Wall Street protesters in for the long haul

A standoff near Wall Street between protesters opposed to what they say is corporate greed and police may drag on into winter, with a march on police headquarters the likely next test of whether tensions escalate. “We’re here for the long haul,” said Patrick Bruner, a protester and student at Skidmore College in upstate New […]

Propaganda Semantics

As PBS put it, Frank Luntz’s expertise is “testing language and finding words that will help his clients sell their products, or turn public opinion on an issue or a candidate.” In other words, propaganda. Here are some actual examples of Luntz’s fine work: Don’t say “oil drilling.” Say “energy exploration.” Don’t say “global warming.” […]

Where is drone warfare headed?

The fast developing predator drone technology, officially called unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, is becoming so dominant and so beyond any restraining framework of law or ethics, that its use by the U.S. government around the world may invite a horrific blowback. The Pentagon has about 7,000 aerial drones. Ten years ago there were less […]

Woman whipped for driving in Saudi Arabia

A Saudi woman was sentenced Tuesday to be lashed 10 times with a whip for defying the kingdom’s prohibition on female drivers, the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultraconservative Muslim nation. Making Tuesday’s sentence all the more upsetting to activists is that […]

And we wonder why US credit was downgraded

The numbers leading S&P to downgrade U.S. Credit: • U.S. Tax revenue:___$2,170,000,000,000 • Federal budget:_____$3,820,000,000,000 • New debt:_________$1,650,000,000,000 • National debt:_____$14,271,000,000,000 • Recent budget cut:____$38,500,000,000 Let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend this is a household budget: • Annual family income:____________________$21,700 • Money the family spent:___________________$38,200 • New debt on the credit card:_______________$16,500 • Outstanding balance […]

Jeremiah Wright on the America Me First Superpower

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright warns that our selfish, hedonistic and violent culture has turned us away from values, including self-sacrifice, that make possible harmony and the common good. This selfishness and narcissism, Wright argues, is a form of blasphemy. “We got so focused in on being No. 1, on being the superpower,” he said. “When […]

Religious beliefs in America continue to fracture

Religion statistics expert George Barna says, with a wry hint of exaggeration, America is headed for “310 million people with 310 million religions.” “We are a designer society. We want everything customized to our personal needs — our clothing, our food, our education,” he says. Now it’s our religion. More people claim they have accepted […]

Christianity should be synonymous with class warfare

President Obama just drew the economic battle lines more clearly in his call to raise $1.5 trillion in new revenue primarily through increased taxes on the wealthy, letting the Bush tax cuts expire, and closing tax loopholes. “Class warfare!” countered the Republicans. Americans sharing more equally in the burden of pulling our country out of […]

A UN speech that every Palestinian wanted to hear

At the UN, President Mahmoud Abbas used terms like “ethnic cleansing”,“al-Nakba”, “apartheid policies” and “racist annexation Wall”. His speech was indeed befitting of being a historical platform to voice the issue of Palestine. It encapsulated the suffering the Palestinians have endured for 63 years, from the horrors of their ethnic cleansing in 1948 to the […]

Following the Money in the European Debt Crisis

Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy are said to be cases of out-of-control people who now must get their houses in order – by way of huge cuts to government programs. Yet these cuts, known in the jargon as austerity measures, represent political crimes of equal if not greater magnitude to that burglary at the […]