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Last fall the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) put prisoner-rights activist Siddique Abdullah Hasan on severe communication restrictions in a Serious Misconduct Panel (SMP) hearing that included a number of clear irregularities and violations of due process.
Hasan filed appeals of the decision, and attorneys Staughton and Alice Lynd and other supporters tried to rouse the Inspector General to review the decision and process. Neither the ODRC nor the Inspector General (who is tasked with “investigat[ing] the management and operation of state agencies”) have replied to these appeals or requests.
The SMP recommendation suspended Hasan from phone and Jpay (email) access for one year, from August 14, 2018 to August 13, 2019. The warden at Ohio State Penitentiary, where Hasan has been held since it opened in 1996, has the authority to reduce this suspension every 3 months after a review of good behavior and no further rule violations. No such review has occurred.
On March 8 the Cincinnati Socialist Feminists coalition and allies from Columbus decided to send Ohio Governor Mike DeWine a message for International Women’s Day. A dozen women and men attempted to access DeWine’s upper-floor office at the Columbus Riffe Center.
After being turned away, they went to the ground floor lobby and held a sit-in. “Our bodies, our choice!” they chanted. “Governor DeWine, abortion’s not a crime!”
The protesters were targeting Ohio Senate Bill 23, the so-called “heartbeat bill” which would ban abortions six weeks after conception. DeWine has pledged to sign the bill if it’s passed by the Ohio legislature.
When the lobby closed at 5 PM, State Highway Patrol officers ordered the demonstrators to leave. Depending on their level of resistance, they were escorted, dragged, or carried out of the building. There were no arrests. Outside, the protesters were joined by about 40 supporters and held a rally on the sidewalk.
Many people hear the name “Ku Klux Klan” and think of the deep South and unreconstructed neo-confederates riding at night with support from the city fathers and some obese caricature of a sheriff. That image is a convenient alibi of denial for those living in the deep North – as Ohio, Indiana and Michigan have always been hotbeds of Klan activity, and Dayton has always been a center of white supremacist activity. This is why the so-called Honorable and self-described Sacred Knights of the KKK have chosen to come to Dayton to recruit at a rally at the old courthouse on May 25, 2019.
The city gentrifiers-in-chief initially feigned shock and horror immediately followed by the usual mumbling about rights and free speech. On March 9, the other shoe fell. Black Lives Matter Dayton requested the use of the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, which is two blocks from the Klan's rally. Their plan was to hold an indoor concert in opposition. Black Lives Matter Dayton’s request was denied.
The Serpent Mound Spring Seed and Water Blessing, Music Peace Summit is a celebration and blessing of ancient seeds from around the world; praying, energizing, and exchanging these seeds. Visitors will experience music, sound healing, water blessings, meditations, presentations, vendors, dancing and sacred ceremonies March 22-24, 2019. The event will also honor the spring equinox by bringing together delegations from the Americas and all around the world to talk and pray about and for international peace. Its message is: “It Takes a Village; All Nations All Races All My Relations”. The event takes place at the Soaring Eagle Retreat, 375 Horner Chappell Rd, Peebles, Ohio. A schedule of events, updates, camping and additional details can be found at www.facebook.com/events/132899697549858 or visit the website at www.alternateuniverserockshop.com/events.
Fifty farm workers and their children traveled from Immokalee Florida to march in Columbus last Friday, in coordination with International Women's Day, with 300 university students and locals.
Marchers demanded human rights, and better working conditions at a farm that produces tomatoes for Wendy’s. The stop in Columbus is part of a several year divestment campaign called Boot the Braids against Wendy’s, a reference to the company’s logo of a red headed white female in braids and with freckles on her cheeks.
Anti-fracking, environmental activists protested Mike Pence's visit to Easton in Columbus to speak at the Ohio Oil and Gas Association convention.
Medicare for All, HR 1384 in the Congressional House would pay for 100% of all necessary health care all in the United States. This will only happen if we all call, visit, and mail their congressional representatives constantly. Call your member of Congress and tell them why we need HR 1384. Learn more about Medicare for All at spanohio.org. SPAN-Ohio is an organization of volunteers promoting health care for all either through HR 1384 or the Ohio Health Security Act in the Ohio legislature.
At the February 27th gathering of the Columbus Metropolitan Club, Columbus Partnership President and CEO Alex Fischer proclaimed: "The world of professional sports will be writing [sic] and studying what the Save The Crew movement did in Columbus for decades." If you have the stomach for self-aggrandizement, you can listen to the clip here.
If the multi-billion dollar world of big-time professional sports (ie/the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB) actually does stop to take notice of the legitimate Save the Crew success story in the future, they might be very interested in the revelation in Friday's Dispatch ("Multi-million dollar redo of current Crew stadium to sports park questioned," March 8, 2019) that the Ohio Expositions Commission board (who control the land under and around Crew stadium) was not consulted or even contacted before the media blitz in December announcing plans for the future development of the area.
When blatant antisemitic conspiracy theories were spread against George Soros, President Trump retweeted them. When antisemites carried tiki torches in Charlottesville, Donald Trump called them “very fine people.” Under Trump, well-known antisemites and white supremacists have unprecedented access to positions of power.
Yet when Congresswoman Ilhan Omar criticized AIPAC for behaving like any other powerful lobby, Trump has the audacity to feign concern over antisemitism?
We don’t buy it. Ilhan Omar supports our Constitutional right to boycott, and she criticizes Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights. The sustained attacks on her are in large part fueled by racism and Islamophobia. Even though she’s apologized for the impact of her statements, Ilhan Omar continues to be attacked by a bad-faith smear campaign.
Jewish Voice for Peace is proud to defend Ilhan Omar. We reject attempts to silence her criticism of Israeli policy and her support for Palestinian rights and freedom, just as we reject anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its forms.
Jewish Voice for Peace stands with Ilhan.