Edward Snowden’s revelations about the excesses of the National Security Agency have so far had no effect whatsoever on actual practices. But Ted Cruz’s conspiracy to shut down the American government as a bargaining ploy in his quest to stop the working poor from being able to see a doctor has been much more effective […]
On how American Jews are Mostly the Opposite of Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu
A huge Pew Charitable Truest telephone poll of American Jews confirms many of the things learned by previous religious polls conducted by Barry Kosmin and colleagues under the rubric of the American Religious Identification Survey. What is striking is how dissimilar the mainstream of Jewish Americans is to the ruling Likud Party in Israel, headed […]
Would Israel’s Netanyahu really Drag US into war with Iran?
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged at the United Nations on Tuesday to attack Iran himself if Washington won’t do it, and in order to stop what he characterized as an Iranian nuclear weapons program: But the fact is that a solo Israel-on-Iran military attack would not remain solo. If Israeli jets managed to reach […]
The Other Lobby: Newspapers of Gulf Oil Monarchies Condemn US-Iran Rapprochement
The USG Open Source Center paraphrases Arabic news items in the newspapers of the Sunni Arab monarchies of the Gulf, many of which express concern about the thaw in US-Iranian relations. These countries are grouped in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that comprises Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. Bahrain […]
Ted Cruz and America’s Super-Rich say “Let them eat Cake”
The anecdote goes that Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, inquired as to why the crowds were in the street demonstrating in 1789. She was informed that they had no bread to eat. She is said to have replied, “Why, then, let them eat cake!” However apocryphal the anecdote, it is pregnant with wisdom. In […]
Israeli Nuclear & other Arms compared to Iran’s
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu came to the US on Monday to lobby Washington against a diplomatic resolution of the conflict over Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program. Netanyahu insisted that Iran’s “military nuclear” program be completely dismantled, even though the UN inspectors continue to certify that no Iranian uranium has been diverted to military purposes. […]
US all Right with Arming Syrians, Bombing Syrians: But no Syrian Refugees need Apply (Meyer)
Theodoric Meyer writes at ProPublica Authorized by Congress, the CIA has started sending weapons to Syrian rebels. But under a legal definition of terrorism adopted by the U.S. government after the Sept. 11 attacks, those same rebel groups are considered terrorist organizations. The designation could prevent some of the more than 2 million refugees who have fled […]
Ghoul’s Glossary: Shutdown
Shutdown: n. A maneuver whereby persons elected and paid by the public to do little but pass budgets refuse to do so unless they are permitted to prevent poor children from seeing a doctor. Compromise: v. To Comply. The president, reelected by a comfortable margin, and the Senate, with a Democratic majority, must do what […]
Scientists: Certain that Human-Caused Climate Change Threatens our Planet (Queally)
Jon Queally writes at Commondreams.org “Unequivocal.” If the public and policymakers want a single adjective to describe the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's new assessment report that's the word. Released Friday, the IPCC report states, that "warming in the climate system is unequivocal and since 1950 many changes have been observed throughout […]
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