Environment
"Barack Needs You, Right Now" – Give Me A Break!
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OK, this last email pushed me to my limit. The subject line heading read: “Barack needs you, right now.” You’ve got to me kidding me. Barack needs ME? For what?
Politics & Society
Cleaning the Smears Off PFC Manning
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Gossip, hearsay, what we Jews call “lashon hara” – bad mouthing – is the weapon of choice against conscientious people if one can’t put them in the crosshairs – or crash them on the road (Michael Hastings). This has been true for Bradley Manning.
Politics & Society
Samantha Power and the Televangelization of Human Rights
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In light of Edward Snowden’s recent whistleblowing, Samantha Power’s message in this week’s Senate hearing appeared to be: Concern yourself with the rights and liberties of foreigners living under oppressive regimes, not your own rights and liberties.
art
Mourning the Violence of Extremism: Reflections on a New Archaeological Discovery
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Israeli archaeologists have recently discovered artifacts that give us a vivid sense of how destructive and merciless extremism of any sort and an eagerness for war can be. Reflecting on The Three Weeks, for those Jews who are not inclined to mourn the destruction of the two Temples, is there any reason to mourn? I have been thinking about this question the past couple weeks in light of the archaeological discoveries.
Politics & Society
Why Obama's 'Insider Threat' – Ordering Federal Workers to Profile Colleagues and Report Suspicious Actions – Won't Work
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President Obama’s Insider Threat Program has turned millions of federal workers into mandated, behavioral profiling specialists, ordering them to report colleagues whose actions raise supposed red flags. Security can no longer be a justification for these programs. Not just because they violate our rights as Americans. But also because they will not work.
Politics & Society
Who Says Conservatives Are More Patriotic?
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As we were celebrating the 4th of July in traditional American style — barbecue, flag, fireworks, and all — a question popped into my head: Are conservatives really more patriotic than other Americans? Well, it depends on what you mean by patriotism. And there lies the heart of the matter: Conservatives appear to be more patriotic because they have so much control over the very meaning of the term. Most of the time, when anyone uses the word “patriotism,” it turns out to mean what conservatives say it means.
Healing Israel/Palestine
How I Joined Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman as an Official, Self-Hating Jew
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Today, I learned that – due to my writing for Daily Kos and Tikkun – I have been officially declared a self-hating Jew, joining the likes of Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman on a list I’m only too proud to embrace (links to which appear below). How did this happen? It’s quite simple and rather mundane.
Healing Israel/Palestine
Kerry Negotiations Fail While BDS Movement Surges
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It’s time to end the charade and that means pulling the plug on the peace process surrounding the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Doing so will have no effect on the Palestinians who already know that they are on their own. But it will send a clear message to the Israeli people that no one is going to bail them out of problems their government has created for them. The irony, of course, is that if the United States wanted to resolve the conflict, rather than to pretend to, it can.
Politics & Society
Privacy Is Lost, And We Are All To Blame
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In the post 9/11 era, Americans live with a new set of norms, which many people have come to accept with resignation as necessary for “security.” As more and more Americans weigh in on the side of safety over civil liberties, the relinquishment of rights that is asked of us in airports could be stretching far beyond airport walls.
General News
No Jury Trial in Beale Case
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Last October, I was arrested for civil disobedience with eight other people during an anti-drone demonstration at Beale Air Force Base. Charges were dropped against four of my co-defendants. The case against the remaining five of us continues.