December 2011
98 posts
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Happy New Year!
5 Underreported Stories of 2011
joshsternberg:
As we close the books on 2011, here, in totality, are five underreported stories (as put together by me) for Current.com:
More troops commit suicide than die in combat
Big business behind solar power
Food prices trigger revolution
U.S. military infiltrates social media
Number of homeless children highest in American history
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Liberationtech: Good Luck Occupiers; Here’s How... →
liberationtech:
Elsewhere on this blog, I’ve written about how the next generation social networking site should be built to help high-risk activists. If there are any Occupy Wall Street activists who are working on this project, this previous post may be of interest. They should also feel free to contact me or…
Lessig Blog, v2: The Grant and Franklin Project →
lessig:
In Republic, Lost and in the New York Times, I have described a version of small dollar funded elections that I have called “The Grant and Franklin Project.” Here’s a brief statement of the plan.
Assumption: Every voter pays at least $50 to the Federal Treasury in the form of taxes of…
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“The sorry state of American atheists, then, may have nothing to do with their...”
– “Does Religion Make You Nice?” — Paul Bloom
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Touching Their Ancestors' Hands
Anne Makepeace’s latest film, We Still Live Here—Âs Nutayuneân, documents the hopeful story of the Wampanoag, the Native Americans who first greeted the Pilgrims, and the unprecedented revival of their language—lost for over a century. Makepeace talked to Boston Review about cultural access, whether her film is rewriting history, and what surprised her most about recording the revitalization. ...
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“In the late 1960s I was eating lunch in William James Hall with a few fellow...”
– “Disgrace: On Marc Hauser” by Charles Gross (Nation, Jan 9–16, 2012)
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Neutralization
The Wall Street Journal ran a story today (12/27/11) entitled “SEC Ups Its Game to Identify Rogue Firms.” “Rogue” is an interesting word with a range of definitions. When it is used as an adjective its meaning is: “a playfully mischievous person; scamp.” The trivialization of the most destructive elite frauds is one of the most common forms of what criminologists call “neutralization”...
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“Between 1984 and 2009, the median net worth of a member of the House more than...”
– “Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents,” Peter Whoriskey (Washington Post, 12/26/11)
“The specific problems of the current U.S. economy—the drastic increase in...”
– Kenneth Arrow (via azspot)
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“Even the crane seemed to mourn the demise of Kim Jong-il, born of Heaven, after...”
– Kim Jong-il Death: ‘Nature mourns’ North Korean Leader
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“The notion that what Wall Street firms did was merely unethical and not illegal...”
– “Obama and Geithner: Government, Enron-Style,” by Matt Taibbi
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Our Most Popular Pieces of 2011
The Responsibility of Intellectuals Redux
NOAM CHOMSKY | Intellectuals have always faced the same choice: either serve the establishment or challenge power.
Apocalypse: What Disasters Reveal
JUNOT DÍAZ | Apocalyptic events like the Haitian earthquake are opportunities: chances for us to see ourselves, to take responsibility for what we see, to change.
Why I Was Maced at...
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Politics by Other Means
Virtually nothing is certain in fluid post-revolutionary politics. But one thing is becoming clear: influential ideas about transitions from authoritarian rule come up short. The Egyptian transition is not being engineered through decorous elite pacts, wise political leadership, or committed democrats full of trust for one another. The Egyptian revolution has yielded precious few...
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Imagining Faith: Alan A. Stone reviews Terrence... →
filmphilo:
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“Like Medusa’s head, the very word ‘intervention’ had turned principles into...”
– Christopher Hitchens, “Never Trust Imperialists (Especially When They Turn Pacifist),” Boston Review Dec 93/Jan 94.
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WatchPrevention of Injury (POI), a film inspired by the story of PFC Bradley Manning.
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The Destruction of the Tea
After eight years of resistance, everyone, high and low, was conscious of the capacity of Boston’s lower ranks. Leaders had every reason to fear that the people would again take some sort of violent action—burn the ships, burn the tea, destroy the houses of royal officials or loyalist merchants, tar and feather customs officials, haul the consignees to the Liberty Tree for forced...
WatchLawrence Lessig on The Daily Show (Part 2)
WatchLawrence Lessig on The Daily Show (Part 1)
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“1031, the statement of authority to detain, does apply to American citizens and...”
– Sen. Lindsey Graham on the National Defense Authorization Act. For more, read Jonathan Turley.
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“If we human beings continue to torch fossil fuels — oil, coal, natural gas —...”
– Mike Tidwell, “The hottest issue: Climate change dwarfs other issues” (Baltimore Sun, Dec. 14, 2011)
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The Political Notebook: TPN's Picks for Best... →
thepoliticalnotebook:
(in no particular order)
Mujib Mashal’s piece for Al Jazeera English on Pakistan’s assistance to the government of Bahrain in its crackdown on protesters.
Jeremy Scahill’s reporting for The Nation on the CIA’s secret sites in Somalia.
McClatchyDC’s reporting on the Pentagon’s waste…
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“At about 2 am Monday morning, MFG informed the CFTC and CME that customer money...”
– CME Executive Chairman Terry Duffy in testimony to the Senate Agricultural Committee 