U.S. and the World
Of the Richest Countries, Only the U.S. Doesn’t Guarantee Paid Sick Days
What do workers in Belgium, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom have that their counterparts in the United States don’t? Mandatory paid sick leave.
The U.S. is currently the only one of 22 industrialized nations that does not require emplo... read more
Half of Prisoners Still Held at Guantánamo Have Actually been Cleared for Release
“Released” has become a meaningless word at Guantánamo Bay for nearly 90 detainees who continue to be held after the U.S. government said they could be freed.
President Barack Obama’s interagency Guantánamo Review Task Force approved the releas... read more
14% of Mercury in Great Lakes Comes from China…but the Largest Source is Nearby Coal-Fired Power Plants
Airborne mercury from half way around the world has wound up in the Great Lakes in measurable quantities. But the largest contributor of this harmful substance to Lake Michigan and other bodies of water is nearby coal-burning power plants.
C... read more
If Attacking Rescuers and Funerals is Evil When Others Do It, Why is It Okay if It’s Done by the CIA?
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revived controversial tactics in its drone war against Islamic militants, targeting funerals and rescuers of those hit in previous airstrikes.
These are the same tactics that have been condemned when... read more
Exxon Valdez Still Causing Trouble 23 Years after Alaska Oil Spill
Having sailed its last voyage, the oil tanker formerly known as the Exxon Valdez now sits off the coast of India, mired in yet another environmental controversy.
Now called the Oriental Nicety, the ship was responsible for the disastrous Mar... read more
Chinese Communists Demand that U.S. Embassy Stop Publishing Pollution Data
Tired of being told about the nation’s bad air quality, China’s government demanded the United States stop publicizing pollution readings taken from its embassies in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
For the past four years, American officials ... read more
What’s Next for the Family the U.S. Put in Power in Afghanistan?
With the coming withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the rule of President Hamid Karzai also will be coming to an end by 2014. But this doesn’t mean Karzai or his family members will be lacking for opportunities in their home country.
... read more
U.S. Ranks Second Worst in UNICEF Study of Child Relative Poverty in 35 Richer Nations
Based on the assessment of one leading international children’s organization, the U.S. has one of the worst child-poverty rates among wealthy nations.
Nearly a quarter (23.1%) of young Americans (17 and younger) are living in relative povert... read more
U.S. Firm Wins First Approval of Stem Cell-Based Therapy…In Canada
Virginia-based Osiris Therapeutics Inc. has become the first U.S. company authorized to sell a stem cell-based treatment. The approval, though, did not come from the U.S. government. Rather, Canada’s government-run health system okayed the use of ... read more
Fighting Pirates for Profit in the 21st Century
There is money to be made on the high seas, lots of it. With the rise of piracy off the eastern coast of Africa, private security companies (PSCs) have found no shortage of commercial and private ship owners willing to pay top dollar for protectio... read more
Bank of America: Thanks for the Bailout…We’ll Create Some Jobs in the Philippines
Less than four years after it was rescued with nearly $50 billion in taxpayer money, Bank of America has decided to add offshore call-center jobs in the Philippines.
BofA follows other major banks—JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo—that... read more
Ikea Cuts Down 400-Year-Old Trees to Make Furniture
Executives at Ikea are probably looking forward to the start of June, given how bad the month of May was for the Swedish furniture giant.
The latest piece of bad news for Ikea involved accusations that the company has been cutting down old-gro... read more
IMF Leader Lagarde Pays No Taxes on Salary, but Criticizes Greeks for Doing the Same
A storm of controversy has surrounded the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for accusing people in Greece of not paying their taxes, while she’s avoided taxation on her own lucrative salary.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in an i... read more
The Man Behind a Landmark Case: Finding a Life after 7 Years’ False Imprisonment at Guantánamo
Two thousand, six hundred sixty-two days: That is how long the United States held innocent man Lakhdar Boumediene at the prison camp for “terrorists” at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, from January 20, 2002, to May 14, 2009. Although by early 2004 one of hi... read more
Pakistani Doctor Who Helped CIA Find Osama bin Laden Jailed for 33 Years
Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who ran a fake hepatitis B vaccination program to help the CIA find Osama bin Laden, has been sentenced to 33 years in prison by a regional tribal court in Pakistan. Afridi was not allowed to attend the trial or... read more
Obama Administration Allows China to Become First Country to Buy Debt Directly from Treasury Dept.
When buying portions of the U.S. debt, foreign banks must first go through certain banks on Wall Street certified by the Department of the Treasury for such sales. But the Obama administration decided last year to forego this middle-man process fo... read more