from Real News Network. An interview with Gerald Epstein who offers his solutions to existing disconnect between capital and real economy.
Gerald Epstein is Co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and Professor of Economics.He received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. He has published widely on a variety of progressive economic policy issues, especially in the areas of central banking and international finance, and is the editor or co-editor of six volumes.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Fighting on Frontlines of the Foreclosure Crisis: Citizens Take on the Monster Banks
from AlterNet website.
Combining grassroots organizing, legal action, pressure on the banks and eviction-day sit-ins, activists in East Boston are winning the fight to keep people in their homes.
Jim Hightower | The Supreme Coup
Jim Hightower's take on the recent US Supreme Court decision, from Truthout website.
Better alive than dead
from Asia Times website.
The release of the latest audio message claimed to be from Osama bin Laden has got tongues wagging again as to his status and whereabouts. The failure of technologically peerless American intelligence to find any trace him for nine years leads to speculation whether the United States is keeping bin Laden alive for strategic convenience.
The London Conference on Afghanistan: Rebranding an Unpopular War
from Socialist Project website. A view from Vancouver, Canada on this conference.
The “deny Al-Qaeda a safe heaven” justification opens up nearly infinite new potential fronts in the global “war on terror,” a term that has been dropped from White House press releases while its aggressive and counter-productive mentality remains in place.
9th Circuit sides with Calif. newspaper in labor dispute
from First Amenment Center website. Another setback for labor rights and honest news coverage by courts stacked with conservative jurists.
The ruling stems from a newsroom dispute that began in mid-2006. Nearly every top editor at the paper quit in protest over what they said was the owner’s interference with news coverage.
Defining Community Food Enterprise
from Community Food Enterprise website. An introduction to CFEs and this website.
A Farming Model to Sustain the World
from Z Space website.
60,000 acres increase in a farming system that does not use chemical pesticides, and is also phasing out chemical fertiliser, that too in matter of few months, is a record of sorts. Ten years from now, in 2020, when we try to look back, Indian agriculture can be transformed into a healthy and vibrant system where farmer suicides have been relegated to history, where distress and despondency has been replaced by the lost pride in farming, and where agriculture becomes sustainable in the long run and does not result in climate change.
Wanted: two miracles
by blogger Guy McPherson who is professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.
Ignore the delusions for a short time, and you’ll see we’re headed for a correction. At this late juncture in the industrial game, hoping for anything else requires a massive dose of wishful thinking.
Even a correction seems unlikely, unless by “correction” you mean “crash.”
The Peak Oil Crisis: A Meeting in California
by Tom Whipple from Falls Church News Press.
Absent from the meeting was any representation from our political leadership who are currently busy:1) denying there is a problem; 2) trying to spend our way out of the recession; or 3) simply overcome by the pace of events and do not want to rock the boat by speaking publicly on such matters before the next election.
US-Iran: Sanctions, "Regime Change" Take Centre Stage
from IPS news service.
With the Senate set to take up major sanctions legislation against Iran by mid-February, neo-conservative and other hawks are calling on the administration of President Barack Obama to pursue a more aggressive course of "regime change" in Tehran.
Europe: Privatised Services Back in Public Hands
from IPS news service.
"the selling of the municipal utilities to private companies, which only obey the shareowners' interest, has proven to be a mistake."
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Russia, Turkey, and the Great Game: Changing teams
by Eric Walberg on Dissident Voice website. The author looks at some of the recent changes in the Great Game in that area of the world. The inter-elite rivalries are rarely covered as such in mainstream media, and their games often have such devastating consequences for ordinary people. I'm not thinking of this particular example, but of the rivalries between Anglo-American states and Germany in the 20th century.
Rogue State: Israeli Violations of U.N. Security Council Resolutions
Great post from Dissident Voice website. I have occasionally seen references to UN violations by Israel, but here they are all cataloged.
Historic anniversaries in labor history
posted on the Economic Populist website. Some very interesting labor history which you probably were unaware of (I wasn't). Education in capitalist countries do a very poor job of teaching this subject, for understandable reasons.
Winner of Google-China feud is - India
from Asia Times website. The author looks at this recent dispute in the context of inter-capitalist and corporate rivalries and cuts through the distortions of mass media coverage which hide the use of computer applications by the governments concerned to spy on its citizens and/or censor information.
Financial Services: From Servant to Lord of the Economy
This blogger provides a simple chart as one piece of evidence to show how financial services has become the dominant section of capitalism.
Czechs Bank on Cooperatives for Revival
from IPS news service.
"We are living in an exciting and scary time of a shift in the prevailing paradigm," Johanisova told IPS. "The Western Enlightenment dream (of which both capitalism and Eastern European communism are outgrowths) of eternal human material advance under the banner of reason, science and fossil fuel-powered technology is literally running out of steam."
The systemic nature of swine flu
by Takis Fotopoulos from Inclusive Democracy website. The author looks at the recent swine flu phenomenon in the context of globalized capitalism.
Factory animal farming...has delivered enormous growth in global meat production over the last three decades, with consumers persuaded to buy its cheap products with the same ease as they were getting the freely-offered loans of the financial boom, without asking any questions on how such consumption could be sustained or what the eventual consequences might be. It is, therefore, not surprising at all that the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico is linked to industrialised farming methods designed to provide cheap food for consumers.
'Peak water' could flush civilisation
from the Irish Times website.
FORGET PEAK OIL. Forget climate change. Peak water is where it’s at, according to Scottish journalist and broadcaster, Alexander Bell, who has just written a fascinating book, Peak Water (Luath Press, Scotland).
Richard Heinberg: Peak Coal and Blackout (book review)
posted on Energy Bulletin website. (Translated from French)
Heinberg concludes that coal is sufficiently abundant to have a substantial impact on the climate but not to the extent that it will be able to replace other fossil fuels in the long term once they have started to decline. In this context he envisages three scenarios, while being aware that reality will be more complex and differently nuanced.
Chavez Writes Off Haiti’s Oil Debt to Venezuela
from Latin American Herald Tribune website.
He also announced that ALBA has decided on a comprehensive plan that includes an immediate donation of $20 million to Haiti’s health sector, and a fund that, Chavez said, will be at least $100 million “for starters.”
Oil-rich Venezuela is the economic heart of ALBA, which also includes Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Haiti is among several countries that send observers to ALBA meetings.
State of the Union Junk Economics, 2010 (Pt. 2): Obama's State of the Union Rhetoric
by Michael Hudson from Global Research website.
When listening to the State of the Union speech, one should ask just which economy Mr. Obama means when he talks about recovery. Most wage earners and taxpayers will think of the “real” economy of production and consumption. But Mr. Obama believes that this “Economy #1” is dependent on that of Wall Street. His major campaign contributors and “wealth creators” are in the FIRE sector – Economy #2, wrapped around the “real” Economy #1.
Economy #2 is the “balance sheet” economy of property and debt. The wealthiest 10% lend out their savings to become debts owed by the bottom 90%. A rising share of gains are made in extractive ways, by charging rent and interest, by financial speculation (“capital gains”), and by shifting taxes off itself onto the “real” Economy #1.
Privatization: Resistance spreads worldwide to raids on public wealth
from Freedom Socialist website.
...the system of capitalism is based on the appropriation of communal property. The theft of land held in common made the rise of capitalism possible.
For your amusement
Thanks to carbonequity.info for passing this gem on to me. We all need a little humor to make the rest of the news go down. "This originated from Radio 4’s Now Show reporting on the COP-15 meeting in the style of Dr Seuss. Anyone who has spent any time working with large international organisations will also appreciate the tragedy."
Climate of suspicion
an editorial from Nature website.
With climate-change sceptics waiting to pounce on any scientific uncertainties, researchers need a sophisticated strategy for communication.
Climate Change Deniers Without Borders
from Mother Jones website. "How American oil money is pumping up climate change skeptics abroad—and how they could derail any progress made in Copenhagen."
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
FBI Replaced Legal Process with Post-It Notes to Obtain Phone Records
from Electronic Frontier Foundation website.
Growth isn't Possible (an excerpt)
An NEF (The New Economics Foundation) article from Energy Bulletin website. This article supports my view that the capitalist system which depends upon unlimited growth is on a collision course with the natural systems of our planet.
The most recent data on human use of biocapacity sends a number of unfortunate signals for believers in the possibility of unrestrained growth. Our global ecological footprint is growing, further overshooting what the biosphere can provide and absorb, and in the process, like two trains heading in opposite directions, we appear to be actually shrinking the available biocapacity on which we depend.
Wall Street Journal: Ivins Not the Anthrax Killer
from Washington's Blog.
Given that the scientist who blew the whistle on the false claims about Saddam Hussein's WMDs is also officially claimed to have committed suicide, but vital information about his cause of death is being sealed for 70 years, isn't there something just a tad fishy going on here?
Main Street's Disneyland folly
by Julian Delasantellis from Asia Times website.
The fantasy seems to suit the country better; then again, who ever thought that "Tomorrowland" would refer not to a bright and shiny Disney attraction, but to a boarded up, vandalized, abandoned and crumbling never-occupied housing development?
Participatory Management: Looking Deeper at the Mondragon Principles
by John McNamara from Solidarity Economy website.
Past Peak Oil Travelling towards Transition (2:13m animated video)
by Anita Sancho, eco-animator. This might make a good teaching tool for children.
From pre Hubbert's Peak Oil chart towards Transport and travel in a world where transition has taken place. A positive animation look at the future of traveling without oil fuel, in this climate changing world to where we will again be able to hear the sound of birds.
Reclaiming Value: An Interview with Raj Patel
by Paula Crossfield from Huffington Post.
In his latest book, The Value of Nothing, Raj Patel explores the failures of so-called free market capitalism, and highlights some of the ways people are changing the democratic system.
...the commons have always been a way that the community can value and manage resources together in a way that doesn't rely on markets, but does rely on a more engaged kind of community democracy. The commons [also] offers a great way of internalizing externalities. If you live with the consequences of your actions, then your learn from your actions in the future and modify them to make your actions sustainable. At the moment our food system is entirely unsustainable, and we do need to be living within our means. And I think the food movement is kind of heading that way much faster than any other sector of the economy.
Soul Power
from Resurgence website.
We live in an extraordinary age – an age of both mortal danger and unprecedented opportunity, if only we can understand what’s happening and why. Our capacity for destruction, both military and environmental, is vastly greater today than it was half a century ago, and will be greater still tomorrow.
It seems as if this mortal danger is forcing us to take a great leap in our evolution that we might never have made, were we not driven to it by the crises facing us. This leap consists of an expansion of human consciousness; a shift from seeing ourselves as the dominant species on this planet with a right to exploit its resources for our own needs, to seeing ourselves as utterly dependent for our survival on an extraordinary living web of planetary life. This great web of life, formed over countless millions of years, will not survive unless we respect the interdependence of its living systems.
Golf and the great Lao land grab
from Asia Times website.
The communal complaint: their long self-sustaining community will on government orders soon be converted into an 18-hole golf course, luxury hotel and top-end residential developments, and the compensation on offer to relocate is well below going market land prices.
...As the economy transitions towards more market driven economics, the landlocked country has undergone a quiet economic boom in recent years, with average gross domestic product growth averaging around 6%.
Can the Rainforests Be Saved Without a Plan?: Well Intended, Poorly Executed
from Der Spiegel website. I suspect plans like this are mostly for the public relations benefits that ruling classes derive from them.
The West wants to direct billions toward protecting forest lands, but the lack of any standardized rules and enforcement methods could lead to disaster. Experts warn that the wrong people might benefit from the money and argue indiginous peoples, not bureaucrats, should watch over the rainforests.
State of the Union Junk Economics, 2010 (Pt. 1)
by Prof. Michael Hudson from Global Research website.
...Mr. Bernanke’s money drop seemed to land only on Wall Street. Now that it has emptied out the government’s credit in an unparalleled deficit, Mr. Obama is saying, “No more. I’m drawing the line. No further deficit.” There goes any hope for stimulating the “real” economy. Treasury apparatchik Tim Geithner, backed with his armada of administrators on loan from Goldman Sachs, is unlikely to support indebted labor, consumers or their companies in any way that does not benefit Wall Street first.
World Social Forum: Talk vs Action - the Tug-of-War Continues
from IPS news service.
A call issued by social movements to evolve towards a more active role in generating concrete action marked the opening session of a seminar assessing the 10 years of the World Social Forum (WSF) Monday in this southern Brazilian city, the birthplace of the annual global civil society gathering.
Iran: The campaign for regime change in its last phase
by Takis Fotopoulos from Inclusive Democracy website. I normally try to limit my articles to 3000 words, but I think that this one (5800 words) is especially important. The author examines the confusion he see existing on the left that limit any real change in the New World Order.
The movements that emerged in the New World Order ―whether they are parodies of initially anti-systemic movements (e.g. feminist, green, etc.) currently fighting for rights or for single issues respectively (rights of women, movement for a “green capitalism” etc.), or new “anti-authoritarian” movements which fight for the rights of minorities (e.g. the rights of immigrants, ethnic minorities, gays, etc.)― have one common feature: the lack of anti-systemic universalist projects which they consider either “obsolete” or potentially “totalitarian”. For these movements, there is no need for an anti-systemic movement, but rather for a struggle against the power relations that turn up in various social practices.
…these movements are fully compatible with the New World Order, playing in practice the role of the left boot of the system. This is because the system does not need the active support of these movements, but only their fellow-traveling, which obscures the real goals and essentially disorients activists in struggles for rights and civil liberties, instead of anti-systemic struggles against the New World Order. Clearly, such struggles have no chance at all in creating anti-systemic consciousness, and, even more so, the conditions for the transition to a society of equal distribution of all forms of control/power among all citizens. In this sense, these movements and the “anti-authoritarians”, who support them, play the game of the transnational elite and its supporters.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cold Case Democracy
from Global Research website. This is a must-read article because of its excellent background information re corporations in the US.
..."democracy disperses power" and "corporations concentrate power." And property as power accumulated in the hands of a few, inevitably becomes power over the majority, power over their thoughts, their livelihoods, their communities, their government and their environment, both physical and cultural. Natural persons, human beings, are fast becoming faceless commodities, mere human resources to be consumed by shareholders hiding behind the powerful shield of property, the faceless, artificial persons also known as corporations.
Cars fed on corn, people fed on horseshit
from Joe Bageant, the muse of working men and women answers some questions about "democracy" in the US, the false ideas propagated about socialism, etc.
Even those among us who can see, who can observe the hardening condition induced by the enemies of human liberty and well being, feel powerless in the face of this darkening and omniscient order. Despite the quadrennial claims of our political parties during national election years, no savior has arrived and none is coming. No Obama, no miracle of "green science," no national genius will emerge to lead us. We have only the simple, direct, undeceived intelligence of ordinary men and women to rely upon. We must regain respect for the seemingly meager and often lonely powers an individual does have, and choose work and a way of living upon which we can all rely.
Stiglitz pinpoints 'moral' core of crisis
by Henry C. K. Liu from Asia Times website. As I see it, the only moral imperative of capitalism is to maximize the accumulation of private wealth. The system does that very well. As much as I admire the insights of Liu, I think he, and other liberals, totally miss this principle. You simply can't argue social system values when you have a system that is informed by private values. And his hero, Professor Stiglitz, was in Clinton's administration which radically pushed capitalism forward into its globalization phase.
Cover-up claims as David Kelly post mortem set to stay under wraps for 70 years
from Mail Online website. The British ruling class hides its war crimes for 70 years.
Health Care: Time to Cross the Rubicon, Mr. President!
from New Deal 2.0 website. Even financial people recognize the need for universal health care for US citizens.
Days of world consumption: A warning label for oil and gas discoveries
originally from Resource Insights blog. Author warns about MSM reports on petroleum discoveries.
General Stanley McChrystal hints that negotiations in London could see Taliban leaders join new Kabul government
from The Guardian website. I was amused by this which is another trick that The Empire often uses on its enemies when it can't defeat them--co-opt them! Give the Taliban leadership positions in the government complete with fancy titles, offices and desks, salaries, perks, etc., and they'll do our bidding in maintaining Afghanistan in The Empire.
Diplomat-whistleblower says he faces government reprisal
from the Toronto Star website. Canada's Harper government likes to practice government US style. There have been times when Canada tried to pursue a more independent course in world affairs, but under Harper it is clear that Canada is an integral part of the US Empire.
The Obama Administration's Cover-up of the Flight 253 Affair
from Global Research website. Investigative journalist, Tom Burghardt, attempts to unravel the mysteries of the Christmas day airline incident.
As we have seen since Obama's inauguration however, rather than cleaning house--and settling accounts--with the crimes, and criminals, of the previous regime, the "change" administration chose to retain senior- and mid-level bureaucrats in the security apparatus; employing officials who share the antidemocratic ideology, penchant for secrecy and ruthlessness of the Bush administration.
World Social Forum: Positive Reviews, On Balance
from Global Research website.
Nearly a decade after its inception, and in spite of some reverses, on balance the World Social Forum (WSF) has proved a resounding success as a platform for planet-wide debate, from the point of view of the people most affected by the world's problems.By the way, the World Economic Forum is holding its annual meeting this coming Wednesday through Sunday in Davos, Switzerland. According to Wikipedia:
This is the conclusion derived from a close reading of texts by the principal activists and promoters of the forum for another world, which began in January 2001 as a counterweight to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual meeting of top business and political leaders and invited guests.
The Annual Meeting has also been decried as a “mix of pomp and platitude” and criticized for moving away from serious economics and accomplishing little of substance, particularly with the increasing involvement of NGOs that have little or no expertise in economics. Instead of a discussion on the world economy with knowledgeable experts alongside key business and political players, Davos now features the top media political causes of the day (such as global climate change and AIDS in Africa).
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Enough Is Enough: Why we can no longer remain on the sidelines in the struggle for regime change in Iran.
by Richard N. Haass from Newsweek website. Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a prime governing class organization. I occasionally like to read what our representatives of the governing class are thinking, even though their writing must be decoded in order to reveal their thinking. I thought this article of particular interest because it was printed in a mainstream magazine. Hence it is designed to influence opinion leaders from all strata of decision makers in the US. I won't bother to comment on their use of the terms "human rights" or "democracy" or "democratic" other than to say that such people haven't the slightest interest in human rights and their use of the terms "democracy" and "democratic" are code terms for capitalism.
Note that the article presents two points of view: a realist and neo-conservative. The former has to do with more indirect approaches to promoting the interests of capitalists, the latter is the former plus a large dose of Zionist interests. The latter make use of much more aggressive strategies, and I fear that this may lead us into more military adventures in the Mid-East.
Note that the article presents two points of view: a realist and neo-conservative. The former has to do with more indirect approaches to promoting the interests of capitalists, the latter is the former plus a large dose of Zionist interests. The latter make use of much more aggressive strategies, and I fear that this may lead us into more military adventures in the Mid-East.
Disorder in the houses of OPEC
from The National website. Article surveys the various OPEC countries and finds significant political instability that may pose problems for the recovery of the world's economies.
Thinking about Planning for the Future
from The Oil Drum website. The author looks at various scenarios re energy use over the next 40 years, and the implications for planning.
1. A Business as Usual (BAU) Scenario, as perceived by the press and EIA
2. A Scenario constrained by fossil fuel resource limits only, assuming that there are no issues with Liebig's Law of the Minimum, or reduced demand because of high prices, or international credit issues. It is assumed that wind, solar, and nuclear will continue to grow, at the rates assumed by EIA forecasts. I also show a related scenario with coal phase out.
3. A Crash Scenario, in which some combination of credit collapse, reduced demand because of high prices, and Liebig's Law of the Minimum (relating to oil) cause demand to collapse very quickly.
Who Lost Chile? Conservative Multi-Millionaire is President Elect
from Unside Down World website. This is a closer look at the reasons why Chile is swimming against the region's political tide. The reasons appear to be a combination of the poor choices available to working people and...
like rightwing populists the world over, Piñera wooed the masses with endless promises of “a strong hand against crime”, a “million jobs”, spectacular economic growth and spurious stories of his rise from rags to riches.
Voices of Participatory Democracy in Venezuela: A Review of Venezuela Speaks! Voices from the Grassroots
by Hans Bennett from Upside Down World website. The book review suggests that the book is a very good antidote to mainstream media's slanted coverage of events in Venezuela.
The authors recognize the interviewees “conflict and frustration” with the government, but they argue that “rather than let their criticisms of Venezuela’s political process fill us with disillusionment, these testimonies should provide us with inspiration in knowing that so many people are actively engaged in constructing their new society, regardless of setbacks.” This point is clearly the dominant theme throughout the book, with the authors boldly asserting that “beyond the social programs, economic projects, and anti-neoliberal policies promoted by the national government, truly profound change will only come from the active debate and dialogue between organized peoples and the government. It is this debate and dialogue that has set Venezuela apart from many national liberation struggles of the past, and if Venezuela is to succeed where others have failed, then it must continue to strengthen this relationship.”
Why capitalism needs racism
from Green Left website. The article examines how racism is used by capitalists to divide working people and to depress wages. Emphasis is on racism in Australia.
Iceland's children paying for slump
from The Observer. Looks at some of the social consequences of the recent collapse of the capitalist organized economy.
Haiti: The Politics of Rice Pt 1 (10:35m video)
by Avi Lewis from Al Jazeera website. The author looks at the devastating effects of free trade policies on Haitian production of rice.
See also Part 2 (4:55m video) to examine the impact of free trade policies on the devastation caused by the recent earthquake.
See also Part 2 (4:55m video) to examine the impact of free trade policies on the devastation caused by the recent earthquake.
No 'hope for Haiti' without justice
by Mark LeVine from Al Jazeera website. Good historical perspective on Haiti, particularly with its neo-colonial relationship with the US.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Israel: Global NATO’s 29th Member
by Rick Rozoff on Voltaire website. This hasn't happened yet, but will if the world Zionist network has its way. This is a lengthy and comprehensive article.
Freedom of Speech for a Fiction
by Christopher Ketcham on Counterpunch. More on the absurdity of "corporate persons"--the fiction created by our beloved ruling class to subvert this so-called "democracy".
How Wall Street Destroyed Health Care
by Paul Craig Roberts on Counterpunch. Roberts was in the Reagan administration--hard to believe sometimes!
Millions Against Monsanto
from Daily Kos website. Sorry I missed this article earlier this month.
Organic Consumers Association members concerned that Monsanto and Big Food corporations have inordinate and dangerous power over where our food comes from and how it's produced, sent 8954 letters to the Department of Justice last month. Here's a bit of what they had to say.
GOP-linked company tracks online users’ ‘loan-worthiness’
from Raw Story website.
Everything a person does publicly on their social-networking accounts can be found by market researchers if the user's privacy settings allow it.
Government posting wealth of info on Internet
from First Amendment Center website. This may be useful for gathering government information, but of course, the most important information is classified and won't be available.
Whose Rights?
from Yes! website. The authors, Thomas Linzey and Mari Margil, see the recent Supreme Court's decision in favor of direct corporate funding of media ads as a part of a 200 year history of corporate subversion of democratic principles that appeared in the US Constitution.
Liberal radio network Air America to go silent
from The Guardian website. The "public airways" continue to grow ever narrower under corporate sponsorship.
Iraq littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, study finds
from The Guardian website.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Copenhagen World Leaders Fail the Planet
by Frontline. An independent Marxist review from Scotland, carried on Red Flag website.
Copenhagen has also seen the radicalisation of many environmentalists as the vested interests that require to be challenged in order to prevent further degradation of the planet have been brought to the fore. There is a rising grassroots movement that identifies the dividing line of the environmental question, as between those that want to put an end to the exploitation of nature to accumulate wealth, and those that want to continue “business as usual,” regardless of the effects it may have on the planet.
Where are the real populists now?
by Joe Conason from Salon website. Re yesterday's Supreme Court decision:
Tea-party activists claim to represent Main Street, not Wall Street. So will they let corporate money rule America?
Supreme Court lifts the ruse
from New Deal 2.0 website.
All you have to do is peruse Open Secrets for a few minutes to see how pervasive and powerful corporate money is in our political process.
Don’t Ridicule the Tea-Baggers — Recruit Them
by Ernest Partridge from Dissident Voice website. He offers some excellent lessons on how to talk to "tea-baggers".
Crisis in California - everything touched by capital turns toxic
from Libcom.org website. This is a fairly lengthy, but comprehensive analysis of the current economic conditions in California and their development over time under the system of capitalism.
Agricultural employment has always fluctuated seasonally, so the growth of housing developments in the Central Valley over the last 30 years has given workers the option of steady construction work. The housing boom, which began on the heels of the collapse of the dotcom bubble in 2001, increased the need for workers until the housing bubble itself collapsed in 2007. Along with the drop in construction jobs, drought conditions have combined with increasing mechanisation and concentration of agricultural production to throw even more people out of work. There are simply fewer farms, each significantly larger in size, that produce larger yields per acre. This process of increasing capitalist centralisation in a region that was already the first in the US to have industrial agribusiness on a mass scale continues the process of replacing people with machines, substituting ‘dead labour' for living workers.
Past Decade Warmest on Record, NASA Data Shows
from the NY Times, registration required. This seems to be getting some coverage in mainstream media, but I have little doubt that some scientist somewhere in the world will, once again, report the opposite and that will be covered much more extensively in MSM.
When the Media Is the Disaster
by Rebecca Solnit from TomDispatch.com. I suggest that you omit Tom Engelhardt's introduction and scroll down to the article.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Supreme Court Decision Radically Overhauls Campaign Finance Laws in Favor of Corporations
from Truthout website. I'm not really convinced that the "democratic" elections exercise in the US can get any worse than it already is.
US: Democrats agree on commission to cut Social Security, Medicare
from World Socialist Web Site.
Obama administration officials and Democratic congressional leaders reached agreement Tuesday on the establishment of a bipartisan commission that would put recommendations for drastic budget cuts to a vote in Congress before the end of 2010. The commission would have unprecedented legal authority to propose changes in both the tax code and major entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, with Congress required to hold an up-or-down vote on its recommendations.
Tragedy Exploited: A Sad History Repeating Itself in Haiti
from Dissident Voice website.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) said Tuesday that international adoption should be the ‘last resort’ for children orphaned by last week’s catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.
Massachusetts Calling
by Gary Corseri on Dissident Voice website.
Can these radio jockeys really believe half of what they say? They serve the system that butters their croissants. They are the corporate media, they are the Republicratic party—two sides of the same coin—the tarnished coin, the cheapened, sinking coin of this realm.
Independents are now the majority in America—not Republicans, not Democrats. When we wake to our real power, we can change this world.
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