Sarah Jaffe | The Resurgence of the Public Education Nation
Sarah Jaffe, Truthout: Opposition to the Common Core standards is growing nationwide, and despite salacious headlines, much of it is coming from teachers and parents opposed to overtesting. But the growing movement against corporate-style education reform comes together around the question: What are we for?
Filmmaker Sheds Light on “Valiant,” Greek-Born Hero of the Ludlow Massacre
Vassiliki Siouti, Truthout: Filmmaker Lambrini Thoma and director Nick Ventouras have traced the life and untimely heroic death of Louis Tikas, a legendary figure of the labor movement in the early 20th century. Truthout interviews Thoma about the film and the state of labor in Greece today.
Charter School Power Broker Turns Public Education Into Private Profits
Marian Wang, ProPublica: Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell’s chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.
The Future of Work, Leisure and Consumption
Staff, Dollars & Sense: Economist Juliet Schor is known worldwide for her research on the interrelated issues of work, leisure, and consumption. Her books on these themes includeThe Overworked American, The Overspent American and The New Consumer. She discusses her research on these economic trends.
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: As Denver faces a string of police brutality cases, a federal jury has awarded a historic $4.6 million in damages to the family of a homeless preacher killed while he was in the booking area of the Denver jail.
Watch the Video and Read the Transcript
Laura Flanders | Shifting Syria Threats
Laura Flanders, GRITtv: The US is under pressure to respond to allegations of war crimes in connection with its air strikes on Syria. But how do you assess disproportionate harm when this entire assault is disproportionate and premised on undefined threats?
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War on Witches: Reagan Judge Denounces Myth of Voter Fraud
Brendan Fischer, PR Watch: Voter ID is “a mere fig leaf for efforts to disenfranchise voters,” federal appellate Judge Richard Posner wrote in a scorching dissent published October 10. “If the Wisconsin Legislature says witches are a problem, shall Wisconsin courts be permitted to conduct witch trials?”
Economic Update: Economic Realities
Richard D. Wolff, Truthout: This episode analyzes the implications of Walmart shifting medical insurance costs onto US taxpayers, the Pew report on payday loans, US child poverty, the Obama administration’s support for Amazon against workers, and profits and death from opioids. Topics of major discussion include the medical-industrial complex, the manufacturing “renaissance” fantasy, “socialism’s” different meanings and the remarkable economics of the US securities industry.
Here Come the Rain and Drought
Emily Schwartz Greco, OtherWords: A raft of new research makes it clear that there’s going to be nowhere to hide from the devastation wrought by climate chaos. Many coastal regions must start bracing for frequent floods as key freshwater sources are drying up elsewhere.
An Unprofitable Disease: In the Political Economy of Ebola, Who Lives and Who Dies?
Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now!: Science writer Leigh Phillips is calling for a socialization of pharmaceutical research and production due to the political and economic circumstances of the spread of Ebola. Phillips says that using revenues from profitable drugs to subsidize research for unprofitable drugs would reduce the costs of vaccines and their development.
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BuzzFlash
The Poor Even Get Gouged for a Bed to Sleep in
Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout:Entrepreneurs have now figured out – through exorbitant consumer rental fees – how to financially exploit a population that is barely surviving.
More Than 48 Million Americans Live in Poverty, Census Bureau Reports
Our Souls Turned Into Weapons
“More Money Than I Could Count”: Mitch McConnell’s Very Special Relationship With Lobbyists
Read the Article at Mother Jones
Ooh Rah! Republicans Bray That We Won the War
New Evidence Links Earthquakes to Fracking
Leaked TPP Chapter Exposes Sweet Deals for Big Pharma and US Bully Tactics
Read the Article at Common Dreams
David Swanson | A Different War-Is-Good-for-Us Argument
Spirit In Action 