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Category Archives: RagBlog
FDR-Bashing and Right Wing Economics
How much can Obama learn from FDR? Graphic from Economic Policy Journal. The right wing economic ideologues had their chance and got what they wanted in terms of deregulation, union busting, deficit spending and war. And the results are now … Continue reading
Keith Joseph : Why Socialism? Because of Wednesday!
Watching the clock under capitalism: Dali-inspired melting clock / e-potpourri. Once you get through Wednesday, only two more days to go until the weekend… The weekend is real life — the work-week is its interruption. Work is what we do … Continue reading
Justifying Afghanistan: Obama’s Got It Wrong
President Obama announces a new comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Friday. Behind him, from left, are policy advisor Bruce Riedel, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, National Security Advisor James Jones, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. AP … Continue reading
‘Rednecks’ and Greens Beat Big Coal in Appalachia
A mountaintop removal coal mining operation near Blair, West Virginia. Photo by The National Memorial for the Mountains.Mountaintop removal receives major setback: Blair Mountain in West Virginia named to National Register of Historic Places By Jeff Biggers / March 30, … Continue reading
Another Almost Forgotten Story of a Silent Hero
Alice Coy cries for help as she holds her hand over the head wound of British peace activist Thomas Hurndall, who had been shot in the head moments earlier in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, April 11, 2003. Thomas Hurndall, … Continue reading
Agriculture’s Ponzi Scheme
SUBSIDIZED “FOODS”Cookies or Fish?By Janet Gilles / The Rag Blog / March 29, 2009 After World War II, starvation was a real danger, and calories were in short supply. The United States Dept of Agriculture put in place subsidies to … Continue reading
Children of Inmates: A Problem Needing a Solution
Children of inmates play during a party for the children inside Santa Monica women’s prison in Lima, September 25, 2008. The prison allows children of the inmates to stay with their mothers till they are three years old. There are … Continue reading
Fully Loaded
Thanks to Diane Stirling-Stevens / The Rag Blog
Pakistanis Not So Optimistic About US Policy
Taleban supporters in Swat, 21 February 2009.Pakistan pessimism at Obama revampBy M Ilyas Khan / March 27, 2009 Pakistan’s foreign minister may have welcomed the new Obama regional initiative but the immediate feeling among political commentators was generally one of … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Middle East, Obama Administration, Pakistan, U.S. Foreign Policy
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Militarizing the US/Mexico Border Is Not the Solution to the Drug Battles Taking Place There
Operation Jump Start training in Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 21, 2007, teaches U.S. Customs and Border Patrol procedures while observing the Arizona-Mexico border for illegal activity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Trisha Harris)We shouldn’t militarize the U.S.-Mexico borderBy Yolanda … Continue reading
Star Trek and the ‘Prime Directive’ : We’re Still Meddling
Star Trek’s post-cold war, multi-ethnic, multi-gender and multi-specie crew: early imperialist warriors or noble seekers?Aboard the Imperial Star Ship Ameriprise…Heading for the Final Frontier By William Astore / March 27, 2009 I grew up in the 1970s on reruns of … Continue reading
Posted in RagBlog
Tagged Diversity, Imperialism, Popular Culture, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Television
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Economic Crisis Yielding More Homelessness
An encampment of tents under an overpass in Fresno. Photo: Jim Wilson/The New York Times.Cities Deal With a Surge in ShantytownsBy Jesse McKinley / March 25, 2009 FRESNO, Calif. — As the operations manager of an outreach center for the … Continue reading
