obama_saudi_01New Eastern Outlook – by Tony Cartalucci

US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia confirms what many even causal political observers have begun to suspect regarding recent US political history, that Washington’s values aren’t just nonpartisan, driven entirely by special interests permeating both sides of the political aisle, but are altogether non-existent. To understand why requires an understanding of both US-Saudi relations, not just during the Obama administration, but over the past several decades, as well as a basic understanding of Saudi Arabia itself.   Continue reading “Obama, the Sauds, and Bottomless Hypocrisy”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

As Daniel Kay Hertz explains, the goal of these maps is not merely to depress you (you’re welcome!), but to suggest just how dramatically the reality of Chicago’s “two cities” has changed over the last few generations, how non-eternal its present state is, and that a happier alternate reality isn’t just possible, but actually existed relatively recently.

Daniel Kay Hertz goes on to note, he feels relatively comfortable telling the story of how Chicago came to be so segregated by race; but is much humbler about his ability to explain this, except inasmuch as the ever-widening ghetto of the affluent could not exist without, yes, radically exclusionary housing laws.   Continue reading “Visualizing The Collapse Of Chicago’s Middle Class”

Image Associated PressThe Wire – by Philip Bump

Democratic Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia wants you to know that, at $174,000 a year,members of Congress are underpaid. Because Jim Moran, like others, doesn’t understand actual economic hardship and, frankly, isn’t that great at politics either.

Moran is not the only public official to make a dubious claim about salary hardship in the past 24 hours. Larry Schwartz is secretary to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a position that’s a sort of like chief of staff in the state. Schwartz was discussing a proposal backed by Cuomo that would freeze property taxes on people at certain income levels. After all, middle class folks like those making $500,000 shouldn’t pay exorbitant taxes. Yes, that’s right. Middle class. “I would consider someone making up to $500,000 as upper middle-class,” Schwarz said, according to The Journal-News. “I wouldn’t classify them as rich.” OK.   Continue reading “Your Political Leaders Are Unsurprisingly Terrible at Empathizing with Your Salary”

cerealThe Daily Sheeple – by Lily Dane

If you needed another reason to avoid taking your children down the cereal aisle at the grocery store, here it is: insidious cereal box characters seem to be trying to make eye contact with your kiddos.

While it’s no surprise that marketing techniques like product package design and placement in stores are used to attract buyers, some methods are more exploitative than others. Directing advertising to adults who understand marketing tactics and have the ability to make informed decisions is quite different than employing psychology-based tricks designed to lure innocent kids into brand loyalty.   Continue reading “Creepy! Are Cereal Box Characters Designed to Make Eye Contact With Your Children?”

kipp acadamen lockdownThe Daily Sheeple – by Daisy Luther

What is the best way to ensure that gun control takes place within a generation?

Forget trying to change the minds of those who already have guns.  The best way to do this is to encourage a culture of fear among young people.

And the public school system, with all of its zero tolerance lunacy, is doing just that. They are setting the stage for tyranny.    Continue reading “Setting the Stage for Tyranny: Public Schools Deliberately Create a Culture of Fear”

fort hood guns galoreThe Guardian

Guns are wall-to-wall at the Guns Galore shop near Fort Hood, and so are posters: No Idiots Allowed. This Isn’t a Place for Children to Play. Firearm Trafficking is Illegal.

But now that a second mass shooting at the Texas military base has been linked to guns bought at the squat brick store, which promises “3,000 Guns In Stock,” the message Guns Galore clerks are emphasizing is don’t blame them.   Continue reading “Fort Hood: Guns Galore reportedly sold guns to both shooters”

Information Liberation – by Chris

In Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana students staged a sit-in over the school’s failure to acknowledge a student’s suicide. Of note is the fact the principle responds to their protest by saying he’s “in charge” and ordering everyone to get out their IDs, basically acting like a two-bit thug cop. After one student makes a snarky comment that he’s “disappointed” in the principle, he then orders the student be arrested, to which the lackey cops present immediately oblige.    Continue reading “High School Student Arrested For Telling Principal He’s “Disappointed” In Him”

TLAXCALA

Considering the relative lull which seems to be taking place in the Ukraine, this might be a good time to look at the impact which the dramatic developments in the Ukraine have had upon the internal political scene in Russia and what that, in turn, could mean for the international (dis)order.  In order to do that, I would like to begin by a short summary of a thesis which I have already mentioned in the past (for a discussion please see here, here,here and here):   Continue reading “A new Cold War has begun – let us embrace it with relief!”

People hold a banner reading "Barack Obama, Chief of the Permanent War" as they protest against the visit of US President Barack Obama near the US Embassy in Rome on March 27, 2014.Press TV – by Finian Cunningham

A first step for world peace is for the American people to rein in their reckless government from the international stage and to stop it making misery for so many.

Americans need democratic government like the rest of the world needs rid of Washington’s thuggish global policeman.   Continue reading “How Americans can help world peace”