nous les 99%

Saudi-led naval blockade worsens Yemen humanitarian disaster, on The Guardian, by Julian Borger, June 5, 2015: Aid agencies say embargo imposed by US and UK-backed Arab coalition has had dramatic effect, with nearly 80% of population in urgent need;

Hackers swipe confidential files on 4 million federal workers, on Consumer Affairs, by James R. Hood, June 5, 2015: Second major breach in a year of federal personnel records. Hackers have gained access to confidential personnel records of more than 4 million current and retired federal employees, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management OPM said late Thursday. It’s the second major breach of federal personnel records in a year …;     Continuer la lecture de « some of today's concerns »

Published on The Telegraph.co.uk, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, June 5, 2015.: No developed country has ever skipped a payment to the IMF – but Greek sources say they were provoked [incl. picture: Syriza had the money at hand. It chose not to pay as a conscious political choice; Video: How big is Greece’s dept, 1.12 min; Graphs].

Greece is to take the drastic step of skipping a €300m payment to the International Monetary Fund on Friday, invoking an obscure mechanism in abeyance since the 1970s to bundle all debts due in June and pay them at the end of the month.   Continuer la lecture de « Greece misses IMF payment in warning shot as showdown with Europe escalates »

Published on Russia Today RT, June 3, 2015.

WikiLeaks has published 17 secret documents related to a controversial trade agreement currently being negotiated behind closed doors between the US, EU and 23 WTO members. NGO Global Justice Now called the leak “a dark day for democracy” … (including Chapters and Annexes of the TiSA text under negotiation, with it’s Docs dates and wikileaks publishing dates) …;   Continuer la lecture de « Wikileaks releases ‘largest’ trove of docs exposing secret TiSA trade deal »

Early Middle Ages Music, 61.18 min, uploaded by Gramila888, Sept 17, 2013: the Middle Ages saw the emergence of great changes. After fall of the (Roman Empire) the violent times of the Dark Ages had led to a primitive society lacking in engineering skills or refinement. The traditions of Western music can be traced back to the social and religious developments that took place in Europe during the Middle Ages, the years roughly spanning from about 500 to 1400 A.D. Because of the domination of the early Catholic Church during this period, sacred music was the most prevalent. Beginning with Gregorian Chant, sacred music slowly developed into a polyphonic music called organum performed at Notre Dame in Paris by the twelfth century. Secular music flourished, too, in the hands of the French trouvères and troubadours, until the period culminated with the sacred and secular compositions of the first true genius of Western music, Guillaume de Machaut.
On en.wikipedia: Medieval music; /External Links.

Interview with Cairo University professor Mustafa Kamel Al-Sayed – published on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Khaled Dawoud, May 28, 2015 … (he) has spent years battling for a modern, democratic state. Under Hosni Mubarak he was a leading member of Kifaya and of the National Association for Change, groups in the vanguard of protests that eventually led to the end of Mubarak’s 30-year rule … (about) his hopes and fears … //

… Does Al-Sisi act in such a way because he believes the country is in a state of war against terrorism?   Continuer la lecture de « Egypt: more of the same »

… Can SYRIZA Put Forward a Progressive Alternative? – Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1124, by John Milios, June 1, 2015.

1. The Nexus of Economic Crisis and Austerity

1.1. Austerity as a cost saving capitalist strategy:

• After the outbreak of the 2008 global economic crisis, extreme austerity policies prevailed in many parts of the developed capitalist world, especially in the European Union (EU) and the Euro-area (EA). Austerity has been criticized as an irrational policy, which further deteriorates the economic crisis by creating a vicious cycle of falling effective demand, recession and over-indebtedness. However, these criticisms can hardly explain why this ‘irrational’ or ‘wrong’ policy persists, despite its ‘failures’.[1] Continuer la lecture de « The Class Logic behind Austerity Policies in the Euro-Area »

Bach (ca. 2 h) … then Mozart … Chopin … etc, endless in autoplay, uploaded by HALIDONMUSIC, Oct 16, 2012.

2015-05-01: A Hole in the System;
2015-05-02: Reefs etc;
2015-05-03: BRICS from below: counterpower movements in Brazil, India and South Africa;
2015-05-04: The Message of Anzac: Put Out More Flags, or Shut Up;
2015-05-05: Alexandre Jardin;
2015-05-06: Anugama;
2015-05-08: Money Argent Geld;
2015-05-09: The looming Iraq (economic) disaster;
2015-05-10: Clear-Cutting (in the Valcea region of the Carpathian Mountains) in Romania;
2015-05-11: Driven mad: inside a Libyan detention centre for female migrants;
2015-05-12: Cafe de Mar – YouTube-Mix;
2015-05-13: The White Hats Report – (en & de);
2015-05-14: KITARO;
2015-05-15: The Arab Boat;
2015-05-15: Bemerkungen, Meinungen, Streitereien;
2015-05-16: Five Major Banks to Plead Guilty to Rigging Currency Markets;
2015-05-17: my YouTube Mix …;
2015-05-18: If Too-Big-to-Fail means Too-Big-to-Jail it should mean Too-Big-to-Be;
2015-05-19: Over Reach of the Financial-Military Complex and the New Multi-Polar World Order;
2015-05-20: Winning a Nuclear War?
2015-05-21: The Dysfunctionality of Slavery and Neoliberalism – Michael Perelman;
2015-05-22: The Complete History of Monsanto;
2015-05-23: How UNITE Took on the Fast Food Companies Over Zero Hour Contracts and Won;
2015-05-24: Roger Waters & Pink Floyd and others;
2015-05-25: Deuter and more;
2015-05-26: Battle of humanity, Muslim scholars make desperate call to save Syria’s Palmyra;
2015-05-27: EU dropped pesticide laws due to US pressure over TTIP, documents reveal;
2015-05-28: Polarizing Development, Introducing Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis;
2015-05-29: Washington’s “Two Track Policy” to Latin America;
2015-05-30: Join the global call for sharing;
2015-05-31: Benefit cap could drop 40,000 children into poverty, leaked memo warns;
2015-05-31: Basic Income BIG – Revenu de Base – Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen BGE, MAY 1-31, 2015.

related articles published during May 2015: (continuously updated …)   Continuer la lecture de « Basic Income BIG – Revenu de Base – Bedingungsloses Grundeinkommen BGE, MAY 1-31, 2015 »

Pubished on The Guardian, by Patrick Butler and Shiv Malik, May 29, 2015: Internal government assessment seen by the Guardian shows lowering of welfare cap will be disastrous for families if parents are unable to find extra work.

Tens of thousands of children face being plunged into poverty by government plans to lower the household benefit cap, leaked advice to ministers shows.

The reduction in the upper limit of what families will now be able to claim annually from £26,000 to £23,000 was announced in Wednesday’s Queen’s speech.   Continuer la lecture de « Benefit cap could drop 40,000 children into poverty, leaked memo warns »

Published on Share The World’s Resources STWR, petition now running:

Sign the global call for sharing and add your voice to the growing demand for a fairer sharing of wealth, power and resources within and between countries. Download the campaign statement as a PDF.

As explained in the report: Sharing as our common cause, the principle of sharing is already central to diverse calls for social justice, environmental stewardship, global peace and true democracy. The ‘global call for sharing’ campaign aims to build upon this recognition among civil society organisations and the wider public, and promote the role that a call for sharing can play in uniting progressive movements across the world … // Continuer la lecture de « Join the global call for sharing »

… Marines to Central America and Diplomats to Cuba – Published on Global Research.ca, by Prof. James Petras, May 28, 2015.

Everyone, from political pundits in Washington to the Pope in Rome, including most journalists in the mass media and in the alternative press, have focused on the US moves toward ending the economic blockade of Cuba and gradually opening diplomatic relations. Talk is rife of a ‘major shift’ in US policy toward Latin America with the emphasis on diplomacyand reconciliation. Even most progressive writers and journals have ceased writing about US imperialism.   Continuer la lecture de « Washington’s “Two Track Policy” to Latin America »

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 1122, by Thomas Marois and Lucia Pradella, May 25, 2015.

Neoliberal economic policies, with their emphasis on market-led development and individual rationality, have been exposed as bankrupt not only by the global economic crisis but also by increasing social opposition and resistance … // Continuer la lecture de « Polarizing Development, Introducing Alternatives to Neoliberalism and the Crisis »

Published on The Guardian, by Arthur Neslen in Brussels, May 22, 2015: US trade officials pushed EU to shelve action on endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility to facilitate TTIP free trade deal … (my comment: America wants that we pay ourselves our destruction – Heidi).

EU moves to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility were shelved following pressure from US trade officials over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership TTIP free trade deal, newly released documents show. Continuer la lecture de « EU dropped pesticide laws due to US pressure over TTIP, documents reveal »

Published on Russia Today RT, May 25, 2015.

Before Islamic State hammers have a chance to fall on the ruins of Palmyra, a leading Sunni Muslim body is appealing one last time for people to unite “in a battle of humanity” and save what UNESCO calls a historic city of “outstanding universal value.” Continuer la lecture de « Battle of humanity, Muslim scholars make desperate call to save Syria’s Palmyra »