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This article first appeared on Reel Time with Richard Ades
One of my favorite movies of 2024 was The Seed of the Sacred Fig, about a family torn apart by Iran’s theocratic dictatorship. In the same year, one of my favorite guilty pleasures was Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid-inspired TV series that was wrapping up its six-season run.
So maybe it’s no surprise that one of my favorite films of 2025 is Tatami, which combines a jab at Iranian authoritarianism with youthful martial arts.
Before you let your imagination run wild, no, this is not the tale of two dojos that trade chops and kicks while arguing over Islamic principles. Instead, it centers on Leila Hosseini, an Iranian athlete who travels to Tbilisi, Georgia to take part in an international judo competition.
Portrayed with fierce determination by Adrienne Mandi, Leila psyches herself up for what she knows will be a grueling test of her skill and stamina. In one long day, a series of bouts will pit her against some of the world’s toughest competitors.
Thursday, June 26, 2025, 8:00 PM
The "Midnight Rockets" were not myths or isolated incidents—they were deliberate, engineered releases of radioactive gas from the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Energy during and after the Cold War. Declassified documents from 1985 confirm that technetium-99 and uranium hexafluoride were routinely vented into the atmosphere through a 164-foot exhaust system known as the Tall Stack, with minimal filtration and ineffective monitoring. By 1994, government data showed that nearly 86% of airborne radioactive emissions at the site came from this process. Decades later, a federal whistleblower lawsuit and independent environmental testing in 2023 revealed off-site contamination. The pattern of exposure matches prevailing wind data, confirming that the so-called "Midnight Rockets" silently blanketed communities in radioactive fallout for years.
Then the legendary RAY MCCLENDON gets us up to date with the mass disenfranchisement Vigilante strategy for stealing the upcoming elections in Georgia.
Alabama native RUTH STRAUSS affirms the need to protect the vote in the upcoming 2026 elections.
Long-time activist DIANE CAMERON raises the issue of working with labor unions, especially amidst growing discussion of a general strike.
From BOB BABCOCK we get an exhortation to take over the Democratic Party.
Repeat speaker ALEX WILLIAMS discusses the need for grassroots organizing.
Co-host MIKE HERSH alerts us to major grassroots victories in Arizona.
From NICK CRAYNE we hear of the need for a “shame primary” for right-wing Democrats.
From Arizona’s LEE STANFIELD we get a reminder that the Democrats sabotaged Bernie’s campaign without denying it, and that the Party is a privately-owned entity that always attacks the Greens on every possible level.
From MAGGIE BOYD we get an earful about “General Strike US” and the need to get 3.5% of the general population in support of such an action, which would be 11 million citizens.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W Weisheimer Rd, Columbus 43214
Join other members of Indivisible Central Ohio for our monthly in person member meeting, fourth Wednesday of every month. We will discuss current actions and activities and hear from you about your ideas for new actions!
Register HERE.
Last Wednesday, a new Ohio bill was introduced to give legal rights to embryos and fetuses. Sound bizarre? We've seen it in other states, because it's an extreme plot by anti-abortion groups to ban all abortion, but the idea would go so far that it also criminalizes IVF and bans many forms of contraception and miscarriage management.
The belief that all people are equal and want peace is comforting. But comfort does not make it true.
The 20th century offered a brutal lesson: whole nations can be reshaped by totalitarian rule until their populations lose the moral instincts of free societies. And unless force intervenes, they do not return to normal on their own.
We see this in the starkest form in North Korea. One bloodline, one culture, and one language split in two by ideology. The result? One half of Korea became a global democracy; the other became a dynastic death cult. Over decades, North Koreans have been deprived not just of material comforts, but of history, truth, even selfhood.
They have not simply been ruled by terror. They have been reprogrammed.
The sanctuary of Trinity Episcopal Church on Capitol Square (125 E. Broad St. Columbus, Ohio 43215) will be open from 9am - 4pm on Tuesday, June 24th. Restrooms and bottled water provided. A simple 25 minute service of Holy Communion open to all will be offered in the side chapel at Noon.
Approximately 50 people representing various organizations, including Veterans for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine, and The Communist Party of the United States, protested against ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in downtown Columbus, Ohio last Tuesday, June 17, 2025. The protest repeats each Tuesday from 4:30-6PM.
Protestors walked with signs and chanted “Stop ICE” at specific intersections near parking garages where workers were leaving their jobs at 5:00 PM. Protesters loudly voiced phrases such as “Say it Loud. Say it Clear. Immigrants are Welcome Here,” and “No ICE. NO KKK. No Fascist USA.”
Ahmed Gallab’s Parliament meets Radiohead band Sinkane exists as exemplification of the potential of a Columbus artist. Sinkane’s latest release City Slang We Belong is a scorcher which anyone that likes Parliament, Prince, and LCD Soundsystem would find pleasing.
Ahmed attended OSU. Ahmed played at Cafe Bourbon Street, and the Legion of Doom. Sinkane has performed on Democracy Now and several other TV shows.
Which is the selling point for We Belong? Beastie Boys or Okay Afrika? Sinkane’s We Belong is co-produced by the Beastie Boy’s sampling into live instrumentation guru Money-Mark.
Sinkane’s We Belong features a crooning from Bilal. Features don’t overshadow Sinkane but Soulquarians’ Bilal does indicate Sinkane’s musical altitude. Bilal singing does signify Okay Africa press is an underrated music accolade.
Sinkane lives in New York City where he has shared stages with both Pharaoh Sanders, and Femi Kuti. Sinkane makes world music that people who love Bad Brains would appreciate.
Sinkane’s next Columbus Concert is June 30th at Natalies.
Monday, June 23, 2025, 8:00 PM
Join the Teach-In Network, RootsAction and Defuse Nuclear War to learn about what’s going on in Iran, the deeper history of Israel-Iran relations, and what we might expect from the coming days, weeks, and months. In a moment when consent to a destructive and foolish war on Iran is being actively manufactured, it’s essential to come together as a movement, share information, and strategize.