Sunday 15 January 2012

Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Staff, Rethinking Schools: "What if many of our students - particularly our African American, Latina/o, Native American, and Southeast Asian children - are being channeled toward prison and a lifetime of second-class status? We believe that this is the case, and there is ample evidence to support that claim. What has come to be called the 'school-to-prison pipeline' is turning too many schools into pathways to incarceration rather than opportunity."
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The Dream That Came True
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post Writers Group: "For the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., dreaming was not optional. It was a requirement of citizenship to envision a fairer, more prosperous nation no longer shackled by racism and poverty.... His most famous speech was less an invitation to share his epic dream than a commandment. In these sour, pessimistic times, it is important to remember the great lesson of King's remarkable life: Impossible dreams can come true."
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White House Airs Objections to SOPA, PIPA Anti-Piracy Bills
Staff, Los Angeles Times: "Obama administration officials signaled that the White House would not support parts of two bills wending their way through Congress - the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) that critics say would limit freedom of speech on the Internet and unfairly punish legitimate websites. 'While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem ... we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression...' [they said]."
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France Steps Forward With Robin Hood Tax
A. D. McKenzie, Inter Press Service: "The decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to push ahead with a financial transactions tax (FTT) may be a political ploy ahead of elections, but it has the approval of many non-governmental organizations ... 'If France is setting an example, we support this as a principle,' said Matt Davies, head of international policy and advocacy for international movement ATD Fourth World ... 'I think there's a consensus in society that there should be a far greater accountability by the financial sector,' he said."
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Fire Hose of Your Tax Money Gushes to Libya
Tom H. Hastings, Truthout: "How much did the United States spend trying to topple dictators ... in Tunisia and Egypt? Oh, that's right, like Filipino strongman Ferdinand Marcos, those brutal, corrupt, murdering leaders were essentially installed and supported by the United States. We spent zero helping the nonviolent revolutions in those countries.... Now, after wasting that $1.1 billion-plus on violently getting rid of Qaddafi, the United States is going to pay untold millions to buy up weapons from the insurgents."
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Do You Have a Sign?
Thomas A. Dutton, Truthout: "[The neighborhood of] Over-the-Rhine offers an intriguing case study in illuminating what's occurring everywhere across the country when corporate and city government power merge to advance certain class interests under the cover of terms that suggest inclusivity, such as 'economic mix' and 'mixed-income development.' What's now happening in Over-the-Rhine is not so different from ... Great Britain's domination of the world through colonization."
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After Battling Fracking and Cancer, Lucinda Lost, and Found
Stephen Cleghorn, Truthout: "Before she became ill, Lucinda was writing a book about her love for our farm.... If I finish it for her, it must be titled 'Lucinda's Book of Joy' ... As much as her scientific mind knew about the ravages sure to come with shale gas drilling ... Lucinda was just so tickled that she had become an organic farmer that she wrote almost exclusively in the key of joy."
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Ron Paul's False Founding Narrative
Robert Parry, Consortium News: "Ron Paul ... is fond of claiming that the U.S. Constitution was written 'to protect your liberty and to restrain the federal government,' thus making modern laws - from Social Security, to civil rights statutes, to health-care reform - unconstitutional.... While the framers of the Constitution ... undeniably cared about liberty - at least for white men - they were also practical individuals who wanted a vibrant central government that would enable the new nation to protect itself both militarily and economically."
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Iowans Frustrate Reporters With Their Multiple Opinions
Peter Hart, FAIR Blog: "The usual criticisms of the Iowa caucuses - that the votes of a small, demographically unrepresentative slice of America gobble up too much airtime - are basically correct.... The fact that the voters in a particular party are split between different candidates who represent different factions of their party is a sign that people have different views about who they think should lead the country. Which is, after all, a good thing."
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Combating Slavery in Coffee and Chocolate Production
Jeff Nall, Toward Freedom: "Mainstream media outlets and consumers have been understandably quick to take note of the benefits chocolate and coffee offer. Yet most American consumers are ignorant to the mounting evidence indicating that the laborers whom they have to thank for cultivating these products are being grossly exploited, live in spiraling poverty, and, in some cases, are modern-day slaves."
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Threatened Species
Hal LaCroix, Truthout: "There's Republican candidate Rick Santorum in Sioux City taking a question from a bald, middle-aged, white guy with glasses ... 'How do we get off this crazy train?' the man asks.... 'We've got so much foreign influence in this country now. I'm looking at a Coke can that's got a polar bear on it. Where do we go from here?' ... Then, Santorum nearly wins Iowa despite or because of his remark, and it's off to New Hampshire!"
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Global Corporations Have No Allegiance to US, Move Headquarters and Divisions Overseas
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What They Don't Want to Talk About
Read the Article at The New York Times

Film in the Making from Citizens United is Likely to Portray OWS Protesters as Anti-Democratic Anarchists
Read the Article at Salon

Republican Vultures' Primary: "My Super PAC is Bigger Than Your Super PAC."
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The Evolution of American Debt
Read the Article at Salon

Tea Party Official on How to Win Over Latinos: Don't Mention GOP
Read the Article at Mother Jones

South Carolina Predictions: If Romney Wins, He's the Nominee
Read the Article at CNN

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