Jennifer Loewenstein explains why the Syria civil war is an engineered catastrophe by tracing the grim history of French and British colonial meddling in the Middle East; SNOWDEN & LATIN AMERICA: Daniel Edwards reports from Argentina on the reaction to Edward Snowden’s revelations of NSA spying and the strong-armed tactics to keep him from gaining asylum in South America; WILDFIRES & CLIMATE CHANGE: Joshua Frank takes a Dantestque road trip through the Western Fire Zones; OBAMA’S EDUCATION, INC: Steve Horn exposes the Obama administration’s playbook to privatize education and the cronies who stand to make a killing; DYSFUNCTIONAL ISLAND: Jeb Sprague reports on the bleak political situation on Hispaniola; MANNING & THE POLITICS OF CONTRITION: Binoy Kampmark on the meaning of Manning’s apologia. PLUS: Jeffrey St. Clair on the new war on wolves; JoAnn Wypijewski defends the automobile; Kristin Kolb on the Work-Until-You-Drop Ethic; Mike Whitney on Ben Bernanke’s QE Ruse; Chris Floyd on whistleblowers and Lee Ballinger on class politics in the music industry.
