Progressive Media Advocates
Georgianne Nienaber: It seemed that while M23 was winning on the battlefield against both the FDLR and the regular Congo Army (FARDC), and had gained recognition by the African Union as a partner in peace negotiations, they had lost the social media and Internet public relations battle.
Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer: The only way workers will succeed in defending jobs with decent pay lies in workers standing together and embracing the principle that the labor movement was built on — solidarity.
Robert Reich: Excuse me for sounding impertinent, but isn’t this fear-mongering likely to buttress Republican arguments that the Bush tax cuts should be extended for everyone — including the rich?
World-renowned spiritual leader Deepak Chopra released a video endorsement of Sister Giant, a nonpartisan conference on women and politics organized by bestselling author Marianne Williamson
JP Sottile: Setitle: Like an expert counselor, Lehrer facilitated an open and honest exchange of feelings and emotions. Okay, not much honesty. But the exchange did seem “open”…for business.
Sharon Kyle: Colorism gives unearned advantages to Blacks of lighter complexion and demeans and degrades Blacks of darker complexions. For white people reading this who are unaware of this practice, there is a test known as “the brown paper bag test” used to determine where your skin color placed you in the pecking order.
Cheryl Aichele: Occupy LA Activists hope its chalk-art campaign will hit LAPD in the pocket books and others in their hearts to raise awareness and encourage others to participate.
Sharon Kyle: Chris Rock’s reminder that slaves weren’t independent on Independence Day was only a big deal because he mentioned “white people”
Sharon Kyle: Given the public’s short attention span, it’s no wonder juicy celebrity gossip and salacious headlines have come to dominate the “news”. This is great for those who don’t want us to pay attention.
Matthew Kavanagh: From Twitter trending to the front page of The New York Times to public statements by the White House and the Pentagon, the Kony 2012 campaign has shown the power of social media to affect U.S. public debate – but what about the dangers of oversimplification?
LA Progressive Editor Dick Price’s report on the meeting local Occupy representatives had with Wells Fargo Bank officials in downtown Los Angeles — Wells Fargo Meets Occupy: Where There’s Smoke There’s Smoke? — led this week’s list of 10 most read articles.
ulie Driscoll’s look at the long-term effects of the Komen Foundation’s ill-advised decision to strip its funding for Planned Parenthood for what were rather obviously political reasons, led this week’s LA Progressive 10 Most Read articles list.
Thursday evening, LA Progressive Publisher Sharon Kyle appear on “The Point,” hosted by The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur to discuss Rick Santorum’s “Blah” People and Ellen Barkin’s tweet about being manhandled by New York’s finest.
Lee Fang: The American political and economic system is falling apart. No matter who wins an election, in many cases, the outcomes are the same: well-heeled corporate interests dictate policy.
Jessie Daniels: When I see the cheering from a crowd over people dying – dying by state-sponsored lethal injection or the slower death by neoliberalism from a lack of health care – it frankly makes me question how strong our collective political will might be for ending the death penalty.
Amnesty International says this execution would be unconscionable, especially as doubts about Troy Davis’ guilt have never been erased. However, Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Scalia maintain that if a defendant receives a fair trial, is convicted and sentenced, actual innocence is not grounds to forbid an execution.
Ted Vaill: Teabaggers, look at what has happened this past week in England – get rid of entitlements and you have rioting in the streets fomented by the unemployed youths who have been pushed down through England’s safety net.
Lucia Brawley: I will fight for you in the upcoming campaign with everything I have, in order to prevent a Republican, or unthinkably, a Tea Party candidate from winning the presidency. But in order to fight for you again, I have to know you’re fighting for Bianca and me. Because if not you, then who?
Thirty U.S. American troops reported killed Saturday in an Afghanistan helicopter crash emphasizes the need for the U.S. to end operations sooner rather than later in that theatre of war, according to a Iraq/Afghanistan U.S. Marine veteran, who now is chair of the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party.
Ted Vaill: Seventy or eighty arch-conservative Tea Party members of the House and Senate have held this country hostage to their right-wing demands that we sacrifice entitlements belonging to ordinary, hard working Americans for the benefit of their rich friends. What is the mood of the ordinary American? Disgust.
Jules Siegel: So here’s a lady who is famed for being utterly lewd in public for pay. Weiner exchanges a hundred or so text messages with her about — are you reading this or looking at the pictures? — politics.
Jules Siegel: This totally lame scandal is about on the level of getting caught jerking off while looking in the mirror. Like who cares? No body fluids were exchanged. It’s thought crime.
Walter Brasch: Here are two names you probably never heard of. Sergeant First Class Clifford E. Beattie and Private First Class Ramon Mora Jr.
Walter Brasch: When the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot two weeks ago published on its internet page three videos made four years ago by the executive officer of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise, it unleashed a firestorm that would sink the career of a decorated officer.
Georgianne Nienaber: In retrospect, the inadvertent mix-up in the Twitter account of the geographical locations LaGonave and Gonaive is completely understandable. The fact that it caused such a flurry in Haiti and enraged an epidemiological NGO competing for the same slice of the funding pie–is unfortunate and speaks to a deeper disconnect and lack of trust.
Social networking websites can play and are playing an important role in finding and connecting people who are beginning to think and feel similar things. They can help participants deepen their understanding and form common perspectives. They can help inform those who use them of possible courses of action.
Georgianne Nienaber: Given the huge remaining humanitarian and economic crisis facing Haiti, it is puzzling that mainstream media in the United States short-changed coverage of former President Bill Clinton’s early August visit to Leogane. The symbolism is significant, considering that Leogane and the nearby village of Fayette are at the epicenter of the 7.0 quake.
Carole Bartolotto: The good news is that you can easily replace cow’s milk with almond, soy, rice, hemp or coconut milk instead. I love Trader Joe’s Vanilla Almond Milk.
Robert Reich: The fact is, global corporations have no allegiance to any country; their only objective is to make as much money as possible — and play off one country against another to keep their taxes down and subsidies up.
James Rhodes: Perhaps it is her wildly colorful style or the exaggerated use of glowing women and hidden cats or maybe it has something to do with the tranquility of her work that connects with the “common man” — certainly an artist of the people.
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Eddie Long Scandal: Silence Doesn’t Make Church Molestation Go Away
Anthony Samad: The presence of gay men in black churches, and not just in the choir, is significant. This is an issue waiting to break in probably every city in America. And it’s not that the congregation doesn’t know it. It is now the silent concern in the black church.