Most in America were happy when Tehran promptly released ten US sailors, who were detained when their two boats drifted in Iran's territorial waters on Tuesday; but US hardliners were furious. "If you think about the [US] bases that surround Iran, you can understand why [the Islamic Republic] would be concerned when a heavily armed naval vessel ventures into Iranian territory," political analys [...]

Whatever happened to the days when the primary purpose of journalism was to hold our government accountable for its stupid actions, like when the US Navy, for example, strays into the territorial waters of an Islamic nation at the worst possible time? Just how long and deep America has snorted from the cracked mirror of imperial power, intoxicating the nation with delusions of grandeur and exce [...]

On New Year's Eve the German city of Cologne witnessed mass organized sexual assaults on hundreds of German women. For five days following the assaults the German media failed to report them. When under public pressure they eventually did, it turned out that a string of similar assaults had also happened simultaneously in various other German cities. [...]

Why is the economy barely growing after seven years of zero rates and easy money? Why are wages and incomes sagging when stock and bond prices have gone through the roof? Why are stocks experiencing such extreme volatility when the Fed increased rates by a mere quarter of a percent? It’s the policy, stupid. And here’s the chart that explains exactly what the policy is. [...]

The world's warm ocean waters are experiencing some very unusual hurricane behavior right now, meteorologists say. Right now in the eastern Atlantic, Hurricane Alex is headed towards the Azores, and it's the first hurricane to form in month of January since 1938. With sustained winds of over  85 mph, the Category 1 hurricane is even stronger than the hurricane of '38. [...]

In his final State of the Union address, Barack Obama refrained from unveiling major policy initiatives, offering instead his bold vision for America's future, but the speech, apparently meant to be uplifting, has apparently mixed some fact with fiction. In his speech, Obama painted a picture /* */ Continues Here... [...]

Russian activists are requesting permission to install a monument near the US embassy in Moscow dedicated to the genocide of American Indians. A member of the Russian Public Chamber says the move could soon get official support. The activists have launched a petition in support of the monument on the change.org website. [...]

Abby Martin Breaks the Set on the NYPD's iPhone Campaign, Resisting the War Tax, Injustice for Torture Victims, and a Former Marine's Views on Empire. On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin remarks on the NYPD's recent efforts in promoting the Apple iPhone's new security features, even though phone hackers can easily override the phones new fingerprint scanner. Abby then talks to Ed H [...]

Campbell Soup's announcement that it will become the first U.S. company to begin labeling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its products garnered accolades on Friday from food and safety groups, who heralded the development as a "significant win" for transparency. "The decision by Campbell’s sends a clear message to Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association which have spent hu [...]

There was once a time – perhaps just a brief moment in time – when American journalists were cynical and responsible enough to resist being jerked around by U.S. government propaganda, but that time has long since passed if it ever existed, a reality that William Blum describes. Vulgar, crude, racist and ultra-sexist though he is, Donald Trump can still see how awful the American mainstream [...]

RT's Anastasia Churkina sits down with a best-selling author, former Governor of Minnesota, former US Navy Seal and professional wrestler -- Jesse Ventura. His latest book "63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want you to Read" hits the shelves in the US this April. Ventura said his book has the spirit of WikiLeaks, the difference is -- they have been available in the public domain, it's ju [...]

In his seminal 'Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization,' Bryan Ward-Perkins writes, "Romans before the fall were as certain as we are today that their world would continue forever... They were wrong. We would be wise not to repeat their complacency.” [...]

Ami on the Street: Do we really need the 1st Amendment? Ami visits the Yale University campus with a petition to repeal the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Surely they will laugh him off of campus...right? US political satirist and filmmaker Ami Horowitz approached the students at one of the most prestigious universities in the world asking its attendees to sign a petition in favor of [...]

An annotated version of Hitler’s infamous “Mein Kampf,” banned in Germany for decades, will hit the bookshelves in January. Now it will become part of the school curriculum to “immunize” teenagers against fascist ideas, the German Teachers’ Association says. [...]

The charade of the 21st United Nations climate summit will end, as past climate summits have ended, with lofty rhetoric and ineffectual cosmetic reforms. Since the first summit more than 20 years ago, carbon dioxide emissions have soared. Placing faith in our political and economic elites, who have mastered the arts of duplicity and propaganda on behalf of corporate power, is the triumph of h [...]

The global talks known as COP21 ended Saturday with nearly 200 countries agreeing to a carbon emissions-slashing deal (pdf).  But climate campaigners are saying that the agreement doesn't go far enough, and that the real work is just beginning. [...]

"Donald Trump's racism, nativism, and bigotry are as American as apple pie," says commentator. Much has been made of how Donald Trump's racist remarks on the 2016 presidential campaign trail are "un-American," outlandish, and—incredibly to some—giving him a bump in the polls. [...]

Donald Trump is no moron; he just plays one on TV. He spouts vile nonsense, but even his most ardent detractors concede that he is one clever dude – diabolical, calculating and shrewd. Does he promote stupidity only to win over the dumbest and the vilest voters, the Republican base?   That would be the most likely explanation. He seems to have figured out what they want to hear, and he is f [...]

In an attempt to predict Russia’s further moves in Syria, US diplomacy expert Robert Farley has put forward what he considers “Russia’s five next big moves in Syria”, which are set to come in the nearest days or weeks; however, as it turns out, the first four are already very active on the ground. 1.The Arrival of the Su-25 Grach (NATO Reporting Name “Frogfoot”) [...]