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Mischa Reuben

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It May Look Like Advertising, But Look Closer And You'll See What It Really Is

For the past two years, artists across the United Kingdom have been doing something bold ... and illegal. They perform these "takeovers" where they remove existing advertisements from bus stops and replace them with messages that are non-sponsored and speak directly to the people who use the streets. It's not for promotion — the point is to take away just a couple lanes of corporate-driven communication and remind people to think about other, more important topics (and to think for themselves). Here are some of their messages. Enjoy.

A reminder to read your terms and conditions, by Ankles:

Some commentary on our hypocritical financial world, by Shift/Delete:

Don't forget that hashtags are just digital pixels, not real change, by Paul Insect:

Question how the products you consume are tested, by Hannah Adamaszek:

Drawing attention to the fracking in Spain, by Vinz Feel Free:

Letting folks know about the positive things you can do every day, by Know Hope:

And here's a video of the artists in action:

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Commit A Felony In America And You'll See Just How Much The Country Cares About You

First things first: There's no shortage of issues that contribute to America's prison system being what it is today. This video is a great primer on some of the problems, but it doesn't delve deep enough into the issues of race and poverty that also contribute to the U.S. having the most prisoners out of anywhere in the world. Still, this is a great little video that will provide some context for the mess that is our prison system. So much for "land of the free," huh?

FACT CHECK TIME! Here's what our fact checkers found:

  • The U.S. does, in fact, have about 25% of the world's incarcerated people. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world.
  • While the video says that 41% of juveniles and young adults have been arrested by the time they turn 23, we actually found that it's between25% and 41%.
  • Yep, children as young as 13 have been sentenced to die in prison.
  • And solitary confinement? That's definitely considered torture under international law.
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Rich, Old, White NBA Owner Says Offensive Things. So The NBA Went Ahead And Banned Him For Life.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the reported conversation that happened between Donald Sterling (owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers) and V. Stiviano. In this conversation, the man reported to be Donald Sterling reprimands the woman for bringing black people to the games and for taking a picture with NBA legend Magic Johnson and putting it on Instagram. Keep in mind that Sterling has also been accused of racism before by the Justice Department and by former employees. Now it feels like everyone in the world has reacted to this. But these reactions have been amazing, and it's important to watch and read a least a few of them. Racism isn't going away unless we actively talk about it. Anyways, here are some reactions, and they probably come from people you’ll recognize.

Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley:

Barkley makes a great point at 1:30.

Michael Jordan's official statement:

Jordan is also an owner of an NBA team.

"I look at this from two perspectives — as a current owner and a former player. As an owner, I'm obviously disgusted that a fellow team owner could hold such sickening and offensive views. I'm confident that Adam Silver will make a full investigation and take appropriate action quickly. As a former player, I'm completely outraged. There is no room in the NBA — or anywhere else — for the kind of racism and hatred that Mr. Sterling allegedly expressed. I am appalled that this type of ignorance still exists within our country and at the highest levels of our sport. In a league where the majority of players are African-American, we cannot and must not tolerate discrimination at any level."

President Obama:

Update: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has banned Sterling for life from the NBA and fined him $2.5 million. He will try to get the league's owners to force Sterling to sell the team.

Heroes

Guess What Food Source Will Feed Billions And Reclaim Land And Can Even Be Made Into Cookies

Some real talk: I love me some protein. Steak, chicken, pork — LOVE IT. But it takes hundreds of gallons of water to produce the meat we eat today, and we need millions of acres to raise these animals. This is not sustainable. I have been reading up on a particular food source that is literally everywhere, and the more I read (and eat), the more I'm intrigued. We need a better way to get the billions of people on this planet the protein they need to survive, I think this woman has a pretty neat approach to solving this problem.

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