North Carolina's Pig Farms: Living in Bondage to Feces and Flies

Brian Bienkowski Environmental Health News
A battle is raging in eastern North Carolina as health and environmental justice groups pressure the state, the second leading pork producing state behind Iowa, to more strictly regulate large pig farms. Researchers say fecal waste from the large industrial pig farms is seeping into waterways, and particularly threatening low-income and minority residents. But, the state and the pig industry continue to resist demands for increased regulation.

Friday Nite Videos -- February 20, 2015

Portside
Pussy Riot - I Can't Breathe. Elizabeth Warren: Vaccines Protect Children. The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords. Another Day, Another Time: The Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'. Does Bill O'Reilly Have His Own Brian Williams Problem?

Pussy Riot - I Can't Breathe

Pussy Riot's first song in English is dedicated to Eric Garner and for all those from Russia to America and around the globe who suffer from state terror - killed, choked, perished because of war and state sponsored violence of all kinds - for political prisoners and those on the streets fighting for change. We stand in solidarity.

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords

A  powerful and engaging account of American history that has been virtually forgotten: the story of the pioneering black newspapermen and women who gave voice to black America. 

Another Day, Another Time: The Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

A concert inspired by the Coen Brothers' film, 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' which is set in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk music scene, featuring live performances of the film's music, as well as songs from the early 1960s. Performers include the Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Dave Rawlings Machine, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Punch Brothers, Patti Smith, Willie Watson, Gillian Welch, and Jack White, as well as the star of the film Oscar Isaac. More info.

Walmart Worker Victory Shows What We Can Win If We Keep Fighting

Isaiah J. Poole Campaign for America's Future
It’s important to highlight the people who put their bodies on the line in front of Walmart stores around the country over the years to get the company to take this incremental step. Conservative pundits are spinning the Walmart move as a evidence that the free market will get corporations to do the right thing. Actually, the stock market gave the move a harsh negative judgement, with Walmart stock prices dropping 3 percent.

A Melting Arctic and Weird Weather: The Plot Thickens

Jennifer Francis The Conversation
The polar jet stream – a fast river of wind up where jets fly that circumnavigates the northern hemisphere – has been doing some odd things in recent years. Rather than circling in a relatively straight path, it has meandered more in north-south waves. These long-lived shifts have been responsible for some wicked weather this winter, with cold Arctic winds blasting everywhere from the Windy City to the Big Apple for weeks at a time.

Netanyahu Does Not Speak for All American Jews

Rebecca Vilkomerson Religion News Service
The long-standing bipartisan support for Israel even as it continues to flout international law and undermine the possibility for peace has long been an anomaly in U.S. politics. That’s why those of us who have long advocated change in U.S. policy towards Israel see the growing backlash against the speech as a hopeful sign.