US politics

Oakland, Ca. (Feature; Special to Informed Comment) – Clarence and Ginni Thomas have been the “King and Queen of Conflict of Interest” since his controversial confirmation. The extent and brazenness of Thomas’ public graft is astonishing. His long-time benefactor and “sponsor” Harlan Crow is no garden variety Republican donor or “kingmaker,” but a Nazi-loving, autocrat-worshipping, […]

Chemical Weapons

Will the West Turn Ukraine into a Nuclear Battlefield? Why Depleted Uranium Should Have No Place There

Tomdispatch

By Joshua Frank | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – It’s sure to be a blood-soaked spring in Ukraine. Russia’s winter offensive fell far short of Vladimir Putin’s objectives, leaving little doubt that the West’s conveyor belt of weaponry has aided Ukraine’s defenses. Cease-fire negotiations have never truly begun, while NATO has only strengthened its forces thanks […]

Corruption

Undisclosed: Billionaire Harlan Crow bought House from Clarence Thomas where Justice’s Mother Lives

ProPublica

By Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski ( ProPublica ) – In 2014, one of Texas billionaire Harlan Crow’s companies purchased a string of properties on a quiet residential street in Savannah, Georgia. It wasn’t a marquee acquisition for the real estate magnate, just an old single-story home and two vacant lots down the […]

Artificial Intelligence

Weaponizing ChatGPT? The Pentagon Girds for Mid-Century Wars

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com )- Why is the Pentagon budget so high? On March 13th, the Biden administration unveiled its $842 billion military budget request for 2024, the largest ask (in today’s dollars) since the peaks of the Afghan and Iraq wars. And mind you, that’s before the hawks in Congress get their hands on it. Last […]

Corruption

Trump’s Al Capone Moment

OtherWords

By Mitchell Zimmerman | ( Otherwords.org) – The Prohibition Era mobster and thug Alphonse “Al” Capone comes to mind as we see the man who incited the January 2021 Capitol insurrection, among other misdeeds, finally face a criminal charge: falsifying business records. Al Capone was the boss of a murderous Chicago criminal enterprise that […]

Climate Crisis

Boosting EV Market Share to 67% of US Car Sales is a huge Leap – but Automakers can meet EPA’s tough new Standards

The Conversation

By Alan Jenn, University of California, Davis | – (The Conversation) – One big question keeps surfacing after the Biden administration announced plans to raise auto standards so sharply they would likely boost electric vehicle production to 67% of all new passenger vehicle sales in under a decade: Can automakers pull that off? The proposal […]

Reproductive Choice

Florida Legislature approves extreme 6-week Abortion Ban, after Weeks of Protests and Debates

Florida Phoenix

By: Danielle J. Brown – In less than a year, Florida has moved from a 15-week abortion ban to the passage of one of the most restrictive bans in the nation — a 6-week abortion ban. The state House approved the legislation after at least six hours of questions, amendments, debate, protests and a […]

National Security State

US Military: Losing Wars is making Recruitment Harder

Tomdispatch

By Nan Levinson ( Tomdispatch.com ) – After more than 20 years of losing wars, recruiting for the U.S. Army is now officially a mess. Last year, that service fell short of its goal by 15,000 recruits, or a quarter of its target. Despite reports of better numbers in the first months of this year, Army […]

Arab Americans

Arab Americans are a much more diverse Group than many of their Neighbors Mistakenly Assume

The Conversation

By Yasmin Moll, University of Michigan | – Marking April as Arab American Heritage Month – a time to learn about the history, culture and contributions of our nearly 4 million strong community – is gaining traction across the country. In 2022, Joe Biden made history as the first U.S. president to recognize the month, […]