“People Make Up Our City”: Why Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Is a Sign of Things to Come
Amy B. Dean, Truthout: Seattle’s recently-passed minimum wage of $15 an hour – the highest in the nation – is the latest in a string of grassroots efforts to establish living wages at the local and regional levels.
Education Undressed: An Interview With Author Ruth Fowler
Daniel Falcone, Truthout: Author, critic and screenwriter Ruth Fowler advocates free education for all, a reimagined, less white feminism and the dethronement of creative writing MFA programs.
What We Can Learn From Lawrence of Arabia
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, Moyers & Company: In the 1920, T.E. Lawrence wrote an unsettling and prophetic article about Iraq. He decried the money spent, the number of troops and loss of life, and warned that his countrymen had been led “into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honor… We are today not far from a disaster.”
Emily Schwartz Greco and William A. Collins, OtherWords: Joblessness is down because new jobs are being created, but lots of new jobs don’t pay enough to support a small family. Given this bleak outlook, there’s momentum for raising the minimum wage to livable levels.
Locking Out Financial Regulation
Jayati Ghosh, TripleCrisis: The world of international trade negotiators is an increasingly secret one. A current example is a secretive, pending “trade” deal called the Trade in Services Agreement being negotiated among 50 countries.
Nicaragua’s Mayagna People and Their Rainforest Could Vanish
José Adán Silva, Inter Press Service: More than 30,000 members of the Mayagna indigenous community are in danger of disappearing, along with the rainforest which is their home in Nicaragua, if the state fails to take immediate action.
Martin Khor, Triple Crisis: Political leaders of developing countries gathered in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz last week to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Group of 77 and discuss the environment, human rights and other topics.
The World Bank’s Dam Dilemma in Tajikistan
Francesca Corbacho, Foreign Policy In Focus: The Tajik government says it desperately needs Rogun, which will be one of the world’s tallest dams, to meet its electricity needs. But its reservoir will displace over 42,000 people from small mountain villages upstream from the dam site.
Will Anyone Stop Charter School Corruption?
Jeff Bryant, Campaign For America’s Future: Real evidence of “the good charters” remains mostly anecdotal, as financial corruption and poor education results from “bad ones” continue to mount with every passing month.
Pro-Marijuana Canvassers Strike Over Unpaid Wages
Shane Burley, Labor Notes: Workers at the Oregon Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp had been refused paychecks they were owed, so they walked off the job and aim to form a union.
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