News

California Tries a New Way

Richard Reeves / Truthdig Jun 15, 2012 As it has many times over more than a century, the Golden State again tried to reform its politics. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Who’s Not Putting Americans Back to Work

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Jun 15, 2012 With the encouragement of Mitt Romney, House Republicans are doing everything they can to keep Americans from getting work, just to defeat President Obama.House Republicans are doing everything they can to keep Americans from getting work, just to defeat President Obama. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Journalism Was Only a Bit Player in Exposing Watergate Crimes

Stanley Kutler / Truthdig Jun 15, 2012 As the 40th anniversary of the infamous break-in nears, the press shouldn't inflate its investigatory role. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Former Billionaire Sentenced for Huge Ponzi Scheme

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Jun 15, 2012 R. Allen Stanford is perhaps not as well known as Bernie Madoff, but the two men have one thing in common -- both received long sentences for their roles in separately orchestrating two of the largest Ponzi schemes ever. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama and Romney’s Buckeye Smackdown, Dubya’s Head on a Spike and More

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Jun 15, 2012 A look at the day's political happenings, including President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in Ohio, the DOJ's decision in the John Edwards case, and the HBO show "Game of Thrones" getting political. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Scientists Urge Earth Summit to Act on Population Growth

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 Finally, someone in the mainstream is talking about Earth’s population problem. Talk falls short of action, of course, and it’s unlikely anyone with power will listen. But nevertheless the world’s leading scientists warned at the Rio+20 Earth Summit on Thursday that unchecked population growth and overconsumption could be civilization’s undoing. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Plan for ‘Corporate Global Governance’

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a secretive international trade pact under consideration by the Obama administration, would force American policy to conform to the whims of foreign corporations operating in the US by allowing them to appeal key regulations to an international tribunal That body would have the power to override U law and issue penalties for failure to comply with its rulings . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Indonesian Atheist Sentenced to Two and a Half Years in Prison

Staff / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 An Indonesian civil servant was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of blaspheming and violating Indonesian Internet laws when he professed his atheism on Facebook. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The New Obama Doctrine: A Six-Point Plan for Global War

By Nick Turse, TomDispatch Jun 14, 2012 The face of American-style war-fighting is once again changing. Along with special ops, advisors, trainers, and commandos expect ever more funds to flow into the militarization of spying and intelligence, the use of drone aircraft, the launching of cyber-attacks, and joint Pentagon operations with increasingly militarized “civilian” government agencies. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

See You at the Club: Fed Fat Cats Dip Into the Till

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 American families have lost 20 years of growth while at least 18 bankers and tycoons sat on Fed boards that coincidentally bailed out their institutions. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Did Young Romney Impersonate a Police Officer? Another Witness Says Yes

Joe Conason / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 When Mitt Romney was a college freshman, he told fellow residents of his Stanford University dormitory that he sometimes disguised himself as a police officer -- a crime in many states, including Michigan and California, where he then lived. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Obama Breaks Promise, Seeks to Give Multinationals Free Rein

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 14, 2012 A document from President Obama’s free trade negotiations that was leaked Wednesday morning revealed an administration proposal to allow multinational corporations doing business in the United States to police themselves via an international tribunal staffed by lawyers on the companies’ payroll. The scheme obliterates a 2008 promise by Obama to do just the opposite. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )