Community activists honored at annual Free Press Awards ceremony

Two men on a stage, one with a guitar, one with a plaque in his hand

In between dancing and singing along with protest songs and psychedelic music, Free Press readers helped honor four community activists at the November 13 Free Press Protest Fest and Awards ceremony. The event was held at Woodlands Tavern and featured Golden Ratio, Brian “Clash” Griffin, Victoria Parks, Connie Harris, Dan Dougan (as emcee and musician), the Chicken Hawk Bird Getters, and comedy by Travis Irvine. The awardees were:

2017 Free Press Musician Award - Brian “Clash” Griffin

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Top of a candle flame as a cartoon in different hues of yellow against black

Monday, Nov 20, 6-8pm
King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave.
TransOhio will hold its annnual TDOR on Monday, Nov. 20th at KAUMC to honor and lift up the victims of violence against the transgender and gender non-binary/ non- conforming community in 2017 both across the U.S. and around the world. Reception to follow, child care available.

Marina Alvarenga visits Columbus to request election protection support for Salvadoran elections

Gray haired man with black-rimmed glasses sitting at a table looking at a dark haired woman who is speaking also sitting in a chair

The Columbus community offered Bienvenido! to Marina Alvarenga from El Salvador on November 1, 2017. Alvarenga was on a tour through the country to speak with Central American activists about the current conditions in El Salvador and her campaign for Cabinet Department in 2018.

The event served as a reunion for former members of the Columbus, Ohio – Copapayo, El Salvador Sister City Project, an organization that was active throughout the late 80s to mid-90s that sent several delegations of local activists to bring humanitarian aid to the Salvadoran village during that country’s civil war – as well as other activist groups such as Pastors for Peace.

Climate Legacy Time Capsule: Columbus

Silver can with black words on it that say Climate Legacy How Will We Be Remembered

Saturday, November 18, 12-2pm
Trintity Episcopal Church, 125 E. Broad St.
Join us on November 18th to make history. We will dedicate a 50-year time capsule to record what Ohioans love and are fighting to protect from climate change. It will be an interactive, inspiring, and family-friendly event where we will celebrate the people and places we are fighting for. Governor Kasich will be given an opportunity to write a letter pledging his support to uphold the Paris Agreement and stop the proposed fracking of the Wayne National Forest and the construction of the Nexus, Rover, and Utopia pipelines. We also call on Regional Forestry Manager Kathleen Atkinson to withdraw her consent and stop the proposed fracking of the Wayne National Forest.
We need YOU to help fill this time capsule! Please bring--
-An object (small enough to fit in your palm) representing what you love and want to protect in the face of climate change
-A letter to the future generations

Jewish Voice for Peace Central Ohio stands in solidarity with the #BlackPride4!

Black and white drawing of four people holding their fists up with signs that say Black Pride 4

JVP Central Ohio stands with the public in demanding that City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien drop ALL charges against the four people who were arrested by Columbus Police officers at Columbus Pride 2017, especially Deandre Miles who faces an unjust felony charge for peacefully protesting.

Time for Truth and Reconciliation for the US and Russia

NATO’s recent provocative decision to build up its military forces across Europe by sending four new multinational battalions to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, comes at a time of great turmoil and intense questioning of global security with new forces for both good and evil straining to make their mark on the course of history.   This weekend, at the Vatican, Pope Francis held an international conference to follow up on the recently negotiated treaty to prohibit the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons leading to their complete elimination which was negotiated in the UN General Assembly this summer by 122 nations, although none of the nine nuclear weapons states participated. Honored at the conference were members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which worked with friendly governments to hold nuclear weapons unlawful, and has recently been awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its successful efforts.

Trapped in a "Man's World"

Things fall apart, the center cannot hold . . .

The “man’s world” I grew up is shattering into fragments of shame, contrition and desperate denial. Allegations of sexual harassment and abuse are catching up with powerful perps, sometimes decades after the fact. On Capitol Hill, we now know about a “creep list.” Women shouldn’t ride alone in an elevator with these guys. This is our democracy.

Megadeaths From America - Yemen Is the Worst Case Among Many

“Let me be clear: The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime.” – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, January 15, 2016, warning the warring parties in Syria
“People are dying; children are suffering not as a result of an accident of war, but as the consequence of an intentional tactic – surrender or starve. And that tactic is directly contrary to the law of war.” – US Secretary of State John Kerry, February 1, 2016, denouncing atrocities in Syria

Top 10 Ways to Stop Trump Nuking Anybody

On Tuesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on whether Trump can just up and nuke people or not. The hand-picked witnesses, all former military, all said there was some chance that if Trump ordered a nuking, somebody might refuse to carry out the order. On what grounds? No witness or Senator ever mentioned the illegality of war under the UN Charter or the Kellogg-Briand Pact. But one witness brought up “necessity” and “proportionality” as grounds for deeming a particular apocalypse-creating act illegal and another legal. But these “just war” concepts are not empirical. There’s no standard for determining whether an action is “necessary” or “proportional.” It comes down to the mood the commander of Strategic Command is in that day, or the partisan identity of some official, or the courage and integrity of rank-and-filers ordered to begin the earth’s destruction. If, like me, you’re not convinced that’s good enough, here are some other possible approaches:

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