When Mack Beggs won the Texas high school state wrestling championship in March, an uproar ensued. Neither side of the argument was happy with the outcome. The high school junior was born a girl, but is in the process of transitioning to become a boy. However, outdated rules by the University Interscholastic League (the governing…
Month: March 2019
The Man Who Taught Canada To Love Basketball
When the Toronto Raptors joined the NBA in 1995, fans in the Great White North were resistant, particularly without any superstar players. That all changed when the team traded for Vince Carter during the 1998 NBA draft, when Carter was selected #5 overall by the Raptors. Canada broke out with “Vinsanity” and dubbed their new superstar “Air…
Isidro Baldenegro assassinated in Mexico: another case of lethal collision between environmental activism and organized crime
Indigenous environmental activist Isidro Baldenegro López. 2005 Goldman Prize ceremony. All rights reserved. Isidro Baldenegro López was shot dead on January 15 in the Coloradas de la Virgen community in the Guadalupe and Calvo municipality of Chihuahua state. The murder quickly drew attention to collusion between drug trafficking cartels and the illegal timber industry, which López…
This District Is So Broke, It’s Closing Almost 200 Schools
Move over, Chicago—there’s a new holder of the dubious record for the largest mass school closure in United States history. Ok, ok, since Puerto Rico’s statehood efforts failed and it’s still only a U.S. territory, technically Chicago’s shuttering of nearly 50 campuses at once in 2013 is still the biggest. But the decision to close…
Letters from Raqqa, 2014-16
Raqqa, Syria. Militant Website, File AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved. Introduction Ten “letters from Raqqa” have been published in openDemocracy covering a period of a little over two years, the most recent one being on 8 December 2016. They are part of my regular series of weekly articles which have been published since September…
Why One Educator Tells Bullies And Their Victims To Take It Outside—Way Outside
I learned to teach in a nontraditional classroom. It rarely has a roof or walls, and my students are not always younger than me. My only direct lessons involve tying climbing knots or how to keep people safe in trust-based activities. I observe more than I lecture. Over the course of a day, if I…
In Ukraine, not only heroes deserve justice
Ruslan Kotsaba talks to journalists in June 2015. Image still via YouTube.Last Thursday, Ruslan Kotsaba addressed journalists in a west Ukrainian courthouse, tears running down his face. “This is a sign that that madhouse, that chaos that’s happening the east, will soon come to an end.” Little over a month after the first wave of…
Where You Live Could Determine When You Die
Everyone knows you’re more likely to live a long, healthy life in a wealthy Japanese suburb rather than, let’s say, on the radioactive border of Chernobyl. Average life spans can vary drastically across the world, but many don’t realize stark disparities exist within the United States itself. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine on…
The Viral Video Of A Little Girl Insulting Trump Isn't What You Think It Is
By now, you’ve probably seen it floating around the Twittersphere. A little girl tells Donald Trump, “You’re a disgrace to this world,” while he attempts to stand next to her for a photo op at a protest. But, if you take a closer look, you’ll notice a few things wrong with this otherwise hilarious clip….
Why Donald Trump could be president
Donald Trump interviewed in his office at Trump Tower, May 10, 2016, New York. Mary Altaffer / Press Association. All rights reserved.It has become commonplace to think that Donald Trump cannot become president of the United States. The vulgarity of his style, the obvious ignorance of some of his ideas, the lies scattered without retraction…