Did you know that there is more than $28,000 of debt for every man, woman and child on the entire planet? And since close to 3 billion of those people survive on less than 2 dollars a day, your share of that debt is going to be much larger than that. If we took everything that the global economy produced this year …
Why More and More Women Are Embracing Non-Belief – Amanda Marcotte
Atheists were abuzz this week over Pew Research releasing new numbers [3] showing that the number of “nones” (people who have no religion at all) in the U.S. is soaring to record levels, making up a whopping 56 million Americans. In just the past seven years, the percentage of Americans who say they have no specific religious affiliation went from 16 percent to …
The Empire Lies: How to Fight Western Propaganda – Andre Vltchek
First they manufacture monstrous lies, and then they tell us that we should be objective! Is love objective; is passion? Are dreams defendable, logically and philosophically? When a house is attacked by brigands, when a village is overran by gangsters, when smoke, fire and cries for help are coming from every corner, should we award ourselves with the luxury of …
Trade Rules Create Obstacle Course for a Better Food System – Karen Hansen-Kuhn
There were some decidedly Kafkaesque aspects of the Congressional debate this week on Fast Track legislation, designed to speed through the passage of secret trade deals that could have a serious impact on our food system. At first, the Senate refused to approve a bill to limit debate on Fast Track. Then, when the Senate did approve that bill, it …
Obamacare’s health plan choice benefits are vastly overrated – Dr. Philip Caper
It is well documented that many other countries have created health care systems that are more popular than ours, cover everybody, are more effective as measured by better health outcomes, are better able to restrain increases in costs and, therefore, have per-capita costs that are a fraction of ours. One of the reasons for the popularity of universal health care systems elsewhere …
The Kids Aren’t All Right – Nick Turse
MALAKAL, South Sudan — I didn’t really think he was going to shoot me. There was no anger in his eyes. His finger may not have been anywhere near the trigger. He didn’t draw a bead on me. Still, he was a boy and he was holding an AK-47 and it was pointed in my direction. It was unnerving. I …
I’m Not Making This Up: Corporations Use Trade Deals To Attack U.S. Law – Dave Johnson
President Obama says progressives who warn that trade laws let corporations overrule U.S. law are “making this stuff up.” Two attacks on U.S. laws and regulations are underway right now, illustrating how the “corporate courts” provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would open our country up to attacks from foreign corporations. “They’re making this stuff up.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, legal scholars and …
Big Pharma’s Unlikely Allies: Labor Unions Support Strong Intellectual Property Provisions In Trans-Pacific Partnership – Cole Stangler
When the top pharmaceutical lobby in the U.S. sponsored a Twitter chat on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in March of last year, labor unions trolled it hard. But not all unions are as repulsed by Big Pharma’s lobbying on trade. Some even support it. Seven different unions — the Boilermakers, Electrical Workers, Fire Fighters, Iron Workers, Plumbers and Sheet Metal Workers, …
Is the US planning a “Gulf of Tonkin” incident in the South China Sea? – Peter Symonds
Following weeks of scaremongering by American officials over China’s activities in the South China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry used his visit to Beijing last weekend to issue an ultimatum to Chinese leaders to halt land reclamation on islets and shoals. His Chinese counterpart Wang Yi bluntly refused, insisting that China would safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity …
Vladimir Putin calls Ukraine fascist and country’s new law helps make his case – Josh Cohen
As Ukraine continues its battle against separatists, corruption and a collapsing economy, it has taken a dangerous step that could further tear the country apart: Ukraine’s parliament, the Supreme Rada, passed a draft law last month honoring organizations involved in mass ethnic cleansing during World War Two. The draft law — which is now on President Petro Poroshenko’s desk awaiting …