The News

War on Immigration; Police brutality at G8; Free college

Immigration — Bush’s domestic Iraq. 10 reasons…
The Iraq Project was going to begin the transformation of the Middle East, an area that had frustrated president after president. Similarly, “comprehensive” immigration reform would, as the name suggests, resolve in one bold bill the centuries-old immigration issue — “solve this problem once and for all,” as Bush said last week. —LATimes

MIT prof. resigns to protest colleague’s tenure denial. The battle is lost.
A prominent Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor has resigned to protest the university’s treatment of a colleague who claims he was denied tenure because he is black, school officials said. —AP

Riots break out at German rally. Bring it on.
Protesters have clashed with police at a largely peaceful anti-globalisation rally in the German city of Rostock. They are protesting against next week’s G8 summit of leading industrial nations in Heiligendamm, 25km (16 miles) away.

Racial oppression is a one-way street. Good point; evidence debatable.
Truth is, media ignore horrific crimes all the time. Space is limited and growing more so. Which means the story that catches fire usually has some element beyond gruesomeness to sell it. In the Duke case, it was class, privilege, sex and race that did it. —Baltimore Sun

Linda Chavez: The immigration debate is really about fear of ‘the other’. Call em out.
Stripped bare, this is what the current debate on immigration reform is all about. Fear of “the other” – of those who look or sound different, who come from poor countries with unfamiliar customs – has been at the heart of every immigration debate this country has ever had, from the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to the floor of the U.S. Senate late last month. —Dallas Morning News

Surge in Adoptions Raises Concern in Ethiopia. Since we’re talking about it…
Of concern is the ability of agencies to handle the rising demand, which may have contributed to a recent mix-up involving two families sent home with the wrong children by Christian World Adoption, an established agency, although relatively new to Ethiopia. —NYTimes

Massachusetts Governor Proposes Free Community Colleges. The man to watch.
Community colleges in Massachusetts would be free to all students within 10 years under a proposal by Gov. Deval Patrick. The plan would make Massachusetts the only state with no-cost community college. California’s system was free until 1984. —NYTimes

Posted at 7:57 AM, Jun 04, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments