French wealthy planning to flee France’s high taxes
By Marilyn Z. Tomlins
Switzerland has always meant much more to the wealthy of France than small squares of chocolate wrapped in pretty paper. Switzerland was where they banked, illegal as it was, and where they went to live to escape France’s [...]
Nothing to Learn From Romney Releasing More Taxes
By Howard Friedman.
The media is having a grand old time discussing Mitt Romney’s tax returns. Will he release more years of returns? Should he? Does Harry Reid have some special knowledge or is he just making noise?
Since I have a number [...]
Meteor Smoke Makes Strange Clouds
By Alton Parrish.
A new ScienceCast video explains how “meteor smoke” seeds noctilucent clouds.
Credit: Science@NASA
Anyone who has ever seen a noctilucent cloud or “NLC” would agree: They look alien. The electric-blue ripples and [...]
Egyptian president asserts power in Sinai and on the pitch
By James M. Dorsey
Taking on the military: Sports Minister El-Amry Farouk
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is negotiating his working relationship with the country’s powerful military in the battle against armed militants in the Sinai [...]
Racists in the Book Pile
By Mike Sutton.
History Text on Founding Father’s Fatherhood Found Wanting
Controversy remains and may always remain with regard to the question: Did Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801–1809) and founding [...]
Do the Europeans need a new elation for Europe? Rising EU scepticism
By Oliver Krumme.
Greece almost dead, Spain on a continuous decline, increasing anti-EU tendencies all over Europe. The German weekly news magazine “Spiegel” recently published a list of “Europe’s most dangerous politicians”, with [...]
The ‘Los Zetas’ Cartel is Divided
By Syliva Longmire.
Here is a translated excerpt from the Mexican news magazine Proceso:
“Mexican Federal Security Sources confirm what some narcobanners hung in northern states suggested since early last month: Los Zetas, the extremely [...]
Afghanistan’s Future: Civil War or Soccer Rivalry?
By James M. Dorsey.
Thousands of young men hope to play in the Premier League.
Soccer symbolizes Afghanistan’s choices coming full circle as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from the Central Asian nation more than a decade after they invaded [...]
Pillaging and Predation in the Privatization of Public Education
By Majia Nadesan.
I am a public university professor. I am also a parent of kids who attend k-12 public schools.
I have become very alarmed about the privatization of education that is occurring as:
(1) for-profit universities rise in prominence [...]
Mountains, Seaway Triggered North American Dinosaur Surge
By Alton Parrish.The rise of the Rocky Mountains and the appearance of a major seaway that divided North America may have boosted the evolution of new dinosaur species, according to a new Ohio University-led study. The finding, published today [...]
A (euro) crisis of nationalism
By Protesilaos Stavrou.
I have repeatedly stated that the systemic crisis in the Euro area is not about economics, debt, markets, the balance of payments, the role of credit rating agencies, the austerity measures, the independence of the [...]
The Unexamined Cause for Massive Blackouts: Solar Flares and Outdated Power Grids
By Katelyn Oster.
This year’s active solar storms have come and gone without much public concern. Some solar observers, however, are looking to the sky for answers to problems on our home planet.
Last week over 670 million people were without [...]
Has the European Central Bank lost its independence?
By Protesilaos Stavrou.
In light of Mr Draghi’s latest press conference on the approach the European Central Bank will maintain in addressing the ongoing economic crisis in the euro area, prolific Greek economist Dr Yanis Varoufakis argues [...]
Dissent in Morocco: Not All for One
By Samia Errazzouki.
When Tunisia and Libya began exhibiting what appeared to be the early stages of a popular uprising, some analysts and commentators turned to Morocco, the only remaining kingdom in North Africa, and tried to make sense of [...]
The Syrian Crisis: Russian Policy Risks Wider Conflict
By James M. Dorsey.
Synopsis
Russian support of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on anti-government
insurgents bodes ill for Moscow’s ability to prevent chaos and anarchy in Syria and risks
wider conflict in the Fertile Crescent [...]
Cry Of A Shredded Star Heralds A New Era For Testing Relativity
By Alton Parrish.
Last year, astronomers discovered a quiescent black hole in a distant galaxy that erupted after shredding and consuming a passing star. Now researchers have identified a distinctive X-ray signal observed in the days following [...]
Ask Sen. Rand Paul Questions About Bilderberg Group
By Christine Axsmith.
U.S. Senator Rand Paul doesn’t like questions about the Bilderberg Group. So much so, he tried to get RT America and MediaRoots.org journalist Abby Martin arrested for asking them.
That’s right, Sen. Rand Paul [...]
DHS Tracks Occupy Wall Street, Tea Party Twitters – Against Their Stated Policy
By Christine Axsmith.
The Department of Homeland Security has been accused of following private citizen Tweets through government contractors. DHS strongly assures people that although one report like this has been done, that report violated [...]
Hollande takes a jibe at Cameron
By Sanchia Alasia.
The French president François Hollande yesterday stated some home truths about the empty seats fiasco at the Olympics and made a cheeky dig at the British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Cameron probably won’t be invited [...]
Tourism of Destruction, Tourism of Construction: Two Trips to the Holy Land
By Marc Gopin.
Tourism is a business involving a billion people a year meeting several other billion people whose lives they profoundly affect economically and socially. The question for the future is whether that effect is going to be negative [...]