THERE’S A SMALL CHANCE THAT FURTHER AUDIT OF THE VENEZUELAN ELECTION WILL OVERTURN THE RESULS OF THAT ELECTION. How small? One in 25,000 trillion, according to a statistical analysis of election boxes already audited, the likelihood that audits of the remainder could reverse the “populist” outcome that continues the policies of Hugo Chavez. So [...]
PRESIDENT OBAMA “THROWS IN THE TOWEL” ON POPULISM AND “INTEGRITY” IN HIS ADMINISTRATION Two obscure cabinet appointments with an outsized impact on the daily lives of Americans made by President Obama in the last month offers a startling look at the true course the president’s second term will take, argues Norman Solomon. Penny Pritzker [...]
(SOMEBODY’S) “WAR GAMES” BEGIN IN SYRIA—BUT WHOSE GAMES AND TO WHAT PURPOSE? These are questions without definitive answsers as devastating air strikes hit targets near Damascus. Syrian officials, noting that only Israeli forces would have the firepower in the area to deliver such blows, accuse Israel of perpetrating them, though Israel officially denies this. [...]
WILL “KEYSTONE COPS,” IN THE NAME OF “SECURITY,” BE SUPPRESSING PROTEST AGAINST KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE IN NEBRASKA? Local officials of the pipeline company behind the oil company, TransCanada, are in negotiations with local police enforcement agents about using “off duty” police officers to insure against “violence” among the protesters. The local protest group, Bold [...]
Deep and arbitrary spending cuts, part of the austerity measures hatched by Congress two years ago and known as sequestration, are beginning to take a severe toll on vulnerable Americans dependent on crucial government programs. President Obama has described the sequester as a “self-inflicted wound” on the economy that could lead to another recession. Uneducated [...]
A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING EUROPE AND AMERICA: AND IT’S NAME IS AUSTERITY. The literally killing effects of austerity measures undertaken as a solutions to the “financial crisis” are documented in a new book by David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu. Decimation of health support services is blamed with creating epidemics of everything from HIV and [...]
FOILED BY CONGRESS, GUN CONTROL ADVOCATES TURN TO STATE BALLOTS IN BID TO END VIOLENCE. Lawmakers and organizations in several states are considering whether to place gun-related amendments such as universal background checks on state ballots as soon as the 2014 elections.Though the piecemeal approach is not ideal, activists are beginning to tire of [...]
“WITH VARYING DEGREES OF CONFIDENCE.“ White House sends message to Congress saying that Syria “may” (according to U.S. intelligence agencies) have used chemical weapons against its own population. This cautious wording seems both to move U.S. toward a view that a “red line” may have been crossed that would justify (overt) U.S. intervention in [...]
IS AMERICA LOSING ITS “BACKYARD IN THE SOUTH”? Considering the U.S. and Latin American reactions to the recent Venezuelan election, it would appear that things are seriously awry for the U.S. in that backyard. While Washington tries to subvert the electoral process that (narrowly) elected a successor in the mold of Hugo Chavez, other [...]
President Obama’s proposed budget is causing all sorts of political commotion for including as its centerpiece a focus on reducing deficits that is based largely on sweeping cuts to Social Security. Crafted as a compromise to lure Republican support, the president’s proposals has instead inflamed progressives for targeting Americans who rely on safety net programs [...]
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