Train surfing through Mexico, dreaming of a new life in the US

from thefreeonline on 16th Oct0ber 2023 by Al Jazeera

The risky trip has become virtually the only option for refugees and migrants to reach the Mexico-US border.

Migrant people, mostly from Venezuela, remain stranded after the goods train they were travelling on to Ciudad Juarez — Train surfers are often injured or die in falls off the top of La Bestia, especially when they fall asleep after days of holding on. [Herika Martinez/AFP]

As soon as they arrived in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, a group of mostly Venezuelan refugees and migrants threw their belongings to the ground and slid off the top of a freight train, happy to be on solid ground.

Migrants from Venezuela crawl through a hole in the razor wire to cross into Eagle Pass, Texas — People from Venezuela crawl through a hole in razor wire to cross into Eagle Pass, Texas. [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]

The freight train, commonly known as La Bestia (the beast) had carried more than 1,000 “train surfers” on its roof on a 10-day journey through Mexico to the United States border.

It had not been an easy trip, in addition to having to spend days and nights balanced precariously on top of the moving train, the people had to avoid Mexican migration agencies that were trying to get them off the train, according to Daiverson Munoz, a 20-year-old from Venezuela.

A migrant family from Venezuela reacts after breaking through a razor wire barricade into the United States, — A man from Venezuela kneels in relief after breaking through the razor wire barricade into the US. [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]

“And we’re stuck in the middle of the desert. But it’s nothing, we’re here and we feel super happy because we’re about to realise our dream. It’s been hard but not impossible.

Migrant people, mostly from Venezuela, remain stranded after the goods train they were travelling on to Ciudad Juarez stopped in the desert — People, mostly from Venezuela, ride atop a cargo train which has stopped in the desert in Ahumada, Chihuahua, Mexico, while some pick up the trash [Herika Martinez/AFP]

NOTE. The US has total responsibility that Venezuelans are immigrating illegally. For the last decades Venezuela has been and continues under a blockade, extreme sanctions, money seizures and embargoes, two attempted US coups and starvation tactics by the United States in a blatant attempt to seize the country’s oil reserves and destroy the socialist revolution. thefreeonline

“The hardest part was seeing how many people were injured” during the journey, said Munoz, a law student in his native country.

Migrant people, mostly from Venezuela, travel on the wagons of a goods train to Ciudad Juarez, — People balance precariously on top of La Bestia, a cargo train, to Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. [Herika Martinez/AFP]

Jeffri Gomez, a 24-year-old Venezuelan woman who was travelling with her husband and their one-year-old child, was relieved to have come to the end of the journey that had been filled with peril.

Migrant people, mostly from Venezuela, remain stranded after the goods train — US President Joe Biden’s administration is under pressure to reduce a recent swell of arrivals at the country’s southern border as local officials warn their resources may soon reach ‘breaking point’. [Herika Martinez/AFP]

The train had started out about 1,800km (1,120 miles) to the south in the State of Mexico, and many of the train surfers had been injured along the way.

The final 370km (230 miles) of the trip took 17 hours due to the number of stops, Munoz said.

UK’s tame Pheasant Shooting War happening NOW. And a year-round Massacre makes it Possible

Class politics is nowhere more visible than in the protected slaughter of game, with disastrous effects on the countryside.

./from thefreeonline on 15th Oct 2023 George Monbiot at Monbiot.Com/

It’s one of the bluntest expressions of class power in the United Kingdom. Like all expressions of class power, it has become normalised until we treat it as a fixed fact of national life.

I’m talking about the bronze plague that spreads over the British lowlands every year, wiping out much of our wildlife: pheasants.

The pheasant shooting season has begun, appropriately coinciding with the Conservative party conference. Killing them requires no physical exertion and a limited skillset, as the birds are driven over the heads of the shooters by people hired to flush them out of the woods.

The men (almost all are) with the guns spray shot at the low-flying birds, killing some, wounding some, missing others. One estimate suggests that between 30% and 40% of all the pheasants shot are wounded and not recovered, dying slowly in the woods.

As always with politically protected activities, there’s a dearth of reliable data. The government agency, Natural England, estimates that between 39 and 57m pheasants and 8 to 13m red-legged partridges are released in the UK every year.

This means that, at the time of their release in August, there is as great a weight of these non-native birds at large in Britain as of all wild birds put together.

Pheasants and red-legged partridges hoover up everything from flower seeds, fungi and insects to lizards and baby snakes, frogs and baby birds, radically altering the ecology of the countryside.

An extraordinary pre-slaughter takes place year-round, to prepare for the great massacre that begins on 1 October.

Foxes are snared or shot in their tens of thousands, members of the crow family are relentlessly persecuted, weasels and stoats (among our most fascinating and least-appreciated mammals) are trapped and killed in unknown numbers – and these are just the legal assaults on nature.

Turkey slams Israeli Blitz of Gaza while Bombing civilians, and Ethnic Cleansing in Syria with 100% Impunity

from thefreeonline on 15th =ct 2023 by Turkish Minute

Critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have accused him of hypocrisy for harshly criticizing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after Hamas attacked Israel, pointing to the civilian casualties caused by his government’s airstrikes on Kurds in Syria.

And the State Dept spox refuses to condemn the Turkish airstrikes that have hit 180+ civilian sites in NE Syria, wiping out power, water, and fuelling stations.

So why would NATO member Turkey stop bombing civilians in the areas it plans to occupy next? pic.twitter.com/2m7BdtTzu0
— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) October 10, 2023

On Saturday Hamas fighters carried out an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel, launching thousands of rockets from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza and crossing the border with hundreds of militants.

This morning, a UAV targeted the refugee camp #Mexmûr, leaving 50-year-old women Ayşe Muhammed Ahmed wounded. People came together on the spot & later held a protest in front of the local hospital, criticizing the

@UN

for not protecting the camp, as it is their responsibility.

We invite the world to have a close look on who #Erdogan is attacking

This is a war against civilians, a war against a people!

The Islamist group killed more than 1,100 Israelis and more than a hundred people, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding Gaza.

“Water is not being provided to Gaza. There is no electricity, it’s not being given. We don’t know the situation of the hospitals, whether they can operate or not. Unfortunately, places of worship, hospitals and schools, all are being ruthlessly struck; while these things happen, the world is silent. No one is saying anything. What about human rights?” Erdoğan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

Erdoğan’s tweet drew the ire of many, who branded his plea for preventing civilian suffering as hypocritical, highlighting the Turkish government’s airstrikes targeting Kurdish settlements in northern Syria.

Today, thousands across North & East #Syria attended the funeral ceremonies for the martyrs who lost their life in Turkish bombings

➡️ In #Haseke the people bid farewell to members of the Internal Security Forces whose academy got targeted by a Turkish airstrike#Rojava #Turkey pic.twitter.com/g0drYVH3Yv
— YPJ Information (@YPJ_Info) October 11, 2023

The official X handle of the pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP) quoted Erdoğan’s tweet and said, “A large portion of Northern and Eastern Syria is unable to receive water and electricity, multiple hospitals have been bombed and rendered unusable. Agricultural areas have been bombed, and those responsible have openly admitted to committing this war crime!”

Invasion beginning- Israeli air raids smash Gaza as Palestinians seek safety – 320 more killed -Al Jazeera Live Blog

Al Jazeera Live updates here.. BREAKING

from https://wp.me/pIJl9-yZW on October 14th 2023 by Mersiha Gadzo, Usaid Siddiqui, Joseph Stepansky and Ted Regencia at Al Jazeera

Gaza’s terrified children all too aware Israel’s bombs steal their joy About 500 children have been killed by Israeli air attacks – one-third of Palestinian fatalities so far in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians search for casualties under the rubble in the aftermath of Israeli strikes

BREAKING.. Israel announces 6-hour evacuation window for move to south Gaza BREAKING.. Dozens killed in Israeli raids as they were fleeing from northern Gaza BREAKING.. UN chief calls Israel to rescind evacuation order before ground push

By Mersiha Gadzo, Usaid Siddiqui, Joseph Stepansky and Ted Regencia

More than 320 Palestinians have been killed in past 24 hours, including many women and children killed in Israeli air raids on convoys fleeing Gaza City, according to health officials in besieged enclave.

The rising toll comes as Israel continues bombing Gaza a day after telling 1.1 million residents to head south ahead of a looming ground offensive following Hamas’s attack inside Israel last week.
Dozens killed while fleeing Gaza homes as Israel conducts ground raidsSome Palestinians say they have decided to stay in their homes as there is nowhere safe they can escape to.

At least 2,215 Palestinians were killed and 8,714 wounded in Israeli air attacks on Gaza. The number of people killed in Israel has reached 1,300, with more than 3,400 wounded.

In the occupied West Bank, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past week has topped 50. More than 1,000 have been wounded and dozens arrested.
‘Nowhere safe to go’: Confusion, fear after Israel’s warning to evacuate.. Gaza residents say they are unable to leave following Israel’s call to move south ahead of a threatened ground invasion.

‘Nowhere safe to go’:

Dozens killed while fleeing Gaza homes as Israel conducts ground raids. Some Palestinians say they have decided to stay in their homes as there is nowhere safe they can escape to
Gaza’s terrified children all too aware Israel’s bombs steal their joy About 500 children have been killed by Israeli air attacks – one-third of Palestinian fatalities in the Gaza Strip.

When a family dies under Israel’s bombs, part of Gaza’s history disappears.. Palestinian Ministry of Health reports at least 20 families have been killed, and entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins.
At least 16 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank.. Death toll rises to 51 in the occupied West Bank since Hamas launched attack on Israel on October 7.

Israeli air raids kill 2,215 Palestinians: Ministry.. The health ministry in the Gaza Strip has updated the death toll in Israel’s bombardment.At least 2,215 Palestinians, including 724 children, have been killed and 8,714 others wounded.

Ambulances targeted as they evacuated injured in Gaza: AJ correspondent

Palestinians with their belongings leave Gaza City as they flee from their homes following the Israeli army’s warning [Mahmud Hams/AFP]
Attacks intentionally targeting journalists, as civilians, constitute war crimes. The Al Jazeera Media Network said it holds Israel legally and morally responsible for the attack

.Civil Defense workers remove the dead body of a journalist killed by Israeli shelling, at Alma al-Shaab border village with Israel, south Lebanon on Friday