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Buses carrying veterans from all around the country continue to arrive at Standing Rock. (Photo: ChuckModi/Twitter)
On Sunday, the first official day of the Veterans Stand for Standing Rock action, thousands of veterans continue to pour into the Oceti Sakowin camp.
The veterans have traveled from all over the United States to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its supporters from ongoing police violence as the water protectors maintain their peaceful stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
"I felt it was our duty to come and stand in front of the guns and the mace and the water and the threat that they pose to these people," Navy veteran Anthony Murtha, who traveled to North Dakota from Detroit, toldReuters.
The Indigenous activists have welcomed the veterans, who have served the United States in wars going back to WWII. One veteran is 95, according to action organizers. The veterans plan to act as unarmed "human shields" for the Indigenous activists.
"It's symbolic for people who stood up for this nation's freedom to stand up for the first inhabitants of this nation," said Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to Reuters Saturday.
A global unified prayer action on behalf of the Indigenous water protectors, led at the Oceti Sakowin camp by Dr. Cornel West, took place Sunday morning as the veterans streamed into the camp. West traveled to Standing Rock with representatives from the Nation Nurses United (NNU) union on Saturday.
The Oceti Sakowin camp said that 208 groups around the world took part in what the camp described as "the most peaceful form of action."
West also spoke to the Indigenous water protectors late Saturday, expressing solidarity with the Indigenous people "here and around the world" in their struggle against the "forces trying to crush spirit, land, person, baby, woman, child."
"We will do it together," West said. "Water is life."
Veterans, reporters, and Indigenous activists shared photos and videos of the ongoing arrival of the over 3,000 veterans:
\u201cSteady stream of vehicles 12/3/16 couple miles long. Volunteer security guard "every other car has been veterans." #NoDAPL\u201d— Antonia Gonzales (@Antonia Gonzales) 1480859689
\u201c#StandingRock #Waterislife\u201d— Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a (@Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a) 1480862189
One veteran posting to social media also described the full extent of the police and security presence as "surreal"--but the water protectors' solidarity as "beyond beautiful":
The arrival of the veterans--and the accompanying mainstream media attention--may have catalyzed a slight shift in relations with police, as a meeting Thursday between Indigenous leaders, one of the veteran organizers, and law enforcement resulted in a "tentative agreement" that the police would retreat from the blockaded Backwater Bridge near the Oceti Sakowin camp. The move would put more space between the water protectors and the militarized police force.
However, the police also claimed that violent instigators had infiltrated the camp, but refused to name them. "Law enforcement has stated that there are known infiltrators in our camp but refuse to tell us who they are," Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network said in a statement. "This is counterproductive to de-escalating the situation as we cannot work to remove these individuals from camp."
Mossett further noted that "law enforcement has agreed to move the barricade back as long as we comply with their requests to stay off the bridge. This accomplishes nothing besides setting up a trap that entices potential infiltrators or aggressors to go on the bridge."
"Taxpayers continue to pay for the police force and Army National Guard to protect the Dakota Access Pipeline," Mosset added. "It would be fine if the law enforcement would operate within the laws and hold this company accountable for their countless violations and attacks on us but instead they continue to protect a private corporation."
Watch Indigenous Rising Media's video of that meeting here:
And on Saturday, the police suggested that the veterans traveling Standing Rock may be suffering from PTSD and could be "triggered" into violence by Indigenous water protectors. The charge incensed many activists and allies, who pointed out that the main traumatic force in the camp has been police brutality and violence against the water protectors.
"The twisted irony of police fretting over vet PTSD when police themselves have given frontline water protectors PTSD," tweeted Lakota Sioux writer Ruth Hopkins.
Veterans and water protectors strongly maintain their commitment to peace. Yet many observers still fear the activists will suffer violence at the hands of police--particularly as Monday is the deadline for the protest camp evacuation orders from North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The police brutality has long concerned Amnesty International, which has had humanitarian observers on the ground for the past several weeks. The rights group sent an open letter (pdf) Saturday to President Barack Obama demanding action on behalf of the water protectors.
"Under international law, the government is obligated to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, not treat people as enemies on a battlefield," said Zeke Johnson, managing director of the Individuals at Risk program at Amnesty International. "These abuses must be stopped, the Department of Justice must investigate and the evacuation orders must be rescinded."
Moreover, added Johnson, "President Obama must ensure that construction fully stops, that no drilling under the Missouri River takes place, and that the rights of Indigenous People are respected, protected and fulfilled."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
On Sunday, the first official day of the Veterans Stand for Standing Rock action, thousands of veterans continue to pour into the Oceti Sakowin camp.
The veterans have traveled from all over the United States to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its supporters from ongoing police violence as the water protectors maintain their peaceful stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
"I felt it was our duty to come and stand in front of the guns and the mace and the water and the threat that they pose to these people," Navy veteran Anthony Murtha, who traveled to North Dakota from Detroit, toldReuters.
The Indigenous activists have welcomed the veterans, who have served the United States in wars going back to WWII. One veteran is 95, according to action organizers. The veterans plan to act as unarmed "human shields" for the Indigenous activists.
"It's symbolic for people who stood up for this nation's freedom to stand up for the first inhabitants of this nation," said Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to Reuters Saturday.
A global unified prayer action on behalf of the Indigenous water protectors, led at the Oceti Sakowin camp by Dr. Cornel West, took place Sunday morning as the veterans streamed into the camp. West traveled to Standing Rock with representatives from the Nation Nurses United (NNU) union on Saturday.
The Oceti Sakowin camp said that 208 groups around the world took part in what the camp described as "the most peaceful form of action."
West also spoke to the Indigenous water protectors late Saturday, expressing solidarity with the Indigenous people "here and around the world" in their struggle against the "forces trying to crush spirit, land, person, baby, woman, child."
"We will do it together," West said. "Water is life."
Veterans, reporters, and Indigenous activists shared photos and videos of the ongoing arrival of the over 3,000 veterans:
\u201cSteady stream of vehicles 12/3/16 couple miles long. Volunteer security guard "every other car has been veterans." #NoDAPL\u201d— Antonia Gonzales (@Antonia Gonzales) 1480859689
\u201c#StandingRock #Waterislife\u201d— Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a (@Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a) 1480862189
One veteran posting to social media also described the full extent of the police and security presence as "surreal"--but the water protectors' solidarity as "beyond beautiful":
The arrival of the veterans--and the accompanying mainstream media attention--may have catalyzed a slight shift in relations with police, as a meeting Thursday between Indigenous leaders, one of the veteran organizers, and law enforcement resulted in a "tentative agreement" that the police would retreat from the blockaded Backwater Bridge near the Oceti Sakowin camp. The move would put more space between the water protectors and the militarized police force.
However, the police also claimed that violent instigators had infiltrated the camp, but refused to name them. "Law enforcement has stated that there are known infiltrators in our camp but refuse to tell us who they are," Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network said in a statement. "This is counterproductive to de-escalating the situation as we cannot work to remove these individuals from camp."
Mossett further noted that "law enforcement has agreed to move the barricade back as long as we comply with their requests to stay off the bridge. This accomplishes nothing besides setting up a trap that entices potential infiltrators or aggressors to go on the bridge."
"Taxpayers continue to pay for the police force and Army National Guard to protect the Dakota Access Pipeline," Mosset added. "It would be fine if the law enforcement would operate within the laws and hold this company accountable for their countless violations and attacks on us but instead they continue to protect a private corporation."
Watch Indigenous Rising Media's video of that meeting here:
And on Saturday, the police suggested that the veterans traveling Standing Rock may be suffering from PTSD and could be "triggered" into violence by Indigenous water protectors. The charge incensed many activists and allies, who pointed out that the main traumatic force in the camp has been police brutality and violence against the water protectors.
"The twisted irony of police fretting over vet PTSD when police themselves have given frontline water protectors PTSD," tweeted Lakota Sioux writer Ruth Hopkins.
Veterans and water protectors strongly maintain their commitment to peace. Yet many observers still fear the activists will suffer violence at the hands of police--particularly as Monday is the deadline for the protest camp evacuation orders from North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The police brutality has long concerned Amnesty International, which has had humanitarian observers on the ground for the past several weeks. The rights group sent an open letter (pdf) Saturday to President Barack Obama demanding action on behalf of the water protectors.
"Under international law, the government is obligated to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, not treat people as enemies on a battlefield," said Zeke Johnson, managing director of the Individuals at Risk program at Amnesty International. "These abuses must be stopped, the Department of Justice must investigate and the evacuation orders must be rescinded."
Moreover, added Johnson, "President Obama must ensure that construction fully stops, that no drilling under the Missouri River takes place, and that the rights of Indigenous People are respected, protected and fulfilled."
On Sunday, the first official day of the Veterans Stand for Standing Rock action, thousands of veterans continue to pour into the Oceti Sakowin camp.
The veterans have traveled from all over the United States to protect the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its supporters from ongoing police violence as the water protectors maintain their peaceful stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
"I felt it was our duty to come and stand in front of the guns and the mace and the water and the threat that they pose to these people," Navy veteran Anthony Murtha, who traveled to North Dakota from Detroit, toldReuters.
The Indigenous activists have welcomed the veterans, who have served the United States in wars going back to WWII. One veteran is 95, according to action organizers. The veterans plan to act as unarmed "human shields" for the Indigenous activists.
"It's symbolic for people who stood up for this nation's freedom to stand up for the first inhabitants of this nation," said Dave Archambault II, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to Reuters Saturday.
A global unified prayer action on behalf of the Indigenous water protectors, led at the Oceti Sakowin camp by Dr. Cornel West, took place Sunday morning as the veterans streamed into the camp. West traveled to Standing Rock with representatives from the Nation Nurses United (NNU) union on Saturday.
The Oceti Sakowin camp said that 208 groups around the world took part in what the camp described as "the most peaceful form of action."
West also spoke to the Indigenous water protectors late Saturday, expressing solidarity with the Indigenous people "here and around the world" in their struggle against the "forces trying to crush spirit, land, person, baby, woman, child."
"We will do it together," West said. "Water is life."
Veterans, reporters, and Indigenous activists shared photos and videos of the ongoing arrival of the over 3,000 veterans:
\u201cSteady stream of vehicles 12/3/16 couple miles long. Volunteer security guard "every other car has been veterans." #NoDAPL\u201d— Antonia Gonzales (@Antonia Gonzales) 1480859689
\u201c#StandingRock #Waterislife\u201d— Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a (@Tulsi Gabbard \ud83c\udf3a) 1480862189
One veteran posting to social media also described the full extent of the police and security presence as "surreal"--but the water protectors' solidarity as "beyond beautiful":
The arrival of the veterans--and the accompanying mainstream media attention--may have catalyzed a slight shift in relations with police, as a meeting Thursday between Indigenous leaders, one of the veteran organizers, and law enforcement resulted in a "tentative agreement" that the police would retreat from the blockaded Backwater Bridge near the Oceti Sakowin camp. The move would put more space between the water protectors and the militarized police force.
However, the police also claimed that violent instigators had infiltrated the camp, but refused to name them. "Law enforcement has stated that there are known infiltrators in our camp but refuse to tell us who they are," Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network said in a statement. "This is counterproductive to de-escalating the situation as we cannot work to remove these individuals from camp."
Mossett further noted that "law enforcement has agreed to move the barricade back as long as we comply with their requests to stay off the bridge. This accomplishes nothing besides setting up a trap that entices potential infiltrators or aggressors to go on the bridge."
"Taxpayers continue to pay for the police force and Army National Guard to protect the Dakota Access Pipeline," Mosset added. "It would be fine if the law enforcement would operate within the laws and hold this company accountable for their countless violations and attacks on us but instead they continue to protect a private corporation."
Watch Indigenous Rising Media's video of that meeting here:
And on Saturday, the police suggested that the veterans traveling Standing Rock may be suffering from PTSD and could be "triggered" into violence by Indigenous water protectors. The charge incensed many activists and allies, who pointed out that the main traumatic force in the camp has been police brutality and violence against the water protectors.
"The twisted irony of police fretting over vet PTSD when police themselves have given frontline water protectors PTSD," tweeted Lakota Sioux writer Ruth Hopkins.
Veterans and water protectors strongly maintain their commitment to peace. Yet many observers still fear the activists will suffer violence at the hands of police--particularly as Monday is the deadline for the protest camp evacuation orders from North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The police brutality has long concerned Amnesty International, which has had humanitarian observers on the ground for the past several weeks. The rights group sent an open letter (pdf) Saturday to President Barack Obama demanding action on behalf of the water protectors.
"Under international law, the government is obligated to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, not treat people as enemies on a battlefield," said Zeke Johnson, managing director of the Individuals at Risk program at Amnesty International. "These abuses must be stopped, the Department of Justice must investigate and the evacuation orders must be rescinded."
Moreover, added Johnson, "President Obama must ensure that construction fully stops, that no drilling under the Missouri River takes place, and that the rights of Indigenous People are respected, protected and fulfilled."
"I think that the Democratic Party has to make a fundamental decision," says the independent Senator from Vermont, "and I'm not sure that they will make the right decision."
"I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a 'pseudo-democracy.'"
That's what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Sunday morning in response to questions from CBS News about the state of the nation, with President Donald Trump gutting the federal government from head to toe, challenging constitutional norms, allowing his cabinet of billionaires to run key agencies they philosophically want to destroy, and empowering Elon Musk—the world's richest person—to run roughshod over public education, undermine healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and attack Social Security.
Taking a weekend away from his ongoing "Fight Oligarchy" tour, which has drawn record crowds in both right-leaning and left-leaning regions of the country over recent weeks, Sanders said the problem is deeply entrenched now in the nation's political system—and both major parties have a lot to answer for.
"One of the other concerns when I talk about oligarchy," Sanders explained to journalist Robert Acosta, "it's not just massive income and wealth inequality. It's not just the power of the billionaire class. These guys, led by Musk—and as a result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision—have now allowed billionaires essentially to own our political process. So, I think when we talk about America is a democracy, I think we should rephrase it, call it a 'pseudo-democracy.' And it's not just Musk and the Republicans; it's billionaires in the Democratic Party as well."
Sanders said that while he's been out on the road in various places, what he perceives—from Americans of all stripes—is a shared sense of dread and frustration.
"I think I'm seeing fear, and I'm seeing anger," he said. "Sixty percent of our people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Media doesn't talk about it. We don't talk about it enough here in Congress."
In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Friday night, just before the Republican-controlled chamber was able to pass a sweeping spending resolution that will lay waste to vital programs like Medicaid and food assistance to needy families so that billionaires and the ultra-rich can enjoy even more tax giveaways, Sanders said, "What we have is a budget proposal in front of us that makes bad situations much worse and does virtually nothing to protect the needs of working families."
LIVE: I'm on the floor now talking about Trump's totally absurd budget.
They got it exactly backwards. No tax cuts for billionaires by cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for Americans. https://t.co/ULB2KosOSJ
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 4, 2025
What the GOP spending plan does do, he added, "is reward wealthy campaign contributors by providing over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the top one percent."
"I wish my Republican friends the best of luck when they go home—if they dare to hold town hall meetings—and explain to their constituents why they think, at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, it's a great idea to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut Medicaid, education, and other programs that working class families desperately need."
On Saturday, millions of people took to the street in coordinated protests against the Trump administration's attack on government, the economy, and democracy itself.
Voiced at many of the rallies was also a frustration with the failure of the Democrats to stand up to Trump and offer an alternative vision for what the nation can be. In his CBS News interview, Sanders said the key question Democrats need to be asking is the one too many people in Washington, D.C. tend to avoid.
"Why are [the Democrats] held in so low esteem?" That's the question that needs asking, he said.
"Why has the working class in this country largely turned away from them? And what do you have to do to recapture that working class? Do you think working people are voting for Trump because he wants to give massive tax breaks to billionaires and cut Social Security and Medicare? I don't think so. It's because people say, 'I am hurting. Democratic Party has talked a good game for years. They haven't done anything.' So, I think that the Democratic Party has to make a fundamental decision, and I'm not sure that they will make the right decision, which side are they on? [Will] they continue to hustle large campaign contributions from very, very wealthy people, or do they stand with the working class?"
The next leg of Sanders' "Fight Oligarchy' tour will kick off next Saturday, with stops in California, Utah, and Idaho over four days.
"The American people, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents, do not want billionaires to control our government or buy our elections," said Sanders. "That is why I will be visiting Republican-held districts all over the Western United States. When we are organized and fight back, we can defeat oligarchy."
"Imagine if federal worker unions and Democratic Party officials showed up at the plant gate of a company that was about to close its doors," said one labor advocate recently. "Why aren't the Democrats doing this?"
Congressman Ro Khanna is raising the alarm about mass layoffs in the U.S. economy resulting from President Donald Trump's failed economic policies. Over 4,000 factory workers lost their jobs this week due to firings or plant closures.
On Thursday, automaker Stellantis, citing conditions created by Trump's tariffs, announced temporary layoffs for 900 workers, represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW). "The affected U.S. employees," reported CNN, "work at five different Midwest plants: the Warren Stamping and Sterling Stamping plants in Michigan, as well as the Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant and Kokomo Casting Plant, all in Kokomo, Indiana."
In a social media thread on Saturday night, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)—a lawmaker who has advocating loudly, including in books and in Congress, for an industrialization policy that would bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States—posted a litany of other layoffs announced recently as part of the economic devastation and chaos unleashed by Trump as well as conditions that reveal how vulnerable U.S. workers remain.
"This week," Khann wrote, "19 factories had mass layoffs, 15 closed, and 4,134 factory workers across America lost their jobs. Cleveland-Cliffs laid off 1,200 workers in Michigan and Minnesota as they deal with the impact of Trump's tariffs on steel and auto imports."
"We need jobs and currently at this time, the majority of the companies that we work with and represent our members at are not hiring." —Mark DePaoli, UAW
For union leaders representing those workers at Cleveland-Cliffs, they said "chaos" was the operative word. "Chaos. You know? A lot of questions. You've got a lot of people who worked there a long time that are potentially losing their job," Bill Wilhelm, a servicing representative and editor with UAW Local 600, told local ABC News affiliate WXYZ-Channel 7.
The United Auto Workers says the layoff fund set aside for those losing their jobs won't last long and find them new jobs of that quality will not be easy. "Our first concern will be to look around at all the companies where we have members and see if we can find jobs," said the local's 1st vice president, Mark DePaoli. "I mean, jobs are going to be the key. We need jobs and currently at this time, the majority of the companies that we work with and represent our members at are not hiring."
The pain of workers in families in Dearborn, as indicated by Khanna's thread, is just the tip of the iceberg. In post after post, he cataloged a stream of new layoffs impacting workers nationwide and across various sectors:
With public sector workers being fired in massive numbers nationwide due to the blitzkrieg unleashed by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, private sector workers are no strangers to mass layoffs within a U.S. economy dominated by corporate interests and union density still at historic lows.
Les Leopold, executive director of the Labor Institute who has been sounding the alarm for years about the devastation associated with mass layoffs, wrote recently about how the situation is even worse than he previously understood. On top of existing corporate greed and the stock buyback phenomena driving many of the mass layoffs in the private sector, Trump's mismanagement of tariff and trade policy is almost certain to make things worse, triggering more job losses in addition to higher costs on consumer goods.
In order to combat Trump, Leopold wrote last month, "Democrats should take a page from Trump and put job protection on the top of their agenda. As tariffs bite and cause job destruction, the Democrats should show up and support those laid-off workers."
Instead of simply calling Trump's tariffs "insane," which many rightly have, the Democrats "should call them job-killing tariffs," advised Leopold. "As prices rise, they can blame Trump for that as well."
With Trump's economic policies coming into full view, the picture is bleak for businesses large and small—and that means more pain for workers.
As Axios' Ben Berkowitz reported Saturday. "When everything gets more expensive everywhere because of tariffs, that starts a cycle for businesses, too — one that might end with layoffs, bankruptcies, and higher prices for the survivors' customers," he explained. "The cycle is just starting now, but the pain is immediate."
The "big picture," Berkowitz continued, is this:
The stock market is not the economy, but if you want a decent proxy for Main Street businesses, look at the Russell 2000, a broad measure of the stock market's small companies across industries.
—It's down almost 20% this year alone.
—That in and of itself doesn't make a business turn the lights off, but it says something about public confidence in their prospects.
—"The market is like a real time poll ... this is going to impact all businesses in one way or another undoubtedly," Ken Mahoney of Mahoney Asset Management wrote Friday.
In Sunday comments to Common Dreams, Leopold wanted to know where Khanna and other Democrats were last year when John Deere laid off a thousand workers.
"What do the progressive Democrats have to say about the tens of thousands of mass layoffs that take place each month? Radio silence," he said. "It would be useful if they had a policy that addressed Wall Street induced mass layoffs rather than just opposing tariffs, but I wouldn't bet on that."
On the question of silence and who, ultimately, will stand up for American workers—whether in the public or private sector—it's not clear who will emerge as a true defender or what forces would galvanize to truly represent the interests of the nation's working class.
"Imagine if federal worker unions and Democratic Party officials showed up at the plant gate of a company that was about to close its doors to finance hefty stock buybacks for its billionaire owners," Leopold wrote in early March. "A show of support for their fellow layoff victims and a unity message aimed at stopping billionaire job destruction would be simple to craft and easy to share. It would be news."
"Why aren't the Democrats doing this?" he asked.
"Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country who are standing up and speaking out for our voting rights, fundamental freedoms, and essential services like Social Security and Medicare."
In communities large and small across the United States on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people collectively took to the streets to make their opposition to President Donald Trump heard.
The people who took part in the organized protests ranged from very young children to the elderly and their message was scrawled on signs of all sizes and colors—many of them angry, some of them funny, but all in line with the "Hands Off" message that brought them together.
"Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country who are standing up and speaking out for our voting rights, fundamental freedoms, and essential services like Social Security and Medicare," said the group Stand Up America as word of the turnout poured in from across the country.
A relatively small, but representative sample of photographs from various demonstrations that took place follows.
Demonstrators gather on Boston Common, cheering and chanting slogans, during the nationwide "Hands Off!" protest against US President Donald Trump and his advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in Boston, Massachusetts on April 5, 2025. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP)