When Privilege Becomes Indefensible
Lately there has been a spate of reports about the rich flocking to high end shops and indulging in the sort of luxuries reminiscent of the days before the Great…
The Mound of Sound
On Barack Obama, Europe is Anxiously Underwhelmed.
It's not just moderates and progressives in the United States who are losing faith in Barack Obama. So are the Europeans. Spiegel Online claims that Obama's indecision and weakness are…
China Now Wants a Military Presence in Pakistan Tribal Areas
In the wake of two terrorist bombings in Xinjiang province, China wants to hunt down Uyghur militants it claims are being trained in Pakistan's ungovernable tribal areas.Since the blasts, which…
English Riots Metastasize
England has sustained its third night of widespread rioting and looting. What began as an isolated uprising over a police shooting in Tottenham has rapidly spread to other greater London…
Russia Burns – Again
Last year a powerful heat wave triggered massive forest fires in Russia and led to the failure of Russia's wheat crop. So far this year, 1-million hectares of Russian forests…
What Michelle Bachmann Watched on Sunday
Oh those crazy foaming fundamentalist rightwingers and their homophobia.On Sunday, Bachmann and her curious husband, attended a church service at which the pastor railed on, denouncing homosexuality as "unnatural" and…
The Real Enemy Isn’t Debt, It’s Globalization
Globalization has always been a scam. It has always been a trade of something very valuable for a vague and quite unenforceable promise of enormous benefits for all. What we…
When It Comes Right Down to It, It’s Mainly a Con Game
Modern, consumer economies are essentially a confidence game. When confidence is high, money flows; goods are produced, sold and bought; and we all (sort of) enjoy the boom. When confidence…
Showdown for America
It's crunch time for America. China is getting tired of picking up America's bar tab and has put the US on notice that the days of cheap booze may soon…
The "Good Old Days" Are Over – China Warns U.S.
America's biggest creditor isn't amused by that country's newly downgraded, AA+ rating. Now China says the "good old days" are over for the U.S.China has renewed its demand for a…
Will Canada Destroy Civilization?
We have to choose - will it be the survival of mankind or will it be whatever wealth we can extract from the Athabasca Tar Sands? It seems to be…
Corrupters’ Coven Assembles Today in New Orleans
Bush Greeting ALEC, 2007State legislators from every corner of America are flocking to New Orleans today, summoned to the Big Easy by ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is…
Three Qualities Obama Lacks – Convictions, Courage and Strength
In just over 15-months Americans will choose their next president. At this point Barack Obama's future hinges on the Republicans fielding a really terrible candidate, somebody like Michelle Bachmann. In…
Any Port In a Storm, Even the NDP
How does somebody who has been a Dipper for six months get to lead the NDP? Better yet, how does someone who was a separatist supporter just six months ago…
Economic Disaster One Averted. Economic Disaster Two Unfolds.
There are two types of economists at work today. There's the A Team, guys like Krugman and Stiglitz. There's the B Team, guys like Harper and the people advising American…
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln Respond to Obama’s Capitulation
What startled visitors at Mount Rushmore this morning.
The Wisdom of the Great – George Orwell
A visit to Orwell's Bastard motivated me to seek out the wisdom of Orwell himself, to find guidance to our troubled times. Revisiting the wisdom of great people long past…
When You Don’t Know Who to Blame – You’re an American
You can't hope to change much when control of the narrative is what really matters. In the United States today, it's not actions but perceptions upon which elections are won.…