Braving temperatures well over 90 degrees, as many as 500 people gathered on the outer edge of the Boston Common on Saturday, across the street from the Massachusetts Statehouse, to demonstrate their solidarity with the protests currently under police attack in Turkey.
My wife and I are shopping again at the Arsenal Mall. And then waving in thanks to a Watertown Cop driving past. The new normal after lock down and neighborhood terror days. If you lived near here, you have indelible personal experiences about the meaning of ultra violence, running gun fights, sheltering in place, and manhunts.
Having skin in the game, makes me want to raise three questions. First, what did the FBI know, and when did they know it? That's the most politically explosive question, and should be answered in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Last Friday night, after news reports that one suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings had been killed and another was captured, the media became fixated on crowds of Bostonians taking to the streets to "celebrate."
Massachusetts Peace Action shares in the sadness, appreciation, restraint and solidarity shown by President Obama, Governor Patrick, faith and civic leaders, and neighbors in the face of the violence at Monday’s Boston Marathon and during the days following.
There is sadness for those killed and injured, for the families whose lives have been scarred, and for the culture of violence, here and abroad, that leads to such senseless acts.
In 2012, four-year tuition at the average public university cost more than $15,000 – not counting books, meals or housing. At the average private institution, that figure was even higher, clocking in at over $32,000. Even two-year and vocational programs ran nearly $9,000 per certificate.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and we at MassUniting.org couldn’t help but take a peek at the personal ads to see what lonely souls out there might be looking for love on this particularly romantic holiday. Imagine our surprise when we came across an ad titled “Gold Diggers Looking 4 Love.” [see image]
You may have seen their ads on TV or been accosted by a Fix the Debt canvasser on the street – they claim to be a grassroots effort promoting steps to reduce the national debt. But the truth is, Fix the Debt is just another corporate-financed DC lobbying group looking for taxpayer handouts.
Kaveri Rajaraman, who graduated from Harvard University in 2009 with a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, was arrested In Bangalore, India on Saturday, Jan 19, 2013. She was picked up for resisting the demolition by the municipal corporation of tin-sheds in a housing area for the Economically Weaker Section in Bangalore city.
What kind of society do we live in? Two disturbing trends help answer this question.
First, growing numbers of our citizens are living below the poverty level and even, alarmingly, below half the poverty level. Growing numbers receive food stamps, live in shelters, and are daily denied emergency shelter assistance.
India is currently in a state of disgust and shock over the brutal gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the capital, New Delhi, on Sunday, Dec 16th 2012. This single event has galvanized the city of Delhi and has also made people across India sit up and take notice. In a country where violence against women is endemic - even the number of cases of sexual violence that do get reported are disturbingly large - one incident triggering such a mass reaction is quite rare.
