politics for the 99%

Published on Dissident Voice, by André Vltchek, Sept 30, 2016.

… For years and decades, the so-called ‘left’ in the West has been moderately critical of North American (and sometimes even of European) imperialism and neo-colonialism. But whenever some individual or country rose up and began openly challenging the Empire, most of the Western left-wing intellectuals simply closed their eyes, and refused to offer their full, unconditional support to those who were putting their lives (and often even the existence of their countries) on the line.   Continue Reading…

Published on Axis of Logic (first on New Eastern Outlook NEO), by F. William Engdahl, Sept 26, 2016.

Washington’s regime change machinery has for the time being succeeded in removing an important link in the alliance of large emerging nations by railroading through a Senate impeachment of the duly elected President, Dilma Rousseff. On August 31 her Vice President Michel Temer was sworn in as President. Continue Reading…

KenFM im Gespräch mit Franz Hörmann (September 2016), 68.39 min, von KenFM am 26. Sept. 2016 … abgerechnet wird zum Schluss.   Continue Reading…

… MEDIA – Presidential Debates - Published on AlterNet.org, by Elizabeth Preza, Sept 28, 2016.

For all the talk about the middle class Monday night, members of the non-elite were hard to find … // Continue Reading…

Published on Project Syndicate.org, by Carmen Reinhart, Sept 28, 2016.

CAMBRIDGE – “What a government spends the public pays for. There is no such thing as an uncovered deficit.” So said John Maynard Keynes in A Tract on Monetary Reform. Continue Reading…

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No 1308, by Planka.nu, Sept 27, 2016: one is not born a motorist, one becomes one.

Mobility and class are deeply entangled. Not only because one’s potential for mobility often has to do with one’s economic position, but also because a society built on today’s mobility paradigm – automobility – directly contributes to growing economic and social differences.   Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Alexander Bühler, Susanne Koelbl, Sandro Mattioli and Walter Mayr, Sept 26, 2016 (Photo Gallery).

Since 2013, over 10,000 migrants have drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Behind the deaths lies a multi-million dollar smuggling trade with financial connections to Frankfurt, Italy and Libya … // Continue Reading…

Published on teleSUR english, by Heather Gies, 25 Sept 2016.

• Vulnerable rural communities warn that the development model of Colombia’s new era of peace could spark a new exploitative land and resource grab.
• As Colombia’s government and main rebel group prepare to sign a historic rapproachment Monday, the question that remains following more than 5 decades of civil war is this: does peace necessarily bring progress … //

Continue Reading…

Published on Foreign Policy in Focus FPIF (first in The Nation), by Walden Bello, Sept 23, 2016.

American intervention was one factor leading to the Chilean coup—but unrest on the part of middle-class Chileans was another.   Continue Reading…

… a scary future for farmers around the world - Published on AlterNet.org, by Katherine Paul, Sept 23, 2016.

… Reactions poured in from all the usual suspects.

Groups like the Farmers Union, Food & Water Watch, Friends of the Earth and others didn’t mince words when it came to condemning the deal. (Organic Consumers Association tagged it a Marriage Made in Hellback in May, pre-announcement, when the two mega-corporations were still doing their mating dance). Continue Reading…

… Oliver Stone’s American History – Published on Middle East Eye MEE, by James Reinl, Sept 17, 2016;

… The Hollywood movie director has turned his cameras on the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Vietnam War and the 9/11 attacks … // Continue Reading…

Published on WIRE.in, by VIJAY PRASHAD, Sept 20, 2016.

in Perilous Interventions, Hardeep Singh Puri, an astute observer of the limits of the ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine, explores the failure of the UNSC on several accounts, especially its decision to intervene in Libya militarily … // Continue Reading…

• Tulsa, Oklahoma police release videos of slaying of unarmed man, on World Socialist Web Site WSWS, by Zaida Green, Sept 21, 2016;
• Clashes, tear gas, cops injured after ‘disabled, unarmed’ black man shot dead by Charlotte police (VIDEOS), on RT, Sept 21, 2016;
• Wells Fargo boss urged to resign over accounts scandal, 1.56 min, on BBCnews, Sept 20, 2016; Continue Reading…

• Who Really Rules The United States – Edward Snowden, 10.13 min, uploaded by Blow Your Mind, Sept 1, 2016;
• About Hillary Clinton Emails, Trump And Freedom – Edward Snowden, 16.54 min, uploaded by Insomnia Team2, Aug 27, 2016;
• CITIZENFOUR (Edward Snowden Documentary Film – 2014), 113.37 min, uploaded by KC Goldshine, Aug 26, 2016 … CITIZENFOUR is a real life thriller, unfolding by the minute, giving unprecedented access to Edward Snowden as he hands over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the NSA …;
• Citizenfour on YouTube-search;   Continue Reading…

… Probably Not, Because Most of the Media Have Ignored It – Published on AlterNet, by Adam Johnson, Sept 18, 2016.

The prison strike didn’t merit a single mention in NYT, Washington Post, NPR, CNN or MSNBC.   Continue Reading…

Published on Immanuel Wallerstein, by blog owner, Sept 15, 2016.

… The basic argument in European public debate has been one between the advocates of compassion and morality who wish to welcome additional migrants and the advocates of self-protection and cultural preservation who wish to close the door against the entry of any more. Europe is in the spotlight for the moment, but parallel debates have long been going on across the world – from the United States and Canada to South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan.   Continue Reading…

Published on SALVAGE, by George Souvlis, Aug 15, 2016.

There is no doubt that in 2008 the capitalist system in Europe and in United States suffered a severe shock from which (it) has not yet recovered. Suggestive indications of this “permanent crisis” are the draconian austerity packages that the economic elites implemented as a response to these developments triggering the dissolution of European Union, the collapse of democratic institutions, the impoverishment of the working people and emergence of far-right movements and parties throughout the European continent. Continue Reading…

uploaded on YouTube by Democracy at Work, September15, 2016:

• Global Capitalism, Labor Day, the Condition of the Working Class, 86.49 min;
• Economic Update, Worker coops vs capitalism, 54.46 min … updates on declining US incomes, parental leave policies, rising medical deductibles, social security dependence, officials who take big, corp jobs. Interview with Peter Ranis, author of Cooperatives Against Capitalism Cooperatives Confront Capitalism: Challenging the Neo-Liberal Economy;

Continue Reading…

Published on Global Research.ca, by Colin Todhunter, Sept. 15, 2016.

… Monsanto held a 26 per cent market share of all seeds sold in 2011. Bayer (mainly a pharmaceuticals company) sells 17 per cent of the world’s total agrochemicals and also has a comparatively small seeds sector. If competition authorities pass the deal, the combined company would be the globe’s largest seller of both seeds and agrochemicals.   Continue Reading…

Published on The Guardian, by Ewen Mac Askill, Sept 13, 2016.

… The US whistleblower’s comments, made in an interview with the Guardian, came as supporters, including his US lawyer, stepped up a campaign for a presidential pardon. Snowden is wanted in the US, where he is accused of violating the Espionage Act and faces at least 30 years in jail.   Continue Reading…

Published on RT, Sept 13, 2016.

The EU has ceased to satisfy its citizens’ needs and aspirations, George Soros said calling on people to band together to save it. The billionaire warned the disintegration of the bloc will be almost impossible to avoid. Continue Reading…

Published on The Guardian, by Jason Burke, Africa, Sept 12, 2016.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and others are seeking favours in Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia as old alliances in the region falter.   Continue Reading…

• What shared prosperity? on RWER Blog, by David Ruccio, Sept 10, 2016; (see also: Inequality, the financial crisis and stagnation, competing stories and why they matter, on Real-World Economics Review RWER, Issue no 74, page 2, by Thomas I. Palley [AFL-CIO, USA], April 7, 2016; download the whole issue no 74, 158 pages, on Paecon.net);
• Native Americans celebrate pause of N. Dakota pipeline, vow to fight on, on Raw Story, Sept 10, 2016; Continue Reading…

… by Ukrainian Forces and Neo-Nazi Militia since Minsk II Agreement – Published on Global Research.ca, by Theo Russell, Sept 10, 2016.

After the February 2014 coup in Kiev, an ‘Anti-Maidan’ movement rapidly grew in the largely Russian-speaking Donbass, Odessa and Crimea regions, which sought to prevent the far-right groups which hijacked in the ‘Euromaidan’ protests entering their towns and cities.   Continue Reading…

Published on Spiegel Online International, an Essay by Christiane Hoffmann, Sept 9, 2016  - translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.

When cultures clash, women’s clothing is often at the center of the debate. While for Western women, the issue is how much skin they should be allowed to show, for Muslims the focus is on how much they must show.   Continue Reading…