BY MARTIN KICH The following are excerpts from an item published by Politico and written by Shane Goldmacher and Matthew Nussbaum. The article describes Donald Trump’s first “official” speech as President, delivered at CIA headquarters. The tone of the piece is remarkably unsparing, especially for Politico: Standing on hallowed ground at the Langley headquarters, in…
BY HANK REICHMAN On an inspiring and momentous day when “pussy” — and her millions of supporters — grabbed back, there were many creative and smart slogans to be seen. Indeed, one of the most exciting aspects of today’s women’s march, apparently everywhere, was how “bottom-up” it was — very few prefab signs; lots of…
BY HANK REICHMAN Today, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., the great punk band Green Day released an official music video of their song, “We Live in Troubled Times,” from their current album, Revolution Radio. “Today we celebrate love and compassion more than ever,” lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said in a statement that…
BY HANK REICHMAN On this, perhaps the most meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial holiday ever, it is appropriate to turn to King’s words for inspiration. Frequently cited, of course, is his last “I have seen the mountaintop” speech, delivered in Memphis just before his assassination. Less frequently quoted is his remarkable speech at the…
BY MARTIN KICH Andy Lee Roth, a sociology professor at Citrus College is associate director of Project Censored and co-editor of Censored 2017: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2015-2016. In “Ralph Nader Calls for a New 1%,” an article written for Yes magazine, Roth highlights the call to action made by Ralph…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL It may be an effort to continue Bernie Sander’s legacy by re-introducing the “free college” movement. It may also be a way to recast the Democratic Party in its “return to the working class defender” role. Or, it may be that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is staking his claim to…
BY HANK REICHMAN Today, the California Faculty Association (CFA), an AAUP-affiliate representing 25,000+ faculty members in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system, released a new report, “Equity, Interrupted: How California Is Cheating Its Future,” the first in a promised series. Among its findings, the report details decisions impacting the CSU and its students, and…
BY AARON BARLOW Questions of ‘intellectual property’—oh, how I hate that term—continue to plague us in this new digital age, and in ways never contemplated when patents and copyrights and trademarks and more were first protected by law in the English/American tradition three- and four-hundred years ago. We have built up assumptions of ‘ownership’ without…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH The Committee to Protect Journalists has released its list of journalists who were killed in 2016; clicking on the journalists’ names will link you to their stories: 48 Journalists Killed in 2016/Motive Confirmed Terminology explained Mohammad Nasir Mudasir , Melli Paigham Radio December 15, 2016, in Mohammed Agha District, Logar Province, Afghanistan…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH In early December, the Committee to Protect Journalists released its annual listing of journalists jailed for political reasons over the past year. Here are the totals by nation: Azerbaijan: 5 Bahrain: 7 Bangladesh: 2 Cameroon: 1 China: 38 Cuba: 2 Egypt: 25 Eritrea: 17 Ethiopia: 16 Gambia: 3 India: 1 Israel…