Apr 10
2023
Monday Morning Read
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Pat Garofalo of Boondoggle offers insight as to why local journalism is suffering.
From New York Focus: Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing for changes that would allow for more greenhouse gas emissions while fossil fuel companies pull out the stops in an effort to derail her push towards electrification. Does the governor know if she’s coming or going?
Opportunity Zones, the latest incarnation of enterprise zones, haven’t benefited the low-income neighborhoods they’re supposed to help, according to research rounded up by Reinvent Albany.
Elon Musk Watch: Tesla is found guilty of racial discrimination and invading the privacy of car owners. Meanwhile, Twitter is cracking down on PBS and NPR and critics of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi while easing up on Russian and Chinese state media, and thwarting research.
Fascism on the march: Tennessee Republicans remove two Black lawmakers who joined protests over lax gun laws (but not a white one who did likewise); Trump and his minions threaten a judge and prosecutors; and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gets caught accepting trips and other goodies from a prominent right wing financier and offers a defiant defense. And this just in: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is working to pardon an Army sergeant convicted of killing a protester at a Black Lives Matter protester in 2021.
I was in Ireland the last week in March, doing history by day and pubs by night, mostly in and around Cork – Michael Collins territory. This week marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which led to a still-uneasy peace in Northern Ireland. There is much work that remains. That point was driven home when I was last there four years ago.
While in Belfast, I came across the “Peace Wall.” It is not a monument to peace, however. It’s a sort of Berlin Wall that separates the Catholic (Falls Road) and Protestant (Shankill Road) neighborhoods of the city. It’s 20 to 30 feet high and goes on for a half-mile. Heavy gates open to allow traffic to pass through during the day, but are closed at night to keep people separated. It made me realize how fragile the peace is in Northern Ireland.
