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Truthout Daily Digest Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Our Hopes for 2015

Staff, Truthout: As we make our way into 2015, the Truthout team is recommitting to a year of questioning, struggle, intentionality, hard work and, most of all, hope. A few of us would like to share our personal hopes for the coming year with you, our readers.

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Nine LGBTQ Stories Big Media Ignored in 2014

Toshio Meronek, Truthout: Radical queer organizing was alive and well in the US in 2014; you just may not have heard about it in mainstream media. Here are nine stories that will no doubt reverberate in 2015.

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Syriza: From Radicalism to Pragmatism; the State of the Left in Greece

C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout: Instead of fighting for a new social order, Syriza transforms itself into yet another reformist left party. Allured by the aura of power, the party advocates a sugar-coated version of capitalism inside a neoliberal Europe. Meanwhile, Greece needs some imaginative economic management.

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How 13 Complaints Against McDonald’s Could Help Millions Unionize

David Moberg, In These Times: The National Labor Relations Board issued 13 complaints involving 78 charges that McDonald’s and many of its franchisees interfered with employees’ collective efforts to improve working conditions. A trial may find McDonald’s guilty of violating workers’ right to organize.

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Home Care Worker Protections Thwarted in Court

Michelle Chen, The Nation: A federal judge ruled that the Obama administration had overstepped its authority when the Department of Labor extended minimum wage and overtime standards to home care workers hired by private agencies.

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The Visa Curse

Diana Anahi Torres, OtherWords: H-4 visas give holders (most of whom are women) the right to live legally in the US, but they come with serious caveats. Most significantly, they deny their holders the right to a Social Security number and legal employment.

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US Senate Stands Up to House Fundamentalist Christians

Mikey Weinstein, AlterNet: The US Senate took the side of the Constitution when an obscure (but extremely detrimental) amendment to a House-passed bill “miraculously” disappeared from the final version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.

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Embodying Our Humanity: Performance Project “Sins Invalid” Promotes Disability Justice Through Live Performance Arts

Annie Pentilla, Tikkun Daily: Since its first performance, the group “Sins Invalid” has blossomed into a robust political and arts organization, providing annual performances, movement-building, creative workshops, educational work on disability justice and an artist-in-residence program.

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Twelve Hashtags That Changed the Conversation in 2014

Lindsey Weedston, YES! Magazine: Slacktivism? Not so much. From #BlackLivesMatter to #BringBackOurGirls, this year’s best hashtags around issues of social justice brought fresh voices into some of our most important conversations.

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BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

Palestinians Move to Join International Criminal Court, Defying Israeli and US Warnings

Read the Article at The New York Times

80 Percent of Whistleblower Retaliation Claims Ignored in Biased, “Trojan Horse” System

Read the Article at McClatchy DC

Former Cop: Police Officers Who Violate Citizens’ Rights Must Be Punished; Accountability Is the Only Way Forward

Read the Article at The Guardian

Homeless People in the US Pin Hopes on “Bill of Rights” to End Criminalization in 2015

Read the Article at Al Jazeera America

A Koch Hack Tells the Pope to “Back Off” on Climate Change

Read the Article at Daily Kos

Despite Climate Warnings, New Export Rules Open Crude Oil Floodgates

Read the Article at Common Dreams

Stop Kidding Yourself: The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People

Read the Article at LaborOnline


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Truthout Daily Digest | Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Henry A. Giroux | Authoritarianism and the Assault on Public Education

Henry A. Giroux, Truthout: As public schools are privatized, succumbing to corporate interests, critical thought and agency are erased, and education emphasizes market values rather than democratic ideals. The emergence of larger radical social movements depends on public education maintaining its role as a democratic sphere.

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Liberals, Trojan Horses and the Myth of Police-Community Relations

Josmar Trujillo, Truthout: Instead of having a conversation about how we’ve codified racism through law enforcement, we’re given a thick layer of public relations in the name of community policing. At its core, “community policing” serves as a Trojan horse for more policing and more funding of it.

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Robert W. McChesney: “Capitalism as We Know It Has Got to Go”

Robert W. McChesney, Monthly Review Press: In Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century, McChesney makes an urgent and compelling argument for ending communication monopolies and building a post-capitalist democracy that serves people over corporations.

Read the Excerpt

The Five Best Labor Stories of 2014

John Logan, Truthout: These stories demonstrate that despite extremely serious challenges, there’s life in the US labor movement – the last, best hope for reversing skyrocketing levels of economic inequality and restoring some measure of justice and decency to the US workplace.

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It’s Time to Bring Domestic Violence Survivors Like Barbara Sheehan Home From Prison

Victoria Law, The Nation: Christmas is traditionally the time when state governors grant clemency to people in prison whose cases they find compelling – and many of the battered women behind bars have compelling cases.

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The True Costs of Corporate Welfare

The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: It’s unconscionable and morally reprehensible that an employee working for the largest retailer in the United States, or for a fast food giant, isn’t making enough money to survive and provide for their family. We need to stop rewarding businesses for screwing over their employees.

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Amy Goodman | The Afghan War Is Not Over: More Than 10,000 Troops Continue the Fight

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: The US-led NATO occupation has formally ended its 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan. The move leaves Afghan forces in charge of security, though more than 17,000 foreign troops will remain, including more than 10,000 US troops.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

Saudis Tell Shale Industry It Will Break Them, Plans to Keep Pumping Even at $20 a Barrel

Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism: Saudi Arabia made it even more clear that it is not pulling out of its game of chicken with other energy-producing nations. The Saudis will keep pumping and, by implication, will force production cuts on others.

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Guatemalan Genocide Trial Set to Resume Amid Amnesty Battles

Jo-Marie Burt, North American Congress on Latin America: Under pressure from entrenched economic and military interests, Guatemala’s Constitutional Court undid its historic genocide ruling in 2013. The trial is set to resume on January 5, but faces last-ditch efforts to derail it.

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Okinawa: The Small Island Trying to Block the US Military’s “Pivot to Asia”

Christine Ahn, Foreign Policy in Focus: In November, the citizens of Okinawa delivered a landslide victory to Takeshi Onaga, who ran on a gubernatorial platform opposing the construction of a new US Marine Corps base in northern Okinawa. Onaga pledged “to stop construction using every means at my disposal.”

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Zombie Apocalypse and the Politics of Artificial Scarcity

Colin Jenkins, The Hampton Institute: If we are truly inclined to cooperate with one another, why is there so much division and turmoil in the world? The answer to this question may be found by assessing the creation of artificial scarcity as a means to maintain hierarchies.

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Life in the Crosshairs – How Some Public Feminists, Atheists and Other Activists Cope With Death Threats

Valerie Tarico, Valerie Tarico’s Blog: Fear has the power to paralyze and silence even strong, determined people, which is why threats of violence are such a potent, common and toxic presence in political discourse. Consequently, it is a wonder, and a gift to us all, when engaged citizens refuse to be silenced.

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BuzzFlash

Health Care Professionals Were “Legal Heat Shield” for Bush Administration’s Torture Project

Bill Berkowitz, BuzzFlash at Truthout: The role of health care workers in facilitating torture is one of the sickening details uncovered by the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s 500-page executive summary of its investigation of George W. Bush’s administration’s torture program.

Read the BuzzFlash Commentary

Activists Permanently Shut Down Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Delaware-Size Gas Plume Over New Mexico Illustrates the Cost of Methane Leaking From Drilling Rigs

Read the Article at The Washington Post

Blackwater Lobbyist Will Manage the House Intelligence Committee

Read the Article at Republic Report

2014 Was the Year We Finally Started to Do Something About Climate Change

Read the Article at Mother Jones

What Does It Mean to Be Anti-Police?

Read the Article at The Nation

A 17-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Demand for Justice Gains Momentum in Nepal

Read the Article at Global Voices

Kyle Orton and the Search for the NFL’s Liberals

Read the Article at The Guardian


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Truthout Daily Digest | Sunday, 28 December 2014

Green Neocolonialism, Afro-Brazilian Rebellion in Brazil

Santiago Navarro F., Renata Bessi and Translated by Miriam Taylor, Truthout: The Afro-Brazilian Quilombola people were forced from their land in Brazil in order to make way for eucalyptus plantations, which produce toilet paper destined for Western markets. But they are resisting by replanting native trees and food crops, and working for a post-eucalyptus reality.

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Killer Drones Are a Lethal Extension of American Exceptionalism

Marjorie Cohn, Olive Branch Press: “Like his predecessor, Obama defines virtually the entire world as a battlefield, ostensibly obviating the necessity to provide due process before execution,” the author writes in this introduction toDrones and Targeted Killing.

Read the Excerpt

In Black Lives Matter Protest, Corporate Rights Trump Free Speech

Brendan Fischer, PR Watch: Minnesotans protesting police violence and institutional racism could face “staggering” fees and criminal charges for a protest at Mall of America, with the city of Bloomington announcing plans to force organizers to pay for the mall’s lost revenue during the exercise of their free speech rights.

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Truthout Interviews Joe Macaré on Keeping the Independence in Independent Journalism and Truthout

Ted Asregadoo, Truthout: What does it take to make sure that Truthout remains independent from corporate sponsorship and advertisements? Truthout publisher Joe Macaré talks about how Truthout is able to maintain its journalistic independence.

Watch the Video

Tiny House Living: How Two Families Made It Work

Liz Pleasant, YES! Magazine: How do you fit a full-sized family into a tiny house? The Morrisons and Kasls found that the benefits of life in 200 square feet outweigh the difficulties – teenagers, sleepovers, alone time and all.

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Despite Enduring a Lifetime of Violence, Kelly Savage Emerges as an In-Prison Activist

Victoria Law, Waging Nonviolence: After enduring a lifetime of violence and abuse and then facing the rest of her life behind prison walls, it would be easy for a person to become bitter, disillusioned and self-destructive. But rather than sinking into despair, Kelly Savage has instead become an in-prison activist.

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Feds Bar Companies’ Long-Distance Lawsuits Against Soldiers

Paul Kiel, ProPublica: In the latest move against companies targeting military customers, federal regulators prohibit two Virginia-based lenders from suing out-of-state debtors in Virginia courts.

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“Employee Engagement” Is No Substitute for a Union at Volkswagen

Alexandra Bradbury, Labor Notes: There’s no bargaining in Volkswagen’s new policy. On closer inspection, it looks more like something anti-union forces have been angling to try. In fact, it’s suspiciously similar to what Tennessee legislators imposed on teachers.

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Selma Portrays the True Martin Luther King Jr: A Radical Despised by the Political Establishment

Zaid Jilani, AlterNet: Selma has won nearly unanimous praise from film critics – partly for its unflinching look at King as a true radical who upset not just a fringe of racists in the South, but the entire political establishment. The film is particularly relevant right now, in light of recent protests against police brutality.

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Top 10 Progressive Policies We’d Love to See Enacted in 2015 (but Probably Won’t Be)

Robin Marty, Care2: The new year would be an amazing time to pass some real legislation that could decrease the gap between the rich and poor and the haves and the have-nots. Sadly, with a new, even more conservative Congress to be sworn in this January, the odds of that happening are pretty slim.

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This week in Speakout:

The National Committee to Free the Cuban Five is overjoyed that the Cuban Five are home, forever free from the unjust imprisonment and cruel punishment that denied them their freedom for 16 long years, while Jack A. Smith applauds the overdue policy changes that led there; El Grito de Sunset Park and Bronxites for NYPD Accountability reflect on how the fight against police brutality is just and must continue; George Ygarza reports how hundreds of delegates from all corners of the globe descended upon Lima to be heard in regard to their struggles in confronting climate change in their respective regions; Ken Peeples reveals how the United States government actually really hates press freedom;Mike Miller describes the six pillars of effective anti-poverty policy; Jason Flores-Williamsargues that a culture of torture is the very soundtrack of our lives; Walter Shapiro explains the crash course Americans got on the mischief that can transpire when Congress actually fulfills its duties; the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation notes that more than 5 million signatures have been garnered for a Nuclear Zero Campaign; Arnold Oliver says the break in hostilities in the trenches of Belgium and France on Christmas a century ago was actually a mutiny, not a truce; and more.

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BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

After 13 Years, US-Led Afghanistan War Is Officially Over, but Nightmare Goes On

Read the Article at Common Dreams

AirAsia Indonesia Flight to Singapore Goes Missing With 162 on Board; Search for Jet Suspended

Read the Article at The Washington Post

At Least 24 Killed in Malaysia, Thailand Floods as 200,000 Evacuated

Read the Article at Al Jazeera America

Malaria Is Killing Thousands More Than Ebola in West Africa

Read the Article at the Associated Press

The Mysterious Case of Prisoner 212

Read the Article at The Intercept

“I Can’t Breathe” T-Shirts See High School Basketball Team Disinvited From Event

Read the Article at the Associated Press

How Canadian Oilmen Pinkwash the Keystone Pipeline

Read the Article at The Daily Beast


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Truthout Daily Digest Saturday, 27 December 2014

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Challenging Bedrock Law: “Dillon’s Rule” in Detroit and Beyond

Simon Davis-Cohen, Truthout: Detroit and other city governments have been effectively dissolved. In the Motor City, all governing power resides in one man – Kevyn Orr – the state-appointed “emergency manager.” He performs all functions of local government, unilaterally.

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The Disunited States: A French Writer Navigates 1930s United States

Patrick Glennon, Truthout: In his recently translated book, The Disunited States, Vladimir Pozner reveals the alienation, class antagonism, racism and sexism endemic to this country in the 1930s – and how little has changed.

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Jeopardy Has Not Attached: Killer Cops Can Still Be Indicted

James Marc Leas, Truthout: Protests should continue to demand justice for Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The officers who killed them can still be indicted and tried for murder under state law in Missouri and New York.

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Everything You Need to Know About the Radical Roots of Wonder Woman

Christopher Zumski Finke, YES! Magazine: The hero and her alter ego, Diana Prince, were the products of the tumultuous women’s rights movements of the early 20th century, and her enigmatic creator believed women were destined to rule the world.

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Looking Back, Moving Forward: 2014 Year in Review

Making Contact, National Radio Project: The year 2014 saw social movements ranging from pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong to the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. Making Contact brings an update on some of these movements that made major news this year.

Listen to the Radio Report

Unearthing the Truth: Mexican State Violence Beyond Ayotzinapa

Jesse Franzblau, NACLA: Declassified files on migrant massacres reveal impunity and Mexican state complicity in human rights atrocities that predate the recent Ayotzinapa disappearances.

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What the US Should Learn From Russia’s Collapse

Miriam Pemberton, OtherWords: It’s time for communities that are dependent on Pentagon contracts to work on strategies to reduce their economic vulnerability as defense spending dwindles. The time to start planning an economic transition is now.

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Why Obama Won’t Reach an Agreement With Iran

Gareth Porter, Middle East Eye: The Obama administration has no obvious incentives to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program because the United States is getting most of what it wants already under the status quo.

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It’s Not Even 2015, but the 2016 Republican Presidential Race Rumors Have Begun

Robin Marty, Care2: It’s still 2014 for at least another few days, but that hasn’t stopped the 2016 presidential speculation from jumping to an accelerated start, with news that another Bush may be tossing his hat in the ring.

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BuzzFlash

The Buzzflash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

NSA Fesses Up to Improper Surveillance of US Citizens

Read the Article at The Huffington Post

Evil Torturers Catch a Break: How Americans Got Distracted From a National Travesty

Read the Article at Salon

US Prepares to Accelerate Detainee Transfers From Guantánamo Bay Prison

Read the Article at The Washington Post

After Scrutiny, CIA Mandate Is Untouched

Read the Article at The New York Times

Doubts Persist on US Claims of North Korean Role in Sony Hack

Read the Article at NPR

ACLU Accuses NSA of Using Holiday Lull to “Minimize Impact” of Documents

Read the Article at The Guardian

On Racial Issues, Americans Are Divided Both Black and White and Red and Blue

Read the Article at The Washington Post


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Truthout Daily Digest Friday, 26 December 2014

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Climate Change 2014: What Do We Do Now?

Bruce Melton, Truthout: As we move into 2015, the latest climate science means policy must provide funds not only for just reducing future emissions but also for removing pollution that has already been released in the atmosphere.

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A New Year’s Resolution: Don’t Call the Police

Mike Ludwig, Truthout: Resolving not to call the police is not just a protest against a racist and corrupt criminal justice system; it’s the beginning of a dream that challenges us to build a free and just world.

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Ellen Brown | Russian Roulette: Taxpayers Could Be on the Hook for Trillions in Oil Derivatives

Ellen Brown, The Web of Debt Blog: The sudden dramatic collapse in the price of oil appears to be an act of geopolitical warfare against Russia. The result could be trillions of dollars in oil derivative losses, and depositors and taxpayers could be liable, following repeal of key portions of the Dodd-Frank Act signed into law on December 16.

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Increasingly Dangerous Guns Endanger US Communities

Eleanor J. Bader, Truthout: As Tom Diaz reports in The Last Gun: How Changes in the Gun Industry are Killing Americans and What It Will Take to Stop It, the NRA, in concert with gun manufacturers and conservative advocates of law and order, has successfully stoked fear of crime and terrorism to ramp up domestic weapons sales.

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A Suitable Donor: Harvesting Kidneys in the Philippines

Ray Ventura, Japan Focus: Along the coast of Manila Bay in the Philippines, there is a slum district called Baseco. Describing it as “a place where the people of damned souls sell their kidneys to survive,” Baseco brought to public attention the scandal of what is essentially a human organ farm.

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Living With a 10 Billion Euro Bailout – the Story From the Streets of Cyprus

Christina Ionela Neokleous, The Conversation: The president of the Republic of Cyprus tells a story that says that lending schemes like the one imposed on the people of Cyprus are simply the mechanisms to achieve neocolonialism and that the IMF would do better to be more open about its new set of objectives. It is certainly a story that makes sense.

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Amy Goodman | How the Pentagon Papers Came to Be Published by the Beacon Press, as Told by Daniel Ellsberg and Others

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: In 1972 Beacon Press lost a Supreme Court case brought against it by the US government for publishing the first full edition of the Pentagon Papers. We hear the story from three men at the center of the storm.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

The Nuclear Zero Lawsuits

David Krieger, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation: The Nuclear Zero lawsuits, initiated by the Marshall Islands, are about the law, but they are about much more than the law. They are also about saving humanity from its most destructive capabilities. They are about saving humanity from itself and about preserving civilization for future generations.

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Do Cubans Really Want US-Style Internet Freedom?

Sujatha Fernandes and Alexandra Halkin, North American Congress on Latin America: Although Obama has pledged offers of internet technology, Cubans are likely to be suspicious. Given the revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden about the United States using the internet to spy on its citizens, it is unlikely that Cubans will feel comfortable with this arrangement.

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Faiths United Against Nuclear Weapons

Julia Rainer, Inter Press Service: “Never was there a greater need than now for all the religions to combine, to pull their wisdom and to give the benefit of that combined, huge repository of wisdom to international law,” said Christopher Weeramantry, addressing a session on faiths united against nuclear weapons at the civil society forum.

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Richard D. Wolff | Economic Update: Signs of Deepening Inequality

Richard D. Wolff, Truthout: This week’s episode provides updates on the successful Oregon teaching assistants’ strike, evicting the homeless, a law that limits unpaid internships to four weeks and universities becoming businesses. We respond to listeners’ questions on the economics of war and the military, and on political corruption in the new budget.

Listen to the Audio Segment

BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

Refusing to Wage War Is Possible

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Female Vets Fight “The Second Battle”: Sexual Trauma

Read the Article at The Washington Post

Charles P. Pierce | Seasons Greetings From Your Friends at the NSA

Read the Article at Esquire

Social Movements Didn’t Kill the NYPD Officers. A Man With Untreated Mental Illness and a Gun Did

Read the Article at The Nation

Sen. Bernie Sanders: I’ll Decide on Presidential Run by March

Read the Article at the Associated Press

Let’s All Screw the 1%: The Simple Move Obama Could Make to Strengthen the Rest of Us

Read the Article at Salon

Regulations for Pissing on Cheney’s Grave Announced (Satire)

Read the Article at Memegop.com


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Truthout Daily Digest Wednesday, 24 December 2014

When Soldiers Say No to War

Camillo Mac Bica, Truthout: On the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce, the author remembers the Hootch program, which brought together Soviet and US Cold Warriors, and concludes it is not the truce or the occurrence at the Hootch, but war that is the aberration – a violation of human nature.

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Fact Not Fiction: The Unending Korean War

Christine Ahn and Suzy Kim, Truthout: The fact that the Korean War ended with a temporary cease-fire rather than a permanent peace treaty has given the North Korean government justification to invest heavily in the country’s militarization. Another 50 years failed policy that needs to change?

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A Vote for “Draft Warren” Is a Vote for a Democratic Primary

Robert Naiman, Truthout: “If you object to the proposition that Hillary Clinton should become the Democratic nominee for president in 2016 without having to substantially engage with Democratic primary voters and caucus-goers about what she would do as President, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

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Cuba and the United States: Political Realism’s Triumph

Roberto M. Yepe Papastamatin, Truthout: The historic US-Cuba diplomatic rapprochement signals a long-overdue rectification and the recognition of the Cuban Revolution’s legitimacy by the most powerful nation that has ever existed, with profound implications for both countries and for the inter-American relations system as a whole.

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Shining Light Into the Dark World of US Drone Warfare

Charles Sevilla, Los Angeles Daily Journal: Approved at the highest levels of government, the use of US drone strikes has steadily escalated for more than a decade. These targeted killings are justified as legal and effective measures to defend the homeland. The book Drones and Targeted Killingquestions both premises.

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Torture’s Time for Accountability

Ray McGovern, Consortium News: The United States’ reputation for cognitive dissonance is being tested by the Senate report documenting the US government’s torture of detainees and the fact that nothing is happening to those responsible.

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It’s a Wonderful Life, Comrade

Michael Winship, Moyers & Company: When It’s a Wonderful Life first came out, it fell under suspicion from the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee as Communist propaganda, part of the Red Scare that soon would lead to the blacklist and witch hunt that destroyed the careers of many in Hollywood.

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Get Ready Now for the Fast-Track Fight

Dave Johnson, Campaign for America’s Future: “Fast-track essentially pre-approves trade agreements before people get a chance to read them, analyze them and rally opposition. It prevents Congress from fixing problems in the agreements. This is the wrong way for our country to do this.”

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How Mindfulness Could Give You the Gift of a Calmer Christmas

Anna Leyland, The Conversation: From the time you wake up on this Christmas morning, take time to fully notice the little things. Consider that many other people you do not know have made effort to grow, make or transport parts of your present too. Be kind and compassionate to everyone you have contact with – including yourself.

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Remembering the Greediest Americans This Holiday Season

Sam Pizzigati, OtherWords: Among the youngest of the 2014 top ten greediest Americans: 38-year-old Travis Kalanick, the CEO and cofounder of Uber. Uber is worth $40 billion – profits made, critics charge, by taking short cuts like not running adequate background checks on drivers.

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BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

Stopping Imperialistic Wars Could Radically Reduce Terrorism

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Federal Officials May Use Little-Known Civil Rights Statute in Police Shooting Cases

Read the Article at The Guardian

US to Send More Private Contractors to Iraq

Read the Article at Reuters

Grand Jury Clears Houston Officer in Shooting of Unarmed Black Man, Jordan Baker

Read the Article at Al Jazeera America

Heralded by Human Rights Groups, Global Arms Trade Treaty Goes Into Force

Read the Article at Common Dreams

LAPD Body Camera Footage Won’t Be Released to the Public

Read the Article at RT

Off Duty, Black Cops in New York Feel Threatened by Fellow Police Officers

Read the Article at Reuters


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Truthout Daily Digest Tuesday, 23 December 2014

The New Face of US Health Care: $1,000 per Pill

Peter S. Arno and Michael H. Davis, Truthout: Federal law says that drugs like Sovaldi, the hepatitis C drug priced at $1,000 per pill, are subject to price regulation – but that regulation isn’t taking place. It is time for the government to defend our right to affordable health care.

Read the Article

Marjorie Cohn on Drone Warfare: Illegal, Immoral and Ineffective

Leslie Thatcher, Truthout: Law professor, writer and social critic Marjorie Cohn discusses the just-published book she edited, Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues.

Read the Interview

The Price of Private Prison

Sarah Rosenblatt, Truthout: Private prison corporations use their massive profits to lobby for legislation that expands incarceration. Because they’re profit driven, companies outsource prison services, like health care and food, to for-profit contractors, so every basic need is an opportunity to cut corners and make a buck.

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Jimmy John’s Foreshadows a Union-Free Future – and Unions May Be to Blame

William C. Anderson, Truthout: Jimmy John’s is facing a one-of-a-kind lawsuit over its noncompete agreements for employees. The attacks faced by Jimmy John’s workers illustrate a much larger problem: a weakened labor movement.

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Spanish Government Strips Away Protesting Rights

Kevin Mathews, Care2: Spain is showing signs of fascism with its new anti-protest legislation, nicknamed the “gag law.” Last week, the country’s lower parliament approved the law. If it is implemented, peaceful protests could be shut down if police fear they will “turn disorderly.”

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NYPD Police Union Accuses Mayor, Protesters of Being Responsible for Cops’ Murder

Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now!: New York City is grappling with the aftermath of the first targeted killings of police officers in years. The head of the city’s biggest police union has faulted the recent anti-police brutality protests and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has expressed sympathy for the movement’s concerns.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

The United States Is Committing Brutal Acts of Torture Right Now

Nafeez Ahmed, AlterNet: The grisly details of CIA torture have finally been at least partly aired. But much of the media coverage of this issue is missing the crucial bigger picture: the rehabilitation of torture under the Obama administration, and its systematic use to manufacture false intelligence to justify endless war.

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Fracking Permit Issued in Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish

Julie Dermansky, DeSmogBlog: The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources issued a drilling permit for Helis Oil and Gas, bringing the company one step closer to realizing its ambition to frack in St. Tammany Parish. Public outcry against fracking there was not enough to sway the state agency.

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This Moment Must Be About Black-Ness

Lisa Gray-Garcia, POOR Magazine: If you do not walk in a Black-identified body, this is a moment to practice humility: a value never taught in this stolen, colonizer-run world. We are all pawns in the game of non-humility – the cult of independence and the nation of separation.

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A Lump of Coal for Fossil Fuels

Emily Schwartz Greco, OtherWords: The fossil-fuel divestment movement got the perfect holiday gift in 2014: tumbling stocks. Founded only two years ago by experts and students fed up with the glacial pace of climate action, the global divestment effort is already liquidating more than $50 billion of oil, gas and coal assets.

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On the News With Thom Hartmann: Most Americans Don’t Realize How Climate Change Impacts Health, and More

In today‘s On the News segment: Most Americans don’t realize the ways that climate change impacts their personal health; scientists recently figured out why animals’ appearances change along with their temperament; the world’s oceans are virtually overflowing with plastic; and more.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

BuzzFlash

Irony of Christmas: Obama Is Santa Claus to the Rich, and They Call Him Marxist

Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: The plutocrats should be hailing Obama as Santa for the oligarchy, instead of portraying him as some sort of cross between Lenin and the Antichrist.

Read the BuzzFlash Commentary

Charles P. Pierce: The CIA and NYPD’s Perilous Insubordination in Our Democracy

Read the Article at Esquire

Joe Conason: Ending a Cuba Policy That’s Failed for 50 Years

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Report: New Congress Dumping Budget Office Chief to Clear Way for Special GOP Math

Read the Article at Talking Points Memo

Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama … Bush? Here We Go Again

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Warming Oceans Are Bleaching Coral Reefs, Putting Ecosystems at Risk

Read the Article at Common Dreams

The GOP Felon Who Wouldn’t Leave Congress

Read the Article at The Daily Beast

After Major Stroke, Gordie Howe’s Stem Cell Treatment Brings “Miraculous” Results

Read the Article at The Canadian Press


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Truthout Daily Digest | Monday, 22 December 2014

The Privatization of Infrastructure Is Costing Us All

Ellen Dannin, Truthout: We must ask: Who actually benefits from and pays for infrastructure? How is privatization affecting our roads and bridges – and our pocketbooks?

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Hands Off Assata: Protests Can Protect the Revolutionary Fugitive in Cuba Again

David Goodner, Truthout: In 1998, a nonbinding resolution called the Joanne Chesimard Fugitive Act passed both houses of Congress. The protest movement that erupted at the time points the way forward for how activists today can win a #HandsOffAssata campaign.

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Dean Baker | The Trade Agreement Piñatas

Dean Baker, Truthout: Many labor, environmental and consumer groups have stepped up their criticisms of the Obama administration’s plans for pushing fast-track trade negotiating authority recently. The purpose of fast-track is to allow the administration to negotiate to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Pact.

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The Hunger Games-ification of Police and the Community

Dr. Jason Michael Williams, Truthout: American policing began with the slave patrols, and yet, today, as then, the response to the outcries of Blacks on this issue is non-acknowledgement and condemnation – on par with the storyline of The Hunger Games, no?

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Labor Law for the 0.01%

John Logan, Truthout: The United States desperately needs labor law reform – but not the “Employee Rights Act” labor law for the 0.01% supported by Rick Berman and Newt Gingrich. Under existing law, unscrupulous corporations and their “union avoidance consultants” effectively choose whether a workplace gets a union.

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We Shouldn’t Blindly Worship Authority Figures

The Daily Take Team, The Thom Hartmann Program: There’s a direct line leading from our hero worship of cops, to the arming of local police forces with weapons of war, to the killing of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The US is not yet an authoritarian state, but if we want to avoid that, we need to keep these dangerous trends in check.

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Cromnibus Pension Provisions Gut 40 Years of Policy, Allow Existing Pensions to Be Slashed

Lambert Strether, Naked Capitalism: The Kline-Miller amendment, passed by the House, and part of the Senate bill forwarded to Obama for his signature, is one provision that could do immediate harm to working people who made their retirement plans based on the belief that their pension rights were secure.

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Citizens Take Monitoring Into Own Hands as Eagle Ford Shale Boom Continues Undaunted

Julie Dermansky, DeSmogBlog: During the past two years, Hugh Fitzsimons lll, a buffalo rancher on the outskirts of Carrizo Springs, Texas, has watched the fracking boom transform a rural locale into an industry hub. Desolate dirt roads are now packed with truck traffic and commercial development to service the growing industry.

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The War to Start All Wars: The 25th Anniversary of the Forgotten Invasion of Panama

Greg Grandin, TomDispatch: It was George H.W. Bush’s invasion of that small, poor country 25 years ago that inaugurated the age of preemptive unilateralism, using “democracy” and “freedom” as both justifications for war and a branding opportunity. The road to Baghdad, in other words, ran through Panama City.

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Let Us Speak! Let Us Speak! Let Us Speak! Voices From Ferguson to Sharpton

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Black Agenda Report: Al Sharpton’s assertion that the people from Ferguson would be violent is more consistent with the position of the police than with the people of Ferguson. It is precisely this assumption that Black people are violent that is getting Black folks all over the country killed.

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Under Fire for Negligence, North Carolina Prisons Chief Seeks New Funding for Mental Health Treatment

Lisa Dawson, Solitary Watch: North Carolina corrections chief David Guice wants more than $20 million to improve the treatment of people with mental illness in the state’s prisons. His request comes on the heels of two recent reports showing neglect and abuse of prisoners with psychiatric disabilities in North Carolina.

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On the News With Thom Hartmann: Poverty and Inequality Are Getting Worse in the US, and More

In today‘s On the News segment: Even in the face of the so-called recovery, poverty and inequality are getting worse in our country; the National Labor Relations Board says that employees can use company email to form a union; Sen. Bernie Sanders keeps moving toward progress; and more.

Watch the Video and Read the Transcript

BuzzFlash

Colbert’s Most Impactful Moment Was at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Colbert decimated both Bush – who was seated just a few feet away – and the lapdog DC press corps.

Read the BuzzFlash Commentary

12 Days of Christmas Apologies Political and Corporate Leaders Should Make

Read the Article at BuzzFlash

Former Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke: Bush, Cheney Committed War Crimes

Read the Article at The Huffington Post

Leaked CIA Documents Teach Operatives How to Infiltrate EU

Read the Article at RT

The Operators of the United States’ Largest Immigrant Detention Center Have a History of Prisoner Abuse

Read the Article at Newsweek

How a False Witness Helped the CIA Make a Case for Torture

Read the Article at Al Jazeera America

Obama Administration Aims to Create “Insider Threat” Job Specialty to Plug Leaks

Read the Article at Nextgov

Why Doesn’t the Right Wing Like Jeb Bush? He’s One of Them

Read the Article at BuzzFlash


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Truthout Daily Digest Sunday, 21 December 2014

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While Congress Fails on Syringe Exchange Funding, Activism Fills the Gap

Mike Ludwig, Truthout: Congress once again failed to lift a ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs, despite overwhelming evidence that exchanging used needles for new ones can saves lives and millions of dollars in health care costs. Fortunately, activists on the ground have never waited for lawmakers to act.

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Rory Fanning: “We Have to Make It Cool to Be a War Resister Again”

Joe Macarè, Truthout: Rory Fanning spoke to Truthout about his aims in writing Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger’s Journey Out of the Military and Across America, the meaning of Pat Tillman and how to engage with war resisters in the military.

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Utah Land Defenders Stand Up to Dirty Politics

Anna Simonton, Oil Change International: The Uinta Basin region of Utah has transformed over the past decade to one in which drill rigs are more common than cattle herds, and methane emissions have degraded the air quality in this wilderness region to rival that of Los Angeles. Activists, however, are fighting back.

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Ferguson Reverberates Around the World

Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report: The Ferguson protests seized the attention of people all over the world and gave them a sense of the unvarnished truth of Black American life.

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Hollywood, the Police and the Poor

John Steppling, Truthout: Dan Gilroy’s new film Nightcrawleris garnering rave reviews and is indeed beautifully photographed, well-made and entertaining. But the reviews, like the movie itself, erase entire chunks of our society and its reality.

Read the Review

Truthout Interviews Michael Meurer on Torture Photos and Uruguay Thwarting Supply-Side Austerity Policies

Ted Asregadoo, Truthout: Truthout contributor Michael Meurer talks about the release of 2,000 photographs of the US torture of prisoners and the ways in which Uruguay has drawn neoliberal wrath for thwarting supply-side economics and corporate governance.

Watch the Video

Take the Chains Off: The Struggle for Racial Justice Continues

Nicholas Powers, The Indypendent: The state maintains law and order in an unequal society, so the contradictions roil it from inside. It must suppress the very people who are the source of its legitimacy, and it does this by shielding its own agents from public accountability while demonizing its victims.

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The Unspeakable in Afghanistan

Pat Kennelly, World Beyond War: “I have heard ordinary Afghans whisper about Afghanistan as a failing state, even as the media has touted growth, development and democracy,” the author writes. If energies were focused on peacemaking, however, perhaps people could transform the Afghan state.

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Why USAID Could Never Spark a Hip Hop Revolution in Cuba

Sujatha Fernandes, North American Congress on Latin America: “In a society shaped by successive generations of revolutionary projects, any attempt to engineer a US-affiliated movement from above is destined to be revealed for the farce that it is.”

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Four Ways 2014 Was a Pivotal Year for the Internet

Timothy Karr, OtherWords: The internet’s fate feels distinctly uncertain as 2014 draws to a close. At stake is whether the internet remains a democratic, user-powered network – or falls under the control of a few powerful entities.

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This week in Speakout:

Dr. James Zogby calls on Attorney General Eric Holder to stop racial profiling that results in deportations; the Military Religious Freedom Foundation demands Creech Air Force Base in Nevada remove the Bible from the POW table in its dining hall; Bruce Lesnick promotes a Bill of Rights for working people as the “top secret” solution to what ails the world; Halyna Mokrushyna reports back from a conference where Canadian academics discussed the origin of the Ukrainian crisis and the outlook for reconciliation; the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin lodged criminal complaints against former CIA head George Tenet, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other members of the administration of former US President George W. Bush; S. M. (Mike) Millercalls on Democrats, liberals and progressives to unite in order to win the 2016 election; theBrennan Center for Justice supports an amicus brief filed by the New York University School of Law which states the Fourth Amendment should apply to digital documents;Matt Peppe reports that Puerto Ricans demand the release of political prisoner Oscar López Rivera; Emanuel Garcia offers a new definition of torture; Ben Norton criticizes CNN for hiring Mark O’Mara, George Zimmerman’s defense attorney, who is now defending the actions of Darren Wilson; Sharon Adams points out that the CIA’s torture program resulted in unreliable information; Four Arrows discusses the American Psychological Association’s longstanding role in torture, eugenics and social control, and suggests a university boycott of the organization may be in order; Dr. Justin A. Frank notes the ugly underlying sadism in George W. Bush’s presidency; The BRussels Tribunal – led by two former UN Assistant Secretaries-General, UN Humanitarian Coordinators for Iraq, Hans von Sponeck and Denis Halliday – argues for accountability for torture; Roger Annis excoriates mainstream coverage of the crisis in Ukraine; and more.

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BuzzFlash

The BuzzFlash commentary for Truthout will return soon.

Conservatives’ Sick Reaction to NYPD Officer Killings: Blame Obama and de Blasio

Read the Article at Salon

Panel Advises Against Punishing CIA for Accessing Senate Intelligence Computers

Read the Article at Crooks and Liars

In Midst of Holiday Shopping, Protesters Disrupt Business-as-Usual to Declare “Black Lives Matter”

Read the Article at Common Dreams

Fears Build as CIA’s “Ghost Prisoners” Vanish Into Afghan Jails

Read the Article at The Guardian

Foes of Unions Try Their Luck in County Laws

Read the Article at The New York Times

At Least 100,000 Prisoners Are Locked Up for Low-Level Drug Offenses – Obama Just Gave Relief to Eight

Read the Article at The Washington Post

How ALEC Plans to Undo Minimum Wage Increases in 2015

Read the Article at RH Reality Check


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Common Dreams Highlights Thursday, 18 December 2014

Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

News & Views | 12.18.14

Featured…

Report: Secret CIA Document Admits US Drone Program “Counterproductive”
by Jon Queally
Document published by Wikileaks reveals agency’s own internal review found key counter-terrorism strategy “may increase support” for the groups it targets.

News…

‘A Slap in the Face’: Vermont Gov. Jumps Ship on Single-Payer Healthcare
by Deirdre Fulton
Proponents of state’s trailblazing effort to build universal healthcare system slam governor for abandoning plan he once championed.
Chevron Halts Arctic Drilling Plans ‘Indefinitely’
by Andrea Germanos
Decision “further proof that technical challenges of drilling in icy waters, where a spill is all but inevitable,” said Farrah Khan of Greenpeace Canada.
US/NATO Building “New Berlin Wall” by Expanding Military Footprint: Putin
by Jon Queally
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes questions on wide-ranging set of issues, but strongest remarks reserved for foreign attack on nation’s economy and expansion of NATO.
Good News for Greece’s Anti-Austerity Left as First Round Election Fails
by Jon Queally
Initial round parliamentary elections, out of three, failed to garner enough votes for any party to win. If upcoming votes also fail, leftwing Syriza Party will get chance at popular vote and best opportunity yet to jettison austerity agenda.
Wealth Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans Highest on Record
by Sarah Lazare
New analysis from Pew Research Center finds that economic gains of the wealthiest continue to soar as the middle-class and low-income families face chronic stagnation.
Judge Exonerates 14-Year-Old Boy Executed in 1944
by Nadia Prupis
George Stinney, Jr. did not receive fair trial in murder case in Jim Crow south, judge says.
more news…

Views…

We Can Ban Fracking, New York Paves the Way
by Wenonah Hauter
The decision in New York will have a ripple effect across the country and act to strengthen efforts against fracking nationwide.
Vermont’s Governor Sadly Has It Wrong. Now IS the Time for Single-Payer Everywhere
by Andy Coates
Vermonters throughout the state understand that an equitable health care system must be truly universal and must remove all financial barriers to medically necessary care.
Why the US-Cuba Deal Really Is a Victory for the Cuban Revolution
by Tom Hayden
The hostile US policy, euphemistically known as “regime change,” has been thwarted. The Cuban Communist Party is confidently in power.
“Cuban Five” at Heart of US-Cuba Deal
by Marjorie Cohn
Without the release of the Cuban Five, Cuba would never have freed Alan Gross. And Obama could not have undertaken what ten presidents before him refused to do.
If It’s True on Cuba, It’s True on Iran
by Trita Parsi, Ryan Costello
Almost everything the president said about the failure of America’s Cuba policy could be said of our policy on Iran.
Obama and the Beginning of the End of the Cuban Embargo
by Amy Goodman
The failed United States policy against Cuba, which has for more than half a century stifled relations between these neighboring countries and inflicted generations of harm upon the Cuban people, may finally be collapsing.
more views…

Newswire…

more newswire…
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