I find that Chomsky’s description of the Palestine occupation corresponds with everything I have read over the years. That is, I believe it is factual. Israel is a maverick nation that implements predatory skills to confiscate Palestine land and destroy its social structure. It is able to do this because the U.S. provides money and weapons, while ignoring Israel’s grievous conduct. One would think that a people who suffered the Holocaust and other acts of abuse and persecution, would empathize with the Palestinians. True, perhaps a third of the Israelis are against the land grab, and the Israeli liberal press reports the contradictions in official talk and action, but the government has consistently pushed forward.

Morozov has done a good job telling us the obvious, that the internet in particular, and technology in general, can be used for benevolent or malevolent purposes. True, a few would-be prophets predicted, or fantasized, peoples of the world would fall on their keyboards and magically the international community would be filled with love and harmony. Not many of us were privy to those claims, and even fewer have been waiting breathlessly for such a miracle. Morosov could have used the space more productively by arguing that the FCC should move quickly to block telecom companies from taking control of the Internet.

Considering the ties between Congress (Republicans and Democrats) and the financial institutions, it’s clear the kind of regulatory reforms of the industry Krugman wants will not happen. It’s a painful truth that limits the President’s demands. He can’t push the beast in to the river, but hopefully he can persuade it to drink from the river. The kind of dramatic, inclusive reform that Krugman calls for will not happen without first sanitizing the campaign financing mess. Greed may not be good, but it governs our politics.

Number 5 on the list: Funds for Abstinence Education is by all accounts a case of misappropriations. That is, money down the drain. The Bush administration tripled AE funding from $73 million a year in 2001 to $204 million a year by 2008. However, studies by Cochrane Collaboration, Mathematica Policy Research Inc. and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, all found that students that took the AE course had intercourse as often as students that didn’t take the course. In addition, studies showed that girls that took the virginity pledge had intercourse as often as those who did not. According to WebMD Health News, seventeen states have dropped out of the Federal AE programs with government funding to teach, with ... More »

As President Eisenhower’s farewell speech given on 17 January 1961 warned: “... we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Adam Weinstein’s article reminds us that this misplaced power persists. Halliburton alone has over charged the Government billions of dollars. Fleecing the Government has become the norm.

This is quality journalism because it exposes an ongoing injustice. It shines a light on a horrendous immoral practice that will be stopped only if there is a public outcry in the U.S and U.K.

Yes, the press is free to challenge the misdeeds and failings of government, and this article is doing so.

Facts, sans opinion!

Looks good.