Black and White in the War on Drugs

Michele Alexander (The New Jim Crow) discusses race, law and culture: how drug and other laws are enforced unequally, how criminal convictions have unequal consequences, and how this inequality remains invisible to many white people.
 

NAACP Bombing Shows Failure of Mainstream Media

Ben Branstetter Daily Dot
Even with the world's attention focused on the tragic events in Paris, the failure of the mainstream media to cover the bombing of the NAACP office in Colorado Springs is nonetheless a glaring example of the U.S. media's treatment of social movements. Colorado Springs residents had to learn of the NAACP bombing through social media. The complete lack of coverage of the NAACP attack shows the mainstream media is ready to move past the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

Solidarity, PA

Abby Scher Dissent Magazine
This localist agenda is part of Mayor Spencers ambitious program to create a fairer and more sustainable local economy whose businesses stay put and where money spends more time circulating locally among networked enterprises. His administration is promoting worker cooperatives, energy efficiency, public banking, a local food shed and urban agriculture, remunicipalization of jobs (like the Socialists before them), and creating new jobs by reclaiming the citys waste.

Why Do Dogs Roll Over During Play?

Julie Hecht Scientific American
Wondering about why dogs do what they do seems to be an international pastime. But assuming that a dog rolling onto his back during play is akin to saying, you “came on too strong” or, ”OK, you won this round!” seems like a mistranslation.

Police and Communities: It's Complicated

Roger Toussaint Portside
In New York, some of the very former governors and mayors who gave the police hell to get raises, insisted on underpaying them, leaving them without contracts for years on end are today, once again, claiming to be their best defenders and crusaders. Why is that?

It's Critics of 'Selma' Who Are Distorting Civil Rights History

Jim Naureckas FAIR - Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
The attacks on the film Selma not only distort the actual relationship between King and Johnson, they distort the film's portrayal of the relationship. LBJ is not the villain of the movie; the movie presents him as a complicated figure who under prodding accomplishes something great.

The Erosion of Collective Bargaining Has Widened the Gap Between Productivity and Pay

David Cooper and Lawrence Mishel Economic Policy Institute
Over the last few decades, productivity has grown substantially, but the hourly compensation of the typical worker has grown much less. Any effort to reestablish a link between pay and productivity growth will need to promote policies that enable workers to once again join unions and bargain collectively.

Jerusalem's Most Contested Neighborhood

Over the past several months, Jerusalem has been a scene of clashes and violent attacks. Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood just steps away from Jerusalem's Old City, has been at the heart of the unrest, and is becoming one of the most contentious neighborhoods in the most contested city in the world. Israeli authorities have ramped up their practice of demolishing homes built without proper permits, which are near impossible for Palestinians to acquire. In addition, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in early November the reinstatement of the policy of demolishing terrorists' homes, which Palestinians claim is a form of collective punishment.

Why Are There No Women in The Hobbit?

SFF author Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind), at Chicago's pop culture event C2E2, talks about why images of women are so often absent or distorted in scifi, video games and other media, and what to do about it.
 

The Courage of Stuart Scott

Stuart Scott (1965-2015) was a long-time ESPN anchor who was a trailblazer in the freewheeling style of sports coverage. Keith Olbermann tells how Scott had to face down his hidebound bosses to win the right to speak in his own voice.