Daily Digest: AG Brown says it's fascism, crash raises questions about 787, & First Nations street name in Vancouver
Good morning! Here's the latest news from and impacting Cascadia (there's a lot!). If you missed it, be sure to read my latest essay, In Favor of Civil Disobedience. Hope to see some of you out in Cal Anderson Park in Seattle tomorrow. Stay safe, everyone.
ICE protests in Cascadia, as WA attorney general says Trump's actions look like fascism
One day after California Senator Alex Padilla was tackled and handcuffed by federal security agents at a Homeland Security briefing and a federal court ruled that Trump's deployment of the National Guard in California was illegal, small-scale protests against ICE continued in Cascadia. OPB reports that 10 people were arrested in Portland overnight during protests at the ICE facility there. The Portland Mercury reports on protests at the facility this week and the Portland Police Bureau's involvement, which challenges the limits of Oregon's sanctuary laws. RANGE Media has a fantastic, detailed report on what went down with protests against ICE in Spokane. And the Stranger has a great interview with Washington attorney Nick Brown and his legal challenges to the Trump administration, who told editor Marcus Harrison Green:
I don’t know how anyone can look at the last five months and not start to see fascism.
Rep Adam Smith on Israel attack on Iran
Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, killing top military leaders and striking nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a statement, concluding, "any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency." Rep Adam Smith of Seattle, a ranking member of the Armed Services committee, said in a statement,
"both sides to do what they can to prevent further escalation of violence."
Air India crash raises questions about Boeing 787
The crash of an Air India flight shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, India that killed all but one of the 242 passengers, is raising questions about the Boeing 787, which has a troubled history. The Seattle Times last year reported on a whistleblower engineer who raised questions about tiny gaps in the plane's fuselage, though Boeing denies this. Another former engineer testified before Congress last year that Boeing hid safety issues from inspectors. And a damning report on Al Jazeera from 2014 found that at the South Carolina Boeing plant where the planes are assembled many employees said they wouldn't fly on the 787.
Trump abandons Columbia River deal
Washington State Standard reports that the Trump administration has withdrawn from a historic 2023 deal between the feds, tribes, states, and environmental groups to restore salmon runs on the Columbia River, which is impeded by federal dams. The announcement wipes out five years of negotiations and clearly demonstrates that Cascadia could much better manage its land, water, and ecology as an independent bioregion free from the United States.
Vancouver street is now "šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm"
Daily Hive reports that the Vancouver on June 17 will rename Trutch street – which honored a racist colonial lieutenant governor of the province – to "šxʷməθkʷəyə̓masəm" which means "Musqueam view" and is the first legal Vancouver street name in the hənq̓ə̓minə̓m̓ language spoken by the Musqueam First Nation. I've written previously at Cascadia Journal about how Cascadia could move forward on replacing many place names with colonist origins. The Musqueam First Nation has a very cool interactive map with an array of hənq̓ə̓minə̓m̓ place names in greater Vancouver. If you're wondering how to pronounce the new street name, here you go:
--Andrew Engelson
