Monthly Archives: October 2012

Graduate Employee Tuition Waivers, Protecting Public Education, and Boxed Coffee

      As I write this, the Graduate Employees Organization, or GEO, at the University of Illinois is engaged in an effort to protect access to quality public higher education here in Champaign-Urbana. The GEO is a union that … Continue reading

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To Eat or Not to Eat GE Foods: Let Me Decide!

I moved here last month as the Champaign-Urbana field organizer for Food & Water Watch, the national consumer advocacy organization working to protect our food and water resources. We are working to return the power of choice to consumers by … Continue reading

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The Cheesemonger: Common Ground Food Co-op Hires Cheese Expert

By Billy LeGrand “Who cut the cheese?”  “So you’re the cheese whiz?”  “You call that a job?!” As a cheesemonger, I’ve heard more than my fair share of “cheesy” puns – they are irresistibly delicious.  I’ve also heard plenty of … Continue reading

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Who Wants War with Iran?

By Dannel McCollum, Dannel McCollum, a former Champaign mayor and a Democratic candidate for the state Senate in 2002, is a historian and a freelance writer.     Increasingly, it looks like the neo-cons who gave us the Iraq and … Continue reading

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Talk About the Immokalee Workers

One of the most inspiring contemporary examples of how immigrant rights and worker rights intersect is the story of the Immokalee Workers. Learn about the heroic story of a small group of migrant workers who successfully overcame modern-day slavery in … Continue reading

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Moody’s Shows It Has Political Agenda for U.S. Fiscal Policy

By Mark Weisbrot This article was first published in The Guardian (UK) on September 13, 2012, www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/sept/13/moodys. If anyone wants to reprint it, please include a link to the original. Moody’s threat Wednesday to downgrade the U.S. government’s credit rating … Continue reading

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LEARN ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF IMMIGRANT AND WORKER RIGHTS

Immigrant rights, worker rights―what’s the connection? The East Central Illinois Jobs with Justice (ECIJWJ) Chapter is hosting a multi-media presentation on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers that will address this question. Part of a month-long examination of the problems and … Continue reading

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CU Smiles Promotes Local Currency

A local currency, called UC Smiles, will be introduced to the Urbana-Champaign area on November !st of this year.  Locally owned and operated stores will be accepting the currency and most of the member stores are offering discounts to those … Continue reading

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Two Referenda on November Ballot

Occupy CU Referendum on Citizens United and Corporate Personhood to Appear on Champaign and Urbana Ballots Occupy CU demonstrated near the Federal Courthouse in Urbana as part of the national call to “occupy the courts” in opposition to the Citizens … Continue reading

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Nov. 18: ACCESS Initiative “Think Tank”

The ACCESS Initiative is currently involved in planning a community wide 3-day “Think Tank “ event for November 8-10th at Eastland Suites. ACCESS Initiative is a new System of Care in Champaign County to help youth (ages 10-18) function better … Continue reading

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SPEAK Cafe

October 18th, 7-9pm SANKOFA; HONORING THE LEGACY OF BOB MARLEY and of course FREE SWEET POTATO PIE for the 1st twenty people

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“Black Cultural Politics in a Color Blind Nation” Lecture by Tricia Rose

“Black Cultural Politics in a Color Blind Nation” Lecture by Tricia Rose (Africana Studies, Brown University) Date: November 1, 2012 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum Co-Sponsored by IPRH and the Spurlock Museum. David R. Roediger, Kendrick C. … Continue reading

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Political Memory at Work in Latin America

My recent trip to El Salvador and Argentina focused heavily on ‘sites of memory,’ locations where events of massive political violence had occurred and where attempts to learn from them are underway. These two countries have experienced extreme social conflict—military … Continue reading

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MY EXPERIENCE IN CUBA: Installment II

  For anyone who lives outside the United States, a trip to Cuba is no different than a trip to any Caribbean country like Jamaica, Aruba, etc. For those living in the U.S., this has not been the case. Three years … Continue reading

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