Newsletter 6.12.18

Hi all,

Here's this week's newsletter. Thanks as always for your support.

- Florence, Nima and Adam

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The NCAA Is Running Out Of Excuses On Brain Injuries - Patrick Hruby, Deadspin (5/24/18)

From last month but worth reading as we run up to yet another college football season. While the NFL gets most of the attention on the topic of brain injuries, NCAA footballs causes CTE as well––all without any union protection or getting paid a dime. 

NYT Carries IDF Attack on Murdered Medic–Reveals It’s a Smear in 20th Paragraph - Adam Johnson, FAIR (6/11/18)

The New York Times helps the IDF with a cynical smear campaign against a Palestinian medic they killed, and twists the english language to justify it.  

Louisiana Prisoners Demand an End to 'Modern-day Slavery' - Bryce Covert, The Appeal (6/8/18)

Prisoners at the infamous Angola prison, which stands on a former plantation, are refusing to work. 

Minority Lawyers Hanging From Their Own Bootstraps - Erin L. Thompson, TomDispatch (6/5/18)

Erin L. Williams examines how law schools are routinely failing students of color. 

For Palestinian Feminists, Liberation Has 2 Meanings - Jen Marlowe & Fadi Abu Shammalah, The Nation (6/12/18)

New coalitions of women are shaping the future of activism and gender equality in the Gaza Strip.

Legislators in Many States Can Push Bills They’d Profit From - Decca Muldowney, ProPublica (6/7/18)

The laws vary by state. In some, lawmakers are told to recuse themselves from votes that could create even the “appearance of impropriety.” In others, overlapping interests are seen as “almost inevitable.”

African-Americans and the Strains of the National Anthem - Brent Staples, The New York Times (6/9/18)

The long history of African-American protest of the US national anthem. 

Why Anti-Fascist and Pro-BDS Work Go Hand-in-Hand - David Palumbo-Liu, truthout (6/12/18)

Left-wing activists engaged in both the anti-fascist and BDS movements are driven, above all, by a shared commitment to fighting bigotry and ethno-nationalism. In light of Israel's actions and propensity to form alliances with anti-Semitic white nationalists, the work of anti-fascist and pro-BDS groups is especially essential.

CNN’s Warm Welcome to Far-Right Pundit Shows No Limit to Trumpwashing - Adam Johnson, FAIR (6/11/18)

Despite his years of vitriol and anti-Muslim prejudice, Ralph Peters is trying to rebrand himself a principled NeverTrumper. We shouldn’t let him. 

Enough already. Not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism. - Editorial Board, The Los Angeles Times (6/8/18)

LA Times editorial board pushes back against the dubiously titled Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2018.

South Koreans Are Still Hopeful After the Trump-Kim Summit - E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker (6/12/18)

An optimistic perspective from South Korea, without all the glib dismissals of what’s occurring right now in Korea. 

The Iran Nuclear Deal, Regime Change, and the Perils of the “Third Way” - Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Jadaliyya (6/12/18)

As Europeans attempt to hang onto the so-called Iran Deal, Sadeghi-Boroujerdi attempts to put Iran’s reach and geopolitical goals in perspective. 

Giving a Pass to Anti-Muslim Bigotry - Arnold R. Isaacs, TomDispatch (6/10/18)

While we rightfully condemn all forms of bigotry, bashing Muslims remains totally within the bounds of acceptable thought.