Central to the Supreme Court’s campaign finance decisions in the John Roberts era is that the government’s only legitimate interest in this area is preventing direct, quid pro quo corruption — a donor demanding that a specific law be passed, or…
Alarming new study makes today’s climate change more comparable to Earth’s worst mass extinction
Posted on 2 April 2014 by howardlee The Permian Mass Extinction 251.9 million years ago, otherwise known as “The Great Dying,” was the closest this planet has come to extinguishing all complex life on Earth. Around 90% of all species died out in…
Get ready for More Disappearing Airliners: Obama moots giving Syrian Rebels Anti-Aircraft Missiles
(By James McMichael [jamesmcmichael.dc@gmail.com]) President Obama is considering supplying Syrian rebels with Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (Manpads). These antiaircraft missiles are small enough to be carried and fired by a single person; they can destroy jet fighters and civilian airliners alike. If President Obama gives his approval for their supply to Syrian rebels, he will […]
The Paradox of Turkey’s Victorious Erdogan: Authoritarianism burnishes his ‘democratic’ credentials
(By Niall Finn) Sunday’s local elections was the first time the Turkish people have had a chance to vote since last summer’s Gezi Park movement rocked the country. Although the protests sparked an almost continuous period of political crisis for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), they have again emerged as Turkey’s largest political party with […]
Ft. Hood & the True Cost of Iraq & Afghanistan Wars: Nearly 1 mn traumatized: PTSD by the Numbers
(By Juan Cole) The Ft. Hood shooter who left 3 victims dead yesterday had been being assessed for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had served for 4 months at the tail end of the Iraq War in 2011 and suffered from anxiety and depression. A staggering 1 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have […]
Jon Stewart/ Daily Show: Adelson will accept “Outer Israel” as term for Occupied West Bank
The Daily ShowGet More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook Jon Stewart and Samantha Bee of The Daily Show send up “Zionist billionaire” Sheldon Adelson’s recent attempt to buy Republican presidential candidates and his imposition on them of euphemisms about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
No US troops Killed in Combat last Month for first time since 2003
NewsyWorld: “No U.S. Troops Died In Afghanistan In March” For the first time since 2007, no US troops were killed in Afghanistan in March, and for the first time since early 2003 no US troops were killed in combat anywhere in the world for a whole month. In late February, Michael Munk had reported, “… […]
Can Egypt’s Women ever find a Personal Space of their Own?
(By Zainab Magdy) Last month a young woman was mob attacked on Cairo University campus. Socially and culturally constructed circles that control our lives seem to be tightening at a time when individuals are trying their hardest to crack them open. Zainab Magdy explores whether women will ever find a space that is their own. […]
Obamacare Enrolls 7.1 Million: But Will the haters ever stop hating?
LAST week, while watching videos on YouTube, I was repeatedly served with an advertisement in which a mournful woman informed me that unfortunately, Obamacare “just doesn’t work.” This left me bemused, since I live in a country where a variety of Obamacare…