Opinion

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Hundreds of swarming, angry Asian Giant Hornets, the world's largest, stung to death a vacationing American father and teenage son while they were jungle ziplining, reports from northern Laos said.

Daniel Owen, a 47-year-old headmaster of an international school, and his son Cooper, 15, suffered extremely painful deaths on Oct. 15 after they were rushed to a hospital, reportedly conscious, in nearby Luang Prabang.

"It was very, very painful. A lot of stings, more than one hundred, over the whole body," said Dr. Phanomsay Phakan.

"I have never seen a death [from hornet stings] and I have been working more than 20 years," the doctor said, according to the Times of London on November 4.

It was unclear why news of their deaths was not earlier reported, but all media is controlled by the Communist government in tiny, impoverished, landlocked Laos which is surrounded by China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

The tragedy occurred after the father, son, and a zipline guide climbed up to a tree-mounted platform and harnessed themselves to a long, slightly downward vertical steel zipline.

I was born into an America who's character was reflected by the words on the Statue of Liberty, which are ““Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” All Americans of my generation were proud of that!

The Orange King has turned America into a hell hole that is intent on punishing the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses. It has become the cruelest of countries, governed by psychotically cruel people. The majority of Americans did not vote for this, and many are protesting vehemently, to no avail. Some pretend that this administration will give up power based on an election which is completely delusional. Unbelievably a large minority of Americans support this as if the victims are criminals.

Chris Walker reports on “Trump’s Push to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing Rests on Falsehoods,” November 3, 2025 (https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-push-to-resume-nuclear-weapons-testing-rests-on-falsehoods). Walker is a news writer at Truthout, and is based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Here’s some of what he writes. 

“This past week, President Donald Trump called on the Department of Defense (DOD) to restart nuclear weapons testing ‘immediately, citing false claims about other countries’ nuclear arsenals and testing.”

“Despite Trump’s suggestion that other countries are testing nuclear weapons, only one country, North Korea, has even tested such weapons in the 21st century. Indeed, most countries ended their nuclear weapons testing in the 1990s. (The U.S. suspended tests in 1992.)”

President Trump endorsing Cuomo over Sliwa the Republican candidate in NYC's mayoral election is a betrayal to the Republican party and I hope diehard Republicans' voters will cast their votes to Mamdani who is the likely winner. Just like the saying goes, "No one likes to ride in a sinking ship."

Justice Department found Cuomo sexually harassing employees in the past is the only reason Trump likes him and they are two peas in a pod.

Let's face it, Trump is a Muslim-hater and he is very desperate to have Mamdani lose because he is Muslim and that is the ugly truth. However, I feel I have better odds of getting hit by lightning than Andrew Cuomo winning the NYC mayoral election.

 Curtis Sliwa said his own children, who were raised Jewish, are "afraid" of Mamdani. Why should religion matters? Sliwa confound me even more when he called Mamdani a "real threat" and that equating a vote for Mamdani is a vote for a "supporter of terrorism" or a "terrorist himself." In other words, a Muslim-American candidate should not be trusted, and s/he could not be a loyal American.

US law prohibits foreign interference in federal and state election

Versión en español a continuación

Celebrating our 55th year, the Columbus Free Press will honor five outstanding community activists and a community organization at our November 2025 Salon and Awards event on Saturday, November 8 from 1:30-4:30pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road. One honoree for the Free Press 2025 Outstanding Community Activist is Paul Becker. Facebook Event.

Paul Becker is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Dayton, where his research focuses on political extremism and violence, and activism in the 21st century.

Beginning with Occupy Columbus he has photographed over 550 protests, marches, rallies, and vigils. Most of these were in Central Ohio, but he has also documented activism in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, and other cities.

He lives in Central Ohio with his wife, Cathy, an environmental activist, and their two cats.

To quote the blues singer Big Maybelle, “There was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on” in 1963. It began in January, which marked the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, and President John F. Kennedy hosted a number of prominent African Americans at a reception in the White House–taking great pains to ensure that the famous black entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr., and his white wife, Mai Britt, were not photographed together–and ended with the cessasation of the thirty-day mourning period for the assassinated president.  In between there were more than a dozen incidents of nationwide importance that affected the fight for black freedom in America. Included among them were the Woolworth sit-ins, George Wallace’s stand in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama, Malcolm X’s famous speech, Message to the Grass Roots, the Chicago school boycott, the demonstrations in Birmingham, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

America is under shutdown for the last 31 days and Gaza Strip has been under siege for the last 19 years. So, how did Gazans manage to survive and what lesson can American learn from Gazans during the government shutdown to make ends meet?

First of all, with almost no aid allowed in and food prices soaring, parents and children in Gaza are risking their lives to get even small amounts of food or safe water. Many are walking for hours, waiting in crowds, or dodging dangerous strikes and fire – only to return empty-handed.

 However, Gazans have adapted to extreme food shortages by relying on a few meals a day, often skipping meals to feed their children. The UN World Food Program (WFP) reports that most families in Gaza survive on one meal a day, with one-third going entire days without eating. The meals available are often thin broths, lentils, rice, or a combination of herbs and olive oil known as "duqqa." 

Since October 1, Congress failed to pass appropriations bills, leading to a lapse in funding for non-essential government operations. This situation can significantly disrupt employment and unemployment across the country.

This article first appeared on the Buckeye Flame.

Ohio’s proposed drag ban received its second hearing Wednesday before members of the House Judiciary Committee.

The hearing featured public testimony in support of the bill from two anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups: Mission America and the Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), which is a primary driver of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation at the Ohio Statehouse.

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Celebrating our 55th year, the Columbus Free Press will honor five outstanding community activists and a community organization at our November 2025 Salon and Awards event on Saturday, November 8 from 1:30-4:30pm at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Road. One honoree for the Free Press 2025 Outstanding Community Activist is Julialynne Walker.