There is, it seems, something new under the sun.

Geopolitically speaking, when it comes to war and the imperial principle, we may be in uncharted territory. Take a look around and you’ll see a world at the boiling point. From Ukraine to Syria, South Sudan to Thailand, Libya to Bosnia, Turkey to Venezuela, citizen protest (left and right) is sparking not just disorganization, but what looks like, to coin a word, de-organization at a global level. Increasingly, the unitary status of states, large and small, old and new, is being called into question. Civil war, violence, and internecine struggles of various sorts are visibly on the rise. In many cases, outside countries are involved and yet in each instance state power seems to be draining away to no other state’s gain. So here’s one question: Where exactly is power located on this planet of ours right now?

There is, of course, a single waning superpower that has in this new century sent its military into action globally, aggressively, repeatedly -and disastrously. And yet these actions have failed to reinforce the imperial system of organizing and garrisoning the planet that it put in place at the […]

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The world food supply has grown increasingly dependent on a shrinking list of crops, such as wheat and maize, in the past 50 years with major consequences for human nutrition and global food security, according to a new study.

The report from the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia documents for the first time what experts have long suspected: over the last five decades, human diets around the world have grown more homogeneous and are showing no signs of slowing.

‘More people are consuming more calories, protein and fat, and they rely increasingly on a short list of major food crops, like wheat, maize and soybean, along with meat and dairy products, for most of their food,” said lead author Colin Khoury, a scientist at CIAT, a member of the CGIAR consortium of research institutes. ‘These foods are critical for combating world hunger, but relying on a global diet of such limited diversity obligates us to bolster the nutritional quality of the major crops, as consumption of other nutritious grains and vegetables declines.”

The study, using data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, encompassed more than 50 crops consumed in more than 150 countries (accounting for 98% of the world’s population) […]

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NEW YORK — The health of American children is mediocre-they move too little and eat too much junk. But there was promising news this week when America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that obesity rates were flat for most children and dropped dramatically for those aged two to five. ‘I am thrilled,” declared Michelle Obama, whose ‘Let’s Move!” campaign has sought to fight childhood obesity. ‘With the participation of kids, parents, and communities in Let’s Move! these last four years, healthier habits are beginning to become the new norm.” Another less prominent report, however, brought more worrying news, not about the physical health of children, but about their mental health.

The Health Care Cost Institute, which pools data from insurers, reported broad spending trends for children covered by private insurance. Employer-sponsored private coverage is America’s single biggest source of health insurance. There are 43m children enrolled in company health plans. The institute examined insurance claims from 2009 to 2012 to illuminate their care and costs. Spending per child rose in every region, among boys and girls, and in all categories of services, from drugs to hospital visits. Spending for boys was higher than for girls. Infants had the […]

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Conservatives are masters at using distortion and subterfuge to sell people on things they would never buy if properly labeled. Nowhere is this more evident than in the arena of ‘school choice” — a conservative euphemism for “gutting public education from the inside out.”

According to its major proponents,like [3] the late Milton ‘Pinochet es mi amigo” Friedman, ‘school choice gives parents the freedom to choose their children’s education, while encouraging healthy competition among schools to better serve families’ needs.” Sounds lovely! But, it turns out, there are plenty of well-documented problems with school choice, especially when it comes to the school voucher system, which provides families with public funds to send their children to private — often religious — schools.

Voucher [4] programs in particular have beenproven [5] to be largely ineffective [6]; theyweaken [7] the public school system, andfail to [8] address inequality, which may be why their supporters, like the Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity and Dick Morris, love them. Through their concerted efforts, vouchers are on the rise: In 2013, 15 states started orexpanded their voucher programs. [9]

Though supported with public funds, private schools engaged in voucher programs [10] lack the accountability and oversight applicable to public schools, […]

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Nutritionists have been quick to point out how high fructose corn syrup may be sickening humans. That’s not new. But bees? Researchers are suggesting that the high-fructose corn syrup commercial beekeepers have been feeding their bees for decades may be eroding the bees’ immune systems, making them more susceptible to toxins and colony collapse disorder. A team of entomologists from the University of Illinois outlines their research and findings in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It turns out that an enzyme in pollen walls as well as compounds found in poplar sap (which stick to bees’ legs and then get in the honey) make their immune systems stronger. The study suggests that taking away the honey and feeding them corn syrup instead makes them more vulnerable. Read a summary at Phys.org and read the

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