Photograph Source: Oilstreet – Own work –When I first went to Hiroshima in 1967, the shadow on the steps was still there. It was an almost perfect impression of a human being at ease: legs splayed, back bent, one hand by her side as she sat waiting for a bank to open.At a quarter past eight on the morning of August 6, 1945, she and her silhouette were burned into the granite.I stared at the shadow for an hour or more, then I walked down to the river where the survivors still lived in shanties.I met a man called Yukio, whose chest was etched with the pattern of the shirt he was wearing when...…Photograph Source: Oilstreet – Own work –When I first went to Hiroshima in 1967, the shadow on the steps was still there. It was an almost perfect impression of a human being at ease: legs splayed, back bent, one hand by her side as she sat waiting for a bank to open.At a quarter past eight on the morning of August 6, 1945, she and her silhouette were burned into the granite.I stared at the shadow for an hour or more, then I walked down to the river where the survivors still lived in shanties.I met a man called Yukio, whose chest was etched with the pattern of the shirt he was wearing when...WW…

At breakneck speed Brooke Pinto has gone from virtually unknown to one of only 13 DC councilmembers, who, along with the mayor, oversee the city’s $8.5 billion budget. As the dust settles on Pinto’s stunning win, questions about the 28-year-old are growing.Now there’s a new one to add to the mix: What’s Pinto’s connection to Mar-a-Lago?Six months after Donald Trump kicked off his racist bid for the White House, Pinto and her family appear to have celebrated 2015-16 New Year’s Eve at Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago., Pinto appears to be pictured with her siblings and cousin Joanna Pinto...…At breakneck speed Brooke Pinto has gone from virtually unknown to one of only 13 DC councilmembers, who, along with the mayor, oversee the city’s $8.5 billion budget. As the dust settles on Pinto’s stunning win, questions about the 28-year-old are growing.Now there’s a new one to add to the mix: What’s Pinto’s connection to Mar-a-Lago?Six months after Donald Trump kicked off his racist bid for the White House, Pinto and her family appear to have celebrated 2015-16 New Year’s Eve at Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago., Pinto appears to be pictured with her siblings and cousin Joanna Pinto...WW…

Photograph Source: Davis-Besse NPP.jpg: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Original uploader was Theanphibian at en.wikipedia – Public DomainIt would be tempting to describe last week’s nuclear scandals — in three states — as something out of the Wild West. But Al Capone’s Chicago would be a more accurate analogy.While no actual shots were fired, some pretty powerful metaphorical ones were, warnings that engaging in criminal racketeering and fraud to fleece ratepayers over failing nuclear plants would not go unpunished.Over the course of just a single week, politicians, lobbyists and nuclear...…Photograph Source: Davis-Besse NPP.jpg: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Original uploader was Theanphibian at en.wikipedia – Public DomainIt would be tempting to describe last week’s nuclear scandals — in three states — as something out of the Wild West. But Al Capone’s Chicago would be a more accurate analogy.While no actual shots were fired, some pretty powerful metaphorical ones were, warnings that engaging in criminal racketeering and fraud to fleece ratepayers over failing nuclear plants would not go unpunished.Over the course of just a single week, politicians, lobbyists and nuclear...WW…

Nagasaki before and after the bombing and the fires had long since burnt out – Public DomainOn August 6, 1945 found me in a car with my uncle, Frank Pryal. A NYC plainclothes detective, Uncle Frank drove through the busy streets of Manhattan up to the Central Park Zoo to meet his friend Joe. It was a lively place with families enjoying the animals. Joe, a gorilla, saw Uncle Frank coming and began beating on his chest as we approached. Frank took a cigar from his suit coat pocket, lit it, and gave it to him. Joe took a long drag and blew smoke at us…I remember laughing so hard that I had to...…Nagasaki before and after the bombing and the fires had long since burnt out – Public DomainOn August 6, 1945 found me in a car with my uncle, Frank Pryal. A NYC plainclothes detective, Uncle Frank drove through the busy streets of Manhattan up to the Central Park Zoo to meet his friend Joe. It was a lively place with families enjoying the animals. Joe, a gorilla, saw Uncle Frank coming and began beating on his chest as we approached. Frank took a cigar from his suit coat pocket, lit it, and gave it to him. Joe took a long drag and blew smoke at us…I remember laughing so hard that I had to...WW…

Lumber mill, Roseburg, Oregon. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is America’s environmental charter. Signed into law by Richard Nixon, it has three central tenets. First, federal agencies must look before they leap and examine the full environmental impacts of most major actions that receive federal funding, including the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects those actions will have. Second, agencies must involve the public by taking public comment and responding in a meaningful way. And finally, the agencies must examine a range of alternatives,...…Lumber mill, Roseburg, Oregon. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is America’s environmental charter. Signed into law by Richard Nixon, it has three central tenets. First, federal agencies must look before they leap and examine the full environmental impacts of most major actions that receive federal funding, including the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects those actions will have. Second, agencies must involve the public by taking public comment and responding in a meaningful way. And finally, the agencies must examine a range of alternatives,...WW…

At breakneck speed Brooke Pinto has gone from virtually unknown to one of only 13 DC councilmembers, who, along with the mayor, oversee the city’s $8.5 billion budget. As the dust settles on Pinto’s stunning win, questions about the 28-year-old are growing.Now there’s a new one to add to the mix: What’s Pinto’s connection to Mar-a-Lago?Six months after Donald Trump kicked off his racist bid for the White House, Pinto and her family appear to have celebrated 2015-16 New Year’s Eve at Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago., Pinto appears to be pictured with her siblings and cousin Joanna Pinto...…At breakneck speed Brooke Pinto has gone from virtually unknown to one of only 13 DC councilmembers, who, along with the mayor, oversee the city’s $8.5 billion budget. As the dust settles on Pinto’s stunning win, questions about the 28-year-old are growing.Now there’s a new one to add to the mix: What’s Pinto’s connection to Mar-a-Lago?Six months after Donald Trump kicked off his racist bid for the White House, Pinto and her family appear to have celebrated 2015-16 New Year’s Eve at Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago., Pinto appears to be pictured with her siblings and cousin Joanna Pinto...WW…

Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairThe push for a $15 an hour minimum wage has developed considerable political momentum over the last decade. It is a very real possibility that we will see legislation imposing a national minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2024 if Joe Biden wins the election this fall.That would be a great thing, it would mean a large increase in pay for tens of millions of workers, but it is still very modest compared to what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth. As is often mentioned, the purchasing power of the minimum wage hit its peak in...…Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairThe push for a $15 an hour minimum wage has developed considerable political momentum over the last decade. It is a very real possibility that we will see legislation imposing a national minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2024 if Joe Biden wins the election this fall.That would be a great thing, it would mean a large increase in pay for tens of millions of workers, but it is still very modest compared to what the minimum wage would be if it had kept pace with productivity growth. As is often mentioned, the purchasing power of the minimum wage hit its peak in...WW…

Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairEllen Brown: My guest today is Dr. Michael Hudson, who we’re delighted to have on our Public Banking Institute Advisory Board, and who really should be advising the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, but BlackRock seems to have gotten the job. Paul Craig Roberts, who is former Assistant Treasury Secretary under Reagan, called Michael Hudson the greatest economist on the planet. He’s a Wall Street financial analyst, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and author of over two dozen books, including Killing the Host and one called …...…Photograph by Nathaniel St. ClairEllen Brown: My guest today is Dr. Michael Hudson, who we’re delighted to have on our Public Banking Institute Advisory Board, and who really should be advising the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, but BlackRock seems to have gotten the job. Paul Craig Roberts, who is former Assistant Treasury Secretary under Reagan, called Michael Hudson the greatest economist on the planet. He’s a Wall Street financial analyst, Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and author of over two dozen books, including Killing the Host and one called …...WW…

It feels like the world is falling apart.But with a and an , the Senate is preparing to spend three quarters of a trillion dollars… not on public health or housing, but on the Pentagon.The United States may be going down, but we’re going down well-armed.At a time when health workers have struggled to find masks and protective gear, the Pentagon has so many extra trucks, guns, and other gear, it hands the surplus out for free to — who then use it whether they need it or not, much like the Pentagon itself.The Pentagon is like a giant black hole, devouring hundreds of billions of dollars each...…It feels like the world is falling apart.But with a and an , the Senate is preparing to spend three quarters of a trillion dollars… not on public health or housing, but on the Pentagon.The United States may be going down, but we’re going down well-armed.At a time when health workers have struggled to find masks and protective gear, the Pentagon has so many extra trucks, guns, and other gear, it hands the surplus out for free to — who then use it whether they need it or not, much like the Pentagon itself.The Pentagon is like a giant black hole, devouring hundreds of billions of dollars each...WW…

Photograph Source: View of the IG Farben Building from the Main Tower byEvaK –Come you masters of warYou that build the big gunsYou that build the death planesYou that build all the bombsYou that hide behind wallsYou that hide behind desksI just want you to knowI can see through your masks–“Masters of War,” Bob DylanThis is a mystery story. It revolves around a building that—as you will all come to agree—should have been bombed.Before construction of the Pentagon during World War II, the two largest and most famous office buildings on planet Earth were the Empire State Building and the...…Photograph Source: View of the IG Farben Building from the Main Tower byEvaK –Come you masters of warYou that build the big gunsYou that build the death planesYou that build all the bombsYou that hide behind wallsYou that hide behind desksI just want you to knowI can see through your masks–“Masters of War,” Bob DylanThis is a mystery story. It revolves around a building that—as you will all come to agree—should have been bombed.Before construction of the Pentagon during World War II, the two largest and most famous office buildings on planet Earth were the Empire State Building and the...WW…