Obamas and the King
The New York Times
Over One Million Voices to European Parliament: Stop Water Privatization
Common Dreams
First European Citizens' Initiative calls for water to be human right, not a commodity.
For-Profit Probation Tramples Rights of Poor
Human Rights Watch
“Profiting from Probation: America’s ‘Offender-Funded’ Probation Industry,” describes how more than 1,000 courts in several US states delegate tremendous coercive power to companies that are often subject to little meaningful oversight or regulation. In some of these cases, probation companies act more like abusive debt collectors than probation officers, charging the debtors for their services.
15 Wins for the Progressive Movement in 2013
Bill Moyers and Company
While Washington was stuck in the grip of the politics of obstruction, grass-roots activists did their part, scoring some major wins for economic justice, civil liberties and democracy. As we near the end of the year, here are some of the biggest progressive wins we saw.
Bryan Stevenson: We Need to Talk About Injustice
Human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of Black men have been incarcerated at some point in their lives.
Tidbits - December 26, 2013
Portside
Reader Comments - Flashmob for Mandela; The Progressive 'Left"; War and Christmas Truce of 1914; Socialist Origins of the Pledge; Radicals in City Hall; Fidel Castro on Mandela's Death and Who Supported Apartheid; Korea; MSNBC;
Announcements - "No Separate Justice" Launch in New York City Jan. 7; Esperanza Spalding Protest Song & Video Calling For Guantanamo Bay
With Scant Media Attention, 'Human Catastrophe of Epic Proportions' Unfolding
Common Dreams
UN, humanitarian groups warn of spiraling crisis in the Central African Republic.
Tidbits - October 24, 2013
Portside
Reader Comments- Shutdown; Tea Party; Keystone XL; Pensions; AFL-CIO Convention; Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap; Class War; Education & Testing; Edward Snowden; GE; Israel;
Announcements - Healthcare Crisis in Indiana -Lafayette- Oct 26; Protest Idan Raichel - Israeli Artist and Israeli Army Supporter -New York- Oct 27; Pack the Court: New York Stop and Frisk Case- Oct 29; Labor Education Open House -NYC- Oct 30; ALBA Human Rights Documentary Film Festival- New York- Nov 22 - 24
labor
Landmark Progress Does Not Mean Permanent Change
Charleston (WV) Gazette
This is a year for commemorations, and it is ironic it is also when the U.S. Supreme court gutted the Voting Rights Act, a key component of the movement for human rights. The challenge facing any piece of major legislation goes beyond the movement necessary for passage. There must be recognition of the need for vigilance which requires dedicated education and expectation that guaranteed fairness for all is a human right that must permanently prevail.
'Restore the Fourth' July 4th Anti-NSA Spying Protests
Russia Today
‘Restore the Fourth’ is aimed at restoring the fundamentals of the Fourth Amendment – the part of the Bill of Rights which protects citizens against unlawful searches and seizures. Participants will display an online banner which reads, “This 4th of July, we stand by the 4th Amendment and against the U.S. government’s surveillance of internet users.”
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