PHILLY.COM: Days after Bill Green defied Gov. Wolf by voting to approve new charter schools, the governor has stripped Green of his chairmanship of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission…. Green, who will continue serving as a commission member, said he would fight the demotion in court. The move comes less than two weeks after a […]
Putin’s Power Projection: It’s All About Energy and the Black Sea
DAILY BEAST COLUMN: What is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grand strategy? It may get lost in the headlines about the murder of an opposition leader just outside the Kremlin walls and the grinding horrors of the Ukraine war, but from the shores of the Black Sea here in Georgia the outlines are painfully obvious… There […]
Nemtsov’s killing is another downwards lurch in culture of political violence
FINANCIAL TIMES: In an interview with the Financial Times last week, he acknowledged the difficulty of his cause but nevertheless remained tireless in promoting it. “Three years ago we were an opposition. Now we are no more than dissidents,” he said. That made his struggle all the more remarkable — and heroic. Deprived of any […]
Age-Related Changes in Sexual Health
AOL: As we age, changes in our bodies may affect our sex lives. This can lead to problems such as less enjoyment during sex or difficulty becoming sexually aroused. In women, hormonal changes after menopause or a hysterectomy can cause the vagina to become shorter, narrower, and less lubricated. These vaginal changes can make sex […]
Smothered by a Boom in Banking
Bankers, they say, act in predictable ways. They tend to lend money to projects with assets that can be pledged as collateral, such as those in real estate or construction. This is understandable — bankers want to be able to seize assets if a borrower gets into trouble on a loan, and they prefer those assets to be tangible.
AG Kane’s spokesman leaving after 2 months on the job
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE: …Aaron Sadler, her spokesman, said Friday he is leaving to take a job with the Louisiana attorney general’s office as director of communications. He began working for Kane Jan. 5. His last day is Wednesday. “I have enjoyed working with the talented and capable staff that Attorney General Kane has assembled, and I […]
Fear Envelops Russia After Killing of Putin Critic Boris Nemtsov
NEW YORK TIMES: About two weeks before he was shot and killed in the highest-profile political assassination in Russia in a decade, Boris Y. Nemtsov met with an old friend to discuss his latest research into what he said was dissembling and misdeeds in the Kremlin. He was, as always, pugilistic and excited, saying he […]
As rift widens over Netanyahu visit, concerns mount
“People are upset about it,” said Rob Eshman, publisher and editor in chief of the Jewish Journal, a Los Angeles-based publication and website. “They’re obviously concerned about Iran and want a good deal and think it’s really unfortunate that Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing this — creating a conflict outside the existing conflict.”
Penn Students Tell Comcast’s David Cohen: Don’t Block My Internet!
POPULAR RESISTANCE: PHILADELPHIA – Today, at the opening session of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) Board of Trustees Winter Full Board Meeting, more than a dozen Penn students conducted a direct action aimed at David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of the Comcast Corporation, and Chairman of the Penn Board of Trustees. Captured on video […]
First Phase of Alaska Legalization Goes Into Effect
by Phil Smith, February 23, 2015 DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: This article was written in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here. Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. As of Tuesday, February 24, 2015, the first phase of Alaska’s voter-approved Measure 2 marijuana legalization goes into effect. Beginning then, people 21 and over can legally possess up to […]
House Passes One-Week Funding Extension for Homeland Security
NEW YORK TIMES: Republicans vowing to govern effectively as a congressional majority failed a fundamental test Friday, when House leaders only narrowly managed to avert a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security after an embarrassing defeat earlier in the day. The seven-day funding extension, approved by a vote of 357 to 60, came […]
Anna Arutunyan: Real democracy has never existed in Russia
“(Putin) is infallible. He is a priest, a god, a victim and a Christ-like figure all in one. He is a product of Russia’s history, Russia’s corruption, Russia’s culture and the country’s oligarchs.” – Anna Arutunyan, Russian journalist and author
Selling state stores is more anti-taxer voodoo economics that misses the point
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL: …The point is that if it came to pass it would be an asset sale. As much revenue as it may raise, an asset sale is a one and done. You can’t sell the asset twice. Even if it did raise $1 billion – and that figure is in dispute – […]
Kurdish Fighters Capture Tel Hamees, ISIS Stronghold In Syria
HUFFINGTON POST: Backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, Kurdish fighters fought their way Friday into a northeastern Syrian town that was a key stronghold of Islamic State militants, only days after the group abducted dozens of Christians in the volatile region, Syrian activists and Kurdish officials said. The victory marks a second blow to the extremist […]