Immigration

“A Hungry Man is an Angry Man”

Written by Ana Turck

I received a frantic call from Sarajevo yesterday. My mother informed me that my sister’s already dismal pay was cut by almost half. Prior to this, she was told to work seven days a week for 11 hour shifts. This, mind you, in a job without health care or even paid lunch breaks. She tried, or rather begged for at least one day off each week, so that she could spend it with her daughter. Instead, she found the official reduction in pay attached to her file.

This would not be an insurmountable issue if she lived in a country with a strong economy, where jobs were not scarce and labor laws against gender and… Read more

Three Men Indicted for Racially Motivated Church Burning

Written by Stephen Piggott

The Northeast U.S. has suddenly experienced a wave of racially motivated crimes. We reported on a murder spree just last week. Boston is no stranger to racism towards African Americans but it seems like other cities in Massachusetts are also not immune. Less than 2 hours away in Springfield, a town is coming to grips with a racially motivated arson attack against a predominantly African American Church. Macedonia Church of God in Christ’s newly completed building was burned to the ground by 3 racist arsonists, Benjamin Haskell, 22, Michael Jacques, 24, and Thomas Gleason, 21, all residents of the town.

Ecopolitics

Green Burials: Wave of the Past and Future?

Written by Katie Bezrouch

In the last 130 years, death rituals in North America have changed dramatically. It wasn’t until the civil war, when soldiers died far from their homes, that our modern-day preservation methods began to take hold. Prior to the war, people used to die at home, leaving their families to prepare the bodies. The deceased were then observed in a parlor and buried in a cemetery and sometimes in their family’s backyard. With the need for preservation, undertakers went from box makers, to box makers plus hole diggers, to a ritual directors, and now they dictate the entire burial procedure.

Law for the Rich, Law for the Poor

Written by Rev. David L. Ostendorf

“Civil law is for the rich. Criminal Law is for the poor.”

The trenchant words of the Bishop in the middle of a deadly Sao Paulo neighborhood years ago are forever etched in mind. The stark reality of his assessment has seldom been clearer as the political-economic crisis deepens. An unemployed worker robs a bank of a few thousand dollars and goes to federal prison for untold years. A Wall Street mogul robs banks of untold millions and never sees the inside of a courtroom. The stories are legion; the outcomes well-known.

Politics

Now is the Time to Broaden Children’s Health Coverage

Written by Jill Garvey

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is an investment in the future health of America.

Increased funding to SCHIP has twice been vetoed by former President Bush (boy do I love saying former). And now that he is gone, it is being pushed with some urgency for approval from the Senate. SCHIP is a federal program that provides funding to States to give health care coverage to children who are not eligible for Medicaid, but whose families cannot afford private insurance.

British Anti-fascists Prepare Mass Campaign

Written by Guest Blogger

By Nick Lowles

The next five months will see the largest ever anti-fascist campaign in British history. Dozens of local anti-fascists groups are being set up, thousands of people mobilised and five million pieces of literature delivered. This is all being organised under the banner of HOPE not hate and our target is to prevent the fascist British National Party (BNP) from winning seats in the forthcoming European Elections.

How Strong Are the Walls of Jericho?

Written by Guest Blogger

By Walidah Imarisha

Last month I was stuck in the house for a week straight, thanks to the worst snowstorm Portland, Oregon has seen in the past 30 years. Over a foot of snow and the city just had no idea how to deal with it.

It is ironic, then, that I picked up the first disc of the CBS series Jericho at the Blockbuster I slogged to through snow and freezing ice. Jericho (2006-2008) explores the aftermath of nuclear bombs detonated in 23 major cities in the U.S. through the lens of Jericho, a small town in Kansas.

Politics

Reclaiming the Discourse on Single Motherhood

Written by Ana Turck

In these uncertain economic times, issues of crime and its social origin and impact are beginning to shape public discourse. Fear of social collapse often leads to scapegoating, and a reemerging focus on the negativity of single parenthood is just one example of this.

Politics

White Nationalist Targets a United America

Written by Eric Ward

As citizens in the millions celebrated the inauguration of President Barack Obama—others not so vested in the concept of a united America are busy sowing the seeds of hate. The Boston Herald is reporting that barely a day after the 44th President of the United States was sworn in a young man in Brockton, Massachusetts went on a shooting spree that included the rape and murder of a young woman, the shooting of her sister, and the killing of a homeless man. Another individual who came to the aid of the sisters was also shot at.

Salmonella Outbreak Spotlights Unhealthy Plant Conditions

Written by Jill Garvey

Two weeks ago I had the stomach flu. Without disclosing the details, I’ll just say it was awful, and the fever and aches kept me incapacitated for two days after the worst was over.