Bulletin N°534

 

Subject: ON OUR RAPID PROGRESSION FROM 'THE AGE OF EXTREMES' TO 'THE AGE OF UNCERTAINTIES'.

 

4 July 2012
Grenoble, France

Dear Colleagues and Friends of CEIMSA,

You’ve probably heard the joke about Sherlock Holmes and his friend Watson on a camping trip:

After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend:

“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”

“I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes” replies Watson.

“And what do you deduce from that?”

Watson ponders for a minute. 

“Well,
                •             Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
                •             Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.
                •             Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.
                •             Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
                •             Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part

of the universe.

But what does it tell you, Holmes?”

Holmes is silent for a moment. 

“Watson, you idiot!” he says.  “Someone has stolen our tent!”

 

Predictably, in this capitalist crisis (which we should never forget was deliberately provoked by the One Percent for obvious short-term political advantages) old cottage industries are once again fired up and smoke is seen rising from the chimneys of enterprises producing advice on such pragmatic practices as “stress control,”  “low budget diets,” “voluntary simplicity,” and “how households can economize even more by not using soap.” This production, along with the booming “security industry” production is inevitable when capitalists wage war.

The cold war, between 1945 and 1989, we are told by US historian Michael Schaller cost the lives of some 20 million people, mostly third-world peasants caught up in the proxy war between the Soviet Union and the USA. The first massive post-cold-war offensive by the neoliberals against Russia cost, according to UN statistics (cited by Noam Chomsky) the lives of 10 million males, above the normal mortality rate in the 10-year period between 1990 and 1999. [For more on this subject of the capitalist onslaught against the world’s populations and the role of Jeffrey Sachs in Russia, see CEIMSA Bulletin # 461.]

Future historians will do the arithmetic to asses the human costs, around the world since 2008, of this 21st  century capitalist campaign against ordinary people. Like the cold war, this “virtual war” is real for a growing number of people, many of whom are only now waking up to the reality that their lives are being played out on a battlefield. The sad reality is that police and mercenaries are roaming this battlefield, as well. The teams are not wearing their colors, and the intentional result is disorder. 

Out of Chaos comes Order, according to the old saw. . . but when? and what kind of order?

 

In the 10 items below, as class war deepens across the planet this summer, CEIMSA readers might observe a progression from the absurd to the sublime. The present political economy in the judgement of most specialists is untenable, but as the great Yogi Berra reminds us: "It ain't over till it's over."

Item A., from AlterNet, is an article by Lynn Parramore on “Job Insecurity: Disease of the 21st Century.”

Item B., from Professor Fred Lonidier, is information concerning The Citizens Trade Campaign, which is being held in San Diego, California between  2 &10 July 2012.

Item C., from The Real News Network, is a series of interviews with Professor Edward S. Herman speaking about his life, his interests and his radical commitment to truth.

Item D., from Mark Crispin Miller, is a article by Paul Buchheit on some stomach-turning facts about the 1% and how they rip us off...

Item E., from Bill Moyers is an interview with University of Virginia social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Item F., from Reader Supported News, is an article by Chris Hedges, on Crazy Horse, as a new culture hero.

Item G. is the July 2 statement on Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, issued by The Julian Assange Defense Fund.

Item H., is an article from Reader Supported News, on “Europe’s German-dictated formula for redemption…, by Paul Krugman.

Item I. is a breathless rightwing exposé of the radical ideas of famous Chicago community organizer, Saul Alinsky, given to us by that infamous right-wing pundit and President of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, David Horowitz.

Item J. is another attempt to communicate with the unfathomed David Horowitz, this time by social philosopher Slavoj Zizek, mediated by Julian Assange on his Internet journal, The World Tomorrow.

And finally, we offer CEIMSA readers
the award-winning documentary film by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein about how workers in Argentina are taking over the factories abandoned by their owners

The Take

http://hellocoolworld.com/media/TheTake/throwing_small.jpg
http://vimeo.com/10061195 1hr. 27 min.
(with a wait of one minute to download completely)

In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed auto-parts workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats, and refuse to leave.


All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - The Take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head.

Sincerely,
Francis McCollum Feeley
Professor of American Studies
Director of Research
Université Stendhal Grenoble 3
http://dimension.ucsd.edu/CEIMSA-IN-EXILE/

 

_________________
A.
From AlterNet :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject: The disease of Job Insecurity.
http://www.alternet.org/

Across America, freaked-out employees are coping with sweat-drenched nights and heart-pounding days. They're reaching for the Xanax and piling on the work of two or three people.

Job Insecurity: Disease of the 21st Century
http://www.alternet.org/economy/156104/job_insecurity%3A_it’s_the_disease_of_the_21st_century_--_and_it’s_killing_us/?page=entire
by Lynn Parramore

______________
B.
from Fred Lonidier :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject: Solidarity with the citizens trade campaign.

http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/

http://www.citizenstrade.org/salsa-images/email_header.jpg

Dear Francis,
A major international trade summit is taking place in San Diego from July 2 thru 10 and we need you to make sure ordinary people's voices are heard.

Approximately 600 corporate lobbyists have been given access to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiating texts, while you and I are barred from even knowing what U.S. negotiators have been proposing in our names. This type of back-room dealmaking has got to stop!
Please attend one or more of the following events in San Diego to show your support for good-paying jobs, affordable medicine, a healthy environment, indigenous rights, family farm, strong banking regulations, Internet freedom and government transparency.

In solidarity,
Arthur Stamoulis, Executive Director
CITIZENS TRADE CAMPAIGN



www.citizenstrade/05AA6491.pngMONDAY: Kick-Off Rally Greeting TPP Negotiators
Join Labor, Environmental & Community Groups in Welcoming TPP Negotiators on the Opening Day of the Summit
Hosted by the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council
Monday, July 2 * 12:00pm noon
Outside the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel (1 Park Blvd)
RSVP on Facebook
For more info, email info@citizenstrade.org
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is poised to become the largest Free Trade Agreement ever.  If it continues on its current course, the TPP will offshore American jobs, attack environmental and consumer safety policies and deregulate Wall Street banks, hedge funds and insurance companies â¤" accelerating a global race to the bottom that hurts people and the environment everywhere.  Trade negotiators and corporate lobbyists from throughout the Pacific Rim will be in San Diego from July 2nd thru 10th to push the TPP forward.  Join us in greeting them and demanding an end to back-room deals for the 1%.

 

"A Better World Is Possible!" Conference
Advocates & Organizers from San Diego and Across the World Discuss the Dangers Posed by the TPP â¤" and Just & Sustainable Alternatives
Hosted by Occupy San Diego

All events free & open to the public
For more info, email osdnotpp@gmail.com

Worker Rights & Outsourcing
Panelists include Celeste Drake (AFL-CIO) & Petra Mata (La Fuerza Unida)
Monday, July 2 * 6:30 - 8:30pm
Logan Heights Library (567 S. 28th St)

Intellectual Property, Women's Rights & Healthcare
Panelists include Sanya Reid Smith (Third World Network) & Maira Sutton (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Tuesday, July 3 * 6:00 - 9:00pm
Centro Cultural de la Raza (2125 Park Blvd)

Local Economies, Sustainability & Climate Change
Panelists include Lori Wallach (Global Trade Watch) & Ilana Solomon (Sierra Club)
Thursday, July 5 * 6:00 - 9:00pm
World Beat Center (2100 Park Blvd)

Indigenous Rights, Geopolitics & Empire
Panelists include Victor Menotti (International Forum on Globalization) & Arnie Saiki (Moana Nui)
Thursday, July 5 * 6:00 - 9:00pm
Centro Cultural de la Raza (2125 Park Blvd)

Food Freedom
Featuring Ben Burkett (National Family Farm Coalition)
Friday, July 6 * 6:30 - 8:30pm
Peace Resource Center (3850 Westgate Pl)
 
 
July 7: Pots & Pans March
Bring Your Pots & Pans and March in Solidarity Against Injustice with People throughout the World
Hosted by Occupy San Diego
Saturday, July 7 * 10:30am
Civic Center (1100 3rd Avenue)
RSVP on Facebook
For more info, email osdnotpp@gmail.com

Learn more about this and other Occupy-initiated events at StopTPP.org
 

Other Actions & Events Throughout the Week
Other events and volunteer opportunities are listed online at CitizensTrade.org
 
 
Sign the AFL-CIO's Petition
Click here to sign the petition that will be delivered to negotiators in San Diego
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/TrackImage?key=2241783861

______________
C.
from Edward S. Herman :
Date: 27 June 2012
Subject:  Life and times of a radical intellectual.
http://therealnews.com/t2/  

Edward S. Herman by Edward S. Herman
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=74&jumival=887

______________
D.
from Mark Crispin Miller :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject:  Some Facts about Inequality.
http://markcrispinmiller.com

Some Outrageous Facts About Inequality

By PAUL BUCHHEIT

Studying inequality in America reveals some facts that are truly hard to believe. Amidst all the absurdity a few stand out.

1. US companies in total pay a smaller percentage of taxes than the lowest-income 20% of Americans.
Total corporate profits for 2011 were $1.97 trillion. Corporations paid $181 billion in federal taxes (9%) and $40 billion in state taxes (2%), for a total tax burden of 11%. The poorest 20% of American citizens pay 17.4% in federal, state, and local taxes.

2. The high-profit, tax-avoiding tech industry was built on publicly-funded research.
The technology sector has been more dependent on government research and development than any other industry. The U.S. government provided about half of the funding for basic research in technology and communications well into the 1980s. Even today, federal grants support about 60 percent of research performed at universities.
IBM was founded in 1911, Hewlett-Packard in 1947, Intel in 1968, Microsoft in 1975, Apple and Oracle in 1977, Cisco in 1984. All relied on government and military innovations. The more recently incorporated Google, which started in 1996, grew out of the Defense Department's ARPANET system and the National Science Foundation's Digital Library Initiative.
The combined 2011 federal tax payment for the eight companies was just 10.6%.

3. The sales tax on a quadrillion dollars of financial sales is ZERO.
The Bank for International Settlements reported in 2008 that total annual derivatives trades were $1.14 quadrillion. The same year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported a trading volume of $1.2 quadrillion.
A quadrillion dollars is the entire world economy, 12 times over. It's enough to give 3 million dollars to every person in the United States. But in a sense it's not real money. Most of it is high-volume nanosecond computer trading, the type that almost crashed our economy. So it's a good candidate for a tiny sales tax. But there is no sales tax.
Go out and buy shoes or an iPhone and you pay up to a 10% sales tax. But walk over to Wall Street and buy a million dollar high-risk credit default swap and pay 0%.

4. Many Americans get just a penny on the dollar.
-- For every dollar of NON-HOME wealth owned by white families, people of color have only one cent.
-- For every dollar the richest .1% earned in 1980, they've added three more dollars. The poorest 90% have added one cent.
-- For every dollar of financial securities (e.g., bonds) in the U.S., the bottom 90% of Americans have a penny and a half's worth.
-- For every dollar of 2008-2010 profits from Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, General Electric, and Dow Chemicals, the American public got a penny in taxes.

5. Our society allows one man or one family to possess enough money to feed EVERY hungry person on earth.
The United Nations estimates that $30 billion is needed to eradicate hunger. Several individuals have more than this amount in personal wealth.
There are 925 million people in the world with insufficient food. According to the World Food Program, it takes about $100 a year to feed a human being. That's $92 billion, about equal to the fortune of the six Wal-Mart heirs.
One Final Outrage...
In 2007 a hedge fund manager (John Paulson) conspired with a financial company (Goldman Sachs) to create packages of risky subprime mortgages, so that in anticipation of a housing crash he could use other people's money to bet against his personally designed sure-to-fail financial instruments. His successful gamble paid him $3.7 billion. Three years later he made another $5 billion, which in the real world would have been enough to pay the salaries of 100,000 health care workers.
As an added insult to middle-class taxpayers, the tax rate on most of Paulson's income was just 15%. As a double insult, he may have paid no tax at all, since hedge fund profits can be deferred indefinitely. As a triple insult, some of his payoff came from the middle-class taxpayers themselves, who bailed out the company (AIG) that had to pay off his bets.
And the people we elect to protect our interests are unable or unwilling to do anything about it.

 

______________
E.
from Bill Myers :
Date: 30 June 2012
Subject: In the Age of Extremes. 

How Do Conservatives and Liberals See the World?

http://billmoyers.com/episode/how-do-conservatives-and-liberals-see-the-world/

 

______________
F.
from Reader Supported News :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject: Crazy Horse, as a new culture hero.
http://readersupportednews.org

Civilizations in the final stages of decay are dominated by elites out of touch with reality. ... This failure to impose limits cannibalizes natural resources and human communities. This time, the difference is that when we go the whole planet will go with us.

Time to Get Crazy

http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/64-64/12202-time-to-get-crazy
by Chris Hedges

G.
from Reader Supported News :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject: The Julian Assange Defense Fund.
http://readersupportednews.org

The United States Government has instigated a grand jury investigation against Julian Assange and other 'founders or managers' of Wikileaks. Australian diplomats have described this investigation as being of 'unprecedented scale and nature.'"

Julian Assange Defense Fund Outside Ecuadorian Embassy


___________________
H.
from Reader Supported News :
Date: 2 July 2012
Subject: Europes’s German-dictated formula for redemption…
http://readersupportednews.org

Over the past few months I've read a number of optimistic assessments ... however, none of these assessments argue that Europe's German-dictated formula of redemption through suffering has any chance of working.

Europe's Great Illusion
by Paul Krugman


________________
I.
from Francis Feeley :
Date: 4 July 2012
Subject: From razor-sharp analyses to hatchet jobs for hire, the sad devolution of a mind under stress.

 

"RULES FOR REVOLUTION"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQEYlSxJTK0
by David Horowitz

___________________
J.
from Francis Feeley :
Date: 4 July 2012
Subject: An ideological opposition to all ideologies, or the building of castles on quicksand with feelings of guilt.

Julian Assange's 'The World Tomorrow': Slavoj Zizek & David Horowitz (E2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM0I5k50XsY