Was the Sarah Palin pick a brilliant strategic move for McCain, or what? Here's a woman who looks like a Democrat, but votes like a Republican. Did you know she's pro-drilling and anti polar bear? Get this: She also believes global warming isn't caused by man! You gotta be living on Mars not to understand Earth's global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels. But Palin is from Alaska, not Mars. [...more]
A groundbreaking new study finds that genes significantly affect variation in voter turnout, shedding new light on the reasons why people vote and participate in the political system. [...more]
The tragedy of many American liberals and some in the left, in my opinion, is their persistent denial of the existence of classes in the society and the role of class war which continues to dominate and shape the American politics as in any other society. [...more]
For most white folks, indignation just doesn't wear well. Once affected or conjured up, it reminds one of a pudgy man, wearing a tie that may well have fit him when he was fifty pounds lighter, but which now cuts off somewhere above his navel and makes him look like an idiot. [...more]
With an occupying army waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with military bases and corporate bullying in every part of the world, there is hardly a question any more of the existence of an American Empire. Indeed, the once fervent denials have turned into a boastful, unashamed embrace of the idea. [...more]
As the US presidential election motor shifts into gear, regular New Internationalist (NI) contributor, Jeremy Seabrook, reflects on the United States' professed love of democracy. [...more]
Although science is rarely the only factor driving public policy, scientific input should always be weighed from an impartial perspective. Unfortunately, numerous independent investigations have documented the suppression, manipulation, and distortion of federal science before it enters the policy process. Political interference in science has indeed become pervasive. [...more]
Infantilization dates from the 19th century, a response to two developments: the consolidation of the Atlantic slave trade and modern colonialism. These were, arguably, the first serious attempts at globalization. If a cross-continental trade in live human beings, and a political economy touching four continents - on which the sun reportedly never set - are not global, then what is? [...more]
It is a defining characteristic of Western civilization that power-hungry men seek to declare ownership over all things they discover. For most of human history, such ownership efforts were focused on usable land. Owning land that could grow food, after all, was a valuable strategy for staying alive. As mechanized farming methods spread, power-hungry white men sought to own and control a labor force -- and so human slavery was pursued. [...more]
Women's participation in post-conflict nation-building is an important ingredient in achieving an equitable, peaceful and more prosperous society, according to a RAND Corporation study released today. While many policymakers and development agencies fear that pursuing a stronger role for women in nation-building "too soon" will lead to instability, RAND researchers say that the available information suggest otherwise. [...more]
