Auteur/autrice : Heidi Barathieu-Brun

CELAC States: a shining example for the whole world

33 Latin America and Caribbean States  proclaim their region a Zone of Peace – Interview with Prof Dr iur et phil Alfred M. de Zayas, Geneva School of Diplomacy, published on Current Concerns, Feb 20, 2014.

In December 2011, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States / CELAC Communidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños was established. This community comprises 33 American states with the exception of the USA and Canada … //

… excerpt: …  Current Concerns: Professor de Zayas, how do you assess the Conference of Celac States 14 days ago in Havana? What results have been worked out by the countries of the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean States?   Continuer la lecture de « CELAC States: a shining example for the whole world »

Banks Are Obsolete: The Entire Parasitic Sector Can Be Eliminated

What else can we do with the $1.25 trillion we’ll save by eliminating these obsolete financial middleman parasites? A lot – Published on Washington’s Blog, by Charles Hush Smith, Feb 21, 2014.

… This entire parasitic middleman sector could be replaced with automated digital clearing houses and crowdfunded or non-bank loans. Why do we need banks to pay bills online? We don’t; any clearing house could charge a small fee for the transaction.

Why do we need banks when loans can be crowdfunded? If we can invest money in start-ups via Kickstarter, Indiegogo, RocketHub, AngelList, etc., why can’t we own a piece of someone’s auto loan or home mortgage?   Continuer la lecture de « Banks Are Obsolete: The Entire Parasitic Sector Can Be Eliminated »

more medieval music

uploaded by Unai Urigoiti-Irizabalbarrena:

uploaded by Caballerito de Arratia:

we in our world

The Secret History of Western Education

Videos with Charlotte T. Iserbyt – The Scientific Destruction of Minds:

Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt served as the head of policy at the Department of Education during the first administration of Ronald Reagan. While working there she discovered a long term strategic plan by the tax exempt foundations to transform America from a nation of rugged individualists and problem solvers to a country of servile, brainwashed minions who simply regurgitate whatever they’re told.  Continuer la lecture de « The Secret History of Western Education »

Alexej von Jawlensky, Gabriele Münter, Wassily Kandinsky – der Blaue Reiter

Find Alexej von Jawlensky:

when Old is leaving, the New is coming

Links:

Sealed files reveal US hunt for WikiLeaks associates, on Russia Today RT, Feb 17, 2014;   Continuer la lecture de « when Old is leaving, the New is coming »

Intercept: An Essential New Site by Greenwald, Scahill, and Company

Published on The Contrary Perspective, by blog owner, Feb 15, 2014.

In an age when many journalists are corporate-owned or are reduced by various pressures into stenographers for the powerful, it’s encouraging to hear of new journalistic ventures that promise to be critical of those in power. Glenn Greenwald, who’s established a reputation for outspoken journalism at Salon.com and The Guardian, and Jeremy Scahill, an investigative reporter and bestselling author of Blackwater as well as Dirty Wars, have established a new online magazine known as The Intercept (it’s available here: The NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program).   Continuer la lecture de « Intercept: An Essential New Site by Greenwald, Scahill, and Company »

Venezuela: A Complex Psychological War

Published on ZNet, by Tamara Pearson, February 15, 2014.

… On top of this, we have the media constantly lying about what is going on here (in Venezuela) and about what the government does, as well as the verbal abuse towards Chavistas on social networks. Then, over the last few weeks, in some parts of Venezuela, the most violent sectors of the opposition have been active. Here in Merida it started off with a few “students” blocking the main road; burning tires and garbage on it, and throwing rocks at anyone who tried to get close. They had no placards. From last Friday those protests escalated, both in terms of violence, people involved, and roads closed. It has been hard to get to school, work, and the hospital, and the frustration, inconvenience, and fear that comes with these sorts of actions combines with the aforementioned economic insecurity. The cacerolas (pot banging protests) that started last night in my barrio and in a few others here and in other cities also cause anxiety.   Continuer la lecture de « Venezuela: A Complex Psychological War »

Online revolts can stop govt

Yesterday we defeated SOPA, today we battle NSA – Interview with Josh Levy, published on Russia Today RT, Feb 12, 2014.

Properly mobilized people can become a massive online force capable of blocking ‘dangerous bills’ and changing government policies, Josh Levy of the Free Press told RT. The participants of The Day We Fight Back campaign say their call to action is simple.

RT: What are the protesters trying to achieve? How exactly are they supposed to ‘fight back’?

  • Josh Levy: This day of action [Wednesday, February 11] is the next stop on the continuum of action that has taken place since Edward Snowden first revealed the extent of the NSA surveillance program back in June. It follows mass protests that took place in Washington DC in October, the huge online protest that took place in June after we’ve found out about all of these things. And what we have seen is that it has really changed the debate not only here in the US but around the world. And more and more people every day have turned away these programs and have tried to find the ways to stop them.   Continuer la lecture de « Online revolts can stop govt »

The side effects of the monetary paradigm

Published on Neues Geld.net, Interview Professor Dr. Dr. Wolfgang Berger, economist and philosopher, by Lars Schall, Translation into English by Lucy Streng, Feb 14, 2014 (Verbunden mit Ursachen der Finanzkrise).

Professor Dr. Dr. Wolfgang Berger is among the critics of an absolute basic prerequisite of today’s financial system: interest. In the following interview he reveals present conditions, risks and alternatives. “Interest is part of the system and it has side effects which therefore also belong to the system – terrible side effects.”  Continuer la lecture de « The side effects of the monetary paradigm »

Ursachen der Finanzkrise

Link: Die Schweiz sagt Fuck the EU.

Moving beyond the corporate vision of sustainability

Published on Intrepid Report, by Rajesh Makwana, February 12, 2014.

… The green economy vs. the greed economy:

Invariably, the big business lobby advocates for market-based solutions to environmental problems and the ‘greening’ of economic growth, and essentially works to safeguard opportunities for private sector investment and shareholder profit. But environmentalists and civil society organisations have long argued that there is something deeply misguided about putting corporate profits and market-based solutions at the forefront of our response to climate change and the wider environmental crisis. Continuer la lecture de « Moving beyond the corporate vision of sustainability »

Do over?

Published on Real-World Economics Review Blog, by Peter Radford, Feb 11, 2014.

You would have thought that, after all this time, economics would change. Or be changing. Or even be hinting at the possibility of changing. However, while there are a few encouraging signs, there is precious little sign of said motion inside the citadels that dominate the discipline. We still have a profession stuck in a most unprofessional rut, pursuing thinking that reflects not the world around it, but itself.   Continuer la lecture de « Do over? »

Tony Gosling