Right-wing US policies have made American workers and students so afraid of losing the competition with each other that they dare not fight back.

A US bomb attack in Somalia killed one of the main leaders of the Shabaab.

I have no sympathy for Sahal Iskudhuq, or for the Shabaab, which is an Islamist extremist group. However, the death of a leader in such a group is generally not much of a setback. Lots of others are ready to take his place. What affects the success of the group is its power to recruit. Did this attack reduce that, or increase that?

Given that there is a civil war in Somalia, in principle the US can legitimately give the government military support. Did that government ask for this attack? Maybe in general terms.

But let's not forget that this government was imposed by outside intervention. While it now has control of substantial territory, it's not clear that it qualifies as more than a puppet. Furthermore, al-Shabaab is the result of the previous US-organized intervention, carried out by Ethiopia as a proxy, which destroyed Somalia's previous stable government, which was Islamist too but not as extremist as al-Shabaab.

It all raises the question of whether these interventions are good for anyone except arms companies, participants in the perhaps puppet Somali government, and Islamist extremists.

Obama's "Promise Zones" promise very little.

Everyone: tell Kellogg's to adopt a firm policy to stop causing deforestation.

Edward Snowden responds to Obama's proposals for minor changes in the general surveillance of everyone.