US politics

About those US embassy closures in the Middle East: they make the US look like a wimp. The United States is still the world’s primary superpower, for better or worse, and it has the potential to influence the world in both positive and negative ways. At one extreme, its unique geopolitical position allows it to […]

Afghanistan

How we lost our Constitution somewhere in Iraq and came back without it to Try Manning (van Buren)

Juan Cole

Peter Van Buren writes at Tomdispatch.com On July 30, 1778, the Continental Congress created the first whistleblower protection law, stating “that it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States to give the earliest information to Congress or other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds, or misdemeanors committed by any […]

Energy

The New Neros: The Koch Bros Profit from Burning the World Up (Halperin Infographic)

Juan Cole

Courtesy Grist

US politics

How a Bill Becomes Law (George Carlin)

Juan Cole

George Carlin explains how the United States really works. Warning: some profanity (as is appropriate to the subject). The Clip

Climate Change

Where has all the Water Gone? How Climate Change and Soaring Water Demand are Drying out the Southwest (deBuys)

Juan Cole

William deBuys writes at Tomdispatch.com: Several miles from Phantom Ranch, Grand Canyon, Arizona, April 2013 — Down here, at the bottom of the continent’s most spectacular canyon, the Colorado River growls past our sandy beach in a wet monotone. Our group of 24 is one week into a 225-mile, 18-day voyage on inflatable rafts from […]

Domestic Surveillance

Lest we Forget that Manning was Tortured before being Found not Guilty of Aiding the Enemy (America’s Bouazizi)

Juan Cole

Breaking news: Firedog Lake reports that Bradley Manning has been found not guilty of aiding the enemy, a blow against the Obama administration’s repeated attempts to smear whistleblowers as traitors. The other charges against him could put him behind bars for 100 years. But just so it isn’t forgotten, Manning’s journey to sentencing has been […]

US politics

The 400: What they don’t want us to know about growing wealth inequality in America

Juan Cole

Presdident Obama’s speech last week on the threat of growing income inequality in the US was generally blown off by the corporate media. The problem is not generally recognized or understood because Americans have a poor grasp of the actual situation (see video below) or of how much worse things have gotten over the past […]

CIA

The Kidnapper & Torturer vs. the Whistleblower: The Gov’t’s different Treatment of Lady and Snowden (Engelhardt)

Juan Cole

Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch.com: He came and he went: that was the joke that circulated in 1979 when 70-year-old former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had a heart attack and died in his Manhattan townhouse in the presence of his evening-gown-clad 25-year-old assistant. In a sense, the same might be said of retired CIA operative […]

US politics

Propaganda Terms in the Media and What They Mean – Noam Chomsky

Juan Cole

This talk is from 1990 but it is astonishing how well it holds up. The terms of discourse haven’t changed. Propaganda Terms in the Media and What They Mean – Noam Chomsky