By Jon Herskovitz/Reuters

Hidden in the haze of the petrochemical plants and beyond the seemingly endless traffic jams, a Texas city has grown so large that it is poised to pass Chicago as the third biggest in the United States in the next decade.
Houston has been one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities for years, fueled by an energy industry that provided the backbone of the economy, low taxes and prospects of employment that have attracted job seekers.
But Houston also embodies the new, urban Texas, where political views have been drifting to the left, diversity is being embraced and newer residents are just as likely to drive a hybrid as a pickup truck.

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Posted on September 14, 2015

By Alwyn Scott/Reuters

Boeing Co. is planning to move final production work for some 737 jetliners to a new facility in China, and is timing an announcement to coincide with the first U.S. state visit of China’s president, Xi Jinping, later this month, according to a published report.
The report in Aviation Week on Friday appeared to surprise elected officials, unions and industry leaders in Washington state, where Boeing now builds all 737s. The governor’s office, labor leaders and the industry association told Reuters they had not heard of the plan.
The International Association of Machinists District 751 said it was concerned about potential job losses. Boeing had not shared details of the plan, it also said.
Boeing declined to comment on the report, but issued a statement that left open the possibility, saying that it is always looking to expand and improve productivity.

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Posted on September 12, 2015

By David Rohde/Reuters

U.S. government officials have blocked the release of 116 pages of defense lawyers’ notes detailing the torture that Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah says he experienced in CIA custody, defense lawyers said on Thursday.
The treatment of Zubaydah, who lost one eye and was waterboarded 83 times in a single month while held by the CIA, according to government documents, has been the focus of speculation for years.
“We submitted 116 pages in 10 separate submissions,” Joe Margulies, Zubaydah’s lead defense lawyer, told Reuters. “The government declared all of it classified.”

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Posted on September 11, 2015

By Steve Rhodes

This is what it’s all about, people. Plus: I Worked In Florida; Dyett And The Problem With Process; The Only Sin Is Not Being Yourself.

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Posted on September 6, 2015

By Laura Janota/Roosevelt University

A groundbreaking documentary photo exhibit that sheds new light on protest movements in Chicago between the late 1940s and early 1970s will be presented this fall from Sept. 17 to Dec. 19 at Roosevelt University’s Gage Gallery.
The exhibit features the work of Art Shay, one of the world’s great living photographers. Shay opened his mammoth archive in Deerfield to Roosevelt University historian Erik Gellman, whose research focuses on 20th Century protest movements in America.
“The provocative photos in this exhibit, most of which have never been seen before, are likely to change what we know and how we think about protest movements in Chicago,” said Gellman, the show’s curator. Gellman spent the last year culling photos from Shay’s archives.

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Posted on September 5, 2015

They’re For Sanders

“Punk rock icon Henry Rollins joins Jesse Ventura on Off The Grid to talk the state of politics today, the 2016 elections and why Bernie Sanders has their vote.
“Plus, Rollins sounds off on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, why he had to ‘clean up after Bush,’ and the death of protest music.”

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Posted on September 3, 2015

By The Electronic Frontier Foundation

Florida Case Allowing Unconstitutional Mobile Phone Tracking Needs Review By High Court
Americans have the right to expect that digital records of their daily travels – when they left home, where they went, and how long they stayed – are private information, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of the United States.
Weighing in on one of the most important digital privacy rights cases of the year, EFF is asking the court to hear arguments in Davis v. U.S., a federal criminal case from Florida that examines whether police need a search warrant to obtain historical cell site location information (CSLI).

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Posted on September 1, 2015