Bill Moyers reports on America’s drone wars The blurb: “America’s Drone Wars November 1, 2013 This week, members of Congress heard testimony for the first time from victims of drone attacks, including that of 13-year-old Zubair Rehman, from Pakistan, who spoke of a strike last year that killed his grandmother and wounded him and his […]
Al Gore on the Oil, Gas and Coal Bubble: Investors Beware! (Queally)
John Queally writes at Commondreams.org Former U.S. Vice President turned climate campaigner Al Gore and his longtime business partner David Blood, a former Goldman Sachs executive, are out with a bit of financial advice for their wealthy comrades who remain in the habit of investing in the world's high-polluting carbon industry: Don't. Saying the misguided […]
Scrooge Republicans prefer Pentagon White Elephants to Food Stamps for Poor Children
As of today, Republican cuts in food stamp support present a challenged nearly 23 million American households in keeping their children from hunger. Some 76% of SNAP or food stamp-receiving households include children, the elderly or a disabled person, and 83% of all SNAP assistance goes to such challenged households. The image of a single […]
Top Ten Reasons the US should Stay out of Iraq and put Conditions on Arms Sales
The US invasion and occupation of Iraq 2003-2011 threw that country into civil war and long-term guerrilla insurgency. Once an insurgency begins, it often lasts 15 years, so Iraq may well not settle down for another decade. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came to Washington yesterday asking for a substantial increase in military aid, including nice […]
Pakistani family testifies to empty room on Hill about US Drone that killed Granny
Congressman Alan Grayson held a hearing on the Hill on Tuesday on civilian deaths in US drone strikes. A Pakistani family, the Ur Rahmans, testified on the death by drone of their grandmother while she was tending her garden. Nine-year-old Nabila Ur Rahman was injured in the strike that killed he grandmother. It was a […]
Elites Stick together against Us: Feinstein Slams NSA Merkel Tap
The Snowden revelations that the National Security Agency was scooping up hundreds of millions of American cell phone records that show who they call and where they are was met with a big yawn in official Washington, D.C. If you are a feudal lord, you want to know what the peasants are up to. The […]
Against Demonizing Syria’s Refugees (Seeley)
Nicholas Seeley writes in a guest column for Informed Comment On a sunny fall afternoon, Abdullah joined me for lunch in the sitting room of my apartment in Amman, Jordan, and told me his story. He hails from a small town in southern Syria, a cousin to some of the families I’ve become friends with […]
No Woman, No Drive (Saudi Satire Video)
Hisham Fageeh’s satirical take on a Bob Marley classic: and, ITN reports on this weekend’s protests and interviews Saudi women activists:
America’s Secret 4th Branch of Government: The NSA kept even Obama in the Dark
The revelation from the Snowden Papers that the National Security Agency had German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal cell phone under surveillance has produced a central fallout. Dueling leaks over the international embarrassment have forced the White House to a key admission: President Barack Obama did not know what the NSA was up to. Ever since […]