Will Cuba's Economic Reforms Succeed?

May 13, 2013
By Omar Everleny Pérez
Americas Quarterly (May 13, 2013)

At the core of the reforms is an acknowledgement by the Cuban state that it must relinquish control over those activities and sectors, such as retail, that do not serve it strategically and that it believes have the capacity to absorb the growing labor force in coming years. If these conditions are established, non-state employment will meet its expected contribution to the economy, above all in terms of job creation and the production of goods and services. [...]

Why Labor Should Back Gina McCarthy for EPA Administrator

May 13, 2013
By Jeremy Brecher
Labor Network for Sustainability (May 13, 2013)

American workers need jobs. They also need protection from chemicals and pollutants that threaten their lives, health, environment, climate, and future. Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, has a unique track record in protecting the environment in ways that also protect and expand jobs. [...]

Democracy Now! 13 de Mayo de 2013

• Ex dictador de Guatemala Efraín Ríos Montt en prisión tras ser procesado por genocidio
• Concentración de dióxido de carbono en la atmósfera alcanza límite de 400 ppm
• Ex Primer Ministro paquistaní Nawaz Sharif gana elecciones en medio de acusaciones de fraude
• Víctimas de Cleveland agradecen a seguidores; examen de paternidad confirma que sospechoso es padre de hija de la víctima
• Diecinueve heridos en Nueva Orleáns en tiroteo en desfile del Día de la Madre
• IRS pide disculpas por examen de grupos de Tea Party
• Activistas marchan por clausura de Guantánamo
• Correos electrónicos sobre Benghazi revelan participación de la Casa Blanca en temas de conversación
• Informe: CIA había confiado guardia de complejo de Benghazi a milicia libia
• Renuncia coautor de estudio sobre inmigración de Heritage Foundation
• Juez federal desestima apelación presentada por el gobierno del fallo sobre píldora de anticoncepción de emergencia "Plan B"
• Autoridades de Texas inician investigación penal de explosión en planta de fertilizantes
• Españoles conmemoran 2º aniversario del Movimiento de los Indignados
• Grupo de madres lleva a cabo marchas por el control de armas en todo el país
• Activistas inician Campaña y Marcha de los Pobres el fin de semana

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Democracy Now! 2013-05-13 Monday

• Headlines for May 13, 2013
• Ríos Montt Guilty of Genocide: Are Guatemalan President Pérez Molina, U.S. Officials Next?
• Climate Tipping Point? Concentration of Carbon Dioxide Tops 400 ppm for First Time in Human History

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Some of the top firms advising candidates for state and local office also lobby those offices for clients like corporations and unions. Some believe the potential conflict demands reform.

Some data and details from our reporting on campaign consultants who help politicians get elected and also lobby those officials on behalf of companies, unions and other interests.

Which Brands Accept Blood on Their Labels?

May 12, 2013
By Nichols/Greider
The Nation (May 6, 2013)

It's difficult for exploited workers to organize and build popular support. Companies can pack up and move to the next low-wage country where people and governments are desperate for jobs and income, however pitiful. This cycle of exploitation is destined to continue until the world runs out of poor countries to exploit, or until citizens in rich countries, like the U.S. [...]

Why You're in Deep Trouble If You Can't Afford a Lawyer

May 12, 2013
By Hannah Levintova, Jaeah Lee, and Brett Brownell
Mother Jones (May 6, 2013)

Just how bad is the state of public defense in America? The charts below detail some of the biggest challenges plaguing the system.

 
Watch: Public defenders and legal advocates discuss ways to solve the nation's public defense crisis, 50 years after the Gideon decision:
In January 1962, a man sitting in a Florida prison cell scrawled a note to the United States Supreme Court. He'd been charged with breaking into a pool [...]

REWIND - A Week of Quotes and Cartoons

May 11, 2013
By
Portside (May 11, 2013)

Unemployment crisis, chemical weapons, climate change, Bangladesh and more ...

REWIND - A Week of Quotes and Cartoons
SUNDAY
Quote of the Day
May 5, 2013
'One church on Long Island, near New York, has gone as far as to recommend that its attendees refrain from asking young people "what do you do?" Instead, as a recent church bulletin advised (pdf), it's better to ask the more generic "So, tell me about yourself." You know we've reached a tipping-point when you can't ask even [...]

Amazon Warehouse Workers Sue Over Security Checkpoint Waits

May 11, 2013
By Dave Jamieson
Huffington Post (May 9, 2013)

"You drove God knows how far to this place, and you just worked 12 hours."

Whenever he clocked out after his 12-hour shift at an Amazon warehouse, Jesse Busk had one more critical task to perform before he could hop into his car and head home to sleep: Pass through the sprawling warehouse security checkpoint.
The purpose of the checkpoint was to prevent workers like Busk from pilfering electronics or other pricey goods from the Amazon stock. The process deeply annoyed [...]

She’s No Terrorist: The Bizarre Move By The FBI Against Assata Shakur

May 11, 2013
By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Black Commentator (May 9, 2013)

A cynical pawn to move a more diabolical agenda

Seemingly out of nowhere the FBI announced that fugitive Black activist Assata Shakur was now declared a “terrorist” on their Most Wanted list.  In addition, a bounty for her capture was raised from $1 million to $2 million.  There are several questions that immediately arise but the most important is perhaps this:  why now?
Assata Shakur, known earlier as Joanne Chesimard, was a leading member of the [...]

Austerity Has Lost All Credibility & Threatens Social Upheaval

May 11, 2013
By Carl Bloice
Black Commentator (May 9, 2013)

The young are idled; their hopes crushed. Americans are paying a terrible price for Washington’s folly.

When Michael Higgins, the president of Ireland, finished speaking he received a standing ovation from members of the European Parliament. In a stirring April 17 address to the delegates meeting in Strasbourg, he said the continent’s policy makers must not “ignore the fact that European citizens are suffering the consequences of actions and opinions of bodies such as rating agencies, which, unlike parliaments, are [...]

Social Networking and the Death of the Internet

May 11, 2013
By Social Networking and the Death of the Internet
Counterpunch (May 8, 2013)

In our convoluted world of constantly flowing disinformation, governments tell us the Web is a “privilege” to be paid for and lost if we misbehave, corporations tell us they invented it, and most of us use it without really thinking much about its intent. [...]

Friday Nite Videos -- May 10, 2013 (Mothers' Day Edition)

May 10, 2013
By
Portside (May 10, 2013)

Bill Withers -- Ain't No Sunshine and Grandma's Hands. Elizabeth Warren: give students banker treatment. Wild Women Don't Have the Blues. Stephen Colbert interviews Congresswoman Donna Edwards. The Girls in the Band: documentary.

Due to a late night error by the moderator, Friday Nite Videos was sent -- without links to the videos. This version has the correct links. Our apologies ... and happy Mothers' Day. -- moderator
  [...]

Why I Am on a Hunger Strike to Shut Down Guantanamo Bay Prison

May 10, 2013
By Diane Wilson
AlterNet (May 10, 2013)

The detainees are screaming for justice from the outside world, and now they are being heard.

As a fourth generation shrimper and an environmental activist on the Texas Gulf Coast, I have gone on hunger fasts to protect the seas that my community of fishermen depend upon. I know how far I would go to be heard. To have a voice. To push for justice. So I can vouch for the experts who say that the 100+ [...]

'The Book of Woe': Psychiatry's Last Stand

May 10, 2013
By Laura Miller
Salon (May 5, 2013)

An account of the making of the new DSM questions whether psychiatry is -- or should be -- a science.

“Psychiatric diagnosis is built on fiction and sold to the public as fact.” So writes psychotherapist Gary Greenberg in “The Book of Woe: The Making of the DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry.” That’s an explosive assertion but also one that doesn’t quite mean what most of you are probably thinking. Scientologists, settle down: Greenberg is not on your side. And talk-therapy pooh-poohers, [...]

Friday Nite Videos -- May 10, 2013 (Mothers' Day Edition)

May 10, 2013
By Portside
Portside (May 10, 2013)

Bill Withers -- Ain't No Sunshine and Grandma's Hands. Elizabeth Warren: give students banker treatment. Wild Women Don't Have the Blues. Stephen Colbert interviews Congresswoman Donna Edwards. The Girls in the Band: documentary.

Bill Withers -- Ain't No Sunshine [...]

Michigan: Largest Fast Food Strike Yet

May 10, 2013
By Ned Resnikoff
MSNBC (May 10, 2013)

As many as 400 workers at more than 60 fast food restaurants in the Detroit metro area walked off the job on Friday. The fast food strike in Detroit is the second major labor action to hit an American city’s fast food industry this week: On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 100 workers in St. Louis walked off the job at roughly 30 different restaurants. These rolling walkouts followed similar actions in New York, central Pennsylvania, and Chicago. [...]

Guatemala: Why We Cannot Turn Away

May 10, 2013
By Xeni Jardin
PBS Newshour (May 8, 2013)

Miles O'Brien reports from Guatemala on forensic science used to document charges of a genocide against thousands of indigenous Mayans in the 80s. From Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin, who co-produced the piece, here's a look at their reporting. [...]

Democracy Now! 10 de Mayo de 2013

• Número de muertos en derrumbe de edificio en Bangladesh supera los mil; rescatan a sobreviviente tras diecisiete días entre escombros
• Hombre acusado de secuestrar a tres mujeres en Ohio podría afrontar pena de muerte
• Cámara de Representantes de Minnesota aprueba ley para legalizar matrimonio igualitario
• Alcalde de Filadelfia promulga proyecto de ley sin precedentes sobre derechos de LGBT
• Coautor de polémico estudio sobre inmigración sostuvo que latinos tienen coeficiente intelectual más bajo
• Presidente afgano afirma que Estados Unidos podrá tener nueve bases militares después de su retirada del país
• Facebook elimina página vinculada a Cuerpo de Marines que contenía chistes de violaciones a soldados mujeres
• Uruguay condena a general a 28 años de prisión por muerte de una profesora ocurrida durante la dictadura
• Hijo de ex Primer Ministro paquistaní es secuestrado dos días antes de las elecciones
• Republicanos bloquean confirmación del candidato de Obama a presidir la EPA
• Paros de los trabajadores de la industria de comida rápida se extienden a Detroit y St. Louis
• Concejo Municipal de Nueva York aprueba proyecto de licencia paga por enfermedad
• La “marcha de los pobres” honrará el legado de Martin Luther King, hijo
• Nieto de Malcolm X habría sido asesinado en México

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