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Christie Broke Law With Pension Move, New Jersey Judge Says

Kate Zernike The New York Times
The decision that Mr.Christie violated state law when he declined to make the full payment into the state’s pension system for public employees further complicates his hopes of reviving his presidential ambitions.

Bias, Black Lives, and Academic Medicine

David A. Ansell, M.D., M.P.H., and Edwin K. McDonald, M.D. The New England Journal of Medicine
What are the systemic biases within academic medical centers, and what do they have to do with black lives? Two observations about health care disparities may be relevant.

Reasons for Departure - On History’s Uncanny Turns

Ben Kline Yiddishkayt
The author of "Reasons for Departure," Ben Kline, was a participant in last summer's Helix Project.The Helix Projects is an intensive immersion in European Jewish culture. Join us to tell the story of Jewish life filled with joy, coexistence, and creative potential. Helix 2015 is open to all full-time students enrolled during the 2014–2015 academic year. Apply Now for Helix 2015. Deadline for applications is March 2, 2015. http://www.yiddishkayt.org/home/

Proving That 'Activism Works,' Obama Vetoes Keystone XL Bill

Lauren McCauley Common Dreams
May Boeve, Executive Director of 350.org, which spearheaded the fight against the Keystone pipeline, heralded the move as "conclusive proof that activism works. After four years of rallies, marches, sit-ins, and civil disobedience, we’re thrilled to see President Obama take an important first step by vetoing this love letter to Big Oil." A coalition of environmental groups is holding a celebration outside of the White House in Lafayette Park.

Leaked Cables Show Netanyahu’s Iran Bomb Claim Contradicted by Mossad

Seumas Milne, Ewen MacAskill and Clayton Swisher The Guardian
Binyamin Netanyahu’s dramatic declaration to world leaders in 2012 that Iran was about a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his own secret service, according to a top-secret Mossad document. It is part of a cache of hundreds of dossiers, files and cables from the world’s major intelligence services – one of the biggest spy leaks in recent times.

The Alternative in Greece

Stathis Kouvelakis Jacobin
So Greece will be receiving the tranche it had initially refused, but on the condition of sticking to the commitments of its predecessors. What we have then is a reaffirmation of the typical German stance of imposing — as a precondition for any agreement and any future disbursement of funding — completion of the “assessment” procedure by the tripartite mechanism (whether this is called “troika” or “institutions”) for supervision of every past and future agreement.

Media Bits and Bytes

Portside
Barbie knows your secrets; YouTube transforms news; Press repression in India; Privacy = privilege; Termite radio

Meet Cuban Ebola Fighters: Interview with Félix Báez and Jorge Pérez

Gail Reed, MS MEDICC Review: International Journal of Cuban Health and Medicine
When the Ebola global alarm was sounded by Doctors Without Borders, which, like Cuba, already had health professionals in Africa; Cuba was the country that offered the most assistance once WHO called for nations to step up with funds and, most importantly, human resources. Cuba sent 256 volunteers with significant international emergency experience while Cuba's Dr. Jorge Pérez and others work to prevent Ebola's global spread.

Cuba Through the Looking Glass

David Swanson David Swanson
The U.S. government is allowing tourists to bring home $100 worth of rum and cigars. And the U.S. State Department is working on a forthcoming list of products that Cubans can export to the United States. The list will not include numerous life-saving medicines currently unavailable in the United States, and not apparently because the U.S. government believes rum and cigars are better for its people than life-saving medicines. No, the reason is bizarre yet predictable.