nous les 99%

Watch this video, 16.37 min, on TEDtalk, with John Hodgman, filmed Feb 2008, posted on Oct 2008.

Humorist John Hodgman rambles through a new story about aliens, physics, time, space and the way all of these somehow contribute to a sweet, perfect memory of falling in love. John Hodgman is a writer, humorist, geek celebrity, former professional literary agent and expert on all world knowledge. He was the bumbling PC in Apple’s long-running « I’m a Mac; I’m a PC » ad campaign … (full bio).   Continuer la lecture de « Aliens, love – where are they? »

The Movement of Mortgage Victims is one of Spain’s strongest movements. Carlos Delclós talks to PAH organizer Elvi Mármol about the key to their success – Published on Roarmag.orghttp://roarmag.org/2013/12/plataforma-afectados-hipoteca-spain/, by Carlos Delclós, December 20, 2013.

The story of Spain’s economic, social and political crisis is one about property, need and value. And at the heart of that story lies a question that is familiar to the point of cliché: what makes a house a home? It may sound trivial, but in a country where families are sleeping in the street, entire building blocks are devoid of residents, and housing remains out of reach for major swathes of the population (despite the ubiquity of “For Sale” signs in the urban landscape), it is a question that remains largely unanswered by policymakers.   Continuer la lecture de « Victims No Longer: Spain’s Anti-Eviction Movement »

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 915, by Roger Annis, December 23, 2013.

The fossil fuel industry offensive in British Columbia and across Canada is proceeding relentlessly. This is a report from some of the key fronts of the fossil fuel wars.

Tar Sands: … //

… Natural Gas Fracking: … // Continuer la lecture de « The Fossil Fuel Wars in British Columbia and Canada »

Published on Intrepid Report, by Larry Pinkney, December 20, 2013:

When corporations and government become, in actuality, intertwined as one entity, the end result is fascism. This is the precise reality in the United States in this 21st century, and it has spread like a cancer throughout this nation … //

… Banksters are liars, manipulators, and international corporate gangsters:   Continuer la lecture de « Laying the foundation for blatant fascism in the U.S. »

Published on Global Research.ca, by Colin Todhunter, Dec 19, 2013.

Modern culture is an advocate of speed. From urban planning and transport systems, to the food industry and beyond, ‘fast living’ cuts deep and affects almost every aspect of life.

In terms of distances, things today are more spread out yet are more interconnected than in the past. This interconnectedness has had the effect of shrinking even the largest of distances and is ably assisted by digital communications technology and rapid transit systems. Airports and metro transport links are being extended or built, huge concrete flyovers cut through neighbourhoods and separate communities from one another and employment is being centralised in out of town business parks or city centre office blocks. Speed of communications and transport narrows the distances.   Continuer la lecture de « Globalization: The Fast Track To Nowhere »

Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No. 912, by Michal Rozworski, December 18, 2013.

The Puzzle Defined: Most developed economies continue to experience fall-out from the financial crisis of 2007-08. The Eurozone has been most ravaged, but the U.S. and UK have not fared much better. After the initial rebound from the most severe crisis, growth in many economies has been decelerating to the point that some are once again contracting in real terms. At the same time, unemployment remains high – hitting record levels among youth in Europe for example – real incomes are flat for the vast majority, inequality is on the rise and austerity programs targeted at social services are eating further into living standards.  Continuer la lecture de « Canada's Profitability and Stagnation Puzzle »

09 h MEZ – on Russia Today RT, translated in english.

Published on ZNet (first on Folha De S. Paulo), by Edward Snowden, December 17, 2013.

Six months ago, I stepped out from the shadows of the United States Government’s National Security Agency to stand in front of a journalist’s camera.

I shared with the world evidence proving some governments are building a world-wide surveillance system to secretly track how we live, who we talk to, and what we say.   Continuer la lecture de « An Open Letter to the People of Brazil »

Published on Le Monde diplomatique, english edition, by Maxim Robin, December 2013.

The number of people in US prisons fell in 2012 by around 30,000, the third consecutive fall in as many years: budget difficulties mean that states can no longer afford incarceration for every offence, and at local level Republicans and Democrats are, unusually, unanimous on the need to decongest prisons. In California — which accounted for half of the fall in 2012 — and Texas, there is a drive to reduce sentences and find alternative punishments.   Continuer la lecture de « Inside America: Louisiana’s profitable prisons »

Financial democracy requires bypassing large unaccountable institutions and reconnecting people to the reality of their money — by producing it ourselves – Published on ROARMAG.org, by Brett Scott, December 11, 2013.

In 2012, in celebration of Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, I suggested that we securitize the Queen, using her as collateral for UK government borrowing. I thought she would support this modest proposal because royalty have long been financial innovators. Indeed, what were the old medieval armies but a blunt financial instrument? Monarchs invested resources into them in order to extract dividends from conquered peoples who did not want to be bludgeoned to death … // Continuer la lecture de « Are we witnessing an open source finance revolution? »

Published on Al-Ahram weekly online, by Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Dec 10, 2013.

During a rally held in Minya governorate, Nour Youssef, a member of the Social Democratic Party, urged his village to vote “yes” on the draft constitution.

The crowds shouted, “viva Egypt, bread, freedom and social justice”, repeating the 25 January 25 Revolution slogan.   Continuer la lecture de « Egypt: With it or not »

A push to make America’s banks safer creates new uncertainties – Published on The Economist, Dec 14, 2013.

The 37 words inserted into the 848-page Dodd-Frank law overhauling the regulation of America’s financial institutions seemed innocent enough. Lawmakers wanted regulators to come up with strictures that would prevent banks from gambling with deposits insured by the federal government. The resulting rule, named after a prominent proponent, Paul Volcker, a former head of the Federal Reserve, prohibits banks from “proprietary trading”, meaning transactions conducted purely for their own gain, rather than to serve clients. On December 10th five different regulatory agencies approved the Volcker rule; it will come into force, awkwardly enough, on April 1st.  Continuer la lecture de « The Volcker rule: More questions than answers »

Watch this video: The Secret History of How Cuba Helped End Apartheid in South Africa, 50.27 min, on Democracy Now, December 11, 2013.

As the world focuses on Tuesday’s historic handshake between President Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro, we look back at the pivotal role Cuba played in ending apartheid and why Castro was one of only five world leaders invited to speak at Nelson Mandela’s memorial. In the words of Mandela, the Cubans ‘destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the white oppressor … [and] inspired the fighting masses of South Africa.’  Continuer la lecture de « The Secret History of How Cuba Helped End Apartheid in South Africa »