(By Jon Queally) President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, is warning that the combined crises of planetary climate change and rising global inequality in a highly interconnected world will lead to the rise of widespread upheaval as the world's poor rise up and clashes over access to clean water and affordable food result […]
Archives for April 2014
Top 7 Surprising pieces of Good news in Afghanistan Presidential Election
(By Juan Cole) Afghanistan went to the polls on Saturday, despite threats by the Taliban to disrupt the elections and calls by the extremists for Afghans to boycott the vote. As it turns out, the elections appear to have been a success, despite many problems (including a last-minute shortage of ballots as more voters showed […]
Can We Safeguard Our Democracy After Supreme Court Decision?
The Supreme Court’s evisceration of our campaign finance rules is a powerful argument for the cleansing properties of sunlight. We should respond to McCutcheon by pushing for the full and timely disclosure of every penny donated to advance a political…
Will electoral Fraud undermine Afghanistan’s new President?
(By Djeyhoun Ostowar) War-torn Afghanistan does not possess a civil registry. It therefore lacks reliable statistics. Given widespread corruption, the absence of an identification system and the high security risk of voting, is mass-election fraud a necessary and acceptable price for peace? On April 5, the Afghan people will vote in the country’s presidential elections, […]
In Iraq Elections, Rich Parties get Richer on State Funds
(By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | Niqash) Election posters are everywhere now that campaigning has officially started. Campaigning for Iraq’s general elections officially began this week on April 1. And several trends are already noticeable. The bigger the posters the better. Local politicians are doing a lot of door knocking. And nobody seems to want […]
Dear America: Climate Change is threatening Water, Plants, Animals & doesn’t care what Party you belong To
(By Juan Cole) A Gallup poll has found that only 35% of Americans are concerned about climate change, and that proportion is barely up from the previous year. Climate change has become a partisan issue in the US, such that a majority of Democrats is worried about it but only 29% of independents and only […]
After Karzai: Afghanistan votes for a New President amid Security Threats
Afghanistan poised for uncertain election as US forces exit (via AFP) Afghanistan heads to the polls Saturday to choose a new president after Hamid Karzai’s 13-year reign and a US-led military campaign which have radically changed the country but failed to defeat the Taliban. The first round of the election comes as the… —— […]
ACLU Complains: CIA to Filter Release by Senate of Torture Report
(By Sarah Lazare) The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to partially lift the media and public blackout of its 6,300 page investigation into widespread CIA torture, extrajudicial detentions, unlawful renditions, and lying to the U.S. government in the so-called 'War on Terror.' In an 11 to 3 decision, the committee voted to submit the […]
Hope for Ending Gas and Coal: US Wind Energy Is Breaking Records
Originally published on AWEA. Washington, D.C., — Wind energy is breaking records across the U.S., thanks to long-needed transmission upgrades that are relieving congestion on the power grid and allowing more clean energy to reach consumers. Last…
© 2024 All Rights Reserved