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Police Riot at Stonewall Parade

Black and white photo of police harassing black people in the street and a drawing of four black people holding their fists in the air and the words Drop the Charges Against the BlackPride4

Commentary by Bob Fitrakis

This incident has to be categorized as a vicious, unnecessary unprovoked attack by the police.

It’s commendable that Columbus, as a city, openly embraces and supports Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community with the Leveque Lincoln tower turning rainbow colors every June. Mainstream media and corporations hype the yearly parade.

Unquestionably, Columbus is considered a gay friendly city – if you’re white.

If you’re black and gay, queer, trans or a supporter of any of them, watch out! Whether you know it or not you appear to pose a threat to police and some members of the white (and gay community).

The Fourth of July Like You’ve Never Seen It Before!

This year, sit back with your favorite beverage or herb, prop up your feet and open your head to consider Independence Day in a whole new way.

A historically critical article about the American Revolution would typically discuss how the democratic promises of the Declaration were left hanging at war’s end, followed by a decidedly undemocratic constitution six years later.

Examples of that would include abandoning ideals stated in the Declaration like: “all men (sic) are created equal” and have unassailable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It could cite that:

300 Vegans 4 Columbus Doo Dah Parade 2017

People in black and white Vegan shirts holding Vegan sign marching in parade

Tuesday, July 4, 11am-3pm
Goodale Park
The 6th annual Vegan Shift 300 Vegans 4 Independence in collaboration with the Columbus Vegan Meetup in the Columbus Doo Dah Parade is on the 4th of July (rain or shine the show goes on) every year!

How Israel Manages Its Message

Those of us who are highly critical of Israel’s ability to manipulate U.S. foreign policy frequently note how sites that permit comments on our articles are almost immediately inundated with hostile postings that are remarkably similar in both tone and substance. Given that it is unlikely that large numbers of visitors to the sites read the offending piece more-or-less simultaneously, react similarly to its content, and then go on to express their disgust in very similar language, many of us have come to the conclusion that the Israeli government or some of the groups dedicated to advancing Israeli interests turn loose supporters who are dedicated to combating and refuting anything and everything that casts Israel in a negative light.

FOUR CITIZEN ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AT VOLK FIELD AS THEY ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY THE BASE AS A CRIME SCENE

Wisconsin Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars has held monthly vigils against drones at the gates of Volk Field for over five years. This Wisconsin Air National Guard Base is a critical component of the whole drone warfare program being conducted by the US government in a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa.   At Volk Field personnel are trained to operate the RQ-7 Shadow Drone, which has been used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition. However, now there is the likelihood that the RQ-7 is also weaponized.

An unconscionable Republican health care bill

How devastating would the Republican health care legislation be if enacted?

Leighton Ku, a leading health care expert and director of director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, told NBC that, based on the Republican House bill, cuts in funding for Medicaid and health subsidies would trigger “sharp job losses and a broad disruption of state economies.”

“Within a decade, almost a million fewer people would have jobs,” he added. “The downturn would hit the states that expanded Medicaid the hardest.” That includes West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

This job loss wouldn’t be offset by the effects of top-end tax cuts. If the wealthy do create any jobs — which is far from likely — they won’t be located in the states and communities ravaged by the cutbacks in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

Saudis Try Hostage-Taking as Diplomacy

 

The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar has been held in a weird kind of hostage situation since June 5. That’s when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and a few other countries decided to try to isolate and manipulate Qatar by cutting diplomatic relations and imposing an embargo and something of a blockade. A blockade is, by definition, an act of war, but the blockaders didn’t actually declare war, or send troops, or even make a clear statement of casus belli at the time. Qatar has long been a scapegoat for hardliners devoted to regional stability on their own terms only.

Sanctions Are Crimes, Not Law Enforcement

The U.S.

Crackpot Criminality From Abu Through Zubaydah

John Kiriakou led the CIA operation that arrested, or rather, kidnapped without charge, Abu Zubaydah. Joseph Hickman helped imprison Abu Zubaydah as a guard at Guantanamo and was later the lead researcher for Zubaydah’s habeas defense team.

Here are some highlights of a tale of crackpot criminality recounted by Hickman and Kiriakou in their jointly authored new book, The Convenient Terrorist:

Maher Abu Zubayda and Zain Abidin Mohammed Husain aka Abu Zubaydah are two completely different people. They and many other people use the name Abu Zubayda, with various spellings in English transliterations from Arabic. The Zubaydah family was evicted from a Palestinian village during the Nakba. The CIA, employing more torturers than Arab speakers, confused the two Zubaydahs. When the basic facts that the CIA had about the life of the man it imprisoned and tortured turned out to all be wrong, the CIA paid no attention.

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