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How the US Sold Africa to Multinationals Like Monsanto, Cargill, DuPont, PepsiCo and Others

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Jill Richardson - May. 26 (Special Report) - Will Obama's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition help farmers like Charity? The New Alliance was announced in conjunction with the G8 meeting last Friday. Under the scheme, some 45 corporations, including Monsanto, Syngenta, Yara International, Cargill, DuPont, and PepsiCo, have pledged a total of $3.5 billion in investment in Africa. The full list of corporations and commitments has just been released, and one of the most notable is Yara International's promise to build a $2 billion fertilizer plant in Africa. Syngenta pledged to build a $1 billion business in Africa over the next decade. These promises are not charity; they are business.

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US Drone Strike in Pakistan Reeks of Political Retaliation Yet Again

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

emptywheel.net - By Jim White - May. 25 (News Report) - Today, US drones killed four more people in North Waziristan in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This strike comes at a critical time in US-Pakistan relations, as many believed that the US and Pakistan would announce an agreement reopening NATO supply routes through Pakistan at last weekend’s NATO summit in Chicago. Instead of reaching agreement, however, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari was essentially shunned at the meeting. Today’s strike adds to that insult, as Pakistan has been objecting strenuously to US drone strikes as an imposition on Pakistan’s sovereignty. Despite US claims that Pakistan does nothing to stop insurgents in the FATA, Pakistani jets also killed 12 people today in Orakzai Agency, which is near North Waziristan and also within the FATA.

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Egyptian Voters on the Promise, and Limits, of Historic Election: Sharif Kouddous Reports From Cairo

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Sharif Kouddous - May. 24 (News Report) - Voters are heading to the polls for the second day in Egypt's first competitive presidential election following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago. The first day of voting saw numerous reports of minor violations, but was largely hailed as free of fraud and violence. Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak's last prime minister and now a leading candidate, was swarmed by protesters outside his polling station who hurled shoes and debris at him. Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous and videographer Hany Massoud spent the day traveling to polling stations around Cairo speaking to voters about their choices for president and their concerns in the election. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Senate Advances Expanded, "Orwellian" Gov't Surveillance With FISA Amendments, CISPA

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez - May. 24 (News Analysis) - The Senate is closer to renewing controversial measures that critics say would allow the emails and phone calls of U.S. citizens to be monitored without a warrant. The Select Committee on Intelligence has voted to extend controversial amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that were set to expire at the end of this year. "What we’re asking is that they slow down this process and start first with the question: What type of information are they picking up? How many Americans are being affected? What is the government doing with it?," says Michelle Richardson of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued over the U.S. government’s surveillance practices, saying agencies would be able to tap their communications with clients and sources overseas.

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With Control of Drone Strikes, Is Counterterror Chief John Brennan the U.S. "Assassination Czar"?

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 24 (News Analysis) - President Obama's counterterrorism chief John Brennan is heading up a new team to determine who should be targeted by armed U.S. drones overseas. The newly revealed procedure for drone attacks means Brennan's staff consults the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies before ultimately deciding who will be targeted. One official said there is growing concern over "how easy it has become to kill someone" under the administration’s drone strike policy. We speak with investigative blogger Marcy Wheeler of the website “Empty Wheel.” [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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George Zimmerman's 'Cozy' Relationship With Sanford Police Questioned

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Trymaine Lee - May. 24 (Investigative Report) - Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman had a relationship with members of the police department in Sanford, Fla., long before he shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin to death in February, newly released information suggests. During a community forum on J

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"So Rich, So Poor": Peter Edelman on Ending US Poverty & Why He Left Clinton Admin over Welfare Law

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 23 (News Analysis) - Census data shows nearly one in two Americans live in poverty, and now the Congressional Budget Office warns things could soon get worse if President Obama and Congress remain at an impasse over the 2013 fiscal budget. House Republicans are calling for cuts to food aid, healthcare and social services, while protecting funds for the Pentagon.

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Sea Shepherd Founder Paul Watson Fights Extradition to Costa Rica for 2002 Shark Defense

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 22 (News Report) - Captain Paul Watson, founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, has been released on bail in Germany following his arrest for possible extradition to Costa Rica on decade-old charges stemming from a confrontation with shark fin poachers. Sea Shepherd continues to maintain that Watson's arrest was politically motivated and is calling on its supporters to come together in a day of action on Wednesday when the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla visits Germany. Watson joins us from Frankfurt. “We’ve never injured anybody,” Watson says. “The most powerful weapon in the world as far as I'm concerned is the camera, so we go into battle armed with cameras...Right now 19 million sharks a year are being destroyed to feed the shark fin industry in Asia. And that means the fins are cut off of these animals and they’re thrown back into the ocean, and this is what we filmed off of Guatemala and this is what we intervened against -- a highly illegal operation.” [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Advocates: '12 Budget Dance Has Heavier Beat

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

bkbureau.org - May. 21 (News) - After years of austerity, advocates say the annual ritual of protests against proposed cuts has taken on a more urgent tone.

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Mitt Romney's flip-flops

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Bill Adair , Louis Jacobson - May. 18 (Fact Check) - For the 2012 presidential campaign, we're using the Flip O-Meter to assess the statements of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. This article includes links to the Flip-O-Meter items we've published on Romney. We'll update it as we publish more in the future.

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The Pacific Ocean Is Dying

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

nationofchange.org - May. 18 (Special Report) - Just prior to the Supermoon of March 18th, 2011, the world witnessed a natural and manmade disaster of epic proportions. What transpired off the coast of Honshu Island, Japan on March 11 has forever altered the planet and irremediably affected the global environment.

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Technical concerns: Why Russia worries about NATO's missile defense

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - By Ivanka Barzashka - May. 14 (Special Report) - The Russians’ main technical concerns included fast interceptor missiles that might be fielded in northern Europe near Russia’s borders, making them possible threats to Moscow’s strategic deterrent.

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Obama says Romney would cut his own taxes while raising others’

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Molly Moorhead - May. 13 (Fact Check) - President Barack Obama says Mitt Romney is the anti-Robin Hood. In a campaign speech in Columbus, Ohio, on May 5, 2012, Obama said the Romney's economic plan would raise taxes for millions of low-income Americans while cutting them for the wealthy.

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Role Reversal: Why TV Is Replacing Movies As Elite Entertainment

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Hollywood Economist - By Edward Jay Epstein - May. 13 (News Analysis) - Once upon a time, over a generation ago, The television set was commonly called the “boob tube” and looked down on by elites as a purveyors of mind-numbing entertainment. Movie theaters, on the other hand, were considered a venue for, if not art, more sophisticated dramas and comedies. Not any more. The multiplexes are now primarily a venue for comic-book inspired action and fantasy movies, whereas television, especially the pay and cable channels, is increasingly becoming a venue for character-driven adult programs, such as The Wire, Mad Men, and Boardwalk Empire. This role reversal, rather than a momentary fluke, proceeds directly from the new economic realities of the entertainment business. Consider what happened to Pay-TV. Back in the 1970s, HBO provided something home viewers could not get elsewhere: movies uninterrupted by commercials. It was, as a HBO executive put it, “the only game in town,” so its subscribers paid a monthly fee, no matter how little or often they watch it, to their local cable provider who in turn forked over a share to HBO. As the cable systems grew, so did HBO. By 2010, it had (including its Cinemax unit) over 40 million subscribers, and just the monthly fees produced cash flow of over $1.5 billion a year. Getting new movies was no problem. HBO simply licensed them from a few major studios for an exclusive period (which began a few months after they were released on video and DVD) in so-called “output deals.” To continue to harvest this immense bounty, HBO had merely to stop subscribers from ending their service.

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Why Atheists Have Become a Kick-Ass Movement You Want on Your Side

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Greta Christina - May. 12 (Special Report) - Atheists are becoming a force to be reckoned with. They are a powerful ally when inspired to take action -- and a powerful opponent when they're treated like dirt.

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Frankenfoods: Why Is the Gates Foundation Helping Monsanto Push Genetically Modified Food?

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Paige Aarhus - May. 11 (Special Report) - serious concerns about viability, corporate dependency and health effects linger — even while leading research firms and NGOs do their best to smooth them over. Monsanto-patented seeds are usually costly, which has led to numerous accusations of exploitation and contemporary colonialism. But how long will these particular strains of seeds last? What are the guarantees? Critics fear dependence on corporate fertilizers and pesticides, the emergence of super-weeds and pests that can no longer repel GM varieties, and terminator seeds that only last for one planting season.

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President Barack Obama's shifting stance on gay marriage

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - May. 11 (Fact Check) - ABC broke into its daytime lineup May 9, 2012, to announce a historic shift: the president of the United States declaring his personal support for gay marriage. "I've been going through an evolution on this issue," President Barack Obama told ABC News .

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Negotiating with Iran: Expectations for Baghdad

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

thebulletin.org - By Emily B. Landau - May. 07 (Special Report) - Amid ongoing concerns that Iran might still not be negotiating in good faith, there is nevertheless a chance that this time things will be different. Tentative indications of a changed Iranian attitude find expression in the very fact that the Iranians have agreed to discuss the nuclear issue, which they had not been willing to do in recent years. Moreover, despite repeated Iranian attempts to convince European Union foreign affairs and security policy representative Catherine Ashton to lift the pending European oil embargo, the five members of the UN Security Council and Germany, or P5+1, did not budge on this...

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Are We in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction?

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Richard Pearson - May. 06 (Special Report) - NEARLY 20,000 species of animals and plants around the globe are considered high risks for extinction in the wild. That's according to the most authoritative compilation of living things at risk - the so-called Red List maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This should keep us awake at night

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Mitt Romney's Dangerous Foreign Policy Team: Nostalgic for Bush, Hellbent on War with Iran

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Alex Kane - May. 02 (News Analysis) - Romney’s persistent knocks on Obama’s foreign policy make clear that, while the economy will be the number-one issue this year, foreign policy will be a close runner-up. Behind Romney’s statements on world affairs is a group of close advisers whose views harken back to the Bush administration’s belligerent neoconservative brand of US foreign policy--not the best idea, considering how discredited it has become. “The most striking aspect of Romney's approach to foreign policy is its lack of creativity -- its brazen willingness to recycle Bush-era talking points, attitudes, and of course personnel,” said Peter Certo, a researcher at Right Web, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.

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May Day Protests Span the Globe With Calls for Economic Justice, International Solidarity

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - May. 02 (News Report) - Hundreds of thousands of people across the world marked May Day on Tuesday by filling the streets and demanding better working conditions, greater job security and improved quality of life. May Day, also known as International Worker's Day, resonated with protesters from Spain to Bangladesh to Iraq and throughout the United States. "This is brutal and dictatorial,” says Mariano, a member of Spain's General Union of Workers who denounced his country’s conservative government for recently announcing job cuts in the health and education sectors as well as tax increases. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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"Festive, Righteous Anger": Occupy Makes a May Day Comeback With Massive Demonstrations

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Sarah Jaffe, - May. 02 (News Report) - The largest action of the day took place in Oakland during the evening, as an estimated 3,000 people took to the streets around City Hall. The protest was largely uneventful until after nightfall when, in a scene that has come to be all-too-familiar, Oakland police ended up dispersing occupiers with tear gas and "flash-bang" grenades. As of press time, arrests were ongoin

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For Some, Occupy Movement is a Test of Faith

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

City Limits - Apr. 30 (News) - Financial District — Thirty-two days after they had been evicted from their Zuccotti Park encampment in Lower Manhattan, approximately 1,000 Occupy Wall Street activists rallied together to take over another public space for their movement. They hoped to

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Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to say

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Molly Moorhead - Apr. 29 (Fact Check) - The price of gas is determined by a litany of complex and shifting factors (Brent derivatives, anyone?), few of which you’ll hear mentioned in :30-second political ads. But politicians are interested less in cause, more in effect. The effect in this case: your anger.

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Yuval Diskin, Israel Former Intel Chief, Slams Netanyahu's Iran Stance

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Apr. 28 (News Report) - JERUSALEM -- The former head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency has accused the country's political leaders of exaggerating the effectiveness of a possible military strike against Iran, in a striking indication of Israel's turmoil over how to deal with

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