By Richard Schickel —"Countdown to Zero" is an intelligent, graphically sophisticated documentary film about what is almost certainly the most important issue confronting the world today -- nuclear proliferation.
By Robert Scheer —What WikiLeaks did was brilliant journalism, and the bleating critics from the president on down are revealing just how low a regard they have for the truth.
It seemed like nobody in a position of power in Washington thought that the shocking details about the war in Afghanistan, our “allies” in Pakistan and other gems from this week’s WikiLeaks melange of madness were all that “new.” (continued)
The recent Shirley Sherrod kerfuffle served to show how quick the Obama administration is to bend to the will of Fox News pundits, according to Stephen Colbert, who can think of a few other people to fire as well for doing nothing wrong.
A new biography of the remarkable writer Lesley Blanch suggests that living well—which may be the same thing as living passionately—is the best way of blunting the force of time’s arrow.
“Countdown to Zero” is an intelligent, graphically sophisticated documentary film about what is almost certainly the most important issue confronting the world today—nuclear proliferation.
While the meme might seem trite or trendy, this lengthy essay by a couples therapist makes a compelling case that younger couples are actively creating relationship innovations designed to dampen the destructive power of infidelity—whether it be emotional, sexual or otherwise.
Mike Rose notes that no one in power is asking fundamental questions about the purpose of education and whether much-hyped reforms might do more harm than good.
Christmas came early for demagogues. The court decision putting a hold on the worst provisions of Arizona’s new anti-Latino immigration law is a gift-wrapped present to those who delight in turning truth, justice and the American way into political liabilities.
In this epoch of confusion, our society has achieved the goal of “Inception’s” idea-implanting protagonists—only without all the technological subterfuge.
If you missed Robert Scheer discussing with readers his latest column, “Thank God for the Whistle-Blowers,” on the WikiLeaks revelations, or you just want to relive the excitement, you can read the full transcript here.
Can a nation remain a superpower if its internal politics are incorrigibly stupid? While we’re at it, does any other democracy have a powerful legislative branch as undemocratic as the U.S. Senate?
While the Pentagon Papers revealed the duplicity of American policymakers in the senseless Vietnam War, their release came too late to save many lives or change the course of that conflict. The WikiLeaks disclosures may have arrived in time to influence policy and prevent disaster.
What WikiLeaks did was brilliant journalism, and the bleating critics from the president on down are revealing just how low a regard they have for the truth.
While it is unquestionable that Barack Obama made the war in Afghanistan “his” war, it also is true that it was served to him on a platter and with a gun pressed against his back.
The modern Republican argument about taxes seems to boil down to two principles, both misguided: Taxes can be reduced, but they can never be allowed to go up. And whatever level taxes are at, they are too high.
The Russian capital has suffered nearly 50 fires as Muscovites cope with the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the city. The BBC reports that it got up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday. Guess they won’t be needing those funny hats.
A man who used a piece of code to scan 100 million Facebook users’ publicly available information and then shared it on the Net as a file gave an interview to try to explain his motives for what some are calling an “ethical attack” on privacy.
Economists used data on 12,000 Tennesseans to conclude that while test score gains built by successful elementary teachers had faded by high school, more meaningful outcomes (income, college, divorce, savings) seem to show a strong link between quality education as a child and success in the “real world.”
Relying primarily on a controversial Louisiana expert with previous ties to BP but also quoting a leader of the Audubon Society, Time magazine has posted a contrarian report arguing that the environmental damage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster has been overblown.
We started calling it “climate change” because it’s not all about getting warmer, but when the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s are each, in turn, declared the hottest decade on record, it’s safe to say things are heating up. According to the annual State of the Climate report, the evidence is “undeniable.”
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton decided Wednesday that SB 1070’s most controversial bits, such as requiring immigrants to carry papers wherever they go, will have to wait until the courts can sort out the mess. As written, the law, which was set to take effect Thursday, would restrict the liberty of “lawfully-present aliens,” the judge said.
This could be a case in which the cure may cause problems above and beyond the severity of the symptoms, but a study that sounds like more fun than others we’ve heard of has found that alcohol consumption may help ease the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, as well as check the disease itself.
Afghanistan: Report From Helmand Front Line
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