A nuclear conflict with Russia is likelier than you think
Phi Beta Iota: Lengthy, brilliant, and lacking context. The USA created the Cold War, NATO, and the military-industrial complex that creates conflict in partnership with predatory bankers, in order to sell war.
In a forceful interview with German newspaper Die Zeit, the star economist Thomas Piketty calls for a major conference on debt. Germany, in particular, should not withhold help from Greece.
American Mensa Annual Gathering, Louisville, KY July 3, 2015
Donald E. Stahl
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EXTRACT
The government's official position is that no explosions occurred. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's latest statement on the matter is dated September 9, 2011. It reads:
“In summary, NIST found no corroborating evidence for alternative hypothesis suggesting that the WTC towers were brought down by controlled demolition using explosives.”
. . . . . . .
The question of demolition or no demolition decides the question of government truth or Truther truth, of “conspiracy theory” as regards 9/11; in other words, it determines whether 9/11 was the reason for war or war was the reason for 9/11.
5.0 out of 5 stars6 Star Synthesis, Starting Point for Anyone Who Wishes to Think Holistically, July 4, 2015
The author taught me most of what I retain in the way of political science fundamentals during our time together at Muhlenberg College, where he was former Chair of the Department of Political Science and an Associate Dean. We had not kept in touch since I left Muhlenberg in 1974, but in 2014 I reached out to him and bought this book immediately upon learning of its existence.
Published in 2003 by the State University of New York Press, this book was evidently not marketed at all, and little noted. That is a sad commentary on our times, because I find that the author has distilled multiple literatures into one coherent presentation, augmented by an original model that tells a vital story beyond Ecological Economics into Ecological Political Economy (in essence, politics), into Ecological Ethics and Ecological Pedagogy, two topics rarely covered by others.
A PhD candidate’s online open-access publishing forum is a boon for those wishing to access texts and transcripts free.
Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitised and locked up by a handful of private corporations … Forcing academics to pay money to read the work of their colleagues? Scanning entire libraries but only allowing the folks at Google to read them? Providing scientific articles to those at elite universities in the First World, but not to children in the Global South? It’s outrageous and unacceptable.
Cash would still be used as a medium of exchange, but it would lose its significance as a store of value. In a way, that's what central banks are trying to achieve when they keep lowering interest rates, sometimes breaching what is called the “zero bound.” They want money to get out and work rather than languish in bank accounts, with the idea that spending will increase demand and thus inflation rather than deflation.