AlterNet

alternet.org — Driving through Ngong Hills, not far from Nairobi, Kenya, the corn on one side of the road is stunted and diseased. The farmer will not harvest a crop this year. On the other side of the road, the farmer gave up growing corn and erected a greenhouse, probably for growing a high-value crop like tomatoes.

alternet.org — Three of Wall Street biggest and best-known financial institutions handled the Facebook IPO, so why were people immediately suspicious when the stock soared and then promptly tanked? Easy answer: Because three of Wall Street biggest and best-known financial institutions handled the Facebook IPO.

alternet.org — There was a bit of a scandal last week when it was reported that a TED Talk on income equality had been censored. That turned out to be not quite the entire story. Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist with a book out on income inequality, was invited to speak at a TED function.

alternet.org — The rift between the U.S. military and the leadership of American conservatism has now become so broad that one issue area alone doesn't contain it. Today you had the spectacle of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs telling a U.S.

alternet.org — Because all things in the pubic zone draw the focus of the religious right, these so-called "social issues" are often lumped together, leading to the presumption that people who support marriage equality are the same people who support reproductive justice in the form of abortion rights.

alternet.org — Copyright © 2012 by Michelle Chen. 'What Labor Looks Like: From Wisconsin to Cairo, Youth Hold a Mirror to History of Workers' Struggles' originally appeared in Labor Rising: The Past and Future of Working People in America edited by Daniel Katz and Richard A. Greenwald, published by The New Press.

alternet.org — Ever since the Obama campaign launched a full-frontal assault on GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his record as a leveraged-buyout kingpin at Bain Capital, all manner of consternation and hand-wringing have ensued -- some of it from Democrats.

alternet.org — Copyright © 2012 by Michelle Chen. 'What Labor Looks Like: From Wisconsin to Cairo, Youth Hold a Mirror to History of Workers' Struggles' originally appeared in Labor Rising: The Past and Future of Working People in America edited by Daniel Katz and Richard A. Greenwald, published by The New Press.

alternet.org — The central message of Paul Krugman's new book, End This Depression Now! is simple: It doesn't have to be like this. No external dynamic is keeping unemployment at more than 8 percent and consigning a generation of young workers to an economy in which risk is plentiful and opportunities scarce.

alternet.org — From Sandstorm by Lindsey Hilsum. Published by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copyright © Lindsey Hilsum, 2012. I walked into the comfortable, middle- class living room in Benghazi and knew immediately that this would be a less than comfortable encounter.

alternet.org — There's a danger looming in schools today that's putting our nation's most vulnerable children at risk. Around the country, teachers and administrators are struggling to meet the needs of a growing population of disabled students, who are entering school environments ill-prepared to educate them responsibly, thanks to a lack of both adequate training and resources.

alternet.org — The chant is becoming familiar by now: "1, 2, 3, 4, tuition fees are class war!" But on May 22nd, the New York City streets echoed also with "Solidarité!" Hundreds of thousands of people--some estimates go as high as 500,000--were in the streets in Quebec, fighting--and in many cases directly disobeying--a new "emergency" law put in place this weekend to try to stamp out student strikes.

alternet.org — The chant is becoming familiar by now: "1, 2, 3, 4, tuition fees are class war!" But on May 22nd, the New York City streets echoed also with "Solidarité!" Hundreds of thousands of people--some estimates go as high as 500,000--were in the streets in Quebec, fighting--and in many cases directly disobeying--a new "emergency" law put in place this weekend to try to stamp out student strikes.

alternet.org — As our political system sputters, a wave of innovative thinking and bold experimentation is quietly sweeping away outmoded economic models. In 'New Economic Visions', a special five-part AlterNet series edited by Economics Editor Lynn Parramore in partnership with political economist Gar Alperovitz of the Democracy Collaborative, creative thinkers come together to explore the exciting ideas and projects that are shaping the philosophical and political vision of the movement that could take our economy back.

alternet.org — As our political system sputters, a wave of innovative thinking and bold experimentation is quietly sweeping away outmoded economic models. In 'New Economic Visions', a special five-part AlterNet series edited by Economics Editor Lynn Parramore in partnership with political economist Gar Alperovitz of the Democracy Collaborative, creative thinkers come together to explore the exciting ideas and projects that are shaping the philosophical and political vision of the movement that could take our economy back.

alternet.org — The central message of Paul Krugman's new book, End This Depression Now! is simple: It doesn't have to be like this. No external dynamic is keeping unemployment at more than 8 percent and consigning a generation of young workers to an economy in which risk is plentiful and opportunities scarce.

alternet.org — To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.com here. If the world can be seen in a grain of sand, watch out. As Wisconsinites are learning, there's money (and misery) in sand -- and if you've got the right kind, an oil company may soon be at your doorstep.

alternet.org — As our political system sputters, a wave of innovative thinking and bold experimentation is quietly sweeping away outmoded economic models. In 'New Economic Visions', a special five-part AlterNet series edited by Economics Editor Lynn Parramore in partnership with political economist Gar Alperovitz of the Democracy Collaborative, creative thinkers come together to explore the exciting ideas and projects that are shaping the philosophical and political vision of the movement that could take our economy back.

alternet.org — New study shows Congress more bad now than before. Possibly because dumber? Congress now speaks at almost a full grade level lower than it did just seven years ago, with the most conservative members of Congress speaking on average at the lowest grade level, according to a new Sunlight Foundation analysis of the Congressional Record using Capitol Words.

alternet.org — As our political system sputters, a wave of innovative thinking and bold experimentation is quietly sweeping away outmoded economic models. In New Economic Visions, a special five-part AlterNet series edited by economics editor Lynn Parramore in partnership with political economist Gar Alperovitz of the Democracy Collaborative, creative thinkers come together to explore the exciting ideas and projects that are shaping the philosophical and political vision of the movement that could take our economy back.

alternet.org — Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Education headlines via email. Why have so many parents across New York City decided that this year's state standardized tests are not merely distracting, educationally valueless and overly determinative, but also damaging, twisted and intolerable?

alternet.org — Holding your breath about the fallout from J. P. Morgan Chase's derivatives losses? Yesterday, if you believed Politico, you could exhale. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Johnson of South Dakota announced his panel would call JP Morgan Chase Chair Jamie Dimon to testify.

alternet.org — There's a an earnestness to Newark Mayor Cory Booker that is, by turns, pleasing and annoying. When he pitches in to help shovel out a street deluged by a snow storm, or rushes into a burning building to save its occupants -- that's mighty pleasing.

alternet.org — As our political system sputters, a wave of innovative thinking and bold experimentation is quietly sweeping away outmoded economic models. In a special five-part series edited by AlterNet's Lynn Parramore, in partnership with political economist Gar Alperovitz of the Democracy Collaborative, creative thinkers come together to explore the exciting ideas and projects that are shaping the philosophical and political vision of the movement that could take our economy back.