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.
Economic Update: Beyond the Political TheaterEconomist Richard Wolff says all the posturing and finger-pointing–from the NRA’s anti-government fear mongering to Trump’s Chinese tariffs–are really just an effort to distract from the real issue: ‘It gets you focused on something other than the economic system that is screwing you’
On The Threshold of War “The Russian view is simple: the West is ruled by a gang of thugs supported by an infinitely lying and hypocritical media while the general public in the West has been hopelessly zombified.” — The Saker “The US generals, unlike the US politicians and media and US administration, are risk-averse if the outcome may be catastrophic.” — Gilbert Doctorow Two of the three most intelligent and reliable Russian experts. The third is Professor Stephen Cohen, who worries, as I do, that an arrogant Washington drowning in hubris is provoking Russia to war. The Saker has concluded that the Russians have concluded that it has been a mistake to put up with Washington’s lies, insults, and orchestrated events and have decided that if the dumbshit Americans attack Syria, Russia is going to take out the US forces involved. By Paul Craig Roberts
Crony Corruption in Trumpworld Scott Pruitt flies first class international with his entourage to Paris for a couple of days—just to party—and then on to Morocco for one day to promote the sale of liquefied natural gas produced by a crony—a lobbyist for the LNG company that gives Pruitt a sweetheart deal on a fancy place to stay in Washington DC. Pruitt is head of the EPA, not the Department of Energy or Commerce. He has no official business pushing LNG, yet the entire trip for him and his crew of sleazy associates was paid for by those of us who pony up every paycheck and every April—you, the American taxpayer. Turns out Trump’s buddy, billionaire Carl Icahn, was the majority stockholder in the LNG corporation. Crony corruption. by Tom H. Hastings
Acting on Referral from Mueller, FBI Raids Office and Home of Trump’s Personal Lawyer Michael CohenFederal agents seized emails, tax documents, and other business materials Federal agents on Monday afternoon raided the offices of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen—raising suspicions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has uncovered information about Cohen’s legal dealings on behalf of the president, including a payment to an adult film actress. By Julia Conley
(L-R) Executive Vice President for the Agriculture Division of the E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company James Collins, President and CEO of Dow AgroSciences, LLC, Tim Hassinger, CEO of Syngenta International AG Erik Fyrwald, President and CEO of Bayer CropScience North America Jim Blome, and Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Monsanto Company Robb Fraley testify during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee September 20, 2016 on Capitol in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on ‘Consolidation and Competition in the U.S. Seed and Agrochemical Industry.’ (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
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Shadow Government Statistics Alternate Inflation ChartsThe CPI chart on the home page reflects our estimate of inflation for today as if it were calculated the same way it was in 1990. The CPI on the Alternate Data Series tab here reflects the CPI as if it were calculated using the methodologies in place in 1980. In general terms, methodological shifts in government reporting have depressed reported inflation, moving the concept of the CPI away from being a measure of the cost of living needed to maintain a constant standard of livingWall Street’s Insidious Connection to the FBI’s Raid on Trump’s LawyerAs the news broke yesterday that the office, home and hotel room of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, had been raided yesterday by the FBI, CNN was ferociously soliciting opinions from a myriad of folks on why Special Counsel Robert Mueller had not overseen the raid but had simply made a referral to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) which oversaw the raid. No one had any concrete answers for CNN. For years, Wall Street On Parade has been documenting and reporting on how the Federal courts and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York function as a protection racket for Wall Street. For decades, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY has been populating itself through a gold-plated revolving door to Wall Street’s biggest and coziest law firms. This ensures that Wall Street’s darkest secrets never see too much sunshine in the court of public opinion and that Wall Street’s titans never see the inside of a jail cell. (See related articles below for an in-depth understanding of the problem.) According to CNN reporting, the Michael Cohen law office that was raided was located at the global corporate law firm of Squire Patton Boggs. The 1500-lawyer firm had announced a “strategic alliance” with Cohen in April of last year, a few months after Trump’s inauguration. When queried about the raid by news media yesterday, Squire Patton Boggs said that its relationship with Cohen is over, without commenting on why Cohen still has an office there. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Israeli soldiers take aim as they lie prone over an earth barrier along the border with the Gaza strip in the southern Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz on March 30, 2018, as Palestinians demonstrate on the other side commemorating Land Day. Land Day marks the killing of six Arab Israelis during 1976 demonstrations against Israeli confiscations of Arab land. / AFP PHOTO / Jack GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
Thousands of Israelis Take to the Streets Calling for Palestinian GenocideA reporter at the scene remarked that it seemed “more like a celebration of murder than anything.” Massive rallies and Facebook campaigns calling for Palestinian genocide are ignored by Western mainstream media and Facebook despite concerns and collaborations aimed at stopping “calls to violence”. By Whitney WebbFrance: Marxist students arrested at University of NanterreUPDATE: We have just been informed of the good news that the students have been released, but the fact they were arrested to begin with is still a scandal.Yesterday, 9 April, University of Nanterre management called two units of the CRS [Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité: general reserve of the French National Police] to violently expel 100 students gathered in a General Assembly. Seven students were arrested. Six were remanded in custody, including our comrades Andreas Coste and Victor Mendez. It is clear that the arrests targeted student activists at the university. By Revolution
Japan: Abe’s authority weakens further as cronyism scandal resurfacesThe Moritomo Gakuen scandal, which has followed the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie since 2016, keeps resurging and haunting Mr. Abe like a recurring nightmare. By Henry WolfsonHealth, Science, Education, and Welfare:
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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MIT expert claims latest chemical weapons attack in Syria was stagedTheodore Postol of MIT says there is no concrete evidence linking Assad to the attack. A leading weapons academic has claimed that the Khan Sheikhoun nerve agent attack in Syriawas staged, raising questions about who was responsible. Theodore Postol, a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), issued a series of three reports in response to the White House’s finding that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad perpetrated the attack on 4 April. By Tareq Haddad
How to Report on GazaIf you are a Western journalist and you have to report from Gaza, the best thing to do is to treat the Palestinians as a threat. Their bodies are weapons, their existence is dangerous. If a Palestinian is killed by an Israeli soldier, the most appropriate thing to do is to call it a “clash.” Clashes take place when two armed forces confront each other.by Vijay Prashad 
Wall Street’s Insidious Connection to the FBI’s Raid on Trump’s LawyerAs the news broke yesterday that the office, home and hotel room of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, had been raided yesterday by the FBI, CNN was ferociously soliciting opinions from a myriad of folks on why Special Counsel Robert Mueller had not overseen the raid but had simply made a referral to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) which oversaw the raid. No one had any concrete answers for CNN. For years, Wall Street On Parade has been documenting and reporting on how the Federal courts and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York function as a protection racket for Wall Street. For decades, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY has been populating itself through a gold-plated revolving door to Wall Street’s biggest and coziest law firms. This ensures that Wall Street’s darkest secrets never see too much sunshine in the court of public opinion and that Wall Street’s titans never see the inside of a jail cell. (See related articles below for an in-depth understanding of the problem.) According to CNN reporting, the Michael Cohen law office that was raided was located at the global corporate law firm of Squire Patton Boggs. The 1500-lawyer firm had announced a “strategic alliance” with Cohen in April of last year, a few months after Trump’s inauguration. When queried about the raid by news media yesterday, Squire Patton Boggs said that its relationship with Cohen is over, without commenting on why Cohen still has an office there. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
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