Do you remember the old Saturday Night Live sketches in which comedian Chris Farley portrayed a motivational speaker that lived in a van down by the river? Unfortunately, this is becoming a reality for way too many Americans. As the middle class has shrunk and the cost of living has increased, a lot of people have decided to quite literally “live …
Franklin Frederick – Trade Agreements and the Globalization of Fascism
Going east or west from Switzerland one would have to cross at least half the planet before reaching the Pacific Ocean. This distance alone makes it very unlikely that Switzerland would get involved with the Pacific Alliance (PA) or in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). However, the Swiss based transnational Nestlé is very much engaged with the PA and its objectives. Nestlé also seems to …
Afraa Dagher – Here’s How the US, Israel, al-Qaeda and ISIS Work Together in Syria
The Syrian battlefield is now witnessing an escalation of the war. This is despite the fact that it is supposed to be a time of cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Russia. The Syrian war has two major fronts. The first and most important is in southern Syria, on the borderline with Israel and the occupied territories of …
Haroon Siddique – GMO enzymes used in food and cleaning products “are potent allergens”, warns study
* Research says genetically modified enzymes, which allow products to be still labelled as ‘natural’, should be tested like potentially hazardous chemicals Genetically modified enzymes used in food, perfumes, medicine and cleaning products are “potent allergens” and should be tested like other potentially hazardous chemicals, experts have said. There has been an explosion in the use of enzymes to boost …
Charles Seife – How the FDA Manipulates the Media
It was a faustian bargain—and it certainly made editors at National Public Radio squirm. The deal was this: NPR, along with a select group of media outlets, would get a briefing about an upcoming announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a day before anyone else. But in exchange for the scoop, NPR would have to abandon its reportorial …
David Korten – Want National Security? Dismantle the War Machine
The recent 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade towers was a reminder of the terrible consequences when a nation ignores the lessons of history—including its own recent history. The U.S. military budget is a tragic example. We currently spend roughly $598 billion on defense, which is more than the next seven biggest military spenders combined: China, …
Dear Obama, How Does A 60% Increase In NYC Homelessness Constitute A Recovery?
Last week, we wrote a post entitled “Harvard Crushes The “Obama Recovery” Farce With 9 Simple Charts” in which we reviewed a report from Harvard Business School on the true health of the U.S. economy. Given the title, it’s probably not terribly surprising that Harvard was somewhat “underwhelmed” with the Obama recovery after taking a multi-decade look at various economic …
Colin Todhunter – Monsanto And Bayer: Why Food And Agriculture Just Took A Turn For The Worse
News broke this week that Monsanto accepted a $66 billion takeover bid from Bayer. The new company would control more than 25 per cent of the global supply of commercial seeds and pesticides. Bayer’s crop chemicals business is the world’s second largest after Syngenta, and Monsanto is the leading commercial seeds business. Monsanto held a 26 per cent market share of all seeds sold …
Gilbert Doctorow = Russian Hardliners Gain from US Putin-Bashing
Last week, Hillary Clinton told reporters on her campaign plane that the Russians are trying to disrupt the U.S. elections to discredit the process and sow discord among Americans. This goes one step further than her previous charges of Russian influence thought the “Kremlin’s candidate,” Donald Trump, or still earlier, the claim that the Democratic National Committee’s server had been …
Carey Gillam – FDA finds Monsanto’s weed killer in US honey
The Food and Drug Administration, under public pressure to start testing samples of U.S. food for the presence of a pesticide that has been linked to cancer, has some early findings that are not so sweet. In examining honey samples from various locations in the United States, the FDA has found fresh evidence that residues of the weed killer called …









