Rape culture exists because we don’t believe it does. From tacit acceptance of misogyny in everything from casual conversations with our peers to the media we consume, we accept the degradation of women and posit uncontrollable hyper-sexuality of men as the norm. But rape is endemic to our culture because there’s no widely accepted cultural definition of what it actually is. As Nation contributor and co-editor of the anthology Yes Means Yes Jessica …

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The corporate state has made it clear there will be no more Occupy encampments. The corporate state is seeking through the persistent harassment of activists and the passage of draconian laws such as Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act—and we will be in court next Wednesday to fight the Obama administration’s appeal of the Southern District Court of New York’s ruling declaring Section 1021 unconstitutional—to shut down all legitimate dissent. The corporate state …

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U.S. President Barack Obama has been granted sweeping powers to order preemptive cyber-strikes on any given country, anonymous officials involved in a “secret legal review” of U.S. cyber warfare rules, told the New York Times Monday.

Speaking to the Times, the unnamed officials said quickly advancing tactics of cyber-warfare can be unleashed exclusively via the direct orders of the President—should the administration suspect signs of a major digital attack. If the president approves a strike, the …

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As members of Canada’s House of Commons returned to work last week in Ottawa, they found several hundred protesters waiting for them under a heavy snowfall on Parliament Hill. Many were dressed in traditional clothing of Canada’s First Nations. Their chants were punctuated by drumbeats.

Similar protests took place in Halifax, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Vancouver and other cities across Canada and in the United States. They were part of a “world day of action” organized under …

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Another lawsuit has been filed to take aim at NYPD stop-and-frisk policy. In this particular suit, anger towards the police practice and its effects is borne of personal tragedy. The family of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed teenager who was shot dead in his Bronx bathroom by police exactly one year ago, are suing the police, accusing the department of poor officer training and disproportionately targeting minority youths with stops.

Writing in the Guardian, Ryan Devereaux details …

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ATHENS — Even in the leafy northern stretches of this city, home to luxury apartment buildings, mansions with swimming pools and tennis clubs, the smell of wood smoke lingers everywhere at night.

In her fourth-floor apartment here, Valy Pantelemidou, 37, a speech therapist, is, like many other Greeks, trying to save money on heating oil by using her fireplace to stay warm.

Unemployment is at a record high of 26.8 percent in Greece, and many people …

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With Washington State on the verge of a ballot initiative that would require labeling of some foods containing genetically engineered ingredients and other states considering similar measures, some of the major food companies and Wal-Mart, the country’s largest grocery store operator, have been discussing lobbying for a national labeling program.

Executives from PepsiCo, ConAgra and about 20 other major food companies, as well as Wal-Mart and advocacy groups that favor labeling, attended a meeting in …

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Sen. Patrick Brazeau says he won’t apologize for mocking Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence at a Conservative fundraiser earlier this week.

“Oh, poor Theresa Spence. Oh, poor her,” Brazeau is heard saying in an audio recording captured at a fundraising dinner for a provincial PC candidate in an Ottawa suburb, and provided to CTV News by Metroland Media.

The New Democrats attacked Brazeau Thursday, saying his comments were “disturbing” and misogynistic.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/sen-brazeau-mocks-chief-spence-idle-no-more-movement-1.1138545#ixzz2JgaUzjUK
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WASHINGTON — Republican senators are moving to target the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as the National Labor Relations Board in the wake of a court ruling that found President Barack Obama’s appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional.

A bill offered Thursday by Sens. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) would withhold any funding for actions taken by the leaders whom Obama named to their posts more than a year ago.

The …

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The Chinese Communist Party’s repression of its Tibetan minority now extends, apparently, to travel: Radio Free Asia reported last week that few Tibetans have been issued passports since last spring. Beijing has yet to comment officially about this issue, but its approach to Tibet has stiffened since cracking down on anti-government protests in the territory in 2008.

In order to get a clearer sense of why Beijing now restricts passport issuance, The Atlantic spoke with Professor …

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