“INSUFFICIENTLY PRO-ISRAELI?” New U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had his appointment held up on such “insufficiency” charge but now, on a trip to Israel, he seems to be establishing his sufficiency bones. In presenting a large deal for U.S. arms shipments to Israel, he says that the deal is a “clear signal” to Iran [...]
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL ON FORMER YUGOSLAVIA DELIVERS NO JUSTICE AND NO RECONCILIATION BUT A LOT OF CONTINUED SERB-BASHING. Diana Johnstone reviews the recent activities at the Tribunal and concludes that it has and continues to demonize the Serbian state and its leaders in pursuit of defining NATO’s 1999 bombing of Kosovo as a “humanitarian [...]
COLLEGE STUDENTS: FORGET ABOUT THAT DUMB PROFESSOR WHO GRADES YOUR ESSAY EXAMS; ED-EX OFFERS YOU AN “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” TO DO THAT JOB FOR YOU. ” EdEx” is a creation of Harvard and MIT which machine-grades essay exams as “objective” tests have long been graded. Proponents praise the system for the “instant feedback” offered students [...]
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS WASN’T VERY “HUMANITARIAN” IN ITS TREATMENT OF THE HEAD OF THEIR OFFICE IN ZIMBABWE. This is the ruling of the 3-judge panel of the UN Dispute Council, finding that OCHA management mistreated the official, Dr. Georges Tadonki, who tried to warn of the humanitarian violations of [...]
BIG BANKS PLAY BIG ROLE IN NATION’S SHADOWY, CONTROVERSIAL NETWORK OF PAYDAY LOAN OPERATIONS. Interest rates of over 700 percent on a small loan would seem unreasonable to most people, and would be unheard of at most reputable banks. But such outlandish rates and legally questionable behavior are the norm for unregulated “payday” lenders, [...]
GOOD TIMES ROLL ON WITH THE U.S. ASIA-PACIFIC “PIVOT.” The 2011 decision to increase sales of arms to U.S. allies in the region to counter growing Chinese influence in the area is providing a bonanza of opportunities for the military-industrial complex. As a Reuters report puts it, “Fears resulting from China’s growing military spending [...]
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A TEMP JOB? While unemployment rates in the U.S. have shown some improvement, with less than 9% of the work-force unemployed on a “given day,” this measure of unemployment masks the fact that over 13% of workers and their families will face a period of non-employment during some part of [...]
HAS THE ALEC/NRA POLITICAL GIANT BORNE BITTER FRUIT ONCE AGAIN IN CONNECTICUT? As President Obama pledges “meaningful action” to avert yet another mass killing at a U.S. school using an assault weapon, the most “meaningful” (effective) action seems to be the political muscle of ALEC which, in tandem with the NRA, has pushed through [...]
ISRAEL RUSHES TO “PUNISH PALESTINIANS FOR THEIR “ATTACK ON ZIONISM.” Tensions already high in the region after the brutal but short-lived battle in Gaza, Israel steps up its campaign of harassment against Palestine by taking unprecedented steps to “punish” them for last week’s historic UN vote to partially recognize a Palestinian state. Israel [...]
President Obama’s presumptive choice to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state in his second term is in the middle of a partisan storm stirred up by angry Republican lawmakers over her role in the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans. But others argue that the Libya incident and her role in disseminating information about [...]
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