MARGARET KLEIN SALAMON – Philanthropy has a unique and critical role to play in addressing the climate emergency. By acknowledging the calamity we face and adjusting their operations, philanthropies can lead society into the “emergency mode” necessary to avert disaster. The time for half-measures, white papers and panel discussions is over. Philanthropy must act now, boldly and decisively, to help save our planet for future generations.
Tag: media
Movement media organizations are coming together to build power
MAYA SCHENWAR and LARA WITT – Fourteen values-aligned organizations have formed the Movement Media Alliance, a new coalition of social justice-driven journalism platforms aimed at sharing resources and transforming the news.
Seeing Through the Economic Bait and Switch
SONALI KOLHATKAR – The values of the U.S. public are not the same as those of the wealthy and corporations. It took a UN official—an outsider—to point out the dissonance. Furthermore, evaluations of the U.S. economy by the U.S. media and politicians are based on corporate prosperity while the UN’s evaluation is based on individual prosperity.
Are We Living Through a De-Dollarization?
JUSTIN PODUR – Currency systems reflect power relations in the world: they don’t change them. The Anglo gold standard and the American dollar standard reflected imperial monopoly power for centuries. In a multipolar world, however, we should expect more diverse arrangements.
The Move Toward a Four-Day Workweek Obscures Low Pay
SONALI KOLHATKAR – Of course Americans deserve to work fewer hours. But unless the move to a four-day workweek is accompanied by a massive pay raise, it merely frees up time to work more.
How to build a progressive movement in a polarized country
GEORGE LAKEY – Many assume that polarization is a barrier to making change, but history shows otherwise. By learning what worked in previous periods of polarization, we can observe a clear roadmap to transformation.
Global Elites in Davos Pretend to Care About Inequality
SONALI KOLHATKAR – Billionaires and the politicians who enable their wealth gathered for several days at a luxury resort in Switzerland to offer their puzzled concerns about why they keep getting richer at everyone else’s expense.
Europe Is Sleepwalking Into Another World War
BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS – More than 100 years after World War I, Europe’s leaders are sleepwalking toward a new all-out war. In 1914, the European governments believed that the war would last three weeks; it lasted four years and resulted in more than 20 million deaths. The same nonchalance is visible with the war in Ukraine.
The West’s Fanaticism Over Blaming ‘Evil’ Putin Misses the Point—and an Opportunity for a Lasting Peace
ERIKA SHELBY – Pointing fingers won’t help—an attitude shift is what the world needs now.
Theranos Verdict: In the U.S., It Is Fine to Lie to Consumers but Not to Investors
PRABIR PURKAYASTHA – Hyper-capitalism has systematically weakened regulations to help capital at the cost of consumers. The verdict on the Elizabeth Holmes case simply illustrates the growing post-’90s disregard for consumers.
Don’t Blame Government Benefits for Inflation—Blame the Modern Economy
SONALI KOLHATKAR – A better takeaway from our current economic situation is that there is nothing natural about being at the mercy and whims of an economy designed by corporate profiteers for corporate profiteers.
How Critical Race Theory Hysteria May Influence the Future of Affirmative Action
EBONY SLAUGHTER-JOHNSON – The anger surrounding teaching children a more expansive (and truthful) version of American history can largely be understood as a backlash to the Black Lives Matter era, the victories of which have been largely symbolic and localized. The legislative entrenchment of affirmative action will be spun by conservatives as “reverse racism†that hampers the educational advancement of white children. That argument will hold traction among conservatives, moderates, and progressives. As we prepare for the possibility of a post-Roe future, it might also be time to anticipate a future in which affirmative action is unavailable as a means of promoting diversity in and economic mobility through higher education.
How a False Narrative Against Government Spending Shapes Legislation
SONALI kOLHATKAR – Those seeking to squeeze Americans while boosting corporate profits and the wealth of the richest few have for years poured resources into shaping a false narrative that people don’t want tax revenues to be used to pay for things that people need. It’s time to expose and upend such a regressive theory.
The U.S. Killer Drone Program Stays Afloat on the Back of Lies and Pentagon Propaganda
LEONARD C. GOODMAN – A wrongly targeted Afghan aid worker and his family are among the latest casualties.
How to Build a Peaceful Future for Our Children
LAURA FINLEY – The root problem underlying the Sandy Hook mass shooting tragedy is that the U.S. is a violent, militaristic culture that, in virtually every institution, demonstrates violence as a means of solving problems.
Victory: War-o-tainment Show Ends
DAVID SWANSON – Fifty thousand members of RootsAction.org signed a petition at http://StarsEarnStripes.org protesting NBC’s war-is-fun “reality” show co-hosted by former general Wesley Clark. Activists in New York have held a weekly protest and delivered the petitions. The final protest is at 5 p.m. this evening (Sept. 3) on the north side of W. 49th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues in New York City.
Corporate Media Stumped on How to Cover the Occupy Movement
RUSS BAKER – Conventional journalism is increasingly irrelevant in a time of crisis. We find abundant proof in a recent column from the New York Times’ so-called “Public Editor,†who is supposed to somehow magically represent the public interest and rarefied ethical values to the rest of the paper.
The Afghanistan Gap: Press vs. Public
NORMAN SOLOMON: This month, a lot of media stories have compared President Johnson’s war in Vietnam and President Obama’s war in Afghanistan. The comparisons are often valid, but a key parallel rarely gets mentioned the media’s insistent support for the war even after most of the public has turned against it.