Iris Vander Pluym - 05.26.13

At this writing, the death toll at the site of a collapsed garment factory in Bangladesh has reached 1,127. The pictures are horrific, the scale of pain and grief unfathomable.

It isn't as though no one could see this coming. Over 1,800 garment workers have been killed in fires and building collapses in Bangladesh since 2005. Workers have long been demanding better working conditions and higher wages, which are among the lowest in the world. After massive protests in 2010 garment workers received an 80 percent raise, which sounds promising until one realizes that it is now up to 3,000

By Donald B. Ardell - 05.26.13

Introduction

On Pat Robertson’s daily program called "The 700 Club," a woman named Ivy called for advice: "I've been trying to forgive my husband for cheating on me. We have gone to counseling, but I just can't seem to forgive, nor can I trust.

How do you let go of the anger? How do you trust again? God says to forgive, but it's been so hard to do. I want to forgive, so we can get on with our lives."

By Michael Faulkner - 05.26.13

Since the rebellion against the Assad regime exploded more than two years ago, the United States, Britain, France, Turkey and other NATO states have pledged their support to the eclectic conglomerate of oppositionists that have grown out of the initial popular uprising. Following NATO-backed success in toppling Gaddafi in Libya it was hoped that one big push by the oppositionists would succeed in bringing down Assad in Damascus. The proclaimed intention of the NATO states was to bring democracy to Syria. Never mind that their allies in this enterprise were the sheiks of the Gulf States,

By Loren Adams on 05.26.13

China’s economy may soon collapse, far exceeding America’s in 2008. As China goes, so goes the world – as it has been conventional wisdom concerning the U.S. economy for decades. “When America sneezes, the world comes down with pneumonia.”

As in most pending disasters, this could have been avoided. Absent, per norm, is U.S. leadership heading off the Asian giant’s fall, much less preparing Americans for the

By Steven Jonas, MD, MPH - May 16, 2013

An earlier version of this column was published on BuzzFlash.com on February 14, 2007.  In light of the field day that the Fox”News”Channel is having over “Benghazi,” the “IRS Scandal,” and now the “AP Scandal,” as well as “what about Syria,” I thought that it might be fun to revisit an edited and slightly emended version of this one.

Harry Targ – 05.19.13

My name is Assata Shakur, and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government’s policy toward people of color. I am an ex-political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984….

By Mickey Walker-May 19, 2013

A cousin emailed me a while back about the horrible Obama administration and how it is running America into the ditch.  You know the drill:  deficit spending, worst record of new debt for any president in history, elaborate wasting of government resources like when Michelle Obama flies to Europe on shopping sprees courtesy of us taxpayers.  I find myself awash in a sea of mud and muck when it gets heaped on so thick that it is obvious that big money (on either side) is behind...

By Conn Hallinan on April 19, 2013

In the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula the Obama administration is virtually repeating the 2004 Bush playbook, one that derailed a successful diplomatic agreement forged by the Clinton administration to prevent North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons? While the acute tensions of the past month appear to be receding— all of the parties involved seem to be taking a step back— the problem is not going to disappear and, unless Washington and its allies re-examine their strategy, another crisis is certain to develop.