Sequester: Disaster for the National Park Service and the Local Economies
In less than a week, mandatory federal spending cuts known as “sequestering” will take place. On February 25, the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that these cuts could have serious impacts on operations in many national parks and wildlife refuges around the United States. These parks, according to a peer-reviewed report by the National Park Service, generated $30 billion in economic activity and maintained 252,000 jobs in 2011. But, hiring of seasonal workers such as search-and-rescue teams, law enforcement officers, and maintenance staff has already been delayed in anticipation of the upcoming sequester, which would reduce the annual budget of the…
Greeks Tell Their Story: What Really Happened?
Are all Europeans lazy welfare queens? Is that the reason Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, France and England are all going through similar economic crises? What is the role of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks in this turmoil? How about the infamous austerity measures? The video that is attached to this article was obtained by the Progressive Press, exclusively to provide another version of the events from the Greek people’s point of view. It contains interviews with Greek Economists and other social scientists. Greeks decided to tell their story. Before you watch it, let’s…
Detained For Silence: The Return of McCarthyism
Civil liberties advocates are raising alarm over the treatment and detention of three Seattle area activists with ties to area anarchist collectives and the Occupy Wall Street movement. “The Grand Jury Resistors,” as they’re referred to by the area bloggers, have become subculture icons within the activist circles since their detention in September, for refusing to answer questions regarding their political affiliations and contacts. The questions come purportedly as part of a larger federal investigation into the May 5th “May Day” protests, during which substantial amounts of property were damaged and vandalized. According to Matthew Duran, Katherine Olejnik and Maddie…
Q&A With Science Education Activist Zack Kopplin
This is the first in a two-part interview with 19 year-old science education activist and Rice University student Zack Kopplin. Zack has led the fight to repeal Louisiana’s dangerous Science Education Act, signed into law by Governor Bobby Jindal on June 25, 2008. His change.org petition garnered nearly 75,000 signatures. A letter to the Louisiana Legislature was signed by 77 Nobel Laureate scientists and Kopplin otherwise has the backing of dozens of important science bodies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science (10 million strong). Zack has testified before his legislature, rallied on the steps of the Capitol…
Spaniards Protest Crashing Austerity and Corruption
Thousands of protestors marched the streets of Spain today to protest extreme austerity measures, privatization of their public services and political corruption. Spain’s conservative government passed the austerity measures in order to control euro zone’s highest budget deficit stricken economy, that was racked by a burst housing bubble in 2008. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has introduced some of the deepest budget cuts in Spain’s democratic history, but the cuts have only scratched the surface of the budget shortfall which is expected to be more than double in 2014. Recently surfaced allegations, that the ruling Popular Party (PP) politicians, including Prime…
Tax Payers Fund For-Profit Charter Schools as They Fail Miserably
Paolo Friere, in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed“, shows us the view of education as liberating and empowering, as a dialogue between teacher and students, and creating community through collaboration and empathy. K12 Inc., a for-profit, public online school, shows us the view of education where public school districts are ‘liberated’ from their tax dollars for the phenomenal return of under performing students and underpaid, non-certified teachers. The private venture capital model of return on investment and maximizing profits holds empowering students toward greater insights and performance as the least important component of their model. And until recently they have been able to convince…
The First Truly Global Empire: John Perkins’ Interview with Progressive Press
“I thinks it’s fair to say that economic hit-men have produced the world’s first truly global empire…” Such was the response of author and activist John Perkins when defining what an economic hitman is in an interview with the Progressive Press on Tuesday. Perkins, an internationally acclaimed writer and advocate for global sustainability, goes on to point out that in the modern age of economic colonialism (in which empires are established through economic force as opposed to military domination) that the modern empires are not those of governments, but corporations. Under the auspices of supporting and developing infrastructure, Perkins claims the…
World’s Most Valuable Resource: Water
Thomas Friedman touts the ‘wonders’ of globalization in his highly popular book The World is Flat, however, globalization is not producing an economically ‘flat’ world, but one that is giving prosperity to a few and misery for billions of people in terms of their physical environment and quality of life. I lived in Istanbul, Turkey for five years. It is a city whose very existence is related to its crucial location on one of the major sea lanes in the world. When I went over the Bosporus (the strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara) on a…
College, Rape, and Guns
This past Tuesday, during a Fox News Panel discussion about gun laws on college campuses, co-host Bob Beckel gave a shocking reminder that it is not only right-wingers who are out of touch with the prevalence of sexual assault in American society. When the discussion turned to the possibility of a woman defending herself in the case of rape, Beckel made a comment that made jaws drop all around the table: “When’s the last time you heard about rape on a college campus?” First, a fact check: according to the Department of Justice, about 25 percent of college women “will…
Something the NRA Doesn’t Want You to Know
Before the recent series of mass-shootings, the common wisdom in political circles was that the American people really didn’t want any new gun control laws and wouldn’t support any new efforts to enact them. The truth is, with all the other major issues our country has dealt with in recent years, gun control was certainly a low priority. While most Americans oppose an outright ban on all guns, the support for other gun control measures has been pretty steady since they started taking opinion polls in the 1930s. While not a complete list of all opinion polls conducted on the…
Death of Organized Labor: Death of Middle Class
There has been quite a bit of talk recently, about the death of organized labor. With labor on its so-called “death bed”, perhaps now would be a good time to reflect on some of the things organized labor did for Americans in the 20th century. A typical anti-union argument that people will often invoke is “unions were once useful, but they are no longer necessary.” With this argument, critics of unions are admitting that unions helped build the middle class by establishing the 40 hour work-week, the weekend, paid time off, increased wages and benefits, and increased safety in the…
Bahrain Rising Without Notice
Bahrain, a small island country near the western shores of the Persian Gulf, has been going through its own unique revolution for the past two years. Thousands of people have been demonstrating on the streets for the end of Al-Khalifa dynasty which has been ruling the country since 1783. While under the Al-Khalifa rule, the country became a territory of the United Kingdom in the late 1800s. After its independence from the British rule in 1971, it was declared a kingdom in 2002. Initial protests have begun on February 14, 2011. The main opposition group, Al-Wefaq, wants an end to…
Dear Mississippi: Give Credit Where It Is Due On 13th Amendment Ratification
Mississippi, you’ll pardon us if this does not look good to the outside world. You know, given your history. Many of you may have followed our January piece regarding Mississippi, its sordid history with the 13th Amendment and our contact with legendary State Senator Hillman Frazier. The gist of it is this: though it symbolically did so in March of 1995, the State of Mississippi – site of some of the nation’s most egregious civil rights atrocities – never officially ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery. I know, right? History nerds and enthusiasts may appreciate this…
Dirty Oil Meets its Nemesis: American People (Video)
Today, over 30,000 people (video) rallied in Washington DC, calling on President Obama to take action on climate change and reject Keystone XL pipeline. Named ‘Forward on Climate‘, the rally was planned and sponsored by Sierra Club, one of the largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organizations in the United States. Many other grassroots organizations such as Hip-Hop Caucus, 350.org, Occupy Movement and Us Uncut supported the initiative through social media and their own networks. So, what the heck is this pipeline and why are all environmental organizations and many people are up in arms about it? Keystone XL pipeline…
Death of Israeli Prisoner ‘X’ Prompts an Investigation
Israel faces a negligence investigation concerning the death of secret prisoner Ben Zygier, referred as prisoner X, a former agent of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, and a dual Australian and Israeli citizen. Zygier allegedly died in solitary confinement in a “secret prison” within Ayalon jail near Tel Aviv. The death appeared to be a suicide, despite Zygier’s detention in a cell in Unit 15, explicitly designed for suicide prevention. The cell is monitored by 24-hour surveillance and hourly inspection. Following several suicides, cells in Unit 15 were updated with improved suicide prevention measures, and Zygier is the first successful suicide…
Birgitta Jónsdóttir Interview
Birgitta Jónsdóttir describes herself as an activist ‘inside & outside the system.’ A poet, writer, artist, editor, publisher, she is also a member of the Icelandic Parliament since 2009, representing Reykjavík South Constituency district for the Citizens’ Movement party. Birgitta presides over the International Modern Media Institute. She is on the Bradley Manning advisory board and she was the chief sponsor for the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI). Birgitta was a volunteer for Wikileaks and helped release of the Collateral Murder video. In response to this release, United States Department of Justice subpoenaed Twitter, demanding all of Birgitta’s tweets from…
It’s the Infrastructure…Stupid!
Presently, all talk in Washington is focused on the latest twined crisis: the debt ceiling and sequestration. In the background of this collective hand wringing and fear mongering over this new self-imposed crisis in Congress, something bigger is looming; our crumbling infrastructure and its insufficient Federal funding. Well-maintained infrastructure is essential for the economic health of the United States. Its bridges, roads, dams, transit systems, airports, sea/river ports, water/sewer systems, and electrical grids are in grave need of repair and expansion. The problem with our highways and bridges has been known for a significant amount of time, perhaps more than…
Who is Penny Pritzker?
Obama’s possible pick for Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker, will not seem to get a whole lot of love from many in working class. By all accounts Penny Pritzker is an extremely successful businesswoman. She, along with her three cousins, owns and manages their family’s fortune, which includes Hyatt hotels, casinos and other ventures. She is also the co-founder and partial owner of a chain of luxury retirement communities, an airport parking company, a realty group and the credit-rating agency TransUnion. Although she looks perfect on paper, there are many problems could prevent her from being the next Secretary of Commerce….
Honeywell CEO Taken By Surprise By Anti-Austerity Activists
When Honeywell CEO David Cote arrived at Saint Anselm College, he had expected a warmer reception. As the host of Monday’s “Fix The Debt” campaign event, Cote, whose company has come under heavy scrutiny by corporate watchdogs and tax advocates for its use of offshore tax havens, spoke only for three minutes before activists from the “Flip The Debt” campaign interrupted him with a message of protest, before being escorted out by police. “Fix the Debt claims to seek bipartisan solutions to reduce the deficit, but Fix the Debt is nothing more than a CEO lobby whose real objective is…
AARP Response to Progressive Press Report on Older Jobless Workers
AARP’s statement in response to our feature titled “Older Jobless Workers Face Unhealthy Bias.” Dear Ms. Dilek: Thank you for contacting AARP about the nation’s fiscal crisis and deficit reduction. We appreciate feedback such as yours and have taken note of your views. It is my pleasure to respond. Congress passed legislation on January 1, 2013 to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a series of spending cuts and tax increases that would have taken effect at the end of 2012 without the adoption of some changes. AARP is pleased that the agreement included several elements that AARP strongly supports. For…
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