(By J.M. Porup) Quiz time, people. Identify the following: A powerful church that has betrayed its founding principles. A secretive priesthood that knows all your sins. An empire that anoints princes. But one priest’s complaint provokes a backlash, and the empire crumbles. Who am I? If you guessed Martin Luther, you guessed wrong. Try Edward […]
The Sixth Mass Extinction: Why Climate Scientists’ Hair is on Fire
(By Dahr Jamail) I grew up planning for my future, wondering which college I would attend, what to study, and later on, where to work, which articles to write, what my next book might be, how to pay a mortgage, and which mountaineering trip I might like to take next. Now, I wonder about the […]
Saudi Internet Activists face Crackdown
(By Human Rights Watch) (Beirut) – Activists in Saudi Arabia face a repressive and intolerant government as they advocate popular political participation, judicial reform, and an end to discrimination against women and minorities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Authorities have responded by arresting, prosecuting, and attempting to silence rights defenders and […]
“60 Minutes” does Infomercial for NSA with Security Official posing as Journalist
(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 […]
842,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon (pop.: 4.4 mn) as UN Calls for $6 bn Aid
(By Agence France Presse) One in five Lebanon residents Syria refugees: UN (via AFP) One of five people living in Lebanon are refugees who have fled the conflict in neighbouring Syria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday. The UNHCR says there are more than 842,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon but the actual […]
American Studies Association to Boycott Israeli Institutions in Historic Vote
(By Sarah Lazare) An association of 5,000 academics on Monday became the largest U.S. scholarly organization ever to join the boycott of Israeli academic institutions. The American Studies Association, which calls itself "the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history," announced Monday that its membership passed a […]
The 1% is Hogging so much of our Income that it’s Holding the Economy Back
(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 […]
Is the Drought in the US Southwest becoming Permanent?
(By Bobby Magill) Is the West’s Dry Spell Really a Megadrought? (via Climate Central) By Bobby Magill Follow @bobbymagill SAN FRANCISCO — The drought that has been afflicting most of the Western states for the past 13 years may be a “megadrought,” and the likelihood is high that this century could see a multi-decade dry spell…
Avoiding the Nightmarish “Four Degree World” of 2060: We must Act Now (Giesen)
Tom Giesen writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Global warming’s disasters once seemed far off and science-fictional. It is now becoming clear to the scientific community that, to the contrary, very bad things could happen beginning relatively soon. For Baby Boomers, from the the Cuban Missile Crisis or the assassination of John F. […]
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