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Honduras’ Garifuna Communities Resist Eviction and Land Theft

Jeff Abbott Waging Nonviolence
Along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, Afro-Caribbean Garifuna communities are being forced from their land, as proposals for the creation of mega-tourism projects and corporate-run “model cities,” gain momentum. Mega-projects are just one of the problems Honduran Garifuna communities have had to face in the six years since a U.S-supported coup d’etat removed then-President Manuel Zelaya from power. But the Garifuna are organizing to defend their land and culture.

The Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in War-Torn Yemen

Kitty Stapp Inter Press Service
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is warning of a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where violence “has radically increased” since March, when the U.S.-backed Saudi aerial offensive began. According to Teresa Sancristóval, the head of MSF’s emergency unit, “The impact of this conflict is much wider than only the bombing or the shooting. Yemen is predicted to be the first country in the world to have a capital without water, and water scarcity has an enormous impact.”

Cheap Prison Labor Critical to Fighting California’s Wildfires

Natasha Geiling ThinkProgress
Fires are proliferating throughout California where an unprecedented drought has turned the California countryside into a tinder box of dry and dying vegetation. But the fires are also emblematic of the state’s dependence on inmates to help battle the wildfires. California’s firefighting program (Cal Fire) boasts the country’s largest inmate firefighting program. Close to half of Cal Fire’s firefighters, approximately 4,000 prisoners, are inmate firefighters.

Israeli Doctors Resist Force-Feeding Palestinian Prisoners

Ehab Zahriyeh Al Jazeera America
The rapidly deteriorating health of Mohammed Allaan, a Palestinian political prisoner on hunger strike has pit Israeli legislators, who recently enacted a law mandating that he be force-fed, against physicians, who refuse to comply on grounds that doing so would be tantamount to "torture," and violate their Hippocratic Oath. Hunger strikes have become a common form of protest by Palestinians held indefinitely without charge in Israeli administrative detention.

80 Years Later, Republicans Are Still Fighting Social Security

Richard Eskow Campaign for America's Future
Social Security, which continues to provide benefits at costs far below those in the private sector, celebrated its 80th birthday Friday. And polls show Americans are extremely pleased with it. But, while Democrats finally seem to have abandoned their flirtation with benefit cutting, Republicans remain committed to its privatization. Yet campaigning against Social Security is political suicide, so the Republican strategy is to convince voters the program is unreliable.

3 Poems: Targets, In Response, Reasons for Release

Morgan Christie Blackberry Magazine
This three-part poem by Canadian poet Morgan Christie addresses a violent racial encounter, the response, and the consequence once upon a time, but something that seems contemporary.

CROW MOTHER

Linda Rodriguez Pedestal Magazine
Dedicated to Frieda Kahlo, Linda Rodriguez's poem celebrates the spirit of revenge, the immortality of the Mexican painter's suffering and triumph.

Inside the GOP Clown Car

Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone
On the campaign trail in Iowa, Donald Trump's antics have forced the other candidates to get crazy or go home

Sanders Shamelessly Pandering to Voters Who Want to Hear Truth

Andy Borowitz The New Yorker
Right now, the novelty of a politician who doesn’t constantly spew lies is grabbing headlines. But after months of Bernie Sanders telling the truth, voters are going to start wondering, Is that all he’s got?

Why the Public Doesn't Believe in Climate Change

Sam Illingworth Plos blogs
Ninety seven percent of scientific papers find that climate changing is occurring and that it is caused by human activity. Only 44 percent of Americans agree. What is the cause of this disparity, and is there any way to close the gap between the scientific consensus and the public perception?