Current Events!

Things to know about:

*The Lilly Ledbetter and Paycheck Fairness Act passed the House and is on to the Senate!

*Strangely enough, I've hardly seen anything in the news about the shooting on the BART (subway) in San Francisco. New Years morning a number of young men were pulled off the BART for reasons I've yet to see explained anywhere. 22 year old Oscar Grant who was cooperating with the police was put face down on the ground with his hands behind him and a cop's knee on his neck. Another officer then fired his gun into Oscar's back, killing him. Other BART riders caught the incident on their cellphone video cameras, many of which were confiscated. You can view the ones that weren't here http://www.ktvu.com/video/18409133/index.html
Here's one of the few widely read blogs that finally covered it ....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neal-rodriguez/bart-cop-needs-to-be-held_b_156280.html

In other depressing news, Israel continues to wage destruction on Palestine.
Here is a video of peace activist Huwaida Arraf trying to protect Palestinian adolescents who are protesting and subsequently being fired at by the Israeli Army.


In more positive news it looks like the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is going down. On the change.gov website White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is asked if the Obama administration is going to get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell policy". Gibbs replies “You don’t hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it’s yes.” It might take a while but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Sometimes it amazes me how our country is so divided on such issues. Like when I heard that Arkansas had actually passed a ballot in November that bars unmarried couples from adopting or foster parenting. Luckily the ACLU is all over that shit. And speaking of the ACLU, if you can, I really recommend renting the ACLU Freedom Files. These hour long videos explain issues by showing cases that the ACLU has fought -from immigration to voting to gay marriage and more. The episodes really helped me understand the ins and outs of these topics as well as seeing how they affected actual people.

Also in news, check out Zoe Smith, Britain's strongest girl. She's 14 and can lift more than 2/3rds of her body weight.