Obama’s Aversion to Income Inequality Doesn’t Extend to TPP
Natalie Yoon and William C. Anderson, Truthout: In his State of the Union address, President Obama touted his dedication to fight income inequality, yet his administration is working to fast-track a trade agreement predicted to cut pay for 90 percent of American workers.
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DC’s Poorest Residents Fight Displacement by Gentrification
Rania Khalek, Truthout: Barry Farm, a public housing complex with deep roots in African-American history, is on the front lines of Washington’s gentrification. If it is demolished – as more than half of DC’s pre-2000 public housing stock has been – residents likely will be out on the street.
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“NATO 3” Trial: Terror Case Called Weak, Chicago Police Witch Hunt Alleged
Candice Bernd, Truthout: As the ongoing trial of the “NATO 3” – Brian Church, Brent Betterly and Jared Chase – begins at a Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago this week, emerging details point to overblown charges, police misconduct and targeted surveillance operations on their First Amendment activities.
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Scarlett Johansson, There’s a Line Between Israel and Palestine, and SodaStream Is Over the Line
Robert Naiman, Truthout: Oxfam dumped actor Scarlett Johansson as its “global ambassador” for promoting SodaStream, which is made in Israel’s occupied settlements in the West Bank. Johansson believes such action is OK for someone who supports a two-state solution.
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The Crime of the Century
Peter G. Cohen, Truthout: The result of our obsession with economic growth is that we are ruining the atmosphere, killing ocean life and extinguishing thousands of species – possibly even our own.
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Advice to Plutocrat Perkins: Time to Shut Up!
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, Moyers & Company: There’s a rule of thumb in cyberspace etiquette which boils down to this: He who first compares the other side to Nazis loses… unless you’re billionaire Tom Perkins, who seems dedicated to digging a deeper and deeper hole for himself.
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Elizabeth Warren: “It Hurts… It Just Makes Me Madder Than Hell”
Michael Lux, Daily Kos: “Because everyone else in the political world will be writing about the SOTU, I am going to write about another political leader, Elizabeth Warren, who I think is creating a new kind of progressive politics that will have a major impact on American politics for years to come.”
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US Foreign Policy in Latin America Leaves an Open Door for China
Mark Weisbrot, The Guardian: America’s ”pivot” to Asia along with decades of heavy-handed policy give China an opportunity to rebalance global powers. It is well worth China’s efforts, which could be made at little or no cost, to help maintain stability in Latin America.
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Secret Court Ruling Could Undermine Wisconsin Campaign Finance Law
Brendan Fischer, PR Watch: A secret court ruling in the “John Doe” probe into campaign finance violations during Wisconsin’s 2011 and 2012 recall elections could have implications well beyond the investigation – if news reports from anonymous sources are accurate.
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Latest Human Rights Watch Report: 30 Lies About Venezuela
Tamara Pearson, Venezuelaanalysis.com: In the six pages that Human Rights Watch (HRW) dedicates to Venezuela in its World Report 2014, released this week, it manages to tell at least 30 serious lies, distortions, and omissions. Pointing out these lies is important, because many people believe that HRW is a neutral authority on human rights.
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“We Will Not Break the Law to Enforce the Law”: NYC to Reform Stop-and-Frisk, End Racial Profiling
Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now!: New York City’s newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the city will drop its appeal of a ruling by a US district court that found the New York City Police Department’s controversial “stop-and-frisk” program unconstitutional and settle an ongoing lawsuit.
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BuzzFlash
Bigoted Obsessions: Utah Legislator Would Force Transgender Students to Use Different Washrooms
Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: The challenges the United States faces are enormous. Legislators who spend time casting cruel stigmas on transgender students are bigoted and squandering our future.
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Why Henry Waxman Was One of the Most Important Congressmen Ever
Read the Article at Mother Jones
Conservatives Launch War on Cookies: Evangelicals Attack Girl Scouts USA
Read the Article at BuzzFlash
Let Banks Fail Is Iceland Mantra as 2 Percent Joblessness in Sight
Read the Article at The Utne Reader
Drinking Water for 17 California Communities About to Run Dry?
Read the Article at Common Dreams
Global (and Judicial) Warming and Cooling: Why We Get Both
Read the Article at BuzzFlash
Fifty-Five Bodies and Zero Trials at the Florida School for Boys
Read the Article at The New Yorker
Why the GOP’s Civil War Is Only Going to Get Uglier
Read the Article at Salon