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Day: December 15, 2017

Our Social Structure is Rigged

Bridge Agents

(OW) – “It’s structure vs. agency,” my professor said to me, as if that cleared everything up. It didn’t. It was my first week of graduate school in sociology, and I had no idea what he was talking about. Fast-forward three years, and I’m now teaching an into sociology class myself, trying to explain the very same point to my students. If you live in the U.S., you’re familiar with our social structure. You need a college education to qualify for many better paying jobs. Your children can go to the…

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Pedestrian Tickets Lead to Hundreds of Suspended Driver’s Licenses

Bridge Agents

Jacksonville, FL (ProPublica) – More than half the 2,000 people who received pedestrian tickets in Duval County, Florida, from 2012 to 2016 saw their driver’s licenses suspended or their ability to obtain one limited, according to an analysis by the Florida Times-Union and ProPublica. The tickets, which carry what can seem like a modest $65 fine, can have more significant consequences for those who get them and refuse to pay or are unable to do so. Over five years, a total of 2,004 pedestrian tickets were issued in Duval County, which is…

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A Local Newspaper’s Full-Page Feature on Nuclear Radiation Survival Stirs Panic in China

Bridge Agents

Jilin Daily’s full page feature on nuclear radiation. (GVO) – On December 6, 2017, Jilin Daily published a full-page feature on nuclear weapons and how to protect oneself in case of a nuclear radiation. This led many, in particular, residents from northern China to ask if the newspaper report is an anticipation of a United States military action against North Korea’s missile test. Jilin province is located in north China near North Korea. Jilin Daily is affiliated with the local government of the province. On November 29, North Korea launched a…

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US Regulators’ Vote to End Net Neutrality Draws Opposition From Congress

Bridge Agents

(Sputnik) — Earlier on Thursday the FCC voted 3-2 to end a 2015 regulation that defined the internet as a public utility. Net neutrality forbids internet service providers from slowing or blocking content from competitors. “Today the FCC took a wrecking ball to the pillars of freedom and openness upon which the Internet was built,” Senator Patrick Leahy said. Former presidential hopeful and Senator Bernie Sanders said the FCC’s decision spells “the end of the internet as we know it.” “In Congress and the courts we must fight back,” Sanders said. The historically awful FCC action undoing net neutrality, Senator Ron…

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