Veterans symbolically discard service medals at anti-NATO rally

Nearly 50 U.S. military veterans at an anti-NATO rally in Chicago threw their service medals into the street on Sunday, an action they said symbolized their rejection of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some of the veterans, many wearing military uniform shirts over black anti-war t-shirts, choked back tears as they explained their actions. Others folded an American flag while a bugle played "Taps," which is typically performed at U.S. military funerals.

"The medals are supposed to be for acts of heroism. I don't feel like a hero. I don't feel like I deserve them," said Zach LaPorte, who served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

Read details: Reuters

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Thousands begin NATO protest march through Chicago

Thousands of demonstrators upset with the war in Afghanistan, climate change and the erosion of union rights marched through downtown Chicago on Sunday, taking their discontent on a wide range of issues to world leaders assembled for a NATO summit.

The protest, one of the city's largest in years, was to end at the lakeside convention center hosting the two-day meeting.

Some are calling for the dissolution of NATO, the 63-year-old military alliance that is holding its 25th formal meeting in Chicago. It was the first time the gathering had been held in a U.S. city other than Washington.

Read more: Chron

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The NATO summit template for policing the 'other Chicago'

Chicago is bracing itself for the upcoming summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) this weekend. An unprecedented convergence of summit delegates and their entourages, protesters, and police, is meeting in the third largest city in the United States – the first time in the United States that a city other than Washington, DC will host a NATO event.

Beginning last fall, the crack down on the Occupy movement in Chicago has resulted into arrest of 300 people participating in successive attempts to establish an Occupy camp.

Due to arising poverty, Chicago has become the youth murder capital of the United States. More than 530 young people have been killed since 2008 – nearly 80% of them living in the 22 neighborhoods that comprise the majority of blacks and Latinos living in the city.


Read more: The Guardian

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