Plutocracy

TheLipTV “Is Fox News creating content that appeals to closed minded people of a “right wing authoritarian” mind state? That is the case being argued by a University of Alabama Psychologist, Dr. William Hart, who cites the Republican slanted cable news channel as a mirror for similarly ideologically minded people. Does this create a distortion […]

Economy

Top 1% ‘own half global wealth’

contributors

BBC News: “The richest 1% of people own nearly half the world’s wealth, according to a report out this week. With total global wealth more than doubling this century, total household wealth in China is now the third highest in the world, only surpassed by the US and Japan, says the report by banking giant […]

Climate Change

Walmart Plots to derail Rooftop Solar Energy Revolution

contributors

By Deirdre Fulton via Commondreams.org The Walton family—who, as heirs to the Walmart fortune, have more wealth than 42 percent of American families combined—are impeding the nation’s transition to a clean energy future, a new study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) finds. “The Waltons claim to have a deep commitment to sustainability, but […]

Economy

Super-Rich Oil and Gas Companies Routinely Underpay own Workers

contributors

By Naveena Sadasivam via ProPublica A ProPublica review of U.S. Department of Labor investigations shows that oil and gas workers 2013 men and women often performing high-risk jobs 2013 are routinely being underpaid, and the companies hiring them often are using accounting techniques to deny workers benefits such as medical leave or unemployment insurance. The […]

Banking

Climate Protesters Flood Wall Street – And A Polar Bear Is Arrested

Juan Cole

AJ+ “Hundreds of people attended the #FloodWallStreet demonstration to protest the role big business plays in fueling climate change. The protest was largely peaceful, but police arrested a number of people by the end of the night, including a polar bear.” AJ+ : “Protesters Flood Wall Street – And A Polar Bear Is Arrested”

Economy

Student Debt Factories: The Scandal of For-Profit Colleges

contributors

By Astra Taylor and Hannah Appel via Tomdispatch.com Imagine corporations that intentionally target low-income single mothers as ideal customers. Imagine that these same companies claim to sell tickets to the American dream — gainful employment, the chance for a middle class life. Imagine that the fine print on these tickets, once purchased, reveals them to […]

Climate Change

NYC Climate Demo: Top 5 Massive Rallies that had no Effect

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Don’t get me wrong. I am all for demonstrating and admire everyone who came out in New York City on Sunday (some 400,000 according to Time magazine) to demand that world leaders deal urgently with climate change. But I just do have to point out that holding large rallies doesn’t always result […]

Climate Change

How The Koch Brothers Corrupted Florida State University (+163 Other Colleges) (Young Turks)

contributors

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks “In 2007, when the Charles Koch Foundation considered giving millions of dollars to Florida State University’s economics department, the offer came with strings attached. First, the curriculum it funded must align with the libertarian, deregulatory economic philosophy of Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist and Republican political bankroller. Second, the […]

Climate Change

Climate Marchers join Alarmed Scientists against “Drill-Baby-Drill” Corporations & Politicians

contributors

AJ+ interviews Naomi Klein “As people gather in New York City for what organizers are billing as the largest climate-change protest in history, AJ+ asks Naomi Klein about her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate. She tells us why the planet is doomed if we don’t change course. And why it’s up […]