A Republican-driven effort to make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution failed in a special election on Tuesday. The defeated measure, known as Issue 1, would have effectively torpedoed the state’s direct democracy process, raising the vote threshold required to amend the state constitution from a simple majority to 60 percent, and requiring the supporters of would-be amendments to gather signatures from all 88 counties in Ohio, rather than half of them. With 37 percent of the vote counted when the Associated Press called the election, 61 percent of voters had rejected it… Source: Direct Democracy—and Abortion Rights—Win in Ohio – Mother Jones
Monthly Archives: August 2023
Ohio Rejects Issue 1, Constitutional Change Intended to Thwart Abortion Movement – The New York Times
Ohio voters rejected a bid to make it harder to amend the State Constitution on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, a significant victory for abortion-rights supporters trying to stop the Republican-controlled State Legislature from severely restricting the procedure.
The abortion question turned what would normally be a sleepy summer election in an off year into a highly visible dogfight that took on national importance and drew an uncharacteristically high number of Ohio voters for an August election.
Initial results showed the measure losing by a roughly 3 to 2 margin. The total vote —— surpassed the roughly 1.6 million votes recorded in the state’s last primary election in May 2022, when candidates for both governor and the state’s 15 House seats were on the ballot.
(Me: When gerrymandering does not count… Ohio is blue!)
I was Israel’s most senior diplomat. I urge Australia to recognise the state of Palestine | Alon Liel | The Guardian
…currently we are witnessing something new. The Benjamin Netanyahu-led ultra-nationalist government is racing towards annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), a manoeuvre which will not only end any chance of a two-state outcome, but also permanently entrench the daily humanitarian and anti-democratic nightmare that the Israeli occupation has become. During the last six months these methods have spilled into Israel itself, to a point of endangering our own precious democracy – the basis of our proximity to the western world… Source: I was Israel’s most senior diplomat. I urge Australia to recognise the state of Palestine | Alon Liel | The Guardian
Russian ‘double tap’ missile strike kills seven near hotel used by journalists | Ukraine | The Guardian
The Iskander missiles that hit Pokrovsk had been launched 40 minutes apart, known as a “double tap”, leading to death and injury among those who rushed to the scene, near a hotel used by journalists, after the first strike… Source: Russian ‘double tap’ missile strike kills seven near hotel used by journalists | Ukraine | The Guardian
World Bank says Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law violates its values | Reuters
The World Bank said on Tuesday it would halt new lending to the Ugandan government after concluding that its anti-LGBTQ law, which has been condemned by many countries and the United Nations, contradicts the bank’s values. Source: World Bank says Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law violates its values | Reuters
Self Examination
Austria and UNRWA sign new three-year multi-year agreement for Health Programme in the occupied Palestinian territory | PNN
The more you walk, the healthier you can become, major study finds – UPI.com
A new study published Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology says that a person can walk 3,967 steps a day to start to reduce the risk of dying from any cause and 2,337 steps a day to reduce the risk of dying from heart disease or blood vessel disease…
Source: The more you walk, the healthier you can become, major study finds – UPI.com
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