This is one thing that worries me. We haven't made [much] [official] space for critique yet, at the same time more of our life moves online.
Islamic State jihadists are using water as a weapon in Iraq →
An instance of "water wars"? (or at least "water subjugation"?)
The Islamic State militants who have rampaged across northern Iraq are increasingly using water as a weapon, cutting off supplies to villages that resist their rule and pressing to expand their control over the country’s water infrastructure.
California water officials aren’t following own call for conservation →
Mike Soubirous is a prodigious water user, pumping more than 1 million gallons per year at his lushly landscaped home on a hot, windy Southern California hilltop.
Soubirous also is a member of the Riverside City Council, which in July voted unanimously to impose tough new water conservation rules in this desert city of 317,000.
Some Americans Boosted Charitable Giving In Recession; The Rich Did Not →
Not surprising; we see this elsewhere every day: e.g., the poor tip better than the rich. They know better what life is like for each other, and, as a species, we empathize with those we perceive as similar.
Government Set Up A Fake Facebook Page In This Woman’s Name →
Uh...
A DEA agent commandeered a woman’s identity, created a phony Facebook account in her name, and posted racy photos he found on her seized cell phone. The government said he had the right to do that. Update: Facebook has removed the page and the Justice Department said it is reviewing the incident.
Identity theft perpetrated by our government. Can she sue? I hope so.
Trouble at the Koolaid Point →
Just insane the amount of crap women have to deal with as soon as they reach a critical mass of an audience, let alone also speak out about the abuse.
Feminism isn't hard to understand:
And as Aziz says, standing up is important. But at the very least, take women's claims of abuse seriously:
The Next Assault on Civil Rights →
An important case to watch:
Last Thursday the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project. The case concerns the “disparate impact” rule, a legal guideline embedded in the 1968 Fair Housing Act that says discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional to be discrimination. This rule has been at the bedrock of fair-housing enforcement for more than four decades.
In the U.S., a Turning Point in the Flow of Oil →
The 400,000 barrels the tanker carried represented the first unrestricted export of American oil to a country outside of North America in nearly four decades. The Obama administration insisted there was no change in energy trade policy, perhaps concerned about the reaction from environmentalists and liberal members of Congress with midterm elections coming.