Date Archives: May 2011
by Allison Kilkenny in Agence Global for The Nation It seems like every week some serious publication puts out a new graph or pie chart that shows how the class divide is widening in America; and while citizens suffer under the crushing weight of austerity, the über-rich abscond with taxpayer-funded… Continue reading →
by Glenn Greenwald This talk, which was broadcast on Alternative Radio (Alternative Radio) was delivered on March 9, 2011, at Lone Star College in Kingwood, Texas Glenn Greenwald is an attorney and the author of How Would a Patriot Act? and Great American Hypocrites. In 2009, he received an Izzy… Continue reading →
And the utilities have become—a small number of utilities, which are coal-burning plants, have become unbelievably profitable because when the environmental standards were passed in the ’70s, all the plants, which were presumed to be going out of business soon, were exempt from complying with wide… Continue reading →
This is from Al-Jazeera English by William I. Robinson, professor of sociology and global studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara: The global economic crisis and the attack on immigrant rights are bound together in a web of 21st century fascism. “The crisis of global capitalism is… Continue reading →
Here is from The Japan Times: “Four antinuclear groups demanded Monday that the government withdraw its decision to set the annual radiation limit at 20 millisieverts for schoolchildren in Fukushima Prefecture, saying the standard poses a health risk. “The four groups — Friends of the Earth Japan… Continue reading →
This from Jeffrey D. Sachs at The Cap Times (Madison, WI): “The world is drowning in corporate fraud, and the problems are probably greatest in rich countries — those with supposedly “good governance.” Poor-country governments probably accept more bribes and commit more offenses, but it is rich… Continue reading →
Here is from Al-Jazeera English. “News of Osama bin Laden’s death has brought a surge of nationalism throughout much of the United States, and the Obama administration is using the event to justify its foreign policy in the Middle East. “Given that al-Qaeda has claimed the lives of far more Arab… Continue reading →
Here is what historian Adam Hochschild said on Democracy Now! about massive graveyards of war dead: This was a thought that occurred to me, walking through the First World War cemeteries. Anybody who’s interested in the First World War eventually goes to the old Western Front in France and Belgium… Continue reading →
Check out Osama bin Laden’s American legacy by Tom Englehardt on his Tomgram blog. “As is now obvious, bin Laden’s greatest wizardry was performed on us, not on the Arab world, where the movements he spawned from Yemen to North Africa have proven remarkably peripheral and unimportant. He helped open… Continue reading →
The death of Osama bin Laden has sparked a debate over whether torture of suspects held at places such as the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay helped track down and kill the al-Qaeda leader. Some claim the mission vindicated controversial Bush policies on harsh interrogation techniques. Yeah… Continue reading →
Check out this from Truthout. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is taking corporate welfare to unprecedented new levels. While the country watched the protests in Wisconsin spill into the State Capitol Building, Snyder was passing a controversial bill that many consider a direct attack on the… Continue reading →
Take a look at the graphic here and look at the sobering graph there, too. Continue reading →
Amidst all the jingoistic chest-thumping about the assassination of Bin Laden, why not get another perspective? Check out all these articles before joining the woot-woot cheering: Obama has doubled down on Bush Administration policy of targeted assassination, with Jeremy Scahill. “It was some sort… Continue reading →
Check out this from Huffington Post: The next time you’re gritting your teeth as you fill your tank with $4 gas, here’s something to consider: Your pain is their gain. The last of the Big Five oil companies announced first-quarter earnings Friday, so the totals are in. Continue reading →
Check out this article in Rolling Stone, with illustrative graphs: The budget has more of what Americans say they want — new taxes on the rich and cuts to defense — than either the GOP’s or the president’s budget. And it has none of what Americans say they hate: changes to the social compact that’s… Continue reading →
Check out this. Uh oh, but what about Medicare’s math problem: Taxes – benefits = trouble on NPR? Yeah, yeah, just look at the comments that follow: “America will never improve their inefficient, expensive health care system as long as it is based on runaway profits, and all Americans do not have… Continue reading →
Check out this on NPR. “As Congress and the White House set a higher priority on cutting the budget deficit, a retired military man sees ways to reap major savings. In a plan he acknowledges as “somewhat radical,” former Army Col. Douglas Macgregor proposes slashing the defense budget by 40 percent… Continue reading →
See this short video. This is how a president should talk: To hell with wars, let’s feed and clothe the world with all the military money. How far we have fallen since the New Deal! Continue reading →