All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

PEGIDA protester leaves police after reporter row

The man who prompted police to hold reporters for questioning during a far-right demonstration in Dresden no longer works for the state police. The case raised questions about far-right reach within law enforcement.

‘Utterly stupid’: Samoan PM hits out at climate change sceptics in fiery Sydney speech

Samoa’s Prime Minister urges Australia to make deeper cuts to carbon emissions to help save Pacific Island nations from the disaster of climate change.

Source: ‘Utterly stupid’: Samoan PM hits out at climate change sceptics in fiery Sydney speech

Asian-American Students Suing Harvard Over Admissions Win Justice Dept. Support – The New York Times – Friends of your enemies not good for your cause – Justice Department only interested in doing away with reasonable methods to overcome 300 years of discrimination!

The agency has filed a so-called statement of interest in their case, saying that Harvard “has failed to show that it does not unlawfully discriminate.”

Hilary Swank on grit, love, trans rights – and her three-year screen break

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As she returns to acting, the double Oscar-winner talks about her love of ‘people who persevere’, the legacy of her role in Boys Don’t Cry, and why she grew up feeling like an outsider

Hilary Swank has already raced through a full day’s schedule before the LA restaurant where we meet has had time to switch its menu from breakfast to lunch. She has taken her father to a doctor’s appointment, held a conference call for her new clothing line, Mission Statement, and run to a meeting about one of the three TV shows she is currently producing, along with three films. “Constant everything!” she grins, looking casual and efficient in a sundress. She has arrived just in time to order a piece of salmon – to go. The two-time Oscar winner still has a lot left to accomplish.

Swank, 44, has been having a busy summer. If you haven’t seen her for a while, that is due to her making a necessary choice. Just before Christmas 2014, her father Stephen, a former chief master sergeant in the Oregon air national guard, underwent a life-saving lung transplant. For three years, Swank was his sole live-in carer, which meant saying no to Hollywood – or, as she phrases it: “I was saying yes to something else that I wanted to be a part of.”

Continue reading…

Oklahoma voters ousted six more state representatives who opposed a tax hike to increase teacher salaries

Oklahoma voters ousted six more state representatives who opposed a tax hike to increase teacher salaries:

feelingbluepolitics:

“During Oklahoma’s runoff primary elections on Tuesday night, six more state representatives lost their bid for re-election as Republican voters continue to oust lawmakers who opposed a tax hike to fund teacher pay raises.

…”Back in June’s primaries, the Oklahoma House of Representatives saw five lawmakers sent packing after being voted out of office by conservative constituents. Those representatives had also been opponents of the tax hike on fuel, cigarettes and energy production that was used to pay for teacher salary increases.

…”The tax rise resulted in an average teacher pay raise of just over $6,000 annually and is the first salary increase for Oklahoma teachers in a decade. Even after more than a dozen Republican representatives challenged the bill, it was eventually passed by the state’s Senate in late March.

…”But before the legislation was passed, 19 House Republicans voted against it. Now, after the latest round of elections, eight of those lawmakers have been defeated, the Associated Press reported. Seven others involved in the controversy decided not to run for re-election at all. Only four of the representatives have managed to advance to the general election this November.”

That’ll teach ‘em.