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 …
Looking for Leaders on Climate? Follow the Women Farmers
“I give you a message from my heart,” she says, “let’s move forward and work together for the benefit of everyone. And especially for those who work in the fields, as we are the ones who suffer the most.” That is the voice of Arminda, a farmer and agro-forestry advocate from Bolivia, who is among a number of women farmers …
“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 …
A Letter From Black America: Yes, we fear the police. Here’s why.
Last July 4, my family and I went to Long Island to celebrate the holiday with a friend and her family. After eating some barbecue, a group of us decided to take a walk along the ocean. The mood on the beach that day was festive. Music from a nearby party pulsed through the haze of sizzling meat. Lovers strolled …
Marriage in Retreat
Marriage is in retreat worldwide. In countries across the globe, increasing numbers of women and men are not simply postponing marriage, but forgoing it altogether. Among women in their late 30s or early 40s, 29 percent of women in Denmark are unmarried, 18 percent in Italy, 22 percent in Lebanon, and 32 percent in Libya In the United States, one in …
Fracking Used to Inject Nuclear Waste Underground for Decades
Unearthed articles from the 1960s detail how nuclear waste was buried beneath the Earth’s surface by Halliburton & Co. for decades as a means of disposing the by-products of post-World War II atomic energy production. Fracking is already a controversial practice on its face; allowing U.S. industries to inject slurries of toxic, potentially carcinogenic compounds deep beneath the planet’s surface — as …
The myth destroying America: Why social mobility is beyond ordinary people’s control
In America, there is a strongly held conviction that with hard work, anyone can make it into the middle class. Pew recently found that Americans are far more likely than people in other countries to believe that work determines success, as opposed to other factors beyond an individual’s control. But this positivity comes with a negative side — a tendency to pathologize …
Rationalizing Lunacy
Policy intellectuals — eggheads presuming to instruct the mere mortals who actually run for office — are a blight on the republic. Like some invasive species, they infest present-day Washington, where their presence strangles common sense and has brought to the verge of extinction the simple ability to perceive reality. A benign appearance — well-dressed types testifying before Congress, pontificating …
CIA Asset Joins Islamic State in Libya – Abdelhakim Belhadj Worked with U.S. and NATO to Overthrow Gaddafi　
Abdelhakim Belhadj has reportedly joined forces with the Islamic State, according to the journalist Sara Carter. Belhadj is a former al-Qaeda operative who was a key player in the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi. He worked directly with the U.S. and NATO. Kyle Shideler writes for The Washington Times: If Belhadj has gone over to Islamic State, it will represent a major …
Biodiversity or GMOs: Will The Future Of Nutrtion Be In Women’s Hands or Under Corporate Control?
Women have been the primary growers of food and nutrition throughout history, but today, food is being taken out of our hands and substituted for toxic commodities controlled by global corporations. Monoculture industrial farming has taken the quality, taste and nutrition out of our food. As a result, India is facing a nutritional crisis: every fourth Indian goes hungry, and …