Apologies for posting these so late, and all in a row. I’ve been too ill to do much but wanted to at least share this week’s Truthout because there are so many important stories.
If you are also overwhelmed physically, mentally, emotionally, or just time-wise remember to breathe and pray. We are as the old curse said “living in interesting times”. There really is just too much going on now for anyone to completely keep up with.
Like everything, this too will pass. Eventually life on Earth will either return to a more life affirming pace and tone or the latest Great Extinction Event will completely wipe the slate clean for the Mother to start over.
We each do the best we can, turn our intentions, prayers and actions toward the best outcomes and accept that while collectively we are responsible and creating great change, individually we must trust in Creator, Mother Earth and the collective of humanity (plus all the other unseen forces).
Blessings to each of you reading this. You are a light in the darkness-keep on shining!
ohnwentsya
Gaza’s Doctors Struggle to Provide Basic Care Amid Strikes on Ambulances, Health Workers, Hospitals
Nora Barrows-Friedman, Truthout: Two major international human rights organizations have called for immediate investigations into possible war crimes committed by Israel, after evidence has emerged of the Israeli army’s targeted killing of Palestinian medical staff and rescue workers in Gaza.
How the Mainstream Media Helped Kill Michael Brown
Aaron Cantú, Truthout: It took three days for the mainstream media to report any version of events surrounding Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson, Missouri, beyond what the police had to say. This distorted coverage, which favors the authorities’ narrative, is not an aberration for dominant media outlets.
As Iraq Unravels, US Repeats Mistakes
Matthew Schweitzer, Truthout: The United States’ invasion essentially created sectarian politics in Iraq. Airstrikes will not mold the country into a stable or inclusive state, which is what is necessary for Iraq to face the challenges before it.
Abolishing the Broken US Juvenile Justice System
Hannah K. Gold, Truthout: In her second book, Burning Down the House, Nell Bernstein focuses on the criminalization of American young people, from the mid-1980s when the trend first exploded to the present day when the United States incarcerates more of its kids than any other industrialized nation.
Truths and Falsehoods About Ralph Nader’s New Book
Bruce E. Levine, Truthout: Readers of Ralph Nader’s new book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State, may not conclude that liberal-libertarian alliances are inevitable, but will come to see how they can be profoundly productive.
The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: Going on “Meet the Press” shouldn’t be a walk in the park. Lawmakers and guests should be grilled. Instead of asking the same old beltway regulars the same old questions and relying on boring panels, “Meet The Press” should be talking to experts on the issues.
Justice Ginsburg Wants “Equal Dignity” for Women in Court Decisions
Karin Kamp, Moyers & Company: Supreme Court rulings on gay rights are progressively pushing forward, while decisions related to women’s equality are moving in the opposite direction, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says.
Read the Article and Watch the Video
Critical Moment to Stop the TPP and Other Rigged Trade Agreements
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance: The moment facing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, its sibling the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the future approach to trade is reaching a critical stage. These new trade agreements are meeting significant opposition and obstacles. We can stop the “fast track,” and defeat corporate trade.
Blown Chances in Gaza: Israel and the US Miss Many Chances to Avoid War
Sandy Tolan, TomDispatch: Alongside the toll of death and broken lives, perhaps the saddest reality of the latest Gaza war is how easy it would have been to avoid. For the last eight years, Israel and the United States had repeated opportunities to opt for a diplomatic solution in Gaza.
Federal Investigators Crack Down on Two Virginia Schools’ Use of Restraints
Heather Vogell, ProPublica: Federal investigators have faulted two Virginia schools for pinning down and isolating disabled students improperly, saying the schools used the practices routinely as a “one-size fits all” response to disruptive behavior despite evidence they didn’t work.
Paul Krugman | Solving the Poverty Problem With Magic Asterisks
Paul Krugman, Krugman & Co.: Ezra Klein recently asked the wrong question in an article on Vox: Why should anyone trust Paul Ryan’s poverty plan? That’s easy: Nobody should. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.
Truthout writers William Rivers Pitt and Dahr Jamail have collaborated on a new e-book that examines the history behind the chaos in Iraq. From PNAC to Bush, with vivid reporting from the scene, this book definitively explains why this is happening. Order The Mass Destruction of Iraq for Kindle now!
BuzzFlash
Taxpayers Pay About $88,000 a Year to Confine a Juvenile; It’s Wasted Money That Wastes Lives
Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Imagine how the future of young people could be positively changed by investing in them instead of brutalizing and stigmatizing them. To accomplish this goal, we need to end their incarceration in juvenile facilities.
Shouldn’t We End the “Members Only” Club of Nuclear Arms by Destroying the Weapons?
Exxon Starts “Most Controversial Oil Rig in the World”
Congress Takes Summer Break From Doing Nothing for Years
Robin Williams: What Will Your Verse Be?
Eyewitness to Michael Brown Shooting Recounts His Friend’s Death
Power Struggle on Baghdad Streets as Maliki Replaced but Refuses to Go
Tales of the Cities: the Progressive Vision of Urban America