We begin this celebratory GREEP zoom #208 with TATANKA BRICCA giving us some background of Joe Biden’s announcement that LEONARD PELTIER will be released from prison on February 18.

SHAWNA HOGAN-MOORE tells us about her meeting where she & asked Prez Biden to release Leonard.

Our poet laureate MIMI GERMAN gives us a poem about the duality of this amazing moment.

Crusader VINNIE DESTEFANO, who also worked to free Julian Assange, weighs in.

Co-convenor MIKE HERSH reminds us of the great & powerful life of racial justice campaigner Marcus Garvey, pardoned today.

From the American Indian Movement and NDN we hear from LYDIA PONCE.

Activist/author/poet DANIELA GIOSEFFI takes us back to Selma and reminds us of the triumphs of Martin Luther King, whose day it is.

Amnesty International’s GAVRILAH WELLS reminds us of the years of work that went into this campaign for justice.

New York activist MICKI LEADER talks of exploring the range of podcasts amidst a lifetime of social change.

The feminism pioneer Martin Luther is evoked by MARC IMLAY.

Why Franklin County Must Divest from Israeli Bonds Now

Franklin County, Ohio, has invested $33 million in Israeli Bonds, with plans to add another $5 million on February 1, 2025. These investments are financially reckless, ethically questionable, and deeply misaligned with the values of our diverse community. It is time to confront the uncomfortable truth about these investments and demand immediate divestment.

The headline in the Times of Israel says it all: "For the First Time, Israel Just Lost a War."

 Regardless of the reasoning behind this statement, which the article divides into fourteen points, it suggests a shattering and unprecedented event in the 76-year history of the State of Israel. The consequences of this realization will have far-reaching effects on Israelis, impacting both this generation and the next. These repercussions will penetrate all sectors of Israeli society, from the political elite to the collective identity of ordinary Israelis.

 Interestingly, and tellingly, the article attributes Israel’s defeat solely to the outcome of the Gaza war, confined to the geographical area of the Gaza Strip. Not a single point addresses the ongoing crisis within Israel itself. Nor does it explore the psychological impact of what is being labeled as Israel’s first-ever defeat.

On January 22, the Ohio Student Association disrupted Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino’s press conference announcing SB 1, a regurgitated version of the widely unpopular SB 83. OSA members showed up loud and proud on day one at the Ohio Statehouse to defy this attempt to dismantle Ohio’s higher education system. The re-introduced bill aims to centralize control over Ohio’s public higher education system, threatens academic free speech, and the state’s ability to attract and retain top students and educators.

Students gathered in the atrium holding signs and graduation caps reading “Listen to Students” and “R.I.P. my degree” before marching to the hallway outside the Harding Press Room. Students chanted as incoming Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Kristina Roegner, took the stage, her speech overshadowed by the booming chanting of college students: “Higher ed will be dead”.