US politics

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It has been the position of the US presidents for decades that the status of Jerusalem in international law is unsettled. That is why the US embassy is in Tel Aviv, and why US passports showing the place of birth as Jerusalem just list the name […]

Barack Obama

Obama: We don’t have a “complete strategy” against ISIL

contributors

CBS News | (Video Report) | – – “President Obama said Monday the United States does not have a complete plan to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying Baghdad needs to show a greater commitment to building a fighting force. “We don’t yet have a […]

Bush

Did Jeb Bush’s brother “Create ISIL” in Iraq?

contributors

by Brian Glyn Williams It was one of those moments that politicians dread. An unscripted incident last month when a voice in a crowd pinned down a candidate on an issue he could not squirm away from and made news in the process. With the media recording every word, a 19 year old college student […]

Climate Change

At 450, Florida’s St. Augustine Faces Rising Waters of Manmade Climate Change as Governor Fiddles

contributors

Aljazeera America | (Video) “St. Augustine is one of the many cities seeing this alarming trend and fears that they may one day be submerged”

Bill of Rights

Fighting for Privacy, Two Years After Snowden

contributors

By Richard Esguerra | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – – Two years ago today, Glenn Greenwald published in the Guardian a single document confirming a key piece of the NSA’s surveillance program, a document that fundamentally transformed EFF’s long-running battle for an end to unchecked government surveillance. To recap briefly, the document was a secret […]

Democracy

Surprise! Corporate Media declining to report on Big Money in Politics

contributors

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – “Now more than ever before Americans deserve to know about the need for campaign finance reform,’ advocacy groups declare” As the U.S. heads into the 2016 election cycle, where spending by candidates and outside groups is poised to approach $10 billion, groups dedicated to campaign […]

Drone Warfare

The True Cost of America’s Ongoing Wars: Sebastian Junger, Spencer Ackerman et al.

contributors

Michael Moynihan, “The Business of Life” | VICE News Video | — “The AUMF (The “Authorization of the Use of Military Force”) was a bill passed in the immediate wake of 9/11 and authorized the President of the United States to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those who had aided the terrorists responsible […]

Iran

The “Bomb Iran!” Lobby Gears Up for 2016

contributors

By Sina Toossi | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | – “A tight-knit group of neocon dead-enders is pushing Iran to the forefront of the GOP's foreign policy agenda.” In a recent TV ad, a van snakes its way through an American city. As the driver fiddles with the radio dial, dire warnings about the […]

African-Americans

Boston Terrorism suspect Rahim switched from Hate Speech Activist Geller to Police as Target

contributors

WCVB Channel 5 Boston | (Video) | – – “Boston terror suspect Usaamah Rahim originally plotted to behead conservative activist Pamela Geller but changed his mind and decided to target Massachusetts police officers because it would have been easier, according to an affidavit.” WCVB Channel 5 Boston: “FBI: Boston terror suspect wanted to go after […]