The 12th annual South East European Film Festival kicked off with a gala screening at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills of writer/ director Rajko Grlić’s The Constitution, a stellar must-see movie full of humor and humanity that set the tone for this filmfest. I say that because sometimes cinefiles “suffer” through specialty cinema (especially those bearing English subtitles), but The Constitution reminded me of the joy of discovering those “foreign” films by Luis Bunuel, Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, et al, at an arthouse that transported us beyond Hollywood glitz and glamour to a more “sophisticated” cinematic view of the world beyond our shores.

Most countries on earth have the U.S. military in them.

Most countries on earth burn less fossil fuel than does the U.S. military.

And that's without even calculating how much worse for the climate jet fuel is than other fossil fuels.

And it's without even considering the fossil fuel consumption of the world's leading weapons makers, or the pollution caused by the use of those weapons all over the world.

The U.S. is the top weapons dealer to the world, and has weapons on multiple sides of most wars.

The U.S. military created 69% of super fund environmental disaster sites and is the third leading polluter of U.S. waterways.

When the British first developed an obsession with the Middle East, passed along to the United States, the desire was to fuel the British Navy.

What came first? The wars or the oil? It was the wars.

Wars and the preparations for more wars consume a huge amount of oil.

I imagine I’m not the only political and media observer sickened by the dominant (“mainstream”) corporate media’s habitual reference to xenophobic, right-wing, white-nationalist, and neo-fascist politicians like Donald Trump, Geert Wilders, Nigel Farage, and Marine Le Pen as “populists.”  Populism properly understood is about popular and democratic opposition to the rule of the money power – to the reign of concentrated wealth. It emerged from radical farmers’ fight for social and economic justice and democracy against the plutocracy of the nation’s Robber Baron capitalists during the late 19th century.  It was a movement of the left.  As the left author and journalist Harvey Wasserman notes:

People sitting in chairs in a big hall with their backs to camera

Sunday, April 30, 3pm
Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Branch Auditorium, 96 S. Grant Avenue 
For those in Congressional District 3 (Joyce Beatty's district)
Facebook Event

Indivisible is a grassroots organization that resists the Trump agenda by targeting our federal members of Congress. If you live in Ohio District 3 (Joyce Beatty’s District), or even if you don’t, and you want to get involved, join us! We focus much of our activisim on Senator Portman. At this meeting, we’ll talk about our wins in Trump’s first 100 days and what our plans are moving forward. We also will have an update on the Fair Districts Fair Elections anti gerrymandering campaign and a presentation on how members can use FB and Twitter to support the resistance!

People in rain with signs touting the importance of facts

Despite the rain and gloom, several hundred people gathered for the People's Climate March on Saturday, April 29 in downtown Columbus. 

Three women, two white, one black

In Columbus, the enormous influence of corporate interests and wealthy campaign donors are reflected in the city's policies and initiatives. As a result of these imbalances, many of the city’s residents, particularly those in poor and minority neighborhoods, have very little impact on decisions made by our city’s political leaders.Although the political leadership in Columbus is dominated by the Democratic Party, this does not necessarily translate into progressive policies.

The Easton tax abatement is not old news and we cannot treat it as such. City officials agreed to a complex, massive tax giveaway worth $68 million to an out-of-state corporate developer (also, a campaign donor to the mayor) to build housing at Easton Town Center. The developer, in return, agreed to provide a mere $5.75 million for infrastructure and revitalization efforts in Linden, most of which will be reimbursed by taxpayers.  
 

Donald Trump in suit with swirly gold around his head

Thousands, possibly millions, of Americans have been calling for President Trump’s impeachment. They want to save the world by making him lose his job. Sadly, it is just a knee-jerk reaction that will do nothing to protect immigrants, end war, or rescue funding for essential programs. The country’s violent swing to the right does not live and die with Trump. Removing him from office will only result in a different scumbag becoming the official spokesperson for evil.

A fist in the air with words We Resist We Build We Rise

Saturday, April 29, 11am
Ohio Statehouse, Broad and High Streets
In Solidarity with the PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH 2017 in Washington D.C.
Facebook Event
PURPOSE
"WHY WE’RE MARCHING: There is no denying it: Donald Trump’s election is a threat to the future of our planet, the safety of our communities, and the health of our families.

This new administration is attacking the hard-won protections of our climate, health, and communities, and the rights of people of color, workers, indigenous people, immigrants, women, LGBTQIA, young people, and more.

If the policies he proposed on the campaign trail are implemented, they will destroy our climate, decimate our jobs and livelihoods, and undermine the civil rights and liberties won in many hard fought battles.

It’s up to us to stop that from happening before it starts.

Dear brothers and sisters of Ireland, your ambassador to the United States Anne Anderson spoke at the University of Virginia Tuesday afternoon.

After consulting one of your fine citizens named Barry Sweeney, I asked her this: “Since the U.S. government assures the Irish government that all U.S. military aircraft being refueled at Shannon are not on military operations and are not carrying weapons or munitions, and since the Irish government insists on this in order to comply with Ireland’s traditional policy of neutrality, why does the Irish department of transportation almost daily approve civilian aircraft on contract to the U.S. military to carry armed U.S. troops on military operations, weapons, and munitions through Shannon Airport in clear breach of international laws on neutrality?”

Ambassador Anderson replied that the U.S. government at the “highest levels” had informed Ireland that it was in compliance with the law, and Ireland accepted that.

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