The Revolution Begins

‘The Revolution Has Begun’: After Super Tuesday Wins, Sanders Looks Ahead

We are going to take our fight for economic justice, for social justice, for environmental sanity, for a world of peace’ to all 50 states, says Sanders

Common Dreams | 2 March, 2016

 

Having notched Super Tuesday victories in Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont, the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign says it’s “going all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and beyond.”

The results in the 11 states that voted March 1, seven of which went to Hillary Clinton, widened the former secretary of state’s delegate lead against Sanders and reinforced hersupport among minority voters. Some even suggested that Clinton’s solid Super Tuesday performance would increase pressure on Sanders to drop out of the race.

Urging Sweden and the UK to free Julian Assange

DiEM25 | 1 March, 2016

 

Before the 31st United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva today, 500 human rights organizations, law professors, former UN office holders, and high-profile rights defenders including four Nobel Peace Prize winners have urged the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom to respect the United Nations’ decision to free Julian Assange. The statement was delivered to the Swedish and UK Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in Geneva.

—
“We the undersigned, including legal and human rights organisations, academics, and policymakers condemn the reactions of the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom to the finding by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Julian Assange is arbitrarily detained.

The governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom are setting a dangerous precedent that undermines the United Nations Human Rights system as a whole. We urge Sweden and the United Kingdom to respect the binding nature of the human rights covenants on which the decision is based, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; as well as the independence, integrity and authority of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

We therefore call on the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom to comply without further delay with the Working Group’s findings and “ensure the right of free movement of Mr. Assange and accord him an enforceable right to compensation, in accordance with article 9(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
—

Payday Loan Sharks Have Good Friend in Government: Democratic Party Chair

CommonDreams | 1 March, 2016

 

Sketchy payday loan sharks, whose short-term, high-interest loans trap millions of Americans in a cycle of debt, have a new ally on Capitol Hill—Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is reportedly pushing a bill that would “gut” forthcoming industry regulations.

According to a memo seen by the Huffington Post, Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is co-sponsoring legislation (pdf) to delay new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), meant to crack down on abusive payday lending that profits off deceptive terms, automatic “rollovers,” staggering fees, and interest rates averaging over 300 percent annual percentage rate (APR).

An Essential Citizen’s Guide To The Truth About GM Crops And Food

Book Review By Colin Todhunter

Countercurrents.org | 2 March, 2016

 

GMO Myths and Truths: A Citizen’s Guide to the Evidence on the Safetyand Efficacy of Genetically Modified Crops and Foods, 3rd Edition, by Claire Robinson Mphil, Michael Antoniou PhD and John Fagan PhD

“Many who defend the use of GMO crops and foods claim that there is no evidence that any GMO is harmful to health or the environment. But this is wrong. There is plenty of sound empirical evidence of such harm, presented by qualified scientists in peer-reviewed literature. This book is a succinct summary and documentation of that evidence.” – Richard Jennings, PhD, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, UK

Before the internet, you had to head down to the library and try to access certain books and journals to get the information you required. If you were lucky, the publications were in stock and not out on loan; if not, you would have to go on a waiting list or search through what was available on the shelves. And the fact it took months or even years for a text to finally end up in print often meant certain information could already be outdated as soon as it hit the shelves. What now takes two minutes to access on the web, could have taken weeks to access before.

Yet, even with all the information readily available at the fingertips courtesy of the internet, it can still be difficult to find exactly what you want. It can be a case of spending half a day moving from site to site but not really accessing the precise bit of information required or finding everything you need in one place.