Juan Cole writes that Israel's ultimate aim in occupying Palestine isn't peace; rather, "Israel wants Palestinian land and resources and won’t give them up." I always assumed that Israel's mania about its own defense was entirely authentic, but I understand why it looks the way it does to Mr. Cole, and anyway the result's the same. Personal to those who worry about "strengthening Hamas": wouldn't the creation of a Palestinian state take Hamas's main issue away from them?
Workers at a New England grocery store chain protest the ousting of its CEO with rallies, protests, and even strikes. Turns out Arthur T. Demoulas (not to be confused with the new CEO, his cousin Arthur S. Demoulas, now the avatars of a decades-long family feud) paid his workers better than other grocery store chains do, plus he offered bonuses, tuition assistance, and a generous retirement plan; one manager called Arthur T. "George Bailey," which is a high compliment, and if you can't imagine ever feeling this way about your own CEO, take heart that at least some folks in America can.
Take Part asks, "Is the Downfall of Soda Imminent?" Gallup found that 63 percent of Americans now say they avoid drinking soda, and though that's up from 41 percent in 2010, asking folks what they do (folks do tend to overstate their healthy eating habits, myself certainly included!) isn't as telling as seeing what folks do. Just so happens that sales were flat in Coke's most recent earnings report, and soda consumption is down by 17 percent since 1998, so there's hope, though thanks to our government's persistent support for high-fructose corn syrup subsidies, you'll still see more folks drinking soda than you would otherwise.
Jesse Eisinger explains the problem with Valeant, one of the largest drug corporations in the world. Valeant has reached this summit mostly by buying up other, smaller corporations that have already spent all the money on researching new drugs, which is fortunate, since Valeant's executives don't seem to like doing research, having apparently slow-walked an FDA-mandated study of a cosmetic drug originally used on HIV-positive patients. Banksters love them -- not just for their "business model," but for all the jobs they cut -- but you have to wonder if they've properly considered that Valeant would be nowhere without small businesses doing all the hard work.
Finally, another day, another Republican House Rep equating environmental regulation with "terrorism." Of course, Rep. Kelly's flatugasm also includes a hostage crisis -- the EPA "terrorize(s) the people who supply everything this country needs to be great," meaning you better not tell the energy corporations what to do, or else you'll live in eternal darkness, I suppose. Can't the good citizens of Pennsylvania's 3rd district hire someone else to represent their interests? The seat ain't that red.
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