For some oil and gas producing regions, the study found the methane levels not 1.7 times higher but 2.7 times higher. I think in my research I saw that they even found 5 times more in some particular regions. Jacob Chamberlain writes at Commondreams.org The amount of the potent greenhouse gas methane the U.S. is […]
Syrian Refugee Children by the Tragic Numbers
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees has issued a new report on the plight of Syrian refugee children. The numbers are horrifying: Population of Syria: 22 million Number of Syrians made refugees in other countries by the civil war: 2.2 million Number of Syrian refugee children: 1.1 million Percentage of Syrian refugees who are […]
Karzai, Pakistan Protests against US Drone Strikes may force US out
Afghan President Hamid Karzai complained Friday that a US drone strike in Helmand Province targeting a Taliban commander on a motorcycle appears to have gone bad and ended up killing a 2 year old child and wounding two women instead. A second drone strike killed the commander. Karzai said that he would not sign a […]
Greenwald to BBC: Journalists must investigate the Powerful in Gov’t since they Lie to the People (BBC Surprised)
Glenn Greenwald on the BBC’s Hardtalk seems to surprise the anchor by asserting that journalists need to investigate the powerful since the latter tend to lie to the people. This is how the BBC describes the program “Journalist Glenn Greenwald who reported on the data leaked by US whistleblower Edward Snowden has told HARDtalk it […]
Egyptian Heavy Metal Band Massive Scar Era – “Between The Waves “
Egypt’s Heavy Metal band, Massive Scar Era, which is predominantly made up of women and led by Sherine Amr, performs their “Between the Waves.” Live at the Sakiya in Zamalek: The band members were involved in the 2011 revolution but later protested against its “commoditization,” and were unhappy during the Muslim Brotherhood period. Iranwire interview […]
Egypt’s Counter-Revolution: 21 Women and Girls Harshly Sentenced, Liberal Bloggers to be Arrested
The new anti-protest law in Egypt is roiling the country. On Thursday, a student at Cairo University was killed by police using live ammunition against a student demonstration. Youth leaders of the 2011 revolution are now also being targeted for calling for demonstrations against the law, including Ahmad Maher of April 6 and blogger Alaa […]
John F. Kennedy’s Thanksgiving Ideals, 1962– How different they are from Ours
The fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has brought forth a flood of books and documentaries. On this Thanksgiving, what strikes me is the ideals JFK put forward in his Thanksgiving proclamations, and how different they are from today’s discourse in Washington, D.C. Kennedy wrote in November of 1962 that “It […]
NSA monitored visits of “Radicalizers” to Chat Rooms, Skin Sites to Discredit Them
Six persons living abroad, one of them a “US person,” were targeted by the National Security Agency for discrediting, according to information leaked by Edward Snowden and reported on by Glenn Greenwald and two colleagues at HuffPo. The NSA branded the six Muslims “radicalizers” even though it did not tie them to terrorist activity. Their […]
Pope Francis: Why are Deaths of the Homeless not a Headline but a 2-point Dow Jones rise is? (Germanos)
Andrea Germanos writes at Commondreams.org Pope Francis has issued a new document in which he rails against growing inequality, trickle-down economics and the current socioeconomic system that "is unjust at its root." Issued on Tuesday, his 224-page document, called an apostolic exhortation, is titled The Joy of the Gospel, and follows previous remarks the pontiff […]