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Category: Archive

One Presidential Candidate Would Bring Snowden Home & Give Him A Gov’t Job

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

No matter who wins the 2016 election, the United States will likely continue its efforts to capture and prosecute National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Despite the important revelations that Snowden shared with the world about the NSA’s illegal surveillance of every U.S. citizen as well as world leaders and foreign nationals, not one major presidential candidate has been willing to voice his or her support for Snowden’s actions or express any willingness to allow him to return to the U.S. as a free man.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein is the lone exception. She called Snowden a “hero” in a July 2015 interview with Ontheissues.org, a website which compiles candidates’ political views.

A new direction for my journalism

Posted in Archive, Journalism, MintPress News, and SXSW

SXSW is known for the amazing diversity of talent it features, but also gets a bad rap for being corporate dominated and inaccessible to many people. It deserves a lot of that criticism, honestly. But, since I have access to essentially every part of it, I should take advantage of that and share it with all of you.

I want to give you my unique gonzo perspective on the event, and report on some of the weirdest, most interesting, or just unfairly overlooked panels, artists, and films. SXSW takes place this year from March 11-19. Here’s a small sample of what I’m looking forward to covering:

Top Rubio Donors Include Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Tech Billionaire Larry Ellison

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Although he’s not a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio nonetheless has many wealthy donors eager to support his political ambitions.

When he launched his presidential campaign, Rubio was likely already holding onto a generous campaign war chest from supporters of his congressional campaigns. MapLight, a nonpartisan organization that tracks the influence of money on politics, recorded $18,693,554 in campaign contributions between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2015.

Rubio’s biggest donor during that period was the Club for Growth, which gave $362,826. According to Right Wing Watch, the organization “touts itself as the inheritor of Ronald Reagan’s ‘vision of limited government and lower taxes’ and it advances this anti-government vision through its support of political candidates who hew to its right-wing economic orthodoxy.”

Netanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Israel receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States each year, and it may start receiving even more next year, according to widely quoted statements from the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Apartheid Israel currently receives $3.1 billion in aid annually which, together with Egypt, accounts for 75 percent of all U.S. foreign military aid. Israel also receives additional U.S. funds for other projects, including its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Netanyahu insisted that Israel will need even more funding over the next 10 years to maintain its military edge in the wake of the nuclear deal with Iran.Agence France-Presse reported on Jan. 21:

Anti-Corruption Gyrocopter Pilot Seeks Return To Congress, This Time By Election

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

After illegally landing a miniature helicopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol last year, Doug Hughes is determined to return to the Hill as a member of the House of Representatives.

“I’m coming back to Congress by ground. And this time I’m not going to be outside the building — I’m going to be inside the building!” the former U.S. Postal Service employee from Florida told MintPress News on Monday.

Hughes garnered international attention in April, when he landed a gyrocopter directly on the front lawn of Congress. The personal aerial vehicle contained letters for members of Congress, demanding that they fight the influence of money in politics.

Despite Setbacks, The Fight To Stop TPP Spills Into 2016

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

A new year brings new challenges and new opportunities for the international movement opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a controversial trade deal that activists say threatens to allow corporate power to overrule democracy.

Despite widespread opposition and controversy, President Barack Obama and other world leaders are expected to sign the agreement in Auckland, New Zealand, in early February, according to a Jan. 12 report from the New Zealand Herald.

Opposition to the TPP comes from many fronts. There are concerns about how the deal undermines food safety, the local food movement and consumer rights, as well as its potentially devastating effects on intellectual property laws and the price of prescription drugs.