Human Rights

We don’t see very much in the mainstream media about the situation in Palestine since the ceasefire of the 11-day war last May. In that short war, at least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Twelve people were killed in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl.

That the ceasefire is holding is good news. However, the conditions on the ground that led to that conflict continue, like the expulsions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and there are reports of increased violence. According to the October update of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Violence continues during the ceasefire, with an additional 100 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and Gaza, and thousands injured. One Israeli was killed since the cease fire. Settler violence has increased, including injury and property damage.

At a Walmart on Columbus’ far westside there are 200 job openings, according to frontline workers there.

On a recent Friday afternoon at an eastside Kroger, only three unautomated checkout lines were open, and its state-controlled liquor store shut its doors at 3:30 pm for lack of an employee to staff it.

Giant Eagle, which gobbled up Big Bear with hardly an afterthought for its long-time employees, is now begging for workers – yet still offering only $11-an-hour (so much for being “essential”). 

Central Ohio’s fast-food workers, surviving on unlivable wages and treated poorly by demanding suburban soccer moms, might be sporting the biggest of Cheshire Cat smiles. Columbus’s own White Castle, on street placards, is screaming they’re paying $14-an-hour, letting everyone know fast-food workers are in huge demand, as franchise owners sweat bullets over whether they can afford that second or even third country club membership.

The overworked, the underpaid, and those who face the greatest risk from COVID-19 may finally get the pay and respect they deserve. Indeed, Walmarts in Columbus have boosted pay to nearly $15-an-hour.

Here’s what happened at the October Free Press Second Saturday Cyber-Salon on October 9.

Watch the salon video here

Free Press Board member Mark Stansbery kicked the salon off by announcing it was the Free Press’ annual “Libby” award ceremony.

Free Press volunteer Suzanne Patzer explained who Libby Gregory was – she was aformer 70s and 80s era Free Press Editor and tireless activist for environmental, peace and women's issues. She was also an entrepreneur -- starting the first vegetarian restaurant in Columbus, the King Avenue Coffee House; Tradewinds (one-time home of the Free Press); and Byzantium, colubus’ premier bead store. She was tragically killed in a 1991 plane crash. The Free Press honors her memory by giving the Libby award each year to honor our local community heroes, who promote alternative paths and are helping to give birth to a better world.

Ohio’s medical marijuana law and program are not perfect and there have been complaints – prices are too high, the state-mandated THC levels are too low, you can’t grow your own medicine, and the complaint heard most often, it’s illegal in Ohio to smoke your own medicine.

Nevertheless, the program has helped tens of thousands cope with AIDS, cancer and Parkinsons, among others, and also arthritis and chronic migraines, two new qualifying medical conditions.

The latest numbers provided by the state show just over 200,000 registered patients, with over 800 having a terminal diagnosis, 14,000 being veterans and 15,000 indigent status or not having the means to purchase their medicine.

The program has saved lives, in ways many may not believe is possible, but believe it.

“The program has saved my life as I’m a recovering heroin addict,” says 30-something Anthony Ballein, a single father who lives near Cincinnati. “I am happy with the program overall as it has helped me to stay sober.”

Back in August, I had the honor of emceeing the Libertarian Party of Ohio’s annual State Conference, held in a hotel banquet hall just north of 270. Unlike previous years, it wasn’t quite a “convention” anymore, because the Libertarians are no longer a recognized minor political party in the state. This is due to the restrictive ballot access laws created by SB 193 that were passed by former Governor John Kasich and his Republican cronies in 2013. Of course, I’m not bitter about that at all and I won’t bring it up again! But it’s important to understand that the ballot access struggles the Libertarians (and Ohio Green Party) were faced with eight years ago were indicative, especially considering the most recent Ohio Redistricting Commission process, where the Republicans disregarded fairness once more.

Oppo research. Never forget. Adult use initiative a go. The bird is a word.

Selected bites of fresh cannabis news sliced from the headlines, with a legislative flavor and sweet Ohio twist. Sources are linked.

Editor’s Note:Updated tables of pending cannabis legislation: Federal, Ohio and Ohio decriminalization.  Comparison tables of proposed legislation: CAOA, Adult use initiative and HB 382.

Oppo

The new three-year labor deal between the City of Columbus and Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Cap City Lodge #9 shows once again our local law enforcement union is dictating its demands to the community instead of the community demanding the Columbus Division of Police become a more professional law enforcement agency so we don’t repeat the summer of 2020.

FOP Cap City Lodge #9 has repeatedly said the Division of Police is one of the best trained police agencies in the nation with phenomenal officers, as union President Keith Ferrel professed during a recent press conference.

The Free Press agrees the job of police can be dangerous and takes its toll on officers. Drug and gun epidemics continue to marginalize and terrorize areas of the community. The Free Press family has several members who work with at-risk youth and often interact with Columbus police, and their experiences have been positive for the most part.

Editor's Note: This Sunday the Hilltop Historical Society was scheduled to hold its annual memorial service for Confederate soldiers, but it has been postponed until September and a decision to place Confederate flags will be made then.

One year into America’s reported racial reckoning, it is difficult to discern much meaningful change in our country. A major factor contributing to our stalled progress is an inability to grapple honestly with our nation’s history. The recent American Legion incident in Hudson highlighted how much some people prefer anodyne, sanitized stories of an imagined past to thoughtful inquiry that honestly grapples with legacies of race and power. In Columbus, there are some who hold far stronger preferences for hagiography and mythology over history, with far starker implications and consequences.

“Immigration cases are often life or death matters.”

That’s the message Houleye Thiam, President of the Columbus-based Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in US (MNHRUS), has been sending throughout their organization’s campaign to ensure immigrants have access to counsel in immigration court. Immigrants have no right to a court appointed counsel and must pay for an attorney, a challenge for any working-class community members let alone those who are not citizens.