WHO

Americans Not In The Labor Force Rise To Record 98.9 Million As Participation Rate Declines Again
Once again, the news on unemployment was super-duper excellent! The media is touting the drop from 5.7% to 5.5% in February. One problem: the unemployment rate is mostly irrelevant and, even worse, kinda bogus. Sure, the number of unemployed Americans dropped by 274k. But the number employed only rose by 96k. So what gives? The unemployment rate is dropping because people are dropping like flies out of the workforce.

Companies Turn Tables on Human Rights Lawyers
Lawyers have long taken to the courts to sue big corporations for exploiting labor, despoiling the environment and, in the infamous case of Chiquita Banana, colluding with right-wing death squads. Activists and lawyers use the Alien Tort Statute to bring international claims in American courts. But now corporations are fighting back by suing the lawyers suing them. Turnabout is fair play … except when it isn’t.

Meet the “Monuments Men” Risking Everything to Save Syria’s Ancient Treasures from ISIS
The Islamic State is waging war against the past. Their war machine just bulldozed Nimrud—an ancient city near Mosul in Iraq. But a group of activists and archaeology students are working to preserve Syria’s ancient heritage and the remnants of mankind’s earliest civilizations. These latter-day “Monuments Men” are led by Amr Al-Azm, an archaeologist guiding a network of Indiana Joneses as they take on the dangerous task of saving the past.

WHAT

Prison Reform is Making Life Inside Prison Worse, Not Better
Americans account for 5% of the world’s population, but also account for one-quarter of all of the world’s prisoners. The reasons for this spike have been researched and discussed and debated. Yet, perhaps the most pressing issue—the abysmal conditions of the increasingly privatized prison system—is ignored in these discussions. Alas, a recent prison riot in Texas did little to bring the media’s attention to the shocking conditions in many prisons. And reform efforts may be exacerbating this decline by dividing prisoners into those worth saving and those unworthy of humane treatment.

Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About the UN Climate Talks But Were Afraid to Ask
The forthcoming climate conference in Paris is important. Really, really important. Why? Because the decisions made over the course of two weeks in November and December could very well determine the course of the world’s climate for decades to come. It all boils down to post-2020 emissions targets and how far the world is willing to go to stop the insanity now cooking the planet.

WHY

Salvation Army Turns #TheDress Into a Powerful Domestic Violence Ad
Last week a viral picture of a gold and white dress … or blue and white dress … or black and blue dress … or whatever it was you saw when you saw the dress … well, it nearly broke the Internet. Now, some clever people from the South African branch of The Salvation Army turned the dress into a stark, effective campaign against domestic violence. Check it out.

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