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Tom Engelhardt – The Real Meaning of Donald Trump

“Low-energy Jeb.” “Little Marco.” “Lyin’ Ted.” “Crooked Hillary.” Give Donald Trump credit. He has a memorable way with insults. His have a way of etching themselves on the brain. And they’ve garnered media coverage, analysis, and commentary almost beyond imagining.  Memorable as they might be, however, they won’t be what last of Trump’s 2016 election run.  That’s surely reserved for a single …

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Gareth Porter – The Classified ’28 Pages’: A Diversion From Real US-Saudi Issues

The controversy surrounding the infamous “28 pages” on the possible Saudi connection with the terrorists that were excised from the joint Congressional report on the 9/11 attacks is at fever pitch. But that controversy is a distraction from the real problems that Saudi Arabia’s policies pose to the United States and the entire Middle East region. The political pressure to …

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Jonathan Cook – In Israel, an ugly tide sweeps over Palestinians

In Israel’s evermore tribal politics, there is no such thing as a “good” Arab — and the worst failing in a Jew is to be unmasked as an “Arab lover.” Or so was the message last week from Isaac Herzog, head of Israel’s so-called peace camp. The shock waves of popular anger at the recent indictment of an Israeli army …

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Jim Sleeper – The Best Reason for Bernie Sanders to Fight On: Hawkish, Neoliberal Clintons Need a Watchful Eye From Progressives

Because Bernie Sanders didn’t do nearly as well in three of the five “the Acela primaries” — so named because Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island are all on the route of Amtrak’s high-speed Washington-to-Boston Acela route—as he did in heartland primaries and caucuses last month, the wise and the mighty of the Democratic Party and the press who regularly travel that route will now …

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Utpal Dholakia Ph.D. – The Little-Known Downsides of Mindfulness Practice

As I pointed out recently, mindfulness practice has entered the mainstream of western culture to such an extent that 2014 was proclaimed as “The Year of Mindfulness” by the New Republic, and futurists see “mindful living” as a top trend that will influence consumers in the years to come. Most readers may know this already, but here’s a quick refresher. Mindfulness practice refers to a set …

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GARY LEGUM – What everybody missed about Charles Koch’s “endorsement” of Hillary Clinton

Let us start by dispensing with one of the funniest fictions that spread around social media on Sunday: No, Wichita billionaire and supervillain from a “Naked Gun” movie Charles Koch did not endorse Hillary Clinton for president. The comments that set off much finger-pointing and cries of “Aha! We told you Hillary is a tool of conservative billionaires!” came towards …

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Chuck Collins – Clueless CEOs at the Top

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that “Populist Tone Rankles America’s Executives.” Apparently the CEOs and board members of big American companies are “increasingly frustrated” by the anti-business rhetoric of both parties, and concerned such sentiments might translate into meaningful public policy change after the election. “The precipitousness of the political debate is a little scary right now,” Boeing CEO Jim McNerney …

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A Strange Birth Defect is on the Rise in the United States, Says the CDC

A strange birth defect is on the rise in the United States, and scientists are at a loss to explain it. Gastroschisis is a birth defect that causes a baby’s intestines to protrude outside of his/her body, through a hole in the abdominal wall beside the belly button. Sometimes this hole is very small, but it can also be quite large, and other organs such as …

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Paul Rosenberg – Gutless Democrats Fear Fights: Why Triangulating Neoliberal Clintonites Back Big Business Over People

As the Democratic primary heated up to the boiling point, one particular line of attack on Bernie Sanders had the distinctively Karl Rove-ian stench of attacking Sanders’ strength. Vox [3], Slate [4] and AEI [5] all bought the spin and struck the same theme: “If Bernie Sanders cares about poor people, how come he doesn’t want to trade with them?” But even more than Rove, we can catch …

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Roman Europe?

BERLIN/VENICE – As the European Union begins to disintegrate, who can provide the leadership to save it? German Chancellor Angela Merkel is widely credited with finally answering Henry Kissinger’s famous question about the Western alliance: “What is the phone number for Europe?” But if Europe’s phone number has a German dialing code, it goes through to an automated answer: “Nein …