CC Newsletter 25 Jan - How the US and NATO Could Settle Dispute Over Ukraine Without War

 

Dear Friend,

This has been a totally unnecessary crisis, fueled in large measure by U.S. insistence on maintaining NATO’s “open door” policy, when the reality is that there is no way that France or Germany will agree to Ukraine becoming a NATO member state. Resolution of the crisis could be hastened were Biden or Blinken to state the obvious: “We understand there are deep insecurities on all sides. Given that our allies are in no hurry to welcome Ukraine into NATO, we propose a moratorium on new NATO memberships. Beyond that, we look forward to a range of constructive negotiations to establish an enduring Eurasian security framework for the 21st century.”

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How the US and NATO Could Settle Dispute Over Ukraine Without War

by Joseph Gerson

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/how-the-us-and-nato-could-settle-dispute-over-ukraine-without-war/

This has been a totally unnecessary crisis, fueled in large measure by U.S. insistence on maintaining NATO’s “open door” policy, when the reality is that there is no way that France or Germany will agree to Ukraine becoming a NATO member state. Resolution of the crisis could be hastened were Biden or Blinken to state the obvious: “We understand there are deep insecurities on all sides. Given that our allies are in no hurry to welcome Ukraine into NATO, we propose a moratorium on new NATO memberships. Beyond that, we look forward to a range of constructive negotiations to establish an enduring Eurasian security framework for the 21st century.”

Dangerous Heat Across the Globe

by Robert

Hunziker

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/dangerous-heat-across-the-globe/

Too much heat brings unanticipated problems of unexpected scale, putting decades of legacy infrastructure at risk of malfunctioning and/or total collapse. Nobody expected so much trouble to start so soon. Nobody anticipated such massive record-breaking back-to-back heat, north and south, to hit so soon on the heels of only 1.2C above estimated baseline for global warming.

Republic Day, January 26, 1950: An Epic Journey of India’s  greatest generation 

by George Abraham

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/republic-day-january-26-1950-an-epic-journey-of-indias-greatest-generation/

As India is about to celebrate its 72nd Republic Day with pomp, pride, and parades, it is also time to rethink whether the country is living up to its constitution. India became a constitutional republic on January 26, 1950, replacing the colonial government act of India of 1935. It was a memorable day for all Indians

who transformed their lives from subjects to citizens and from oppression to liberty. Indeed, this changeover has instilled a sense of national pride in the heart of every Indian regardless of where he/she resides.

‘Monika My Darling’  on Republic Day!

by Samuel Dhar

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/monika-my-darling-on-republic-day/

A GoI twitter release has a video of the Navy band playing, (With the ratings dancing to), the old hit movie tune, “Monika My Darling”, at the R-Day rehearsals. OMG!!! Why did I, a Veteran, not die before seeing this horrendous spectacle !!!

Fables And Fantasies

by Hiren Gohain

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/fables-and-fantasies/

The efforts of the Hindutva gang to replace Mahatma Gandhi with some ideal figure armed with a sword or a gun heroically overturning British rule is just childish fanatasy and fable.

Communalism has overtaken the Constitution!

by Dr Prem Singh

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/communalism-has-overtaken-the-constitution/

Most spheres of Indian politics have been tainted by communalism. Looking at the current political scene of the country, it seems that just as there is a consensus on neoliberalism among the political and intellectual elite of India, similarly a consensus has been made on communal politics or political communalism. Political parties, which are called secular, resort to communalism in competition to communal BJP, so it is rightly said that they cannot defeat BJP on the pitch of communalism

Save Lives, Socialize Big Pharma

by Joseph Grosso

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/save-lives-socialize-big-pharma/

Faced with such obvious market failure, the solution presents itself: A nationalized pharmaceutical industry fully under public control. Under such a system, money from profitable drugs could simply be channeled to less profitable things like vaccines, antibiotics, and neglected tropical diseases.

What Solidarity Journalism Reveals to Us

by Anita Varma

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/what-solidarity-journalism-reveals-to-us/

Solidarity reporting calls on journalists to push beyond reporting the easy soundbite from an official press release in order to do the work of representing people experiencing injustice.

History: An Ocean without Shores

by Dr Abdul Ahad

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/history-an-ocean-without-shores/

Is history an ocean of knowledge without shores? Is it a seamless fusion of interdisciplinary knowledge? How does it reach us and help us develop our perspectives of lived and living lifestyles? Why does it motivate us to integrate for common good?

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – Monetising that which sustains life

by Radha Gopalan

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/biological-diversity-amendment-bill-2021-monetising-that-which-sustains-life/

Since monetising the life sustaining systems is the premise on which these

amendments are constructed, it is not surprising that they demonstrate an emphasis on a centralised rather than a federated, decentralised approach in developing plans and strategies for biodiversity conservation and regeneration. With this approach how will the stated objectives of the Act “conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits”  be achieved?

Channi is dishonest and Kejriwal an honest man?

by Dr Prem Singh

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/channi-is-dishonest-and-kejriwal-an-honest-man/

On 20 January, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi a dishonest man, and emphasized that Channi should not be viewed as a common man. That is, the patent of the common man lies with Kejriwal alone, and in this respect, honesty as well. Kejriwal made this statement in a quick response to the ED’s raid on Channi’s nephew’s house. Since then, a series of

allegations and counter-allegations have been going on between the two leaders, which may continue till the last day of the Punjab Assembly elections

Drug mafia & role of private ports

by Dr Madabhushi Sridhar

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/drug-mafia-role-of-private-ports/

The statement of APSEZ(Adani Ports) that it will not deal with the containers from Iran Pakistan, and Afghanistan inadvertently confirms the earlier transactions and raises suspicion that huge quantum of drugs might have gained surreptitious entry into our nation. At first instance Adani Ports said that it has no policing power, later it says that it does not want to deal with containers of these three nations.

Urgent Need to Raise Budget Allocations for Health Sector

by Bharat Dogra

https://countercurrents.org/2022/01/urgent-need-to-raise-budget-allocations-for-health-sector/

Even in Pandemic Times, Health Allocations Have Been Far Short of Real Needs

Storms a brewing

 

I’ll get right to it: The climate-driven extreme weather events you’re witnessing are being driven by the short-sighted greed of the fossil fuel industry. They are costing billions. And they are costing lives.

Fossil fuel companies won’t stop this on their own. And governments aren’t doing enough to hold them accountable.

But at Greenpeace WE’RE only accountable to the people and the planet. We’ll fight them hard because the future of life is at stake!

There is now $600,000 in matching funds available to quadruple your impact, but only until December 31. Your planet needs you. Make your year-end gift of $20.00 or more to Greenpeace USA today.

You can trust your eyes. You can trust your heart. And you can trust the science. Climate change is fueling extreme weather that is getting more unpredictable, more destructive, and much more intense. And it’s not some distant threat. It’s happening right now in our lifetimes.

This year alone you’ve seen …

• Severe flooding in Nashville, following torrential rains, that killed at least seven people and destroyed dozens of homes …¹
• Another heartbreaking and horrifying wildfire season in California and the Pacific Northwest that is threatening lives and communities and damaging critical forested wildlife habitat …²
• Hurricane Ida which is now the seventh costliest in the last 20 years. Just think of how much good the billions of dollars being spent AFTER these hurricanes on cleanup and recovery could do if we spent it BEFORE the storms on clean energy and climate resiliency!³
• The severe heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. There are places in this country where people never even installed air conditioning in their homes. They didn’t need it! 100+ degree temperatures were all but unknown. Now, they are the new normal.⁴ And it isn’t just heat.
• The polar vortex caused freezing temperatures in the Gulf Coast and Southern Plains where no one living had ever experienced them before. The Texas power grid was shut down for days!⁵

More heat. More cold. More rain. More drought. More hurricanes. More floods. We have more of everything. Except more time. We’re running out.

You have only five days left to have your year-end gift to Greenpeace quadrupled. Please don’t miss your chance. Give now.

The executives at fossil fuel companies can afford to move away from places where the worst impacts of the climate crisis are being felt. But billions of people can’t. They will suffer … and millions may die … unless we stop the reckless burning of oil, gas and coal.

We’re always grateful for your support, but I hope we can count on you again today. Please support this critical fight for our lives, our homes, our planet, and our future. Make your year-end gift to Greenpeace NOW.

In solidarity,

Rolf Skar
Special Project Manager, Greenpeace USA

[1] climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/torrential-spring-rains-lead-flash-flooding-around-nashville-end-march
[2] greenpeace.org/usa/welcome-to-the-2021-california-wildfire-season/
[3] cnbc.com/2021/09/08/hurricane-idas-damage-tally-could-top-95-billion-making-it-7th-costliest-hurricane-since-2000-.html
[4] yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/11/2021-pacific-northwest-heat-wave-virtually-impossible-without-global-warming-scientists-find/
[5] climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/understanding-arctic-polar-vortex

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POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: BETTING AGAINST BAKER — Boston pols PICK SIDES in mayor’s race — SOLDIERS’ HOME lawsuit

 

BY LISA KASHINSKY BETTING AGAINST BAKER — Someone’s betting that Gov. Charlie Baker won’t be running for a third term next year. Baker hasn’t announced anything publicly. But something whipped traders on PredictIt, the online “stock market” for politics, into a frenzy on Monday. Baker’s odds inexplicably plummeted on the site’s 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election page Monday morning, while those for Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and state Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat still weighing her options for 2022, soared. A PredictIt spokesperson told me the site saw about 10,000 trades in just a few hours — “a big increase” for a market that had only seen about 55,000 shares traded total. Prior to Monday, the most shares traded in a day had been about 3,000. By the end of the day, the field had reset with Baker atop the pack and Healey close behind. But the action set the rumor mill churning. Some think the governor is running again, pointing to his recent and upcoming fundraisers. Some wonder if he talked it over with his family on their recent trip to California and that a decision might be forthcoming. Baker’s under a bit of pressure from Republican former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who jumped into the race last month. And one Republican operative told me the longer it’s taking Baker to make up his mind, the more “nervous” his supporters are growing. But as the two-term incumbent, he’s got time. Baker didn’t announce his 2018 reelection bid until November 2017, and dragging things out this time around could make things more difficult for potential opponent Healey. The state is also in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence. Baker’s more hands-off approach — leaving masking decisions up to municipalities and schools, and sticking to statewide guidance that differs from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations — is angering some Democrats and teachers unions , so a big political announcement right now would be ill-timed. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Boston electeds are increasingly lining up behind different candidates as the mayor’s race hurtles toward the September preliminary election. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: City Councilor Michelle Wu is rolling out endorsements from House Assistant Majority Leader Mike Moran and City Councilor Liz Breadon at a 10 a.m. event in Allston. “Michelle’s creative and detailed plans respond to Boston’s most pressing needs: affordable housing; climate resiliency; reforming a public school system so that it serves all of our children; criminal justice reform; and addressing the continuing pandemic,” Breadon said in a statement. Along with Moran and Breadon, who represent Allston-Brighton, Wu, who's from Roslindale, has City Councilor Lydia Edwards of East Boston and Senate Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico, whose district dips into a couple parts of the city. Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who lives in Roxbury, has the backing of Jamaica Plain state Rep. Nika Elugardo and Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo of Hyde Park. City Councilor Andrea Campbell, who lives in Mattapan, has Roxbury state Rep. Chynah Tyler, chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, and Jamaica Plain state Rep. Liz Malia in her corner. Note how the candidates are locking up endorsements outside their home bases — and tapping into these new networks to help broaden their reach in parts of the city where voters may be less familiar with them in a race that's still very much up for grabs. TODAY — HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra tours medical centers and vaccination sites and holds roundtables with Rep. Lori Trahan in Lawrence and Lowell. Boston mayoral candidate John Barros announces a vocational reorganization plan at 10 a.m. in Roxbury. Rep. Seth Moulton hosts a media availability on Afghanistan at his Salem office at 11 a.m. Campbell attends a Haiti relief supply drive in Mattapan at noon and a Boston Alphas candidate conversation at 1 p.m. at Savvor. Janey delivers remarks at a ribbon-cutting for the JPNDC Pitts Apartments at 3 p.m. in Roxbury. Rep. Ayanna Pressley hosts a conversation on housing issues at 5 p.m. at the Marcus Garvey Gardens courtyard. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: lkashinsky@politico.com.   INTRODUCING OTTAWA PLAYBOOK : Join the growing community of Politicos — from lawmakers and leaders to pollsters, staffers, strategists and lobbyists — working to shape Canada’s future. Every day, our reporting team pulls back the curtain to shed light on what’s really driving the agenda on Parliament Hill, the true players who are shaping politics and policy across Canada, and the impact it all has on the world. Don’t miss out on your daily look inside Canadian politics and power. Subscribe to Ottawa Playbook today.     THE LATEST NUMBERS – “Massachusetts coronavirus cases spike 2,996 over the weekend, hospitalizations keep climbing,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “After the new 2,996 COVID infections reported over the weekend, the Bay State’s seven-day average of virus cases is now 911. That’s more than 14 times the daily average of 64 cases in June. The average percent positivity is now at 2.74%, which is nearly nine times the daily average of 0.31% in June.” DATELINE BEACON HILL – “Legislators, advocates call for Mass. prison reforms after Spotlight investigation into excessive force allegations,” by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: “Advocates and legislators are calling for reforms to the Massachusetts prison system, in response to a Boston Globe Spotlight story on Sunday that highlighted a raft of excessive force allegations by prisoners at the maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in early 2020.” VAX-ACHUSETTS – “Charlie Baker won’t order mask mandate, Massachusetts ‘dramatically different’,” by Erin Tiernan, Boston Herald: “Gov. Charlie Baker said he still has no plans to order a mask mandate even as all of Massachusetts is now considered to be at ‘high’ or ‘substantial’ risk of coronavirus transmission. … The classification triggers a federal recommendation that everyone wear masks in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status. Baker has advised masks indoors only for those at higher risk from COVID-19 or who live with an adult that is unvaccinated or at a higher risk for severe illness.” – “Mass. leaders hope this school year will be back to normal — with no remote learning. Is that realistic?” by Naomi Martin and Bianca Vázquez Toness, Boston Globe: “...amid recent closures of local summer camps, the abrupt shutdown of schools in other states, and rising rates nationwide of children being hospitalized with COVID, some parents, school leaders, and experts are questioning whether the state’s ban on remote learning may be unrealistic — and possibly unsafe. … The uncertainty has left some schools to quietly create their own contingency plans, including preparing weeks of homework for students to do if they’re forced to go home.” – "Biden administration to announce most Americans will need coronavirus booster shots," by Laurie McGinley and Tyler Pager, Washington Post. FROM THE HUB – “For Many In Boston, Debates Over Exam School Policy Distract From Larger Issues,” by Carrie Jung, WBUR: “[Charlie] Kim watched the debate over exam school admissions, and which students had access to them, last year when his daughter was applying. But at the time, he was trying to deal with a more pressing issue in his eyes: the extensive water damage at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf.” – “Boston councilors, education advocates file petitions to let voters decide who should be on school committee,” by Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “An education equity group and two Boston councilors announced moves Monday aimed at restoring voters’ ability to elect Boston School Committee members, instead of the current mayor-appointed structure. The change would bring Boston — which has had an appointed system since 1991 — in line with the rest of the state, where all other school committees are elected.” – More: “Many council hopefuls support return to elected school committee,” by Katie Trojano, Dorchester Reporter: “All five of the mayoral candidates favor some form of change to the current appointment system, but none favor a return to a fully-elected school committee as pitched in this petition. … But, many candidates for district and at-large seats— including two incumbents running for re-election— are far more supportive of making the composition of the school board totally up to the will of city voters.” – “'We Need To Hear Black Women's Voices': Study At Boston Hospitals Looks At Wide Disparity In Maternal Deaths,” by Marilyn Schairer, GBH News: “Black women in Massachusetts are 2.5 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than other women, according to CDC data. The UMass Boston Birth Equity Study is designed to help lawmakers and health officials better understand those higher rates of death.” THE RACE FOR CITY HALL – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: State Rep. Liz Miranda has endorsed Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia in her at-large reelection bid. “From passing residential kitchen licenses to elevating youth voices and supporting hardest hit micro-to-small businesses, Julia’s been a strong partner to me in the legislature,” Miranda said in a statement. Mejia has also recently been endorsed by the Massachusetts Sierra Club, SEIU Local 509 and UNITE HERE Local 26. – NEW THIS MORNING: Kendra Hicks has been endorsed by United Auto Workers Region 9A, Boston Building Trades Union, SEIU 888 and SEIU 509 in her bid to represent District 6 on the Boston City Council. “Hicks, a former SEIU 888 member, has centered the needs of working-class residents of the district in her campaign. ‘I am deeply humbled by the overwhelming support I am receiving from labor organizations across the district,’” Hicks’s campaign said in a statement. – “Andrea Campbell Ramps Up Criticism Of Janey, Citing 'Missteps Or Inaction On Major Crises',” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News: “Boston Public Radio co-host Jim Braude characterized Campbell as the most vocal critic of Acting Mayor Kim Janey, on matters like police reform and the city's COVID-19 response — both complex issues which Janey inherited from former Mayor Marty Walsh when he left the city to become the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Campbell responded that her criticism is not aimed at Janey personally but ‘on issues.’" – “With A Month To Go Before Boston's Mayoral Primary, Wu And Campbell Target Key Neighborhoods,” by Anthony Brooks, WBUR: “City councilors and Boston mayoral candidates Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell criss-crossed the city campaigning amid steamy, summer weather over the weekend as the quickly approaching primary election heats up. Campbell focused on Dorchester and Roxbury, where she launched a canvassing effort Sunday, knocking on doors in the neighborhood where Acting Mayor Kim Janey lives. … as her schedule of campaign events made clear, Wu's focus is citywide.” BALLOT BATTLES – “Original Coalition Member Not On Board with App-Based Driver Ballot Q,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “In March, when an industry-backed coalition launched its effort to change worker classification and benefits for app-based drivers in Massachusetts, it counted the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts as one of its ‘founding members’ and led its first-ever press release with a quote from the League's CEO. But with the coalition now pursuing a ballot question and a contentious campaign looming, board members at the Urban League of Eastern Mass. are distancing themselves from the effort, saying they have not yet taken a stance on the initiative petition that could prompt a seismic shift in the labor landscape.” PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES – “Bondholders suing MBTA for more than $8 million over delayed Wollaston project,” by Joe Difazio, Patriot Ledger: “Two insurance companies that issued more than $100 million in bonds to cover the cost of renovating the MBTA's Wollaston station are now suing the agency for between $8 million and $9 million over delays and changes to the project. The insurance companies are alleging the MBTA breached their contract, among other issues, by continuously changing what the project would entail, which ran up costs.” – “Weekend commuter rail off to good start,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Weekend service on all of the MBTA’s commuter rail lines returned on July 3, and already ridership is back close to pre-COVID levels." IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN – “More carbon pricing could enable state to meet climate goals, report says,” by Danny Jin, Berkshire Eagle: “Even before Massachusetts committed to a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, climate groups pushed the state to make climate-related investments to meet its targets. Legislation known as the Green Future Act, a new report suggests, could provide $1.2 billion per year to achieve those goals. The bill would price carbon emissions in previously untaxed industries and establish a ‘green bonding’ borrowing program. Just those two initiatives would spur $8.8 billion worth of state and local climate-friendly infrastructure spending from 2023 through 2030, according to the report published Monday by Boston-based nonprofit Climate XChange Education and Research.” DAY IN COURT – “Holyoke Soldiers’ Home workers file class action lawsuit against former leaders over physical, emotional fallout from COVID outbreak,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “A federal lawsuit leveled by Holyoke Soldiers’ Home employees against former top administrators ousted amid the COVID-19 pandemic argues workers were forced to care for sick and dying veterans in ‘inhumane conditions’ and many remain long-haulers with physical and emotion scars today. Moreover, according to the lawsuit, top administrators initially ignored Centers for Disease Control guidance on containing the virus and lied to state officials about measures they were taking to protect residents and staff once the first veteran tested positive on March 15, 2020.” – “Swansea elected official will face criminal charges for allegedly destroying campaign signs on camera,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “A Swansea elected official will face charges for allegedly destroying the campaign signs of two political rivals' hours after winning a write-in campaign for a seat on the Planning Board last April." – “Former Somerset School Committee candidate's harassment case postponed,” by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: “The harassment case against former Somerset School Committee candidate Jessica Machado, brought by her political rival, Somerset elementary School Committee member Shauna Geary, was postponed again in Fall River District Court on Friday." FROM THE DELEGATION – CHATTING CLIMATE CHANGE: Extreme heat “has become a common reality for our most vulnerable neighborhoods” and weather-related disasters and sea level rise are “threatening many homes, livelihoods and critical infrastructure in coastal communities like Chelsea, Everett and here in Boston,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley told White House climate czar Gina McCarthy during a visit to East Boston on Monday. “Let me be clear, these injustices did not happen overnight, neither are they organic. Rather they are the result of generations of chronic disinvestment and racist policymaking,” Pressley said, calling to advance the “bold reconciliation package” that has a rocky road ahead in the House. McCarthy said “we need to move now on climate and we need to move broadly and with deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” Boston 25 News has more. – AFGHANISTAN FALLOUT: Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren are among the 44 senators calling on the Biden administration to create a humanitarian category and speed up the paperwork to help quickly relocate women leaders to the United States from Afghanistan. Pressley called for the U.S. to serve as a “refuge to those that are fleeing violence in the region.” The Boston Globe’s Jim Puzzanghera has more from the Massachusetts delegation on the still-unfolding chaos in Afghanistan. DATELINE D.C. – “Biden was barreling toward perilous political waters. Then Afghanistan happened,” by Natasha Korecki, Christopher Cadelago and Ally Mutnick, POLITICO: “The cataclysmic series of events over the last several days marked the most devastating period of the Biden presidency, and it comes at the precise moment when a growing number of Americans were already fearful of inflation and doubting Biden’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy. Now, Biden’s credibility on the world stage is on the line.” THE LOCAL ANGLE – “Former soldier and state rep., Naughton says he's 'devastated' by chaos in Afghanistan,” by Henry Schwan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “Harold Naughton has a ‘tremendous number of mixed emotions’ when it comes to what is happening in Afghanistan. The former 12th Worcester District state representative from Clinton — who served in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Army, and now works for the law firm Napoli Shkolnik — used the word ‘devastated’ to describe his feelings." – “'It breaks my heart,' says late soldier's mother,” by Paul Leighton, Salem News: “It was nearly 13 years ago when Beverly's Stephen Fortunato was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The death of the U.S. Army infantryman sparked an outpouring of grief and support in his hometown, where thousands of people lined the streets for his funeral procession. All these years later, the chaotic end to America's longest war is stirring emotions for Elizabeth Crawford, Fortunato's mother.” – “‘Anger, sadness, fear’: Veterans of Afghan war react to collapse,” by Brian MacQuarrie and Kate Lusignan, Boston Globe: “As shocking footage from the fall of Kabul played over and over, Afghanistan war veterans began calling Home Base, a Boston-based program that works to heal the emotional and psychiatric wounds of war.” – “Elms College dean ‘heartbroken’ over devastation in Haiti where nursing school has program,” by Anne-Gerard Flynn, Springfield Republican: “Kathleen Scoble, dean of the College of Our Lady of the Elms School of Nursing, has been closely monitoring her email since a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Saturday struck southwestern Haiti, killing more than 1,400 and injuring thousands more." – “Somerset seeing exodus of town officials,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Over the last three months, the police chief was replaced, the town planner was let go, and the town manager announced his retirement. The building inspector says he left last week to take a job elsewhere before he was terminated. He says the town’s politics is toxic, with his car being vandalized and a package being delivered to his home filled with off-color glitter. All of the departures coincide with a political makeover of the town and its Board of Selectmen that was triggered by outrage over the management of Brayton Point, a massive property on the Taunton River that used to be home to one of New England’s largest coal-fired power plants.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY – to Ari Meyerowitz and Lisa Murray. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . 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