Wolverine World Wide is the site of a Crime Scene: Environmental contamination, disposable workers and influence peddling

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Environmental contamination from corporate plants and factories are referred to as “externalities” by economists. Essentially, what they mean is that this is a real consequence and a real cost, but it is external to what corporations do. In fact, corporations most often do not factor in the cost or the need to be responsible for waste or contamination.

Look at the case of Wolverine World Wide. For decades they knew about the contamination of ground water from their tannery and the chemicals used in the process, but have never really been held accountable for the environmental disaster they have caused.

WOOD TV 8 did an investigative story recently and found that there was a complaint about contamination from Wolverine as early as 1959. MLive reporter Garret Ellison has produced several good stories in recent weeks that makes it clear that the company has knowingly been engaged in environmental contamination for…

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Destroy Your Anxiety

 

New post on The Catalysts for Change

Destroy Your Anxiety by thecatalystsforchange Reblogged from Discovering Your Happiness: After sharing my anxiety post with you all, I have been more open w/ sharing my coping strategies w/ anxiety. Below are 51 ways to battle that anxiety. Try Magnesium Citrate. It’s been shown to reduce anxiety in some people. Eat a Banana everyday (they contain magnesium and GABA). Carry a small notebook, when anxiety arises, write down how you feel. Read more… 665 more words thecatalystsforchange | October 23, 2017 at 6:09 PM | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p7jKej-UK

 

Source: Destroy Your Anxiety

How to Fight the Anti-Hunger Industrial Complex: An Interview with author Andy Fisher

Fascinating interview by Jeff Smith with researcher and author Andy Fisher who makes the claim that “…the way we address hunger in the US is ineffective and has generated collateral damage to the dignity and health of the poor.

At the heart of this ineffectiveness are the relationships between corporate America and anti-hunger groups. These relationships have been instrumental to solving hunger today, but sell us short in solving hunger for tomorrow, or at a systemic level.

This a time of great change in the anti-hunger community, of groups working toward new goals in different ways. This change needs to be accelerated and institutionalized.

The path forward for the anti-hunger community lies in a new vision grounded in principles of economic justice, health and local economies.

There is a great potential for connecting the anti-hunger community to public health, labor and other sectors to build a much stronger force for progressive politics.”

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

This interview was conducted online with Andy Fisher, author of the recent book, Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups. We have been thinking about some of the analysis from his book over the years, especially as it relates to food justice.

In recent months we have written articles that have offered a critique of both Feeding American West Michigan and the group Kids Food Basket, which are fairly consistent with the analysis that Fisher provides in his book.

On Tuesday, October 25, there is a public lecture by Any Fisher at the Diocese of Grand Rapids 360 S. Division Ave from 7 – 8:30pm. You can find more details at this link. 

GRIID – What would you say are the main points you make in your book, Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups?

Andy –  The way…

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Domestic Violence Day 21: Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault or Rape

Reblogged from The Abuse Expose’ with Secret Angel:

According to RAINN, drug facilitated assault or rape is when drugs or alcohol are used to compromise an individual’s ability to consent to sexual activity. These drugs and alcohol are often used to minimize the resistance and memory of the victim of a sexual assault.

Read more… 1,011 more words

Source: Domestic Violence Day 21: Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault or Rape

7 Ways Title IX Protects College Students

By: Emily Zak | October 7, 2017 | About Emily | Follow Emily at @EmilyEZak

For 45 years, Title IX has helped protect students from gender discrimination but recently the Trump Administration has been tweaking guidelines for the influential civil rights law.

First, Betsy DeVos’ Education Department withdrew protections for transgender students. Now, sexual assault survivors have to work harder to prove their assault happened.

Despite these changes, Title IX still benefits students. Here are a few groups the legislation helps.

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The Catalysts for Change

By: Emily Zak | October 7, 2017 | About Emily | Follow Emily at @EmilyEZak

For 45 years, Title IX has helped protect students from gender discrimination but recently the Trump Administration has been tweaking guidelines for the influential civil rights law.

First, Betsy DeVos’ Education Department withdrew protections for transgender students. Now, sexual assault survivors have to work harder to prove their assault happened.

Despite these changes, Title IX still benefits students. Here are a few groups the legislation helps.

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Gauntlet of Shame greeted Acton Institute event attendees and Betsy DeVos supporters in Grand Rapids last night

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

As we reported on last month, Betsy DeVos was the keynote speaker at the Acton Institute’s 27th annual gala event, held at the DeVos Convention last night. 

The protest outside was designed to make it uncomfortable for those attending the event, which were largely members of the capitalist class. The Acton Institute set up valet parking right along Monroe St. in front of the Convention Center, but some people chose to park in the ramp across the street under the city/county building. Either way, people who were attending the Acton Institute event had to pass through a gauntlet of protestors who greeted them with whistles, signs and chants of “Shame” as they entered the building.

The idea behind the Gauntlet of Shame was to communicate clearly to the Capitalist Class that what they do and what they support causes actual harm to people, especially to those most marginalized. We…

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#MeToo: Women Speak Up on Sexual Harassment

Source: #MeToo: Women Speak Up on Sexual Harassment

NEPC’s October Education Interview of the Month Podcast Features an Eye-Opening View of the Teaching Profession

Key Takeaway: NEPC Education Interview of the Month is a great teaching resource; engaging drive-time listening; and 30 minutes of high-quality policy information for educators, community members, policymakers, and anyone interested in education.

 

BOULDER, CO (October 17, 2017) – In this month’s NEPC Education Interview of the Month, Lewis and Clark College Emeritus Professor of Education Gregory A. Smith talks with Michigan State University Professor Alyssa Hadley Dunn, the author of a series of articles about teachers’ viral resignation letters, including Activism through attrition?: An exploration of viral resignation letters and the teachers who wrote them, Leaving a Profession After It’s Left You: Teachers’ Public Resignation Letters as Resistance Amidst Neoliberalism, and With regret: The genre of teachers’ public resignation letters.

Join Smith and Dunn for an engaging conversation about what can be learned about working conditions in contemporary U.S. schools from teachers’ resignation letters.

In their studies of the letters, Professor Dunn and her colleagues found that no matter what state teachers were from or how long they had been in the profession, all were experiencing the current neoliberal policy context in much the same way. “They felt like learning had been reduced to teaching to the test, learning opportunities had been curtailed, and that their own voices as teachers were being continually silenced,” Dunn noted. They also experienced frustration in constantly dealing with top-down mandates and increasing bureaucracy at the same time as they saw their salaries and benefits stagnating or even decreasing. “We found that overall, the letters paint a very stark reality of teaching in public schools today.”

A new NEPC Education Interview of the Month, hosted by Gregory A. Smith, will be released each month from September through May.

Don’t worry if you miss a month. All NEPC Education Interview of the Month podcasts are archived on the NEPC website and can be found here.

Coming Next Month

In November, Greg’s guest will be Ken Zeichner of the University of Washington. Greg and Ken will explore the creation of independent teacher education programs and their implications for public schools.

Stay tuned in to NEPC for smart, engaging conversations about education policy.

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu

Source: NEPC’s October Education Interview of the Month Podcast Features an Eye-Opening View of the Teaching Profession | National Education Policy Center

Climate change costing billions in extra road repairs

American road engineers are using temperature models that do not consider the warming climate, costing the country billions in early repairs, a new study finds.

Source: Climate change costing billions in extra road repairs – Journalist’s Resource

Why education reform keeps failing students | PBS NewsHour

Education reform has been on the national political agenda for decades, but has significant progress ever been made? In his new book, “Addicted to Reform,” former NewsHour education correspondent John Merrow chronicles the many attempts. Merrow sits down with Jeffrey Brown to discuss his findings and his prescriptions for rescuing public education.

Source: Why education reform keeps failing students | PBS NewsHour