US Parole Activists Aim to Overhaul a Failing System Jean Trounstine, Truthout: In a political climate still hung up on being "tough on crime," mercy doesn't come easily. But activists across the country are making inroads to help those impacted by harsh and outdated parole practices that have added to mass incarceration in the United States. In some cases, as they raise community awareness, they are also changing parole policy. Read the Article The Future of Europe and the New World Disorder: An Interview With Political Economist C.J. Polychroniou Alexandra Boutri and Marcus Rolle, Truthout: Since the outbreak of the euro crisis, Europe has been experiencing a host of contradictory developments, from efforts to contain the spread of systemic risk in the financial sector while the debt crisis remains unresolved, to a wave of extreme nationalism and xenophobia, says political economist C.J. Polychroniou. Meanwhile in the US, Trump's jingoistic mindset is only adding to these tensions. Read the Article How Military Outsourcing Turned Toxic Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica: The military is one of the country's largest polluters, often outsourcing cleanup to outside contractors while failing to provide adequate oversight. Today, records show some of the most dangerous cleanup work remains unfinished, or worse, has been falsely pronounced complete, leaving people who live near former military sites to assume these areas are now safe. Read the Article Puerto Rico's Bankruptcy Will Make Hurricane Recovery Brutal -- Here's Why Lauren Lluveras, The Conversation: If the situation in Puerto Rico seems dire, that's because it is. People on the island will face seemingly insurmountable problems in nearly every aspect of their lives for months to come and not just because of Hurricanes Irma and Maria that devastated the country earlier this month. Read the Article Legal or Not, Trump's Wall Is Already Being Built Maya L. Kapoor, High Country News: Five days after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border of the United States. Preliminary construction has already begun in California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, leading to concerns ranging from states' rights to environmental destruction. Read the Article Misguided Payment Policies Fuel Rising College Dropout Rates Ernest Ezeugo, The Hechinger Report: Students who have outstanding balances that prevent them from finishing college are often short just a few dollars and a couple of credits. While some organizations have tried to solve the problem with grant money, they do not address how failed leverage and collections policies disproportionately inhibit low-income students from finishing college. Read the Article Indigenous Peoples Are Fighting to Save the Earth for All of Us Pamela Jacquelin-Andersen, IC Magazine: Indigenous peoples have pursued environmental justice since long before climate change became a mainstream issue. It is time we take Indigenous land rights seriously to ensure we all continue to have water to drink, air to breathe and even land to call home. Read the Article Will the US's Trillion Dollar Investment in New Infrastructure Withstand Tomorrow's Disasters? Nate Berg, Ensia: As the areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria work to recover, we face a compelling question: Given that weather extremes are expected to become even more severe and frequent, how can and should efforts to replace lost and damaged infrastructure aim to make it better able to withstand disastrous events to come? Read the Article | 
