politics for the 99%

… why the Enemy Structures US Identity – Published on Global Research.ca, by Prof. John McMurtry, Jan 20, 2017.

The enemy in one form or another drives the US – the gun culture on the streets, the rich behind weapon-guarded enclaves, the pervasive violence entertainments of good vs. evil killers, the never-ending destabilizations of societies not submitting to US military and corporate globalization, and the hundreds of billions of public dollars pouring into continuous armed threats and wars. Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1358, by Pierre Beaudet, Jan 20, 2017 – Translated by John Bradley.

It all began right here in Porto Alegre in 2001 when this city in the south of Brazil became a major site of popular mobilization. Influenced by the Workers’ Party (PT), unions were, along with popular movements, at the forefront of a proactive political effort that included the support of the left within the Catholic Church, inspired by liberation theology. Continue Reading…

Published on farmlandgrab.org, by Pascal Liu, FAO, Jan 18, 2017.

The surge in commodity prices in 2007-2008 was one of the main causes of what has sometimes been described as the “global land rush” – a wave of large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries by foreign investors. Non-governmental organisations and the media were quick to denounce these deals as “land grabbing”, which were blamed for ignoring the rights and interests of the people who make their living from a land that is legitimately theirs.   Continue Reading…

• How Experts Enable Corruption: The Role of Conflicted Lawyers at CalPERS and Other Public Pension Funds, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Jan 18, 2017:   Continue Reading…

… Nuclear War by Accident or Miscalculation? – Published on Countercurrents.org, by John Scales Avery, Jan 15, 2017.

In his famous farwell address, US President Dwight Eisenhower eloquently described the terrible effects of an overgrown military-industrial complex. Here are his words:   Continue Reading…

… and Shelters, Huts, Cabins, Tiny Houses … and …:

Aussie couple builds off-grid mobile home with 2 containers, 44.43 min, uploaded by Kirsten Dirksen;
10 Off Grid Homes, 4.47 min, uploaded by The Survival Camp; Continue Reading…

How the city’s neglected poor rely on time banking, skill-sharing, and giveaways to get – Published on Bloomberg, by Valerie Vande Panne, January 12, 2017.

When her car broke down, Halima Cassells didn’t have $400 to fix it. But she had logged hours in her Detroit neighborhood time bank by babysitting, and that time yielded a repair. When she was pregnant in 2012, she couldn’t afford baby clothes, a stroller, or a car seat. But she could throw a potluck barbecue, and her friends could afford to bring their old baby supplies. “When people come together to share, it’s not transactional,” says Cassells. “Everyone assumes an amount of responsibility with everybody. It’s a different way of knowing your needs are being met.”   Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by Adnan Al-Daini, January 13, 2017.

A maximum of 20 times the wage of their lowest-paid worker. The Leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has proposed that bosses’ pay should be no more than 20 times the wage of the lowest-paid worker in the company. The salaries of top bosses have reached grotesque levels as a multiple of average pay. For example, the average pay of the CEOs of the FTSE100 companies in Britain has gone up from 47 times average wage in the 1990s to around 180 times today. Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by Paul Craig Roberts, Jan 12, 2017.

There is no doubt that US President Barak Obama is a war criminal as are his military and intelligence officials and most of the House and Senate.   Continue Reading…

Published on truthout, by Michael Corcoran, Jan 11, 2017.

… But while pundits on cable news outlets argue about these issues, media executives who sign their paychecks are positively elated about the 2016 election, which thanks to $2.4 billion in political ad spending and record ratings, was great for Big Media’s bottom line. “This is the best year in the history of cable news,” said CNN President Jeff Tucker in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Continue Reading…

Global Capitalism with Richard D. Wolff, 82.02 min,
……. uploaded by Democracy At Work, Jan 11, 2017 … (about Obamacare, US States Pension Fonding, UK: Jeremy Corbin, Mobile Parks: see on Google Images-search/en.wikipedia, boycotting Trump supporters, income reversal of the 1% vs 50%, … future Trump economics/politics);   Continue Reading…

Published on Global Research.ca, by Bryan Macdonald, Jan 7, 2017.

The eagerly awaited Director Of National Intelligence’s (DNI) report “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections” didn’t need such a long winded title. They could have just called it We Really Don’t Like RT.   Continue Reading…

Do read the declassified version of the text (14/25 pages – ICA_2017_01.pdf) – Background to “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections”, on Office of the Director of National Intelligence ODNI, Jan 6, 2016.

Find this ODNI report also:

• on YouTube-search;
• on Google News-search;

Continue Reading…

Published on informed comment, by Juan Cole, Jan 7, 2017.

The hysteria about Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee servers and the phishing scam run on Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, is short on evidence and high in self-righteousness. Much of the report issued Friday was old boilerplate about the Russia Today cable channel, which proves nothing. Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by Kim Petersen, Jan 7, 2017: the absolutely essential distinction: wars of aggression are not equivalent to wars of self-defense - (part 1).

… Oppressors naturally dislike physical resistance; they prefer pacifism as it will not cause them physical harm. The pacifist arsenal is devoid of fighting fire with fire. There are two possible outcomes at play here: it would seem that pacifists believe that they can overcome their oppression through moral suasion or that their devotion to principles demands submission — living on bended knee over fighting for their rights and freedom. Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by Paul Craig Roberts, Jan 6, 2017.

For many weeks we have witnessed the extraordinary attack by the CIA and its assets in Congress and the media on Donald Trump’s election. In an unprecedented effort to delegitimize Trump’s election as the product of Russian interference in the election, the CIA, media, senators and representatives have consistently made wild accusations for which they have no evidence. The CIA’s message to Trump is clear: Get in line with our agenda, or we are going to mess you over.   Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1350, by John Clarke, Jan 2, 2017.

Up until now, the concept of Basic Income BI has enjoyed a greater history of being proposed than of being implemented. We may well be approaching a period, however, when this changes. The Ontario Government is holding consultations on setting up a BI pilot project. The Legislature in another Canadian Province, Prince Edward Island, has agreed to test out a version of BI. Pilot projects are also impending in Finland, the Netherlands and Scotland … // Continue Reading…

Published on World Socialist Web Site WSWS.org, by Andre Damon, Jan 5, 2017.

Divisions within the US state over allegations of Russian hacking of Democratic Party emails grew more embittered and public Wednesday following statements by Donald Trump that further distanced the president-elect from the CIA and other US intelligence agencies.   Continue Reading…

… evidence that hacking of DNC accusations are fake – Published on Global Research.ca, by Prof Michel Chossudovsky, Dec 30, 2016.

… The unspoken truth, however, is that the punishment was intended for Trump … // Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by Adnan Al-Daini, January 3, 2017.

Our species is capable of great compassion, kindness and tolerance; it is also capable of cruelty, selfishness and hate. Which of these characteristics dominate depends on another characteristic, namely empathy, defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. This sharing of feeling could so easily be switched off if the “other” happens to have a different colour, religion or culture. Continue Reading…

Organspende, die verheimlichte Wahrheit, 34.23 min,
……. von Welt im Wandel.TV am 29. Nov 2016 auf YouTube hochgeladen … Der bekannte Jurist Dr. Georg Meinecke ist entschieden anderer Meinung. Jahrzehntelang galt er als Deutschlands Patientenanwalt Nummer 1 und setzt sich seit seiner Pensionierung unter anderem dafür ein, dass über die wahren Hintergründe der Organspende aufgeklärt wird. Meinecke zufolge gebe es erhebliche Zweifel daran, ob der Hirntod tatsächlich das Lebensende eines Menschen markiert …(ganzer Text).

Published on Voltairenet.org, by Thierry Meyssan, Dec 20, 2016.

While the major powers who were supervising the jihadists in East Aleppo pretend to take interest in the fate of the inhabitants of the city – so as to exfiltrate their own soldiers – no-one seems to understand the drama that these Syrians have endured. Contrary to Western declarations, they have not suffered from the bombing so much as they have from the occupation of foreign jihadists and the reign of their «sharia». Some citizens suffer from a serious psychotic problem, the East Aleppo Syndrome … // Continue Reading…

… Verbotene Entdeckung von 1988, 12.16 min, von DieNachtklinik am 4. Feb 2014 … teilweise in Baslerdeutsch gesprochen, mit hochdeutschen Untertiteln. Continue Reading…

Published on his blog, Dec 30, 2016.

Obama has announced new sanctions on Russia based on unsubstantiated charges by the CIA that the Russian government influenced the outcome of the US presidential election with “malicious cyber-enabled activities.” Continue Reading…

Published on naked capitalism (first on The National), by Jerri-Lynn Scofield, Dec 31, 2016.

… Jerri-Lynn Scofield … has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She now spends most of her time in Asia researching a book about textile artisans. She also writes regularly about legal, political economy, and regulatory topics for various consulting clients and publications, as well as writes occasional travel pieces for The National. Continue Reading…