The Park Center for Independent Media (PCIM) has announced this year’s Izzy Award “for outstanding achievement in independent media.” Laura Flanders provided progressive and internationalist perspectives to American audiences; Dave Lindorff uncovered the opaqueness of Pentagon accounts and bloated military budgets; and Aaron Maté exposed the hollowness and hyperbole of the so-called Russiagate scandal. The presentation of the Izzy Awards will take place on Monday, April 15, at 7 p.m. in Emerson Suites. The event is free and open to the public.
The tale of Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange has been playing out in many different ways over the past couple of years. After releasing classified government documents to the public and hiding out in the Ecuadorian embassy his recent arrest has had interesting implications for journalists across the world, as the Nationreports on what he has been officially charged with.
 As relatively stable as many western countries seem to be, that stability is not as guaranteed in less prosperous parts of the world, especially in many African countries. One in particular, Sudan, has seen recent protests and unrest lead to regime change as the president of the country was arrested and the military to now lead the country. As the Middle East Eye reports, this has led the protesters to direct their anger towards the military coup instead. |
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The ever-growing rift in American politics show how unwilling those on the left and right are to agree to anything. This puts pressure on everyone within both parties to show unity and strength in order to hide any weakness the other side could exploit. This can be difficult for Democrats when what those who are more progressive clash against the more traditional Democrats. This is where the Intercept shows how one of the top Democratic staffers on capital hill has been disagreeing with many of the more divisive policies progressives have been proposing.
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The tendency for labels to be placed on countries not friendly to the United States and adopted by the mainstream media is tactic used all to often. Just as the term ‘racist’ and ‘nazi’ are used with a little too much frequency for the terms to retain meaning, the term dictator isn’t used when it may be appropriate. As FAIR reports, the term is thrown out to a handful of countries disliked by the US, but not when the title might be necessary to describe less aggressive countries.
The evolving saga of Russiagate is one that continues to hold mysteries towards what Mueller has actually found in his 22-month investigation. As attorney general William Barr did provide the actual report, and instead a summary, it is difficult to know exactly what conclusions the report came to. This is the point made at truthdig, where they do not think Barr is being completely honest, but that it’s impossible to know until the public gets the full report.
The recent election in Israel seems to show a victory for Netanyahu and his Likud party in the countries Knesset, which will allow the country’s current prime minister to continue his time ruling the country. This, as Democracy Now! reports, is in spite of the corruption scandal Netanyahu faces and his announcement to annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which may have a continued negative affect on those non-Israeli’s living there.
There are many points of contention in American society, with everyone thinking their way is the right way, everyone else doesn’t know what they’re talking about, and whatever direction we do take is the wrong one. This kind of mentality is not the most useful for fixing our society, but it can help serve as a sort of wake up call, as Counterpunch attempts to soliloquize on how fractured American society has become. |
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The debate over immigration seems to be a never ending discussion based on whatever Trump decides is the most important issue the news should cover, and that is where everyone ends up going. This time around it’s where the government will go next now that the DHS secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, has resigned and the Real News Network discusses with Amnesty International on what Trump is legally allowed to do.
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The hegemonic dominance the US has enjoyed for the past century across much of the world has led to some natural side effects. English has become an international language, while the dollar has become the worlds staple currency. However with the rise of China, this American dominance may be shifting. With China increasing in power, as the National Interest reports, the ideas promoted in that county may start to spread, to the detriment of the foundations of democracies we have come to expect.
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Every time a story comes out on something Facebook has done wrong, whether it’s sharing its users personal information or failing to keep fake news in check, the website scrambles to correct its mistake and in the process has a habit of thinking they’re doing what they’re users want without actually asking them. This is a big problem the Ghion Journal sees with recent moves by Facebook that may clamp down on efforts by organizers to start any kind of grassroots movement.
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The HEADLINES:
1. Former Obama White House counsel indicted in relation to work with Paul Manafort (The Independent)
2. Trump’s Immigration Policies Unify White Republicans (The Atlantic)
3. David Bernhardt Confirmed As Interior Department Chief (HuffPost)
4. Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft crashes on Moon (BBC)
5. UK stands down 6,000 no-deal Brexit staff – after spending £1.5bn (The Guardian) |
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