Gen. Petraeus' Bright Idea: Arm Terrorists to Beat Terrorists

Trevor Timm The Guardian
The latest brilliant plan to curtail Isis in the Middle East? Give weapons to members of al-Qaida. This week former ex-CIA director Gen. David Petraeus publicly broached what columnist Trevor Timm termed this “dangerous and crazy idea.” But, according to Timm, Petraeus is probably not the only one in Washington who thinks working with and arming members of the al-Nusra front in Syria is a good idea. It’s preposterous, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try it.

Ten Years Later: Katrina, Militarization and Climate Change

Nick Buxton and Ben Hayes OpenDemocracy
Two years after Katrina, in 2007, the Pentagon released its first major report on climate change, warning of an “age of consequences” in which “altruism and generosity would likely be blunted.” An EU security report followed which said climate change “threatens to overburden states and regions which are already fragile and conflict prone.” And soon, the national security strategies of the global north would be rewritten to offer the same dystopian vision.

Rival Political Movements Duel over the Future of Brazil

Marianna Olinger Waging Nonviolence
Recently the mainstream media has portrayed the political crisis in Brazil as a result of internal corruption and the lack of economic growth, which is blamed on the President Dilma Rousseff and the Workers’ Party. What is rarely mentioned, however, is that Brazil is experiencing a historical divide. Some Brazilians believe President Rousseff hasn’t followed the dictates of neoliberalism closely enough, while others argue the corporations have far too much power.

School Suspensions and the Racial Discipline Gap

Edward Graham JSTOR
The so-called “racial discipline gap” has been documented since an influential report by the Children’s Defense Fund first identified the racial disparity of suspension rates in 1975. In the 40 years since the report’s release, national organizations, schools, educators, and other stakeholders have all shined a light on the disparity, with little demonstrative success. If anything, new data shows the problem has markedly increased since it was first identified.

Friday Nite Videos -- September 4, 2015

Portside
Judy Collins -- Bread and Roses. How Wolves Change Rivers. Man With Arms Raised Killed by San Antonio Police. I Didn't Come From Your Rib (You Came From My Vagina). Police Recruitment Video Features Military-style Tactics.

Judy Collins -- Bread and Roses

Take a Labor Day listen to this song inspired by a speech by Rose Schneiderman, immigrant, radical, labor and feminist leader. The song is especially associated with the successful strike by women textile workers in Lawrence, MA, in 1912.

How Wolves Change Rivers

What happened when wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 -- a cascade that embraced animals, plants, birds and even the earth itself.

Police Recruitment Video Features Military-style Tactics

The Portsmouth police department, whose officers have killed two black men this year, act out an operation akin to an army raid to lure new sign-ups. The force has acquired a strong military streak by targeting troops leaving a large navy base in neighboring Norfolk.