ERIN E. NIEMELA – While the U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement is supposed to ensure a secure and sovereign Afghanistan beyond the U.S. withdrawal in 2014, it does not take into account the opinions of those who will most likely be affected by its implementation – the Afghan people. Without their support, the partnership is more likely to inhibit the realization of a peaceful and secure Afghanistan.
TPP: The Terrible Plutocratic Plan
DAVID SWANSON – Like most of you I do not spend my life studying trade agreements, but the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is disturbing enough to make me devote a little time to it, and I hope you will do the same and get your neighbors to do the same and get them to get their friends to do the same — as soon as possible.
Obama’s Escalating War on Freedom of the Press
NORMAN SOLOMON – The part of the First Amendment that prohibits “abridging the freedom … of the press†is now up against the wall, as the Obama administration continues to assault the kind of journalism that can expose government secrets.
Three Oregon Counties See Petitions To Ban Genetically Modified Crops
CASSANDRA PROFITA – Activists are trying to ban genetically modified crops in Lane County through an initiative on the May 2014 ballot. Eugene-based Support Local Food Rights filed an initial petition on Wednesday, The Register-Guard reports. Lane is now the third county in Oregon to receive a petition to put the issue to a vote.
Trayvon Martin: A Jewish Response
RABBI MICHAEL LERNER – This article by a leading Rabbi connects the travesty of acquitting killer George Zimmerman with climate change and other environmental disasters through Jewish theology, and challenges us all to take personal responsibility for healing, repairing and transforming the world.
Snowden Seen as Whistle-Blower by Majority in New Poll
JONATHAN D. SALANT – A majority of U.S. registered voters consider Edward Snowden a whistle-blower, not a traitor, and a plurality says government anti-terrorism efforts have gone too far in restricting civil liberties, a poll released recently shows.