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The U.S. Should Abolish Criminal Grand Juries

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell Slate
The Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases are examples of how prosecutors manipulate the grand jury process. Criminal grand juries, with their secrecy, lack of oversight, and disregard for the rules of evidence, serve no useful purpose and make a mockery of justice. If we abolish criminal grand juries, at least the deaths of Brown and Garner will not have been in vain.

The Eviction of America’s Largest Homeless Camp

Chris Herring Beyond Chron
On December 4th the City of San Jose began the eviction of some 300 men, women, and children residing in tents and shanties on the 68 acres of creek-side property called the Jungle. Where will the former residents go. The Jungle, considered the largest homeless encampment in the U.S., is in the heart of Silicon Valley, the high tech region that accounts for one-third of all of the venture capital investment in the United States.

A U.S. Activist’s Last Days in the West Bank City of Hebron

Richard Hardigan CounterPunch
A U.S. activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which supports Palestinians in their non-violent actions against the Israeli occupation, writes of his last days in Hebron. Hebron is the most populous city in the Occupied Territories. It is the only West Bank city where the Israeli settlers live inside the city itself, including many who live in an area close to the hub of the city, designated as H2.

Can Pope Francis Change the Doctrine of the Catholic Church?

Jason Berry Global Post
Pope Francis is a reform-driven pope that has huge popularity with rank-and-file Catholics who have hungered for a figure to transcend an age of scandal. But, does even a powerful and popular pope have the power to change church doctrine? The advancing story line of Francis’s papacy is how far can a pope go in making reforms against an embedded culture of cardinals and bishops who are averse to change?

A Flock of Genomes Tells the Tale of Bird Evolution

Geoffrey Mohan Los Angeles Times
Which bird is closest to the saltwater crocodiles, American alligators and the slender-nosed Indian gharial? Either the chicken or the ostrich, depending on how you look at it. If a genome is a shelf of books, then the chicken has been a better librarian, but the ostrich has been a more faithful translator.

Drones and Discrimination: Kick the Habit

Kathy Kelly Portside
A group of Afghan friends had entrusted me with a simple message, their grievance, which they couldn’t personally deliver: please stop killing us.

The Ominous ‘Cromnibus,’ A Budget Bill That Should Have Died

Isaiah J. Poole Campaign for America's Future
Given the acute need for jobs and rising incomes, what passes for “bolstering job creation” in a summary of the budget bill released by the House Appropriations Committee is scandalous. Incredibly, a provision that allows banks to engage in high-risk derivatives trading under the shield of federal insurance is listed as a measure to “bolster job creation.”

Tidbits - December 11, 2014

Portside
Reader Comments - CIA Lied About Torture; A New Civil Rights Movement?; Grand Jury Injustice - Justice Demanded; Members of Congress (and staffers) join protest; Illegal Cop Murders; Police Reform? - Bolder Steps Needed; Low Wage Workers: 'We Can't Breathe'; Slavery, Founding Fathers and Torture; Congress Plots against Pensions; Pardon Snowden, Manning and Leonard Peltier; Israel Lobby and Ukraine; War on Terror; Israel, U.S. and space weapons; New Republic; Correction