US politics

(By Juan Cole) It can only be called an Escherian Mobius Strip foreign policy. The Obama administration is sending hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to the Shiite Islamic Mission Party-dominated government of Iraq to help in the latter’s struggle against radical Sunni rebels who have increased their bombings and attacks this year. If the helicopter […]

Climate Change

Climate Denialists Spending Billions in untraceable Dark Money to fool the Public

contributors

(By Lauren McCauley) The expansive misinformation campaign behind climate change denial is increasingly being funded in the dark, reveals a new report published Friday in the journal Climatic Change According to the study titled "Institutionalizing Delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations," while the largest and most consistent funders of […]

Popular Culture

SNL: Not only is Santa Black, but one of his Reindeers is Gay

Juan Cole

Kenan Thompson and Cecily Strong make fun of Fox News’ Megyn Kelly and her silly insistence that “Santa Clause is white.” (See also IC’s take on the controversy).

Popular Culture

Video of the Day: Fox News wishes you ‘Happy Holidays’ (War on Christmas Fail)

Juan Cole

Cenk Uygur of Young Turks reports on Fox Cable News’ hypocrisy in hyping a mythical “war on Christmas” that allegedly involves forbidding the phrase “Merry Christmas,” and then turning around and using the phrase themselves. Some companies prefer ‘Happy Holidays’ because they have significant numbers of customers who are not Christians. In New York, e.g., […]

Featured

Obama will Veto new Iran Sanctions, Israel War Mandate pushed by AIPAC Senators

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In his end-of-the-year press conference, President Obama had to defend his Iran negotiations in the face of a revolt within his own party. Thirteen Democratic senators and thirteen Republican senators banded together to try to derail President Obama’s negotiations with Iran by slapping new sanctions on that country in the middle of […]

Featured

Congress cuts Food Stamps, maintains Estate Tax Loophole worth $100 bn to the Rich

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) You know how the Tea Party House of Representatives obsessed with cutting food stamps to working families and veterans and children this fall? They were trying to save $4 bn. At the same time, they have kept in place a piece of fatally flawed legislation regarding estate taxes that has cost the […]

Featured

India Flap derives from America’s Gulag Practices and Far-Right Supreme Court

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The militarization of American police and humiliating practices of routine strip and cavity searches are the real culprits in the current diplomatic dispute between the United States and India. Police not only arrested the Indian deputy consul, Devyani Khobragade, who claims diplomatic immunity, on a minor visa and domestic labor charge, they […]

Domestic Surveillance

“60 Minutes” does Infomercial for NSA with Security Official posing as Journalist

contributors

(By Techdirt) CBS Airs NSA Propaganda Informercial Masquerading As ‘Hard Hitting’ 60 Minutes Journalism By Reporter With Massive Conflict Of Interest (via Techdirt) Last night I started seeing a bunch of folks on Twitter absolutely trashing 60 Minutes. We had mentioned last week that 60 Minutes would be doing something about the NSA, including the […]

science

The 1% is Hogging so much of our Income that it’s Holding the Economy Back

contributors

(By Anthony W. Orlando) Over the past few years, I have encountered a lot of myths about the so-called “One Percent.” Now that my book Letter to the One Percent has been published, I’d like to share one of the most pernicious myths with you. We all know that inequality has been rising and the […]