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Anger as Hurricane Sandy victims have to pay back emergency aid with interest – David Millward

Thousands of families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Sandyare being ordered to repay some of the compensation they received from the government. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not only demanding interest on what it says were overpayments, but Washington is ready to call in debt collectors to recoup the cash. That is not the only blow faced by …

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America’s Control Over the World Is Rapidly Eroding – Michael Payne

It’s no secret that the U.S. is most certainly not the most loved country in the world because of its government’s long history of highly aggressive military actions, as well as its interference in the internal affairs of countless nations. But what we are seeing today is that an increasing number of nations are turning against the U.S. and taking …

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The Lasting Pain from Vietnam Silence – Ray McGovern

Ecclesiastes says there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. The fortieth anniversary of the ugly end of the U.S. adventure in Vietnam is a time to speak – and especially of the squandered opportunities that existed earlier in the war to blow the whistle and stop the killing. While my friend Daniel Ellsberg’s leak of the Pentagon …

wildfire

US braces itself for even worse wildfire season – Kieran Cooke

The firefighters are primed, hoses at the ready. May and June are often the peak months for forest fires in the southwest of the US, and the outlook for this year is grim. “I wish I could have some hope,” says Dr Wally Covington, director of the Ecological Restoration Institute at North Arizona University. “It’s just a terrible situation in …

Ukraine

Ukraine the Epicenter of Global Geopolitical Transformation – Stephen Cohen

Prominent American historian Stephen Cohen believes that Ukraine is the epicenter of a global geopolitical transformation, and that the world as it existed before the crisis will never be the same again. Speaking on the John Batchelor radio program, Dr. Cohen observed that while “we talk each week about the micro and macro events emanating from the Ukraine crisis, we’re living through a geopolitical …

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Organic Farming Changes Agriculture from a Huge Carbon Source to a Carbon-DESTROYER

Approximately 35% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) come from agriculture. Some argues that human can reverse global worming by sequestering several hundred billion tons of excess CO2 through regenerative, organic farming, ranching and land use. Increasing the soil’s organic content will not only fix carbon and reduce emissions, it will also improve the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients …

Netanyahu

Netanyahu on the Couch – URI AVNERY

There are two different opinions about Binyamin Netanyahu. It is difficult to believe that they concern the same person. One is that Netanyahu is a shallow politician, devoid of ideas and convictions, who is led solely by his obsession to remain in power. This Netanyahu has a good voice and a talent for making shallow speeches on television, speeches devoid …

TRAUDT AERIAL SERVICE

Cut pesticide use to boost yields? It’s worked for millions of farmers in Asia and Africa – Jules Pretty and Zareen Pervez Bharucha

Pesticides are intended to be harmful. They kill pests, diseases and weeds. But some also harm humans and wildlife. Pesticides are a huge global business, worth around US$45 billion. Each year, 3.5 billion kilogrammes of pesticides are applied to food crops and their use is growing. Much use of this use is at best ineffective and at worst outright harmful. In recent …

In 50-49 vote, US Senate says climate change not caused by humans – Sean Cockerham

The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth. The Republican-controlled Senate defeated a measure Wednesday stating that climate change is real and that human activity significantly contributes to it. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, offered the measure as …

oil and nuclear

Oil Wars: Fracking, Manipulation, and the Future of Our Energy System – Karl Grossman

Manipulation of the petroleum market is not new. John D. Rockefeller with his Standard Oil Trust mastered it between the end of the 19th and start of the 20th Century. Rockefeller and his trust succeeded in controlling virtually all the oil industry in the United States and also dominating the international market. The Standard Oil Trust fixed prices, set production …