Apr
09
2013
Never have I witnessed a gap between the mainstream media and the public, quite like the last 24 hours since the death of Margaret Thatcher. While both the press and President Obama were uttering tearful remembrances, thousands took to the streets of the UK and beyond to celebrate. Immediately this drew strong condemnation of what were called “death parties”, described as “tasteless”, “horrible”, and “beneath all human decency.” Yet if the same media praising Thatcher …
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Apr
09
2013
Seventeen months ago a Canadian teen was allegedly gang-raped by four of her peers and the photo evidence of the rape spread across her community. But unlike the situation that unfolded in Steubenville, where the victim was at least given the comfort of knowing her assailants received some measure of punishment (even if the media took their side), this case ended in tragedy: The victim was taken off life support by her family on Sunday, …
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Apr
09
2013
Though Indiana University’s March Madness is over, a generation of gutting and restructuring has left Hoosier country on its feet. This Thursday and Friday, the university will be the site of a statewide strike. As the Board of Trustees holds its annual meeting, many students and staff are expected to walk out of class and off the job.
As one poster states:
The goal is to contest the administration’s efforts to make IU a more exclusive, costly …
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Apr
09
2013
ROME, Italy — If the 1970s mob classic “The Godfather” had been filmed today, you’d see giant wind turbines in the backdrop of scenes around Vito Corleone’s hometown. They’ve sprouted by the dozen in western Sicily, part of a green-power boom fueled by government subsidies.
They wouldn’t be out of place. Police have long suspected that much of the money has gone toward lining the pockets of figures such as Matteo Messina Denaro, the head of …
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Apr
09
2013
Hosting Obama during his visit to San Francisco last week was Tom Steyer, the former head of Farallon Capital Management. Steyer, who is a billionaire (probably the 344th wealthiest person in America if you trust the Forbes rankings), has been a liberal bankroller of the Democratic Party for many years now. More recently Steyer has been positioning himself to be policy maker for team Obama; Steyer recently was rumored to have been included on the …
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Apr
09
2013
Tanzania is preparing to kick Masai tribesmen off their land to allow rich tourists the freedom to shoot animals like lions and leopards, activists say.
The Government announced last week it was making changes to Loliondo Game Control Area – a park which the Masai claim it has land rights to.
One part of the park has been allocated to the tribesmen but the other will be free of agriculture and grazing.
The right to hunt in Loliondo …
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Apr
09
2013
In 1996, Sylvester Johnson left his post as a commanding officer in the US Army and began a career managing logistics at Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Once there, he received a series of rapid promotions, eventually overseeing the HR management of over 26,000 employees in five states. He became friendly with Walmart executive Mike Duke, who became CEO in 2009. In 2002, Johnson received the Sam M. Walton Hero Award, a prestigious company …
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Apr
09
2013
(CNN) — Comedy scares people in power.
We saw a disturbing example this week when Egyptian TV host and comedian Bassem Youssef, frequently described as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, was charged with the crimes of mocking Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsy and insulting Islam. If convicted, Youssef could be fined and sentenced to prison.
Now, before you quickly categorize this incident under the catch all, “They hate us for our freedoms” crap, let’s not forget our own history.
Comedy legend …
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Apr
09
2013
A remarkable thing happened in 2008: drug overdose surpassed auto fatalities as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Public health officials declared an epidemic, and communities united to battle this new enemy that had left a staggering body count in its wake. The people had a weapon, naloxone, an antidote that reverses opiate overdose, and programs began popping up across the country to provide training and free naloxone to …
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Apr
09
2013
Margaret Thatcher was a hugely divisive figure in British politics. And for the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict. Her policy decisions entrenched sectarian divisions, handed draconian military powers over to the securocrats, and subverted basic human rights.
Thatcher refused to recognise the right of citizens to vote for representatives of their choice. She famously changed the law after Bobby Sands was elected …
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