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Our Girl -- Israeli Conscientious Objector Sentenced to Sixth Term in Military Lock-up

Sima Kadmon Ynetnews
Conscientious objector Tair Kaminer, 19, was sentenced to another 45 days in military prison on Sunday for refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The sentence will be the sixth term served by Kaminer. She has already served some 125 days in lock-up. By the time Kaminer completes her latest sentence, she will have spent almost 170 days in military detention. She has served more time in military prison than any conscientious objector before her. (Haaretz*)

Why We Owe Pat Summitt a Thank You

Christine Brennan USA Today
Well before Title IX was taken seriously, well before there were record ratings for women's sports on TV, before there was the dominance of the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team or the sold-out crowds at the NCAA Women's Final Four, there was Pat Summitt. She turned a women's sports team into a national brand in the 1980s and 1990s. And she did it not by playing by the old, demure, ladylike rules of women's sports, but by crashing the boys' sports party.

Tidbits - June 30, 2016 - Reader Comments: Bernie Sanders-What We Want; Clinton Obstructing Democratic Platform; Supreme Court Rules on Abortion; Syria; Mexico; Brazil; Guatemala; James Green; more...

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Reader Comments: Bernie Sanders - What We Want; Clinton Campaign Obstructing Change to Democratic Platform; Supreme Court Rules: Abortion Clinics in Texas Cannot be Shut Down; Brexit - Warning Signal for Trump-Era America?; Bombing Syrian Troops Would Be Illegal; Mexican Teachers Being Jailed and Killed; Chilean Military Liable for Victor Jara Murder; Report Clears Rouseff; Remembering James Green; This Week in History - Arbenz Guzman Deposed in Guatemala; and more...

New Labour's Contempt for Ordinary People Was to Going to Only Ever End in Disaster

Alan Simpson Morning Star
In the end, those who must live without hope easily turn to hate — or at least resentment. That is how we ended up with a referendum campaign that rarely reached beyond “fear” and “immigrants.” Throughout history, the right only feeds in the spaces vacated by progressive, inclusive politics. At least on the Labour side, much of the Leave vote has its roots more in poverty than in prejudice. And this is where Labour must begin.

Mamie Till and Tarsha Jackson: ‘Mothers at the Gate’

Ebony Slaughter-Johnson Equal Voice
Decades later, the extreme, extrajudicial brutality Emmett Till encountered is almost inconceivable. Nevertheless, violence against African-American bodies still takes place today, sustained by a criminal justice system that provides everything but justice. And mothers like Mamie Till are still at the forefront of the fight for justice for their children and all children.

Socrates of Amazonia

Robert Minto Open Letters Monthly
The "great majority of people deemed philosophers in history," writes Justin E. H. Smith in this new book, "have not had PhDs, have not belonged to a professional philosophical organization, and have not carried out their careers in ‘departments.’” Smith teases out the significance of that observation, as he seeks to help us rethink what philosophy is and what it means to "philosophize." Robert Minto assesses Smith's effort.

Despite Election Setback, Podemos Forges Depth and Staying Power

Simone Pieranni il manifesto
After a disappointing result for Unidos Podemos, which campaigned ferociously, the party has showed it will not be going away. In spite of the election results, the Spanish public is alert and focused. People do not attend rallies to meet friends or be entertained. Everyone is paying attention.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Socialism

Geoffrey Jacques People's World
Gaining social control over the economic life of society - achieving socialism, in a word - requires not only that we know that the democratic republic is the staging ground for such change. It also requires that we recognize that the evidence of the future we want is visible and "invading" our present, to borrow a term from C. L. R. James, in forms that exist in the current conditions of our social life.

My Role With the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee

James Zogby Common Dreams
By silencing the Arab-American community and marginalizing us because we might dare to advocate for Palestinians, there is the damage that this hysteria does to our national discourse. At issue, it appears, is not what we are saying, but that we are the ones saying it. We are accused of “singling Israel out”, while in reality it is our critics who are singling out this issue as the only one we cannot discuss.