SchwartzReport: Republicans Seek to Sell Off or Give Away National Forests — Time for States to Repossess Land?

01 Agriculture, 03 Economy, 03 Environmental Degradation, 07 Other Atrocities, 12 Water, Corruption, Earth Intelligence, Government, Idiocy
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

It is the intention of the Republican Party to see that America's heritage of national forests be sold for a pittance, or just given away to a small group of corporations. This is so shameful I am amazed that that is not the lead story of the news cycle. But the corporate media doesn't really seem to think the issue is of much importance, so it doesn't get much coverage.

CONGRESS PASSES MEASURE TO ALLOW SELLING OFF NATIONAL FORESTS AND OTHER PUBLIC LANDS

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SchwartzReport: Seattle Data Demolishes Extreme Right Argument Against $15 Minimum Wage

03 Economy
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

Like marijuana prohibition the objections to raising the minimum wage are shibboleths and myths. As this report details raising the minimum wage in Seattle to $15 has had no bad effect on the restaurant business as the Rightists maintained must inevitably come to pass. Rather the contrary. Republican economic policies the data shows live in a fact free world along with its cousins, climate change denial, evolution denial, and young- Earthers.

Seattle Restaurant Data Demolishes Conservative Argument Against $15 Minimum Wage

SchwartzReport: Police Killed 111 People in March Alone –Generally People of Color, Mentally Ill, or Both

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Ineptitude, Law Enforcement, Officers Call
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

This report should outrage you. As you read it remember that in the United Kingdom in 2014 British police officers pulled their weapons and fired three — that's right, 3 — shots. That's fewer shots than there were wounds on Michael Brown's or Walter Scott's bodies. It should be pointed out that this carnage is occurring in the United States that has seen a sharp decrease in crime, particularly violent crime.

Police Killed More Than 100 People In March

Berto Jongman: Flawed Terrorism Research Driving Flawed Counterterrorism Programs? PBI: Or Just Plain Dishonesty?

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Academia, Commerce, Corruption, Government, Idiocy, Ineptitude, IO Impotency, Media, Military, Officers Call, Peace Intelligence
Berto Jongman
Berto Jongman

Is Flawed Terrorism Research Driving Flawed Counterterrorism Policies?

More than thirteen years after the U.S. intelligence community named the prevention of terrorism its number one goal, it seems to have little understanding of what drives terrorism, or how to counter it. And, if the recently increasing criticism is correct, the government’s investment in academic terrorism research isn’t helping. It may be because the government is continuing to fund research supporting discredited theories of terrorist radicalization, rather than objective empirical analyses.

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SchwartzReport: Organic Farming Nearly as Productive as Industrial (And Vastly Less Costly)

01 Agriculture, 07 Health, 12 Water, Earth Intelligence
Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan A. Schwartz

One of the selling points for industrial chemical agriculture is that nothing can equal its productivity. As this report explains, this is not true, and when the pollution and toxicity costs and effects are factored in there really is no contest. We need to completely reassess our agricultural practices, from the subsidies to the actual farming. We are on the wrong track.

Organic Nearly as Productive as Industrial Farming, New Study Says

Michel Bauwens: Californians Outraged As Oil Producers & Frackers Excluded From Emergency Water Restrictions

12 Water, Commerce, Corruption, Government
Michel Bauwens
Michel Bauwens

Californians Outraged As Oil Producers & Frackers Excluded From Emergency Water Restrictions

California’s oil and gas industry is estimated (with official data due to be released in coming days) to use more than 2 million gallons of fresh water per day; so it is hardly surprising that, as Reuters reports, Californians are outraged after discovering that these firms are excluded from Governor Jerry Brown’s mandatory water restrictions, “forcing ordinary Californians to shoulder the burden of the drought.”

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