May 11 marked the one-year anniversary of the murder of Palestinian America journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was killed by an Israeli soldier while wearing a clearly marked vest while on assignment to cover a military raid in Jenin refugee camp in the illegally occupied West Bank. To date, the U.S. has not held Israel accountable.

Our government is morally bound to hold Israel accountable for this and any other extrajudicial killings in Palestine because of the nearly four billion dollars of military aid our taxes provide to Israel and our unwavering disapproval of any action by the U.N. to hold Israel accountable under international law. It’s our responsibility as U.S. citizens, to hold our government to the highest moral standards. Israel must be held accountable for its human rights violations, and the US must stop paying for human rights abuses!

Israeli defense forces have killed at least 23 journalists in Palestine since 2002, according to UNESCO data, and hundreds have been injured by or targeted with violence. (1)

Thursday, June 1, 9:30am-1pm
Starbucks, 1085 W. Fifth Ave.

West 5th Starbucks is experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ actions from their manager resulting in making the workers feel incredibly unsafe.  Being that it’s pride month, most stores are installing pride flags.  Which is what west 5th has done but then their manager came in and RIPPED it from the wall and threw it aside crumbled up on a shelf.  When confronted about why he said it was not supported by “corporate” and he didn’t want to get in trouble.  Turns out our friend Jill the District Manager is going to be there tomorrow!  So store leader Shenby and I have discussed organizing a Sip-in during the day to show the workers that the community stands with them and also openly talk to them (and express to management) that Columbus has PRIDE.

Starbucks thinks they can cash in on pride month but still deny queer partners safety at their stores and disrespect them!  We want to show them that Columbus will not stand for hypocrisy!

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Pita Limjaroenrat is deliberately entering a political minefield, littered with politicians and governments which failed.

Wealthy Mr. Pita's youth-led victory in nationwide elections on May 14 to try and become Thailand's youngest prime minister, is a vivid rejection by a large swath of Thai society against the U.S.-trained military's unpopular political domination and coups.

Mr. Pita, 42, is now struggling to have his Move Forward Party (MFP) form a coalition government uniting smaller parties, while litigious knives sharpen around him.

Projecting robust defiance, Mr. Pita said May 15 it would be "quite far-fetched" for anyone to oppose his victory.

"With the consensus that came out of the election, it will be quite a hefty price to pay for someone who is thinking of abolishing the election results, or forming a minority government," Mr. Pita said at a celebratory reception.

Ballots from Sunday's election for the 500-member House of Representatives gave him and his MFP the most votes of all candidates and parties.

Twenty-two years ago, Congress put sanity up for a vote. Sanity lost in the House, 420-1. It lost in the Senate, 98-0.

Barbara Lee’s lone vote for sanity — that is to say, her vote against the Authorization for the Use of Military Force resolution, allowing the president to make war against . . . uh, evil . . . without congressional approval — remains a tiny light of courageous hope flickering in a chaotic world, which is on the brink of self-annihilation.

Militarism keeps expanding, at least here in the USA. If there’s a problem out there, option one is to kill it quickly. Problem solved! This simplistic (and utterly false) mindset, which is always present — the companion of fear — may have a grip on American politics like never before, as demonstrated in the recent debt-ceiling standoff, in which President Biden came to an agreement with the Republicans that social spending will be slashed but “defense” spending must continue to expand.