Democracy Spring and the US Voting Matrix – report

… how much of the electoral process is illusory? – Published on truthout, by Candice Bernd, April 24, 2016.

The parallel Democracy Spring and Democracy Awakening mobilizations wrapped their week of sit-ins protesting the corrosive influence of money in politics and voter suppression at the US Capitol on Monday, tallying more than 1,400 arrests.   Continuer la lecture de « Democracy Spring and the US Voting Matrix – report »

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur says basic income would work

… even if 90% of people smoked weed instead of working – Published on Tech Insider, by Chris Weller, April 19, 2016.

The chief complaint people lodge at universal basic income — a form of income distribution that gives people money to cover basic needs regardless of whether they work or not — is that it’ll make them lazy.

Sam Altman doesn’t buy it.   Continuer la lecture de « A Silicon Valley entrepreneur says basic income would work »

Communal Violence and the Demobilization of Protest Campaigns

Published on Political Violence @ a Glance, by Tijen Demirel-Pegg, April 20, 2016.

The killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York – and the subsequent failure to indict the police officers that killed them in 2014 – generated massive outrage across the United States. While large-scale protests were held in a number of cities, leaving pundits to wonder if Black Lives Matter was turning into a new civil rights movement, an unexpected event happened: two police officers were shot to death in New York on December 20, 2014, by a man who was allegedly outraged by the Brown and Garner cases. Continuer la lecture de « Communal Violence and the Demobilization of Protest Campaigns »

Crisis in Brazil

After Vote to Remove Brazil’s President, Key Opposition Figure Holds Meetings in Washington – Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1249, by Glenn Greenwald, Andrew Fishman, David Miranda, April 20, 2016.

Brazil’s lower House of Congress on Sunday voted to impeach the country’s president, Dilma Rousseff, sending the removal process to the Senate. In an act of unintended though rich symbolism, the House member who pushed impeachment over the 342-vote threshold was Dep. Bruno Araújo, himself implicated by a document indicating he may have received illegal funds from the construction giant at the heart of the nation’s corruption scandal. Continuer la lecture de « Crisis in Brazil »

different concerns

Panama Papers show world’s tax progress, We ultimately want transparency – OECD’s Gurria, 5.51 min, uploaded by slithereen guard, Apr 16, 2016;

AUDIOS: Weekly Economic Update with Richard Wolff – the latest 5 issues:

Syrian Elections prove again that Washington and its Presstitutes lie through their Teeth

Publishde on Dissident Voice, by Paul Craig Roberts, April 16, 2016.

On April 14 Syria held parliamentary elections at 7,000 polling stations, keeping the voting open an extra five hours to accommodate the massive turnout. All were allowed to vote, even displaced Syrians from the two provinces still terrorized by Washington and Israeli backed ISIS.   Continuer la lecture de « Syrian Elections prove again that Washington and its Presstitutes lie through their Teeth »

Erdogan and the Satirist, part 1: Inside Merkel's Comedy Conundrum

Published on Spiegel Online International, by Markus Brauck, Jörg Diehl, Dietmar Hipp, Isabell Hülsen, Hasnain Kazim, Alexander Kühn, Nils Minkmar, Martin U. Müller, Peter Müller, Ann-Katrin Nezik, René Pfister, Fidelius Schmid and Christoph Schult, April 15, 2016  (Photo Gallery).

With his insulting poem about Turkish President Erdogan, Jan Böhmermann has triggered an affair of state. Now, Chancellor Merkel has elected to allow legal proceedings against the German comedian. What, though, was Böhmermann’s intent?   Continuer la lecture de « Erdogan and the Satirist, part 1: Inside Merkel's Comedy Conundrum »

The Brussels Business – who runs the EU

one same report in four videos:

The War on Savings: the Panama Papers, Bail-Ins, and the Push to Go Cashless

Published on Counterpunch, by ELLEN BROWN, April 12, 2016.

The bombshell publication of the “Panama Papers,” leaked from a Panama law firm specializing in shell companies, has triggered both outrage and skepticism. In an April 3 article titled “Corporate Media Gatekeepers Protect Western 1% From Panama Leak,” UK blogger Craig Murray writes that the whistleblower no doubt had good intentions; but he made the mistake of leaking his 11.5 million documents to the corporate-controlled Western media, which released only those few documents incriminating opponents of Western financial interests. Murray writes: … // Continuer la lecture de « The War on Savings: the Panama Papers, Bail-Ins, and the Push to Go Cashless »

Arrests made as hundreds of elderly Americans protest at 2nd Democracy Spring sit-in

Published on RT, April 12, 2016;

Hundreds of Americans, many of whom are elderly, marched in support of political reform in Washington, DC, taking part in a sit-in and risking arrest as they pushed for fairer elections. RT’s ‘Redacted Tonight’ host Lee Camp was one of those detained.   Continuer la lecture de « Arrests made as hundreds of elderly Americans protest at 2nd Democracy Spring sit-in »

Basic Income And Social Democracy

Published on Social Europe, by Philippe van Parijs, April 11, 2016.

… The idea of an unconditional basic income is in fashion. From Finland to Switzerland, from San Francisco to Seoul, people talk about it as they have never done. Twice before, basic income was the object of a real public debate, albeit briefly and limited to one country at a time. In both episodes, the centre left played a central role … // Continuer la lecture de « Basic Income And Social Democracy »