Geopolitical Swelling in Ukraine

Ukraine is facing two realities today. It can turn into a functioning country, the way it was before February 22, 2014, or it can continue to be a failed nation, governed by out-of-control politicians. The main requirement for Ukraine to become a successfully functioning state requires that the country turns into a buffer zone, or as political scientists, John Mearshimer, …

Will Mexico’s Oil Give the U.S. Another Excuse for Covert Intervention?

The drug war brought U.S. commandos into Mexico, but the opening of the country’s once publicly-owned energy resources to foreign investors may provide justification for the secretive American presence there to escalate—especially if the cartels are successfully painted as “narcoterrorists.” Energy resources can never be ignored in geopolitics. And an often forgotten fact is that Mexico is its northern neighbor’s …

Trade Deficit Drops To Enormous, Humongous Level In January

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday that the January goods and services trade deficit was $41.8 billion in January, down $3.8 billion from $45.6 billion in December (which was revised down a billion). This is a drop of 8.3% from the prior month, which was a two-year high. Both imports and exports fell. Imports of goods and services fell 3.9% to $231.2 …

“WHO ARE WE? WHAT DO WE AMERICANS TRULY VALUE?”

Too much and for too long, we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now is over $800 billion dollars a year… if we judge the United States of America by that… Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of …

The TPP could spell bad news for global food systems.

Food is more than just what we eat. It connects us to each other and our environment. And how we treat it is of tremendous importance to our democracy. Right now, the future of our food is being decided behind closed doors. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade and investment deal being negotiated by the United States and 11 Pacific …

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study

Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. Flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza. Researchers analysed blood samples from volunteers in Southern China, looking at antibody levels against nine different influenza strains that circulated from 1968 to …

Syngenta Accused Of Racketeering

At least a dozen Arkansas farmers have joined hundreds of farmers in 19 other states in almost 800 lawsuits against Swiss seed maker Syngenta over genetically modified corn seed, a case that has been widely reported in the media. But one of the lawsuits, filed on behalf of two Newport farms, contains a previously unreported twist: an allegation that Syngenta, …

China Has Announced Plans For A ‘World Currency’

The Chinese do not plan to live in a world dominated by the U.S. dollar for much longer.  Chinese leaders have been calling for the U.S. dollar to be replaced as the primary global reserve currency for a long time, but up until now they have never been very specific about what they would put in place of it.  Many have …

China Just Sided With Russia Over The Ukraine Conflict

When it comes to the Ukraine proxy war, which started in earnest just about one year ago with the violent coup that overthrew then president Yanukovich and replaced him with a local pro-US oligarch, there has been no ambiguity who the key actors were: on the left, we had the west, personified by the US, the European Union, and NATO …

Clinton Foundation raked in cash from right-wing regimes, corporations

Several press reports last week highlight details of the major donors to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, including right-wing Persian Gulf monarchies, big defense contractors, and an array of corporations and governments seeking influence with the US political establishment—and potentially in the next White House. Founded in 2001 after the end of Bill Clinton’s second term as president, …