Project Censored – 06.27.17

Does the rise to the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte signal a drift toward facism in the Philippines? Nolan and Nicholas explore this question, and other issues of Philippine history and politics, with scholar and former Philippine government research administrator Maria Ortuoste. Maria Ortuoste is Associate Professor of Political Science at Califoria State University, East Bay. Previously, she worked in the …

Pope Francis calls out journalists: Does the media needlessly foster fear?

The Vatican’s Pope Francis has strived to be a voice of peace and unity on a continent struggling to deal with a refugee crisis. On Thursday he spoke out once again, this time against mass media, which he says has the power to shape the public’s response to that challenge. During an address to Italy’s national journalism guild, Pope Francis …

Mark Wilkerson – One Man’s War

Memorial Day is over.  You had your barbeque.  Now, you can stop thinking about America’s wars and the casualties from them for another year.  As for me, I only wish it were so. It’s been Memorial Day for me ever since I first met Tomas Young.  And in truth, it should have felt that way from the moment I hunkered …

Frankie Boyle – Donald Trump has the manner of an arrogant televangelist suspected of murder by Columbo

In this tumultuous US election there seems, for once, to be a genuine choice on offer about which kind of ideas will spend four years being thwarted in a congressional logjam. This year’s race has already spawned thousands of newspaper articles and even a Book of Revelation. It’s actually hard to find a clip of Donald Trump’s campaign that doesn’t look like …

Lawrence Davidson – The Dangerous Ideology of Religion

pre-set forms of thinking that shape people’s worldviews and, supposedly, help to order and simplify reality. While this supposition is always flawed to one extent or another, ideologies can be very seductive. In part this is because they free their adherents from the hard work of critical thinking. Thus, they are often held onto tenaciously. Because ideologies distort reality, they are …

Claire Bernish – After Clinton Email Leak Exposes Her War Crimes, Frmr US Attorney Predicts Indictment in 60 Days

The biggest fireworks on New Year’s Eve weren’t any glowing in the night sky above millions of giddy revelers worldwide, but instead came tucked away in another batch of Hillary’s infamous emails made public — and the contents are so explosive, she could be charged with war crimes. Buried in the former Secretary of State’s emails are evidence of extrajudicial …

Abayomi Azikiwe – Africa in Review 2015: Economic Stagnation, Hegemonic Militarization and Neo-Colonial Dominance

Five years ago in Tunisia a nationwide rebellion erupted against the government of Zine Abideen Ben Ali. Youth, students, workers and small businesspeople rose up demanding an end to the system of dictatorship and subservience to France and the United States. By mid-January of 2011, Ben Ali’s regime had fallen forcing him to flee to Saudi Arabia. An interim government …

Kali Holloway – Where Does Your City Rank? The Most Liberal—and Conservative—Cities Around the Country

Remember when Sarah Palin said she [3] loved to visit “the real America”—as if there are parts of the country that are less authentically American than others? A more articulate person might’ve said she preferred visiting the more conservative swaths of the country to the liberal ones. It’s still a politically unwise admission, but unwise is pretty much Palin’s middle name. In any …

Vijay Prashad – Libya’s Oil and ISIS

In the northern heart of Libya sits the town of Sirte. It is the hometown of Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed there by local militiamen after a NATO missile stopped his convoy on their behalf. A militia group from the western town of Misrata had taken control of the town, much to the annoyance of the local population. Local officials …

Ben Norton – Sam Harris can’t be redeemed: Defining hypocrisy of the New Atheist movement

Anti-religious prophet Sam Harris has, once again, exposed the conservatism at the heart of the so-called “New Atheist” movement. In the November episode of his “Waking Up” podcast, Sam Harris spoke with seasoned neoconservative pundit Douglas Murray about Islam, liberalism and the refugee crisis. Harris frequently flexes his liberal bona fides, yet the two spent much of the conversation in …