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Journalism that Matters: Greece

The world is holding its breath with Greece on the knife-edge deadline on its €1.6 billion loan repayment due to the IMF. its stalemate with its international creditors, and upcoming referendum, could make Greece the first advanced economy to default to the fund in its 71-year history. It might also be the first nation to benefit from crowd-funding, as an  Indiegogo campaign gets rolling. Here is the essential reading: EU makes last ditch effort to save Greek bailout. By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas, Reuters   EU authorities made a last-minute offer to salvage a bailout deal that could keep Greece in the euro as

Facts and Opinions that matter this week

Here is F&O’s lineup of good reads, for your weekend lingering, or to launch the new week with information that matters.  New Reports:  Pope Francis throws down the gauntlet  On eve of encyclical, Pope Francis appeals for “our ruined” planet.  Our package on the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary:  Enduring freedoms;  British royals return to Runnymede; Fundamentally a financial peace treaty;  A feast fit for kings.  In Science: Early humans had to feminize to dominate the planet.   A selection from ProPublica’s series on America’s historic western drought, Killing the Colorado:  End of the Miracle Machines; Water Rights and the Right to Waste; How US dollars fund the water crisis. 

Save our “ruined planet,” urges Pope Francis

    Pope Francis, on the eve of the most contested papal writing in half a century, said on Wednesday that all should help to save “our ruined” planet and asked critics to read his encyclical with an open spirit. The document is the Church’s most controversial since Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae enshrined the Church’s ban on contraception. Because he has said he wants to influence a key U.N. climate summit this year, the encyclical further consolidates his role as a global diplomatic player. … Click here to read: On eve of encyclical, Pope Francis appeals for “our ruined” planet, by Philip Pullella

The Magna Carta at 800: Who, What, When, Why, How.

Magna Carta: the 800th anniversary of a “Great Charter” that changed the world  The rule of law was established at Runnymede, England, on June 15, 1215, via the Magna Carta. As well as clipping the wings of a tyrannical and erratic ruler, the signing of that “Great Charter” inspired and shaped the United Kingdom’s constitution — and eventually democratic systems worldwide. Here, in our Publica section, is  the lowdown on who, what, when, why, and how —  and speculation about the celebration feast.  Magna Carta: Enduring freedoms. By John Stanton The catalyst for Magna Carta was the tyrannical rule of

Spinning into a northern summer: Facts and Opinions that matter

As we spin into a northern summer, F&O presents a rich reading smorgasbord for the end of one week and the beginning of another. Dispatches — in Science, Justice, Geo, and Publica — explore how former IMF head Strauss-Kahn was acquitted in French vice trial, consider research suggesting potentially toxic residues are left in the brain from MRI drugs;  and read how drunken monkeys show that it’s only humans go overboard — and why that sheds light on our addictions. A story with an arguably American perspective asks: Do Europe’s Revolving-Door Prisons Compound Terror Threat? Meanwhile in America,  New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding

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