Here’s What Happens To Aid Projects When The Money Dries Up And The Spotlight Fades

By Denis Dragovic/The Conversation

As a former aid worker, I often wondered about what happened to the projects I worked on years later. Did the anti-corruption commission we founded itself become corrupt? Having given grants to women to start businesses, did the men allow them to work? And what about the community trained in maintaining the water pumps – did they see through their part of the bargain?
Evaluations, lauded by donors, report on a moment of time when the gloss is still shining. We don’t care, or possibly dare, to look back five or 10 years later to see what happened.
I did. I wanted to know what happened to the projects and the people from a decade of aid work spanning East Timor, Iraq and South Sudan. I bought airline tickets, wrangled visas, and set off on a journey that changed my view of the aid industry.

Posted on February 28, 2018

Writing’s Power To Deceive

By Andrew Elfenbein/The Conversation

When I was researching and writing my new book, The Gist of Reading, I wanted to explore long-held assumptions about reading and how we process what we read.
Some of these assumptions have changed through time. For example, as novels became popular in the 18th century, many warned that they were dangerous and had the potential to cultivate ignorance and immorality in readers, especially female ones.
Today, many would consider that view antiquated. People probably think that reading a narrative – fiction or otherwise – might be able to influence a reader’s opinions or personal beliefs. But their prior knowledge of real-world facts should be safe.
For example, readers might read a story in which a character mentions in passing that Hillary Clinton, rather than Donald Trump, won the 2016 election. This shouldn’t influence readers’ ability to quickly respond that Trump was the real winner, right?
And yet I came across a substantial amount of psychology work that has demonstrated how reading stories – both nonfiction and fiction – has a powerful ability to distort readers’ prior knowledge.

Posted on February 20, 2018

The Last 100 Days Of FDR

By Roosevelt University

Many Americans and people around the world remember Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous first 100 days in office, but few are aware of the many challenges he faced in the final months of his presidency, which is the focus of historian David Woolner’s, The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and at Peace, released in December.
Among many highlights, the book cites confidential memos from Roosevelt’s doctors, recently declassified records from the Office of Strategic Services, as well as previously unreleased information from the president’s daily calendar and contact list.
Woolner pulls back the curtain on everything from Roosevelt’s private life to what was involved in facing Stalin at the Yalta Conference in 1945.
Accounts of FDR pushing for the establishment of the United Nations and the president’s support for the creation of a homeland for Jews in Palestine are featured as well in the book, which has received rave reviews from critics and historians alike who cite both its “precision” and “authenticity.”
Woolner will appear at a discussion and book signing on Wednesday at Roosevelt University, at 430 South Michigan Avenue.

Posted on February 15, 2018

Two Poems

By Steve Rhodes

So I came across this poetry contest Tuesday that paid out $100 to the winner of a four-line work in which the syllable count went 1-5-5-9. The entry fee is 10 bucks. I wrote my poem and then, before submitting, asked our resident expert J.J. Tindall if he thought I had a shot and/or if the whole thing was a scam.
First, my poem:
Death
is coming soonest
Sooner than you know
Today or tomorrow it is here

Posted on February 14, 2018

Publisher Files Censorship Suit Against Illinois Department Of Corrections

By The Uptown People’s Law Center

The Human Rights Defense Center, a non-profit organization based in Lake Worth, Florida, will file a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Illinois Department of Corrections alleging constitutional violations related to censorship of HRDC’s publications mailed to Illinois state prisoners.
HRDC publishes Prison Legal News, a 72-page monthly publication that covers news and court rulings related to the criminal justice system. PLN has been published for more than 27 years and has received the First Amendment Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. HRDC also distributes around 50 self-help and legal books of interest to prisoners. More than 200 Illinois prisoners subscribe to PLN.

Posted on February 13, 2018

The Hidden History Of Black Nationalist Women’s Political Activism

By Keisha N. Blain/The Conversation

Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the historical contributions of black people in the United States. Too often, however, this history focuses on black men, sidelining black women and diminishing their contributions.
This is true in mainstream narratives of black nationalist movements in the United States. These narratives almost always highlight the experiences of a handful of black nationalist men, including Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan.
Contrary to popular conceptions, women were also instrumental to the spread and articulation of black nationalism – the political view that people of African descent constitute a separate group on the basis of their distinct culture, shared history and experiences.
As I demonstrate in my new book, Set the World on Fire, black nationalist movements would have all but disappeared were it not for women. What’s more, these women laid the groundwork for the generation of black activists who came of age during the civil rights-black power era. In the 1960s, many black activists – including Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Robert F. Williams, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael – drew on these women’s ideas and political strategies.
So, let’s use this Black History Month to begin to set the record straight.

Posted on February 5, 2018

Meet The Deplorables

By Stephanie Jo/Media Kitty

On behalf of Media Kitty member Harmon Leon, we are pleased to share with you his latest book in collaboration with political cartoonist Ted Rall. Meet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America is a narrative stemming from Hillary Clinton’s use of the word “deplorables” during the 2016 campaign to describe the racist, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic supporters of now-President Donald Trump.
Leon goes undercover deep into the heart of Trump America, and Rall adds an innovative extra dimension to the book with his own essays and full-color cartoons. The unique team brings readers on a journey of enlightenment for a firsthand account of the right-wing subcultures and those most adversely affected by Trump’s policies on immigration, healthcare reform and race relations.

Posted on February 1, 2018