Ask Why? by Ralph Nader

Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
July 2, 2013

Image by Truthout.org via Flickr

“I am sorry that it has come to this.” Thus began the searing suicide note by 30-year-old Iraq War veteran, Daniel Somers on June 10, 2013 to his wife and family.

On the other side of the violent divide are video messages from the suicide bombers – the oft-described “weapon of the weak” against U.S. soldiers and their presumed local collaborators.

In 2012 suicide by active duty American soldiers exceeded the number of U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan. Why?

Trade Secrets – Draft EU Documents Reveal Trade Agenda With U.S. by Karen Hansen-Kuhn (TTIP)

Dandelion Salad

Image by campact via Flickr

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
July 3, 2013

Transparency and trade negotiations don’t seem to go together these days. Recent revelations in Spiegel disclosed that the U.S. government had been spying on its EU “partners” connected to negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP, probably better stated as the Trans Atlantic Free Trade agreement, or TAFTA, which very much rhymes with NAFTA). The French and German governments are outraged, with some parliamentarians calling for a suspension of the talks, slated to start next week in Washington, D.C.

Think Your Money is Safe in an Insured Bank Account? Think Again. by Ellen Brown

by Ellen Brown
Writer, Dandelion Salad
webofdebt.com
July 6, 2013

Image by The Workers’ Party of Ireland via Flickr

A trend to shift responsibility for bank losses onto blameless depositors lets banks gamble away your money.

When Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters on March 13, 2013, that the Cyprus deposit confiscation scheme would be the template for future European bank bailouts, the statement caused so much furor that he had to retract it. But the “bail in” of depositor funds is now being made official EU policy. On June 26, 2013, The New York Times reported that EU finance ministers have agreed on a plan that shifts the responsibility for bank losses from governments to bank investors, creditors and uninsured depositors.

Obama’s Push to Create a Fascist Nation by Thomas Baldwin

Image by SS&SS via Flickr

by Thomas Baldwin
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
proactvoice.wordpress.com
July 5, 2013

“In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”— Martin Luther King, Jr.