Mois : juin 2015

Published on The Irish Times, by Joe Humphreys, June 6, 2015: The idea of a living wage has been around since the 1700s, but Switzerland is set to put it to a vote next year … //

• … Progressive thinkers such as Thomas Paine and Bertrand Russell were fans but, in every age, predictable objections kicked in: it would be too expensive; it would be open to abuse; it would make people lazy … //

Laziness: Continuer la lecture de « Would an unconditional basic income save democracy or breed laziness? »

Published on Russia Today RT, June 7, 2015.

Artillery shells have hit a local market in the north-western district of Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. At least one person has been wounded, according to the head of the district’s administration aligned with Donbass rebels.   Continuer la lecture de « Renewed shelling hits residential areas in eastern Ukraine (PHOTOS, 3 VIDEOS) »

• Austerity policies – prescribing rat poison for ailing economies, on Real-World Economics Review Blog, by Lars Syll, June 6, 2015;
• A pattern of professional recruiters’ work – Father of Russian ‘ISIS’ girl talks to RT, on Russia Today RT, June 6, 2015 [with 2 videos];
• US’ big data breaches offer treasure trove for hackers, on The Economic Times, India, June 6, 2015;

Continuer la lecture de « actual concerns »

Saudi-led naval blockade worsens Yemen humanitarian disaster, on The Guardian, by Julian Borger, June 5, 2015: Aid agencies say embargo imposed by US and UK-backed Arab coalition has had dramatic effect, with nearly 80% of population in urgent need;

Hackers swipe confidential files on 4 million federal workers, on Consumer Affairs, by James R. Hood, June 5, 2015: Second major breach in a year of federal personnel records. Hackers have gained access to confidential personnel records of more than 4 million current and retired federal employees, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management OPM said late Thursday. It’s the second major breach of federal personnel records in a year …;     Continuer la lecture de « some of today's concerns »

Published on The Telegraph.co.uk, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, June 5, 2015.: No developed country has ever skipped a payment to the IMF – but Greek sources say they were provoked [incl. picture: Syriza had the money at hand. It chose not to pay as a conscious political choice; Video: How big is Greece’s dept, 1.12 min; Graphs].

Greece is to take the drastic step of skipping a €300m payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday, invoking an obscure mechanism in abeyance since the 1970s to bundle all debts due in June and pay them at the end of the month.   Continuer la lecture de « Greece misses IMF payment in warning shot as showdown with Europe escalates »