Zimmerman versus DMX: No Matter Who Wins, We All Lose

A “celebrity boxing match” is in the works between DMX and George Zimmerman. By supporting Zimmerman’s attempts to stay in the spotlight of infamy, we are limiting the space for positive heroes and giving our attention to the wrong set of values.

Keystone XL has a Job for You! (video satire)

[youtube: video=”g4YUVmYBYlA”]
When Keystone XL’s top job recruiter comes to town, he reveals just what types of jobs the controversial oil pipeline would really create. Oil executives like to claim that the Keystone XL would create thousands of jobs. But in a project fueling so many environmental and health risks, only one man is honest enough to say exactly what those jobs would be. Hint: they’re not in construction. It’s true, Keystone XL has a job for you!

When Did "the 60s" Begin? Here's Why It Matters.

When, exactly, did the era of radical ferment we remember as “the ’60s” begin? Exactly one half-century ago, PBS tells us in its recent documentary titled “1964,” kicking off a year when we’ll celebrate the 50 anniversary of a host of memorable events:

Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty, pushed the Civil Rights Act through Congress, and got a blank check from Congress (the Tonkin Gulf resolution) to send troops to Vietnam. The Mississippi Freedom Summer saw civil rights workers murdered and hundreds of white students going back to their campuses in the fall radicalized. Some of those students, at Berkeley, created the Free Speech Movement. African Americans “rioted” in Harlem.

Photo Gallery: Surviving Genocide in Sudan and Congo

Ten years ago, the first genocide of the 21st century started in Darfur. It was another in the long list of 46 genocides since the Holocaust, when the world first promised “Never Again!” Despite that promise, we’ve heard a deafening silence from the world as each of these genocides unfolded.

Printmaker Michele Ramirez Celebrates Central Valley Fieldworkers

For artist Michele Ramirez, California’s Central Valley is a beautiful place whose solitude she captures eloquently in her work. A great deal of history has gone into Ramirez’s prints, which celebrate the history of Mexican American fieldworkers who have been harvesting fruits and vegetables and feeding the U.S. since World War II.

Peace Through the Hijab

On February 1, women in more than a hundred countries will participate in the World Hijab Day. Women of all faiths, even Muslim women who don’t normally cover, will voluntarily wear this controversial piece of clothing for an entire day. The goal is not conversion, but to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes – or in this case headscarf.

Remarkable Conversations, Unexpected Outcomes

Have you ever been fired? Did you ever have an employer who listened deeply to the reasons why you wanted to continue in the job? And who then changed her mind about laying you off? And found an unconventional but creative way to keep you on? This week Miki Kashtan tells a very personal story about how she called a part time employee, Emma Lou Jones, to say her services were no longer needed. It didn’t work out like that. Emma says “You have my full permission to tell our incredible story.”

Snapping to the SNAP Challenge

SNAP, the acronym for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known in this country as the Food Stamp Program, suffered in November a nearly five percent cut to entitlements for the millions of Americans who depend on the program for daily sustenance. A Jewish Renewal community on the upper west side of Manhattan, joined others across the country in a five day commitment to curtail their food expenditures to no more than $5.00 a day.