Israel arrested the leader of nonviolent protests in Kafr Qaddum.

The Swarthmore Hillel society has rejected the parent organization's ban on speakers that criticize Israeli policy.

This in response to Harvard Hillel's cancellation of a speech by a former Israeli parliamentarian who criticizes Israeli policy.

Haitians in a shantytown are being evicted with no help or place to go.

They moved to that shantytown after their homes were destroyed in the earthquake after which large amounts of "aid" from wealthy countries were offered but put into preparing sweatshops rather than helping homeless Haitians.

Troubling Pattern as De Blasio Taps Goldman Sachs Exec.

The fossil fuel agenda is anti-business (as well as anti-civilization and anti-your-survival).

I hope that this argument wins some support, but the fact that it even needs to be made demonstrates a fundamental flaw in our current political system: plutocracy, the political power of business.

It's due to plutocracy that the fossil fuel companies have the power to keep humanity stuck on the path to global heating disaster. Why do Republicans in Congress deny global heating and its effects? It's due to fossil fuel money.

That's not the only area in which plutocracy oppresses us. Plutocracy is why governments propose laws like SOPA. Plutocracy is why the US government proposes to let poultry producers inspect their own products. Plutocracy is why the US government doesn't label GMOs. Plutocracy is how the banksters abolished the Glass-Steagall Act and then fraudulently take many Americans' homes and get off scot-free because they are "too big to jail."

And they are planning treaties to give them increased power.

It makes sense to appeal to these illegitimate powers to see when their interests are threatened by something that threatens us too. But we must take care, when doing this, not to grant any legitimacy to their rule. We need to replace plutocracy with democracy.