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 [...]
AS THE ARCTIC MELTS: WORRIED ABOUT RISING SEA LEVELS? BETTER WORRY TOO ABOUT RAPID ACIDIFICATION OF ARCTIC WATERS. New scientific report, reviewed by BBC, documents the rise in pH levels in Arctic region as CO-2 emissions are absorbed in the cold waters of a polar meltdown. The degree of the environmental threat from this [...]
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 [...]
An aggressive austerity agenda that has gripped Europe’s economy in a burgeoning malaise for nearly five years has come to an unexpected head in the tiny island nation of Cyprus. The latest fiscal catastrophe to develop across the pond has thrown global markets into turmoil and raised questions of how far Europeans are willing to [...]
IT’S NOT EASY BEING A PELICAN IN COSTA RICA—NOR A PORPOISE NOR AN ALLIGATOR EITHER. These animals, among others, are given protection in a Marine Park in Puntarenas from the hazards of their life styles (like water dives of pelicans) and of the human animals who sometimes harass them. A gated park provides a [...]
IMMANUEL WALLERSTEIN LOOKS AT THE GLOBE AND FINDS TURMOIL AND THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT IN THE “MIDDLE RUN” FUTURE. While predictions for a given year are a “fool’s mission” and those for centuries in the future only too easy to make, those for the “middle run” of a decade or so hence are subject to [...]
THE EURO-ZONE IN TROUBLE? PUT THE BLAME ON THE SOUTH OF ITALY. A New York Times article highlights this take on European Union economic troubles, in which northern members of the European Union tend to blame delinquencies in countries the like of Greece, Italy and Spain for their “Euro” troubles. The article describes the [...]
WHAT’S MORE “INEFFECTIVE”? PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS OR NEW STUDENT/TEACHER EVALUATIONS? Principals and teachers in New York state are witnessing the first round of student and teacher evaluations under the new test-based achievement guidelines championed by education “reformers.” The results have been as flawed as many expected leading thousands of teachers and principals to protest [...]
AUSTERITY-PROTESTING CHAOS IN STREETS OF SPAIN, PORTUGAL AND GREECE—AND NEW YORK TIMES CHOOSES MOSTLY THE FACT THAT MARKETS “FALTER” IN THESE COUNTRIES AS THE NEWS “THAT’S FIT TO PRINT.” As European central bank demands austerity measures cutting benefits to people as condition of buying up their bad debts, riots occur across southern Europe and [...]
Another month brings another mixed jobs picture, with the report for August showing weaker than expected hiring while the overall unemployment rate declined. The persistently sluggish national economy is leading to pessimism among Americans and worry among President Obama’s supporters about his reelection prospects. Despite private predictions that a gain of more than 200,000 new [...]
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