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 Daily Headlines
Hailing from Arkansas, 37-year-old Senator Cotton boasts the title of being the youngest member of the Senate, but he spouts the old warmongering rhetoric of 78-year-old Senator John McCain. From Guantanamo to Iran, food stamps to women's rights, here are ten reasons why Tom Cotton is a dangerous dude.
By Glenn Greenwald
Maybe Obama's Sanctions on Venezuela are Not Really About His "Deep Concern" Over Suppression of Political Rights 
As for Obama's decree that Venezuela now poses an "extraordinary threat to the national security" of the United States, is there anyone, anywhere, that wants to defend the reasonability of that claim? Think about what it says about our discourse that Obama officials know they can issue such insultingly false tripe with no consequences.
Secretary of State Kerry emphasized the administration's opposition to any limitation on the geographic scope of the war. "What a mistake it would be," he declared, "to send a message to [ISIS] that there are safe havens, that there is somehow just a two-country limitation..." No senator in either party is opposed to another imperialist war.
It is necessary to call things by their right names. The obscene regularity of police murders in the United States has reached the point where it is appropriate to speak of the police as an occupying army, whose daily violence and brutality can best be described as a war against the country's poor and working people.
We live in paradigm-breaking times when old ideas are routinely disrupted, broken, overturned and replaced. A responsible culture will teach its children to develop skills in challenging any assumptions, questioning authority, questioning existing power structures and paradigms. That is the ideal way to prepare them for a future that is changing at an accelerating rate that is faster than ever before in the history of humanity
By Tom Engelhardt
Michael Klare: Is Big Oil Finally Entering a Climate Change World? Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and other Middle Eastern OPEC producers to maintain output at current levels (presumably to punish higher-cost producers in the U.S. and elsewhere)...
The Selma March Jubilee, the Japanese American activists who joined the march, and Jewish civil rights workers killed a year earlier all remind us that a society of justice and love depends on those who step forward despite danger.
"Assad must go" will never completely vanish from the road map. A real detente with Iran depends on whether a nuclear deal is arrived at this summer -- and Obama has been ratcheting up the pressure with demand after demand. The demonization of Russia is bound only to get more vociferous.
In House testimony, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland blamed Russia and ethnic-Russian rebels for last summer's shoot-down of MH-17 over Ukraine, but the U.S. government has not substantiated that charge. So, did Nuland mislead Congress or just play a propaganda game, asks Robert Parry.
Long before the Internet and direct to consumer advertising, the medical profession tried to reassure people about their health concerns. Sure fatigue and headaches could be a symptom of a brain tumor; sure a cough could be a symptom of lung cancer--but most doctors tried to assuage not sow fear. Remember "take two aspirins and call me in the morning"?
Why is it you can break an egg, but not make the pieces spring back together again? To find out, we have we have to go back to the birth of the universe. Boltzmann suggested several solutions to this problem. The one that worked best came to be known as the past hypothesis. It's very simple: at some point in the distant past, the universe was in a low-entropy state. If that's true, then the flaw in Boltzmann's reasoning disappears. The future and the past look very different, because the past has much lower entropy than the future. So eggs break, but they don't un-break. This is neat, but it raises a whole new question: why is the past hypothesis true? Low entropy is unlikely, so why was the entropy of the universe in such a remarkable state sometime in the distant past? So how did our universe start in such an unlikely state?
Epoch-defining study pinpoints when humans came to dominate planet Earth -- ScienceDaily
The human-dominated geological epoch known as the Anthropocene probably began around the year 1610, with an unusual drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the irreversible exchange of species between the New and Old Worlds, according to new research.
New material captures carbon at half the energy cost -- ScienceDaily
Capturing carbon from power plants will likely be necessary in the future to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but current technologies are very expensive. Chemists have now developed a new material, a diamine-appended metal-organic framework, that captures carbon dioxide with much reduced energy costs compared to today's technologies, potentially lowering the cost of capturing and sequestering this greenhouse gas.
'Ouch zone' in brain identified
Activity in a brain area known as the dorsal posterior insula is directly related to the intensity of pain, a brain imaging study has found. These results could help detect pain in people with limited communication abilities. The research team now plans to verify these results by attempting to switch off this brain region in relevant patients suffering from intractable pain.
Drug restores brain function and memory in early Alzheimer's disease -- ScienceDaily
The drug, commonly used to treat epilepsy, calms hyperactivity in the brain of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a clinically recognized condition in which memory impairment is greater than expected for a person's age and which greatly increases risk for Alzheimer's dementia, according to the study published this week in NeuroImage: Clinical.
The possibility of alien life thriving somewhere other than Earth is now stronger than ever before. Underwater hydrothermal vents -- the same kind that may have spawned life on our planet -- seem to be lining the ocean floors of Saturn's tiny, water-rich moon called Enceladus, according to two recently published papers. This is the most compelling evidence we have so far for the existence of these vents anywhere other than Earth. The latest discovery is a tantalizing hint that the conditions for life may be present outside of Earth. With this latest announcement, hydrothermal vents with these pockets of warm water are now believed to exist outside of Earth -- at the bottom of Enceladus's oceans. What's more shocking is that these conditions are remarkably similar to a unique, underwater environment here on Earth, called the Lost City, which some researchers consider the cradle of life.
Traveling across the country offers a unique observation point into society's wells and ills. And from this new liberating perspective, as an outside observer, it soon became apparent that we have essentially become a culture based on ideals and practices of separation. What I did and what you can do too.
Netzfrauen: "She's alive." Extraordinary video about Earth, highly recommended
Title of the video is "She's Alive." Stellar videography of the earth, with scenes and captions that will make you think--and appreciate the Earth more than you probably already do. My wife just found this amazing photographer and it appears he has done an amazing amount of work putting them together. The world needs to see this one!
The U.S. should end the blockade of Cuba, restore normal diplomatic relations, permit travel to Cuba, close GITMO prison and torture site, return Guantanamo Bay to its rightful owner Cuba and take Cuba off the list of state-sponsored terrorist countries.
Hillary Clinton has already emerged as the "inevitable" Democratic nominee, a title she aspired to, but could never claim, eight years ago. The closest rival she has this time is Elizabeth Warren -- who is no Barack Obama.
Jon Stewart took on the Hillary Clinton email controversy, in light of the former Secretary of State's Tuesday press conference during which she said she opted for "convenience" in exclusively using a personal email address to avoid the burdensome task of carrying multiple devices. Well, Stewart wasn't buying any of that. He referred to that infamous clip from just a few weeks ago in which Clinton flat-out acknowledged she has multiple devices. Stewart also suggested he's perfectly okay with having a third party investigator look through the emails to determine what's personal and what's official government business.
By Suzana Megles
Blowing the Whistle on the USDA I don't expect a perfect America, but I do think we should distinguish ourselves by being compassionate. Yes, it is quite laughable at how naïve I really am. By and large, we are hardly that, and this post will only prove it.
INTERNATIONAL PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS by Governments, Authorities and Schools.
"A developer in the southeastern Chinese province of Hunan has built a 57 storey skyscraper in just 19 days using its proprietary prefabrication technique.
"Netanyahu, 65, called for the March 17 vote late last year as his coalition government teetered on the brink of collapse. It will be Israel's third election since 2009 and the premier's biggest challenge after six years at the helm.
The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, resigned on Wednesday, following a scathing U.S. Justice Department report that found widespread racially biased abuses in the city's police department and municipal court. The resignation of Chief Thomas Jackson was the latest in a string of departures since the Justice Department said on March 4 that a months-long probe had uncovered a range of unlawful and unconstitutional practices in the St. Louis suburb. Protesters had called for Jackson's removal since the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white Ferguson police officer on Aug. 9. The killing triggered nationwide protests and drew scrutiny to police use of deadly force, especially against black men.
By Nina Beety
ISIL is not Muslim, says senior State Department official Who and what are ISIL? What is the source of the terrorism in the Middle East? On March 6, State Department Special Envoy Daniel Rubenstein stated that ISIL is not Muslim. Evidence from intelligence experts, Iraqi Parliament, and a mainstream media source show that ISIL is a creation of the West, receiving supplies, protection, and sponsorship by the West and its allies. What does this mean? Where is this headed?
A few years ago pundits were assuring politicians that voters would reward them for supporting the Simpson-Bowles plan. Now we know better. Chris Van Hollen -- and other Democratic candidates -- would be well advised to take MoveOn.org's advice and offer their unequivocal support for Social Security instead.
The struggle is against racism, discrimination, oppression, occupation and illegal colonization because they are evils no matter who perpetrates them. The Israeli case has to be prioritized because Israel and its Zionist allies have bought and bullied our own government and political parties in a corrupting manner.
By Robert Reich
The 3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to creating jobs and the choice between the "free market" or "government" become rigged against average working Americans. Latest Articles
The Georgia legislature is attempting to legalize no-knock searches for the first time in history while the American public is clamoring for more law enforcement accountability. This is the inside story of why
A 10-point guide to climate morality for governments, corporations, NGOs and environmental activists
General Motors' announcement that it will settle a fight with activist shareholders by buying back $5 billion in stock over the coming year is a major loss for American taxpayers and GM's workers. The investors' leader, Harry J. Wilson, called the deal a "win-win outcome." But the only real wins are a victory for the hedge funds, and a Pyrrhic victory for GM ...
The Egyptians have had decades of authoritarianism to work out their own approaches to punishment and persuasion -- but they have been aided, supplied, trained and tutored by American military and security experts every step of the way.
The Supreme clan is firing potshots at the Affordable Care Act. Caught in the crossfire is the court's own integrity, along with the health of millions of innocent bystanders. In an attempt to override the law, these so-called "justices" have jumped on a wagonload of legalistic bovine excrement called King v. Burwell.
Do We Embrace Divide and Conquer or Unite and Prosper?
We are embedded in a world of divide and conquer. You often have the battle of the sexes, religion vs science, and left vs right. What would the world look like if we went beyond divide and conquer and instead promote a unite and prosper?
Remember when the infamous Goldman Sachs delivered a thinly-veiled threat to the Greek Parliament in December, warning them to elect a pro-austerity prime minister or risk having central bank liquidity cut off to their banks? It seems the European Central Bank (headed by Mario Draghi, former managing director of Goldman Sachs International) has now made good on the threat.
Which Party Do You View Iran Through?
Most people in the United States have little contact with Iran or its culture. Iran comes up as a scary threat in the speeches of demagogues. A range of debate is offered between obliterate it and pressure it into compliance with our civilized norms, or at least the civilized norms of some other country that doesn't obliterate or pressure people.
Official Washington operates in its own bubble of self-delusion in which the stars of U.S. politics, policy and media don't realize how the rest of the world sees their sociopathic behavior. This craziness is now reaching a crisis point on Iran and Russia, reports Robert Parry.
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This poll attempts to ascertain from OEN users if the Republicans' recent decision to circumvent President Barack Obama on at least two recent occasions was, at least to some degree, racially motivated.
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When House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress just a few weeks ahead of an Israeli election, he was criticized for giving Netanyahu a platform to boost his campaign. Netanyahu is using his speech as a prop in a campaign commercial back in Israel, where the prime minister is shown basking in the applause of members of Congress who did not boycott his speech. With five days left until the Israeli elections, Netanyahu launched the campaign ad featuring his controversial address along with footage of rockets being launched. Netanyahu's speech sparked controversy in Israel as well, where his political opponents filed a petition to the Israel Broadcasting Authority claiming that the speech to Congress violated election propaganda rules.
The roulette wheel that is presidential politics is spinning faster now that we are only one year and eight months from election day. Bets are being placed as the main stakeholders look to their future financial and career investments. The media play to the hilt this longest running spectacle that our pop culture offers. The Very Serious People (VSP) throw the rune stones and check the entrails on a daily basis so as to provide informed commentary on the state of play. Thus the world's greatest democracy and sole superpower approaches its Quadrennial moment of decision in selecting who its next ruler will be. So it is time to take our bearings, to cast aside the resolution made in November 2012 never again to expend time and mental energy trying to make sense of what has become a literally senseless process. Isn't that our duty as good citizens?
At the end of 2014, Slate chronicled the year's seemingly nonstop stream of outrage, during which nearly every day brought a new scandal demanding our opprobrium. Someone said the wrong thing, a celebrity did something awful, a Slate writer argued a contrarian position--even a minor imbroglio, whether it was the war on Columbus Day or manspreading, seemed to conjure up a flurry of angry articles analyzing its significance for our doomed society. If all those think pieces left you feeling fatigued, I bring good news: We have already passed peak outrage. Outrage clickbait is dying.
In a statement, the president said: It's no coincidence that the rise of the middle class in America coincided in large part with the rise of unions -- workers who organized together for higher wages, better working conditions, and the benefits and protections that most workers take for granted today. So it's inexcusable that, over the past several years, just when middle-class families and workers need that kind of security the most, there's been a sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government........
Stating that "their continuing hostilities are a threat to world peace," Iran has offered to mediate talks between congressional Republicans and President Obama. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, made the offer one day after Iran received what he called a "worrisome letter" from Republican leaders, which suggested to him that "the relationship between Republicans and Obama has deteriorated dangerously." "Tensions between these two historic enemies have been high in recent years, but we believe they are now at a boiling point," Khamenei said. "As a result, Iran feels it must offer itself as a peacemaker."
Public universities in some states are facing historic potential funding reductions. Decreased state revenues during the recession resulted in massive cuts to public universities nationwide, but beginning in 2012, most states began to pump money back into universities. Bucking the trend, several Republican governors are now attempting to lower deficits by targeting university appropriations. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker wants to curtail spending on public universities by $300 million over two years, the deepest reduction in state history. Democratic legislators in neighboring Illinois are fighting Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed $387 million cut to higher education, while Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is considering eliminating a dozen tax refunds that mostly benefit businesses, a plan would still leave the state's public universities $211 million below last year's funding levels.
Iran's supreme leader said Thursday that a letter from Republican lawmakers warning that any nuclear deal could be scrapped by the next U.S. president is a sign of "disintegration" in Washington. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the letter a sign of "the collapse of political ethics and the U.S. system's internal disintegration," according to the official IRNA news agency. It was the first reaction to the letter by Khamenei, who has the final say over all major policies. Khamenei said states typically remain loyal to their commitments even if governments change, " but American senators officially announced the commitment will be null and void after this government leaves office. Isn't this the ultimate degree of the collapse of political ethics and the U.S. system's internal disintegration?"
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (PGPF) always does a press release when the CBO issues one of its budget outlook 10 year projection reports. The PGPF did another in January quoting its President and COO, Michael A. Peterson. Let's go through that press release and see how many troublesome or false statements we can find. Here's a breakdown of the press release quotation from Michael Peterson.
New York Hedge Funds Pour Millions of Dollars into Cuomo-Led Bid to Expand Charter Schools
Juan González reports on the tens of millions of dollars in hedge fund donations behind the push for charter schools in New York state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the single biggest recipient, hauling in $4.8 million.an He reports on the all-day symposium titled "Bonds & Blackboards: Investing in Charter Schools: " It was a meeting, basically, of hedge fund types sponsored by the Gates Foundation and by the Walton Foundationnticing more investors to begin to see how they can make money off of charter schools. aGovernor Cuomo pressed the Legislature, for instance, in New York state to begin providing what will be the equivalent of about $2,600 per child to build new facilities for charter schools, forcing Mayor de Blasio in New York City to share some of this cost. So there's going to be a new revenue stream: In addition to direct funding from the state for pupil education, there's now going to be a charter facilities fund that's been set up. And, of course, the governor wants to lift the cap on charter schools to allow many more charter schools to be started in New York. And the amount of money is not just in the direct contributions; it's also in money being given to new groups, the dark money that we've seen after the Citizens United case, where folks like Robertson and Dan Loeb have contributed as much as a million dollars apiece last year to a new group funding ads promoting Republicans for Senate seats in New York state, which would assure, again, support for charter schools. So it's an enormous amount of money that's being poured into these political campaigns specifically by hedge fund folks who are very close to charter schools. In fact, one charter network alone, the Success Academy, which I've reported on repeatedly, 19 members of the board of directors, or their family members, gave $600,000 to Governor Cuomo's campaigns in the last--for his last two election campaigns. It's an enormous amount of money, and it's not getting much attention.
"Saudi Arabia defended its human rights record on Saturday in its first public reaction to international criticism over last year's sentencing of liberal Saudi blogger Raif Badawi to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for "insulting Islam". The first 50 of Badawi's lashes were carried out in January, prompting strong criticism of the kingdom's rights record in Western countries, including its laws on political and religious expression and the status of Saudi women." And how is this different from ISIS again? Oh, they are our allies....
The Obama administration is investigating allegations that two senior Secret Service agents, including a top member of the president's protective detail, drove a government car into White House security barricades after drinking at a late-night party last week. The agents under investigation are Mark Connolly, the second-in-command on Obama's detail, and George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor in the Washington field office. The two men had been attending a party at a nearby Washington bar to honor the retirement of departing Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan.
The Disruption Machine; by Jill Lepore, The New Yorker
One of the shibboleths of the corporate reformers is their belief in "creative destruction," "innovation, and "disruption" as an end in itself. These ideas justify their efforts to tear apart traditional public school systems, replace experienced teachers with inexperienced youngsters, close schools, and experiment with charters, vouchers, and anything else that will destroy the status quo. To be sure, some are in the school reform business to make money, but others see themselves as heroes of a movement that sees itself as blowing up "failing schools" and forcing fresh innovations into a stagnant sector of the economy. This remarkable article by Jill Lepore, published by the New Yorker, explodes the dogmas of "disruption" as progress.Diane Ravitch posted the article last year, but am posting it again because I see it as a classic. It sheds light on our narrative about how change happens.... Do schools need to be disrupted by techniques borrowed from the business world? Do families need to be disrupted? Do communities need disruption? According to disruption theory, disruption is the precursor to success.... read the truth...
Quantitative Easing for Whom? ;by Michael Hudson
Michael Hudson says quantitative easing is a pretext for assisting banks to make even more profit.In an effort to relieve some pressure on the struggling European economies, Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, announced a 1 trillion euro quantitative easing package on Monday. Quantitative easing is an unconventional form of monetary policy where a central bank creates new money electronically to buy financial assets like government bonds. And this process aims to directly increase private-sector spending in the economy and return inflation to target. Well, what does that mean and what might be wrong with it is the topic. Michael Hudson is a distinguished research professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. "One of the problems is that quantitative easing hasn't even helped one class of investors in particular, pension funds. And it's done just the opposite. Pension funds have made the assumption a few years ago that in order to break even with the rate of contributions that corporations in states and municipalities are paying, they have to make eight and a half percent, eight percent a year rate of return. But quantitative easing lowers the interest rate." read more....
The recent letter from 47 Republican senators to the leaders of Iran is an "irresponsible" gambit that breaks with more than two centuries of U.S. foreign policy history, Secretary of State John Kerry argued Wednesday in a hearing on Capitol Hill. The letter -- which actually features a number of errors regarding the Constitution -- has been widely seen as an attempt to sabotage the ongoing talks by eroding Iranian leaders' trust in the United States. Kerry, testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Wednesday, said he viewed the senators' letter as a shocking, unprecedented attempt to circumvent the nation's commander in chief.
CURMUDGUCATION: Economist Hansuhek Gets It Wrong Again; by Peter Greene
When you want a bunch of legit-sounding baloney about education, call up an economist. I can't think of a single card-carrying economist who has produced useful insights about education, schools and teaching, but from Brookings to the Hoover Institute, economists can be counted on to provide a regular stream of fecund fertilizer about schools. So here comes Eric Hanushek in the New York Times (staging one of their op-ed debates, which tend to resemble a soccer game played on the side of a mountain) to offer yet another rehash of his ideas about teaching. The Room for Debate pieces are always brief, but Hansuhek impressively gets a whole ton of wrong squeezed into a tiny space. Here's his opening paragaph:Despite decades of study and enormous effort, we know little about how to train or select high quality teachers. We do know, however, that there are huge differences in the effectiveness of classroom teachers and that these differences can be observed. This is a research puzzler of epic proportions. Hansuhek is saying, "We do not know how to tell the difference between a green apple and a red apple, but we have conclusive proof that a red apple tastes better." Exactly what would that experimental design look like? Exactly how do you compare the red and green apples if you can't tell them apart?
On Wednesday at the United Nations in New York, using a conference on the status of women as a backdrop, leading female advocates of disarmament formally announced their intent to walk across the Demilitarized Zone, the two-mile-wide swath of land, ringed by barbed wire and booby traps, that separates North and South. Their goal, organizers of the walk said, was to punctuate their desire for a permanent peace treaty to replace the 1953 armistice that halted, but technically did not end, the Korean War, a conflict that claimed an estimated four million lives, mostly Koreans, and separated millions of families.
In the past four years, Sheldon and Miriam Adelson have emerged as the preeminent funders of the Republican Party through a network of super PACs and nonprofit groups. At the same time, they have been among the biggest funders of groups that oppose any deal with Iran over that country's nuclear program. Along with Adelson, there are three other donors who fund both anti-Iran groups and the Republican Party's super PAC infrastructure: hedge fund directors Paul Singer and Seth Klarman, and Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus. These four right-wing, pro-Israel donors gave a combined $11.5 million to some of the biggest opponents of the Iran negotiations from 2011 through 2013, and pumped $115 million into Republican Party super PACs in the 2012 and 2014 elections.
Secretary of State John Kerry says he's in "utter disbelief" over the letter to Iranian leaders led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and signed by 46 other Republican senators, warning any Iranian nuclear deal reached with the U.S. could be revoked by the next president or modified by Congress. Kerry, who once chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, also said the letter was factually incorrect. "It's incorrect when it says that Congress could actually modify the terms of the agreement at any time," he said. "They don't have the right to modify an agreement reached, executive to executive, between the leaders of two countries."
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