Massachusetts: Boston Globe

A group of New England Conservatory students have put together a concert and panel discussion focusing on the relationship between music and current political issues, or more specifically, human rights violations in wartime.

The concert will feature three new compositions, one of which incorporates clips from a broadcast on Guantanamo Bay by This American Life. The panel discussion following will be headed up by Harvard PhD's, faculty of NEC, Tufts, and National Defense University, and a reporter from the Boston Globe.

The event on Thursday, March 12th is free, open to the public, and to be followed by a reception.

For more details, check us out on facebook under "Musical Diplomacy" or here: http://today.newenglandconserv...

Remember when Blue Mass Group endorsed the idea of placing an Independent commission in charge of redistricting, with hopes the state could avoid the problems of the past?

Remember how this idea was supported by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the NAACP, Oiste, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, Govs. Dukakis and Romney, Barney Frank, and Deval Patrick?

And remember how a bill doing this exact thing was supported by 12 senators last year?

Yea, well the Senate rejected the idea on Thursday by a vote of 7-28.

From the SHNS account:

[The Republicans] noted that several of the Democrats now voting against independent redistricting - Sens.

Friday's implementation of the successful ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana has everyone talking. The government gave its recommendations  and some are looking to increase penalties for smoking in public.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi again denied on Wednesday any involvement in the awarding of a state software contact that is now being investigated by a federal grand jury, the Boston Globe reports.

"I had absolutely nothing to do with the awarding of that contract," DiMasi, a Boston Democrat, said following a news conference, according to the Globe.