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Definitions Matter

James J. Zogby Arab American Institute
According to pro-Israel groups it is unacceptable to refer to what Israel is doing in Gaza as “genocide” or “terrorism,” as if there were better terms to use to describe: the indiscriminate bombing of heavily populated areas.

Dolan Delivers Catholic Church to Trump and the GOP

National Catholic Reporter Editorial National Catholic Reporter
The capitulation is complete. Without a whimper from any of his fellow bishops, the cardinal archbishop of New York has inextricably linked the Catholic Church in the United States to the Republican Party and, particularly, President Donald Trump.

Pope Francis and the Battle Over Cultural Terrain

Gary Olson Counterpunch
From the outset of his papacy, Francis sought to alter the landscape by vocalizing how capitalism is the primary cause of social injustice. In doing so he became a marked man. We’re witnessing one site in the larger struggle for cultural terrain.

A Vatican Shot Across the Bow for Hard-Line U.S. Catholics

Jason Horowitz New York Times
The article warns that conservative American Catholics have strayed dangerously into the deepening political polarization in the United States. The writers even declare that the worldview of American evangelical and hard-line Catholics, which is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible, is “not too far apart’’ from jihadists.

Pope Francis’ Call for Dialogue In Venezuela Should Be Heeded, to Avoid Civil War

Mark Weisbrot Center for Economic and Policy Research
Venezuela does not have the religious or sectarian divisions that have fueled the civil wars, mass slaughter, and chaos of Libya, Syria, or Iraq ― all countries where the US/major media narrative about the results of successful or attempted regime change turned out to be horrifically wrong. But the political polarization in Venezuela since Chávez was elected in 1998 has been overwhelmingly along class and therefore racial lines as the two are highly correlated.

Tidbits - April 14, 2016 - Reader Comments: Mine Safety; Panama Papers Fallout; Chicago Police Spying; Minimum Wage Hikes; Bernie, Hillary; whites and the working class; and more

Portside
Reader Comments: Panama Papers fallout; Controversy over whites as part of the working class; Mine Safety and Blankenship Jail Sentence; Minimum wage hikes discussion; Bernie and labor, Wisconsin victory; Wall Street and Glass-Steagall; Hillary and labor, Wall Street and fracking; Pope Francis; Announcements: Gerald Horne book signings - Baltimore, Washington and New York; China Labor Relations; Communists in the Civil Rights Movement
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