Four from Humboldt Set Sail on Largest Civilian Flotilla in History Bound for Gaza
Photo provided by Sacha Marini, who is on the+ Global Sumud Flotilla.
Another Global Sumud Flotilla has set sail for the waters of Palestine, and Humboldt County is represented among its crew. Four locals are among the 3000 participants with the flotilla, compared to the 500 or so volunteers aboard last Fall. Joining the largest civilian flotilla in history, Windfield Beaver is on his second mission with the group, but this time he has back-up. Sailing alongside Windfield Beaver, who was detained by Israeli military forces during last fall’s flotilla mission, is his brother Silas Beaver. Also hailing from Humboldt County are Sacha Marini, and Greg Terry.
Sacha Marini left behind a 17-year career in Humboldt County doing what she describes as fighting for human rights in the criminal justice system. Marini joined a flotilla of over 70 vessels – the largest civilian maritime mission in history – setting sail for the coast of Gaza.
Marini, originally from Santa Barbara, is one of four Humboldt County locals sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) as it departs from the port of Siracusa, Sicily this morning, Saturday April 25.
[Photo provided by Sacha Marini]
What is The Goal?
“Sumud” is an Arabic word meaning steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience in the face of oppression. The flotilla takes its name from that principle. The Global Sumud Flotilla website describes the mission as a response to “a direct call from Palestinians in Gaza,” with goals that go beyond delivering small boatloads of humanitarian aid. The focus of each vessel – over 70 of them – is to “establish a sustained civilian maritime corridor, support reconstruction” and confront what organizers call “international complicity” in Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The spring 2026 flotilla is double the size of the fall 2025 mission that saw Windfield Beaver and hundreds of other activists detained by Israeli naval forces. According to the Global Sumud Flotilla website, delegations from 39 countries have committed vessels, with Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise and the humanitarian vessel Open Arms sailing alongside the civilian fleet. A parallel Global Sumud Parliamentary Congress is convening simultaneously in Brussels, bringing together parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society groups from around the world.
Zuzka Sabata, a friend in Humboldt County supporting Marini’s participation, explained that there are misconceptions about what the flotilla is, and what it is aiming to accomplish. She explained by phone that the purpose is “to physically open a maritime corridor to Gaza – to break the blockade that Israel has been holding – so that aid can get there.” She added, “It’s about taking direct action to open a maritime route where civilian institutions can provide sustained support.”
[Photo provided by Sacha Marini]
One criticism of the flotilla is that the volunteers and activists aboard – which include doctors, press, legal experts and military veterans – are seeking social media accolades rather than genuinely seeking to help the people of Gaza. However, GSF states , “The Global Sumud Flotilla does not exist as a humanitarian gesture, a symbolic protest or a moral spectacle.” They further say, “The mission exists as a citizens’ direct-action political intervention to an ongoing system of colonial violence, siege and collective punishment against the Palestinian people.”
Boats carrying humanitarian supplies – including food, baby formula, medicine, and school supplies, according to the GSF – have already departed from Barcelona, with a coordinated mobilization across Italian ports including Siracusa, where the U.S. delegation will launch Saturday. Flotilla vessels can be tracked in real time at flotillatracker.com.
A Sumud Congress
Timed to coincide with the flotilla’s departure, the inaugural Global Sumud Parliamentary Congress convened in Brussels on April 22 – just three days ago – bringing together more than 200 parliamentarians, UN officials, diplomats, and civil society leaders from dozens of countries.
The Congress produced the Brussels Declaration on State Responsibility and the Realization of Palestinian Self-Determination, which calls for a UN-verified humanitarian maritime corridor to Gaza grounded in international law to be established.
Speakers included four UN Special Rapporteurs – among them Francesca Albanese, the UN’s top human rights official for the Palestinian territories, and Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food – alongside elected officials including former UK MP Jeremy Corbyn, European Parliament members from France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium, and Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative. Delegations attended the Brussels event from across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.
The declaration states that Israel’s ongoing blockade “constitutes a direct challenge to the integrity of international law and to the binding force of the multilateral system.” The Congress also focused on four concrete political targets: halting arms transfers to Israel, advancing parliamentary accountability mechanisms, building a durable international framework for maritime humanitarian access, and creating a sustained global parliamentary network.
Many Americans may assume the crisis in Gaza has eased following a ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025. Six months after that ceasefire was announced, Israel continues to restrict the entry of food, medicine, shelter materials, and water purification equipment into Gaza according to the UN.
Amnesty International said in an April 2026 statement that the ceasefire has not been effective, reporting that over 60 percent of children under two are experiencing food poverty and that thousands of pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from malnutrition.
A full livestream of the Brussels Congress is available on YouTube.
Open Seas, Closed Gates
In October 2025, Israeli naval forces intercepted the fall GSF fleet approximately 70–75 nautical miles off the Gaza coast – well beyond Israeli territorial waters. Hundreds of activists, including Windfield Beaver, were detained and held without legal counsel before being deported, primarily to Turkey. Prior to that interception, Front Line Defenders documented drone attacks against flotilla boats docked in Tunisia and sustained explosions targeting vessels in international waters off Greece.
Israel has a documented history of intercepting flotilla vessels in international waters – where, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, ships are legally subject only to the jurisdiction of their flag state, and not open to seizure by foreign military forces.
Israel has intercepted or attacked Gaza-bound flotillas going back to 2010, when Israeli military boarded the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, killing 10 civilians onboard, despite it being a ship of humanitarian aid volunteers. As to the 2025 flotilla being stopped by the Israeli military, Poland is currently investigating last fall’s interception as an illegal act under international law.
[Photo provided by Sacha Marini]
Ahead of the spring 2026 GSF launch, Amnesty International issued a statement calling on states to ensure safe passage and warning. “There must be no repeat of Israel’s unlawful interceptions and arbitrary detentions that occurred in 2025, including the seizure of the Madleen and other vessels participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla, nor of the abuse and ill-treatment inflicted on activists during their detention last October,” the statement read.
Who Is Sailing
Sacha Marini spent 17 years as Director of the Teen Court program at the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods in Eureka – a restorative justice initiative working with youth in the criminal system. She retired from that position in fall 2024. In her statement, she described her reasons plainly: “I want to be part of a world where we actually care about each other. Be human. The flotilla is a public expedition occurring out in the open, so please share with friends and amplify the movement. But most importantly, all eyes on Gaza. All together for Palestine. Fight imperialism worldwide. U.S. empire out of everywhere.”
“The flotilla is a public expedition occurring out in the open,” Marini wrote. “Please share with friends and amplify the movement.”
Windfield Beaver of Orleans in eastern Humboldt County, was among the first Americans released after the fall 2025 interception, deported to Turkey before being able to return home. Redheaded Blackbelt covered his detention and release at the time. Rather than return directly back to Humboldt County, he explained that upon being released from Israeli detention, he remained abroad in order to work on repairing a ship for the flotilla. Now, he has set sail again, this time joined by his brother Silas Beaver.
Vessel positions can be tracked in real time at flotillatracker.com. The GSF is also active on Instagram and YouTube. Donations to support the mission – including legal costs for detained participants – can be made at the GSF donation page. Sabata said simply spreading awareness to people unfamiliar with the issue is among the most meaningful things locals can do to support Humboldt’s humanitarians at sea.
Congressman Huffman’s office was asked for comment, but did not respond by time of publication.
EALIER:
- ‘Abducted’ in International Waters: North Coast Native Sailing to Gaza on Veteran’s Flotilla is Intercepted
- [UPDATE 1:36 a.m.: Turkish News Interviews the Freed Local Man] Waves of Resistance: North Coast Flotilla Activist is Released by Israel’s Military
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Bottom line. The Israeli criminals wouldn’t think twice about sinking every last one of these boats before they even sight Gaza.
Thats absurd
Tell that to the 34 U.S. sailors killed on the USS Liberty.
Based on what?
Have you been asleep?
Do you not see the genocide these monsters are inflicting?
You mean Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Iranians.
Absurd is the norm on this website.
Not as bad as the lost coast ouypost
Tell hamas hi
Easy thing to parade about with over here for eyeballs and social media likes. The closer they actually get to an Israeli blockade over there the more of an easy target they become.
Amnesty International wants everyone along the way to protect this slow moving protest in a high conflict zone? Good luck with that. Sternly worded letters and public proclamations isn’t going to save their arses from getting shots fired over their bows. Or sank.
Anyone remember Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior? Sank by just two operatives for the French Government over nuclear weapon testing. Two agents that were fed ship and other information who posed as an environmentalist supporter ( DGSE agent Christine Cabon), and a couple posing as a newlywed couple infiltrated them, passing limpet bombs to other operatives.
Israel has covert ops down to an art and science. Many countries do actually. Lots of mercenaries out there that will sink a ship if the price is right as well. But if they can get pagers into the hands of Hamas operatives and detonate them (which, actually if they’d done more of this levelling of Gaza City could have been avoided, really) nobody should have any thought that this flotilla’s safety is guaranteed, nor anyone on it.
Good luck.
Yes. You are right.
Exactly! And as attention-starved as these Humboldt heroes want to be while “raising awareness,” there’s literally zero chance they’ll just peacefully sail and float their way up to Gaza and start unloading whatever unchecked “aid” they’ve got stashed in the hold. It’s peak moronic thinking—the kind that only thrives in the Emerald Triangle after a few too many bong rips and radical social forum meetings.
Picture this: A ragtag fleet of little sailboats, proudly flying rainbow flags and raised-fist banners, bobbing through the Mediterranean like it’s a SoHum peace parade. Are they seriously gonna cruise right past the Israeli military patrol, crank up the loudspeaker, and announce in their best stoner drawl,
“Hey dudes, we’re from Humboldt County—you know, the Emerald Triangle? We’ve got much-needed supplies and good vibes from the redwoods! Can we get a green light here?”
Yeah, that’ll go over real well. The Israeli Navy’s gonna be like, “Sure, come on in, folks—ignore the blockade, the security concerns, and the fact that previous ‘humanitarian’ efforts had a funny way of benefiting Hamas more than actual civilians. Park your tie-dye armada right over there… Roll one up! ”
This whole thing is nothing more than a half-baked publicity stunt wrapped in virtue-signaling, designed to squeeze donations out of the usual suspects while risking actual lives for people who probably couldn’t care less about a bunch of rainbow flotilla warriors with their lunatic radical pals cheering on from the sidelines. Supporting Hamas-adjacent chaos from the safety of the marijuana museum crowd? Bold strategy, Humboldt. Real “waves of resistance” stuff—mostly just waves of eye-rolls from anyone paying attention.
Classic Emerald Triangle Radical export: premium delusion, straight from the hills to the high seas. Stay safe out there, or at least bring enough weed to share with the Israeli Navy when they board you again.
IMHO< it’s a me me me opportunity, and a waste of time and resources.
Bottom line is the Israelis only have one goal in mind, protecting their citizens from a people (Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.) that want to remove them from the planet. Until the citizens of Gaza remove Hamas from their country there will not be peace.
The efforts are honorable, however, the focus should be on removing a violent, religiously fanatic group that runs the country.
Israel now occupies more of Lebanon than Russia ever occupied of Ukraine …
Israel is true terror unleashed upon the globe.
Not even close. Where’d you come up with that? Russia’s “liberation” is 11x their size.
Lebanon is almost exactly the same size as Humboldt County-4,052 total square miles versus Lebanon’s 4,036.
Russia, as of 3/2026 occupies ~46,000 square miles– 20% of Ukraine- or roughly the size of Mississippi. Huge difference.
Not locals and definitely nutcases.
Both of these men lost family in this conflict: Parents in 7 Oct. attacks; Brother tortured by Israeli prison guards. They’re peace activists as well. This is an inspiring story.
https://youtu.be/0kTiIUvnyPI?si=Tor5oQdZcMx5lw7r
I watched it and it was powerful. But, as much as they wore their hearts on their sleeves, it was too short, too personal, too superficial to be useful. Forgiving and rejecting revenge, while personally so hard that it took years to trust each other, is not anywhere near enough. “When in a desert, you cry out for water. When in a war, you cry out for pease.” Indeed, but what happens when you have water for some but not for all? Do you not cry out for war?
Yes- sailing ships with logos of up raised fists to support one side of two groups who both have repeatedly physically attacked even children and babies because of their ethnicity will provoke an outbreak of peace. Sure it will. And be bring those rainbow emitting unicorns with you.
This is not a war that came from nowhere. It is a war of mutual genocide where both sides want to remove the other side totally and have for over one hundred years. There are serious grievances on both sides but you choose to support one side. What would happen should you feel to chastise that same currently losing group equally for their behavior? Why they would most likely do what they do to members of their own people who oppose them- execute you. And that idea would warn anyone with common sense that it is a foolish idea that will encourage brutality rather than limit it and done only for the purpose of self gratification rather than effectiveness. Hello? If bringing peace was really this easy, it would have already happened.
Balfour is still an ongoing tragedy.
Balfour allowed for the well financed European Jewish conquest of Palestine. Justified by two thousand year old biblical claims to the land. The money and biblicaclaims continue to this day. Witness our current embassitor, Mike Huckabee, who now adds biblical prophecy to the mix.The Arabs legitimately can claim 400 GENERATIONS of living on that same land. In the end, as usual those with more money and bigger guns wins. Both sides have been brutalized and have become brutish. There is no moral high ground in the bloodbath.
Too bad that there was not a well financed effort to stop various expelling of jews from Byzantium, Iran, England, Spain, Hungary, Portugal, France, etc and the one that really created the zionist push, Russia. The term wandering jew was not a fiction. Now it looks like there’s a similar push developing in the US and calling itself Pro Palestinian Protesters.
A little self examination would not go astray anywhere.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsions_and_exoduses_of_Jews
They’re not choosing to support one of the combatant sides.
They’re choosing to support the people.
And yes, peace could have been achieved a long time ago if Israel was willing to compromise.
They did and gave them back Gaza in a land for peace. Hamas saw things differently. The Israelis even left structures for farming to give them a start. Hamas destroyed anything that was touched by Jews.
Really? There is no hectoring criticism of Palestinians or Muslims on this site or in any Pro Palestinian protest rhetoric. Seems pretty choosy. It’s always the opposite. Sorry if I missed the anti Hamas protest in front of the courthouse after 10/7.
Heck, even after 9/11 or Charlie Hebdo or any of there other Islamic terrotist attacks, or the utter anti woman regime of Afghanistan, etc. Progressive rhetoric was all condemning “islamophobia” and pointing out that “not a muslims supported terrorism.” Too bad that Progressives can’t waste any of their breath doing the same for jews especially American jews who have serious reason for concern with the frequency of swastikas at pro palestine protests and antisemitism rearing its head at college campuses. No. Progressive magical thinking allows comparing just about anyone they oppose to Hitler but never themselves. No there’s something going on that is not all about Israel but a proxy for America’s history itself. It’s the Great American Anthem of “Me, Me, Me” going on.
The point your missing is that Israel is also a terrorist organization and on a much larger scale than anyone else and continues to be.
Not to mention Israeli settlers continuing to attack Palestinian villagers.
Israel used up the sympathy card a long time ago.
No I’m not missing anything except your attention. I have serious objections to agenda, zionism and America’s support for it. But those things are only brought up briefly in passing with Progressives. What is really, really offensive is the parsing of empathy that Progressive wallow in service of themselves.
The fact that you even use the phrase “sympathy card” shows the moral bankruptcy of Progressive ideals. Would you say black Americans have used up their sympathy card when they cry racism over almost everything? Or would you say that over Latino complaints? Or Native Americans? Or complains of religious bias from muslims? No. You would say that it’s an ongoing problem. But not when it comes to jews when it clearly is evident. Just not servicable to a group that has support of the government you want to legislate out of existence even if it is nothing other than strategic support.. Pay attention to yourself and what you say.
As long as they serve the wanted victory of Progressive theoretical dominance, they will happily use one faction or the other, set one against the other, to divide and conquer. Like DEI- each to their need but only as long as Progressives are in charge, get to determine what is needed.
No. As long as it’s a serviceable tool for Progressive, anyone is fair game for abuse.
Blacks, Native Americans, Latino’s have not been going around committing genocide or war crimes. Bibi himself is wanted for committing war crimes. So yes, they have used up their sympathy card.
That’s history as spun by current politics. And sheer ignorance. Every group that can be considered a nation has massacred other groups or at least tried to eliminate locals by such means. It only ends when the ability is eliminated. Cherry picking is not useful. ( chuckling wildly to myself) Never heard of Crow Creek? Jamestown Massacre? Or Conquistdors? Or Heck, the term Latino comes from the parts of the Americas conquered by Spain and it wasn’t done without a whole lot of genocide. Then it continued…
“Mexican Independence in 1821 — treasured by so many Mexicans — created more problems for the Yaquis who, in essence, wanted their own land and their own state. Both the Mexican Government and the Sonora Government did not agree with the Yaqui aspirations and chose to wage a war of genocide against them, and this “ethnic cleansing” was frequently reported by both Mexican and American newspapers over a period of several decades..”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow_Creek_massacre
https://www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/the-enduring-legacy-of-the-yaquis-perpetual-resistance
https://allthatsinteresting.com/jamestown-massacre
Oh, I am sorry, I thought we were discussing current events. My bad.
What about that Neanderthal massacre? People seem to forget about that. I believe it occurred around 100,099 BCE.
No you did know. The “sympathy card” getting used up reflects history you choose to put a limit on. There have been no Indian massacres for a while, further back than WWII but you chose to keep that one current. Same against Black Americans. None since the 1960s at least. And as far as I know no Latino ones at all in the US. A few Catholic or Irish ones but that’s off topic.
You were just cherry picking for effect. But here is some more current ones for you beside Palestine should you have any interest in your own standards-
https://truthlytics.com/20-ongoing-genocides-you-should-know-about/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/10/africa/sudan-genocide-explained
Nice diversion, but as has been mentioned the discussion is about Israeli actions.
Bottom line, Israel is the largest terrorist organization in the Middle East.
This flotilla is a reminder to not forget the Palestinian people. If nothing else they will have accomplished that.
I have always been sympathetic to the Jewish cause but recent events have soured me on the present administration in Israel.
Have you been to Congo, Rwanda or Sudan/South Sudan lately? Lots of murderous activity going on there. 70 people gunned down in one incident. 169 murdered in another, including women and children. That’s just two of many, or is there some threshold to meet first before the word genocide gets to be used? Those populations are not Caucasian. What happened to all the sympathy and support for South Sudan when it became a country? Why isn’t the UN there with their blue-helmeted “peacekeepers”? And to go with another comment below. these are in the last two months, so very current.
Now you’re just making things up.
Acts of terror have been widely condemned regardless of who the perpetrator is.
And, if it helps for me to reiterate (not that I speak for the entire Progressive community, mind you): Fuck Hamas, fuck al-Qaeda, fuck Boko Haram, fuck anyone who displays swastikas, etc.
But the people on this flotilla are not protesting against Judaism, against Jewish people, or against the citizens of Israel. And they are not supporting Hamas.
They are advocating on behalf of the Palestinian people- most of whom desperately want peace.
Pronouncing opinions doesn’t change that everything you said is only brought up as an side when people point out the hypocrisy. Otherwise the silence is deafening. Hello? “Advocating on behalf of the Palestinian people”, most of whom choose not to stand up against Hamas partly because it is so deadly but partly because they want Israel and jews in general gone, is the problem in a nutshell. The arrogance that thinks like that, that thinks it has the moral high ground, stinks.
That’s a pretty sweeping it’s not accurate to say most Palestinians want Jews gone—polling and on-the-ground reporting show a much more complex mix of views, with many wanting basic safety and a viable future. You can oppose Hamas and still recognize that advocating for Palestinian civilians isn’t hypocrisy—it’s consistency.
My comments are much less “sweeping” than the ones from Progressives about genocide, war crimes, etc. They mostly just poke holes in the fiction that is the propaganda of the Pro Palestinians.
Polls, huh? Hello.? Everyone wants ” basic safety and a viable future.” But the extremely one sided rhetoric of the left seems to be determined that Israel can’t be allowed to have it. From the idea that jews have no “right of return” but Arab Palestinians do to the constant minimizing the complaints of antisemitism while magnifying the one of Islamophobia, to cherry picking incidents of violence and gruesome violence to never mention those of the Arab Palestinians, it is a reasonable conclusion that Progressives mean to have the end of Israel.
Sometimes it is amazing what Progressives hold out as accurate. The problem is just talking about such things not being accurate interferes with the self justification that likes the sweeping condemnation of Israel and the US as a political agenda. And gains blowback on this site.
You’re arguing against a caricature, not what I said. Acknowledging Palestinian civilian suffering or criticizing Israeli policy isn’t the same as denying Israel’s right to exist—those are separate issues. And pointing out that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve safety isn’t “one-sided,” it’s the bare minimum for a consistent position.
I think this flotilla might be the one that fixes everything! Nice job folks
LOL. You are a prankster, no?
This stuff cracks me up. Poverty all over humboldt and a bunch of rich kids take fancy boats across the world to help people and ignore the kids and homeless people right in front of them. All so they can post pixs on insta and pretend to be fighting for something
Will Greta be giving it another try? When will they sail to Iran? The mullahs need protecting too. Is Sacha Marini going to slap on a burka when she lands?
Maybe. She was on the first one, and signaled being on the next, which this group in the article seems to be joining with.
Never mind saving the planet — they just wanted to rock on the boat.
Lefty activists reportedly got frisky on the so-called freedom flotilla meant to bring aid to Gaza — becoming the subject of a recent sex scandal.
And even the Swedish queen of sanctimony herself is rumored to have chosen to “seas” the day aboard the vessel.
Kebbon and Thunberg cozied up on a couch this week while the latest flotilla set sail for Gaza. iara modarelli/ Instagram
Activist Greta Thunberg may have gotten hooked on a hunky photographer during one of the flotilla’s voyages.
Since returning from her second voyage to Gaza in October after a short stint in an Israeli prison. Thunberg and Swedish shutterbug Chris Kebbon have been inseparable.
Just this week, they were pictured cozying up together on a couch, with Kebbon holding a dog draped with a keffiyeh around his neck and Thunberg flashing a blissful smile as she rested her head on his lanky arms.
Americans aren’t really worth saving these days. They have freedom anyways.They’re set!
Not just a bit judgy, judgy there, hum? Little drops of poison makes an ocean of misery.
This is the most judgmental local comment zone. Just doing my part, sir! You’ve cast so many stones yourself, [edit].
But I cast them at all that attack their fellow Americans. That may be judgemental but it’s not hypocritical.
What is hypocrisy is when you paint with a broad brush regarding progressives and liberal ideas. That’s casting stones at fellow ‘Mericans.
”The Progressive Era brought political, business, and social reforms (e.g., new roles for and government expansion of education, higher status for women, a curtailment of corporate excesses, and modernization of many areas of government and society.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1865%E2%80%931917)
So in the immutable logic of Progressives, “painting Progressives with a broad brush”, who themselves paint so many with their own broad brush as racist, xenophobic and fascist , is hypocrisy?
It’s really impossible to insist on the same level of self examination by Progressives that they impose on everyone else because they simply define Progressive as that which was good. And deny responsibility for anything not successful.
The scariest part of the link you gave spent much time lauding Wilson as the ideal Progressive, especially the phrase “The second item on the Democratic program was a reorganization of the banking and currency system. “Control,” said Wilson, “must be public, not private, must be vested in the government itself, so that the banks may be the instruments, not the masters, of business and of individual enterprise and initiative.”
He created the Federal Reserve. And what did that lead to? Not in small part to the massive bank failures of the Great Depression. And other subsequent failures.
That link talks about an 8 hour standardized work week which actually was initiated by Wilson for the railroad industry. And look at that now. It created the word “featherbedding.” And has been one long continuing propping up of a continuously failing industry ever since. We should have had a great railroad system. We had the opportunity. But we don’t. It was death by Progressive ideology.
Wilson was a racist, anti free speech and objected to naturalized citizenship. “While Wilson’s tenure is often noted for progressive achievement, his time in office was one of unprecedented regression in racial equality, with his presidency serving as the lowest point of the nadir of American race relations.”
He opposed free speech getting passage of the Sedition Act of 1918 which “targets of prosecution under the Sedition Act were typically individuals who opposed the war effort, including pacifists, anarchists, and socialists. Violations of the Sedition Act could lead to as much as 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. More than 2,000 cases were filed by the government under the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. Of these, more than 1,000 ended in convictions.”
Typically Progressive still use blinders to focus on the fantasies they hold dear but refuse to examine the details. Which is all I ever try to get them to do. Considering the most “progressive” actions ever done was theGreat October Socialist Revolution in Russia and The FrenchbRevolution. You’d think that would be warning to take care enough. But it clearly isn’t.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_and_race
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/sedition-act-of-1918/
My favorite part about the constant vitriol on these comment threads is how quickly the white men go from smack talking to pearl clutching.
.
Is it Windsong or Windfield? First paragraph.
Fixed. Thank you.
The ingorance of people is amazing
No many useful idiots believe the propganda and are standing up for an orgnization that has commited countless acts of terrorism and stated a goal of genocide, they very thing they they are accusing Isreal of.
All good honest and true point. And also to add, the Obama funded proxistate for Iran has been launching rockets daily for years. Since 2001, militants in Gaza have fired over 20,000 rockets and mortars into Israel. But none of the protesters hear this side.
Palestinians have been the mercenaries of Iran for a few decades now. And the middle east is fertile ground for the Islamic religious war between Iran and the Saudis for them to act. Why do you think commercial activity is so suppressed in Palestinian held areas? It’s not just Israel. It’s similar to the bedfellows of Democrats and Republicans in the US regarding immigration. They may have different ideas but both recognize the value of keeping Palenstinians angry and dependent in pursuing their own policies.
The Israeli military cannot be trusted.
Jared Huffman is likely to lose his seat because he is on the wrong side of history.
I hope these people are safe. But I don’t think they will end the genocide inflicted by the vulgar Israelis.
The world needs to intervene with military clout to stop Israel from seizing land from its neighbors.
Israel only exists because of support from the US and EU.
If that support was made contingent upon them withdrawing to the 1967 borders and allowing for a sovereign Palestinian state, they would seek peace immediately.
This is and always has been a delusional demand that’s a nonstarter. Peace didn’t happen when Israel had 1967 borders, did it? But magically it will now if they just do what you say? Yeah, sure.
Have you consulted with the Palestinians who talk about getting their land back, all of it from prior to WWI that led to the 1967 war, before you cheerfully give it away ?
1967 was… well, darn… I can’t seem to find my calculator right now,
but I’m pretty sure it was a long time ago.
In 1967, memories of the Nakba were fresh in the minds of many Palestinians.
Very few are alive there today who remember these events.
The overwhelming majority of Palestinians alive today have known nothing but oppression, discrimination, violence, and suffering at the hands of the Israeli government.
That is the only reason Hamas has any support at all; they are seen as the only entity willing to stand up to Israel. To vote in a more peace-seeking government would give Israel the green light to seize even more Palestinian land.
Palestinians want peace.
They just, with good reason, do not trust Israel to hold up its end of any agreement.
Surely you are joking about the calculator. Surely the device used to enter your comment has a calculator. 2026-1967=59…
Ah yes. Thanks. I knew it was a long time ago.
That’s why it’s odd that people keep saying that since the Palestinian’s weren’t happy with the borders then, they wouldn’t be willing to settle for those borders today.
I think Israel has a right to defend itself.
Since 2001, militants in Gaza have fired over 20,000 rockets and mortars into Israel. But none of the protesters hear this side. Thanks Obama.
Israel is “defending” itself the same way the 19th century United States “defended” itself against the Indian tribes.
Tuck – wrong. Israel is defending itself the way the US did against Pearl Harbor. Or 9/11.
The real root of the question is ‘who was there first?’ And any historian worth his beans knows that Jews were in Israel thousands of years before there even was a word about Mohammed or Muslims, yet alone Hamas or “palestinians’.
So who are the true colonist usurpers, that want to genocide the Zionist Jewish population “from the river [Jordan] to the sea [Mediterranean].” Hint – it’s not Israel.
Please get informed before making embarrassing comparisons in the future.
The last group that had a desire to wipe out the Jews were called Nazis. That would be a better comparison for Islamists today. Did you know that the fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was a significant influence on Hitler and world wide antisemitism is still widely available and promoted by Islamists today?
https://www.islam-radio.net/protocols/indexen.htm
By calling Israel colonizers, many otherwise good people are playing right into this fraudulent anti-zionist antisemitism.
Are you hoping Gaza will have casinos some day?
Tuck – disagree. My first reply to your comment was deleted for unknown reasons, possible because it was true. But I only suggest you look into the history of that region of the world and learn who the TRUE indigenous tribes were. Hint, Israeli Jews were a civilization there thousands of years before the Palestinians were even thought of as a group or people.
And even if that were not the case, the current Israeli Jews are a much more civilized and tolerant group than the one Gazan’s elected after being set free of Israeli control [Hamas]
Violent religious fanatics hellbent on death to Israel feel the same about these
Cucumber boats. Sure they float, it doesn’t make them respectable maritime/military vessels or their crew a welcome presence.
The scale /context mismatch of this flotilla of fools is enormous!
Activists float in with their high moral statement, solidarity and fantasies of breaking the blockade.
Meanwhile Israel sees security risk, and precedent problem, and the armed groups of Hamas see optics, leverage, and a floating song fest with a symbolic cargo of medsurg and school supplies that might be useful, or expendable.
Groups like Hamas operate with a hardline religious ideology toward Israel, (and all the west) and they’re not going to think“wow, brave international activists.” They’ll see narrative leverage, pressure, or interference – depending on what serves them.
And at the same time, Israel will not see peace lanterns on the water, it’s a breach of a blockade in an active conflict zone, a conflict that runs a century deep whose players hardly care about passionate fools from Humboldt, or anywhere.
I guess if interception, detainment and possible death (at the hands of Hamas or Isreal – roll the dice-) is the goal, then carry on….
Forget the Sun tan oil. Just be sure to pack the bullet proof vests. They think they will create an international event. They will actually become an international incident. Have the first responders standing by to search for the chunks in the debris fields. Maybe stay clear of sailing near South America where drug boats and vessels are targeted.
I wonder if any of the folks on the “flotilla” have paid any attention to US naval activity in Central / South America. I guarantee the Israelis have.
Plenty of drug interdictions going on and that’s just by the Mexican military and the narcos. Cruise ships were holed up in Cabo recently when all the skirmishes in Puerto Vallarta were going on. Still things going on and that’s before they even get to the Panama Canal. They may be perfectly fine but I wouldn’t expect any special forces protection or US military intervention for people leading a hemispheric protest for something on another continent.
They’ll never make it past Ensanada Mexico.
Mexican marinos, ( coast guard) can see dollar signs in their eyes with this floatilla.
If they left from California. Seems they flew over all that and departed from Italy today, so it’s but a short hop in heavily trafficked shipping lanes. Until they reach the Israeli blockade, their biggest concern may be getting overrun by a container ship.
They’re on a crusade. Get sunk or arrive safe, it’s a win for crusader politics. It’s a Cause.
October 7th 2023
The situation in Gaza and Lebanon is not about who owes who a genocide.
It is about The India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor. (IMEC)
One of the worlds biggest power plays ever, with Trump becoming the world’s Energy
Czar in perpetuity, not just as an aside during his presidency.
Gaza is slated to become an energy hub.
That’s paranoia. The problems existed before Trump. It existed before the Cold War. It existed in ancient Rome before Islam existed. But maybe it might be a self fulfilling prophecy.
From what I understand, Palestinians and Jews got along for centuries. Prolly not perfectly but generally got along. It’s just been about the last hundred years that things have boiled over.
Sort of. Maybe. Jews certainly were treated better under Islamic conquests that Christian ones but it was always tenuous and never as a people. But Palestinians then did not mean what is meant today. People forget that Islam was a religion spread by conquest and forced conversions in which news, as a biblical people, were given a bit of protectionfor which they actually paid money to have. That is not the same as tolerance.
” With the conversion of Constantine in the 4th century, the situation for the Jewish majority in Palestine “became more difficult” but then the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and the greater Levant in the 7th century initiated a process of Arabization and Islamization through the conversion and acculturation of locals, accompanied by Arab settlement. This led to a Muslim-majority population, though significantly smaller, in the Middle Ages.” Frankly this “Arabization” continued through the 20th century only slowing down when the Ottomen Empire collapsed in WWI. The Ottoman Empire had had policies that allowed Arabs to buy land from impoverished Palestinian natives right up to WWI but refused to allow Jews to either immigrate to or buy land in what is now considered Palestine.
I’m not sure “getting along” is really appropriate. More like it was more peaceful as loing as governments ensured the dominance of Islam. It was only after Islam lost that privilege when the Ottoman Empire collapsed that it became open conflict for dominance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Palestinians
I daresay the rise of oil as a key global commodity had just a little to do with it. And that oil is two miles deep. Nothing that happens up on the sand will disturb it in the least.
That was then, this is now. Not paranoia, just an update.
Just don’t allow them to come back. They can live with hamas, because they will be so selfless!
Oh wow, the largest civilian flotilla in history! Four brave souls from Humboldt County joining 3,000 other virtue warriors on 70+ boats to ‘break the blockade’ and deliver all that sumud.
Nothing screams ‘humanitarian mission’ like sailing straight into waters where the Israeli navy has made it crystal clear what happens to unauthorized approaches. But hey, after the last one got intercepted and some folks got a free ride to Turkey, why not double down? Will these lunatics scream “abduction” when they try to break the Israeli blockade and are apprehended?
Of course Israeli forces will think nothing of sinking this floating circus full of lunatics if it comes to that—probably while shrugging and muttering ‘not again.’….
Brilliant strategy, folks. Real genius-level attention-getting right there. All eyes on Gaza… or at least on the inevitable viral footage. Stay safe out there, captains of the SS Performative Solidarity!
Just remember, when the Israeli navy turns your TikTok armada into the world’s most expensive group selfie, at least you’ll die as you lived—virtue-signaling on camera for an audience of brainwashed American couch warriors who think ‘breaking a blockade’ means cosplaying revolutionaries while the real world laughs at the reruns.”
Perhaps it’s better to stay home and enjoy your avocado toast and Starbucks Oat Milk Lattes 😂
Being a loser has its fans.
You wont find Toledo on these boats. He is a coward.
He’s dealing with a court case.
Probably wouldn’t be a good idea for him to leave the country at this time.
Not for me
“Oh wow, the largest civilian flotilla in history!” That in and of itself is misleading, and insulting to the civilian flotilla that rescued the British army from the shores of Dunkirk, operating under the guns of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe.
From AI:
“Approximately 700 to 850 private, civilian boats—known as the “Little Ships of Dunkirk”—participated in Operation Dynamo between May 26 and June 4, 1940. These vessels, ranging from fishing boats and yachts to pleasure steamers, worked alongside the British Royal Navy to evacuate over 336,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of France.”
These kids need to get over themselves.
Absurdly naive and either ignorant or willfully deceptive regarding the origins of the Gaza conflict. I went to two of the sites mentioned in the article promoting the Sumud summit and neither one mentioned one word about the Oct 7 massacre of 1200 Israelis by Palestinians. Where is the justice? And as for ‘colonialism’, what political-religious ideology is in control over every part of the middle east other than Israel? Which of the involved countries has true religious freedom and tolerance? Which country allows LGBT & Atheists to live freely, along with Christians, Jews, and Muslims who work and participate in government leadership?
Become informed before going on some foolhardy self-promotional social media “flotilla”.
I stand with Israel on this one.
The Beaver brothers would be doing more for justice if they held their little brother Sunny (Moses) accountable for his sex crimes than by getting arrested and having all that aid confiscated by the IDF.
They’re out there trying to ride the bang boat!!
https://nypost.com/2026/04/25/world-news/greta-thunberg-and-beau-skip-gaza-flotilla-amid-sexual-misconduct-allegations/
Safe Journey! Safe Return!
He was caught last time and is going back. Hope you live through this !!