The CIA's Student-Activism Phase

Tom Hayden The Nation
In the 1960s, the agency sought to fight Communism through the students’ rights movement. There’s little reason to think its tactics have changed.

Can Chuy beat Rahm in the Race for Mayor?

Steve Bogira Chicago Reader
If anyone can overcome the hurdles for a Latino mayoral candidate in Chicago, it's Garcia given his lifetime commitment to a multiracial coalition—not just talking the talk, but 30 years of walking the walk.

Patrolling the Boundaries Inside America

Robert B. Reich Robert Reich's blog
The boundary separating white Anglo upscale school districts from the burgeoning non-white and non-Anglo populations in downscale communities is fast becoming a flashpoint inside America.

The Fall of Big Don, King Coal’s Brutal Baron

Mike Roselle CounterPunch
Even though the four counts do not include cold blooded murder, we in West Virginia and the rest of the world know that the big man is on trial for the deaths of those men just as the nation knew that Al Capone’s trial on tax evasion was for his part in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. There will be no one in the courtroom or on the jury that doesn’t remember that morning. There is no one in Raleigh County that doesn’t know who ran Massey Energy.

Union Fights 'Teacher Jail'

Samantha Winslow Labor Notes
Hundreds of Los Angeles teachers have been put on leave and in limbo. It’s been called “teacher jail,” and it’s not far off from the “rubber rooms” New York City tabloids have made famous. In both places, the tactic is used to scapegoat teachers and unions.

Buoyed by Election Results, ALEC Lays Blueprint for 2015

Brendan Fischer Center for Media and Democracy
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), emboldened by the mid-term success of conservative Republicans at the state and federal levels, will be meeting December 3-5 in Washington, D.C. to develop its policy agenda for 2015 and beyond. ALEC will be seeking, among other things, to "preempt" state and local level minimum wage increases, promote local "right to work" legislation, forestall shareholder activism, and increase school privatization.

#BlackoutBlackFriday

A stunning compilation of footage of police violence against people of color, juxtaposed to The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Blackout for Human Rights is a network concerned with human rights violations: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Friday Nite Videos -- November 28, 2014

Portside
Redemption Song: Playing for Change. #BlackoutBlackFriday. Michael Brown Protesters Urge Black Friday Boycott. Free Education Demo: London. Walmart Workers' Flash Mob.

Redemption Song: Playing for Change

A version of "Redemption Song" performed around the world in honor of Bob Marley's birthday, featuring Bob Marley and his son Stephen, suffused with a feeling of rising above the past. 

Michael Brown Protesters Urge Black Friday Boycott

Protesters across the country urged people to boycott the high-traffic shopping day in response to a grand jury's decision Monday not to indict white police officer, Darren Wilson, who shot and killed an 18-year-old black teen, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri