Catégorie : Politics

Published on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Oct 26, 2014.

… Repeat after me: in complex societies and organizations, merit is a complete illusion … //

… So what exactly is talent? Educated people like to think of it as intelligence, and that intelligence will be reflected in better educational attainment. But education in America has a lot of credentialing and is mixed in terms of substance (there’s a very strong argument to be made for the educational system that Bonaparte implemented in France, which has sadly decayed beyond recognition, where it made a systematic effort to find smart kids, no matter how poor their background, and track them so that they had as much opportunity to get into the Grandes Ecoles as children who grew up with highly educated parents. Continuer la lecture de « The Unattainable Illusion of Meritocracy »

(Cognitive behavioral therapy vs Intellectual self-defense) – Published on ZNet, by Mark Evans, Oct 24, 2014.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the psychological intervention of choice, for the treatment of depression and anxiety, by many mental health professionals today. The UK government has initiated the Improved Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which focuses on the treatment of depression and anxiety using CBT. According to the Department of Health DH: The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme has one principal aim – to help primary care trusts (PCTs) implement National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders. At present, only a quarter of the 6 million people in the UK with these conditions are in treatment, with debilitating effects on society … //

Continuer la lecture de « Cognitive Restructuring: CBT vs ISD »

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Michael Sauga, Oct 23, 2014 (Photo Gallery).

Six years after the Lehman disaster, the industrialized world is suffering from Japan Syndrome. Growth is minimal, another crash may be brewing and the gulf between rich and poor continues to widen. Can the global economy reinvent itself? … // Continuer la lecture de « The Zombie System: How Capitalism Has Gone Off the Rails – part 1/4 »

Published on Russia Today RT, Oct 20, 2014.

Ebola-scared parents have sent a Maine teacher on mandatory leave after he visited Dallas where first victim of the virus in US died. In Mississippi parents pulled their kids out of school because of the principal’s trip to Zambia. The Portland Press Herald reports that a Maine teacher was placed on a 21-day paid leave of absence in light of parents’ concerns for their children’s health. Community members feared the teacher may have contracted Ebola while on a visit to Dallas for an educational seminar. Continuer la lecture de « US: Ebola hysteria soars to new heights in US schools »

Published on TomDispach, by Laura Poitras and Tom Engelhardt, Oct 19, 2014;

… Here’s a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! stat from our new age of national security. How many Americans have security clearances? The answer: 5.1 million, a figure that reflects the explosive growth of the national security state in the post-9/11 era. Imagine the kind of system needed just to vet that many people for access to our secret world (to the tune of billions of dollars). We’re talking here about the total population of Norway and significantly more people than you can find in Costa Rica, Ireland, or New Zealand. And yet it’s only about 1.6% of the American population, while on ever more matters, the unvetted 98.4% of us are meant to be left in the dark.   Continuer la lecture de « about security clearance – the Snowden Reboot »

we have a wordwide media-cover on Kobani vs ISIS – but what about latest news on the rest of Kurdistan’s fight? – Nothing – only not specific general reports:

• on TIME: Turkey Will Help Iraqi Kurds Join Fight Against ISIS in Syria, by Naina Bajekal, Oct 20, 2014;
• on RUDAW: Kurdistan – ISIS probes Kurdistan frontier, by Rekar Aziz, Oct 20, 2014;
• on RUDAW: Kurdistan – Erbil broadcaster gives voice to people of ISIS-occupied Mosul, by Judit Neurink, Oct 20, 2014;
• on CNN: ISIS-Kurdish fight stirs trouble in Turkey, by Ivan Watson, Oct 20, 2014;

… but what about the other Kurdish cities under attack by ISIS?  Continuer la lecture de « War against ISIS – Kobani known, but what about the rest of Kurdistan? »

Watch this Interview with Marta Harnecker and Gregory Wilpert, 27.12 min, published on Zvideo, Oct 20, 2014 – (first on TeleSUR englisch).

Related Links:

What is left of the left? Partisanship and the political economy of labour market reform: why has the social democratic party in Germany liberalised labout markets? on London School of Economics LSE /European Institute, by Patrick Lunz, July 2013, 58 pdf pages;   Continuer la lecture de « 20th and 21st Century Socialism »

• Tory policies on higher education are hugely progressive, on The Guardian, by David Willetts, Oct 19, 2014;
• Right to die campaigner who starved herself said she had no alternative, on The Guardian, by PA, Oct 19, 2014: Jean Davies, 86, called five-week fast to end her life intolerable but said her children supported her right to choose to die. The DPP said the likelihood of healthcare professionals being prosecuted for assisting suicide depended on their specific and professional duty of care to the person in question;
• Banks set to defy European regulator on bonus rules, on The Telegraph, by James Titcomb, Oct 18, 2014: European Banking Authority’s request for banks to change policies related to ‘allowances’ expected to go unheeded this year; Continuer la lecture de « a bunch of links »

Published on ZNet (first on TeleSUR english), by Atilio Boron, October 18, 2014.

The landslide victory of Evo Morales has a very simple explanation: he won because his government has been, without a doubt, the best in the troubled history of Bolivia. “The best” means, of course, that he came through on the great promise, so many times unfulfilled, of all democracies: to guarantee the material and spiritual well being of the large national majorities, from that heterogeneous mass of oppressed plebeians, exploited and humiliated for centuries. It is no exaggeration whatsoever to say that Evo represents a watershed moment for Bolivian history: there is a Bolivia before his government and one after, a distinct and better one that came after his arrival to thePalacio Quemado.   Continuer la lecture de « Why Did Evo Win? »

Quebec Government’s Love Affair with Big Oil – Published on The Bullet, Socialist Projet’s E-Bulletin no. 1048, by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Oct 17, 2014.

It’s an evening like any other. The first item on the Téléjournal is about the controversial Cacouna oil port project Then the spokesperson for TransCanada, the project’s sponsor, appears onscreen. His talking points aren’t particularly noteworthy, but his face is strangely familiar. I’ve seen it before, but where? For hours, the question nagged at me. Later that evening, it came to me in a flash: we had crossed paths during the summer of 2012 in Quebec, during negotiations between the student movement and the Jean Charest government … // Continuer la lecture de « Cacouna, Couillard and the Ties that Bind »

Published on Russia Today RT, Oct 15, 2014.

European and US businesses are “categorically” against Russian sanctions because they act against their commercial interests, but can’t say so freely, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said. “I’m absolutely certain that European businesses are categorically against this because it’s contrary to their interests,” the Prime Minister said in an interview with CNBC aired Wednesday. “I’ve also talked with US business representatives. Naturally, they also say that they are opposed. They whisper: ‘Well, you know that this is the decision of the government and we have to comply, but we consider it completely destructive’,” he said. Continuer la lecture de « US, EU businesses oppose Russia sanctions but can't say it- Medvedev »

… a Project Camelot Interview – Published on Project Camelot’s Original Website, Tokyo/Japan, Feb 2008.

With internal links:

• to download three videos in different formats,
• his short-bio,   Continuer la lecture de « The Ultimatum: Benjamin Fulford »

humanity tries to become concious of it’s place – videos with some analogy:

• Edward Snowden, The Virtual Interview – The New Yorker Festival, 68.03 min, uploaded by The New Yorker, Oct 11, 2014 … making conscious of what we really want, and how;
• The Borg Arc – Star Trek Voyager, 59.21 min, uploaded by Meoknet, Sept 11, 2014 … a compilation of scenes with the borg;
• Post-capitalism for a new economic system – Marc Luyckx Ghisi, 18.20 min, uploaded by Lilou Mace, June 26, 2014 … and for our reflexion another 112 videos uploaded by Lilou in autoplay;
• Exploring Consciousness – Graham Hancock, 94.36 min, uploaded by Maximum Truthseeker, Nov 22, 2013.

Links: Continuer la lecture de « knowledges – battles – structures – consciousnesses »

Published on Zcomm, by Peter Maass and Laura Poitras, Oct, 12, 2014.

The National Security Agency has had agents in China, Germany, and South Korea working on programs that use “physical subversion” to infiltrate and compromise networks and devices, according to documents obtained by The Intercept.

The documents, leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, also indicate that the agency has used “under cover” operatives to gain access to sensitive data and systems in the global communications industry, and that these secret agents may have even dealt with American firms. The documents describe a range of clandestine field activities that are among the agency’s “core secrets” when it comes to computer network attacks, details of which are apparently shared with only a small number of officials outside the NSA.   Continuer la lecture de « Core Secrets: NSA Saboteurs in China and Germany »