Category: History
Peace & Justice History for 2/25
| February 25, 1941 A general strike was called in Amsterdam to protest Nazi persecution of Jews under the German Nazi occupation. The previous weekend 425 Jewish men and boys had been imprisoned (only two survived the war). Truck drivers, dock and metal workers, civil servants and factory employees — Christians, Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists — answered the call and brought the city to a standstill. The work stoppages spread to Zaanstreek, Kennemerland and Utrecht. Two days later the strike was called off: nine people were dead, 50 injured and another 200 arrested, some of whom were to die in the concentration camps.  “The Dokwerker” is a statue by sculptor Mari Andriessen in Amsterdam’s Jonas Daniel Meyer Square commemorating the February 1941 strike. It is frequently the rallying point for demonstrations against racism. Read more (pdf) |
| February 25, 1968 Discussing the war capacity of North Vietnam, a country that had been fighting for its independence for 23 years and had just staged the massive, successful Tet Offensive, U.S. General William C. Westmoreland stated, “I do not believe Hanoi can hold up under a long war.” He was replaced as commander in Vietnam less than four months later.  Vietnam commander General William Westmoreland meeting with President Lyndon Johnson Westmoreland’s life and career (It’s NYT’s obit.) |
| February 25, 1971 Legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress to forbid U.S. military support of any South Vietnamese invasion of North Vietnam without prior congressional approval. This bill was a result of the controversy that arose following the invasion of Laos by South Vietnamese forces. On February 8, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam had launched a major cross-border operation into Laos to interdict activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, named for the leader of North Vietnam, was an informal network of jungle trails down which supplies came from the north, supplying insurgents and troops in the south. |
| February 25, 1986 The newly elected Philippine president, Corazón Aquino, was sworn in, bringing to an end years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. In the face of massive demonstrations against his rule, President Ferdinand Marcos and his entourage had been airlifted from the presidential palace in Manila by U.S. helicopters. |
| February 25, 2011 A Day of Rage saw demonstrations across the Middle East. Protesters in Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, and Bahrain showed their support variously for an end to corruption and income inequality, political reform and better public services, and the replacement of long-running dictatorships with democratic regimes.  Day of Rage in Taiz, Yemen Reports from throughout the region |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february25
Peace & Justice History for 2/23
February 23, 1982 Wales declared itself a nuclear weapons-free zone. Its last nuclear power plant, Wylfa at Anglesey with two reactors, was shut down completely in 2015. Nuclear-free zones |
| February 23, 2011 Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, fell to rebels after three days of violent clashes with the forces of brutal dictator Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. “He is gone. A dragon has been slain,” cried Ahmed Al-Fatuuir outside the secret police headquarters. “Now he has to explain where all the bodies are.“  Graffiti showing a caricature of Gaddafi reading, ‘The Monkey of Monkeys of Africa’, a reference to his self-declared title ‘The King of Kings of Africa’. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february23
This is how the new US works. How long will we remain a world power?
Sharing The Gospel With Men In Dresses
WE WERE CHILDREN | Full Documentary | National Film Board of Canada
I got up because I couldn’t sleep. But YouTube in their wisdom of algorithms had this in my feed. I watched it. At one point the man Glen talks of how it stays with you. It does. Always. Now I will try to work. Hugs
Ripped from their families at a young age, two survivors reveal the harrowing truth of Canada’s residential school system.
As young children, Lyna and Glen were taken from their homes and placed in church-run boarding schools. The trauma of this experience was made worse by years of untold physical, sexual and emotional abuse, the effects of which persist in their adult lives. In this emotional film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed unflinchingly through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years. We Were Children gives voice to a national tragedy and demonstrates the incredible resilience of the human spirit.
Directed by Tim Wolochatiuk and written by Jason Sherman, We Were Children is produced by Kyle Irving for Eagle Vision Inc. and David Christensen for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Warning: this film contains disturbing content and is recommended for audiences 16 years of age and older. Parental discretion, and/or watching this film within a group setting, is strongly advised. If you need counselling support, please contact Health Canada.
Peace & Justice History for 2/22
| February 22, 1943 Sophie Scholl, a 22-year-old White Rose (Weisse Rose) activist at Munich University, was executed after being convicted of urging students to rise up and overthrow the Nazi government.  There are many memorials in Bavaria and Germany to Sophie and her group, the White Rose, but little is known outside of Germany. They were medical students who organized nonviolent resistance to Hitler, and were arrested for printing and distributing anti-Nazi flyers. Sophie, her brother Hans, a former member of Hitler Youth who started White Rose, and Christof Probst, the three young people in the photo, were executed. Few White Rose members survived the war which is why the story is not well known.  Film made about Sophie Scholl’s courage & watch the trailer Traute Lafrenz, Last Survivor Of Anti-Nazi Resistance Group, Dead At 103 |
| February 22, 1967 Indonesian President Sukarno (born Kusno Sosrodihardjo) surrendered all executive authority to military chief-of-staff General Suharto, remaining president in title only. Sukarno had begun the movement for Indonesian independence from Dutch colonial control in 1927. They were supplanted by the Japanese during World War II, but independence was realized following Japan’s defeat. Sukarno was elected president but had declared himself president for life in 1963. Following a failed communist-led coup within the military, Suharto launched a purge of Indonesian communists that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. In 1967 he assumed full power, and in 1968 was elected president and remained in power for 32 years. He was also responsible for Indonesia’s 1975 invasion of East Timor, which left an estimated 100,000 Timorese dead from famine, disease and warfare. See The Year of Living Dangerously for an excellent dramatic re-creation of the time.(trailer) More on Suharto And more on Sukarno |
| February 22, 1974 Farmer Sam Lovejoy toppled the weather tower for a proposed nuclear power plant in Montague, Massachusetts. This was the first act of civil disobedience against the dangers of nuclear power in the U.S. Lovejoy turned himself in to the police, was tried but not convicted.  Sam Lovejoy The full story of Sam Lovejoy’s action Ballad of Sam Lovejoy by Rob Skelton |
| February 22, 1997 Nearly 35,000 marched in Paris against a new anti-immigration bill. Many of the demonstrators chanted “First, second or third generation, we are all children of immigrants.” Another 5,000 movie directors, writers, painters, actors, translators, journalists and teachers signed petitions pledging civil disobedience. |
https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryfebruary.htm#february22
I know it is too late to change the vote, but we can make their vote hang on them and drag them down. They depend on us forgetting what they did.
Thank you Ten Bears for posting this video. I wish more people could have seen it and stuff like it … before the vote. Hugs
I am in southern Florida and I am so tired of these deep temperature drops. If I wanted to live in cold I would have kept my home in New England. Thank you Ten Bears for the post
The Art of The Deal
Trump, The Great Negotiator, sells out Ukraine – and the UK’s favourite grifter is behind him every step of the way.
Scottie's Playtime 