The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it has come to be known, has split American society, politics and media like no other subject in living memory. It is not just the concept itself as there is a pretty general recognition that healthcare needed reforming in the US. It is more the nature and implications of the system that seem to have stirred up a veritable hornets nest of protest – even outrage. Some will see in the extreme reaction of the Republican party, especially the more right...

Nuclear power has long been touted as the energy saviour in terms of environmental impact and capacity generation. The incident at Chernobyl nearly 30 years ago cast huge doubts over the safety – and wisdom – of relying on nuclear power too heavily. The recent Fukushima disaster raised the spectre of nuclear safety and the possibly horrendous fallout and consequences from a major nuclear accident for the world to consider and worry about all over again.

It is the dream of many to give up the daily slog and branch out on their own. Unfortunately too often that is exactly all it is – a dream without any real foundation or substance. If you are seriously thinking about starting your own business you need to give deep consideration to a lot of factors before taking the plunge. A very high percentage of start-ups fail – often in a very short space of time. And the reasons for failure are numerous and wide-ranging. If you don’t give sufficient ...

The issue of how increased security precautions impact on individual privacy is a crucial one for Americans - and many others around the world. Since 9/11 security surveillance and access to personal information by government and their agencies has increased and become, in some people’s eyes, more intrusive and unacceptably controlling and monitoring. To understand the full range and potential impact of these changes it is necessary to look across a very wide spectrum of data and opinion. ...

Blogging is a phenomenon of the internet and today’s technological age. Anyone can do it – and almost everyone seems to be doing it. Some very successfully – and a lot of money can be made from a high-profile blog. It needn’t be difficult and there is a lot of useful information available to help you along the way. What follows will give you some idea of the scope, type and nature of blogs, what works and what to avoid and how to start yourself up and keep it all together. But what matters...

The search for cheap, plentiful and reliable energy has become one of the holy grails of modern industrial society. Since the Western technologically-advanced nations own supplies began to deplete from the 1970s those economies became increasingly dependent on foreign oil, especially from volatile (and potentially hostile) areas in the Middle East, and gas from the world’s major producer - Russia. The discovery of large deposits of shale oil and gas in North America and across other parts ...

From the author of Aftershock and The Work of Nations, his most important book to date—a myth-shattering breakdown of how the economic system that helped make America so strong is now failing us, and what it will take to fix it.Perhaps no one is better acquainted with the intersection of economics and politics than Robert B. Reich, and now he reveals how power and influence have created a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income in...

An "illuminating and important" look at the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who are working to save us from catastrophic climate change ( New York Journal of Books).Nikola Tesla was considered a mad scientist by the society of his time for predicting global warming more than a hundred years ago. Today, we need visionaries like him to find sources of alternative energy and solutions to this looming threat.Mad Like Tesla takes an in...

The rapid development of technology and globalization has changed the leverage points in accumulating wealth: money, meaning and freedom. Those that don’t adapt are becoming trapped in the downward spiral of a dying middle class - working harder and earning less. Entrepreneurs that understand the new paradigm, have created unprecedented wealth in their lives and the lives of those they love.

A groundbreaking look at the NSA surveillance scandal, from the reporter who broke the story, Glenn Greenwald, star of Citizenfour, the Academy Award-winning documentary on Edward Snowden.In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have astonishing evidence of pervasive government spying and insisted on communicating only through heavily encrypted channels. That source turned out to be the twenty-nine-year-...

Tar Sands critically examines the frenzied development in the Canadian tar sands and the far-reaching implications for all of North America. Bitumen, the sticky stuff that ancients used to glue the Tower of Babel together, is the world’s most expensive hydrocarbon. This difficult-to-find resource has made Canada the number-one supplier of oil to the United States, and every major oil company now owns a lease in the Alberta tar sands. The region has become a global...

America’s economy and democracy are working for the benefit of an ever-fewer privileged and powerful people. But rather than just complain about it or give up on the system, we must join together and make it work for all of us.In this timely book, Robert B. Reich argues that nothing good happens in Washington unless citizens are energized and organized to make sure Washington acts in the public good. The first step is to see the big picture. Beyond Outrage connects the dots, showin...