British Petroleum: Addicted to Spills
[Greg Palast] With the Gulf Coast dying of oil poisoning, there’s no space in the press for British Petroleum’s latest spill, just this week: Over 100,000 gallons, at its Alaska […]
morphizm writers
Flash Crash: Robotrading The Market
Flash Crash proved that market makers playing both sides of securities could be capable of wiping out any corporation’s stock, perhaps any nation’s economy
I See London, but Venus is in France
[Amy Bass, Morphizm] I distinctly remember the first time I asked my mother why her underwear was showing. She was about to leave for her weekly tennis game, and I […]
Deepwater Horizon’s Epic OilGas Catastrophe
If you’ve been railing for decades against the fossil fuel sector for everything from deliberately removing safeguards that could have prevented what will likely end up being the worst U.S. oil disaster in history to its lethal emissions that could, in the extreme, end up warming planet Earth to the point that human habitation is an impossibility, well, this is all old, sad news.
Emperor Hickel: The Man Who Invented Alaska … and Sarah Palin
[Greg Palast] Wally Hickel invented Alaska and told me he regretted it. He also invented Sarah Palin, and I was hoping, when I travel to Alaska next month, to ask […]
Geek The Beatles: Let It Be’s Recombined Reality Programming
Forty years ago, Let It Be closed out a decade of The Beatles’ artistic and technological influence.
Why China Has Our Economy By the Balls
[Scott Thill, AlterNet] On May 1, China popped the cork on Expo 2010 in Shanghai, a months-long international celebration signifying the ascension of the city, and thereby its parent nation, […]
Slick Operator: The BP I Have Known Too Well
[Greg Palast, Truthout] I’ve seen this movie before. In 1989, I was a fraud investigator hired to dig into the cause of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Despite Exxon’s name on […]
A Day Without a Shortstop
[Amy Bass, Morphizm] Five years ago, there was a crazy number of Jews playing for the Boston Red Sox. Or, well, three: Gabe Kapler, Kevin Youkilis, and Adam Stern. It […]
Best Concert Films Ever? Screen These Legends
On Apr. 30, Phish 3D hit theaters in a limited engagement, taking concert films into the multiple dimensions of the post-Avatar era. But Phish’s 2D predecessors still have a serious […]
Meet the New Soul Stirrers!
What’s the difference between nu-soul and old soul? Terminology of course! Sharon Jones, at right, is proof of that thesis: She’s been around for awhile. It’s just us that have […]
Behind the Arizona Immigration Law: GOP Game to Swipe the November Election
[Greg Palast, Truthout] Don’t be fooled. The way the media plays the story, it was a wave of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria that moved Arizona Republicans to pass a sick little […]
Invasion of the Cover Bands!
The Flaming Lips’ cover version of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, out on vinyl in April and disc in May, and the band is even performing it in […]
A New Climate Movement in Bolivia
[Naomi Klein, The Nation] It was 11 am and Evo Morales had turned a football stadium into a giant classroom marshaling an array of props: paper plates, plastic cups, disposable […]
Showdown On Wall Street
[Scott Thill, AlterNet] Good thing Goldman Sachs reported its first-quarter profits on the popular pot holiday April 20. Because you had to be totally stoned to appreciate the sheer, corrupt […]
In Praise of Ralph Bakshi, Animation Pioneer
One of animation’s most influential artists, Ralph Bakshi made his mark on pop culture by refusing to sacrifice his singular vision to popular tastes and trends.
With Finance, Expected the Unexpectedly
When it comes to the finance casino, expect the unexpected. And when it comes to the financial press that is committed to covering it, expect to hear the word “unexpectedly.” […]
Goodbye, Paper Money
[Scott Thill, AlterNet] Currency has come a long way in the past few thousand years of human existence. Ancient Turkey started using hybrid silver and gold coins around 640 B.C. […]
Firefly Reboots! And Other April Fool Headlines
Sigh. Do you ever wish for the return of Joss Whedon’s Firefly, a reunion of the original Pink Floyd lineup, great films made from Alan Moore’s brain-melting comics, Neuromancer the […]
Dennis Hopper, On the Occasion of Receiving a Star on Hollywood Boulevard
[Viggo Mortensen, Perceval Press] Dennis Hopper has come to be considered by many a legendary and legendarily-eccentric director and actor in the movie business. In the short attention spans of […]
Ten Ways Mother Earth Will Strike Back
Welcome to our existential nightmare, from rising seas and runaway droughts and storms to the outer limits of dystopian catastrophes like the fart apocalypse.
Gold Fever and Artificial Value
[Scott Thill, AlterNet] Quick, check out this hot investment tip! For decades now, the Federal Reserve has been suppressing the true value of gold to keep its prodigious impact out […]
Truly Creepy Details About Congressman Massa
[Greg Palast, BuzzFlash] For the two weeks before tickle-and-grope charges busted open on him, and before his resignation from Congress, our BBC Television investigations team was hunting for Representative Eric […]
Contact Misconduct
[Amy Bass, Morphizm] If a baseline definition of contact is to make a connection with someone other than yourself, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin should have a lot of friends. […]
Goldman Sucks Greece, Swallows The Eurozone
I’ve been writing about Goldman Sucks — that is, rapacious economics star chamber Goldman Sachs — for years now. And I’m glad the rest of the world is finally paying […]