A question of (academic) degrees

Published on rabble.ca /blog, by PENNEY KOME, 12 Jun 2014.

… Only a decade ago, a person who graduated with a five-year Masters of Business Administration degree could expect immediate six-figure salary offers. Now the Degree Bubble has burst. Between dumbed-down public education systems, an overabundance of graduates, and endless corporate and small business campaigns to drive down wages across the board, the value of degrees has suffered drastic deflation in the seven years between 2007, when our grad entered university, and his graduation this year.   Continuer la lecture de « A question of (academic) degrees »

We need a new vision that is worthy of our people and our past

Published on Labour List, by Emma Burnell, June 19, 2014.

How does social democracy work when there isn’t any money? That is the question that has been taxing those at the top of the Labour Party for some time.

Our immediate, Keynesian response to the crisis staunched the wound and arguably stopped a recession becoming a depression. But the crisis itself showed up the weaknesses of the late 20th century model of social democracy – that of relying on the redistribution of the proceeds of growth, not of changing how that growth affected people early and for the better.   Continuer la lecture de « We need a new vision that is worthy of our people and our past »

Miracle Crop: India's Quest to End World Hunger – part 1

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Philip Bethge, June 16, 2014 (Photo Gallery).

Over one third of humanity is undernourished. Now a group of scientists are experimenting with specially-bred crops, and hoping to launch a new Green Revolution — but controversy is brewing.

It may not make his family wealthy, but Devran Mankar is still grateful for the pearl millet variety called Dhanshakti (meaning « prosperity and strength ») he has recently begun growing in his small field in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. « Since eating this pearl millet, the children are rarely ill, » raves Mankar, a slim man with a gray beard, worn clothing and gold-rimmed glasses … // Continuer la lecture de « Miracle Crop: India's Quest to End World Hunger – part 1 »

An Ex-Banker and Occupier walk into a Jail, guess which one’s serving Time?

Published on The Guardian, by Chris Arnade, June 15, 2014:

Cecily McMillan is behind bars, unlike any of the architects of the financial crisis. In an exclusive conversation with the Guardian, she explains why her sentence serves a purpose …;

A former banker visits the only member of Occupy Wall Street to receive a prison sentence: it sounds like the set-up of a joke or a parable of the modern age. Instead, it was a real scene last Thursday, when I went to see jailed OWS activist Cecily McMillan at Rikers Island.   Continuer la lecture de « An Ex-Banker and Occupier walk into a Jail, guess which one’s serving Time? »

Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Origins

Published on ZNet (first on Portside), by Peter Dreier, June 14, 2014.

An idea that only a year ago appeared both radical and impractical has become a reality. On Monday, Seattle struck a blow against rising inequality when its City Council unanimously adopted a citywide minimum wage of $15 an hour, the highest in the nation.   Continuer la lecture de « Seattle’s $15 Minimum Wage Origins »

Trafficked into slavery on Thai trawlers to catch food for prawns

The Thai fishing industry is built on slavery, with men often beaten, tortured and sometimes killed – all to catch ‘trash fish’ to feed the cheap farmed prawns/shrimps sold in the west – Published on The Guardian, June 10, 2014: A six-month Guardian multimedia investigation has, for the first time, tracked how some of the world’s big-supermakets – Tesco, Aldi, Walmart and Morrisons are using suppliers relying on slave labour to put cheap prawns on their shelves. Slavery is back and here’s the proof … Thai ‘ghost ships’ that enslave and even kill workers are linked to global shrimp supply chain, Guardian investigation discovers modern day slavery:     Continuer la lecture de « Trafficked into slavery on Thai trawlers to catch food for prawns »

On Russia, De-dollarization, Psychopaths, Monsanto GMO and more

Interview with Paul Craig Roberts – Published on OpEdNews, by Rob Kall, June 12, 2014.

As AUDIO, 116.54 min
(and rough, incomplete notes):

I talk for almost two hours with Paul Craig Roberts On Russia, De-dollarization, capitalism, Psychopaths, Ed Snowden and NSA, Monsanto GMO. Corporatization of the FDA and more … //

… Rob: What are your thoughts about Monsanto and GMO. You mentioned that in Russia, GMO seeds and farming are being treated as terrorism.   Continuer la lecture de « On Russia, De-dollarization, Psychopaths, Monsanto GMO and more »

World War II: The Unknown War

Published on Intrepid Report, by Paul Craigh Roberts, June 12, 2014 (see Paul Craigh Roberts also on World People’s Blog).

In my column, The Lies Grow More Audacious, I mentioned that Obama and the British prime minister, whom Obama has as a lap dog, just as George Bush had Tony Blair as lap dog, had managed to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany at the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion without mentioning the Russians.

I pointed out the fact, well known to historians and educated people, that the Red Army defeated Nazi Germany long before the US was able to get geared up to participate in the war. The Normandy invasion most certainly did not defeat Nazi Germany. What the Normandy invasion did was to prevent the Red Army from overrunning all of Europe.   Continuer la lecture de « World War II: The Unknown War »

Reality Asserts Itself – 3 Videos with Robert Johnson

Published on The Real News, by Paul Jay: … Mr. Johnson says the scale of the political investment of finance – six, seven hundred million dollars – is overwhelming. With the political power of finance, do we still have a democracy?