“The White House press secretary appeared to become emotional when answering an elementary school reporter’s question about the danger facing children in schools. Following a spate of school shootings in the US, Donald Trump this month gave his backing to the National Rifle Association.” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders chokes up at child’s question […]
Archives for May 2018
Was the Roseanne Story really more Important than Puerto Rico’s 5,740 Death Toll?
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that that likely range for deaths caused by Hurricane Maria was between 1,506 and 9,889, with 5,740 as the most likely number. Puerto Rico suffered with electricity outages for months, with millions of Americans living in the dark, in a way that would have […]
Iran gives French Oil Giant a Deadline for Choosing between its NatGas or Trump
Tehran (AFP) – Iran’s oil minister on Wednesday gave French energy giant Total 60 days to win a sanctions waiver from Washington or it would lose its stake in a multi-billion-dollar gas project. “Total has 60 days to negotiate with the US government,” said Bijan Zanganeh, according to the oil ministry’s Shana news agency. “The […]
If Earth Warms past Paris Limit, those Tropical Islands you Love are in Big Trouble
Co-author: Luke Harrington – Melbourne and Oxford (The Conversation) – Almost all of us are going to be worse off as climate change takes hold, whether through heatwaves, changing rainfall patterns, sea level rise, or damage to ecosystems. But it’s the world’s poorest people who will suffer the biggest disruptions to their local climate, as […]
Rumors of Shakira Israel Concert Cancellation called Incorrect
Lebanon’s Al-Nahar newspaper refuted reports that Shakira had cancelled a performance in Israel before her appearance in Bshareh in Lebanon. There appears never to have been a scheduled such performance on her schedule. The initial news was carried widely, including by the Jerusalem Post. Her concert producer, Live Nation, tweeted the below: The media has […]
Is Roseanne Barr what America has Become?
The cancellation of Roseanne Barr’s situation comedy reboot at ABC/Disney is not, as some of my more serious acquaintances on social media are saying, unimportant. Barr’s attack via Twitter on former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett (who, Barr said, looked like the offspring of a union of the Muslim Brotherhood and planet of the apes), is […]
Israeli Banks in Palestinian West Bank Profit from Squatter Settlements (HRW)
New York (Human Rights Watch) – Israel’s largest banks are providing services that help support, maintain, and expand unlawful settlements by financing their construction in the occupied West Bank, including partnering with developers to build homes on land unlawfully seized from Palestinians. The banks’ involvement is direct and substantial: they acquire a property interest in […]
After arrest of Feminists, Saudi Arabia sets Harsh Penalties for Sexual Harassment
Riyadh (AFP) – Saudi Arabia is preparing to outlaw sexual harassment, officials said Tuesday, less than a month before the conservative kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving. The kingdom’s Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, approved a draft law on Monday which would introduce a prison term of up to five years and […]
Terrorizing ourselves Silly: Surreal Pentagon Nightmares underpin $700 bn Budget
New York ( Tomdispatch.com) – For almost 20 years, U.S. drone warfare was largely one-sided. Unlike Afghans and Yemenis, Iraqis and Somalis, Americans never had to worry about lethal robots hovering overhead and raining down missiles. Until, that is, one appeared in the skies above Florida. But that’s a story for later. For now, let’s […]








