VIA “Aljazeera.com” Officials claim progress in talks in Switzerland, a day after Israeli PM called for nuclear negotiations to be ditched. The United States and Iranian foreign ministers have wrapped up three days of talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, ignoring a passionate plea by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ditch their negotiations. US Secretary […]
VIA “cnbc.com” by Leslie Shaffer Fears Greece may exit the euro and revive the drachma abound, but attempting a return to the currency Athens left behind would have tragic results, Goldman Sachs said. “Transitioning from the euro to a new national currency is no straightforward task either for Greece or for Europe,” Goldman said in […]
VIA “Bloomberg.com” by Jonathan Ferziger. Video VIA “IsraeliPM” youtube channel He says the U.S. disagrees with Israel on how to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (Bloomberg) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will tell U.S. lawmakers that he has “a moral obligation to speak out” against an Iranian regime that threatens to […]
Above: Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov VIA “newyorker.com” by Joshua Yaffa Just after midnight on Friday, Boris Nemtsov, a fifty-five-year-old Russian opposition politician, was gunned down as he walked across a bridge just outside the Kremlin walls. A car drove past, shots rang out, and Nemtsov was killed by four bullets to the back. His […]
VIA “telegraph.co.uk” by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, in Athens Greece’s new currency designs are ready. The green 50 drachma note features Cornelius Castoriadis, the Marxisant philosopher and sworn enemy of privatisation. The Nobel poet Odysseus Elytis – voice of Eastward-looking Hellenism – honours the 200 note. The bills rise to 10,000 drachma, a wise precaution lest there […]
VIA “attn.com” by Mark Provost In the 1990s, Portugal was faced with a drug epidemic. General drug use wasn’t any worse than neighboring countries, but rates of problematic drug use were off the charts. A 2001 survey found that 0.7 percent of its population had used heroin at least one time, the second highest rate […]
VIA “npr.org” by Krishnadev Calamur The White House has notified the Senate that President Obama has, as promised, vetoed congressional legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. “Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the […]
VIA “realclearpolitics.com” by James Arkin After years of debate, culminating in a messy, amendment-laden process in the Senate earlier this year, a piece of legislation authorizing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline will land on President Obama’s desk Tuesday. Then, he’ll veto it. It will be just the third time Obama has vetoed legislation during […]
VIA “bbc.com”, author not specified Germany has rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan programme. The rejection came despite the European Commission calling the Greek request “positive” only minutes earlier. Greece had sought a new six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal that comes with tough […]
VIA “theweek.com”, opinions section, by Ryan Cooper President Obama is seeking a new Authorization for Use of Military Force, as the U.S. continues its bombing campaign against the Islamic State. It comes just a tad late: about three and half months after it was necessary, according to the War Powers Act. This raises the question: Why is he even […]
