Stephen Gowans – Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Equals a U.S. Aircraft Carrier

The U.S. political elite is never entirely secretive about its aims. It spells them out, maybe not always clearly and maybe sometimes elliptically, but it is fairly open in declaring its objectives and how it intends to achieve them. When she was U.S. secretary of state, Hilary Clinton adumbrated the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a 2011 article in Foreign Affairs, the …

Alternative Visions – ‘Three Official Reports Point to Global Economic Trouble’ – 10.02.15

A review of three just released reports that indicate the US and global economy is in much worst shape than the hype flowing from political and business media sources. Today’s US jobs report showed a sharp reduction in the rate of private sector job growth in the US economy for the past three months, as labor force and wage growth continue to stagnate as well. Jack explains why the official data is even worse than reported. A second report by the World Trade Organization indicates global trade is retreating fast, growing much less than global GDP which is itself slowing fast. According to estimates, global trade may have even contracted in the first half of 2015. Jack explains how a global recession in trade and industrial production (manufacturing, mining, utility output) may have already begun, with global services eventually to follow. Conditions in Europe, Japan, China, and the ‘perfect storm’ accelerating in Emerging Markets from latin America to Asia to Africa are reviewed. Next week’s IMF report on the growing crisis in the global economy, centered on emerging markets and China, is previewed. In the context of these developments, Jack explains how his new, forthcoming book, ‘Systemic Fragility in the Global Economy’, by Clarity Press, due out in November provides a theoretical and empirical explanation of the conditions and where the economy is headed, and how the book is different fundamentally from analyses provided by both mainstream economists or Marxist economists.’

Deirdre Fulton – Will TTIP Get Terminated? Negotiations Falter as Europe Balks

While public opposition to the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)—the massive proposed “trade” deal between the European Union and the United States—has grown steadily since negotiations started two years ago, new signs suggest that official government backing is also faltering across Europe. In an interview with French regional newspaper Sud Ouest published Monday, Junior Trade Minister Matthias Fekl said TTIP negotiations were favoring American …

Megan Boyle – AN IMPORTANT NEW REASON TO KEEP PESTICIDES AWAY FROM CHILDREN

Despite major improvements in treatment and survival, children’s cancer rates are rising in the United States, leaving parents and scientists alike searching for evidence of what’s behind the trend. A new report sheds light into one avoidable risk: household pesticides. Children exposed to insecticides inside their homes have a 47 percent higher risk of developing certain cancers in childhood, according to the …

Dan Sanchez – Remaking the World in Greater Israel’s Image From American Occupations to European Detention Camps

However they want to address the issue, most people are horrified at the refugee crisis now besetting Europe, with its scenes of chaos, conflict, and desperation. Yet in Israel, at least one high official sees in it not horror, but hope. As Rania Khalek has reported: “Dore Gold, director general of the Israeli foreign ministry, expressed optimism that the refugee influx …

Sputnik – Russian Scientists Find Ancient Bacteria That Could Lead to ‘Elixir of Youth’

A group of Russian scientists discovered an ancient strain of bacteria deep in the Siberian permafrost that could lead to the development of organisms capable of destroying petroleum molecules, turning them into water, and rejuvenating the overall health of living beings, similar to “the elixir of life.” If properly developed, the discovery could lead to a breakthrough in environmental protection, as with the …

Fragkiska Megaloudi – The Dirty Politics Behind the Syrian Conflict

Over recent months the situation in the Mediterranean has served as a dramatic reminder of what the leaders of Europe have tried hard to forget. The Syrian crisis has reached Europe. Although a lot of talk has been made over numbers and percentages of refugees that every country may or may not accept, let’s not forget that behind those numbers …

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour – 09.16.15

A master class in psychotherapy to help very disturbed and even violent people. Bertram Karon, PhD may be the most experienced clinician and researcher in the world concerning drug-free treatment of people labeled “schizophrenic” or rejected as incurably violent. He is also the most articulate. Bert provides very detailed real life stories and concludes with scientific research.

Glenn Greenwald – Two Short Paragraphs That Summarize the US Approach to Human Rights Advocacy

n his excellent article on the unique guilt-by-association standard being imposed on newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, my colleague Jon Schwarz references a passage from a 2013 Washington Post article that I want to highlight because of how illuminating it is. That Post article describes the Obama administration’s growing alliance with human-rights-abusing regimes in Africa, which allow the U.S. …

Leid Stories – 09.09.15

Europe’s Refugee Crisis Rooted in Imperialism, Says French Journalist
Family’s Settlement in Police Homicide Case Repeats Disturbing Pattern
The European Union appears French journalist, political analyst and filmmaker Gilbert Mercier, cofounder and editor in chief of News Junkie Post, looks at Europe’s refugee crisis as the predictable result of Western imperialism and its aggressive implementation of failed-state policies in the war-torn countries from which the vast majority of refugees are fleeing.
The City of Baltimore’s five-member Board of Estimates is expected to finalize today a $6.4-million settlement in the police-homicide case of Freddie Gray, whose death a week after suffering injuries during a “rough ride” in a police wagon on April 12 touched off a wave of local and national protests.
“Attorney at War” Alton H. Maddox Jr., who has set many legal precedents in several high-profile cases involving excessive force by police and prosecutorial misconduct, discusses the implications of the settlement.