Mois : janvier 2017

A Critical Week for the World Social Forum

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1358, by Pierre Beaudet, Jan 20, 2017 – Translated by John Bradley.

It all began right here in Porto Alegre in 2001 when this city in the south of Brazil became a major site of popular mobilization. Influenced by the Workers’ Party (PT), unions were, along with popular movements, at the forefront of a proactive political effort that included the support of the left within the Catholic Church, inspired by liberation theology. Continuer la lecture de « A Critical Week for the World Social Forum »

Does the end of high food prices mark the end of the global land rush?

Published on farmlandgrab.org, by Pascal Liu, FAO, Jan 18, 2017.

The surge in commodity prices in 2007-2008 was one of the main causes of what has sometimes been described as the “global land rush” – a wave of large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries by foreign investors. Non-governmental organisations and the media were quick to denounce these deals as “land grabbing”, which were blamed for ignoring the rights and interests of the people who make their living from a land that is legitimately theirs.   Continuer la lecture de « Does the end of high food prices mark the end of the global land rush? »

Life Without Money in Detroit’s Survival Economy

How the city’s neglected poor rely on time banking, skill-sharing, and giveaways to get – Published on Bloomberg, by Valerie Vande Panne, January 12, 2017.

When her car broke down, Halima Cassells didn’t have $400 to fix it. But she had logged hours in her Detroit neighborhood time bank by babysitting, and that time yielded a repair. When she was pregnant in 2012, she couldn’t afford baby clothes, a stroller, or a car seat. But she could throw a potluck barbecue, and her friends could afford to bring their old baby supplies. “When people come together to share, it’s not transactional,” says Cassells. “Everyone assumes an amount of responsibility with everybody. It’s a different way of knowing your needs are being met.”   Continuer la lecture de « Life Without Money in Detroit’s Survival Economy »

Corbyn is Right on Bosses’ Pay

Published on Dissident Voice, by Adnan Al-Daini, January 13, 2017.

A maximum of 20 times the wage of their lowest-paid worker. The Leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has proposed that bosses’ pay should be no more than 20 times the wage of the lowest-paid worker in the company. The salaries of top bosses have reached grotesque levels as a multiple of average pay. For example, the average pay of the CEOs of the FTSE100 companies in Britain has gone up from 47 times average wage in the 1990s to around 180 times today. Continuer la lecture de « Corbyn is Right on Bosses’ Pay »

2016: A Bad Year for Democracy, but "Best Ever" for Big Media

Published on truthout, by Michael Corcoran, Jan 11, 2017.

… But while pundits on cable news outlets argue about these issues, media executives who sign their paychecks are positively elated about the 2016 election, which thanks to $2.4 billion in political ad spending and record ratings, was great for Big Media’s bottom line. « This is the best year in the history of cable news, » said CNN President Jeff Tucker in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Continuer la lecture de « 2016: A Bad Year for Democracy, but "Best Ever" for Big Media »

Fixing Capitalism (yet again) vs Moving to Another System

Global Capitalism with Richard D. Wolff, 82.02 min,
……. uploaded by Democracy At Work, Jan 11, 2017 … (about Obamacare, US States Pension Fonding, UK: Jeremy Corbin, Mobile Parks: see on Google Images-search/en.wikipedia, boycotting Trump supporters, income reversal of the 1% vs 50%, … future Trump economics/politics);   Continuer la lecture de « Fixing Capitalism (yet again) vs Moving to Another System »