43 Students and the Future of Mexico

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 21:22

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1059 .... November 26, 2014
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43 Students and the Future of Mexico

Justin Paulson

Nearly two months ago, on September 26, a group of students from the Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos -- a boarding school for student teachers in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero -- was soliciting funds in nearby Iguala when they were attacked by local police, acting under orders. Six people were killed; the remaining 43 students were arrested and were not heard from again. They have, for now, joined the ranks of Mexico's disappeared.

Massacres and disappearances are all too common in Mexico. By some estimates, more than 150,000 have been killed since the beginning of the so-called drug war in the late 1990s, and more than 27,000 disappeared (figures vary widely, and some estimates are as high...

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Who is responsible for violence in Ferguson?

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 20:44

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24 November 2014

A St. Louis County grand jury is scheduled to reconvene today to continue deliberations on whether to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who shot Michael Brown on August 9.

Legally, the grounds for bringing charges against Wilson, defined as “probable cause” that he committed a crime, are easily provided by the six bullets in the unarmed teenager’s body, as well as the testimony of a half-dozen witnesses who say that Brown was surrendering when he was killed. On basic democratic principles, he should clearly go to trial and face the judgement accorded by the judicial process.

There is a saying, “A grand jury will indict a ham sandwich.” That is, the outcome of a grand jury hearing is largely controlled by the prosecutor. To the extent that there is any debate over whether or not to indict Wilson, it relates not to deliberation among the jurors, but to the tactical considerations of different sections of the ruling class over how best to contain—and prepare for—opposition within the population.

To this end, the protracted wait for the final announcement has been accompanied by an escalating campaign of intimidation and threats on the part of local, state and federal officials, led by the Obama administration. Like the proverbial robber who shouts, “Stop, thief!” officials are endlessly declaiming about violence as they themselves prepare for a massive police crackdown.

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Lions

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 20:22

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40,000 Maasai nomads are being kicked off their ancestral land so a Dubai-based company can create a hunting park to shoot lions, elephants and leopards. The Tanzanian president promised this wouldn't happen, but has done a sudden u-turn.

International pressure forced Tanzania to put this shocking land-grab on hold before, now let's make them cancel the deal for good.

The Tanzanian government plans to kick 40,000 Maasai people off their ancestral land to make way for a luxury big game hunting reserve. A section of the famous Serengeti plains, which teems with lions, leopards, elephants, wildebeest, zebra and buffalo, is to be sold to a Dubai-based company, the Ortelo Business Corporation, for a commercial hunting ground.

The Tanzanian government has been forced to back down once before -- last year, after massive local and international opposition to the plan, Tanzania's president promised the Maasai they could stay on their lands. Now the government has made a sudden u-turn, and told them the deal is back on and they must leave their ancestral territory by the end of this year.

Tell Tanzania's president to keep his promise and cancel the corporate land-grab once and for all.

The Maasai have been fighting the commercialisation of their traditional lands for decades, battling greedy investors eyeing the area's extraordinary wildlife and trying to get hunting and tourism permits. The nomadic herders are furious at the news that this deal has come back to life.

Read more: Lions

Ferguson Residents Say Looters Are “Not From Here", Possible Agent Provocateurs

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 20:00

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 Read More: http://www.trueactivist.com/ferguson-residents-say-looters-are-not-from-here-possible-agent-provocateurs/

The looters in Ferguson are reportedly total strangers to the community

Image Credit: twitter / FergusonCurfew

The looting and destruction of property that has taken place in Ferguson, Missouri has been the primary justification for the excessive police and military action in the community this week.  However, it seems that there is a good possibility that the looters have come from out of town, and are not affiliated in any way with the protesters.  It is also highly possible, if not probable, that agent provocateurs have been sent in to create trouble, so the police then have an excuse to use as much force as they want against the protesters.

In most cases, political protestors are nonviolent and do everything they possibly can to avoid clashes with the police. Demonstrators are well aware that they are out-matched in terms of firepower and are only getting out in the streets in large numbers to show how much support is behind their message.

Almost every single time there is a public protest, the authorities are unsympathetic and use heavy force to intimidate anyone who may want to resist in the future.  Although, they don’t attack the protesters with guns blazing right away, because they know that it will further expose their oppressive nature and add credibility to the revolutionary movement. So agent provocateurs are used to instigate physical altercations between activists and authorities.

Read more: Ferguson Residents Say Looters Are “Not From Here", Possible Agent Provocateurs

Ray of hope.

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 20:00

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Newsletter

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How Jewish Voice for Peace became one of the fastest growing Jewish organizations in America.

Find out in our latest newsletter

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This week, we sent thousands of supporters our print newsletter describing JVP's record-breaking growth in chapters, supporters, and followers—and what that inspiring growth will allow us to do. You can download or view a PDF version here. If you want to see exactly what your support makes possible, it's worth it just for the photos.

After we sent the newsletter to the...

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To Prison for Parking Ticket

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 19:44

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NationBuilder This season reminds us that there are a lot of things to be thankful for.

For instance, not having to go to jail for minor infractions like parking tickets.

But sadly, that's not the reality for everyone. We live in a world where government and corporations continue to make money off of those who are poor, hungry and desperate.

To Prison for Poverty exposes two private probation companies who exploit and make million of dollars off of people who can’t afford small fines.
Watch the documentary and subscribe to our channel here:

As we give thanks this holiday season, let's continue to challenge the systems that profit off of poverty.

Want to take more action? Sign up to host a screening.

Read more: To Prison for Parking Ticket

Report on SANDA film screening

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 15:22

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“Sanda” (Surviving) -- Screening and Discussion Big Success
If you wish to subscribe: this link

Forward to a friend: this link

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This Is What Darren Wilson Told the Grand Jury About Shooting Michael Brown

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 14:00

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http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/here-are-transcripts-and-audio-darren-wilsons-grand-jury-hearing

Read the full testimony and other evidence just released by the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office

—By Jaeah Lee and AJ Vicens

| Tue Nov. 25, 2014 12:16 AM EST

Here is Darren Wilson's testimony before the St. Louis County grand jury (St. Louis Public Radio has uploaded documents, here), starting on page 195. (His account of his encounter with Michael Brown begins on page 206.) Follow our coverage onwhat's happening in Ferguson, and how the grand jury decision fits a longstanding pattern in the St. Louis area.

DOCUMENTPAGESNOTESTEXT

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Environmental Tipping Points Key to Predicting Extinctions

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 13:22

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http://news.ncsu.edu/2014/11/tipping-points/
For Immediate Release

November 24, 2014

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 919.515.6142

Evolutionary responses to environmental variation.

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created a model that mimics how differently adapted populations may respond to rapid climate change. Their findings demonstrate that depending on a population’s adaptive strategy, even tiny changes in climate variability can create a “tipping point” that sends the population into extinction.

Carlos Botero, postdoctoral fellow with the Initiative on Biological Complexity and the Southeast Climate Science Center at NC State and assistant professor of biology at Washington University, wanted to find out how diverse populations of organisms might cope with quickly changing, less predictable climate variations.

“Organisms tend to adopt a strategy for dealing with changes in their environment,” Botero says. “Some of them adjust their gene expression either at birth or throughout their lifetime, which we refer to as irreversible and reversible plasticity. Some do what we call ‘bet-hedging,’ producing offspring that are adapted to one of two possible outcomes so that at least half of their offspring survive, and some rely on plain old evolution – which we call adaptive tracking – to keep up with environmental changes. We wanted to determine which strategies worked best under certain circumstances, and find the point at which that strategy would no longer be viable.”

Botero and colleagues Franz Weissing from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, Jonathan Wright from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Dustin Rubenstein from Columbia University, created virtual organisms that were able to modify their insulation – or how they might respond to temperature changes through coat thickness, sweating, etc. – to adapt to the environment, and then placed them in simulations with areas of fast and slow temperature variation and high and low predictability.

Read more: Environmental Tipping Points Key to Predicting Extinctions

We need your help today

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 12:22

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From the frontlines in Ferguson to breaking news around the world: we need your help today

Dear Friend,

You need a news media that's at its best when the news is at its worst.

Democracy Now! was on the ground in Ferguson last night as protests erupted after a majority white grand jury refused to indict white policeman Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

Support from our audience — people like you — allowed us to travel to the frontlines of this breaking news story, and we brought you the voices of local protestors, clergy, criminal justice experts and analysts. We urgently need your support to make coverage like this possible. Please donate today.

If everyone who visited our website this week gave just $10, we could cover our operating costs for the next year. DONATE TODAY! As crusading civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson says "The opposite of poverty is not wealth, it's justice." Democracy Now! was on the ground in Ferguson, shining a spotlight on the militarized police response to civilian protests. There's no question that 2014 has been a year of hard news stories: police brutality against unarmed civilians at home and endless wars terrorizing civilians abroad; global warring and global warming; the Ebola epidemic highlighting the unequal access to healthcare worldwide.

Read more: We need your help today

Give thanks to farmworkers - with action!

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Published on Tuesday, 25 November 2014 10:22

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Website | Send to a Friend | DONATE

Farmworkers deserve a safe and healthy workplace

Safer fields now!

Stronger workplace protections for farmworkers are long overdue.

Tell EPA it's time.

Dear PAOV,

This Thanksgiving season, please take a moment to honor those who make the national celebration of bounty possible — by taking action.

Like all workers, the country's two million farmworkers deserve a safe and healthy workplace. Yet protections from on-the-job exposure to pesticides remain shamefully weak. It's time for EPA to act.

Send EPA's leader a message » This Wednesday, we'll deliver thousands of postcards and signatures to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, calling for immediate action to protect farmworkers from pesticides. Please add your name today!

Last August, more than 200,000 people submitted comments urging EPA to strengthen the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) — the rule intended to protect farmworkers in the fields. We're still waiting for the agency to finalize the new rules.

Read more: Give thanks to farmworkers - with action!

Fairness Works – it's back and bigger than ev

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Published on Monday, 24 November 2014 21:44

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Send to a friend

Over the next four weeks, the next round of FAIRNESS WORKS ads will go to air in every region of the country, hit the streets of four major urban centres and pop-up on people's computer screens and devices. Watch for them!

You can watch the new television ads on our youtube channel.

These new ads focus on issues the labour movement is working to advance for the benefit of all Canadians – good jobs, child care, health care, retirement security and equality.

The television ads will run on major networks from November 24 through December 22. Transit advertising at train and subway stations and bus stops will start to appear in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver starting November 24.

We know you'll want to share these ads with your members. The pride in union membership and solidarity with the labour movement we experienced over our previous two campaigns was more than we bargained for. So help us spread the word – that the labour movement is working for a fairer future for all Canadians.

Read more: Fairness Works – it's back and bigger than ev

25th anniversary of Ed Broadbent's motion to end child poverty

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Published on Monday, 24 November 2014 21:44

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Here is our file on the anniversary and Campaign 2000's new report, showing child poverty is actually up since 1989.
Please share on FB if you can:
http://www.pressprogress.ca/en/post/child-poverty-canada-even-after-vowing-1989-end-it

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Sarah

PressProgress clips Robert Reich's speech in Toronto

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Published on Monday, 24 November 2014 20:44

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In which Reich explains in 2 minutes why CEOs aren't the job creatorsather, it's their customers. That's why we need fair wages and a strong middle class with purchasing power.

Watch the clip and share on FB if you can:

http://www.pressprogress.ca/en/post/video-robert-reich-ceos-youre-not-job-creators

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Sarah