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The UN Security Council will vote on a resolution calling on Israel to cease all settlement activity immediately. Although the Biden Administration said it was “deeply dismayed” by Israel’s actions and maintained a “firm opposition to the settlement expansion,” unconfirmed reports indicate that President Biden will order yet another veto – shielding Israel from international accountability.
On February 13, 2023, the Israeli Security Cabinet retroactively legalized nine illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, announcing the building of 10,000 additional housing units on Palestinian land. The announcement is the largest plan of additional settlements ever.
According to international humanitarian law, Israel's practice of settling its citizens in Palestinian territory is illegal and violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. This article prohibits the deportation or transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into the territory it occupies and also bans the individual or mass forcible transfers and deportations of protected persons from the occupied territory.
On Thursday night at Studio 25, a small art gallery in downtown East Palestine, a meeting hosted by River Valley Organizing was held regarding the Norfolk Southern derailment disaster. This meeting included scientists who came to town to test and attempt to explain the dangers facing the small town in Eastern Ohio, as well as residents and lots of media.
It was too packed to get in, but it was announced out loud that there were dangerous levels of toxins exposed to the area. That may seem obvious, but the railroad company hasn’t really been saying much of anything out loud or admitting to much of anything. They referred to the plastic explosive catalyzed demolition of a train car full of chemicals a “controlled release.”
The only control they had was the detonation button. The safety and well-being of the people who live in the area doesn’t not seem to be their priority. In a town where the safety of just existing is up in the air (an activist canvassing the area was quoted as saying, “after three hours, I could feel my skin burning.”), the company offered a meager two thousand dollars for residents to permanently relocate.
Saturday, February 25, 2023, 2:30 – 4:30 PM
People's Justice Project, J.U.S.T., and other community members are coming together for a series of Community Conversations, described as "an important discussion about why city authorities can no longer ignore our communities."
Columbus Metropolitan Library, Main Branch, 96 S. Grant Ave., 43215.
Friday, Feb 24, 6:30-8:30pm
Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St.
AARP Ohio presents the Smithsonian Channel's, "The Green Book: Guide to Freedom," at the Columbus Museum of Art. Parking and event admission are FREE! *
Join us to hear from local historian Rita Fuller-Yates as she takes us on a historical tour and discussion about the Green Book, right from our seats! She'll share the book's connections to Central Ohio, before the movie was even a concept. Then, stay for movie treats and the beautifully told documentary takes a deeper look.
African Americans embraced the automobile and the promise of the open road, but they faced a world of danger driving to unfamiliar locales. This is the story of "The Negro Motorist Green Book," a travel guide to navigate the sometimes-treacherous highways of a segregated nation. See how it became a roadmap to some of the most significant people, successful businesses, and important milestones of the Civil Rights Movement.
The following is an op-ed from the Colorado-based PeoplesForBikes, an advocacy group with a mission to transform “the U.S. into the best bicycling nation in the world.”
It was the late 1990s and I thought we were so clever. We had just convinced the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic to incorporate an innovative new design into its bike plan, a bold statement conveying “bikes belong” right there in the middle of the street. I had first seen a shared-use marking, or “sharrow” — a white bicycle painted directly on asphalt — in photos of Paris and Chicago, put there to help bicyclists get through intersections by indicating their path of travel. In 1993, James McKay, a bike planner in Denver, used it on a trial basis to emphasize a bicyclist’s right to ride in the middle of the lane.
It’s quite a high hurdle to appeal to a country that’s been militarily invaded — after decades of military defense (and offense) preparations and the accompanying cultural indoctrination in the supposed necessity of military defense — to appeal to said country to construct on-the-fly an unarmed civilian defense plan and act on it despite near-universal lack of training or even comprehension.
We’re finding it to be a high hurdle just to get access to bring in an unarmed team to defend a nuclear power plant in the middle of a war.
A more reasonable proposal is for national governments that are not at war to learn about and (if they really learned about it then this would necessarily follow) establish departments of unarmed civilian defense. World BEYOND War is putting together both an annual conference in 2023 and a new online course on this topic. One place to get the very beginning of an understanding that unarmed actions can repel militaries — even without serious preparations or training (so, imagine what proper investment could do) — is with this list of nearly 100 times people successfully used nonviolent action in place of war.
Irene (Rebecca Marder) is a young Jewish woman leading a vibrant life, in the summer of 1942 in Paris. Her family watches her as she grows and discovers the world around her, making new friends, finding new love, and her passion for theater. Irene wants to become an actress and her youthful days go by without a care in the world.
At the very beginning of the film, one may wonder: What's this movie about? And it only takes one line, “You've to put the 'Jew' stamp on the papers” to understand where you are. And as everyone knows what happened in 1942, there’s really no need to add more by showing a German soldier or a German flag.
Thursday, February 23, 12noon-1pm, this on-line event requires advance registration
Ohio Voice’s February “Lunch and Learn” is all about abolition! This is back by popular demand. Black Queer and Intersectional Collective (BQIC) organizers will give an outline of how the police grew into an institution in the United States, situating its legacy within our country’s violent history of chattel slavery, genocide, and capitalistic greed. They will then define what police and prison abolition is, why it’s necessary for creating a free world for the most oppressed, and how we can continue working towards it here in central Ohio with BQIC’s #12ToAbolish12 demands and supporting other abolitionist organizations and efforts.
BQIC Bio:
Black Queer and Intersectional Collective is a grassroots community organization that works towards the liberation of Black queer, trans, and intersex people from all walks of life through direct action, community organizing, education on our issues, and creating spaces to uplift our voices.
City of Columbus Mayoral candidate Joe Motil states, “ The last of the three 24/7 warming shelters that were created to remain open from mid-December until March 15 closes its doors tomorrow.” The Community Development for All People on the city’s south side made an announcement today stating, “The city of Columbus has unexpectedly terminated its funding for winter overnight warming centers. Community Development for All People is one of the recipients of that funding, and as a result of the city’s decision, the last night of our warming center will be Thursday February 23. We do not support the city’s decision. We are concerned for the impact it will have on the community members that have been staying with us each night and for the staff who worked so hard to make our warming center a safe and welcoming place. Columbus must have a better safety net for those experiencing homelessness.”
On the occasion of the Board of Trustee’s February 2023 meeting, Ohio State’s shortest serving, and soon-to-be unemployed ex-president, millionaire Kristina Johnson broke two-and-a-half months of ignoring repeated calls from faculty, students, and the community by launching an anti-factual and myth-making campaign for face-saving and rehabilitation. (In general, see my “The Ohio State University: Not ‘a failed presidency,’ by itself, but a failing university, Part One,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Jan. 7, 2023. See also my “The United States’ most disorganized university? Ohio State’s ‘5½ D’s’: Disorganization, dysfunction, disengagement, depression, dishonest, and undisciplined, Part One,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Aug. 28, 2022; “The United States’ most disorganized university? Ohio State’s ‘5½ D’s’: Disorganization, dysfunction, disengagement, depression, dishonest, and undisciplined, Part Two,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Aug. 31, 2022: “The OSU Way: Slogans over Truth and Honesty in Graduation Rates and Student Well-Being,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Oct.