Protest Reports

Peace activists and organizations have

          It was supposed to be just another round of pork in Columbus. The nuclear power industry, which was flush with success from winning billions in bailouts from state governments in New York and Illinois was again prepared to play Ohio's government like a fiddle. Ohio had, in the past, ponied over $9 billion in subsidies for such flimsy reasons as "stranded costs" to keep the Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants running. This time, though, it's proven to be much more complicated. Fierce opposition from every part of the political spectrum meant a reduced payoff, and even though Governor DeWine signed House Bill 6 (HB6) into law on July 23, the money may never be delivered.

By David Swanson, Executive Director of World BEYOND War, June 11, 2019

According to exit polls from late May, an impressive 82% of Irish voters say Ireland should remain a neutral country in all aspects. But Ireland is not remaining a neutral country in all aspects, and there’s no indication of whether Irish voters know that, or specifically what they think of the fact that the United States military, year after year, ships large numbers of troops and weapons (and occasionally presidents) through Shannon Airport on their way to endless disastrous wars.

NO NUKES! Anti-HB6 Protests Scheduled Across Ohio
Scheduled Protests:
TOLEDO: Monday, June 3, 4:30 to 6:30PM, 300 Madison Ave. (Toledo Edison Building.

COLUMBUS: Wednesday, June 5, 4:30 to 6:30PM, Ohio Statehouse, corner of 3rd and State.

AKRON: Friday, June 7, 4:30 to 6:30PM, Venue to be determined.

House Bill 6 would eliminate Ohio's energy efficiency and clean energy programs, and instead replace them with a charge on every Ohioan's electric bill that would go to bailout First Energy's crumbling, leaking Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear plants, as well as two coal fired plants, one in Indiana.

Opponents will be gathering at three locations across the state during the first week in June to protest this unacceptable nuclear power tax on Ohioans. Wind and solar power are cheaper and can easily replace both Davis-Besse and Perry plants. However, the Republican controlling the Ohio state government are hostile to clean energy, and instead want to protect First Energy, one of the largest donors to the Republican Party.

Dayton police protected nine KKK members with hundreds of police yesterday at a two hour Honorable Sacred Knight of the Klu Klux Klan’s Members and Supporters Only Rally in a show of police force not common in Dayton. Across downtown Dayton about 3,000 peace and equality loving protesters sang songs, led chants, and gave speeches, with several hundred across the street from Courthouse Square, several hundred at the launch of Black Lives Matter Dayton at RiverScape MetroPark, and several hundred more celebrated An Afternoon Of Love, Unity, Peace and Inclusion in McIntosh Park.

“Dayton turned out,” said Dayton resident Miracle Woods who attended the counter protests. “We didn’t do any negative sh*t, we came in love and peace and we left in love and peace,” she said. Woods, who was not with a particular group but identified as being with “the anti-KKK unity,” was critical of how the city handled the KKK permit. She said “the mayor needs her ass whooped” for allowing the KKK permit to be rushed through.

Two months ago, I heard a story. You heard it too, if you went anywhere near a television or a newspaper in the United States. The government of Venezuela needed to be overthrown because it wouldn’t allow in humanitarian aid.

World BEYOND War, May 6, 2019

I’ve been studying the Pentagon’s use of psychological tactics in the way it recruits youth into the armed forces for 20 years, so I have a sense of the lack of boundaries practiced by the US government through its military. Now I can report on the psychological tactics employed by the State Department through the Secret Service Police. I spent a week in the besieged Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, and I was exposed to a relentless psychological operations campaign (psy-ops) orchestrated by my government to drive peace activists like myself from the embassy.

Our attorney, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, addressed the severity of the threat to us in her May 3rd letter to the Secret Service Police, in which she wrote:

Hearings in the Ohio Legislature this week (Tuesday and Wednesday) will underscore opposition to the proposed mega-bailout meant to keep the decrepit Davis-Besse and Perry nukes operating to ultimate failure.

PLEASE go there to testify.

Here are some key talking points (in progress).  Please insert your own:

Physical status of the plants:

1)         These two Nukes are literally crumbling (see work by Kevin Kamps/Beyond Nuclear, Mike Keegan, and more)

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has just completed its annual summit in Washington. It claims that 18,000 supporters attended the event, which concluded with a day of lobbying Congress by the attendees. Numerous American politicians addressed the gathering and it is completely reasonable to observe that the meeting constituted the most powerful gathering of people dedicated to promoting the interests of a foreign nation ever witnessed in any country in the history of the world.