politics for the 99%

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1302, by Lee Sustar, Sept 8, 2016.

A three-cornered battle between a budget-slashing mayor (Rahm Emanuel), a union-busting governor (Bruce Rauner) and determined teachers (CTU) could result this fall in the second public school strike in Chicago in four years. Continue Reading…

… the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Is Dead. Negotiations have Failed – Published on Global Research.ca, by Peter Koenig, Sept 7, 2016.

… The collapse of the TTIP is one of the best news for Europe – and I mean the people of Europe – in recent times; an initiative of the two major players in the EU. This decision has several meanings: Continue Reading…

Published on AlterNet, by Peter Dreier,bSept 3, 2016.

Let’s remember that King was committed to building bridges between the civil rights and labor movements. Continue Reading…

Published on JACOBIN, by Rejane Carolina Hoeveler, Sept 2, 2016 - translated by Sean Purdy.

The history of the Brazilian Workers’ Party is a cautionary tale for left parties everywhere … //

… From São Bernardo to Brasília: … //
… The Transformation: … // Continue Reading…

AUDIOS – uploaded by Democracy At Work:

• from Sept 1, 2016 – Puerto Rico’s crisis, 57.35 min … US income inequality vs rest of world, Europe exposes Apple Corp’s tax evasion; TTP and TTIP face rising opposition; even Martin Wolf sees capitalism’s contradiction with democracy. Interview with Prof Ian Seda on Puerto Rico’s economic/colonial crisis;
• from Aug 25, 2016 – Capitalism’s Craziness, 55.38 min … updates on universities, politicians, and grad student unions, Bill Gates obscene wealth, Harley-Davidson’ illegal pollution and more. Analyses of capitalism’s craziness: insufficient demand, unemployment’s wastes, state subsidies for all systems;   Continue Reading…

Published on Global Research.ca (first on World Socialist Web Site WSWS), by Patrick Martin, Sept 2, 2016.

Hillary Clinton’s speech to the American Legion convention Wednesday was a full-throated declaration of the right and responsibility of the United States to control the world by military force. Clinton pledged to keep the US the dominant global military power, to uphold the military alliances through which US imperialism controls Europe and the Far East, and to wage war unilaterally if deemed necessary, regardless of world opinion. Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Erich Follath, Aug 31, 2016 (Photo Gallery – Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan).

China is building new roads, railroads and pipelines from Central Asia to Europe in an effort to build new connections to the rest of the world. The results may be good for the Chinese – but less so for the other countries involved.   Continue Reading…

Published on plus55, by Gustavo Ribeiro, Aug 31, 2016.

The definitive removal of Dilma Rousseff from office means much more than the end of a political cycle.   Continue Reading…

Published on truthout, by Molly Knefel, Aug 30, 2016;

A political battle is being waged over charter schools in Massachusetts right now, and it’s a microcosm of the state of the charter debate across the country. In the lead-up to a November ballot measure in which voters will decide whether or not to lift the state’s cap on charter schools, known as Question 2, Democrats passed a resolution this month opposing charter school expansion. Continue Reading…

Published on ZNet (first on Jacobin Magazine), by Nick Riemer, Aug 30, 2016.

The Burkini ban pursued in Cannes and about thirty other towns might have just been overturned in the French courts, but it was only the latest and most absurd Islamophobic assault endured by Muslims in the country.   Continue Reading…

Published on ROARmag, by Joris Leverink, Aug 28, 2016.

Post-coup Turkey has been one great celebration of the nation’s victory over the coup plotters who were out to overthrow the government. The slogan hakimiyet milletindir, meaning “sovereignty belongs to the nation,” is everywhere. It can be seen on posters and banners at countless bus stops, street lights and overpasses, on massive billboards and on TV screens in public transport … // Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1296, by Michal Rozworski, Aug 25, 2016.

… Don’t have the taxes to pay for new buses? It’s okay, you can sell your electricity utility to pay for them instead. In fact, this is precisely what the Ontario Liberal government is doing. Already 30 per cent of the profitable Hydro One have been sold and another 30 per cent will be sold before 2018. A public Hydro One could more directly fight climate change, lower energy costs for the poor or work with First Nations on whose lands generation often happens. A private Hydro becomes an instrument for profit first with other goals secondary. Continue Reading…

Published on The Intercept, by Glenn Greenwald, Aug 25, 2016.

As the numerous and obvious ethical conflicts surrounding the Clinton Foundation receive more media scrutiny, the tactic of Clinton-loyal journalists is to highlight the charitable work done by the foundation, and then insinuate — or even outright state — that anyone raising these questions is opposed to its charity. James Carville announced that those who criticize the foundation are “going to hell.” Other Clinton loyalists insinuated that Clinton Foundation critics are indifferent to the lives of HIV-positive babies or are anti-gay bigots … // Continue Reading…

Published on ZNet, by Norman Solomon, Aug 25, 2016.

While Bernie Sanders was doing a brilliant job of ripping into the Trans-Pacific Partnership during the livestreamed launch of the Our Revolution organization on Wednesday night, CNN was airing a phone interview with Hillary Clinton and MSNBC was interviewing Donald Trump’s campaign manager. Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Riham Alkousaa, Sven Becker, Nina Brnada, Anna Clauß, Jürgen Dahlkamp, Walter Mayr, Ralf Neukirch, Jan Puhl, Christoph Schult and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmid, Aug 24, 2016 (Photo Gallery).

A year has passed since the dramatic decision by Angela Merkel to take in hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. What drove her to make the decision and what price will the country pay for it? A look back at 14 days that changed German history … // Continue Reading…

Published on World Socialist Web Site WSWS, by Robert Stevens and Julie Hyland, Aug 24, 2016.

As the right-wing putsch against him intensifies, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been outlining his economic programme for government. Having won the support of an overwhelming majority of party members and supporters for his stated opposition to austerity and war, Corbyn has been stressing the difference between his policies and those of his opponents // Continue Reading…

• Ecuadorian Embassy break-in: Police took 2hrs to reach building where Assange is holed up, 3.01 min, uploaded by RT, Aug 23, 2016 … Ecuador has criticized British police for their slow response to a call reporting that an unknown man was trying to break into at its London embassy, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living for four years;
• Assange kill attempt? Unknown man climbs Ecuador’s London embassy, sheltering WikiLeaks chief, on RT, Aug 22, 2016;
• Julian Assange’s Lawyer Found Dead After Being Struck by Train (Video), on Truth Uncensored, by Jennifer Johnson, Aug 19, 2016;
• Exklusives RT-Interview mit Assange – Hat WikiLeaks Dokumente, die Hillary ins Gefängnis bringen? 27.44 min, von RT Deutsch auf YouTube, am 13. Aug 2016: Afshin Rattansi begrüßt in seiner RT-Sendung Going Underground den WikiLeaks-Gründer Julian Assange zum Interview …;
• Julian Assange: My Next Leak Will Ensure Hillary’s Arrest, on YourNewsWire, by Sean Adl-Tabatabai, July 24, 2016;   Continue Reading…

Published on Global Research.ca, by Prof. Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, Aug 20, 2016.

Critics have often blamed President Rouhani of Iran for blindly following the neoclassical-neoliberal model of capitalism. The critical problem with Mr. Rouhani’s economic policies, however, is more than just following the dominant economic model of neoliberalism; more gravely, it is following the worst aspects of that model … // Continue Reading…

Published on Dissident Voice, by William Hawes, August 20, 2016.

The current state of American politics must make us question whether any of our leaders in the Beltway can be described as “grown-ups”; i.e., fully mature and sane individuals. Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Klaus Brinkbäumer and Susanne Koelbl, Aug 19, 2016: (Photo Gallery).

Since March, Fayez Sarraj has been the prime minister of Libya, a country torn by civil war. Now he is tasked with surmounting the country’s political divisions and leading the fight against the Islamic State and a network of human-traffickers transporting tens of thousands of migrants to Europe.   Continue Reading…

Published on truthout, Interview with Noam Chomsky by C.J. Polychroniou, Aug 17, 2016.

Has ISIS taken a foothold inside Europe? Is Erdogan’s Turkey in the process of making a huge geopolitical shift that will change the balance of power in one of the most volatile regions if the world? Are NATO and the US moving toward peace or war with Russia? In this latest exclusive interview for Truthout, Noam Chomsky offers unique insights on these issues, challenging prevailing narratives about what is happening around the world … // Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1293, by Kyla Sankey, Aug 16, 2016.

When the ‘pink tide’ of left-leaning governments first rose to power on the back of anti-neoliberal protests across Latin America in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the initial reaction from the Left was euphoric. Striving to move beyond the “there is no alternative” mantra, many pinned their hopes on what seemed to be a new wave of actually existing alternatives to neoliberalism. Continue Reading…

Published on Truthout, by James Anderson, Aug 16, 2016;

… A Statewide Nightmare of Housing Deprivation:

The most recent murders and beatings are just the latest in a long history of various forms of violence against homeless people in San Diego and throughout California, a state with the dubious distinction of leading the nation in housing deprivation.   Continue Reading…

Published on ZNet (first on Asian Age), by Vananda Shiva, Aug 15, 2016.

The only way to counter globalisation just a plot of land in some central place, keep it covered in grass, let there be a single tree, even a wild tree.” This is how dear friend and eminent writer Mahasweta Devi, who passed away on July 28, at the age of 90, quietly laid out her imagination for freedom in our times of corporate globalisation in one of her last talks.   Continue Reading…

Published on New Eastern Outlook NEO, by Konrad Stachnio, Aug 14, 2016.

Regarding the situation in Ukraine and Donbas, I talked to a war correspondent now residing in Donbas that prefered to remain anonimous:

Is Kiev currently preparing an offensive on Donbas? Continue Reading…