politics for the 99%

… 2014: the big American retreat – Published on GEAB no 80, Dec 16, 2013.

… Whether it be the economic or political woes of the United States, Japan and the European Union, the Russian diplomatic victories over Syria, Armenia or the Ukraine, or Chinese ambitions in the East China Sea, tomorrow’s powers are quickly filling the geopolitical void left by yesterday’s powers.   Continue Reading…

Published on Russia Today RT, by Patrick L Young, expert in global financial markets, Jan 4, 2014.

2013 was the year where the threat of removing the QE punchbowl provoked market panic, while the EU was instrumental in sinister programs of theft above and beyond even the rapacious ‘Central Bankers’ party’… We began 2013 with the euro crisis yet to be cured, and indeed as we end the year it remains the fiscal elephant in the room. A volcano apparently dormant but clearly still active beneath the crater. Quite when it will next erupt nobody knows, but even Christine Lagarde of the IMF was keen during December to remind us that the crisis was far from resolved.  Continue Reading…

Interview with Greg Albo GA and Jerome Klassen JK, published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 923, by Jordy Cummings JC, January 3, 2014.

… JC: In terms of Canada’s and others’ efforts to “rebuild” the Afghan state, what hurdles have been faced, and how has Canada failed to manage and/or transcended such hurdles? If it is indeed possible to help Afghanistan, what can be done, not merely by the Canadian state, but by international assistance?   Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Susanne Koelbl, January 02, 2014 (Photo Gallery).

Since the West reached a landmark deal with Iran on its controversial nuclear program late last year, many Iranians are hoping for an end to sanctions. Western companies are also gearing up do big business … //

… Old Revolutionaries Are Skeptical:  Continue Reading…

Published on World Socialist Web Site WSWS, by Tom Carter, Dec 31, 2013.

US District Judge William H. Pauley’s ruling in the case of ACLU v. Clapper on December 27, which sanctions dragnet NSA surveillance of the telephone records of the entire country’s population, has immense significance for democratic rights.

Although it is written by a federal judge, it is not so much a legal opinion as it is a fascist-style polemic that advocates scrapping the US Constitution and implementing a police state. The fact that a federal judge makes such arguments is a significant indication of the extent to which a pro-dictatorship consensus has developed within the highest levels of the judicial system.   Continue Reading…

Watch this video-interview with Glenn Greenwald, 53.27 min, published on Democracy Now, by Ami Goodman, Dec 30, 2013:

The German publication Der Spiegel has revealed new details about a secretive hacking unit inside the National Security Agency called the Office of Tailored Access Operations, or TAO. The unit was created in 1997 to hack into global communications traffic. Hackers inside the TAO have developed a way to break into computers running Microsoft Windows by gaining passive access to machines when users report program crashes to Microsoft.   Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by JACOB APPELBAUM, JUDITH HORCHERT, OLE REISSMANN, MARCEL ROSENBACH, JÖRG SCHINDLER AND CHRISTIAN STÖCKER, Dec 30, 2013 (Editor’s note: This is a sidebar to our main feature story on the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations unit. You can read the main text here).

The NSA has a secret unit that produces special equipment ranging from spyware for computers and cell phones to listening posts and USB sticks that work as bugging devices. Here are some excerpts from the intelligence agency’s own catalog.   Continue Reading…

Im Feuilleton der Frankfurter Allgemeinen, von KATRIN RÖNICKE, Hamburg, 30. Dezember 2013.

Wikileaks-Gründer Julian Assange ruft die Hacker-Gemeinde auf, in Geheimdienste und andere Organisationen zu gehen, Informationen zu sammeln und sie zu verraten. „Wir sind eine Klasse“ – wie die Industriearbeiter sie einst gewesen seien.  Continue Reading…

the 100th monkey/singe/Affe – story:

• Video: The Hundredth Monkey, 4.07 min,  uploaded by Lost8Wizard, April 16, 2009;
• Motivation: meine Suche nach dem 100. Affen, TV ab- und Herz & Verstand einschalten, 15.01 min, von weltenhuepfer am 10. Mai 2013 hochgeladen: Hundertster Affe auf de.wikipedia;
• L’histoire du 100ème singe ou l’espoir de l’humanité, 5.07 min, mise en ligne de Philippe Theillou, le 18 septembre 2011;  Continue Reading…

Democratic Left Front salutes the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa special national congress: Together, a new South Africa is possible – Published on Links.org, by the Democratic Front South Africa, Dec 23, 2013.

Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal – There is a spectre haunting the ruling class and government in South Africa: it is the radical anti-capitalist movement that the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa NUMSA has given birth to at its historic special national congress held last week. The Democratic Left Front DLF congratulates NUMSA for this congress that united metalworkers in spite of the sustained attempts to divide NUMSA … // Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Alexander Kühn, December 27, 2013 (Photo Gallery).

A new generation of comedians with foreign roots are shining an irreverent light on the prejudices they encounter in Germany. But when it comes to the integration debate, do their brash, cliché-rife performances do more harm than good? … //

… A New Wave of Minority Comedy: … // Continue Reading…

Watch this video, 16.37 min, on TEDtalk, with John Hodgman, filmed Feb 2008, posted on Oct 2008.

Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love. John Hodgman is a writer, humorist, geek celebrity, former professional literary agent and expert on all world knowledge. He was the bumbling PC in Apple’s long-running “I’m a Mac; I’m a PC” ad campaign … (full bio).   Continue Reading…

The Movement of Mortgage Victims is one of Spain’s strongest movements. Carlos Delclós talks to PAH organizer Elvi Mármol about the key to their success – Published on Roarmag.orghttp://roarmag.org/2013/12/plataforma-afectados-hipoteca-spain/, by Carlos Delclós, December 20, 2013.

The story of Spain’s economic, social and political crisis is one about property, need and value. And at the heart of that story lies a question that is familiar to the point of cliché: what makes a house a home? It may sound trivial, but in a country where families are sleeping in the street, entire building blocks are devoid of residents, and housing remains out of reach for major swathes of the population (despite the ubiquity of “For Sale” signs in the urban landscape), it is a question that remains largely unanswered by policymakers.   Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 915, by Roger Annis, December 23, 2013.

The fossil fuel industry offensive in British Columbia and across Canada is proceeding relentlessly. This is a report from some of the key fronts of the fossil fuel wars.

Tar Sands: … //

… Natural Gas Fracking: … // Continue Reading…

Published on Intrepid Report, by Larry Pinkney, December 20, 2013:

When corporations and government become, in actuality, intertwined as one entity, the end result is fascism. This is the precise reality in the United States in this 21st century, and it has spread like a cancer throughout this nation … //

… Banksters are liars, manipulators, and international corporate gangsters:   Continue Reading…

Published on Global Research.ca, by Colin Todhunter, Dec 19, 2013.

Modern culture is an advocate of speed. From urban planning and transport systems, to the food industry and beyond, ‘fast living’ cuts deep and affects almost every aspect of life.

In terms of distances, things today are more spread out yet are more interconnected than in the past. This interconnectedness has had the effect of shrinking even the largest of distances and is ably assisted by digital communications technology and rapid transit systems. Airports and metro transport links are being extended or built, huge concrete flyovers cut through neighbourhoods and separate communities from one another and employment is being centralised in out of town business parks or city centre office blocks. Speed of communications and transport narrows the distances.   Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 912, by Michal Rozworski, December 18, 2013.

The Puzzle Defined: Most developed economies continue to experience fall-out from the financial crisis of 2007-08. The Eurozone has been most ravaged, but the U.S. and UK have not fared much better. After the initial rebound from the most severe crisis, growth in many economies has been decelerating to the point that some are once again contracting in real terms. At the same time, unemployment remains high – hitting record levels among youth in Europe for example – real incomes are flat for the vast majority, inequality is on the rise and austerity programs targeted at social services are eating further into living standards.  Continue Reading…

09 h MEZ – on Russia Today RT, translated in english.

Published on ZNet (first on Folha De S. Paulo), by Edward Snowden, December 17, 2013.

Six months ago, I stepped out from the shadows of the United States Government’s National Security Agency to stand in front of a journalist’s camera.

I shared with the world evidence proving some governments are building a world-wide surveillance system to secretly track how we live, who we talk to, and what we say.   Continue Reading…

Published on Le Monde diplomatique, english edition, by Maxim Robin, December 2013.

The number of people in US prisons fell in 2012 by around 30,000, the third consecutive fall in as many years: budget difficulties mean that states can no longer afford incarceration for every offence, and at local level Republicans and Democrats are, unusually, unanimous on the need to decongest prisons. In California — which accounted for half of the fall in 2012 — and Texas, there is a drive to reduce sentences and find alternative punishments.   Continue Reading…

Financial democracy requires bypassing large unaccountable institutions and reconnecting people to the reality of their money — by producing it ourselves – Published on ROARMAG.org, by Brett Scott, December 11, 2013.

In 2012, in celebration of Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, I suggested that we securitize the Queen, using her as collateral for UK government borrowing. I thought she would support this modest proposal because royalty have long been financial innovators. Indeed, what were the old medieval armies but a blunt financial instrument? Monarchs invested resources into them in order to extract dividends from conquered peoples who did not want to be bludgeoned to death … // Continue Reading…

Published on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Dec 10, 2013.

During a rally held in Minya governorate, Nour Youssef, a member of the Social Democratic Party, urged his village to vote “yes” on the draft constitution.

The crowds shouted, “viva Egypt, bread, freedom and social justice”, repeating the 25 January 25 Revolution slogan.   Continue Reading…

A push to make America’s banks safer creates new uncertainties – Published on The Economist, Dec 14, 2013.

The 37 words inserted into the 848-page Dodd-Frank law overhauling the regulation of America’s financial institutions seemed innocent enough. Lawmakers wanted regulators to come up with strictures that would prevent banks from gambling with deposits insured by the federal government. The resulting rule, named after a prominent proponent, Paul Volcker, a former head of the Federal Reserve, prohibits banks from “proprietary trading”, meaning transactions conducted purely for their own gain, rather than to serve clients. On December 10th five different regulatory agencies approved the Volcker rule; it will come into force, awkwardly enough, on April 1st.  Continue Reading…

Watch this video: The Secret History of How Cuba Helped End Apartheid in South Africa, 50.27 min, on Democracy Now, December 11, 2013.

As the world focuses on Tuesday’s historic handshake between President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro, we look back at the pivotal role Cuba played in ending apartheid and why Castro was one of only five world leaders invited to speak at Nelson Mandela’s memorial. In the words of Mandela, the Cubans ‘destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the white oppressor … [and] inspired the fighting masses of South Africa.’  Continue Reading…

Watch this video: Registering Class, 17.28 min, published on Socialist Project.ca, Nov 24, 2013:

The 50th volume of the Socialist Register is dedicated to the theme of ‘registering class’ in light of the spread and deepening of capitalist social relations around the globe. Today’s economic crisis has been deployed to extend the class struggle from above while many resistances have been explicitly cast in terms of class struggles from below. This volume addresses how capitalist classes are reorganizing as well as the structure and composition of working classes in the 21st century …; Continue Reading…