Truthout Daily Digest Thursday, 6 November 2014

November 8, 2014 by ohnwentsya Leave a comment

Henry A. Giroux | Capitalism Is a Tumor on the Body Politic: What’s the Alternative? Beyond Mid-Election Babble Henry A. Giroux, Truthout: The biggest challenge facing those who believe in social justice is to provide an alternative discourse, educational apparatuses and vision that can convince US citizens that a real democracy is worth fighting for. Read the Article Oil on the Tracks: Pacific Northwest Rises for Rail Safety Martha Baskin, Truthout: The rapid rise in moving crude oil by rail and sea vessels has Washington State issuing draft studies on how to do it safely, and has the public up in arms over whether to move it at all. Read the Article Richard Falk Talks About the Impact of Civil Society in the Israel-Palestine Conflict C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout: Former UN special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights and author of Palestine: The Legitimacy of Hope, Richard Falk contextualizes the Palestinian struggle and sheds light on the latest diplomatic and political developments in what has erroneously been referred to as the world’s “most intractable conflict.” Read the Interview The Case of the Dallas 6: Torture and Retaliation Against Prisoner Whistleblowers Shandre Delaney, Truthout: The Dallas 6 are part of a national movement of prisoners using peaceful resistance – crossing racial divides and ending hostilities among themselves – to counter rampant abuses in solitary confinement. On trial November 10 for felony riot, they should be cleared. Read the Article Democrats Duped by the Caucus Room Conspiracy The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: In 2009, at the Caucus Room restaurant here in Washington, DC, Republican leaders drew up a plan to sabotage President Obama at every point possible. The Caucus Room conspiracy may have worked this time, but let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again. Read the Article Democratic Strategies Lost Big. Here’s an Alternative George Lakoff, Truthout: It’s time to shine a light on the strategies used by Democrats, and on the Democratic infrastructure that uses those strategies. Pandering to demographic groups and moving rightward has been an avoidable disaster. Read the Article Amy Goodman | Sen. Bernie Sanders: The United States Is on the Verge of Becoming an Oligarchy Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: Sen. Bernie Sanders reacts to the Republicans’ big midterm victory. “What frightens me is what Citizens United has done to the politics of this country and the ability of billionaires like the Koch brothers and others to put unprecedented sums of money into elections,” he says. Watch the Video and Read the Transcript Confidence Men and “Prison Reform” Kay Whitlock, Critical Mass Progress: “I was a little kid when I first learned about ‘confidence men’ and the art of the inspired swindle from my dad. I’m reminded of this as I look at a flurry of articles making much ado about the purported conservative push for ‘prison reform.'” Read the Article Corporate Triumphs, Progressive Victories and the Roadmap for a Democratic Revival Peter Dreier, Moyers & Company: While Democratic candidates were going down to defeat, liberals and progressive won some impressive but little-publicized victories on important issues, especially in red and purple states, suggesting that voters are not as conservative as the pundits are pontificating. Read the Article Uncle Sam’s Databases of Suspicion: A Shadow Form of National ID Hina Shamsi and Mathew Harwood, TomDispatch: Suspicious activity reports and the consolidated terrorism watchlist are just two domestic government databases of suspicion. Many more exist. Taken together, they should be seen as a new form of national ID for a growing group of people accused of no crime. Read the Article The Mass Shooting in Mexico Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy in Focus / The Nation: Protests rage after local police forcibly disappeared 43 students of Ayotzinapa, a rural teaching college in the southern Mexico state of Guerrero. As the investigations continue, the crisis has laid bare the violence and corruption that controls large parts of the nation. Read the Article Slim Fast Billionaire Fattens Wallet of Scandal-Plagued Former Israeli Prime Minister Uri Blau, ProPublica: A private foundation funded by the founder of Slim Fast paid tax-deductible dollars to a consulting company owned by Ehud Olmert, an Israeli political figure accused of corruption. Read the Article

Support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation BuzzFlash When Freedom Becomes Just Another Word for Selling Products, It Isn’t Freedom Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Our freedom has been turned into a carnival barker’s call to increase our consumption of things that we don’t need​.​ Read the BuzzFlash Commentary Election 2014: Obama’s Failure to Communicate Read the Article at Mother Jones Gerrymandering Rigged the 2014 Elections for Republican Advantage Read the Article at Republic Report Dark Money Fuels Election Wins for Climate Deniers Read the Article at EcoWatch Welcome to the Great Liberal Hangover of 2014 Read the Article at The Guardian GOP’s Brash Impeachment Talk Not Based on Constitution Read the Article at Salon Chicago Archdiocese to Release Files on 36 Abusive Priests Read the Article at Reuters Mendocino County, California, Bans Fracking Read the Article at Global Exchange