Merry Christmas — Have Yourself Some Anti-Refugee Hysteria

This holiday season, politicians are taking aim at some of the most helpless people on earth. — by Chris Toensing As holiday shoppers empty their wallets to buy presents for family and friends, there’s been an outbreak of miserliness among our politicians

Victims File Suit Against CIA Torture Architects for ‘Systemic Brutality’

Psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who thus far escaped accountability, face charges of ‘cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; non-consensual human experimentation; and war crimes.’ — by Lauren McCauley, staff writer The two psychologists credited with creating the brutal, post-9/11 Central Intelligence Agency

Netanyahu Speaks, Money Talks

— by Bill Moyers, Michael Winship   Everything you need to know about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress Tuesday was the presence in the visitor’s gallery of one man – Sheldon Adelson. The gambling tycoon is the Godfather of

A Tortured Twist on Ethics

Why isn’t the American Psychological Association pursuing ethics charges against psychologist John Leso for abuses he helped carry out at the Guantánamo prison? — by Yosef Brody George Orwell wisely observed that our understanding of the past, and the meaning associated with

39 Days left in this Congressional Session

On Aug. 31, the President sent Congress draft legislation that would authorize use of the US military “in connection with the conflict in Syria.” In the past week, more than 2,700 POPVOX users weighed in on the President’s proposal — overwhelmingly in opposition — and

Govt Assessment of Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons—August 21, 2013

The United States Government assesses with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. We further assess that the regime used a nerve agent in the attack. These all-source assessments

The War on Terror Has Not Made Us Safer

Congress shouldn’t have passed the measure that gives the president wide military powers to pursue al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the first place and 12 years later a repeal is long overdue. — by Phyllis Bennis Two days after the horrific attacks

Obama Sharpens His Nuclear Posture

A new Pentagon document indicates that contingent plans for the use of nuclear weapons are being made, with the self-evidently impossible task of minimizing collateral damage. — by Peter Weiss Soon after President Barack Obama began his first term, he called for

What I’ve Been Reading Lately— Monday, 3/25/2013

Lean in, Women; Corporations and Government, Brush Off Your Hands Veena Trehan, Op-Ed: Fifty years ago, Betty Friedan’s “Feminine Mystique” explained how wives were not fulfilled by homemaking and childbearing. Woman couldn’t get credit, were fired when their pregnancy showed and held

In the News—What I’ve Been Reading

Dean Baker | Economists and Future Living Standards Dean Baker, Op-Ed: At this point everyone has heard the story of how Social Security and Medicare are going to bankrupt our children. There is a whole industry dedicated to promoting the idea that