20 Congress Members Who Understand What’s Needed

The U.S. Congress has 100 Senators and 435 House Members. Out of the full 535, there are 20 thus far who have made themselves sponsor or cosponsor of a resolution to do what is most badly needed, move major amounts of money out of wars and war preparations and into human and environmental needs.

There are members of both houses who have arranged for there to be votes in the coming weeks on moving a mere 10% of the Pentagon budget to useful things. One way in which we can help them grasp how powerfully we demand yes votes on this is to start celebrating the 20 who have put a more serious proposal on the table. These are the 20 to thank and support and further encourage:

The 8th Columbus Black Theatre Festival is about Inclusion this year

Details about event

The 8th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival (CBTF) is this July 10th thru July 12th!   

The festival will be presented as a free live streaming event this year due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions in Ohio. The CBTF theme is "INCLUSION" which is very appropriate at this time in our society. 

The CBTF team received plays from playwrights across the states between November 2019 and February 2020, and through a “blind read process” selected the plays and monologues to be presented, and notified the playwrights on March 1, 2020 that their plays would be produced by Mine 4 God Productions, the producers of the CBTF, at the July festival.  

On March 5, Ohio was informed that they would be on a mandate order to stay at home, close up shop, shut down the schools and go out only when necessary. COVID-19 had arrived and everyone, every business, every person had to make an adjustment to the current situation. The CBTF had to also make adjustments to how and if they would be able to present the theatre festival amongst the pandemic. 

Speaking about Democracy: Jewish Voice for Peace. As part of the Move to Amend, Central Ohio, Speaking about Democracy Series: Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)

Name of group

Thursday, July 9, 2020, 7:00 - 8:00 PM
This public session will introduce Central Ohioans to Jewish Voice for Peace, a dynamic international human rights organization with an active branch in Columbus. Prefacing their presentation with the group’s mission to achieve a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis based on equality, human rights, and freedom, local members Farrell Brody and Connie Hammond will provide background information on the Middle East conflict that led to its founding. The program will summarize the organization’s efforts, including the current "No Way to Treat a Child" campaign and a discussion of why Move To Amend, as a natural ally, is important to Jewish Voice for Peace’s humanitarian goals. A Q&A session will follow. All are welcome for a stimulating discussion on Palestine, Israel, and practical solutions for a just peace in the region.  

New Documents Reveal More Serious Conflicts of Interest at the NIH:

New documents obtained by Axios and Public Citizen suggest that the National Institute of Health (NIH) owns half the key patent for Moderna’s c

On Israel’s Bizarre Definitions: The West Bank is Already Annexed

Wednesday, July 1, was meant to be the day on which the Israeli government officially annexed 30% of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and the Jordan Valley. This date, however, came and went and annexation was never actualized.
 
“I don’t know if there will be a declaration of sovereignty today,” said Israeli Foreign Minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, with reference to the self-imposed deadline declared earlier by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. An alternative date was not immediately announced.
 
But does it really matter? 
 
Whether Israel’s illegal appropriation of Palestinian land takes place with massive media fanfare and a declaration of sovereignty, or whether it happens incrementally over the course of the coming days, weeks, and months, Israel has, in reality, already annexed the West Bank - not just 30% of it but, in fact, the whole area.
 
It is critical that we understand such terms as ‘annexation’, ‘illegal’, ‘military occupation’, and so on, in their proper contexts.
 

A Great Statue

What about armed protests?

Change. Now.

I get that, and understand the symbolism of packed heat. A gun says: We mean business. But that symbolism stops as soon as the trigger is pulled. What the armed protesters could wind up with is a bitter present-day civil war and the blood-stained illusion of change.

The country — and the world — have been in the midst of a social uprising for the past month and a half, ignited by the brutal police killing of George Floyd. The global protests against structural racism have been racially diverse and, for the most part (and except for the police) unarmed. But that’s shifting. Armed black protesters have begun making their presence known. So have armed white counterprotesters.

Mommy, Where Do Peace Activists Come From?

The Kateri Peace Conference, which has been held in upstate New York for 22 years, will be held online this year, allowing anyone in the world who can get online to attend and hear from and speak with such wonderful U.S. peace activists — (Hey, World, did you know the U.S. had peace activists?) — as Steve Breyman, John Amidon, Maureen Beillargeon Aumand, Medea Benjamin, Kristin Christman, Lawrence Davidson, Stephen Downs, James Jennings, Kathy Kelly, Jim Merkel, Ed Kinane, Nick Mottern, Rev. Felicia Parazaider, Bill Quigley, David Swanson, Ann Wright, and Chris Antal.

Yes, my name is in that list. No, I am not suggesting that I am wonderful. But I have had the privilege to speak at the Kateri Peace Conference in-person in 2012 and 2014, and was scheduled to be there again in 2020 until the Trumpandemic changed everyone’s routines.

Defund the Police Phone Zone

Details about event

Join us today! This is the second Defund the Police Phone Zap and we will be continuing them the next two weeks at the same time. Register for today's session Wednesday July 8th at 2 ET / 11 PT. bit.ly/DefundPhoneZapSURJ

Scanner audio proves Columbus police are targeting specific protesters

Police on street with balloons

On the night of July 2nd after protesters placed scores of balloons into a downtown street, Columbus Police on their public radio scanner talked about needing to arrest specific protesters, such as a young lady who has used a bullhorn to read from the book The End of Policing in front of police headquarters.

Here is the audio recording from that night.

The recording was posted by LGBQT and BLM activist Drew Michael Wunder, who is well-known by his “Bubble the Drag Queen” persona. The 26-year-old Wunder documents many protests on Facebook Live.

Activists have been reporting how Columbus police appear to be targeting specific protesters over the previous several weeks, utilizing unconstitutional tactics to ID, arrest and charge protesters. The police often fraudulently charge them with felony rioting, in some cases, when they are simply protesting peacefully.

But the scanner recording from the balloon protest offers actual smoking-gun proof.

Pages

Subscribe to Freepress.org RSS