Stop persecution of Gerardo Hernandez

For Over A Week Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo Has Been Held In The Hole At Victorville Prison Despite Committing Any Infraction. Once Again the US government has imposed another cruel punishment against Gerardo Hernandez, one of the Cuban 5 imprisoned in the US for fighting against terrorism.

On July 21st, without committing any infraction, Gerardo was taken to the hole. The hole is an inhumane windowless space of 7 x 3 feet reserved for prisoners who the prison authorities, for what ever reason, want to isolate. Gerardo is sharing this small space with another prisoner and there is very little ventilation because the air comes from just a small vent on the top of a wall. Temperatures in Victorville are running as high as 105 degrees now and in the space of this tiny cell it is around 95 degrees. He is not allowed to take a shower and is being taken outside in a cage only one hour every other day. Gerardo has been seen by his sister Isabel through a glass with a phone.

Why Muslims should rethink Palestine

Thousands of faithful assiduously listened as I outlined the challenges facing Palestine and its people. Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God is Great – occasionally resounded from a corner of the giant South African mosque. Many whimpered as I described the tragedy that had befallen Gaza as a result of the Israeli siege. They cheered, smiled and nodded as I emphasized how the will of the Palestinian people would not be defeated. A few older people at the front simply wept throughout my talk, which preceded a Friday sermon in Durban a few months ago.

If passion and kindness were powerful in and of themselves, then the compassion that poured from those Muslim faithful could surely better the world in a myriad ways. The sheer love and concern displayed by men and women of different races, age groups, class affiliation and languages was most uplifting and validating.

WICKED at the Ohio Theater: A force of nature

Simply put: WICKED has now rightfully joined the pantheon of Broadway standards. For good reason, it will be seen by theater-goers for decades to come. It should not be missed during its current run at the Ohio Theater.

Last night was my second sighting. A year ago, with my daughter Julie, we saw it in Cleveland a few hours after watching LeBron James bury the Chicago Bulls.

WICKED will be around a lot longer than LeBron.

Our first viewing was from the front row, as we were lucky victors in the daily lottery that allows two $25 best-seats-in-the-house. The conductor was a few feet away. We smiled at each other.

On its primal level, the show is an astonishing spectacle. The costuming is lush and brilliant, the stage gorgeous and embracing, the pyrotechnics impressive. Close-up, one can easily be swallowed up just by the fancy footwork. And we were. It was an absolutely terrific first run.

Last night at the Ohio, from much farther away, the staging was still impressive. But second time around is the true test of a work of art. If it's as good or better on the re-visit, it should have legs.

Letters from prison--UPDATED

[Editor’s Note: Christopher Ryan is a self proclaimed “prisoner of war”--the war on drugs. The Columbus native and long time drug reform activist was arrested in Nebraska for transporting over a 150 pounds of marijuana. The ethics of smuggling that much pot are complex, but Mr. Ryan is a complex man. He simultaneously considers himself a progressive, an anarchist, and a revolutionary. To him, the issues are clear. Marijuana is a relatively safe and arguably beneficial drug, which is outlawed by the government, out of fear and the desire to control. This irrational policy leads to irrational results. The U.S. Department of Justice estimated in 2006 that over a billion dollars are spent every year on incarcerations related to cannabis. An estimated 800,000 are arrested for all pot related offenses. This billion dollars represents a low estimate of over 40,000 cannabis inmates. Ryan is now one of these inmates, imprisoned for acting on his beliefs responding to his perception of an irrational drug policy.

Not another Vietnam

State of denial: After the big Leak, spinning for war

Washington’s spin machine is in overdrive to counter the massive leak of documents on Afghanistan. Much of the counterattack revolves around the theme that the documents aren’t particularly relevant to this year’s new-and-improved war effort.

The White House seized on the timeframe of the documents released by WikiLeaks. “The period of time covered in these documents (January 2004-December 2009) is before the President announced his new strategy,” a White House email told reporters on Sunday evening. “Some of the disconcerting things reported are exactly why the President ordered a three month policy review and a change in strategy.”

Unfortunately, the “change in strategy” has remained on the same basic track as the old strategy -- except for escalation. On Tuesday morning, the lead story on the New York Times website noted: “As the debate over the war begins anew, administration officials have been striking tones similar to the Bush administration’s to argue for continuing the current Afghanistan strategy, which calls for a significant troop buildup.”

Afghan War Leaks Expose Costly, Deceitful March of Folly

The brutality and fecklessness of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan have been laid bare in an indisputable way just days before the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on whether to throw $33.5 billion more into the Afghan quagmire, when that money is badly needed at home.

On Sunday, the Web site Wikileaks posted 75,000 reports written mostly by U.S. forces in Afghanistan during a six-year period from January 2004 to December 2009. The authenticity of the material published under the title "Afghan War Diaries" is not in doubt.

The New York Times, which received an embargoed version of the documents from Wikileaks, devoted six pages of its Monday editions to several articles on the disclosures, which reveal how the Afghan War slid into its current morass while the Bush administration concentrated U.S. military efforts on Iraq.

Why Stewart Brand is wrong on nukes---and is losing

Stewart Brand has become a poster boy for a "nuclear renaissance" that has just suffered a quiet but stunning defeat. Despite $645 million spent in lobbying over the past decade, the reactor industry has thus far failed to gouge out major new taxpayer funding for new commercial reactors.

In an exceedingly complex series of twists and turns, no legislation now pending in Congress contains firm commitments to the tens of billions reactor builders have been demanding. They could still come by the end of the session. But the radioactive cake walk many expected the industry to take through the budget process has thus far failed to happen.

The full story is excruciatingly complicated. But the core reasons are simple: atomic power can't compete, and makes global warming worse.

Was Rove's thumb on Ohio' scale? Haas' new novel suggests yes

The new novel by the Clinton family's favorite Ohio political consultant, Greg Haas, is entitled "The Butcher's Thumb." It begins and ends with the same four words: "The campaign never stops." Coming from arguably the Buckeye state's most accomplished political operative, this thinly-veiled memoir gets closer to the truth surrounding Ohio and national politics than any nonfiction autobiography could approach.

The novel opens with Democrat Al Thornton and Republican Will Kensington in a too close to call presidential election. Haas accurately captures the fear and fervor of Florida 2000 as well as the Ohio Kerry debacle four years later.Echoing the reality of Bush's first cousin John Ellis of Fox News, who prematurely called the election for Bush, our protagonist Matt Risen hears the key phrase that secures the election for Kensington: "We're reversing our earlier prediction and are now declaring Republican William Kensington the winner in Ohio...."

Have a look

Pages

Subscribe to ColumbusFreePress.com RSS