Oakland’s students write essays about police brutality

Students from a high school in Oakland are asked to write about the police in their community. Here are the responses: It’s Not Just Getting Beaten Up by Kamyiah In Oakland, California, why do our protectors abuse us for no reason? Police brutality is a controversial topic. Everyone here, and I bet even everyone outside of here, knows about at least one Oakland police brutality case. For example, we can bring up the shooting of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale Bart Station or the Tupac situation in the 1990’s. Police brutality…

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A Rare Glimpse into the Inner Workings of the American Empire in the Middle East

(FPIF) – In recent testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, four former U.S. diplomats provided remarkably candid commentary on recent U.S. involvement in the Middle East, revealing a number of the most closely guarded secrets of U.S. diplomacy. The four former diplomats emphasized the importance of the region’s oil, spoke critically about the weaknesses of U.S. strategy, made a number of crude comments about U.S. partners, displayed little concern about ongoing violence, and called for more “discipline” throughout the region. One of the former diplomats, James Jeffrey, criticized the…

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You Go, Girl! Swedish Lady Starts Guy-Free Gaming Site

Sweden (Sputnik) – The computer gaming industry and gaming culture are both, by and large, dominated by men. A Swedish gamer girl, however, is striving to make a difference by creating a gaming site without male writers. The goal of the website Myogaming.se, which is about to be launched on January 24, was to create more space for “non-men” in an industry where men traditionally call the shots. The founder, 34-year-old Melika Zakariae from the town of Nacka, sought to debunk the stereotype than women make bad gaming writers. The idea of the non-men gaming website came about just about one and half…

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Cecile Richards to step down as Planned Parenthood president

United States (TexasTribune) – Cecile Richards, the long-serving president of the women’s health organization Planned Parenthood, will step down from her role, Buzzfeed reported Wednesday. Cecile Richards, a Texas native and the longtime president of Planned Parenthood, plans to step down, according to a Wednesday report from Buzzfeed News. Richards, who has led the women’s health organization since 2006, is a Waco native and the daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, a Democrat who held the office from 1991 to 1995. By Lorie Shaull from Washington, United States – Cecile Richards, CC BY-SA…

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LA to Vegas: Vans, Voting, and Vices

(TFC) – It’s a simple enough idea: take a group of indie journalists who are beholden to no political party and no corporate influence, throw them in a van, and tell them to do their thing. It’s been talked about for years. Implementing this idea is a bit like herding cats. About a year after the first phone call concerning the project, I’m on a flight headed to Los Angeles. I’m wired from the events of the previous night and haven’t slept, but the Xanax and Jack Daniel’s are performing…

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The Fascist Next Door

World (PT) – Defining “Fascism” is no simple task. A century of books, articles, and papers are written on the subject. It would be presumptuous to suggest I have succeeded in encapsulating the word. However, I would — in the interest of public service — like to pass on a few observations that could conceivably save lives. Yes, whether the coming times are a relief or a nightmare, I cannot predict; certainly, I can predict that you will meet a fascist. You will look into the eyes of a man with…

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Tradecraft: Burn Injuries On and Off The Grid

BURN INJURIES Whether caused by a raging wildfire or due to an accident while preparing food, burns are a major challenge both on and off the grid. Injuries from burns that require medical help top one million each year in the United States, with thousands of deaths reported. These numbers are alarming, given the fact that, in modern times, few are us are exposed to fire as often or directly as our ancestors were. Despite this, only a small percentage of families have formulated and practiced an escape plan for…

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A Quick Roll in the Hay: Rural Women Have Sex Younger than City Dwellers

United States (Sputnik) – A new survey released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that rural women in the US are having sex earlier than women living in urban areas. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth revealed that 51 percent of women living in rural areas engaged in sexual intercourse for the first time by age 16, while only 41 percent of women in urban areas had had their first sexual intercourse experience by that age. Eighty percent of rural women lost their virginity by age 18 compared to 69 percent of urban women. In addition,…

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US Congressman Says Aide ‘Invited’ Alleged Sexual Harassment, Sets Twitter Afire

(Sputnik) – Patrick Meehan, a 62-year-old Republican from Pennsylvania, has claimed that it was his much-younger aide who prompted his intimate communications with the woman, according to the New York Times. “That I would find later that that was not something that she was comfortable with, really hurts me. This was a person who specifically invited communication with me so that she would be able to have the ability to be there for me,” the newspaper quoted Meehan as saying. His remarks came shortly after the US House Ethics Committee began an investigation into Meehan allegedly misusing official resources…

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Palau Visitors Are Now Required to Sign a Pledge to Respect the Environment

In order to promote environment awareness, the government of Palau now requires visitors to sign an eco-pledge on their passports before being granted a visa upon arrival. The program, known as “Palau Pledge”, is reportedly the first immigration-related reform in the world that is intended to protect the environment. Palau is a small archipelago located in the western side of the Pacific. It has a population of about 20,000, but more than 160,000 tourists visit the island nation each year. On December 6, 2017, Palau President Tommy Remengesau issued a…

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