nous les 99%

Published on transform, by Elisabeth Gauthier, April 23, 2014.

The abstention levels of 39% were a record high for municipal elections. They were particularly high in areas most affected by the crisis; in metropolitan communes; among the young; workers; and voters of the Front de Gauche (Left Front) and of the FN (National Front). In addition, almost 3 million potential voters were not registered to vote.  Continuer la lecture de « Municipal elections in France: Historic failure for Social-Democratic Left »

Published on The Market Oracle.co.uk, by Raul I. Meijer, April@3, 2014.

A lot of words are being spent again these days on deflation and the QE measures that are supposed to “cure” it. Paul Krugman, who when it comes to stimulus is a hammer seeing nails only, now has it in for Sweden’s central bank, which he labels monetary sadists for not opening the spigots. But it’s all a hugely deceptive false flag; it’s not an issue of whether you launch QE or not. There’s a third, and much more valid, way of looking at this.  Continuer la lecture de « QE Is A Fraud Perpetrated By Made Men »

• 2,700 more Muzaffarnagar riots victims apply for relief, on The Indian Express, April 23, 2014;
• India / Uttar Pradesh: KILLING FIELDS OF MUZAFFARNAGAR, 47.34 min, uploaded on YouTube by Gobal Menon, Feb 22, 2014 (in local language, subtitles in english): 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots is the worst communal violence in India in the last decade …;
• 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots on en.wikipedia, The clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India in August – September 2013, resulted in at least 49 deaths and injured 93 and left more than 50,000 displaced.[5][6][7][8] By 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn[9] …;
• Muzaffarnagar: Post Riot Assessment – Report, by Citizens’s Inquiry Team, not dated, 20 pdf-pages;

See also:

India / Gujarat: The Unholy War, uploaded on YouTube by Gopal Menon, April 19 + 22, 2014:

• Part 1, Development, 59.24 min,
• Part 2, in search of Justice, 69.48 min:

Narendra Modi has made tall claims about good governance in Gujarat. His vibrant Gujarat campaign claims that the state is the most developed state in the country. Is it true? All the social indicators prove otherwise. All the public services have been privatised …;
find this also on the Website of Countercurrents.org.

Published on Washington’s Blog, by Charles Hugh Smith, April 23, 2014.

Before an empire collapses, it first erodes from within. The collapse may appear sudden, but the processes of internal rot hollowed out the resilience, resolve, purpose and vitality of the empire long before its final implosion.
What are these processes of internal rot? Here are a few of the most pervasive and destructive forces of internal corrosion:   Continuer la lecture de « This Is How Empires Collapse »

… the United States’ desperate solutions for not sinking alone – Published on GEAB N°84, April 17, 2014.

In the present confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukrainian crisis, the image of the Cold War inevitably comes to mind and the media are obviously fond of it. However, contrary to what it gives us to understand, it’s not Russia that seeks the return of an iron curtain but really the US. An iron curtain separating the old powers and emerging nations; the world before and the world afterwards; debtors and creditors. And this in the crazy hope of preserving the American way of life and the US’ influence over “its” camp in the absence of being able to impose it on the whole world. In other words, go down with as many companions as possible to give the impression of not sinking.   Continuer la lecture de « Europe dragged into a division of the world between debtors and creditors »

The case for Aggressive War against George W. Bush and his Administration – Published on Global Research.ca, by Inder Comar, April 21, 2014.

… At the Nuremberg Trials, American chief prosecutor and associate justice of the US Supreme Court Robert H. Jackson focused his prosecution on the planning and execution of the various wars committed by the Third Reich. Jackson aimed to show that German leaders committed “crimes against peace,” and specifically, that they “planned, prepared, initiated wars of aggression, which were also wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, or assurances.”   Continuer la lecture de « Crimes against Peace: Historic Class Action Law Suit against George W. Bush »

Published on Real-World Economics Review Blog, by Peter Radford, April 18, 2014.

I will not pile on any more: the Piketty book is required reading. Enough said.
What strikes me is that his data set is so comprehensive that it ought to end many of those lingering debates within economics. I doubt it will, but it ought to.
I have a few comments I want to make because of his book and the reaction to it.

First:   Continuer la lecture de « Capital: Piketty and such »

Published on Real-World Economics Review Blog, by Peter Radford, April 16, 2014.

Buried somewhere in the pile of stuff I have accumulated as I think about inequality are these statistics:

• Of all the income generated between 2009 and 2011 in the US 121% went to the top 1% of income earners
• The top 1% owns just over half of all investment assets including 64.4% of all bonds
• And, the bottom 90% incurs 72.5% of all debt

Think through the consequences of these numbers.   Continuer la lecture de « Class Based Economics »

Videos:

• Who Rules America Today? The Triumph of the Corporate Rich, 43.14 min, uploaded on YouTube by G. William Domhoff, April 7, 2014; (also on Zvideo, April 15, 2014);
• Millichamp lecture Jan 23 William Domhoff, uploaded by Mellichamp UCSB, Feb 13, 2014: part 1, 30.16 min; part 2, 28.26 min;
• Why Does Big Business Love Big Government? (Domhoff, Rothbard, and Evers), 51.47 min, uploaded by Libertarianism.org, Nov 20, 2013: G. William Domhoff is a research professor in psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of Who Rules America? (1967), Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats: A Study in Ruling-Class Cohesiveness (1974), and other books;   Continuer la lecture de « G. William Domhoff »

Published on NYTimes, by Paul Krugman, April 13, 2014.

Four years ago Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, abruptly canceled America’s biggest and arguably most important infrastructure project, a desperately needed new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Count me among those who blame his presidential ambitions, and believe that he was trying to curry favor with the government- and public-transit-hating Republican base.   Continuer la lecture de « Three Expensive Milliseconds »

Published on Dissident Voice, by Ellen Hodgson Brown, April 13, 2014.

Taxpayers are paying billions of dollars for a swindle pulled off by the world’s biggest banks, using a form of derivative called interest-rate swaps; and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has now joined a chorus of litigants suing over it … //

… The Largest Cartel in World History:   Continuer la lecture de « The Global Banking Game Is Rigged, and the FDIC Is Suing »

Published on Dissident Voice, by Binoy Kampmark, April 12, 2014.

Edward Snowden’s revelations on the voracious appetite of spying on all and sundry by the National Security Agency and allied agencies should not give pause for too much comment, other than to affirm a general premise: activists and non-government groups are to be feared. Non-profits are seen as potential threats, though what to is sometimes unclear. Any government worth its salt should be afraid of its citizens – the latter must make the former accountable; the former must hold to the contractual bargain with citizens.   Continuer la lecture de « Irresistible: Espionage, Dissent, and NGOs »

Published on Amnesty International, April 11, 2014;

Somali refugees and asylum-seekers living in Kenya are being trapped in a catch-22 situation by the government’s counter-terrorism crackdown, Amnesty International said as thousands of Somalis continued to be rounded up by security forces in Nairobi.

Registration of Somali refugees in Kenya has been largely halted since December 2011, preventing many who should qualify for refugee status from obtaining papers. Without these they could be returned to Somalia, where they may be at risk of human rights abuses.   Continuer la lecture de « Kenya: Somalis trapped in ‘catch-22’ amid crackdown on refugees »