The flooding in Pakistan has displaced 2 million people, killed at least 1600 and affected 14 million. It should be affecting all of us. A disaster of global proportions, requiring a global response, as Gwynne Dyer noted on our show not long ago, it offers a hint of what we can expect if climate change continues on apace. While it's not a cause and effect equation, if we want to know what rising waters look like? Look at Pakistan.

The war in Iraq is far from over despite Obama's best speeches; and journalist David Finkel notes, "This war is leaving Iraq and moving into America." It is our duty, he says, to understand what the soldiers went through at the very worst of their experience there.

The war in Iraq is far from over despite Obama's best speeches; and journalist David Finkel notes, "This war is leaving Iraq and moving into America." It is our duty, he says, to understand what the soldiers went through at the very worst of their experience there.

The United Nations has declared the flooding in Pakistan one of the worst disasters in the organization's history, calling for its largest disaster response effort, but it's gone largely unreported here. 14 million people have been affected, and at least 1600 killed. Funds have been slower to come in than in many recent disasters, and agencies are calling for donations to help the victims--you can find links below to donate.

Yesterday we spoke about the problems with charitable giving by billionaires at the expense of paying their taxes. For many charitable givers in the United States, a bigger problem looms; laws about providing "material support" for terrorism have placed a stranglehold on where donors can send their money. Ghassan Elashi, co-founder of the Holy Land Foundation, faces a 65 year sentence for providing material support through his foundation, which was the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. before it was shut down by the Bush administration in 2001.

The favorite bogeyman of the Right, Social Security insolvency, is rearing its ugly head once again. Obama's deficit commission has been told that no solution is off the table, and Dean Baker notes it wouldn't be the first time that a Democratic administration went forward with plans that a Republican couldn't sell to the American people.

The favorite bogeyman of the Right, Social Security insolvency, is rearing its ugly head once again. Obama's deficit commission has been told that no solution is off the table, and Dean Baker notes it wouldn't be the first time that a Democratic administration went forward with plans that a Republican couldn't sell to the American people.

Google's corporate motto, it's been noted, is “Don't Be Evil.” They're going to be sorry they ever said it. By siding with Verizon vs. those fighting for a free and equal Internet -- that may be exactly what they're doing.

U.S. militarism isn't limited to one president. "It is a pattern, it follows a trajectory, it derives from a set of habits and we need to understand them," Andrew Bacevich reminds us. This pattern has led us on a dramatically different course from the countries that experienced firsthand the wars of the 20th century--Bacevich notes that the U.S. and Israel seem to be convinced of the rightness of using force to accomplish goals.

President Obama was elected with fanfare and promises to restore the rule of law and accountability to the justice system, specifically around indefinite detentions at Guantanamo. But the upcoming trial of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen taken into custody when he was just 15, seems to belie those promises.