Tag: Issue 7-31-2013
-
The Double Tragedy of the Trayvon Martin Case
The “not guilty” verdict made the Trayvon Martin case a double tragedy. Beyond the courtroom theatrics and the legalistic maneuvers within the past couple of weeks, the fact remains that an unarmed black teenager was proactively pursued and murdered and no one will be held accountable for this tragedy. Of course this case was about…
-
Tales from the Curb: An American Tragedy
When I heard that George Zimmerman had been found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin, I just shook my head; I was disappointed, but not surprised. The prosecution dropped the ball. Most of their own witnesses blew up in their faces. It was obvious that Martin’s friend Rachel Jeantel was not properly prepared. She was…
-
Street People
Crowds at dusk with better weather here at “The Club, Last Rainbow” some Friday night when out of town folks with lighter arms on shirtsleeve notice taste the smoke among the barbeques in fires of hot stoves by skinny rows of street people listening to my alto sax on the loudspeaker along the waterfront breaking…
-
Unpacking Occupy
“The Democracy Project: A History, a Crisis, a Movement” by David Graeber Spiegel and Grau, 352 pp., $26 (hardcover) Occupy Wall Street ruled the airwaves and imagination of America for about six weeks before its bases of operation were raided by federally co-ordinated government forces. How did it rise to prominence so fast, achieve more…
-
"Roxbury Was Quite a Shock for Me": Christ Hedges on Empire, Religion and Resistance
Chris Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he’s reported for more than 50 countries and has worked for the “Christian Science Monitor,” National Public Radio, and the “New York Times,” where he was a foreign correspondent for 15…
-
Trayvon Martin and America's Justice Gap
ROXBURY, Mass.—Less than 24 hours after George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin, hundreds of Boston residents rallied in Dudley Square to seek justice for the slain teen. As mothers wrapped their arms around their sons, youth held makeshift signs, and men wore hoodies, they chanted in unison: “The people united will never be…
-
"They Accused Me of Many Things": An Interview with Tortured Bahraini Journalist Nazeeha Saeed
In May 2011, almost a year and half after a Tunisian street vendor’s self-immolation sparked waves of revolution still rocking the Middle East, Bahraini journalist Nazeeha Saeed was tortured during her 13-hour detention before signing a confession she was not allowed to read. Saeed, who had been covering Bahrain’s pro-democracy movement for France 24, was…
-
Fracking Over the Future: Former Mobil VP Louis Allstadt Warns of Fracking and Climate Change
Quaint, arty Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is perched on the shores of Lake Otsego, which supplies drinking water to the village and glimmering, placid expanses for kayakers and boaters. Louis W. Allstadt, former executive vice president of Mobil Oil, launched his leisure years in this idyllic spot, intending to leave the…
-
Alone in The Dark: Solitary Confinement Reform in Massachusetts Prisons
BOSTON, Mass.—When it comes to solitary confinement, prison reform advocated believe some correctional facilities in Massachusetts are not doing their inmates justice. An inmate in Massachusetts can be placed into solitary confinement for up to ten years.These inmates can be kept isolated for up to 23 hours a day. With no access to outside resources…