Harvard students condemn center’s defense of fellow’s racist statements
Electronic Intifada - 12 Mar 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWe students at Harvard University are disturbed by the racist and inhumane comments of Martin Kramer, Visiting Scholar at the National Security Studies Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. We have become even more alarmed that rather than taking a dissociating or even strictly neutral stance against such extremist and hateful statements, the Weatherhead Center issued a defensive response.

Study: Median Wealth for Single Black Women: $100, Single Hispanic Women: $120, Single White Women: $41,000
Democracy Now - 12 Mar 2010
The Insight Center for Community Economic Development released a report on the gender wealth gap to mark International Women’s Day. The report found nearly half of all single black and Hispanic women have zero or negative wealth, meaning their debts exceed all of their assets. The median wealth for single black women is only $100; for single Hispanic women, $120. This compares to just over $41,000 for single white women. We speak with the chief author of the report, Mariko Lin Chang and C. Nicole Mason, Executive Director of the Women of Color Policy Network. [includes rush transcript]

Part II: Michelle Alexander on ?The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness?
Democracy Now - 12 Mar 2010
Part II of our interview with legal scholar, civil rights advocate and author Michelle Alexander. Her book is The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Alexander argues that although Jim Crow laws have been eliminated, the racial caste system it set up was not eradicated. It?s simply been redesigned, and now racial control functions through the criminal justice system.

Judge Instructs Fed Agencies to Resume ACORN Funding
Democracy Now - 12 Mar 2010
A federal judge has reaffirmed her earlier ruling blocking the congressional effort to de-fund the anti-poverty group ACORN. On Wednesday, Judge Nina Gershon cemented a decision from last year that such action amounted to an unconstitutional ?bill of attainder.? Judge Gershon has asked all federal agencies to allow ACORN funding without delay. We speak with National Housing Institute president John Atlas, author of Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial Anti-Poverty Community Group.

Headlines for March 12, 2010
Democracy Now - 12 Mar 2010
Ground Zero Workers, NYC Reach Settlement on Toxic Exposure, 39 Killed in Pakistan Bombings, Israel Imposes West Bank Closure Hours After Biden Departure, British Journalist Freed in Gaza, UN: Millions Face Starvation in Yemen, Scores Killed in Somalia Clashes, Greeks Hold National Strike Against Austerity Program, Aftershock Hits Chile as New President Sworn In, Ex-Wife Criticizes Nelson Mandela for Deal Ending Apartheid, Reid Informs GOP of Healthcare Reconciliation Plans, House Dems Shun Anti-Abortion Provisions, Dodd to Unveil Regulatory Overhaul Without GOP, Obama Unveils Trade, Export Plan, Senate Panel OKs Weakened Drug Sentencing Proposal, Second NOLA Officer Pleads Guilty in Bridge Shooting Cover-up, Mississippi School Cancels Prom over Lesbian Student

Interview: Education and resistance at the Ann Arbor Palestine film fest
Electronic Intifada - 12 Mar 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe second annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival opened on Wednesday, 10 March with the feature film Pomegranates and Myrrh. Such festivals are a growing phenomenon with new ones popping up throughout the United States. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jimmy Johnson spoke with festival organizers Hena Ashraf, Ryah Aqel, Lauren Thams and Pomegranates and Myrhh director Najwa Najjar.

Flouting its own laws, EU accommodates “Made in Israel”
Electronic Intifada - 12 Mar 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn 2008 Britain expressed concern about how goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank may be benefiting illegally from European Union trade preferences that theoretically only apply to businesses within Israel’s internationally-recognized borders. However, EU officials have not only failed to defend international law, they have accommodated Israel’s abuse of it. David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.

Sending a laptop to Gaza
Electronic Intifada - 12 Mar 2010
rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rI sat outdoors at a cafe on the Mediterranean Sea in al-Arish, a dusty seaside town in Egypt’s northern Sinai. I drank a tea and smoked a water pipe; it gave me something to do while I waited for Ismail—that’s not his real name—an Egyptian Bedouin tunnel smuggler who was going to deliver a package for me into Gaza. Ahmed Moor writes from al-Arish.

Action against cuts in Nottingham
Indymedia UK - 12 Mar 2010
On March 8th, Nottingham City Council met to approve the 2010/11 budget. Like many council budgets this included a series of cuts to services, in this case amounting to 18.8 million. Nottingham City Unison called a lunchtime protest outside the Council House to show their opposition. Disabled campaigners blocked the tram to express their anger at the proposals.Council plans to close Victoria Leisure Centre, which were brought forward to save money, have also faced opposition and their is growing dissent about plans to close libraries in Wilford and Beechdale.Unison’s protest coincides with the first day of a foty-eight hour national strike by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) over attacks on their redundancy scheme. In Nottingham strikers marched from Castle Meadow to the International Community Centre (ICC) for a rally.On the newswire: Protest against cuts at city council | PCS strike March 8/9Previous features: Protests against county council cuts | Nottingham City Council workers protest job cuts | Campaign to save Victoria Baths takes fight to the council | Credit Crunch Hits NottinghamLinks: Unison Nottingham City Branch

Israel?s Lobby Imposes Crippling Sanctions on America ? Again
Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) - 12 Mar 2010
Summary: Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and there?s no evidence that it is anywhere near producing nuclear weapons. Non-signatory Israel, with its vast secret arsenal of nuclear weapons ? likely built with uranium stolen (but never paid for) from the United States ? suddenly demands rule of law from America. Laws drafted by AIPAC. source: AntiWar.comread more