By Conn Hallinan - 04.16.15
The systematic murder of 147 Kenyan university students by members of the Somalia-based Shabab organization on April 2 is raising an uncomfortable question: was the massacre an unintentional blowback from U.S. anti-terrorism strategy in the region? And were the killers forged by an ill-advised American supported Ethiopian invasion that transformed the radical Islamic organization from a marginal player into a major force?
Read MoreBy Mickey Walker-May 10, 2015
When the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge died in 1933, it was mostly a non-event in the country. Nobody knew much about him. He remained incommunicado, or so it seemed, the whole time he spent in the White House. During his presidency from 1926-1929 “Silent Cal” was notorious for saying very little and doing even less. A reporter in 1933, upon hearing that Coolidge had died, dryly asked the question: “How can you tell?”
Read MoreBy Michael Faulkner - 05.10.15
According to one dictionary definition the term “propaganda” should be understood as “information, ideas, opinions etc. propagated as a means of winning support for, or fomenting opposition to, a government, institution etc.” There is nothing here to indicate whether the information, ideas and opinions propagated need be true or false. Thus, to take a simple example, the US occupation for more than a century of Cuban territory at Guantanamo Bay for use as a naval base, is a fact. To state that fact is to speak the truth. It is also a fact that the treaty by which the US came into possession of Guantanamo was imposed upon Cuba against the will of its people, with the threat that failure to accept it would result in the US occupation of the island. It is also a fact that since 1959 the Cuban government has refused to accept the rent
Read Moreby Loren Adams, 05.10.2015
The election of America’s first Black President was supposed to be a celebrated milestone. Now, after six grueling years into Obama’s presidency, the jury is in. It appears America was not ready for an African-American to take the highest office. Nor a woman.
What held Obama back? First and foremost is the Republican Party which embraced Karl Rove’s edict to be in a constant state of war against the Democratic Party, including all its elected officials. Rove poisoned American politics. No longer is there a time when Americans support the President in office no matter what stripe. Honeymoon period? Hell, no! Republican leaders met in private the night of Obama’s first inaugural in 2009 to plot his downfall.
Read MoreBy STEVEN JONAS MD, MPH - 04.30.15
TED CRUZ (courtesy of Patrice Greanville, Editor/Publisher of The Greanville Post and Publisher, Punto Press): “An opportunistic buffoon, nonetheless typical of an American politician, who need exhibit neither intelligence, genuine morality, nor respect for peace or social justice—merely cunning, and a desire to do the bidding of the superrich that owns them.”
In 1996 I published a book which in its third release (2013) is entitled The 15% Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the U.S., 1981-2022. The style is what I call “fictional non-fiction,” for it is a fictional history of the United States from the time of the election of Ronald Regan as President to the year 2022, written in the style of a history book and
Read MoreBy Iris Vander Pluym - 05.10.15
A recent headline in The Washington Post naturally caught my eye: Why pregnant women in Mississippi keep dying. I clicked the link hoping that I might learn, you know, why pregnant women in Mississippi keep dying. I know, silly me.
“The U.S. maternal health community doesn’t know exactly why,” [Priya Agrawal, executive director of Merck for Mothers] said. A number of factors may exacerbate the problem, which she called a human rights cris
Read More