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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.
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!
Images of the Day:
Quotes of the Day:
Query:I know that the European Commission is holding up Greece as an example in order to discourage other member nations in the periphery of Europe so that they won’t default on their loans. Explain to me why Greece is being held up as an example? It’s being made an example for the same reason the United States went into Libya and bombed Syria: It’s to show that we can destroy you if you don’t do what we say. If Spain or Italy or Portugal seeks not to pay its debts, it will meet the same fate. Its banking system will be destroyed, and its currency system will be destroyed. The basic principle at work is that finance is the new form of warfare. You can now destroy a country’s economy not merely by invading it. You don’t even have to bomb it, as you’ve done in the Near East. All you have to do is withdraw all credit to the banking system, isolate it economically from making payments to foreign countries so that you essentially put sanctions on it. You’ll treat Greece like they’ve treated Iran or other countries. “We have life and death power over you.” The demonstration effect is not only to stop Greece, but to stop countries from doing what Marine Le Pen is trying to do in France: withdraw from the Eurozone. The class war is back in business – the class war of finance against labor, imposing austerity and shrinking living standards, lowering wages and cutting back social spending. It’s demonstrating who’s the winner in this economic warfare that’s taking place. — Somebody’s Going to Suffer: Greece’s New Austerity Measures
Videos of the Day:
U.S.:
The Deep State When a head of state who behaves impulsively, and shows little interest in filling in the gaps in his knowledge, becomes commander in chief of the world’s most powerful army, there need to be plenty of safeguards.Yet, after President Donald Trump ordered his generals to bomb Syria and execute naval manoeuvres in Asia, he won the approval of US politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as almost all the media, including Europe’s. (A French national daily described the strikes on Syria as ‘somehow liberating’ (1).) by Serge Halimi
Top Trump Advisors Propose Expanding 15-Year Afghanistan War Military advisors want to boost troop numbers in longest war in U.S. history by Nika Knight
Media Monopoly Consolidation — Democracy Now!: Pro-Trump Network Sinclair Set to Become Nation’s Biggest Broadcaster as FCC Weakens Ownership Rules The Sinclair Broadcast Group is reportedly nearing a $4 billion deal to purchase Tribune Media, which would give it control of more than a third of the country’s local TV stations. The reported purchase comes after President Trump’s pick to head the FCC, Ajit Pai, dramatically rolled back limits capping the number of stations one corporation can control.
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
UC Study: Police Often Provoke Protest Violence – Not the Other Way Around The violence that turns a small-town protest into a fiery national spectacle like the one that has played out this month in Missouri is often unwittingly provoked by police, according to researchers at UC Berkeley. by Kurtis Alexander
Environment:
Global Warming Must be Addressed There are two enormous myths about global warming. One is that dealing with it is optional. The other is that the measures needed to slow the process will devastate the economy. Neither is true. On the first point, we are already seeing major changes in weather that are almost certainly related to global warming, both in the United States and around the world. In the United States, we are seeing rising water levels eroding beachfront property all along our coast lines. We are also seeing extraordinary conditions like the multi-year drought that until recently had much of California rationing water. In addition, we have seen extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy, which destroyed hundreds of homes in New Jersey and New York and made many areas uninhabitable. by Dean Baker
Labor:
Argentina: Angry workers force trade union leaders to flee from rally On April 28 we saw a massive general strike in Brazil, the first in over twenty years, which we reported on, but before this, in Argentina there were dramatic events during a mass trade union rally where the union leaders were booed and shouted down and had to escape the wrath of the workers, escorted by security guards – “unprecedented” for a trade union rally in Argentina. The reason for the anger was the refusal of the leaders to fix the date for a general strike. In both Brazil and Argentina the working class is on the move. Here we provide a report from our comrades in Argentina. By Marcelo Canay 
Economy:
Somebody’s Going to Suffer: Greece’s New Austerity Measures Greece is simply being dictated to. There is no negotiation at all. It’s been told that its economy has shrunk so far by 20%, but has to shrink another 5% making it even worse than the depression. Its wages have fallen and must be cut by another 10%. Its pensions have to be cut back. Probably 5 to 10% of its population of working age will have to immigrate. The intention is to cut the domestic tax revenues (not raise them), because labor won’t be paying taxes and businesses are going out of business. So we have to assume that the deliberate intention is to lower the government’s revenues by so much that Greece will have to sell off even more of its public domain to foreign creditors. Basically it’s a smash and grab exercise, and the role of Tsipras is not to represent the Greeks because the Troika have said, “The election doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what the people vote for. Either you do what we say or we will smash your banking system.” Tsipras’s job is to say, “Yes I will do whatever you want. I want to stay in power rather than falling in election.” by Michael Hudson
Puerto Rico’s $123 Billion Bankruptcy Is the Cost of U.S. Colonialism Puerto Rico officially became the largest bankruptcy case in the history of the American public bond market. On May 3, a fiscal control board imposed on the island’s government by Washington less than year ago suddenly announced that the Puerto Rico’s economic crisis “has reached a breaking point.” The board asked for the immediate appointment of a federal judge to decide how to deal with a staggering $123 billion debt the commonwealth government and its public corporations owe to both bondholders and public employee pension systems. By Juan González
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
The Four Horsemen of the Economy
All at sea: foreign fishing fleets drain West African waters Trawlers of Asian, European and Western African origin often carry out illegal incursions into waters reserved for locals, or flaunt fishing regulations By Kieran Guilbert and Umberto Bacchi
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
IMF Report: U.S. Corporate Debt Could Be Trump’s Waterloo “The [U.S.] corporate sector has tended to favor debt financing, with $7.8 trillion in debt and other liabilities added since 2010…” [Italics added.] By Pam and Russ Martens
Shadow Government Statistics April 2017 Employment and Unemployment, Money Supply M3
World: