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15 May 12 714 notes theatlantic: Yes, America, We Have Executed an Innocent Man At 11 p.m Monday, the Columbia University Human Rights Review published and posted its Spring 2012 issue — devoted entirely to a single piece of work about the life and death of two troubled and troublesome South Texas men. In explaining to their readers why an entire issue would be devoted to just one story, the editors of the Review said straightly that the “gravity of the subject matter of the Article and the possible far-reaching policy ramifications of its publication necessitated this decision.” […] The Review article is an astonishing blend of narrative journalism, legal research, and gumshoe detective work. And it ought to end all reasonable debate in this country about whether an innocent man or woman has yet been executed in America since the modern capital punishment regime was recognized by the Supreme Court in 1976. The article is also a clear and powerful retort to Justice Scalia in Kansas v. Marsh: Our capital cases don’t have nearly the procedural safeguards he wants to pretend they do. Read more. [Image: Corpus Christi Police Department]

theatlantic:

Yes, America, We Have Executed an Innocent Man

At 11 p.m Monday, the Columbia University Human Rights Review published and posted its Spring 2012 issue — devoted entirely to a single piece of work about the life and death of two troubled and troublesome South Texas men. In explaining to their readers why an entire issue would be devoted to just one story, the editors of the Review said straightly that the “gravity of the subject matter of the Article and the possible far-reaching policy ramifications of its publication necessitated this decision.” […]

The Review article is an astonishing blend of narrative journalism, legal research, and gumshoe detective work. And it ought to end all reasonable debate in this country about whether an innocent man or woman has yet been executed in America since the modern capital punishment regime was recognized by the Supreme Court in 1976. The article is also a clear and powerful retort to Justice Scalia in Kansas v. Marsh: Our capital cases don’t have nearly the procedural safeguards he wants to pretend they do.

Read more. [Image: Corpus Christi Police Department]

(via motherjones)

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capital punishment death penalty important

Origin: theatlantic

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20 April 12 76,785 notes

overonehundred:

Toby Ng - The World of 100

Have you ever asked yourself, what would the World look like as a small community of 100 people? Probably not. However, it is something to think about, as the reality would be startling - as much as you’d think so, the village would only have 7 computers, and only 1 person in the World Village would be educated at University level.

These facts are something that designer Toby Ng has thought about very carefully, and turned the results of his findings into a series of twenty infographics depicting ‘The World of 100’. Although aesthetically beautiful, with sharp lines and bold, vibrant colours, these infographics are often horrifying. 

The posters look as though they have come straight out of a children’s book; is this to mirror the naivety of those that are most likely to be looking at them on their computers?

“Look, this is the World we are living in.”

- Toby Ng

(via tasteslikefail)

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Origin: overonehundred

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25 March 12 806 notes

todaysdocument:

On March 25, 1911, fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, killing 146 employees, most of them women.

The American Experience episode about the Triangle Fire is absolutely arresting, both because of its attempt to humanize the victims and its exploration of the conditions that led to the fire and the consequences that arose from it.

For anyone who values the impact that unionization, women’s suffrage and political participation, and federal health and safety regulations have had on the past century in America—or who looks around at our current political landscape and worries what’s still to come wrt the rights of workers—this is a must-watch.

(via johnrossbowie)

triangle fire history important pbs american experience labor unions politics

Origin: todaysdocument

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18 March 12 5 notes

With the end of Reconstruction, the nature of both crime and punishment in the south changed dramatically. In state after state, and county after county, new laws targeted African Americans and effectively criminalized black life.

“It was a crime in the south for a farm worker to walk beside a railroad.”
“It was a crime in the south to speak loudly in the company of white women.”
“It was a crime to sell the products of your farm after dark.”
“In the fall, when it’s time to pick cotton, huge numbers of black people are arrested in all the cotton-growing counties. There are surges in arrests in counties in Alabama in the days before ‘coincidentally’ a labor agent from the coal mines in Birmingham is coming to town that day to pick up whichever county convicts are there.”
Slavery by Another Name challenges one of our country’s most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. The documentary recounts how in the years following the Civil War, insidious new forms of forced labor emerged in the American South, keeping hundreds of thousands of African Americans in bondage, trapping them in a brutal system that would persist until the onset of World War II.

Based on [Douglas] Blackmon’s research, Slavery by Another Name spans eight decades, from 1865 to 1945, revealing the interlocking forces in both the South and the North that enabled this “neoslavery” to begin and persist.  Using archival photographs and dramatic re-enactments filmed on location in Alabama and Georgia, it tells the forgotten stories of both victims and perpetrators of neoslavery and includes interviews with their descendants living today.

You can watch the full video here on PBS

important racism history slavery neoslavery forced labor i don't understand why blackmon argues it stopped in 1945 it didn't stop it just changed direction less cotton more wars and more than the south

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09 March 12 14,564 notes

Birth Control 101 For Idiots

bitchesguidetoetiquette:

bemusedlybespectacled:

This is hormonal birth control.

As you can see on the box, you take exactly one pill per day. To make sure it works, you need to take one pill every day at the same time, or it stops working. You take only one pill, and you keep taking them regardless of what you are doing that day.

Hormonal birth control can be used to treat a lot of different diseases, like anemia caused by excessive menstruation. It is a prescription medication that can cost around $15-50 a month. Because it is a prescription medication, it should be covered by insurance, as it treats legitimate health problems.

This is Viagra.

It, too, can treat legitimate health problems like altitude sickness and pulmonary hypertension, but it is usually prescribed for erectile dysfunction. Unlike the Pill, Viagra is taken every time you want to have sex. A lot of health insurance companies cover Viagra, so it costs about as much as your co-pay.

This is a condom.

It is not a prescription medication, and has no health benefits (besides the prevention of STIs and pregnancy). Like Viagra, you must use one before you have sex: indeed, before each sex act. They cost about a dollar per condom.

This is Sandra Fluke.

She testified before a small, Democrat-led hearing after she was cut out of the actual birth control/insurance discussion. Her testimony was about a friend of hers who, because her insurance did not cover birth control, lost an ovary due to an ovarian cyst.

This somehow translates into “I, myself, personally, am having so much sex I can’t afford birth control, and so I want the government to pay for it.”

This is wrong for multiple reasons.

  1. It was about a friend, not her. To say her testimony was about her personally is factually incorrect.
  2. Sex had nothing to do with the testimony - her friend lost an ovary because of medical condition that was left untreated. A medical condition that was completely treatable, but wasn’t, because her insurance wouldn’t cover it. To say that her testimony was about her being “a slut” or “a prostitute” is factually incorrect.
  3. Even if she was having loads of sex, she would still only have one pill a day, not one pill per sex act, so to say “I’m having so much sex I can’t afford birth control” is completely erroneous. The Pill is not Viagra or condoms. To say that she is such “a slut” that she constantly needs more pills is factually incorrect.
  4. The current political debate is not “should the government pay for birth control?” The debate is “should insurance companies, that people and their employers pay for, on their own, be required to cover birth control?” To say that Sandra Fluke wants the government to pay for her birth control is factually incorrect.
  5. Religious organizations do not want to have birth control covered by their insurance, even for employees not of their faith, even if their employees never actually use their insurance to cover birth control. By this logic, they should also not pay their employees, because they could use that money to pay for birth control out of pocket. To say that this issue is about religious freedom and not about women’s health is disingenuous, as Ms. Fluke’s testimony demonstrates.

Hopefully this makes things a little clearer.

Very helpful. Thanks, OP!

(via tasteslikefail)

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Origin: bemusedlybespectacled

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01 March 12 1,622 notes

the-third-hobbit:

a-bayani:

lemuffinmistress:

ruvy:

I think that people forget that condoms protect you from more than just pregnancy.

And there is no morning after pill for HIV.

ACTUALLY THERE IS.

It’s called post exposure prophylaxis.

http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/prophylaxis/en/

If you’ve had unprotected sex and are afraid of possibly being at risk for HIV, please go to the emergency room and ask about POST EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS.


Works for up to 48 - 72 hours after exposure to HIV.

IMPORTANT THINGS, Y’ALL

FYI

(via rubyvroom)

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Origin: ruvy

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26 January 12 657 notes
Newsflash: everyone is biased. The people who try to hide that bias are the ones you really have to worry about.

Tech blogger (and general partner at CrunchFund) MG Siegler writing on the success of Apple (it’s Q4 earnings were…explosive) and noting how investing so much time in one company has finally paid off for Apple-focused bloggers the world over. (via newsweek)

^^^ ignore the tech focus there and apply to real life. bias blindness can be more destructive to your good intentions than almost anything. 



important and not just apple y'all

Origin: newsweek

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30 November 11

Take 3 minutes to save the web. Call your Senators.

SOPA hasn’t made it to a vote yet in the House, but supporters of its sister bill, the PROTECT-IP Act, are trying to fast-track it in the Senate.

Click the link above to call your Senators to let them know you oppose this bill. (For more info, check the PROTECT-IP Act tag on my Tumblr, or visit the EFF.)

For my fellow phone-phobics, having a script handy can make this a much less daunting task. The only goal of calling an elected officials is to get them to record how many of their constituents are in support of or opposition to a particular bill or issue. They do it all day long. You don’t have to be wordy or eloquent. Just give them your name and neighborhood (to verify that you are a constituent), and say something along the lines of “I oppose the PROTECT-IP Act [because of reasons] and I urge [Senator Whoever] to oppose it as well [because of effects].” 

And remember that whoever you’ve got on the line is probably just as eager to end the call as you are :)

queue important censorship PROTECT-IP Act politics SOPA

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29 November 11 218 notes

bannockandbutter:

State of Emergency: Support the Attawapiskat First Nation through the Red Cross (since our government isn’t).

The Canadian Red Cross is mobilizing to help meet immediate needs in the community of Attawapiskat.  The Red Cross continues to work closely with public authorities and the community to identify and address urgent, short-term needs.  At the request of the community the Red Cross will also take on a donation management role to support these needs as identified.

Quick Facts:

  • The Attawapiskat First Nation is located in the sub-arctic region of James Bay, Ontario.
  • Of a population of 2,000 people living on the reserve, 128 homes are condemned because of mould and failing infrastructure.
  • 118 families are living in seriously crowded conditions.
  • Some families are living in tents (don’t forget this is the Arctic!)
  • There is a need for 268 more houses to address immediate homelessness.  
  • Access to clean water is another problem for the Attawapiskat and many other communities.
  • The soil on much of reserve is contaminated with thousands of liters of toxic benzene. Because of this, the school was closed. The kids of Attawapiskat have been waiting for 12 years in freezing portables for a new one to be built.
  • Several weeks have passed and still, the only response from the federal government has been the promise of a small emergency fund and for further negotiations. 

All of this despite the fact that adequate housing and access to clean water and sanitation are human rights enshrined in international law. We are one of the world’s richest nations - how can this be? We are occupying the streets because we say income disparity, the banking system and the corporate monopoly on our democracies are intolerable, which is true, but what is truly intolerable is the situation at Attawapiskat.  Let’s start focusing our agendas on solving immediate crises like this to draw attention to and simultaneously combat our systemic problems.   We’re the 99%, and we can’t afford to leave anyone behind. 

In the spirit of the season, if you can afford to, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross on Attawapiskat’s behalf. We need to send the message that this is not how Canadians believe First Nations people or any people deserve to live!

Financial donations may be made online at www.redcross.ca, by calling 1-800-418-1111 or through your local Canadian Red Cross office. Cheques should be made payable to the Canadian Red Cross, earmarked “Attawapiskat” and can also be mailed to the Canadian Red Cross, Ontario Zone, 5700 Cancross Court, Mississauga, ON, L5R 3E9.

Please share!

(via miraculous)

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Origin: bannockandbutter