Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The Who Profit From Austerity! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico
Global Capitalist Competition for Markets Lead to Trade Wars and War! — Roland Sheppard
The world is rudely awakening to the dangers of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Markets are correcting. Countries and industries are scrambling for exemptions. Economists now see greater downside than upside to growth projections for the U.S. economy this year. But the hazards could be even greater than anyone wants to admit. As protectionist sentiment rises, so does the risk of war. The link between international commerce and peace has been apparent for so long that it is sometimes taken for granted. As the German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote in his 1795 essay, Perpetual Peace, “The spirit of trade cannot coexist with war, and sooner or later this spirit dominates every people.” That sounds like wide-eyed optimism, but the underlying logic is narrow self-interest. Nations are reluctant to jeopardize benefits from international commerce, especially when their leaders are bullish about future gains. Greater trade and investment cannot guarantee peace, but it raises the cost of going to war. World War I appeared to toss that idea out and set history’s dustbin ablaze. Prior to the war, globalization was racing along. Between 1870 and 1914, trade rose to 8.2 percent of global gross domestic product. “The complexity of modern finance makes New York dependent on London, London upon Paris, Paris upon Berlin, to a greater degree than has ever yet been the case in history,” Norman Angell wrote in The Great Illusion, his 1910 opus that declared war obsolete. But Germany’s aggression proves the point. German leaders believed the economic environment was turning against them, as the political scientist Dale Copeland has shown. With protectionist policies ascendant — in Britain and its colonies and in the United States, France, and Russia — Germany feared being squeezed out of global markets. These falling trade expectations made war a more attractive avenue for revising the status quo. — Trade Wars and Real Wars
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Money Can’t Wash Blood Off Hands of Saudi Prince
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was all smiles with President Trump, and his ’60 Minutes’ interview tried to put a cheerful spin on life in Saudi Arabia. But observers should not forget that Salman, the chief architect of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, is a war criminal, says Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK
Extreme poverty returns to AmericaThe U.N. finds growing numbers of Americans are living in the most impoverished circumstances. How did we get here? by Premilla Nadasen
Here’s John Bolton Promising Regime Change in Iran by the End of 2018Among those most alarmed by President Donald Trump’s selection of John Bolton as his new national security adviser on Thursday were supporters of the Iran nuclear deal, the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a partial lifting of economic sanctions. Rob Malley, who coordinated Middle East policy in the Obama administration, observed that Bolton’s appointment, along with the nomination of Iran deal critic Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, seemed to signal that the agreement would most likely be “dead and buried” within months. Trita Parsi, leader of the National Iranian American Council wrote on Twitter: “People, let this be very clear: The appointment of Bolton is essentially a declaration of war with Iran. With Pompeo and Bolton, Trump is assembling a WAR CABINET.” By Robert Mackey
Pandeli Majko, Former Prime Minister of Albania, John Bolton, Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Deputy Chief of U.S. Mission David Muniz, Maryam Rajavi, President elect of the Iranians Resistance, Tirana, Albania 20/03/2017 – Maryam Rajavi addressed her greeting at Nowruz celebration, the Iranian New Year, which was held at Tirana Albania with PMOI members and guests from Albania, France and United States. Maryam Rajavi said, This Nowruz harbingers end of religious dictatorship and advent of the spring of freedom. (Photo by Siavosh Hosseini/NurPhoto) *** Please Use Credit from Credit Field ***(Sipa via AP Images)
Trade-war fears sink stocks; S&P 500 has its worst week in two years Stocks around the world plunged Friday as investors feared that a trade conflict between the U.S. and China, the biggest economies in the world, would escalate. A second day of big losses pushed U.S. stocks to their worst week in two years. As of Friday afternoon, China’s only response to the tariffs President Trump announced this week was to say it would defend itself. But investors are concerned that tensions will keep rising and that a round of sanctions and retaliation will affect the global economy and corporate profits. World:
Danish state to lock out 400,000 public sector workers: the beginning of the end for ‘class peace’ On 4 April, public sector workers in Denmark will be taking strike action in response to negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement. The government has reacted by threatening 440,000 public sector workers (of a total 825,000) with lockouts, which could take effect any time from 10 April. This could result in the biggest class conflict in 20 years. The impending confrontation bears major historical significance, because it marks the beginning of the end of ‘class peace’ and ‘social partnership’ in Denmark. By Kalle Kühlmann and Jonas FoldagerHealth, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Abortion rates go down when countries make it legal: report Countries with stricter abortion laws have higher abortion rates Abortion rates have fallen over the past 25 years, even as more countries have made the procedure legal and easier to get, according to a new report released Tuesday.Countries with the most restrictive abortion laws also have the highest rates of abortion, the study by the Guttmacher Institute found. Easier access to birth control drives down abortion rates, the report also finds. by Maggie FoxSurvivors of Sexual Abuse at the U.N. Say Their Stories Have Been Ignored For Far Too Long Late one night in May 2009, Shannon Mouillesseaux, an American working for the United Nations Refugee Agency, awoke to a bang in her hotel room in Sri Lanka. A band of hooded, masked men in army uniforms kicked down her door, forced her to the ground, and proceeded to physically and sexually assault her so severely that she feared for her life. Trained in assisting populations in crisis, Mouillesseaux knew what to do in the aftermath of a sexual assault. Her supervisors at the United Nations, as it turned out, did not. By Madeline Kane
Week of Hell: Dozens of African Detainees Allege Serial Abuse and Hate Crimes at Notorious Private Immigration JailLate last month, roughly 80 immigrant men from Somalia, Kenya, and Sudan arrived at a remote, for-profit detention center in West Texas to await deportation. In the week that followed, the men were pepper-sprayed, beaten, threatened, taunted with racial slurs, and subjected to sexual abuse. The treatment they endured amounted to multiple violations of federal law and grave human rights abuses — and it all happened over the course of a single week. These are the findings of chilling new report by a collection of Texas-based legal advocacy groups. By Ryan Devereaux, José Olivares, and Maryam Saleh
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel. 
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Fighting Terrorism With a Credit Card Interest payments on America’s war debt could one day exceed the direct costs of combat itself. U.S. leaders are essentially bankrolling the wars with debt, in the form of purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds by U.S.-based entities like pension funds and state and local governments, and by countries like China and Japan. This unusual arrangement, Crawford argues, has influenced how these wars have been conducted and perceived by the public. By Uri Friedman 
Uproar After Congress Sneaks Attack on Digital Privacy Rights Into Omnibus Spending Bill Attaching it to massive spending deal, lawmakers rush through controversial bill that allows law enforcement to hand over personal data without a warrant by Jessica Corbett 
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Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Survivors of Sexual Abuse at the U.N. Say Their Stories Have Been Ignored For Far Too Long