California is an earthly paradise. Yet there is something badly broken about the Golden State. At its best, California is America’s America, where the young and adventurous go for a fresh start. The trouble is that housing in much of California has become so expensive that the young and adventurous have been priced…
Chomsky on Civil Liberties, Obama and the Future Of Politics by STEVEN DUREL Linguistics professor Noam Chomsky has been America’s premier political dissident since the Vietnam War. As a vocal critic of US foreign policy, the self-described “libertarian socialist” has been beloved by generations of students and activists. In the wake…
Most Important Facebook Number: 140.3 Billion Facebook announced that it had a billion active accounts Thursday; an extraordinary milestone, celebrated with a rather odd ad. But that number, like that ad, is a sideshow. Another extraordinary stat got overlooked, and this is one that really gives you the scale of what the social…
It was a huge surprise that Julian Assange suddenly checked into the Embassy of República del Ecuador in London. The twitter reaction from leading Swedish media personalities, in the midst of a Football match, was predictably myopic – and as nationalistic as Football. The picture that came into their minds was that of an…
Social Security A monstrous truth September 15, 2011 NO PONZI scheme in the history of the world has ever lasted 75 years. Ponzi schemes depend on garnering an ever-increasing pool of new investors to pay out returns to prior investors. When the potential pool of new investors runs dry, they collapse. This will occur when…
Left behind in America: Who’s to blame for the wealth divide? Take a moment and think about how you feel wealth should, ideally, be spread among the American people. If you’re like the average respondent in a 2010 Harvard Business School/Duke University study, your response was this: The richest top 20…
THE LAST TOUCHDOWN PHOTOS: Shuttle Returns To Earth For The Final TimeBelow CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Atlantis and four astronauts returned from the International Space Station in triumph Thursday, bringing an end to NASA’s 30-year shuttle journey with one last, rousing touchdown that drew cheers and tears. A record crowd of 2,000 gathered…
LOS MUERTOS Death Stalks U.S. Trade Partner
The Global Temper Tantrum Fury is spreading. But the mobs ignore the real culprit behind broken economies. Yiorgos Karahalis / Reuters-Landov Riot police at a protest against austerity measures in Athens on June 28, 2011. This is the age of indignation. Politics in the Western world are becoming more emotional—because our problems are so intractable….
Perilous choices for Egypt’s military By Jon Alterman, Special to CNN January 30, 2011 1:40 p.m. EST Egyptian soldiers drive an armored personel carrier slowly through a crowd of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Sunday. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Jon Alterman says Egypt’s government is a military government He says military enjoys a privileged role in…