Leftnews.org | News and Views from the Left

by Editors — last modified 2017-07-05T10:43:19-04:00

Contributors: Faiz Ahmed, JBB, Graham H. Cox, R. Dubois, JA Cox

The best of the political left-wing from around the web.

Washington Monthly | The Looming Decline of the Public Research University

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Oct 20, 2017 08:52 AM

But university research is in trouble, and so is an economy more dependent on it than many people understand. Federal funding for basic research—more than half of it conducted on university campuses like this one—has effectively declined since 2008, failing to keep pace with inflation. This is before we take into account Trump administration proposals to slash the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) budgets by billions of dollars more.

University of Chicago votes to unionize: GSU Celebrates Win, Admin Says Legal Fight Continues

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Oct 20, 2017 06:19 AM

University of Chicago graduate students have voted to unionize by an overwhelming margin, a result that validates Graduate Students United (GSU)’s years of organizing and deals a major blow to the administration’s anti-unionization efforts.

For Indigenous nations to live, colonial mentalities must die

— by JBB — last modified Oct 19, 2017 08:45 PM

by Taiaiake Alfred | Policy Options | The Indian Act and the system that supports it are part of a mentality that sees “Indian” people as a problem to be solved. This is what must change.

When moving past the Indian Act means something worse

— by JBB — last modified Oct 19, 2017 08:27 PM

by Russell Diabo | Policy Options | The history of constitutional talks and federal policy tells us that even when Canada talks about eliminating the Indian Act, Indigenous rights are at risk.

Iraq seizes Kirkuk from Kurds

— by JBB — last modified Oct 19, 2017 08:05 PM

... leaving two US allies locked in conflict and bringing end to move for independence | Century-old movement for Kurdish independence suffers a calamitous defeat as military reaction to referendum leads to fall of city | Patrick Cockburn | The Independent (via Znet)

Why Trump Has Gone Nuclear on Iran

— by JBB — last modified Oct 19, 2017 07:56 PM

by Pepe Escobar | CounterPunch

Decertifying the Iran Deal: Trump’s Most Reckless Move?

— by JBB — last modified Oct 19, 2017 07:54 PM

by Phyllis Bennis | CountePunch

Statement Regarding OPSEU Strike | Canadian Federation of Students

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Oct 17, 2017 03:51 PM

"The Canadian Federation of Students offers its full support for more than 12,000 Ontario public college faculty who are striking for fairness. Today, members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) are on the picket line calling for equal pay, academic freedom, collegial governance, and more mental health resources."

Malta car bomb kills Panama Papers journalist | World news | The Guardian

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Oct 17, 2017 08:35 AM

"Daphne Caruana Galizia died on Monday afternoon when her car, a Peugeot 108, was destroyed by a powerful explosive device which blew the vehicle into several pieces and threw the debris into a nearby field."

Madrid, Catalonia clash over jailed pro-independence leaders as protests called | Reuters

— by Graham H. Cox — last modified Oct 17, 2017 08:21 AM

"Authorities in Madrid and Barcelona locked horns over whether two jailed Catalan pro-independence leaders were political prisoners, as their detention looked set to reignite secessionist protests. "

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