Professor Louie: The Cockroach

The good Professor Louie of Brooklyn has a rap for us about why the cockroach is so successful, hoping maybe we will take a hint before our short stay on this planet is over. 

The Avian Tree of Life

This animation illustrates the  major branches of the avian tree of life revealed by the mapping of the complete genomes of 48 bird species -- one of the most ambitious evolutionary investigations yet.

Movie: Selma

One of the decisive battles against segregation took place here, in the heart of the Old South, and in plain view of the whole world. A star cast, and talk of Oscars. Opening soon.

Elizabeth Warren Rips Citibank

Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke on the floor of the Senate on Dec. 12, 2014 about the provision that Citigroup added to the omnibus budget package.

The World Needs Doctors? Cuba Trains Them

Journalist Gail Reed tells the story of Havana’s Latin American Medical School, which trains global physicians to serve the local communities that need them most.

Trade Unions Go On The Offensive In India

David Browne Equal Times
Indian unions protest government plans for massive privatization and deregulation in the name of more ‘flexible’ labour laws that will impact precarious and unprotected workers particularly hard. The proposed changes, which will bring down social standards and social indicators, have been developed without any form of consultation or dialogue with labour unions whatsoever.

Tidbits - December 11, 2014

Portside
Reader Comments - CIA Lied About Torture; A New Civil Rights Movement?; Grand Jury Injustice - Justice Demanded; Members of Congress (and staffers) join protest; Illegal Cop Murders; Police Reform? - Bolder Steps Needed; Low Wage Workers: 'We Can't Breathe'; Slavery, Founding Fathers and Torture; Congress Plots against Pensions; Pardon Snowden, Manning and Leonard Peltier; Israel Lobby and Ukraine; War on Terror; Israel, U.S. and space weapons; New Republic; Correction

They Fear and They Kill

Marge Piercy MRzine
Official government statistics document that African American young men are killed by the police at a rate quadruple that of the whole population. In the period 1999 through 2011, police officers killed 4,531 people. Marge Piercy, in poem, captures that reality of being young, African American, Hispanic, Asian or Native American Indian, and a police victim.

What Does it Take to Have an Open and Honest Conversation About Torture?

Shayna Plaut, Contributing Editor, Human Rights Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
One thing that I wanted to learn in talking to a torturer - I guess every person is different - but I wanted to see: did this destroy him? Did this destroy his soul? Is he like a broken man wracked with guilt? And he wasn't.