chicken pox

Not long ago on GRITtv, Hamid Dabashi told us that the Iranian protests are turning into a civil rights movement with long-term potential for change. Wel talk to Hooman Majd, author of The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran, Hadi Ghaemi, director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, and Kelly Golnoush Niknejad of Tehran Bureau about the protests, the regime, and what happens next. On Jan. 29, Barack Obama took questions from House Republicans at their "issues retreat," televised on CSPAN. David Corn of Mother Jones joins Laura via Skype to explain why he thinks more events like this can make the political debate in Washington and around the country better. The Winter Olympics are headed to Vancouver, British Columbia, but activists are pointing out the way international sporting events lead to police crackdowns and displacement of locals. Thanks to our friends at the Vancouver Media Cooperative for the video. The 2010 census is starting up, and as New America Media shares, for Southeast Asian community, organizers are making sure that they get the proper representation, and not undercounted. Did you know that in Utah, you're more likely to get chlamydia than the chicken pox or the flu? Well, a Republican State Senator, who says he's from the most conservative part of the state, is leading the fight to allow teachers to teach contraception. Health care reform isn't dead yet, and a coalition of progressive groups, including Bold Progressives and Democracy for America, are increasing the pressure in Washington for Democrats to pass reform--by any means necessary. Finally, in this new documentary, filmmakers David Ridgen and Nicholas Rossier follow Norman Finkelstein, the son of Holocaust survivors called a self-hating Jew for his response to Israeli and US policy over Palestine, around the world in pursuit of his principles.