By Kitty Stapp NEW YORK (IPS) – With battle lines sharpening over the stalled Keystone XL pipeline, a new analysis details the intense industry lobbying of both houses of the U.S. Congress since 2013 – to the tune of 58.8 million dollars by five refinery companies alone. According to MapLight, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organisation […]
The Daily Show was never ‘real’ news – but came (depressingly) close
Julia Fox, Indiana University | (The Conversation) Jon Stewart’s Tuesday night announcement that he’ll be leaving the Daily Show garnered an audible cry of disbelief from his live studio audience. Stewart himself was visibly emotional: “What is this fluid?” he jokingly asked, making Frankenstein’s monster-like gestures toward his eyes and heart. “What are these feelings?” […]
Old White Men Dominate Sunday Political Shows Yet Again
MediaMatters4America | – [A study of the Sunday political television shows demonstrates that 87% of the single-person interviews are done with white males, and 66% of all interviews are, though white men are only 32% of Americans. Women of color were interviewed 6% of the time, though they’re about a fifth of Americans. White women […]
Israel earmarks vast area of Palestinian Hebron/ al-Khalil land for annexation
HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israel has earmarked around 2,000 dunams (500 acres) of private Palestinian land for annexation in the Hebron district, local activists say. Muhammad al-Halayqa, an activist in the village of al-Shuyukh northeast of Hebron, told Ma’an that Israel’s Civil Administration has posted warning notices on the land slated for confiscation. The land belongs […]
Syria: Dear Bashar al-Assad: Barrel Bombs Are No Laughing Matter
By Philippe Bolopion | (Human Rights Watch) | — It speaks volumes when the leader of a country feels emboldened to respond with humor when asked on television about a deadly weapon that is responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of his citizens. In a BBC interview broadcasted today, a confident Syrian President […]
Abandoning Diesel: Battery-powered train brings low-carbon commuting to UK
Reuters | — “The first battery-powered passenger train to run on Britain’s tracks in over 50 years completes a five-week trial in a bid to prove the viability of more eco-friendly alternatives to diesel-powered locomotives. Mia Reakes went aboard.” Reuters: Battery-powered train brings low-carbon commuting to UK
Against Torture: American Heroes who Indicted Cheney’s Dark Side
By Rebecca Gordon | (Tomdispatch.com) Why was it again that, as President Obama said, “we tortured some folks” after the 9/11 attacks? Oh, right, because we were terrified. Because everyone knows that being afraid gives you moral license to do whatever you need to do to keep yourself safe. That’s why we don’t shame or […]
As Sweden opens Palestine Embassy, President Abbas Visits
Euronews | – “The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in Sweden for talks with the country’s new Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. It is his first visit to the Nordic nation since it “officially recognised Palestine”: …as a state. Sweden’s ties with Israel have nosedived however as a result with Tel Aviv recalling its ambassador to […]
2nd Iranian Commander killed in Iraq defending Samarra Golden Dome
By RFE/RL | – A commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been killed in Iraq, Iranian media reported. The Tasnim news agency, said to be affiliated with IRGC, says Reza Hosseini Moghadam was in Samarra to confront militants of the Islamic State (IS) when he was killed on February 7. “He [Moghadam] […]