Good morning!
The Chicago Seven trial began on this date in 1969. Some of the most prominent leaders of the 1960s youth movement were charged with inciting what was in fact a police riot during the 1968 Democratic convention. The proceedings were a zoo, and all of the defendants were charged with contempt of court at one point or another. In the end, all seven were acquitted of conspiracy. Five were convicted of crossing state lines with the intent to riot, but those convictions were later overturned on appeal.
Frenemies –> A day after it was reported that US officials had notified the Assad regime in Syria of their intent to strike Islamic State and other militants, Reuters reports that Tehran was also informed — and assured that Assad’s forces wouldn’t come under attack. ALSO: MoJo’s Jenna McLaughlin and Dana Liebelson explain why the US is bombing Khorasan (and what Khorasan is). AND: VOX has a map of the targets we’re bombing in Syria. ALSO, TOO: The Brits are recalling members of parliament for a vote authorizing strikes against IS.
Another domino falls –> After Google announced on Tuesday that it was dumping ALEC over its promotion of climate change denialism, Joe Garofoli reports for the San Francisco Chronicle that Facebook is probably going to follow suit at the end of 2014.
Manning sues –> Imprisoned Wikileaker Chelsea Manning, who was diagnosed by Army doctors with gender dysphoria in 2010, is “suing to receive hormone therapy, permission to follow female grooming standards and access to a doctor trained to deal with her condition,” according to the LAT’s James Queally.
Never enough “freedom” for corporate persons –> Citizens United is now challenging disclosure laws. Tessa Cheek reports for the Colorado Independent that Citizens United’s lawyer, Ted Olson — who argued Bush v. Gore on George Bush’s behalf — argued that the group should be able to air an ad/documentary bashing Democrats without disclosing who paid for it, or it will “unfairly privilege the press by not requiring them to disclose who funds reporting.”
No sanitized history –> Students in Colorado staged a walk-out to protest a proposal by the Jefferson County School Board’s conservative majority to screen education materials to make sure that they “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights,” and don’t promote any of that dirty hippie stuff like protesting or criticizing US policy. AP, via ABC News.
Will cities lead on climate? –> At Scientific American, David Biello writes: “As world leaders gathered at the U.N. to talk about global warming, mayors set about actually doing something about climate change.” RELATED: You can skip the filter, and read the White House’s media fact-sheet covering the details of the global warming initiatives Obama announced yesterday at the UN.
All wrong –> At Rolling Stone, Sean McElwee looks at six bedrock Republican beliefs that are contradicted by empirical research.
Elections matter –> Monday’s Flood Wall Street protest was the first Occupy-style action under Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Alex Vitale writes in the Gotham Gazette that “police took a less restrictive and more flexible and tolerant posture, reducing the use of barricades and allowing protestors to peacefully occupy lower Broadway for much of Monday.”
Margaret Thatcher’s legacy –> TAP’s Robert Kuttner argues that “the Scots got sick and tired of Thatcherite policies imposed from London” — and it was Thatcherism that came close to tearing apart the union in last week’s referendum on Scottish independence.
Equal time –> At The Breakthrough, Will Boisvert offers a critique, from the left, of Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything.
And here’s Klein on The Colbert Report last night…
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