Is it 2017 or 1984? Two months into Trump’s presidency, we’re already asking ourselves that very question. According to Politico, an Energy Department administrator advised staff members to avoid the terms climate change, emissions reduction, and Paris Agreement in all forms of written communication. It was this past Tuesday that Department of Energy employees reportedly learned of the…
Why fear is our enemy
Paris terrace cafe, July, 2014. Flickr/ zoetnet. Some rights reserved.It was a mild autumn Friday evening. The weekend had arrived, and it was time to go out and relax. It was a time for friends to gather, for music concerts and sports matches. Men and women mixed together, young people from all walks of life…
As Ankara death toll rises, anger mounts against Government for courting disaster
The injured wait for help from survivors after the bomb blast in Ankara peace rally. Demotix/Recep Yilmaz. All rights reserved. One day after twin blasts tore through Ankara’s central station area, thousands of protestors gathered near the site of the massacre. Yet despite the pleas of the crowds, a belated security presence has established itself…
If You’re Using PayPal For Charity Donations, Your Cause Might Not Be Getting The Money
Over the past 20 years, PayPal has emerged as a convenient and universal way to pay, but if you’re using the platform to make charitable donations, you’ll want to check with the specific cause (especially if it’s a small one) to ensure that they’ve received your gift. Similarly, if you’ve sold anything on eBay with the…
What’s really behind the ‘failure’ of the US ‘war on drugs’ in Afghanistan?
Poppy cultivation, Badakhshan. Getty Images / Paula Bronstein. All rights reserved.Since 2001, the United States has spent over $700 billion on the war in Afghanistan. In contrast, it has spent only $7 billion on counternarcotics operations there. What should we conclude from the fact that the ‘drug war’ in Afghanistan accounts for a mere 1%…
Your On-Demand Groceries Are Costing You
Grocery shopping isn’t what it used to be—and that’s some “disruption” we can stand by. There are more than 50 online grocery retailers and 100 meal delivery services ready to pluck an avocado or tangerine just for you and deliver straight to your sofa. No more arctic freezer aisles, epic lines, or parking lot anxiety. Market researchers predict that the number of…
The false promise of Turkish democracy
Istanbul protest at government's cessation of peace process with PKK, July, 2015. Demotix/Erhan Demirtas. All rights reserved.In spite of being one of the only polities in the Middle East considered as a democracy-model for other Muslim nations by American administrations, Turkey has had an uneasy relationship with democracy throughout its history. While its founding fathers…
What Maksim did on his holidays
A Google search of ‘children’s military-patriotic camps’ in Russian brings up hundreds of hits. Maksim, 12, spent a week of the school holidays at one of these camps near Yekaterinburg, and wrote a diary of his activities there. Day one Today was my first day at the military camp. When we arrived, we were allocated our…
Melissa McCarthy Doubles Down On Brilliant Sean Spicer Impression
You’ll forgive us if from here on out we refer to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer as “Spicey.” That’s because Melissa McCarthy’s return to “Saturday Night Live” for another round as the combative, fact-challenged voice of the Trump Administration may have sealed the deal on how we view him going forward. McCarthy’s fist surprise…
Ending impunity in Europe?
US European Command's Joint Assessment team and officials from the Georgian government touring Gori homes to assess damage find this Russian missile booster largely intact, August, 2008. Wikicommons/ US Navy/Lt.Jim Hoeft. Some rights reserved.On 27 January the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague made a milestone decision for international justice when it decided to…