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The Death Penalty and California: 2017 in Review

David Crawford Death Penalty Focus
It’s easy to forget that California is a state with the death penalty on its books, and it’s not hard to see why. The state has not executed anyone in 12 years as January 2018. Nevertheless, California has sentenced nearly 1,000 people to death since the current system was adopted in 1978. There have been 13 executions in that time, and we currently house more people under sentences of death than any other jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere.

Humans, “Aliens,” and “Shithole Countries”

David L. Wilson Monthly Review
On January 11 of this year, the eve of the anniversary, Donald Trump reportedly described Haiti to a group of lawmakers in the White House as a “shithole country.” At about the same time, his immigration agents in New York were detaining the popular Trinidadian-born activist Ravi Ragbir, the executive director of the faith-based New York Sanctuary Coalition. A week earlier they had detained another of the organization’s activists, the Haitian-born Jean Montrevil.

Dr. King and Ms. Baker

Ted Glick Future Hope
Dr. King and Ella Baker were the two primary leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in its first couple of years of existence, between 1958 and 1960. King was the heart, soul and speaking voice of SCLC; Baker was the Executive Secretary. Baker was a public speaker too, but she was primarily the behind-the-scenes, get-things-done, relationship-building person.

We Can't Let Hindu Nationalists Rewrite India's History

Teesta Setalvad Alternet
The absence of institutional memory when it comes to dealing with communal conflict is glaring. After independence and partition, while report after report of officially appointed judicial commissions has analyzed and indicted certain discernible trends behind escalating violence and pogroms, the formal judiciary and courts appear not to have internalized these findings and recommendations. The very fact that a significant part of the 1998-Justice B.N.

Cashing in on Water Crises: Public-Private Partnerships Are Not the Solution

Julia Kassem Truthout
Lebanese farmers irrigate their malt fields.
In the USA privatization practices contribute to increased water bills and jeopardize water quality, endangering one of residents' most basic needs. We can gain some perspective on the consequences of water privatization by looking to a glaring overseas example: In Lebanon, mismanagement of infrastructure has provided ample opportunity for privatization to proliferate. In both cases, the pursuit of privatization comes from cash-strapped places prioritizing cost-cutting over resource conservation and quality.

Nunes Memo ‘Deliberately Misleading'

Jerrold Nadler NBC
Until now, we could only really accuse House Republicans of ignoring the President’s open attempts to block the Russia investigation. But with the release of the Nunes memo … we can only conclude that House Republicans are complicit in the effort to help the President avoid accountability for his actions and the actions of his campaign

The 'Slave Power' Behind Florida's Felon Disenfranchisement

Garrett Epps The Atlantic
Even though ex-felons do not have a “right” to vote the arbitrariness and potential bias of the restoration process offend “two First Amendment rights; namely, free association and free expression.”