BANGKOK, Thailand -- Tourists, gamblers, traders and residents can now
travel by train between Bangkok and the Thai-Cambodian border for the
first time after tracks were cut 45 years ago, when U.S. and Cambodian
forces began losing their war against Pol Pot who later unleashed
Cambodia's "killing fields" regime.

The new rail link ends one of the last disruptions caused by the
regional U.S.-Vietnam War and tightens the peacetime economies of
former enemies Thailand and Cambodia.

The two countries recently extended an existing Bangkok-Aranyaprathet
railway line which crosses eastern Thailand. They repaired its final
3.5-mile (5.7-kilometer) link between Aranyaprathet and Ban Klong Luk
Border Station on the Thai side of the frontier.

On July 1, the State Railway of Thailand's trains began scheduled
departures from each station twice a day -- two at dawn and two at
lunch time -- for a total of four trips.

Each journey takes about five hours to complete 134 miles (216
kilometers). Tickets cost less than $2.

Please join us on Monday, July 15, at 6:30pm, as we continue the conversation on how we can best support Miriam Vargas and her family.

We will be moving forward on ideas from our February 25 meeting.

• Outreach: Intersectionality, starting with the local community

• Care/Logistics: Miriam’s day-to-day needs

• Media/Communications: Creative messaging

• Fundraising: Funds for Freedom

• Lobbying/Advocacy: Who else needs to be with Miriam?

• Implicit Bias: Checking racism, bias, and privilege

Hosted by Miriam in Sanctuary and First English Lutheran Church.

It’s Karl Marx meets the Marx Brothers in Antaeus Theatre Company’s adaption of Bertolt Brecht’s 1944 play The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Brecht, who wrote The Threepenny Opera and Mother Courage, is best known for his leftwing agitprop. But many forget what Antaeus wisely remembers - while the German playwright may have been a master polemicist and propagandist (often against the master race) Brecht also had a caustic wit which reaches new heights of Marxist mirth in this production at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center.

Ohio House Bill (HB) 6 is a huge proposed bailout of two Chernobyl-in-progress Ohio nuclear power plants, plus two old coal burners. The bailout would go to Akron’s bankrupt FirstEnergy, whose two nuclear reactors sit on Lake Erie, threatening the drinking water of millions.

In 1986 the Perry reactor east of Cleveland became the first U.S. reactor to be damaged by an earthquake. Critical pipes and concrete were cracked, as were nearby roads and bridges. A top-level state study showed soon thereafter that evacuation amidst a major accident would be impossible.

FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse, east of Toledo, is a 42-year-old Three Mile Island clone. In 2002, boric acid ate through its head, threatening a Chernobyl-scale accident irradiating Toledo, Cleveland, and the Great Lakes. At FirstEnergy’s request, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has exempted Davis-Besse from vital regulations for flooding, fire protection, earthquake vulnerability and security. Its radiation shield building is literally crumbling.

In 2003, when nearby power lines sagged onto tree limbs, FirstEnergy blacked out some 50 million people throughout the northeast and well into Canada.

Saturday, July 13, 6:30-11pm
1021 E. Broad St. in the backyard
Parking in side driveway, back parking lot or street
Free, no RSVP required.
Come to network and socialize with progressive friends with refreshments, live music and a presentation by Harvey Wasserman, Senior Editor of the Free Press and No Nukes activist, at 9pm.
614-253-2571, colsfreepress@gmail.com
columbusfreepress.org