The world is closer to nuclear war than at any time in recent memory. The Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria, killing seven Iranian officers, promised to unleash a series of cascading events that could engulf us in even more deadly conflicts. The fact that the Israeli government seemed oblivious to the implications of this assault only underscored the dangers the world now faces.

After launching hundreds of drones and missiles in retaliation, most of which were destroyed before doing any damage, Iranian officials indicated they considered the matter closed and did not intend further escalation. The world was able to breathe a little more easily.

Then Friday morning, April 19, Israel again attacked a military base in Iran. Iran has not retaliated. Both Israeli and Iranian officials seem to be saying this means an end to the current round in the long standing “shadow war” between them. But we have already entered a new stage of international tensions.

A new report on community initiatives and police practices documents the extraordinary levels of innovation in public safety emerging in communities across the country. The research examines the 50 largest U.S. cities and found that 44 of the 50 cities have an alternative 911 emergency response system, 34 of them are non-police centered, 30 cities have health centered responses to public safety, and 21 have “civilianization” initiatives that depend on unarmed city employees to handle incidents that are typically addressed by police. Overall, the study concluded “a remarkable 48 of the 50 cities have at least one program or initiative within those four categories.”

The report emphasizes that:

“When taken as a whole, these alternatives to police intervention are handling nearly every kind of call for service that police receive. In fact, for more than 90% of the 911 calls, there are already alternatives underway within major U.S. cities. In other words, these cities are collectively creating a blueprint for a dramatically different approach to community safety in the future.”

April 4th is a complicated date. It is the day that Dr. Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis shortly after speaking in support of striking sanitation workers. It is also the day, one year earlier, when he spoke at Riverside Church in New York, calling for an end to the Vietnam war and for a radical transformation in values. He indicted the US government as the “greatest purveyor of violence” in the world and tied the oppression of people at home to the destruction of people abroad by military violence. He said of his experiences in the cities of the north:

As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they asked -- and rightly so -- what about Vietnam? They asked if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.

City councils and public bodies are taking action to restrict or eliminate the ability of citizens to make public comments and engage in protests. The recent proposal by University of Michigan to limit and punish student demonstrations is part of a dangerous nationwide trend. It is one of the ways that democracy is killed. Step by step people are told to shut up, go away, that their concerns are causing inefficiencies. Many of these restrictions on public participation are in response to the vigorous debates that have emerged over demanding that local governments and municipalities take a position demanding a cease fire in Gaza.

Since the October 7 attack by Hamas and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza, more than 100 cities have called for a cease fire. While there has been some national attention to efforts in major cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, and San Francisco, smaller towns and villages are also joining in the effort. Most resolutions call upon federal officials to take direct action demanding a cease fire and the provision of humanitarian aid.

This week the announcement that the District Detroit project will be delayed until at least 2025 surprised no one. It is a glaring reminder of the failure of the strategy of using public money to support private business development.

It has been a year since the Detroit City Council and the state of Michigan agreed to nearly a billion dollars in tax breaks and incentives to support the development of District Detroit, a multi building, mixed use proposal crafted by the Ilitch family business to develop the area north of their Little Caesars Arena (LCA). The LCA is also a private enterprise supported with public funds.

We are in the midst of the month of Ramadan, a sacred time for those of the Islamic faith. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and reflection in community. As millions of Muslims pause the rhythms of daily life to reflect on faith and moral obligations, the rest of the world seems propelled toward a madness of mass destruction.

The level of violence we are inflicting on one another, in its ferocity and duration, is unprecedented since the end of the last global war nearly a century ago. From Haiti, Ukraine, and Gaza to our streets and bedrooms, violent assault and death are commonplace. Meanwhile ecosystems are collapsing at an ever-accelerating rate and the land and waters that support life are shifting toward disruption. The desire to protect ourselves, as individuals isolated from community, is driving those in authority to make decisions that only intensify these crises. Operating on the belief that more force will somehow bring peace; our government is in the absurd position of providing weapons with one hand and “humanitarian aid” with the other.

President Joe Biden delivered a State of the Union Address that buoyed the hope of democrats doubting his energy and ability. In a relaxed, combative, and energetic mode, President Biden set forth his vision of hope and optimism for the country. He underscored the seriousness of this moment saying, “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today.” Raising his voice he shouted, “What makes our moment rare is the freedom of democracy, under attack both at home and overseas.”

Many of his strongest moments came when he went off the script, bantering with republicans who jeered him, addressing the Supreme Court directly and chastising them for being out of touch, or speaking about his understanding of the pain of losing a child.

In little more than 3 weeks, a multiethnic, multi-generational and multi faith collection of people coalesced to take a stand against President Biden’s refusal to use his influence for a cease fire. More than 100,000 voters cast ballots for uncommitted as a protest of US support of Israel’s assault on Gaza. Roughly 13% of all votes cast were uncommitted, and in some cities and towns more than half the people took a stand to demand a change in policy. Andy Levin, an activist with deep political roots in Michigan said on Democracy Now, “I’ve rarely seen such an organic and authentic movement come together. We really need actual change in policy, and I think we sent that message strongly.” The uncommitted campaign is now expected to move to other battle ground states. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said, "This coalition is one that wants to bring the morality back to this country because somewhere along the line, we have lost it."

The Movement 4 Black Lives and GenForward hosted a conversation on Black Perspectives on Community Safety to highlight a new report released this week measuring Black people’s experiences with policing and incarceration, and their feelings about alternatives to these systems. Dr. Cathy Cohen of the University of Chicago and GenForward was the lead scholar. She explained that the national survey was designed to give a picture of the complexity and nuanced experiences of Black people. By centering the voices of people’s perceptions on safety this data can help us think in imaginative ways about creating movements for just, safe, and healthy communities.

The report begins acknowledging the complicated reality of most Black people in relationship to police. A large majority of the responders fear the police in crisis and emergency situations. A large majority reported that they or someone they knew had negative interactions with police. At the same time a majority of Black people say they would call the police because there are no other sources of help. This dilemma, and the recognition of broader systemic issues, results in widespread support for comprehensive reforms, new initiatives that create public safety, and transforming policing when specific alternatives are offered.

Here is some of the data to consider:

New York is sinking. So is Boston. A recent study from Virginia Tech documents that the entire eastern seaboard is going down. This sinking is not only due to the rise of oceans. It’s directly related to the loss of ground water.

We should be especially engaged with this emerging understanding. While the Great Lakes are the largest unfrozen freshwater ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, they are fed by a complex system of underground aquifers. Most estimates say that our groundwater is the equivalent to all of Lake Michigan. And like our neighbors on the eastern coasts, we have not been good stewards.

Veolia North America and people in Flint agreed recently to a $25 million settlement for damages suffered in the water contamination crisis that began in 2014. This is a welcome victory, in a long and enduring struggle. It is also a powerful reminder of the role Veolia has played in the struggles for justice in Palestine.

Over the last decade, Veolia has embodied the connections between Palestine and Black liberation in the US. It has also demonstrated the effectiveness of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement as a nonviolent, direct-action strategy to challenge Zionism and Israel.

The ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did not result in a cease fire in Gaza. But this does not diminish its importance. The ICJ ordered Israel to take immediate steps to prevent acts of genocide. It demanded that the government take actions “to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide; to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance;” to protect Palestinian civilians, especially the 50,000 women giving birth and to prevent the destruction of evidence related genocide.

This week, as we witness what the International Court of Justice describes as “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip” and it issues a preliminary order requiring Israel “to take actions to ensure its soldiers and citizens adhere to the Genocide Convention,” the issues we face at home can feel less urgent.