Court denies bail to Ammon Bundy & 3 others as Oregon occupation continues

Published on RT, Jan 30, 2016.

A federal court judge in Portland has denied bail to Ammon Bundy and three of his cohorts as the occupation of a federal wildlife refuge building in Burns, Oregon continues. The FBI says four people remain there as the protest hits its fourth week.

The leader of the group of armed men that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Ammon Bundy, as well as his brother Ryan, Brian Cavalier, and Ryan Payne, were all denied release on Friday. US Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman said that they posed a danger to public safety and were considered a flight risk, as she was concerned they would not follow orders to return to Oregon for criminal proceedings … // Continuer la lecture de « Court denies bail to Ammon Bundy & 3 others as Oregon occupation continues »

SWITZERLAND: Only 2% of people would stop working if they had a basic income

Published on Basic Income Earth Network BIEN, by Stanislas Jourdan, Jan 28, 2016.

Critics of basic income have been proven wrong once again. Giving everyone the means to survive would not make people lazy. A new opinion poll carried out in Switzerland shows that only a tiny fraction of the population would stop working if they had a Universal Basic Income (UBI). What is more, most young people believe UBI will be implemented in the future.

The survey was conducted by DemoSCOPE and released on January 27, 2016 (you can read the full results here). Among the 1076 respondents, only 2% said they would stop working completely, while another 8% said they would ‘rather’ stop working. This trend is also persistent among the youth, were only 3% said they would stop working. However, about a third of the respondents think “others would stop working.”   Continuer la lecture de « SWITZERLAND: Only 2% of people would stop working if they had a basic income »

look at our world

UNGASS 2016 and the Heemskerk Declaration

Published on tni.org.uk, Jan 25, 2016.

Final declaration of the Global Forum of Producers of Prohibited Plants.

In a global meeting small scale farmers of cannabis, coca and opium from 14 countries discussed their contribution to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS). The UNGASS will discuss all aspects of global drug control policies, including the worldwide ban on the cultivation of coca, poppy and cannabis, an issue the Global Farmers Forum demands that their voices be heard and taken into account … // Continuer la lecture de « UNGASS 2016 and the Heemskerk Declaration »

We need a new movement for democracy in Europe

Published on ZNet (first on red pepper.org), Jan 27, 2016.

What do you see as the main threats to democracy today?

Can People's Power Save the Bolivarian Revolution?

… rightists’ election victory poses major threat to Venezuela’s advances – Published 0n The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1211, by Richard Fidler, Jan 25, 2016.

Seventeen years after Hugo Chávez was elected Venezuela’s President for the first time, the supporters of his Bolivarian Revolution, now led by President Nicolás Maduro, suffered their first major defeat in a national election in the December 6 elections to the country’s parliament, the National Assembly … // Continuer la lecture de « Can People's Power Save the Bolivarian Revolution? »

Slavoj Žižek and the Balkans

A Greek conspiracy: How the ECB crushed Varoufakis’ plans

Published on Real World Economic Review Blog RWER, by Norbert Häring, Jan 22, 2016.

A central bank governor in Athens conspires with the President of the Republic to sabotage the negotiation strategy of his government to weaken it in its negotiations with the European Central Bank. After the government has capitulated, this governor, who is a close friend of the new finance minister and boss of the finance ministers wife, and the President of the Republic travel together to the ECB to collect their praise and rewards. This is not an invention, this is now documented. Continuer la lecture de « A Greek conspiracy: How the ECB crushed Varoufakis’ plans »

Chinese Billionaire Zhang Xin: The Old Model Doesn't Work Anymore

Published on Spiegel Online International, conducted by Bernhard Zand, Jan 22, 2016: … (she) discusses the recent market crash, the end of China’s building boom and why she views Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as a role model for the wealthy … //

… SPIEGEL: In comparison, how did things start out for you?

  • Zhang: When we started out, we were among the first. Beijing had no and Shanghai had very few large buildings. At that time, it was all about building, building, building — and then selling, selling, selling. We were working like a manufacturer. Soon, however, we realized that land was running out in Beijing and Shanghai. So we started keeping our buildings, and managing and renting them out. We became landowners. That was the second act.   Continuer la lecture de « Chinese Billionaire Zhang Xin: The Old Model Doesn't Work Anymore »