Progressive Commentary Hour – 08-30-16

A look at US Foreign Policy and American global hegemony through the eyes of the US government’s support of Salafi terrorism and its war on terror Our guest has a very unique background that is rarely ever heard on a more liberal program.  Dr. Scott Bennett is a US Army Special Operations Officer who specialized in global psychological operations and …

Study: What Happens When You’re Hypnotized?

Skeptics view hypnosis as a little-understood parlor trick, but a new study reveals real changes occur in the brain when a person enters an hypnotic state. Some parts of the brain relax during the trance while others become more active, said study senior author Dr. David Spiegel, associate chair of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “I hope …

Steven MacMillan – Pokémon Go, the CIA, “Totalitarianism” and the Future of Surveillance

If anyone doubted that a percentage of the global population are akin to zombies, the incidents following the release of Pokémon Go have surely convinced you. Despite the game only being released in early July, we have already seen a man driving into a tree and a women getting locked in a graveyard whilst chasing these furry little creatures. Pokémon describes the …

Kira M. Newman – Would Unconditional Basic Income Make Us Happier?

On June 5, Swiss voters weighed in on a referendum for universal basic income, a policy that would give every person, rich or poor, working or not, a modest amount of money per year—no strings attached. Although Switzerland voted against the referendum, it’s the first time an entire country has weighed in on the idea. The United States and Canada …

Michael Snyder – Undeniable Evidence That The Real Economy Is Already In Recession Mode

You are about to see a chart that is undeniable evidence that we have already entered a major economic slowdown.  In the “real economy”, stuff is bought and sold and shipped around the country by trucks, railroads and planes.  When more stuff is being bought and sold and shipped around the country, the “real economy” is growing, and when less …

Did You Know That A Houseplant Has The Energy To Charge A Smart Phone?

These Guys Figured Out How to Turn House Plants Into Phone Chargers (UR) Barcelona, Spain — Solar power, as we know, is a great source of energy: it’s renewable, it comes from the sun — the list goes on. Unlike humans, nature has “known” that the sun is a fantastic energy generator for, well, ever. Photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert solar power into …

Ray McGovern – Hillary Clinton’s Damning Emails

A few weeks after leaving office, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have breathed a sigh of relief and reassurance when Director of National Intelligence James Clapper denied reports of the National Security Agency eavesdropping on Americans. After all, Clinton had been handling official business at the State Department like many Americans do with their personal business, on an unsecured server. …

Dahlia Lithwick – Pseudoscience in the Witness Box

The Washington Post published a story so horrifying this weekend that it would stop your breath: “The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.” What went wrong? The Post continues: “Of 28 examiners …

JOHN STANTON – Is the Clinton Foundation the Dulles Brother’s Sullivan and Cromwell?

According to CounterPunch editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair: “The desire for secrecy is one of Mrs. Clinton’s enduring and damaging traits…Befitting a Midwestern Methodist with a bullying father, repression has always been one of Mrs. Clinton’s most prominent characteristics. Hers has been the instinct to conceal, to deny, to refuse to admit any mistake. Mickey Kantor, the Los Angeles lawyer …

Is too much screen time damaging your child’s brain?

Let’s face it – screen time is an inescapable reality of modern parenting, with kids of every age spending hours upon hours in front of iPads, smartphones and televisions. And that’s not always a bad thing. Educational apps and kiddie-geared TV shows are great ways for little ones to sharpen their developing brains and hone quick communication skills (not to mention …