Progressive news feed

A U.S. human rights group urged U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to secure the release of a prominent Iranian journalist and activist who goes on trial Saturday on charges that carry the death penalty.

Mohammad Mostafaei specialized in defending Iranians under the age of 18 who have been sentenced to death.

Amnesty International is demanding Zimbabwean government take immediate action to protect 250 people who were forcibly evicted from their homes on 25 August.

His address to my graduating class inspired this article.

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By Lawrence Davidson - August 30, 2010

It is not the Palestinian national character that has been shaped by anti-semitism. Rather, it is the Israeli national character that has been shaped by a fear and loathing of all Arabs and Palestinians in particular. If you doubt this just go to Israel and keep your ears open. There you will find that too many of its Jewish citizens see Arabs as dirty, promiscuous, untrustworthy, and all the other things that we Americans once ascribed to Irishmen, Italians, Poles, African Americans, and the Jews as well.

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By MARGARET KIMBERLEY - September 2, 2010

In the same week in which the world was told about mass rapes taking place in the Congo, a report was released which detailed the prevalence of rape in prisons and jails across the United States. In 2008 and 2009, 88,500 adults held in jails and prisons reported being sexually assaulted. The rates of exploitation of juveniles is even higher...

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By John Pilger - September 03, 2010

...[T]he good news is that false realities often fail when the public trusts its own critical intelligence, not the media...For the rulers of the world, this is a conundrum, because their unaccountable power rests on the false reality that no popular resistance works. And it does.

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This is a question posed by multiple readers, and it's worth considering carefully.

It’s been a month since torrential rains triggered the worst floods in Pakistan’s recent history. Nearly 20 million people are homeless or hungry, with one million people displaced in the past week alone. The official death toll is at 1,760 but is expected to rise as survivors are threatened by diseases. Madiha Tahir, a freelance journalist in Pakistan, files a report from the Razzaqabad relief camp in Karachi. [includes rush transcript]

A new study shows the CEOs who fired the most workers during the economic recession have also taken home the highest pay. According to the Institute for Policy Studies, the CEOs of the fifty corporations responsible for the worst layoffs were paid an average $12 million—42 percent more than the average for the Standard & Poor’s 500. [includes rush transcript]

It’s back-to-school season. As millions of children around the country begin a new school year, the Obama administration is aggressively moving forward on a number of education initiatives, from expanding charter schools to implementing new national academic standards. We talk to Karen Lewis, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Lois Weiner, a professor of education at New Jersey City University. [includes rush transcript]

Another oil and gas rig exploded yesterday in the Gulf of Mexico, renewing calls for the government to impose a ban on offshore oil drilling. The fire broke out on a rig operated by Mariner Energy Thursday morning about 100 miles south of the Louisiana coast. The rig was anchored in 340 feet of water, relatively shallow compared to the BP Deepwater Horizon, which exploded in April setting off the worst oil spill in US history. [includes rush transcript]

• Another Oil Rig Explodes in Gulf of Mexico
• BP: Denial of Drilling Permit Threatens Gulf Coast Claims
• Calls Grow for Offshore Drilling Ban
• US Accused of Killing 10 Afghan Civilians
• Main Afghan Bank Faces Collapse
• Slain US Army Chaplain Is First to Die in Combat Since Vietnam War
• Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Agree to Further Talks
• Settlers: "We Are Building" All Over West Bank
• Companies Passing on More Healthcare Costs to Employees
• 4 Accused of Coercing 400 Thai Workers into Forced Labor
• LA Garment Factory to Pay Workers Unpaid Overtime, Allow Monitor
• Environmentalist Sentenced to 4 Months for Accepting Facebook Friend Request

Student activist Christina Chan Hau-man was found not guilty in Eastern Court on Friday of assaulting a policewoman during a protest on New Year's Day.

At the urging of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles plans to warn motorists that leaving dogs and cats unattended in hot cars is a crime.

The welfare of many thousands was willfully destroyed.

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By Tom Wetzel - Sept. 01, 2010

The working class faces the dire circumstances of high unemployment, precarious income, and attacks on social services at a time when the level of collective self-organization and collective struggle by the class is at low ebb. Many of the organizations that do exist...tend to act as “service agencies” with decision-making authority concentrated into hierarchies of paid leaders, executives and professional staff...[T]his crisis is not likely to be overcome except through a protracted process of struggles, organizing, popular education and change in the mindset of increasing numbers of people.

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Two Greenpeace activists will face possible jail terms in Japan on Monday for stealing a box of whale meat in a trial the environmental group says will test the country's limits on political activism.

By Krystalline Kraus - September 2, 2010

For the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recruited more than 500 Québéc police officers to assist with policing and security. These officers fell under the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) command during the weekend.

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The Chinese star of "Lust, Caution," Tang Wei, has been cast as one of Mao Zedong's early girlfriends in a propaganda film to commemorate the 90th anniversary of China's Communist Party, marking her full comeback after a reported blacklisting.