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Ebola, Capitalism and the Idea of Society

Rob Urie CounterPunch
The U.S.has sent soldiers to West Africa while Cuba has sent emergency health care workers. The difference is fundamental: Cuba sees both public purpose and moral imperative to help those stricken with Ebola and the U.S. sees a threat to profits at ‘home’ and a military exercise to ‘contain’ the spread of Ebola abroad.

US Treasury and Transportation Departments Hold a Privatization Party

Ellen Dannin Truthout
Despite the warning signs all around us, the Departments of the Treasury and Transportation appear to be running headlong into a crash - and not just the kind of crash that takes place on a highway. The Obama administration appears to have bought into Public Private Partnerships spinning straw into gold.

Your Nose Knows Death is Imminent

Mo Costandi The Guardian
Losing the sense of smell predicts likelihood of death within five years, according to new research.

The GOP Is Winning the War on Voting

Ari Berman The Nation
Voters in fifteen states—many with tight races—will face new restrictions at the polling booth for the first time in November.

Black Vote Seen as Last Hope for Democrats to Hold Senate

Sheryl Gay Stolberg The New York Times
The confidential memo from a former pollster for President Obama contained a blunt warning for Democrats. Written this month with an eye toward Election Day, it predicted “crushing Democratic losses across the country” if the party did not do more to get black voters to the polls.

California School District Sued for "Rampant" Racial Bias

Susan Ferriss Center for Public Integrity
An expansive lawsuit against the Kern County school district in the heart of California's Central Valley alleges widespread disparities in the discipline meted out to Latino and African-American students. The lawsuit accuses California's second largest school district with "rampant racial and ethnic disparities" in suspensions and expulsions. The Kern High School District's student body is 62 percent Latino and six percent African-American.

Friday Nite Videos -- October 17, 2014

Portside
What You Need to Know About Ebola. Flashmob Sings for Justice for Mike Brown! Key & Peele - Gay Wedding Advice. Keb' Mo' -- Old Me Better. Socialism Is ...