WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement officials on Sunday removed a peace vigil that had stood outside the White House for more than four decades after President Donald Trump ordered it to be taken down as part of the clearing of homeless encampments in the nation’s capital.
Philipos Melaku-Bello, a volunteer who has manned the vigil for years, told The Associated Press that the Park Police removed it early Sunday morning. He said officials justified the removal by mislabeling the memorial as a shelter.
Philipos Melaku-Bello gestures the peace sign at the White House Peace Vigil in Lafayatte Park across the street from the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
“The difference between an encampment and a vigil is that an encampment is where homeless people live,” Melaku-Bello said. “As you can see, I don’t have a bed. I have signs and it is covered by the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”
The White House confirmed the removal, telling AP in a statement that the vigil was a “hazard to those visiting the White House and the surrounding areas.” (snip)
The vigil was started in 1981 by activist William Thomas to promote nuclear disarmament and an end to global conflicts. It is believed to be the longest continuous anti-war protest in U.S. history. When Thomas died in 2009, other protesters like Melaku-Bello manned the tiny tent and the banner, which read “Live by the bomb, die by the bomb,” around the clock to avoid it being dismantled by authorities. (snip-MORE)
Because my brain needs this & I’ve not seen it before in life, plus the only other thing on is football, & just no on that, for me. I hope everyone enjoys their evening pursuing whatever you pursue!
Tonight on MeTV- we kick off September with a film we haven’t run in a while-the final part of the Universal Gill Man trilogy! This conclusion to the saga of the strange amphibian missing link takes him several steps further up the evolutionary scale- as the aquatic terror unwillingly becomes an air-breathing denizen, dwelling on land, in “The Creature Walks Among Us”!
The story starts with us sharing a car ride with a wealthy couple -Dr. William Barton and his lovely wife Marcia. They’re headed to the docks to meet up, aboard their boat, with an expedition team they’ve assembled. It seems Barton has heard tales of the legendary Gill Man having survived his supposed demise down in the Everglades- and put together this team to see if the Creature is indeed alive- and if it can be captured! Among his crew- geneticist Tom Morgan, a couple biologists, and an arrogant young guide named Jed ( no, not Clampett). They set out to track down the Gill Man, but onboard tensions are already rising- Mrs. Barton is unhappy with her abusive and somewhat maniacal husband- and is having to combat the unwanted advances of Jed. That, along with some fundamental disagreements on the reason for capturing the Creature, creates an uneasy atmosphere that can – and will- only get worse! (snip-MORE)
The radical urbanist media loves to throw around baseless accusations like “rampage.” “Godzilla rampages,” “cities destroyed in rampage,” and “world in the grip of rampagism.” The word has lost all meaning by this point. And it’s not even fair because the lawful, beautiful actions that I undertook around the globe against the likes of Tokyo or New York were anything but a rampage. It was a precise enforcement of the law meant to keep everyone safe.
I have nothing against cities. There are plenty of good, honest cities out there just trying to get on with their lives. I’ve known some really great cities in my time. But when a city shows up without papers, without proper authorization, just popping up out of the blue instead of doing things legally, the right way, I have no choice but to act swiftly and decisively. These are really bad ciudades we’re dealing with here. You see an innocent skyline; I see a potential security threat. Those towers can be signaling enemy kaiju. Those electric lights may be sending signals into space meant for alien invaders. You don’t know. I’m not willing to take that risk.
Critics always focus on the wrong things and don’t give you the full story, like how I “leveled all of Sydney.” Yes, I did. What you won’t hear is how the city was defiantly inviting lethal threats like a moth the size of a jumbo jet and a giant Marxist lobster (you can tell by its red color) by just existing out there in the open. If destroying the city is what it takes to protect my domain from future attacks and the disastrous open-border policy of my weak-on-crime predecessor, then you better believe that that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Because let’s not forget that, as King of the Monsters, all the oceans are within my jurisdiction, INCLUDING up to fifty miles inland from any shore. I have the right to stomp any downtown into dust, and it’s all legal. It’s not trespassing, it’s not chaos, and it’s definitely not a “rampage.” It’s affirming my sovereignty in the interest of national security to protect law-abiding cities. If you’re here legally, have all the proper paperwork, and have never harbored a three-headed alien dragon, your skyscrapers have nothing to worry about. (snip-a bit MORE)
Scottie's Playtime 