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Stephen Kalin – Iraq says Russia, Iran, Syria cooperating on security issues in Baghdad

Iraq has said its military officials are engaged in intelligence and security cooperation in Baghdad with Russia, Iran and Syria to counter the threat from the Islamic State militant group, a pact that could raise concerns in Washington. A statement from the Iraqi military’s joint operations command on Saturday said the cooperation had come “with increased Russian concern about the …

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Michael Krieger – The UN Releases Plan to Push for Worldwide Internet Censorship

The United Nations has disgraced itself immeasurably over the past month or so. In case you missed the following stories, I suggest catching up now: The UN’s “Sustainable Development Agenda” is Basically a Giant Corporatist Fraud Not a Joke – Saudi Arabia Chosen to Head UN Human Rights Panel Read More

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Steven W Thrasher – Disaster capitalism is a permanent state of life for too many Americans

In the United States, disaster has become our most common mode of life. Proof that our daily existence was something other than a simmering, smoldering disaster has been historically held somewhat at bay by the myth that hard work equals some kind of subsistence living. For the more deluded amongst us, this ‘American dream’ even got us to believe we …

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Mike Whitney – Markets Gone Mad

Imagine your doctor put you on a daily dose of oxycontin, phenobarbital and Quaaludes for six years straight. Then he suddenly cancelled your prescription. Do you think your behavior might become a bit erratic? This is what’s going on with the stock market. It’s trying to shake off six years of overmedication brought on by the Fed’s zero rates and …

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Dear Janet Yellen, Here Is All You Need To Know About The US Economy: True Unemployment Is Over 12%

One of the great mysteries surrounding the US economy is the seemingly inexplicable discrepancy between the plunging unemployment rate on one hand, which at 5.1% in August was the lowest since April of 2008 – a data point which on the surface would suggest virtually no slack in the labor force –  and the crawling pace of growth of the …

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Chris Hedges – How the Brutalized Become Brutal

Chris Hedges will file a new, original piece Monday evening. Meanwhile, here is one of his classic Truthdig columns, from August of 2014. The horrific pictures of the beheading of American reporter James Foley, the images of executions of alleged collaborators in Gaza and the bullet-ridden bodies left behind in Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant …

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Transcript: Pope Francis’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly

Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for your kind words. Once again, following a tradition by which I feel honored, the Secretary General of the United Nations has invited the Pope to address this distinguished assembly of nations. In my own name, and that of the entire Catholic community, I wish to express to you, Mr Ban Ki-moon, my …

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David Swanson – Bernie Sanders Gets a Foreign Policy

After 25,000 people asked, Senator Bernie Sanders added a few words to his presidential campaign website about the 96% of humanity he’d been ignoring. He did not, as his spoken comments heretofore might have suggested, make this statement entirely or at all about fraud and waste in the military. He did not even mention Saudi Arabia, much less declare that it should “take the …

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Laura Colby – How Do You Boost GDP by $28 Trillion? Gender Equality Would Do It, McKinsey Says

Denying women full participation in the global economy is costly.McKinsey & Co. has now calculated by just how much. Full gender equality would add 26 percent, or $28 trillion, to globalgross domestic product in 2025, according to a new report by the consulting firm’s research and economics arm. While capturing that potential may not be realistic in the short term, boosting women’s …

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Endgame: Putin Plans To Strike ISIS With Or Without The U.S.

On Sunday, we noted that Washington’s strategy in Syria has now officially unravelled. John Kerry, speaking from London following talks with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, essentially admitted over the weekend that Russia’s move to bolster the Assad regime at Latakia effectively means that the timing of Assad’s exit is now completely indeterminate. Here’s how we summed up the situation: Moscow, realizing …