On March 1st 1954 the United States tested its first deliverable hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The weapon yielded a force three times as large as its designers had planned or anticipated.1 The radioactive fallout cloud that resulted from the weapon would kill a fisherman located 100 km away, cause illness in hundreds and perhaps thousands of …
Greece: The Courage of Hopelessness – Slavoj Žižek
The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben said in an interview that “thought is the courage of hopelessness” – an insight which is especially pertinent for our historical moment when even the most pessimist diagnostics as a rule finishes with an uplifting hint at some version of the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The true courage is not to imagine an …
Varoufakis: Troika Forced Syriza Into Choice Between ‘Suicide or Execution’ – Lauren McCauley
In his first international television interview since stepping down from his post as Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis told CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour on Monday that European lenders had forced his government to make a choice between “suicide or execution.” After five months of rigorous negotiations, the outspoken Varoufakis stepped down from his post the night of the Greek referendum. And despite voting against the …
How the American South Drives the Low-Wage Economy By Harold Meyerson
Santayana had it wrong: Even if we remember the past, we may be condemned to repeat it. Indeed, the more we learn about the conflict between the North and South that led to the Civil War, the more it becomes apparent that we are reliving that conflict today. The South’s current drive to impose on the rest of the nation …
Binyamin Netanyahu’s household spending under criminal investigation
Israel’s attorney general has ordered a criminal investigation into suspected mismanagement in the running of the residences of the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. A report by Israel’s state auditor covering 2009-2013 said some of the taxpayer-funded running costs at the prime minister’s official and private residences were unreasonably high and called for steps to improve efficiency. A justice ministry statement said the attorney …
Hidden Origins of Syria’s Civil War By Jonathan Marshall
Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, nearly a quarter million people have perished and fullyhalf of the country’s inhabitants have been forced from their homes, creating the worst refugee crisis in the past quarter century. Meanwhile, the continuing advance of brutal Islamist factions — which a leading CIA officer in 2013 termed the “top current threat to U.S. national security” — makes the …
Hillary Clinton Is No Progressive – Evan Popp
As a strong challenge from the left emerges in the form of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, who was once thought to be headed for a coronation in the Democratic presidential primary, has tried to recast herself as a progressive champion. However, in her mad dash to the left, Clinton cannot escape her history of supporting, as the First Lady …
Study: When Human Consumption Slows, Planet Earth Can Heal – Lauren McCauley
Despite the oft-repeated claim that the recent decline in U.S. carbon emissions was due to the so-called ‘fracking boom,’ new research published Tuesday shows that it was the dramatic fall in consumption during the Great Recession that deserves credit for this drop. As nations grapple with the best strategy for decreasing carbon emissions ahead of the upcoming United Nations Framework …
Senate Bill May Kick 200,000 Off Social Security If They Have Arrest Warrant By Steven Rosenfeld
The large transportation funding bill moving through the Senate would end Social Security benefits for 200,000 people who have an outstanding felony arrest warrant—but have never been convicted by a court, or have a warrant for violating probation or parole, according to disability rights advocates tracking the legislation. The proposal, which surfaced late Tuesday, is at odds with recent Republican statements [3] on …
Confidential Documents: Red Cross Itself May Not Know How Millions Donated for Haiti Were Spent by Justin Elliott
The American Red Cross is under pressure this week to answer detailed questions from Congress about the spending of nearly half a billion dollars it raised after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. But internal documents newly obtained by ProPublica and NPR call into question whether the Red Cross itself has an accurate accounting of how money was spent. The reports, assessments …