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How Vets May Suffer From Sen. McCain's Latest Captivity

Suzanne Gordon Beyond Chron
Unfortunately for veterans, McCain’s captivity to conservative ideology has far out-trumped his past solicitude for fellow “wounded warriors.” On August 5th, McCain introduced legislation –The Permanent VA Choice Card Act -- that would seriously undermine the quality of care received by VHA patients of all kinds.

Los Angeles Garment Workers Event

Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles invites all to join September 9, 2015 press conference and benefit performance of award winning play "Real Women Have Curves" at Pasadena Playhouse. FIGHT WAGE THEFT! Support garment workers organizing!

NLRB's New Joint Employer Standard: Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask

Cole Stangler International Business Times
Last week the NLRB issued a major ruling that corporations can be considered "joint employers" of workers hired by franchisees or subcontractors. There has been relatively little attention to the ruling in many places, but the business press is paying close attention. Here is a piece from the International Business Times, trying to make sense of the ruling.

Review: Narcos is the Next Great Netflix Show

Kwame Opam The Verge
Led by executive producer and director José Padilha (2014's RoboCop), the series tracks the rise and fall of "King of Cocaine" Pablo Escobar, and the bloody drug war between the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Colombia’s notorious Medellín Cartel. A well-crafted blend of The Wire and Goodfellas, Narcos takes an unflinching look at one of the War on Drugs’ single most violent conflicts.

Can We Trust Crime Forensics?

Michael Shermer Scientific American
No one knows how many innocent people have been convicted based on junk forensic science, but the National Research Council report recommends substantial funding increases to enable labs to conduct experiments to improve the validity and reliability of the many forensic subfields.

Still an Equal Opportunity Employer? Public Sector Employment Inequality after the Great Recession

Jennifer Laird University of Washington
Historically, the public sector has served as an equalizing institution through the expansion of job opportunities for minority workers. This study examines whether the public sector continues to serve as an equalizing institution in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Results point to a post-recession double disadvantage for Black women: they are concentrated in a shrinking sector of the economy, and they are substantially more likely be without work.

Guatemala Needs Profound Change

Lauren Carasik Al Jazeera America
History has shown that Guatemala’s elite will fight viciously to protect their wealth and privilege, regardless of the incalculable human costs of doing so. But its people have demonstrated remarkable resilience, courage and tenacity in their pursuit of justice and democracy. At this critical juncture, the U.S. should not send more money, nor should it insist on blind allegiance to elections that would stabilize the status quo when Guatemala needs profound change.