Thousands march through Washington D.C. in protest of Donald Trump’s use of federal agents and the National Guardsmen to conduct policing actions throughout the city. August 16, 2025 (Photo by Dominic Gwinn / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“We’ve got the FBI patrolling the streets.” said one protester. “We’ve got National Guard set up as a show of force. What’s scarier is if we allow this.”
Residents of Washington, DC over the weekend demonstrated against US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in their city.
As reported by NBC Washington, demonstrators gathered on Saturday at DuPont Circle and then marched to the White House to direct their anger at Trump for sending the National Guard to Washington DC, and for his efforts to take over the Metropolitan Police Department.
In an interview with NBC Washington, one protester said that it was important for the administration to see that residents weren’t intimidated by the presence of military personnel roaming their streets.
“I know a lot of people are scared,” the protester said. “We’ve got the FBI patrolling the streets. We’ve got National Guard set up as a show of force. What’s scarier is if we allow this.”
Saturday protests against the presence of the National Guard are expected to be a weekly occurrence, organizers told NBC Washington.
Hours after the march to the White House, other demonstrators began to gather at Union Station to protest the presence of the National Guard units there. Audio obtained by freelance journalist Andrew Leyden reveals that the National Guard decided to move their forces out of the area in reaction to what dispatchers called “growing demonstrations.”
Even residents who didn’t take part in formal demonstrations over the weekend managed to express their displeasure with the National Guard patrolling the city. According to The Washington Post, locals who spent a night on the town in the U Street neighborhood on Friday night made their unhappiness with law enforcement in the city very well known.
“At the sight of local and federal law enforcement throughout the night, people pooled on the sidewalk—watching, filming, booing,” wrote the Post. “Such interactions played out again and again as the night drew on. Onlookers heckled the police as they did their job and applauded as officers left.”
Trump last week ordered the National Guard into Washington, DC and tried to take control the Metropolitan Police, purportedly in order to reduce crime in the city. Statistics released earlier this year, however, showed a significant drop in crime in the nation’s capital.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Donald Trump urges you to be a Climate Science denier like him. He says that he makes millions and millions for destroying the planet, Burn, Baby, Burn and Flood, Baby, Flood.
The UK Labour Party is obsessively focusing on a tiny fraction of small boats carrying migrants arriving from France, which stands in stark contrast to its sluggish responses to other far more urgent crises. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
Though small-boat crossings account for a tiny and shrinking share of UK immigration, the Labour Party has made them a central issue, all the while ignoring deeper crises like the slow erosion of the country’s National Health Service.
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[B]ehind these political sound bites lies a profound human tragedy. These are desperate people fleeing war, persecution, and unimaginable hardship, seeking safety and dignity. Policies aimed solely at deterrence, and the toxic media narratives that sustain them, reduce human lives to nothing more than political bargaining chips. This relentless framing not only dehumanizes asylum seekers but also turns their suffering into political ammunition, eroding public sympathy.
Perhaps most disappointing of all is Labour’s obsessive focus on small boats, which stands in stark contrast to its sluggish, half-hearted responses to other far more urgent crises. The country’s National Health System’s waiting lists have hit record highs while Starmer has prioritized his anti-migrant campaign; over seven million people, 10 percent of the country’s total population, are stuck in long waits for vital treatment. Homelessness has surged by 20 percent in the past year alone, leaving thousands without shelter or hope. In this context, the government’s fixation on a relatively small migration issue is not just misguided — it’s a deliberate distraction from the nation’s real challenges.
Labour must break free from this cycle of fear-mongering. It’s time to lead with courage, compassion, and above all, truth. Only by rejecting division and embracing evidence-based, humane policies can the UK protect vulnerable lives and restore integrity to its immigration debate.
Diane Abbott is the the longest-serving female MP but lost the Labour whip in 2023 and again in July this year for her comments on racism. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA Archive
Exclusive: Contenders teed up for future contest, which MP says seems ‘to pre-empt results of investigation’
Moves to find a successor to Diane Abbott in the parliamentary seat she has represented since 1987 are under way, prompting concern that her fate has been decided before an investigation into her latest suspension has concluded.
Figures on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) have spoken to potential contenders, teeing them up for a future contest in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and giving them informal advice on how to prepare, according to a party source.
Abbott was suspended from the party in July for repeating that Jewish people do not experience racism in the same way as Black people[*1], a statement that had earned her a previous suspension in April 2023.
Labour said there would be no discussion of potential successor as an investigation was ongoing. The party said there had been no discussions about alternative candidates at any NEC meetings and no proposals put to NEC members about a selection process.
Abbott said: “It does seem to be rather pre-empting the results of the investigation.”
*1 I suggest that it shouldn’t be reduced to “Jewish people do not experience racism in the same way as Black people.” While that is how it’s perceived and dealt with by the Zionist Labour party, it’s more about there being different forms and consequent experiences of racism and not addressing Jewish people specifically.
“Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know.
“I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. I don’t know why people would say that.”
RMT demands Labour deliver on its promise to start the ‘biggest wave of insourcing in a generation’
RAIL union RMT held a mass meeting in Manchester today as part of its national campaign to end outsourcing on Britain’s railways.
The meeting heard from RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey, regional organiser Steve Shaw, Salford Labour MP Rebecca Long Bailey and North West TUC secretary Jay McKenna.
In a recent report, the union warned that despite government plans to bring rail franchises in-house and create the new publicly owned body Great British Railways, a “hidden layer” of contractors continues to profit from the exploitation of thousands of workers.
The report warned that such companies make their profits by keeping workers on low-paid, inferior or casual contracts, leaving them struggling to get by.
RMT argues that all rail jobs, from cleaning to catering, engineering to station services, should be brought back in-house to reverse decades of outsourcing that have driven down pay, eroded conditions and undermined safety.
The union is also pressing the Labour government to honour its pledge to deliver the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation.
Mr Dempsey said: “Outsourcing on our railways is a racket.
“Private firms are cashing in while cleaners, security staff and track workers, among others, are left struggling, often on low pay, insecure contracts and unsafe conditions.
“We have overworked cleaners, for example, working while sick, as companies like Churchill hand millions to shareholders.
“It’s totally indefensible and a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Cuban President Fidel Castro. Photo: Cuba Sí
On the 99th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s birth, we remember the revolutionary government’s support for Palestine, especially its condemnation of the genocide of the Palestinian people.
In a famous speech, Fidel Castro, the supreme leader of the Cuban Revolution, stated that medical, civil, and military support for the Angolan people was provided without expectation of any material reward. He pointed out that this way of thinking exposes an imperialist ideology, according to which one country supports another, always expecting to benefit materially in some way. “Revolutionaries expect nothing, which means that revolutionaries must devote themselves totally to a cause, to their ideas, to their noble goals, without expecting anything in return.”
This was the same principle that Fidel applied in supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle almost from the beginning of the revolutionary process he led since 1959. It is no coincidence that one of the most renowned Palestinian leaders, Yasser Arafat, visited the Caribbean Island eight times, on the personal invitation of Castro.
On October 12, 1979, at the United Nations Assembly, Fidel denounced before the world Israel’s process of territorial expansion, supported by the United States, at the expense of Palestinian territory. “The basis for a just peace in the region begins with Israel’s total and unconditional withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and for the Palestinian people, the return of all their occupied territories and the restoration of their inalienable national rights, including the right of return to their homeland, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state in Palestine, following General Assembly Resolution 3236,” Fidel said.
Castro acknowledged that this expansion was achieved through the killing of Palestinians, thus becoming one of the first world leaders to speak of “genocide” against the Palestinian people: “We repudiate with all our strength the ruthless persecution and genocide that Nazism unleashed against the Jewish people in its time. But I can think of nothing more similar in our contemporary history than the eviction, persecution, and genocide that imperialism and Zionism are carrying out today against the Palestinian people. Stripped of their lands, expelled from their homeland, scattered throughout the world, persecuted and murdered, the heroic Palestinians are an impressive example of self-sacrifice and patriotism, and they are the living symbol of the greatest crime of our time.”
Fidel also recognized that there are geopolitical interests that do not want peace to be established in the Middle East: “Can anyone be surprised that the Conference (of the Non-Aligned Movement) was forced, for reasons that do not stem from any political prejudice but from an objective analysis of the facts, to point out that US policy plays a fundamental role in preventing the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region, by aligning itself with Israel, supporting it, and working to obtain partial solutions favorable to Zionist objectives and guaranteeing the fruits of Israeli aggression at the expense of the Arab people of Palestine and the entire Arab nation?”
“More than just rhetorical support, it was tangible support”
As historians point out, Fidel’s support for Palestine was not purely rhetorical, but also diplomatic. In 1974, Arafat arrived in Cuba and was received with the honors of a head of state, even though Palestine was not yet “officially” recognized as a state. Fidel’s message was clear: Palestine should be recognized by the international community as a state, and Arafat as its leader. In addition, Arafat was awarded the Playa Girón National Order, Cuba’s highest recognition for citizens “who have excelled in the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, and neo-colonialism, or who have done great deeds for peace and progress of mankind”.
The relationship between Cuban revolutionaries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) dates to the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. In 1959, Raúl Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara traveled to the Gaza Strip, disobeying the doctrine of hemispheric alignment whereby all Latin American countries, except for Cuba, supported Israel.
Thus, in 1964, thanks to Che Guevara’s tremendous efforts, Cuba recognized the PLO as soon as it was founded, becoming one of the first countries to do so. But its support went beyond official documents, according to Mansour Tahboub, former acting director of the Arafat Foundation: “Cuba has always been a strong supporter of Palestinians in all realms: political, military, vocational training. The Cubans trained Palestinian cadres, and Fidel himself was a staunch advocate of the Palestinian quest for freedom and independence.”
The truth is that one of the core principles of Castro’s administration was to support anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist struggles, wherever they took place. In a 1977 interview with French Weekly, Fidel stated: “The Palestinian movements have shown their ability to resist imperialist … aggression … [The Palestinian cause] will prevail sooner or later despite the betrayal by Arab reactionaries, imperialist maneuvers and Israeli aggression.”
That is why Cuba, along with Nicaragua, were the only two Latin American countries to condemn Israel’s actions after the Six-Day War. In 1973, Cuba severed diplomatic relations with Israel following the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Algeria.
According to Abdel Majeed Sweilim, professor of political science at Al Quds University, the PLO also benefited from the relationship between Cubans and Palestinians, thanks to the political training of Palestinians on Cuban soil.
Today, despite the economic blockade imposed by the United States, which causes a perpetual economic crisis on the Caribbean Island, the Cuban government has reserved funding in the form of academic scholarships so that each year, 150 Palestinians can study medicine, engineering, and other professions at Cuban universities.
In his final years, Fidel continued to support the Palestinian cause. Thus, after resigning from his political posts, Castro signed an international manifesto in support of Palestine in 2014, which demanded Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, as well as respect for the resolutions passed by the United Nations regarding the conflict.
Arafat’s recognition of Cuban support
These and other measures have led countless Palestinians to see the revolutionary government of Cuba as an unwavering ally. Arafat himself acknowledged this when he stated: “I consider, Your Excellency President Fidel Castro, this demonstration of firmness and unwavering friendship that has taken place in Havana, as a strong and effective message from a beloved world leader who enjoys great international prestige among all the peoples and countries of the world, to mobilize them quickly to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Israeli occupation of their homeland, and the intensification of military, economic, and financial actions and blockades against our cities, villages, towns, farms, and water wells, and the closure of international border crossings by land, air, and water.”
In addition, the historic leader of the PLO said: “Every Palestinian today holds in their heart and conscience this glorious image of Your Excellency with the Palestinian hatta on your shoulders, which is irrefutable evidence of the justice of our cause and the magnitude of the injustice committed by the Israeli aggressors against our people. Have full confidence, Your Excellency President Castro, so beloved by our people and by all peoples, that our people, as resilient as the Palestinian mountains, take from your position and example, which makes us proud, more courage and determination to continue the struggle, the resistance, and the Intifada to remove the Israeli occupiers from our country, Palestine.”
In this way, Cuba continues to unreservedly support the demands for sovereignty, self-determination, and peace made by the Palestinian people in the face of the previous and most recent attacks by the Israeli government on their territory. This support, since 1959, is not given with the expectation of anything in return, but because of the anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist principles that guide the Cuban Revolution and that Fidel helped to establish as principles of the Cuban state itself.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
RMT members in Manchester, August 14, 2025
