Afghanistan: How a Pink Flower Defeated the World’s Sole Superpower

Alfred W. McCoy TomDispatch
Each stage in Afghanistan’s tragic 40-year history of intervention-- the 1980s covert war, the 1990s civil war, and the U.S. occupation since 2001 --- helped transform this remote, landlocked nation into the world’s first true narco-state --where illicit drugs dominate the economy, fuel corruption and determine the fate of foreign interventions. Afghanistan can only progress when it is no longer a client narco-state with its rural areas dependent upon the opium crop.

Gimme Shelter | Playing For Change

This song expresses the urgency we all face to unite together as a planet and offers us wisdom with the words, "War, children, it's just a shot away... Love, sister, it's just a kiss away". Dedicated to all the lost, homeless and forgotten people in this world. It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.

Friday Nite Videos -- February 26, 2016

Portside
Get Up Stand Up | Song Around The World. The Big Lebowski Silences Donald Trump. Gravitational Waves Hit the Late Show. Trump Ad by the Poorly Educated. Boots Riley Performs "Underdogs."

Trump Ad by the Poorly Educated

One group of voters that Donald Trump did especially well with in the Nevada caucuses were the poorly educated. He even touted this fact during his victory speech.

Why Big Tech Companies Are Open-Sourcing Their AI Systems

Patrick Shafto
Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Amazon have been making remarkable progress in artificial intelligence. Recently they have released much of their work to the public for free use, and adaptation. This seems bizarre: why would companies reveal the methods at the core of their businesses? And what does their embrace of open-source AI say about the current state of artificial intelligence?

Exit Polls Show Democrats Embrace “Liberal,” Republicans Embrace Hatred

Bill Scher Campaign for America's Future
In the primaries held so far this year, many more Democrats are identifying as liberal than in the past, powered by dramatic changes in the views of young voters. Is the Republican Party undergoing a similar shift to the right? Yes, but the picture is a little more complicated.