Wednesday, July 10th, 2019
Stephan: I never thought I would live to see the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights describing the United States as a country that maintains child concentration camps. Nor did I ever think a large percentage of Americans would be okay with that, and support the man who created this moral monstrosity.
Michelle Bachelet, United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
Credit: Luiz Rampelotto/Nur/ Getty
The UN high commissioner for human rights condemned the US for the poor conditions in migrant detention centers on Monday, saying she was “appalled” and “deeply shocked” by reports from detention facilities.
In a statement released on Monday, Michelle Bachelet said that detention should be the last resort, and should be used for the shortest period of time in conditions that meet international human rights standards, she said.
“In most of these cases, the migrants and refugees have embarked on perilous journeys with their children in search of protection and dignity and away from violence and hunger,” she said. “When they finally believe they have arrived in safety, they may find themselves separated from their loved ones and locked in undignified conditions. This should never happen anywhere.”
Bachelet especially criticized the US for detaining children, which “may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment that is prohibited by international law.” Detaining children could have serious impacts on their development, which is […]
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Wednesday, July 10th, 2019
David J. Harding, Professor of Sociology and Faculty Director of the Social Sciences D-Lab at UC Berkeley - Scientific American
Stephan: The American Gulag ought to be one of the country's great shames and embarrassments. We have 4.4% of the world's population and 22% of the world's prisoners. Even worse the system is being increasingly privatized, and with that privatization The New American Slavery has been created. And that's not even getting into the child concentration camps where we keep children under conditions that would not be acceptable for a kennel keeping dogs.
But let's ask the fundamental question that no one ever seems to ask, certainly no one in a policy making position: Does this whole multibillion dollar human warehousing industry actually make society safer? You may be surprised at the answer, an answer based on actual facts not political bloviation.
An American prison
Credit: Geoff Livingston Getty
One person is sentenced to state or federal prison every 90 seconds in the United States, amounting to almost 420,000 per year. The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We incarcerate for multiple reasons, including justice and punishment, but one of the main justifications is public safety. Putting individuals convicted of crimes, especially violent crimes, in prison is thought to make the rest of us safer.
But how much safety does all this imprisonment actually buy us? A study I recently published with colleagues shows the answer is very little, especially in the long-term.
There are good reasons to think prisons might prevent crime. The experience of imprisonment could deter someone from committing crimes to avoid prison in the future. Prison might provide opportunities for rehabilitation, such as drug and alcohol treatment, education, or counseling. And, at the very least, someone who is in prison cannot commit a crime in the community, an effect criminologists call “incapacitation.”
Yet there are also […]
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Wednesday, July 10th, 2019
Hannah Knowles, Reporter - Washington Post - Boston.com
Stephan: Here is what may be some wonderful news. Across the world over 35 million people have died as a result of HIV/AIDS, now an end may be in sight.
Credit: iStock
Researchers say they have removed HIV from the DNA of mice, an achievement the scientists say could be an early step toward an elusive cure for humans.
The breakthrough, detailed earlier this week in a study credited to more than 30 scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, was made possible by an antiviral drug in combination with the tool called CRISPR that can edit genes. The researchers eliminated HIV in nine of 23 mice that were modified so their immune systems better mimicked those of humans.
Clinical trials for the gene-editing component of the cure could start as early as next year if the Food and Drug Administration approves them, said Kamel Khalili, one of the study’s senior investigators. But he and other HIV experts emphasized that there is a big scientific leap from promising results in mice to success in humans.
“We knew what we needed to do, but the technology was unavailable,” Khalili told The Washington Post, saying he and […]
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Wednesday, July 10th, 2019
Luke Ramseth, - Clarion Ledger
Stephan: Almost ten years ago I predicted that one of the major impacts of climate change would be what would become a trillion dollar collapse of real estate values along the nation's coasts. Here is yet another confirmation of that prediction.
If you live on a low lying coast do your homework.
Mississippi River basin flooding
Credit: Temblor.net
Sea-level rise is already hurting home prices in certain communities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a new analysis finds, erasing some $264 million in value since 2005.
Scientists from First Street Foundation and Columbia University on Monday revealed Bay St. Louis has seen the greatest property value decline of any community along the Coast, totaling about $95 million. Homes in affected areas of the city would be worth 49 percent more if not for the risk of tidal flooding. Values in Pass Christian and the unincorporated community of Kiln also took big hits.
“Homes that are experiencing tidal flooding are selling for a little lower than homes that are not, and that discount is growing over time,” said Steven McAlpine, head of data science at First Street Foundation, based in New York City.
Homeowners often are unaware of the threat flooding poses to their home’s value, said Matthew Eby, executive director of the foundation. The organization conducts user testing after it generates […]
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Robert Reich, Former US Secretary of Labor, is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: This is not about Republicans and Democrats in the traditional sense; we're in another place now as a society. We have a choice between neo-feudalistic christofascism and fostering wellbeing. Here is Robert Reich's take on it, and I think he is right.
Donald Trump makes two fists while making a public appearance. Credit: Craig J Orosz/AP
I keep hearing that the Democratic party has moved “left” and that Democratic candidates may be “too far left”.
But in an era of unprecedented concentration of wealth and political power at the top, I can’t help wondering what it means to be “left”.
A half-century ago, when America had a large and growing middle class, those on the “left” sought stronger social safety nets and more public investment in schools, roads and research. Those on the “right” sought greater reliance on the free market.
But as wealth and power have concentrated at the top, everyone else – whether on the old right or the old left – has become disempowered and less secure.
Safety nets have unraveled, public investments have waned and the free market has been taken over by crony capitalism and corporate welfare cheats. Washington and state capitals are overwhelmed by money coming from the super rich, Wall Street and big corporations.
Divide-and-conquer makes the rest of us […]
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