Ideas about responding to injustice...
Violence Never Has and Never Will Be the Answer
Rev. Sharpton reflects on the riots in London in light of his own activism. He states that violence is never an appropriate response to injustice, even if the initial injustice takes the form of a violent act. This does not seem to be a theoretical or distanced call to non-violence. He refers to his own stabbing in 1991 and notes that his reaction was a request for leniency for his assaulter and subsequently visited him in jail.
Justice Isn’t Blind, Even in Mock Trial, Students Advised
Hammer presents a story about a Canadian high school team competing in a US-based mock trial competition. Students are warned that the style of address is as important as the facts of a case in determining the winner.
“The single greatest story I’ve ever heard.”
The Daily Show’s John Oliver interviews a couple whose house was foreclosed on, despite the couple not having a mortgage. The response is stunning and hilarious. Enjoy.
Ideas about poverty...
Transportation as a Civil Rights Issue
Kambitsis comments on a report prepared by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which makes the case that public transit is a civil rights issue. I haven’t taken a chance to read the original report, but the Wired article compiles data about decentralization, the cost of car ownership relative to the poverty level, and vehicular transportation infrastructure spending vs. pedestrian and cycling infrastructure spending. Such statistics are use to demonstrate that as solution to poverty must include adequate access to transportation.
Populism’s Bad Guys
Thorngate writes about politically right populism and politically left populism and is concerned about the seeming need to for populists of either stripe create a villain of someone else. For Thorngate, the us vs. them mode of discourse is disconcerting. Thorngate does suggest that any means of addressing poverty as a by-product of helping the rich accumulate more wealth is disingenuous.
Development experts need to be bolder about letting history in
Glennie for a proper understanding of history as part of a response to nationwide poverty. He notes two mistakes. The first problem is neglecting history completely in favour of new solutions instead of using new solutions to address problems that are part of an ongoing history. The second problem is replacing actual historical study with revisionist history intended to quell people’s consciences.
Ideas about religion...
Air Force: Bible and Nukes Don’t Mix
Starr reports on the suspension of a US Air Force training manual that uses Christian scripture to justify war.
Ideas about equality...
Know Your Rights Radio Program
I discovered this radio show on CBC Radio One a few weeks ago. It is a series of short documentary pieces, each exploring a different right guaranteed to Canadians. It is a good mix of information and humour. Podcasts are also available on iTunes. I’ve listened to the first couple now.
Stop Coddling the Super-Rich
Buffet contributed this opinion piece to The New York Times, where he provides some details on what he, self-identified as “mega-rich”, is being taxed. He notes that he contributes relatively little to the US debt relief. Most tellingly, he debunks quite a bit of the rhetoric about job creation being a result of lower taxes on the mega-rich by demonstrating that during the 1980s and 1990s, when taxes were higher, more jobs were created than are being created now.
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