Bold and Daring: The Way Progressive News Should Be
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Five years after President Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, it remains not only a symbol -- but a reality -- of major human rights abuses. This must end.
It is clear that the GOP plan is to use this unnecessary, manufactured crisis as an opening to "reform" Social Security -- translated: cut and privatize. Thus, forcing Democrats to become the Social Security anti-Santa a different way. Democrats must accept neither the cut to disability payments, nor the entree to Social Security "reform."
By Tom Engelhardt
Michael Klare: A Republican Neo-Imperial Vision for 2016 Keep in mind that President Obama understands well the dangers of global warming. His sideline moves -- increasing vehicle fuel efficiency, reducing coal-powered plants in the U.S., setting aside parts of Alaska's Arctic seas as no-drill areas -- reflect an often repeated "commitment" to bringing climate change under control.
Before vaccines, almost everyone used to get measles between ages 5 and 9, when the body is best equipped to handle it safely. One case of measles gives lifelong immunity. Now, with the temporary immunity from vaccines, there are dangerous cases of measles in infants and in adults. There are more deaths from measles after the vaccine than before.
By William K. Black, J.D., Ph.D.
Bank Lobbyists Still Fear Progressives and the Public Bank lobbyists are still whining about opposition from progressives to the lobbyists' agenda to (again) gut financial regulation.
Just as NATO allies Germany and France were undertaking a peace initiative with Russia and Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry turned up in Kiev at the same time, seeking to poison the talks before they started by spouting yet again the ritual U.S. accusation of "Russian aggression." The incantation is meaningless without context. Its purpose is mesmerize a false consciousness. "Russian aggression" may or may not exist
By Elayne Clift
Are There Lessons to be Learned from Kayla Mueller's Sad Story? Are there important lessons for other young idealists who want to head off to foreign lands to help people in war-torn countries in Kayla's story?
The result of TPP could be the persistence long into the future of large U.S. trade deficits, with the resulting loss of demand and millions of jobs. This drag on growth may not give us the same sort of cataclysmic downturn that Greece has seen, but it is a much more real concern than the possibility that no one will buy U.S. government debt.
Despite laundering hundreds of billions of dollars illegally, helping out some of the world's most notorious killers and drug cartels, allegedly laundering for terrorist groups and moving money for customers in nations that the US has no diplomatic ties with, HSBC got off with a slap on the wrist, and a very light slap at that.
The U.S. government beats the drums of war, the mainstream media picks up the sound and amplifies it across America; the war-weary American people hear the drums and think, "Oh, no, not again"; while people around the world shudder at the thought of what might happen next.
A wonderful documentary which includes live footage of many of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th Century since Franz Liszt. Among those featured are Vladmir Horowitz, Glenn Gould, Josef Hoffman, Arthur Rubinstein, Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Claudio Arrau.
Football is over and baseball has yet to begin. Hockey and basketball don't get serious until June. Why not Join me in another favorite sporting pastime -- reminiscing about some special moments in sports. C'mon, it's February.
Interview with leading environmental attorney and author Stuart Smith on his new book Crude Justice and the ongoing litigation related to the BP Oil Spil.
There are big differences between men and women--but they're not what you think
CBS News' "60 Minutes" correspondent and foreign reporter Bob Simon died on Wednesday night at the age of 73 from injuries sustained in a car accident, the network announced. The award-winning reporter's career spanned five decades, taking him to conflict scenes around the world. Simon joined CBS in 1967, and then "60 Minutes" in 1996. Over his career, he covered topics including the Vietnam War and the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
By Thomas Farrell
Can Deliberate Human Destructiveness Be Staved Off? (REVIEW ESSAY) The news media often report examples of deliberate human destructiveness. But can such destructiveness be staved off? In the book RETURN OF THE GODDESS, Edward C. Whitmont, M.D., argues that it is possible to stave off human destructiveness. But it won't be easy to do, especially for men. For men to stave off their destructive potentialities, they will need to integrate the archetypal feminine in their psyches.
The idea of building a lunar outpost has long captured people's imaginations. But what would it really be like to live on the moon? Altogether, data beamed back from numerous missions suggest that no place on the moon would be a pleasant place to live, at least compared with Earth. Lunar days stretch for about 14 Earth days with average temperatures of 253 degrees Fahrenheit (123 degrees Celsius), while lunar nights also last 14 Earth days (due to the moon's rotation) and maintain a frigid cold of minus 387 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 233 degrees Celsius). About the only place we could build a base that wouldn't have to deal with these extremes is, oddly enough, near the lunar poles. These areas likely store vast amounts of water-ice and enjoy low levels of light from the sun for several months at a time. Instead of the blazing heat of lunar noon, it is a kind of perpetual balmy sunset.
By Joel Hirschhorn
Planetary Suicide A new book on climate change deserves a wide readership because it is so comprehensive and readable. The threats to the survival of humanity as we know it are incredible. If public support for stronger government action is not broadened, we are willingly asking for planetary suicide.
The Democratic National Committee confirmed Philadelphia's selection Thursday morning, shortly after the news broke, using a Facebook video of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz pulling a cheesesteak out of a refrigerator to announce the decision. The Republican Party previously announced it would hold its presidential nominating convention the week of July 18, 2016, in Cleveland.
Why Most Students Will "Fail" PARCC Test; by Diane Ravitch
TESTS THAT BUILD IN FAILURE?
The American record in Somalia is shameful beyond measuring. Few people even know that 10 years ago, the US had a direct military involvement in Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia, which destroyed the country's first stable government in 15 years, killed thousands of innocent people, and opened the door for the radical extremists who plague the country today.
Execution of Saddam Hussein wasn't about justice, but about profits
"Iraq was invaded because it had a state-owned oil company that was in competition with Wall Street banks and oil companies. And Saddam Hussein was executed not because of atrocities that he committed during the Iraq- Iran war, or any other atrocities he committed. He was executed for standing up to Wall Street and standing up to the forces that are really ruling the world, the forces of money and power."
Sen. Patrick Leahy called Benjamin Netanyahu's planned speech to Congress "tawdry" and said he would not attend, the most senior Democrat in the Senate to say he will stay away. "They have orchestrated a tawdry and high-handed stunt that has embarrassed not only Israel but the Congress itself," Leahy said. Rep. John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Jan. 21 invited Netanyahu to address Congress, in part to rebut President Barack Obama's claims that nuclear talks between Iran and the major powers were constructive.
HSBC documents reveal criminal conspiracy of banks and governments
On Sunday, international news outlets the Guardian and Le Monde, working with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), published articles based on their analysis of leaked files showing that the Swiss private banking arm of HSBC, Europe's largest bank, functioned for years as a tax evasion and money laundering firm.
This article tells of the real possibility of nuclear war with Russia and the media's misinformation in an attempt to promote yet another war.
The newest gambit that's surfaced out of the White House has Obama sending Congress a formal request to fight ISIS to include "associated forces" & "contain no geographic limitations", ban the use of "enduring offensive ground forces" & limit the engagement to 3 yrs while asking Congress to restrict the Cmdr in Chief to wage new wars. It's all bogus, nothing changes; endless war remains the order of the day.
By David Swanson
Cuba Is Our Family Cuba and the Estados Unidos have been family for so long that relationships have been reversed, forgotten, turned inside out, and repeated.
I reckon it was a long time ago; so far back most folks around today weren't even born yet. Well, there was this liberal politician and he had this plan to improve health care in America. The guy had...
If the speech takes place, and the lobby loses the blind support of progressive Democrats, the American people will get to debate Israel policy and maybe even speak critically about all the stuff that Israel is doing, like massacring Palestinians in Gaza and building colonies on Palestinian land. Right now those issues are not discussed openly in the U.S. power structure and leading media.
The New York Times has been more biased on the Ukraine crisis -- endlessly promoting State Department propaganda -- than when it published false Iraqi WMD stories last decade. Case in point: a story from Mariupol hailing the Azov battalion without noting its neo-Nazi fighters, writes Robert Parry.
Latest Articles
Britain's Housing Crisis: Why Can't We Build More Council Houses?
Value-for-money has been the deafening cry of free market ideologues and politicians on the right. Keep governments out, privatize, and let the market work its magic to produce the most efficient solution, they say.
Merkel must see the danger or she wouldn't have rushed off to Moscow last Friday. But seeing isn't enough. Something has to be done. What's she going to do about it? Will she use her influence to muscle through a peace deal that will keep events from spinning out of control or will she sit on her hands and let the opportunity pass her by?
 Best News Links from the Web
San Diego School Board Votes 5-0 to End Annual Testing in NCLB; by Diane Ravitch
"The school board of the San Diego Unified School District voted 5-0 to urge Congress to eliminate the federal mandate of annual testing, Read their full statement below. Remember that one of the crucial elements in the grassroots movement to roll back the tide of high-stakes testing started in Texas, when school board after school board voted to oppose high-stakes testing, and eventually more than 80% of the state's school boards voted against high-stakes testing. The legislature heard the voters, and pulled back from a proposal to require 15 tests for high school graduation.This is how a movement grows. Congress is rewriting NCLB as you read this. It is said to be on a fast-track for reauthorization in both the Senate and the House. Almost all the D.C.-based interest groups have joined to demand that YOUR children and YOUR students be tested annually. The best way to stop this"...
Today, Amnesty Intl. USA initiated a new petition in support of Albert Woodfox's Feb. 6 bail request that he filed in response to the favorable Fifth Circuit Court ruling on Feb. 3 that denied Louisiana AG Buddy Caldwell's appeal of Albert's third overturned conviction. Urging people to sign the new petition launched today, Jasmine Heiss of Amnesty Intl USA declares: "Allowing Albert his freedom is the only just and humane action the state can take after decades of holding him in cruel and inhuman conditions. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal must ensure that the state stops standing in the way of Albert's freedom. Tell the Governor: Stop wasting valuable taxpayer resources. Help ensure Albert's release without further delay. It is imperative that justice delayed does not become justice denied. Albert has endured the unthinkable. It is unconscionable to hold him for a single day longer."
Three Muslim-American students killed near North Carolina university campus Three young Muslims, including a newly-wed couple, were shot dead in their home in a North Carolina neighborhood in the US. Students Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were found shot dead at their apartment in Chapel Hill near the University of North Carolina (UNC) campus. A 46-year-old man, identified by police as Craig Stephen Hicks, has been charged with three counts of first degree murder.
"Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will raise money on Wall Street on Wednesday at an eye-popping $100,000 per-ticket Park Avenue event hosted by private equity mogul Henry Kravis and his wife. "The price of admission to the event, which will raise funds for Bush's 'Right to Rise' super PAC, surprised even Wall Street veterans used to high-dollar fundraisers."
"Jeb Bush, a rumored 2016 Republican presidential candidate, just decided to publish hundreds of thousands of emails sent to him during his time as governor of Florida. On its face it seems like a great idea in the name of transparency, but there's one huge problem: neither Bush nor those who facilitated the publication of the records, including the state government, decided to redact potentially sensitive personal information from them. 'In the spirit of transparency, I am posting the emails of my governorship here,' a note on Bush's website says. 'Some are funny; some are serious; some I wrote in frustration.' Some also contain the email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of Florida residents. The emails are available in Outlook format, and can be searched on the web at Bush's website. The Verge did not receive a response from Mr. Bush."
"CAIRO (Sputnik) -- Egypt has reached a free trade zone agreement with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said Tuesday at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There was more than $4.5 billion of trade between Russia and Egypt in 2014, a more than 80 percent increase on the year before, said President Putin. Free trade agreement means that the markets of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Armenia will be more easily accessible for Egyptian products and vice versa. The EEU was established on May 29, 2014 by a treaty signed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Armenia joined the organization in October, and Kyrgyzstan signed its accession treaty in December. The union's ultimate objective is to establish a single economic market stretching from the European Union to China, serving over 170 million people."
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