allied failures of WWII, but remains a remarkable feat of arms. This is not because of its strategic ambition, but because of the determination and courage shown by Allied airborne troops and the units that tried to reach them.

It did however, lead to the liberation of a large part of the Netherlands at a time when many Dutch people were close to starvation.

(Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force archives)

[probablyasocialecologist]

More than half of Iran’s weapons were destroyed by U.S. aircraft and missiles before they ever reached Israel. In fact, by commanding a multinational air defense operation and scrambling American fighter jets, this was a U.S. military triumph.   The extent of the U.S. military operation is unbeknownst to the American public, but the Pentagon coordinated a multination, regionwide defense extending from northern Iraq to the southern Persian Gulf on Saturday. During the operation, the U.S., U.K., France, and Jordan all shot down the majority of Iranian drones and missiles. In fact, where U.S. aircraft originated from has not been officially announced, an omission that has been repeated by the mainstream media. Additionally, the role of Saudi Arabia is unclear, both as a base for the United States and in terms of any actions by the Saudi military.

[...]

Israel’s statement that it shot down the majority of Iranian “cruise missiles” is probably an exaggeration. According to U.S. military sources and preliminary reporting, U.S. and allied aircraft shot down the majority of drones and cruise missiles. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the Royal Air Force Typhoons intercepted “a number” of Iranian weapons over Iraqi and Syrian airspace. The Jordanian government has also hinted that its aircraft downed some Iranian weapons. “We will intercept every drone or missile that violates Jordan’s airspace to avert any danger. Anything posing a threat to Jordan and the security of Jordanians, we will confront it with all our capabilities and resources,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said during an interview on the Al-Mamlaka news channel. French fighters also shot down some drones and possibly cruise missiles.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Omar Younis, Phil Stewart, and Idrees Ali at Reuters, via HuffPost:

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - Marines deployed to Los Angeles temporarily detained a civilian on Friday, the U.S. military confirmed after being presented with Reuters images, in the first known detention by active-duty troops deployed there by President Donald Trump. The incident took place at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles where Marines took charge of the mission to protect the building earlier on Friday, in a rare domestic use of U.S. troops after days of protests over immigration raids.

Reuters images showed Marines apprehending a civilian, restraining his hands with zip ties and then handing him over to civilians from the Department of Homeland Security. Asked about the incident, the U.S. military’s Northern Command spokesperson said active duty forces “may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances.” “Any temporary detention ends immediately when the individual(s) can be safely transferred to the custody of appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel,” a spokesperson said.

[...] The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves. The Posse Comitatus Act generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement.

In a gross violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, the Marines helped carry out the first detention of a civilian in US history, as they temporarily detained Marcos Leao (who was headed to the VA for an appointment), and was later released without charges.

See Also:

The Independent: Marines temporarily detain man while guarding LA federal building

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

“Not this” has become the lazy refrain of those too uninformed, or too afraid, to confront the actual nature of modern war. It’s the moral shrug of commentators unwilling to grapple with facts, history, or the operational realities of Gaza. “Not this” doesn’t reflect legal analysis, strategic insight, or lived combat experience. It’s a performance. A rejection of responsibility dressed up as moral clarity.

Piers Morgan is just the latest public figure to offer this empty diagnosis. He recently declared that “Israel’s current strategy is failing.” But what does that mean? Failing by what metric? Based on whose objectives?

Wars are not judged by feelings. They are judged by facts, by the political and military objectives of each side and the extent to which they are achieved. On those terms, it is Hamas, not Israel, that is failing catastrophically.

Hamas began this war with three supporting objectives:

Survive the war and be celebrated as the terror group that conducted the October 7 massacre and endured Israel’s response.

Maintain military capability to continue its stated mission: destroy Israel and kill Jews worldwide.

Retain governing power over Gaza, subjugating Palestinians while siphoning billions in international aid to support objective #2.

Hamas is failing on all three counts. It has lost the ability to fight as an organized military force. Its five brigades, 24 battalions, and 30,000 to 40,000 trained fighters, armed with over 20,000 rockets and extensive control of terrain, have been decimated. Fewer than three original commanders from Hamas’s military or political leadership in Gaza remain. From top leaders like Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Deif, and Marwan Issa, to nearly every brigade and battalion commander, the senior command structure has been eliminated. That level of leadership, experience, and ideological fanaticism cannot be replaced. What remains is a fragmented guerrilla force made up mostly of radicalized youths, with little training, no real command structure, and declining access to weapons. The average Hamas replacement fighter is now in their teens.

Hamas has also lost political ground. Gazans are increasingly protesting and speaking out against them. Their control over food distribution, once a key lever of power, has been eroded by U.S.-Israeli humanitarian mechanisms, including the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which bypass Hamas entirely. Their senior military and political leaders are being systematically eliminated. The group’s grip on the population is slipping.

By contrast, Israel’s goals are clear:

Return the hostages.

Destroy Hamas as a military force and governing body.

Ensure that no force in Gaza can ever again threaten Israeli citizens.

Israel has already returned 198 of 251 hostages. It has dismantled Hamas’s ability to wage coordinated military operations. It has reclaimed strategic terrain and pushed Hamas underground, literally. No force in Gaza currently has the capability to project meaningful attacks into Israeli territory.

Israel has also defanged and deterred Hezbollah in Lebanon, secured its northern border, contributed to the effective overthrow of Assad’s regime, destroyed the conventional military capabilities in Syria, destroyed critical Iranian-linked weapons systems, defended Israeli Druze communities, and demonstrated both military superiority and restraint across seven simultaneous fronts.

This is what strategic success looks like in modern war: steady progress under impossible conditions, constrained by international scrutiny and unprecedented operational complexity.

But progress is not victory. While Israel’s strategy in Gaza has made undeniable headway, despite operating under immense political and operational constraints, much work remains.

For two years, Israel’s ability to prepare for or respond to the Hamas threat was systematically hindered by international actors. The previous U.S. administration blocked key weapons transfers, urged Israel not to enter Rafah, and imposed constraints on the size of its combat force, the pace of operations, and even the types of weapons it could employ. It also forced operational pauses tied to humanitarian initiatives based on flawed or manipulated data, like the now-failed humanitarian pier, which proved a costly and ineffective effort. The United Nations refused to provide meaningful assistance. And many governments applied constant diplomatic pressure while offering no viable alternative to defeating Hamas. Despite these constraints, Israel has adapted, recalibrated, and steadily advanced its mission.

But military success alone is not enough. For Hamas to be fully defeated and Gaza to be stabilized, several critical objectives must still be achieved.

First, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-Israeli initiative that bypasses Hamas and delivers aid directly to civilians, must be expanded. It is one of the few working models that weakens Hamas’s control over the population while upholding humanitarian obligations.

Second, Hamas fighters must be either killed or captured. No reconciliation or rebuilding can begin while armed militants remain embedded among civilians. This requires not just raids or airstrikes, but methodical terrain clearance, followed by physical occupation and holding of that ground to prevent Hamas from reconstituting.

Third, a credible alternative to Hamas must take root. A new power must assume administrative, security, and political control of cleared areas. Without that, Hamas or something worse will fill the vacuum.

Only then can the longer-term work begin: deradicalization programs, reconciliation efforts, weapons buyback initiatives, and continued destruction of military infrastructure. All of this must drive toward one goal, the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

Victory in this war will not be marked solely by battlefield success, but by who governs Gaza afterward, how the people are treated, and whether another October 7 is made impossible.

And yet, critics like Piers Morgan keep hand-waving it away with the refrain: “Not this.”

It’s an empty phrase designed to appease feelings rather than address facts. It makes no effort to understand what Israel is up against, an entrenched enemy that uses human shields as doctrine, hides in hospitals and schools, and builds tunnels under refugee camps.

The most dangerous part of “Not this” isn’t just its ignorance. It’s how easily it aligns with Hamas’s propaganda strategy.

Hamas knows it cannot win militarily. So it fights through information warfare. Its primary weapon isn’t rockets, it’s casualty statistics. It floods the world with numbers, knowing that most people will never question their origin or reliability.

This is why the so-called Gaza Health Ministry, a Hamas-controlled body, releases death tolls without distinguishing between combatants and civilians, between Israeli fire and Hamas misfires, between war deaths and unrelated fatalities. They count indiscriminately and present the figure as evidence of Israeli wrongdoing.

But as analysts and independent investigations have repeatedly shown, these numbers are riddled with errors. They do not account for:

• Civilians killed by misfired Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets • Civilians who died of illness, accidents, or natural causes • Combatants, including child soldiers and women engaged in hostilities

It is absurd to claim, especially in the chaos of war, that every name on a casualty list can be neatly categorized as civilian or combatant. It is even more absurd to assume that everyone under 18 is a “child” in the legal or moral sense. Hamas actively recruits fighters as young as 14. Women are used in combat roles, weapons transport, surveillance, and even hostage holding.

And here's a critical point: even if we were to take Hamas’s numbers at face value, which we should not, Israel would still have one of the lowest civilian-to-combatant casualty ratios in any comparable war or urban battle in modern history.

But that’s not the point.

The laws of war do not determine legality by body counts. They judge based on intent, military necessity, the value of the target, and whether all feasible precautions were taken to avoid civilian harm. The principle of proportionality requires that the expected harm to civilians must not be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. It is a forward-looking judgment, not a backward assessment based on outcomes.

And in war, not all military advantages are equal. In a war of survival, where a nation is defending its population, its territory, and its right to exist, the value of military objectives is correspondingly higher. That is fundamentally different from the counterinsurgency and counterterrorism campaigns the West has fought for the past two decades in distant lands, far from its own cities and civilians. Israel is fighting an enemy just kilometers from its borders, one that has already carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. That existential context matters. It shapes the military calculus, and it must shape how the world applies the laws of war.

To judge wars solely by casualty ratios is to hand a blueprint to every terrorist organization on earth: embed within civilians, provoke a response, inflate the death toll, and let the world do the rest. It would make lawful self-defense functionally impossible, especially for democracies.

Hamas knows this. It’s why they built Gaza for war. It’s why they operate from hospitals, mosques, and UN schools. It’s why they don't distinguish their fighters in death. Civilian deaths aren’t a tragic byproduct for Hamas, they are a strategic asset.

The belief that Hamas could be destroyed without bloodshed is not just naïve, it’s dangerous. It sets a standard no military on earth can meet, especially when facing an enemy that does everything possible to ensure civilian deaths.

If October 7 had happened in the U.S., the UK, or any NATO country, the response would have been swift, overwhelming, and just. The only difference is that Israel has fewer tools and more constraints, yet continues to comply with the laws of armed conflict while taking unprecedented steps to protect civilians.

“Not this” is not a strategy. It’s not analysis. And it’s not serious.

It is the language of those too comfortable to confront the real cost of defending a free people from genocidal enemies.

And every time it’s repeated, it plays directly into Hamas’s hands.

John Spencer is executive director of the

Urban Warfare Institute

. He is the coauthor of

Understanding Urban Warfare

Learn more at

www.johnspenceronline.com

You can also follow him on 'X' at:

@SpencerGuard

Substack:

[planesawesome]

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet, operating from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group underway in the North Atlantic Ocean, intercepts two U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) B-1B Lancers as they enter the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone, and again as they enter the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region, May 29, 2020. The intercepts were part of a U.S. Northern Command-led, large-scale homeland defense exercise. U.S. Northern Command's top priority is homeland defense, and leading complex multi-combatant command operations across multiple domains demonstrates USNORTHCOM’S readiness to defend the homeland regardless of COVID-19. The high-end homeland defense exercises are being executed by the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Neil Armstrong)

[redarmyscreaming]

Battle of the Little Bighorn, (June 25, 1876), battle at the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, U.S., between federal troops led by Lieut. Col. George A. Custer and Northern Plains Indians (Lakota, Teton and Northern Cheyenne) led by Sitting Bull. Custer and all the men under his immediate command were slain. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-battle-of-little-bighorn-was-won-63880188/

[alostghostsong]

To all my Tumblrinas that are also in the Denver Metro area. Please, everyone, spread this like wildfire!!!

[mariacallous]

Around this time last year, as then-U.S. President Joe Biden was outlining possible terms for a cease-fire in Gaza, an Israeli defense official explained to me why the military supported a pause in the fighting. The reason had little to do with the combat itself. Instead, a cease-fire offered a chance to restore the social contract between the state and the Israeli public, including the understanding that Israel should only wage wars that serve the public good and always prioritize the release of captive soldiers and civilians.

These days, as Israel marks 18 months of war in Gaza, that unwritten agreement is a dead letter. It was steadily undermined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who chose to press on with the fighting despite mounting evidence that his war aims were unachievable—and finally shredded by his decision in March to unilaterally scrap the cease-fire with Hamas. That brief truce, brokered by the United States in January, had freed 33 hostages and held out the possibility of further releases. Instead, Israeli assaults on Gaza are back with a vengeance.

Netanyahu now vows to continue the fighting until Hamas is defeated. (Israeli bombardments have already destroyed much of Gaza but not Hamas.) But Israeli reservists are reeling from multiple combat tours since Oct. 7, 2023, and families of the hostages feel their loved ones have been abandoned. In late April, Netanyahu rejected a proposal by Hamas to free the remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war—prompting an extraordinary response from the mother of one hostage. “Before you send your son to war, face the reality,” said Anat Angrest, addressing other parents who had gathered at a demonstration in Tel Aviv and showing a photo of her son, who was captured on Oct. 7. “Look at how my son has been abandoned and is now being sacrificed. Look, mother, at how instead of ending the war and getting my son home, they are sending your son to fight a war that is endangering them both.” This is precisely what the army hoped to avoid.

The result of all this is a domestic backlash against the war that is broader than anything Israel has seen since Oct. 7.

It started with a letter signed by nearly 1,000 mostly retired Israeli Air Force reservists in early April, just before the Passover holiday. “This war primarily serves political and personal interests, not national security interests,” the letter read. “The continued war does not help to achieve any of the war goals and will lead to the killing of hostages, IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers, and innocent civilians and further erode reservist forces.” Air Force commander Tomer Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who had tried to thwart publication of the letter, discharged the active-duty reservists who signed it. Within days, thousands more signed similar letters, including former heads of Mossad, members of special forces, Navy officers, and cyberwarfare and military intelligence teams, including hundreds who are in active reserve duty. Other letters have been issued by health care professionals, academics, and artists.

To be clear, the backlash is decidedly not a response to Israel’s excessive use of force that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. (Although it is noteworthy that Moshe Yaalon, a hawkish politician and former military chief, described Israeli actions in northern Gaza this year as “ethnic cleansing” and condemned the state for sending soldiers to “kill babies in Gaza.”) It is mainly about prioritizing the hostages—even if it means ending the war. It is also—or perhaps primarily—a vote of no confidence in the Netanyahu government, which many Israelis believe is perpetuating the war in order to remain in power.

Polls have shown for months now that a solid majority of Israelis—even among those who voted for the Netanyahu coalition—support ending the war to release the hostages. Most Israelis understand by now that military operations aimed at freeing the hostages are more likely to get them killed. A majority now supports an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, even if this leaves a vastly diminished Hamas in control for the time being.

The significance of this backlash isn’t just in the number of people calling for an end to the war but also in the titles some of them hold. Prominent members of Israel’s security elite are among those publicly accusing Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners of sacrificing the hostages for political ends. In other words, this government is waging the current phase of the war in Gaza without broad public backing and against the better judgment of people who devoted their lives to the country’s security. For Israel, that is a first.

This backlash coincides with a separate but related crisis: a growing shortage of reservists. According to multiple press reports, there has been a 50 percent drop in the rate that reservists are showing up for duty since Israel resumed hostilities in March. Most Israelis are conscripted at age 18 for two to three years and perform compulsory reserve duty until age 40. Their reasons for staying away this time are varied. They include family demands, war fatigue, and especially their financial situation. (75 percent of reservists surveyed in February said the long months spent fighting in Gaza harmed them financially, and 41 percent reported that they were either fired or left their jobs.) But some are refusing for ideological reasons—whether because they distrust this government, doubt that further military operations will bring back the hostages, resent that ultra-Orthodox Jews remain exempt from army service, worry about being incriminated for war crimes, or indeed because they morally oppose how Israel has conducted the war.

This soft refusal to serve—whether for political, ideological, or personal reasons—could force the government to adapt its approach in Gaza. It might not happen overnight. But if Israel moves to take full control over all aspects of life in Gaza and resettle Israelis there, as Netanyahu’s coalition partners demand, the manpower challenge will likely grow. The government might be banking on the idea that military service remains sacrosanct and ultimately reservists will show up. Failing that, the military could be forced to pull troops from other fronts, including Lebanon, Syria, and even the West Bank.

In the long term, a trend toward dissent could have significant ramifications for the country. The Israeli military has been a “people’s army” since its inception, relying on reservists to fight short, decisive wars. In countries that depend on reservist armies, governments must take public sentiment into account. As Netanyahu’s government continues to neglect the hostages and prolong the war, the backlash is likely to grow.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

dave :: @roweafr :: conductor in chief :: @FinancialReview

* * * *

Maintaining focus and discipline amidst the chaos

June 10, 2025

Robert B. Hubbell

We must maintain focus and discipline amidst the purposeful chaos. The administration is on the defensive, retreating broadly across multiple fronts, losing the information war for the hearts and minds of the American people. A panicked Trump sought to hijack the news cycle by creating a provocation in Los Angeles. Compliant media and eager pundits took the bait. We cannot repeat their mistake.

In a city of 502 square miles and 4 million people, only a single city block is experiencing a small protest directed at an ICE detention facility, a protest that the media chooses to describe as “unrest.” Despite the 501.99 square miles of peace in Los Angeles, the media is playing a video loop of two cars set aflame three days ago. That loop plays continuously in the background as news anchors ignore the illegality of Trump's federalization of California National Guard and vapidly wonder “whether Trump or Newsom will win the battle for the spotlight.” (Looking at you, MSNBC.)

Trump is creating chaos to divert attention from the failures, corruption, and anti-democratic agenda of his administration. Last week, major media outlets were rightly focused on the threats posed by the reconciliation bill, the threat to the economy posed by Trump's retaliatory tariffs, the crumbling of his DOGE agenda in the face of a judicial tsunami, and the administration’s denial of due process to migrants facing deportation.

Seventy-two hours later, those stories remain the most important political challenges facing our nation. But two vehicles set aflame by provocateurs (likely MAGA agitators) have managed to displace the entire political discourse about the grave challenges facing our nation.

The media is punch drunk, as are many pundits. A lunatic in the White House press pool asked Trump if “border czar” Tom Homan should arrest Gavin Newsom. Predictably, Trump took the bait and said, “Yes.” White House pool reporters are literally pouring gasoline onto a road flare held by an arsonist. They are baiting Trump into making ever more incendiary statements, which the media then repeats with staged alarm and barely concealed glee.

As most protests in Los Angeles settled into a familiar peaceful pattern that resembled a street fair, Trump resolved to create an even greater provocation by sending 700 Marines from Camp Pendleton. The move is illegal and profoundly anti-democratic, a fact ignored in most of the reporting. The story is NOT that Trump is sending the Marines to Los Angeles. The story is that Trump is violating federal law by sending the Marines to Los Angeles.

Like the federalized National Guard, the Marines are prohibited from performing law enforcement duties on US soil. See Task & Purpose, Marines deploy to LA amid protests. Here's what they can legally do. (“The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits federal U.S. troops — including federalized National Guardsmen — from performing law enforcement duties on American soil, unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act.”)

The Marines will be limited to protecting federal buildings and federal agents performing duties. See US Northern Command, Statement regarding protection of federal property and personnel in the Los Angeles Area. But even those limited tasks are prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act. The presence of the Marines is intended as provocation, pure and simple. The LAPD is out in force and taking aggressive action against protestors seeking to gain entry to federal property.

Los Angelenos have the right to peacefully protest the actions of ICE and DHS agents—as they should. But we must remain focused and disciplined in directing our criticisms toward Trump, not toward the National Guard or Marines, who are following lawful orders. Likewise, we must not provoke or assault LAPD officers seeking to protect federal property.

But more importantly, we must maintain our focus on the cruelty and cuts of the reconciliation bill, the economic harm of the tariffs, the illegality of DOGE, and the denial of due process to migrants subject to deportation.

Last week, Republicans began floating the idea of Medicare cuts—not Medicaid, Medicare cuts—because of opposition in the GOP to the massive deficits in the reconciliation bill. See Politico, Medicare is a target as Senate GOP faces megabill math issues.

There was a time, a week ago, when talk of direct cuts to Medicare would have led to rioting in the streets, mainly by retired Americans who rely on Medicare for health insurance. But stories about the coming assault on Medicare are nearly non-existent because the media cannot look away from Trump's manufactured crisis in Los Angeles.

We cannot lose sight of the looming cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Nor can we lose sight of the tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations that will increase the annual deficit. Last week, Elon Musk was tweeting that the reconciliation bill would “bankrupt” America. In a clear sign of desperation, Republicans are seriously discussing removing the debt limit cap—a move that would have resulted in rioting in Congress by Republicans if Democrats had proposed such a move. Politico, Trump calls for scrapping debt limit, in megabill twist.

There are dozens of other aspects of the reconciliation bill that deserve to be on protest signs between now and July 4—Trump's arbitrary deadline for passage of the reconciliation bill.

Or, you can use the 5 Calls App to reach out to your representatives to let them know how you feel about cuts to SNAP, climate science, Veteran Healthcare, Native American Healthcare, NPR, Head Start, clean energy, Planned Parenthood, rights of people with disabilities, USAID, the Department of Education . . . . and much more. See 5 Call, Oppose Harmful Provisions in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (UPDATED 6/4).

The protests against militarized immigration raids in Los Angeles are vitally important. But so are issues relating to the reconciliation bill, tariffs, DOGE, and due process rights of migrants subject to deportation.

We must not give Trump an excuse to escalate the situation in Los Angeles, and we must remain focused on the other major issues—issues on which Trump is faltering. Let’s keep up the forward momentum!

The pro-democracy movement must reclaim the US Flag.

Trump and Stephen Miller are taking to social media to portray pro-democracy protesters as “anti-American.” They are, of course, practitioners of the art of the Big Lie. Nonetheless, we must help the media tell the true story. We can do so by ensuring that the US flag is prominently displayed in every pro-democracy protest.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: Display one US Flag for every protest sign. If we do that, every media photo of a protest will show dozens or hundreds of US flags—an unmistakable sign of our support for democracy, the Constitution, and America.

A perfect time to reclaim the US flag is June 14—Flag Day! It is also No Kings Day, when millions of Americans will join in protest against Trump's anti-democratic agenda.

A reader sent the following guidelines for promoting the US flag in protests:

How to reclaim our flag:

Individuals - bring an American flag to protests/rallies; doing so will cross-message the event and individual signs.

Groups - Invest in larger flags 3’x5’ feet or larger. Bring free extra flags for fellow activists - remind them to help Reclaim Our Flag.

During protests: Chant, “Who’s flag?” - Our flag!”

Event leaders - Organize a "We the People Flag Corps" of volunteers who bring large flags and position them at the front of marches, on stages, near the podium. Indoor events hang a flag on the wall (starfield on top left).

Share on Social Media. Our Flag is photogenic! #ReclaimOurFlag

Robert Kennedy fires all members of vaccine panel at Centers for Disease Control

An issue that concerned citizens should consider including in their protest signs on June 14 is the continued assault on vaccines by Secretary of Health & Human Services, Robert Kennedy, Jr.

On Monday, Kennedy continued his assault on truth, science, and the health of the American people by firing 17 members of a CDC panel of experts on vaccines. See ABC News, RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of CDC's vaccine advisory committee.

In a Wall Street Journal guest essay, Kennedy claimed he was firing the members of the committee because of conflicts of interest. Yet Kennedy himself earned income immediately before becoming Secretary of HHS by advising plaintiffs in anti-vaccine lawsuits.

Kennedy initially said he would continue to advise plaintiffs and earn income in anti-vaccine lawsuits after he became Secretary of HHS. After an outcry, he relented and agreed to give up his profit-making, anti-vaccine efforts. See ABC News (1/31/25), In major reversal, Kennedy tells senators he won't take money from vaccine lawsuit.

The notion that Kennedy can fire others because of alleged “conflicts of interest” is risible and insulting, given his own direct financial interest in promoting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

As Kennedy does his best to dissuade parents from having their children vaccinated against childhood diseases, the national vaccination rate is declining. See The Hub, New data shows MMR vaccination rate decline across the U.S..

Kennedy’s purported concern for the health of children is a hypocritical lie. In March, the Department of HHS removed the Surgeon General’s warning about death from gun violence. Last week, a new study found that the leading cause of death among children in the US is from gunshots. See USA Facts, Children are dying at the highest rate in 13 years. (“In 2020, firearms surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teens.”)

So, when you are protesting over the next few weeks, consider raising concerns about the assault on the health of children, an assault being led by Robert Kennedy Jr.

Sign up for a No Kings Day rally on June 14, 2025.

No Kings Day is June 14, 2025. Sign up here: No Kings.

Here is the description of the event from No Kings Day organizers:

On June 14—Flag Day—President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.

No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like. We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind. The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it. On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t—to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.

Concluding Thoughts

I have been disappointed by commentators who are telling Democrats to “shut up and sit down” over immigration because it is the one issue on which Trump still has favorable ratings. That advice is wrong on every level possible. It is like telling Rosa Parks to stand in the back of the bus and John Lewis to turn around rather than marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

To be clear, violence and confrontation are counterproductive and hurt the pro-democracy cause. But 99% of what is happening in the streets is the pure exercise of First Amendment rights. If that bothers Trump loyalists, so be it. We must do what is right, even if it is unpopular.

In addition to maintaining our focus and discipline, we must also disregard the voices urging us to “keep quiet” about immigration. We have heard those voices before, telling us “It’s not time” for civil rights for Black Americans, voting rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights. If we waited until it was the “right time” to demand equal rights for each of those groups, we would be living in a pre-Civil War America.

We are living through a momentous period in history. We have the ability to shape history and determine the fate of a great nation. We must be bold and set aside the voices of doubt, fear, and surrender. We are not potted plants, we are not sheep. We are the sons and daughters of men and women who purchased our freedom with their work, sacrifice, and lives. We owe them nothing less than our unstinting efforts to save the democracy they bequeathed to us.

Talk to you tomorrow!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[girlactionfigure]

🚨 IDF PREPARES FOR GROUND MANEUVERS AGAINST HEZBOLLAH, CALLS UP RESERVE BRIGADES TO DEFEND NORTHERN ISRAEL 🚨

⚠️ The IDF has successfully completed airstrikes on 60 Hezbollah targets, guided by the Intelligence Directorate. These strikes targeted Hezbollah's intelligence infrastructure, including intelligence-gathering tools and command centers, which are critical to the enemy’s situational assessment capabilities. See illustration image.

🚨 In light of the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, the IDF has called up two reserve brigades for operations in the northern arena. This mobilization is essential to maintain defense efforts against Hezbollah and to create conditions that would allow residents in northern Israel to safely return to their homes.

🚨 Major General Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the IDF Northern Command, has indicated that the army is prepared for ground maneuvers as the conflict with Hezbollah enters a new phase. He emphasized the readiness of armored forces, although the government has yet to authorize an invasion of Lebanon. During a visit to the 7th Brigade at the northern border, MG Gordin stressed the importance of preparedness to shift the security dynamics and allow the safe return of northern residents. He also noted the operation, named Northern Arrows, has already inflicted significant damage on Hezbollah’s firepower and leadership.

⚠️ American officials have suggested that the situation in Lebanon is approaching a full-scale war. Despite the U.S. administration’s reluctance to use the term, the rapidly escalating conflict indicates Washington’s diminishing ability to influence the situation.

⚠️ Hospital directors in central Israel, south of Haifa, have been instructed by security officials to increase their alert level in anticipation of potential emergency admissions. Hospitals are preparing to receive patients from northern Israel and to handle additional casualties, should the situation escalate.

⚠️ Meanwhile, the IDF launched another strike deep into Lebanon, targeting Ras Al-Ata, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut. According to Sky News Arabic, the strike resulted in the elimination of senior Hezbollah field commander, Fuad Shafiq Khazal.

🎗️In a broader diplomatic effort, Reuters reports that the U.S. is pushing for a ceasefire agreement linking Lebanon and Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu informed his ministers that he has authorized Ron Dermer to communicate to the U.S. that Israel is open to a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon to negotiate Hezbollah's withdrawal without further conflict. While the chances of this deal materializing are considered low by Israeli officials, agreeing to the proposal could help Israel gain international legitimacy if Hezbollah refuses.

The U.S. is keen on securing a ceasefire for several reasons:

1. The upcoming U.S. elections are just over a month away, and the Biden-Harris administration is eager to achieve a ceasefire agreement in Gaza or secure the release of hostages, a demand from the progressive base of the Democratic Party.

2. The lack of progress in securing peace only strengthens former President Trump’s position. Republicans argue that under Trump’s leadership, the war might not have broken out. With Trump positioning himself as the candidate who can prevent wars, this situation bolsters his standing.

3. Uncommitted Democratic voters could boycott Vice President Harris if no ceasefire is reached, a concern for her campaign, as losing these votes could sway the election in Trump’s favor.

After previous unsuccessful attempts to secure a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, more ambitious efforts are now underway as noted above, according to journalist Amit Segal. However, a Lebanese report from Hezbollah states that the group rejects any ceasefire involving Lebanon unless it also includes Gaza.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 A Palestinian family is besieged in their home by the Zionist occupation army, while occupation tanks and warplanes fire shells and bomb the surrounding neighborhood, terrorizing the remaining residents as Israeli drones buzz overhead. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

DAY 266 OF ISRAELI GENOCIDE IN THE GAZA STRIP: ZIONIST ARMY ADVANCES FURTHER INTO AL-SHUJAIYA, OCCUPATION ARMY BOMBS CIVILIAN TENTS, FUEL AND MEDICINE SHORTAGE COSTING LIVES AS AMBULANCES NO LONGER OPERATE, GALLANT PLANS FOR "DAY AFTER" GENOCIDE ENDS, SLAUGHTER OF CIVILIANS CONTINUES

On 266th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 3 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 47 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 52 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands, of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

The Zionist entity's Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has discussed plans for the "day after" the war in Gaza ends, speaking with his American counterparts to present a new plan that would see the besieged Gaza Strip divided into 24 districts and occupied by a number of Arab countries, to will be directed by the United States.

Gallant 's plan looks to form a committee staffed by the United States and "moderate" Arab countries, who would oversee an international occupying force including soldiers from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Morrocco.

The Arab-American occupying forces would be overseen by the United States, who would be responsible for security in the Gaza Strip, including logistics, as well as command and control, while gradually, a Palestinian force would inherit responsibility for the security of Gaza.

Gallant has supposedly worked out an agreement with the Americans that would see Palestinian security forces undergo special training through a U.S. aid program.

The plan reflects the current position of the Israeli occupation's security establishment, despite occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu's, public statements rejecting the idea.

Gallant 's plan would be implemented in several stages, beginning with the northern Gaza Strip and working its way south as conditions allow.

"Galant envisions 24 active administrative districts in Gaza," reporting in the Washington Post writes, "however, in the US, they are pessimistic about the possibility that the program will soon expand to many regions."

American officials say they support Gallant 's "day after" plan, but Arab countries have rejected the idea unless the Palestinian Authority is directly involved, an idea previously rejected by the Occupation's Prime Minister.

The participating Arab states also say they want a "political horizon" for the establishment of a Palestinian state, which has also been rejected in Netanyahu's public statements.

In other news today, Friday, June 28th, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) is once again warning that Palestinian citizens of the Gaza Strip are in "dire need of healthcare", explaining how only a small number of health centers are currently operating in the Palestinian enclave.

A recent post by UNRWA to the social media platform X cautioned that a shortage of fuel and medicine is taking a severe toll on emergency services, stressing that safe and sustainable access to aid can be delayed no longer.

Similarly, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has raised concerns over the lack of security in Gaza, while Israeli military movements and attacks in Gaza's south remain a major obstacle to humanitarian operations, adding that several Israeli attacks have targeted the Al-Mawasi area of central Gaza, where thousands of Palestinian families have saught shelter.

OCHA says its partners working on the ground in Gaza have warned of power outages due to fuel shortages, which continue to endanger the lives of critically ill and wounded Palestinians, and also hampers efforts to respond to the multitude of crises in the Strip.

The UN humanitarian agency also said it continues working to respond to the crises in potable drinking water supplies, which continue to shrink under the relentless attacks of the Israeli occupation army on Gaza's infrastructure, including water wells.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has also issued dire warnings that 18 ambulances have now been put out of service, a full 36% of their fleet, as a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing closure of the Rafah and Karm Abu Salem border crossings, leading to a lack of fuel and rendering PRCS's ambulances inoperable.

In a statement published on Thursday, PRCS said that it "has not received its daily share of gasoline through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for about eight days, which covered only 6% of the operating capacity of ambulances, due to the Israeli occupation preventing the entry of fuel into the Strip."

"Before receiving the amount of gasoline allocated to the association stopped, the amount received had declined to reach only 3% of the daily need for ambulances," the statement added.

PRCS also warned of a decline in its ability to provide ambulance and emergency services in the coming days due to the fuel shortage, while the Israeli occupation continues its closure of the southern border crossings, ongoing for the last 52 days, explaining that "the quantities of fuel entering through the Kerem Abu Salem crossing do not meet the needs of the medical and relief sectors."

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society went on to appeal to the international community for "urgent intervention" to reopen the Rafah crossing, and to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid, and fuel in particular. With the hope being to avert a complete collapse of Gaza's health system as hospital electricity generators stop working, and as ambulances run out of fuel, and while water desalinization plants and drainage networks fail.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued its genocide in the Gaza Strip, advancing into the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, while occupation bombing and shelling hammers residential homes, public infrastructure, tents of the displaced, and civilians in the streets.

On Friday, June 28th, neighborhoods east, southeast and southwest of Gaza City suffered under extreme bombardment, while intense clashes between the Palestinian resistance forces and the occupation army raged in the city, and as occupation forces intensified their bombing and shelling of sites in the city.

The violent clashes and endless bombardment meant that local paramedic and civil defense crews were unable to reach the sites of dead and wounded Palestinians, leaving them trapped under the rubble with their injuries to die.

Resistance forces with the Al-Quds Brigades, belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), confirmed they detonated an Israeli military vehicle with explosives, while ambushing and engaging Zionist forces on Talat al-Muntar and its surroundings, east of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood.

The Israeli occupation army announced the injection of the 98th Division into the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, where the forces carried out a military operation in the east of Gaza City over the last day, while Israeli military aircraft conducted continuous airstrikes in conjunction with the occupation's ongoing artillery shelling.

The Zionist army also continues its targeting of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, using armored vehicles and Merkava tanks to shell citizen's homes, in conjunction with the bombing of Israeli fighter jets.

As the Israeli occupation forces advanced with tanks and armored vehicles into Al-Shujaiya, the Israeli air forces bombed ahead of their ground forces, causing several massacres.

Local medical sources in Gaza reported receiving the bodies of dozens of civilians who were killed, along with others who were wounded, in the bombardment of Al-Shujaiya after several raids of the neighborhood.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that its crews had responded to more than 30 wounded citizens, declaring the majority of victims to be women and children.

Another assault by Israeli drones and aircraft targeted residential buildings in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, also east of Gaza City, along with the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of the city, resulting in several casualties.

According to local civil defense and paramedic crews, the bodies of at least 7 Palestinians have been recovered since dawn in the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, while the decomposing bodies of four citizens were recovered from the Nabulsi area of the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, southwest of the city.

One citizen was also killed when a Zionist drone targeted a clinic in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

At the same time, the Israeli occupation forces launched attacks on the tents of displaced Palestinian families in the Rafah Governate, resulting large numbers of casualties.

According to Anadolu News Agency, at least 11 Palestinian civilians were killed, and more than 40 others wounded, after the Israeli warplanes bombed the tents of the displaced in the Al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli occupation's war crimes continued when a Zionist army drone bombed various locations near the Al-Shawka municipality, east of Rafah, killing two Palestinian citizens and wounding a number of others.

Simultaneously, Israeli soldiers fired live bullets towards a gathering of civilians on Al-Rashid Al-Sahili Street, west of the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians and wounding several others. The dead and wounded were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah.

North of Gaza, Zionist artillery detatchments shelled the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City, with no casualties reported in the strike.

Israeli fighter jets bombarded, at dawn today, residential homes in the central Gaza Strip, while also bombing civilian tents west of Rafah, killing 4 Palestinian citizens, include a woman and a child.

In another atrocity, Zionist warplanes bombed a residential house belonging to the Abu Qunais family during raids on Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, after which, local residents and civil defense crews managed to recover the bodies of three citizens, including a child, from under the rubble of their home.

Several Palestinians were also wounded after occupation artillery shelling pummeled the regional junction, southwest of the city of Khan Yunis, south of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli occupation aircraft bombed residential buildings in the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing four civilians and wounding at least 16 others who were taken to Al-Awda Hospital in Al-Nuseirat.

Further bombing by occupation fighter jets targeted the town of Al-Zawaida, in central Gaza, killing a number of Palestinians and wounding even more, while a young man was killed, and another wounded, after Zionist sniper fire targeted the men in the vicinity of Al-Alam roundabout, west of Rafah City.

IOF fighter jets also bombed a residential house in the vicinity of the Al-Baraka area in the city of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, leading to the deaths of two civilians, including one child, while two others were killed in a bombing of a house on Al-Bi'ah Street in the same city.

In yet another war crime, Israeli occupation forces directly targeted Civil Defense personnel in their workplace in the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing three employees and wounding a number of others.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the infinitely rising death toll stands at 37'765 Palestinians killed, including at least 10'000 women and over 15'000 children, while another 86'429 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

June 28th, 2024

(Death toll and figures for June 27th, 2024; No updated figures for death toll were provided on today's date.)

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[posttexasstressdisorder]

California News

Hundreds of Marines mobilizing to Los Angeles

by: Travis Schlepp

Posted: Jun 9, 2025 / 01:50 PM PDT

Updated: Jun 9, 2025 / 03:43 PM PDT

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Hundreds of U.S. Marines stationed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms are being mobilized to Los Angeles.

Approximately 700 Marines are being activated to respond to the Los Angeles area after anti-ICE protests grew violent Sunday night, as originally reported by CNN and later confirmed to KTLA.

A senior official told Nexstar’s NewsNation that 500 active-duty Marines would be deployed to L.A. to “help protect federal agents and buildings.”

A release by the Department of Defense issued after that initial report confirmed that the number of Marines being deployed was even higher, with as many as 700 being mobilized to help federal agents in L.A.

“U.S. Northern Command has activated the Marine infantry battalion that was placed in an alert status over the weekend,” the release from the U.S. Northern Command of the DoD reads. “2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”

CNN Pentagon correspondent Natasha Bertrand described the move as a “significant escalation of the president’s use of the military as a show of force against these protesters.”Thousands of demonstrators are seen outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. (KTLA)

Bertrand said it’s unclear what role the Marines will serve when they arrive in L.A.

“The rules of engagement, we are told, are still being finalized. The Department of Defense lawyers are looking at the kind of rules of engagement these Marines will have as they encounter protesters possibly on the streets of Los Angeles,” Bertrand said.

The decision to deploy Marines to L.A. comes as city and state leaders have repeatedly pushed back on the federal government exerting force and assuming administrative control over military operations in the city without consulting them.

Both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called the deployment of the National Guard into the city as an unnecessary escalation and an act of political theater.

Bass held a press conference Sunday night in which she blamed President Donal Trump for needlessly increasing tensions in the city, as demonstrators took to the street to protest immigration enforcement operations taking place at various locations in Los Angeles.

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Bass said in the Sunday press conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”

On Monday, Newsom’s Office filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking the return of command for the California National Guard back to the governor.

Also on Monday, Trump voiced his support for the California governor to be arrested, although on what charges were not immediately clear.

“I think his primary crime is running for governor, because he’s done such a bad job,” Trump told reporters Monday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

Commenting on the president’s decision to mobilize the Marines, Newsom wrote on social media:

“U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes. They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American.”

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

Pictured above: Brig. Gen. Anthony C. Mcauliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, gives his various glider pilots last-minute instructions in England before the take-off on September 17, 1944 for Operation market Garden.

Today marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. Its objective was to create a 64 mile salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine River), creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany.

In the end, Market Garden was one of the costliest Allied failures of WWII, but remains a remarkable feat of arms. This is not because of its strategic ambition, but because of the determination and courage shown by Allied airborne troops and the units that tried to reach them.

It did however, lead to the liberation of a large part of the Netherlands at a time when many Dutch people were close to starvation.

(Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force archives)