politics for the 99%

Published on Axis of Logic, by Mallika Rao, Aug 31, 2014.

In the heart of New Delhi lives what is said to be the world’s largest collective of performers – puppeteers, drummers, monkey tamers, snake charmers, singers, acrobats, and more. Their family units can include more than a dozen members. Dads and moms pass their art down to the kids. In Kathputli Colony that’s simply how things are done.

Whether tradition will continue this way is another story. The 3,000 families of Kathputli are facing a major threat to their way of life, a standoff that’s mesmerized local papers and documentarians abroad who have trekked to the so-called magician’s ghetto … //

… Speaking to Time, one magician blamed “middle-class India” for making a mass eviction possible. Folk artists, he opined, are “at odds with the image of India as a rising power.” Many are hoping to sway the government into preserving the colony as a tourist attraction, a workaround that could address the issue of national self-image.

“We perform for the poor as well as the rich, for the Prime Minister as well as the commoner,” Bhat, the colony’s eldest resident told Time. “And we have always lived like kings without worrying about the future.”

(full text and photos).

Links:

EVENT – EUROPE, CANADA, CHINA: International Basic Income Week, 14th–20th September, 2015, in several European countries (details in german; in english);

French court upholds guilty verdict in Monsanto poisoning case, on Russia Today RT, Sept 11, 2015;

New York becomes first state in US to mandate $15 wage for fast food workers, on Russia Today RT, Sept 11, 2015;

Welcoming the Refugees: Has Germany Really Changed? on Spiegel Online International, an essay by Juan Moreno, Sept 11, 2015 (Photo Gallery): Germany has been putting its best foot forward in the refugee crisis, welcoming asylum seekers with open arms. But the country’s treatment of foreigners hasn’t always been this warm. Are we seeing the new Germany, or will the old resurface?

14 Years Ago: The 9/11 Attacks and the Launching of America’s Global War on Terrorism, on Global Research.ca, Sept 10, 2015;

Europe’s refugee crisis: Trash trail left behind by asylum seekers upsets locals, on Russia Today RT, Sept 10, 2015;

UK: More than 80,000 expected to show solidarity with refugees this weekend, on Left Foot Forward.org, by Ruby Stockham, Sept 10, 2015 … public pressure on Cameron is intensifying;

Photo Gallery on Russia Today RT: Clashes between nationalists and police outside Ukrainian parliament;

Risking everything to make it to Europe, 3.13 min, uploaded by Al Jazeera english, Sept 9, 2015 … thousands of people are making the dangerous crossing from Turkey to such Greek islands as Kos and Lesbos in a desperate bid to reach Europe;

France: La baisse de l’impôt sur le revenu concernera 8 millions de foyers, dans Le Figaro.fr, par Marie Bartnik, le 7 sept 2015;

Politique d’accueil des réfugiés à Bourges? dans Agitateur.org, le 7 sept 2015;

The Economy of the Future Economic Democracy, on San Diego Free Press, Sept 7, 2015;

US: Affordable housing is basic need, on The Olympian/ Washington, Sept 7, 2015;

Congrès des Podemos à Paris, dans Mediapart.fr, par Jean-Jacques Birgé, le 7 sept 2015;

Dernières nouvelles (grinçantes) du progrès technique, dans Technoverdose, par Nicolas Falempin, le 6 sept 2015;

Quelles transformations sociales attendre de l’afflux de réfugiés? dans Mediapart.fr, par Jacques Cuvillier, le 6 sept 2015;

US: THE LAST FREEDOM, FREEDOM FROM WANT, on The State Journal, by Msgt Thomas Vance, USAF Ret., Sept 5, 2015; in an historic speech President Franklin Roosevelt laid out 4 freedoms we as Americans should aspire to. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Fear and the last, Freedom from Want …;

Douglas Todd: Robots are coming and jobs are going, can we adapt? on The Vancouver Sun, by Douglas Todd, Sept 5, 2015;

La Braderie de Lille, c’est aussi une foule d’animations – cinq façons de la vivre hors de chine, dans La Voix du Nord, par Catherine Painset, le 4 sept 2015;

Belgique: Indépendants, pourquoi souscrire une assurance revenu garanti? dans MoneyTalk.be, par Johan Steenackers, le 4 sept 2015: en tant qu’indépendant, vous êtes moins bien protégé au niveau des droits sociaux qu’un employé si vous ne pouvez temporairement plus travailler suite à une maladie ou à un accident. Une assurance revenu garanti apporte du réconfort;

How China is changing Africa, 39.29 min, uploaded by Al Jazeera english, Aug 11, 2015;

Schnösel und Schmarotzer, August 2015 – Volker Pispers, 58.24 min, von Sahara Balahada am 31. Juli 2015 hochgeladen;

How the Business Community Screwed the Working Class – by Richard Wolff, 14.15 min, uploaded by Workplace Democracy, Jan 26, 2015 … on the economic history of the U.S.;

Website: 100 left wing blogs, on totalpolitics/blog – (a magazine), London.