Ten years after the attacks in London on 7 July 2005 (7/7) and nearly fourteen years after those in New York on 11 September 2001 (9/11) which provoked the “war on terror”, there is no end in sight to this long conflict. Today, the proto-caliphate of Islamic State – the latest manifestation of the al-Qaida idea – has done more than just …
Nearly 2,500 Bridges to Nowhere: Congress Considers Expanding Charter Program Despite Millions Wasted on Closed Schools – Jonas Persson
As both the House and the Senate consider separate bills that would reauthorize and expand the quarter-billion-dollar-a-year Charter Schools Program (CSP), the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has examined more than a decade of data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as well as documentation from open records requests. The results are troubling. Between 2001 and 2013, 2,486 charter schools have …
With World at ‘Edge of Abyss,’ New Manifesto Urges Action on Nukes and Climate – Deirdre Fulton
Sixty years after philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein convened a group of leading intellectuals in London to draft and sign a manifesto in which they highlighted the perils posed by nuclear weapons, this generation’s forward-looking thinkers have released an updated version of the document—one that puts the looming climate crisis on par with the threat of nukes and calls for …
The Anglo-American empire is preparing for resource war – Nafeez Ahmed
Last week, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff released the new National Military Strategy of the United States of America, 2015. The report’s main theme is that “globalisation” and “demographics” are pushing forward trends that are undermining US military superiority, including its capability to sustain “international order”. It sets out how the US military intends to keep ahead of those trends. Although …
Hillary’s Neocon Legacy: Coups, Dictators, Corruption, Chaos, Executions and Assassination By David William Pear
Hillary Clinton has on her liberal mask. She is all smiles and is trying hard to “out Bernie” Bernie Sanders. She is hitting all the populist talking points about helping others: Immigration, campaign finance reform, voting rights, gay marriage, economic equality, and middle class families. But she has accumulated a lot of baggage over her political career of 40 years.Hillaryand …
The European Union’s Crisis of Legitimacy and The Greek Referendum – Donatella della Porta
For some time now social movements have expressed their support for Another Europe. Their almost unanimous support for a “NO” vote in the Greek referendum on the proposals of the Troika, says much about the repeatedly frustrated hopes of constructing a social Europe from below. Indeed, the protests against austerity have established, ever more clearly and explicitly, that the evolution of …
U.S. Trade Policy Is Pro-Rich, Not Free Trade – Dean Baker
Thomas Edsall had a very good piece on divisions in the Democratic Party over trade policy in the NYT this morning. The piece cites a large body of academic research pointing out that U.S. trade policy has played a large role in destroying manufacturing jobs and redistributing income upwards. It notes that this is the basis of the opposition of unions to …
Poor Diets Are Lowering Children’s IQ By Amanda Froelich
With an estimated 70 percent of the American diet made up of processed foods [3], we — as a collective — are facing a serious conundrum in which if greater effort is not given to make wholesome, more nutritious fare a priority (with many countries following the lead of the United States), incoming generations will not only not live as long as their …
Big Oil Knew. Big Oil Lied. And Planet Earth Got Fried. – Jon Queally
They knew. They lied. And the planet and its people are now paying the ultimate price. It’s no secret that the fossil fuel industry—the set of companies and corporate interests which profit most from the burning of coal, oil, and gas—have been the largest purveyors and funders of climate change denialism in the world. Now, a new set of documents and …
Trumping America By Henry A. Giroux
Donald Trump lit up the mainstream media spectacle by stating in his presidential candidacy announcement, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” (1) The mainstream press could not let such an opportune racist outburst go unnoticed. After all, it was perfect fodder for fueling …