Catégorie : Politics

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

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

• The threat to democracy has always been the disdain the establishment has for it. Democracy by its nature is very fragile and the antipathy towards it by the establishment is always extremely pronounced, and the establishment has always sought to undo it.   Continuer la lecture de « We need a new movement for democracy in Europe »

… 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? »

• We Can’t Address the EU Refugee Crisis Without Confronting Global Capitalism – Slavoj Zizek, on IN THESE TIMES, by SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK, Sept 9, 2015;
• Environment, Identity and Multiculturalism – discussion with Slavoj Zizek, 40.13 min, uploaded by Science and Scolastic, July 24, 2015;
• What does it mean to be a great thinker today – Slavoj Zizek, 111.54 min, uploaded by IWM Vienna, May 6, 2015 … Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen / Institute for Human Sciences;
• an excerpt of above: Continuer la lecture de « Slavoj Žižek and the Balkans »

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 »

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 »

Published on ASIA TIMES, by ASIA UNHEDGED China, Jan 21, 2016.

The People’s Bank of China BPOC on Wednesday said it wants to issue its own digital currency to cut the costs of circulating traditional paper money, boost policymakers’ control of money supply and improve the efficiency of global transactions.

The central bank set up a research team in 2014 to study digital currencies and application scenarios, according to a statement posted on the regulator’s website.   Continuer la lecture de « China’s central bank mulls issuing digital currency »

How to kill the demos: the water struggle in Italy

Published on ZNet (first on Roarmag.org), by Andrea Muehlebach, January 20, 2016.

On November 28, 2015, water activists from the Southern Italian region of Campania staged a massive protest in the city of Naples. Some 5,000 water activists and environmentalists, trade unionists and workers from Naples’ water works protested a recently passed regional law that aims to centralize water management and set the stage for water privatization … // Continuer la lecture de « How to kill the demos: the water struggle in Italy »

Published on ZNet, by Paul Rubin, Jan 18, 2016.

The labor movement in this country is in deep crisis. All too many unions are losing members, confronting deteriorating job conditions, and fighting defensive battles. One would think that labor in conservative, right-to-work states would be in the worst shape of all. But this is not necessarily so. One union local in historically conservative Arizona has continued to grow not just in size but, more importantly, in influence. I believe there are lessons here for labor activists across the nation … //

… Internal Organizing/Education: Continuer la lecture de « Whither Unions? – Organizing Lessons from a Right-To-Work State »

… and How Not to Be Fooled – Published on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Jan 17, 2016; (first by Larry Schwartz on AlterNet).

… Americans, as P.T. Barnum once noted, are not all that difficult to fool, and our nation’s somewhat weak math skills don’t help. A Pew Research Center report issued last year, which studied test results of 15-year-olds, ranked the United States 35th in the world in math. Not only has this weakness in understanding numbers created opportunities for mass exploitation by Big Pharma and other industries, it has led to needless and mostly unwarranted fear. While Americans don’t understand math, be assured that corporations do, and they happily use it to mislead and obfuscate in the name of selling their products.   Continuer la lecture de « How Corporations and Politicians Lie With Numbers »

• The Costs of Capitalism’s Crisis, Who Will Pay? 95.00 min, uploade by Joe Friendly, Jan 27, 2012;
• Marxian Economics vs Capitalism with Economist Prof. Richard D. Wolff, 37.31 min, uploaded by TYT Interviews, Aug 4, 2014 … Professor Richard D. Wolff. is one of the world’s leading Marxian economists and is a professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, where he taught from 1973 to 2008. He is also currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. He is also a founding member of the Green Party of New Haven Connecticut, is the host of Economic Update, at WBAI in New York City, and has co-authored 13 books, most recently « Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism » in 2012 …;
• MALAYSIA: Budget 2016 revision not austerity measures, says Wahid, on The Edge Markets, by Kamarul Anwar, by Simeon Kerr, Jan 19, 2016;
• Spain’s deadlocked parliament a reflection of the crisis of the regime, on In Defense of Marxism, by Jorge Martin, Jan 18, 2016;
• Unions, Kirchnerite leaders blast austerity measures, repression, on Buenos Aires Herald, Jan 11, 2016.

Published on The Atlantic, by Molly Ball, Jan 16, 2016.

The Working Families Party has pushed the political debate to the left in the states where it’s already active. Now—in the era of Occupy and Bernie Sanders—it’s ready to take that fight nationwide.

At a recent private dinner in Manhattan, a small group of leftists plotted to take over America.   Continuer la lecture de « The Pugnacious, Relentless Progressive Party That Wants to Remake America »

• Global Capitalism – Monthly Economic Update January 2016, 91.48 min, uploaded by Richard D Wolff, Jan 13, 2016;
• Days of Revolt, the Making of Global Capitalism, 25.01 min, uploaded by teleSUR english, Sept 7, 2015;
• Audio: truthout on the radio – a critique of capitalism – Richard Wolff, uploaded by Kinda Gamey, March 26, 2014: Part 1, 22.55 min; Part 2, 8.42 min;
• The Crisis of Global Capitalism, ten years on – Prof John Gray, 88.29 min, uploaded by London School of Economics and Political Science LSE, Dec 17, 2010;   Continuer la lecture de « Global Capitalism »

Uploaded by The Big Picture RT:

• Full Show 1/14/16: Why Are the Clintons Attacking Bernie’s Single-Payer Plan? 30.50 min, Jan 14, 2016 … Thom discusses the real reason why the Clintons are attacking Bernie’s single-payer health care plan …;
• Has The Crash of 2016 Now Begun? What Can & Should Be Done? 7.36 min, Jan 5, 2016 … Economist Dr. Richard Wolff, Democracy At Work, goes off on the state of the economy …;

von ANTIZENSURKOALITION AZK hochgeladen: Continuer la lecture de « The Big Lies / die grossen Lügen »

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Christoph Reuter in Korin, Syria, Jan 13, 2016 (Photo Gallery).

Even as war continues to rage in Syria, normal people in the country are doing their best to survive in places like the village of Korin. It has transformed into a kind of mini-republic and has WiFi on the town square. But its population is slowly dwindling. Continuer la lecture de « Mini-Republics: A Syrian Village Seeks to Survive amid Carnage »

Uplpaded by Deutsches Haus:

• Slavoj Žižek: Is Hegel Dead—Or Are We Dead in the Eyes of Hegel? 194.00 min, Oct 30, 2015 … a Hegelian View of the Present Age. Deutsches Haus at NYU and the Department of German at NYU present a talk by Slavoj Žižek, Global Distinguished Professor of German at NYU … Introduced by Avital Ronell, Professor of German and Comparative Literature at NYU …;
• Slavoj Žižek: The Hegelian Wound, 121.21 min, Sept 26, 2014;
• German Idealism and Psychoanalysis, with Slavoj Zizek, Alenka Zupancic, Mladen Dolar – Part 1, 10.26 min, May 7, 2012 … followed by parts 2 to 5 in autoplay;

Continuer la lecture de « Slavoj Žižek on Hegel and us today »