Blog - OtherWords

Behind Super-Sized Sodas, a Deeper Danger

New York City’s billionaire mayor wants to ban super-sized sodas and other sugar-packed drinks.

The United Nations is Failing Syria

The United Nations Security Council, which is supposed to be the bulwark of global peace and security, has failed in its response to these popular uprisings, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. Inaction over Syria has left the Council seeming woefully unfit for its primary purpose: maintaining international peace.

Not Only the Cows Are Mad

by John Stauber

The Department of Agriculture determined in April that a cow from California died from an always-fatal disease that triggers dementia and can be transmitted to people. The chilling news about the latest mad cow case was no surprise for me. I’ve been trying for two decades to stop the cattle feeding practices that transmit bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease.

Summertime Hunger Spike

by Marian Wright Edelman

Summertime can be a carefree, relaxing season filled with cookouts, backyard picnics, and trips to the ice cream truck.

Bitter Broccoli

by Donald Kaul

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about my attempt to become a vegan — that is to say, one who partakes neither of meat nor fish nor dairy.

Mother Nature Doesn’t Quit

by Jim Hightower

Rather than find ways to cooperate with the natural world, America’s agribusiness giants reach for the next quick fix in a futile effort to overpower nature. Their attitude is that if brute force isn’t working, they’re probably not using enough of it.

Send in the Drones

by William A. Collins

Whew! The United States finally seems to have gotten the globe pretty much under control. Sure, it’s messy, but empires are like that. There are always malcontents mouthing off about “foreign threats” and the like, but nothing serious. We have the military, the technology, the will, and the oil.