GPJA #465 (3 of 3): International news and analysis

STATS OF THE WEEK

The number of New York Times articles that mention inequality, notes University of California at Berkeley sociologist Claude Fischer, has increased from an average about 90 a year in the 1990s to 840 a year in the 2000s to about 2,700 a year since the start of 2010.

Since 1980 in the USA, as analyst David Cay Johnston noted last week, “corporate pre-tax profits have grown at almost twice the rate of pre-tax wages.”

America’s most typical income-earners, analysts at Sentier Research are now estimating, took home this past January 7.3 percent less, after inflation, than they earned in January 2000 — and 4.5 percent less than they earned in June 2009, the year the Great Recession officially ended.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“A country that cannot force wealthy and corporate taxpayers to pay their share of the tax burden is a country that will fail.” Linda Beale, The Boom and Bust Cycle of Tax Shelters and Intimidation of the IRS, June 7, 2013

“Our economy is currently experiencing a ‘members only’ recovery. Ninety-nine percenters needn’t apply.” Timothy Noah, Fairness Doctrine, Democracy, Summer 2013

FEATURES

The Government Endangered us with Foreign Quagmires; it’s the Bradley Mannings that might keep us safe (Madar) http://www.juancole.com/2013/06/government-endangered-quagmires.html

A Modern-Day Stasi State – Thanks to whistleblower Edward Snowden, we now know that an army of private contractors can monitor anyone’s phone calls and e-mails. http://www.thenation.com/article/174746/modern-day-stasi-state#ixzz2WWSn6n6U

Lest We Forget – The Art of Lying – Video – “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35277.htm

Share this inspiring 2 minute video of celebrities calling for zero nuclear weapons worldwide

Conflict in the Middle East is about more than just religion http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/08/middle-east-full-blown-religious-war

The Making of a Global Security State – The Five Uncontrollable Urges of a Secrecy-Surveillance World By Tom Engelhardt http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175713/tomgram%3A_engelhardt%2C_you_are_our_secret/

Edward Snowden’s worst fear has not been realised – thankfully – The NSA whistleblower’s only concern was that his disclosures would be met with apathy. Instead, they’re leading to real reform http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/14/edward-snowden-worst-fear-not-realised

Edward Snowden: how the spy story of the age leaked out – The full story behind the scoop and why the whistleblower approached the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-profile

NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data

WHY EDWARD SNOWDEN IS A HERO http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/06/why-edward-snowden-is-a-hero.html

The resurgence of the Kurds By Christopher de Bellaigue, New York Review of Books http://www.rogerannis.com/the-resurgence-of-the-kurds/

The New Scramble for Africa and the War On Terror http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/international/16498-the-new-scramble-for-africa-and-the-war-on-terror

Retreat from Iraq and Afghanistan, allies toppled in Egypt and Libya, recession at home and China on the rise. In this video from Dangerous Ideas for Dangerous Times Tariq Ali asks if US power is on the decline http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/46-video/16494-video-tariq-ali-is-american-power-in-decline

Dr. Noam Chomsky Breaks the Set on War, Imperialism, and Propaganda

Glenn Greenwald on US Intervention in Muslim Countries – Video – Bill Maher is taken apart by Glenn Greenwald for trying to absolve the US from any responsibility for the mass slaughter and destruction in Muslim countries. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35315.htm

The Terror Diaspora – The U.S. Military and the Unraveling of Africa http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35331.htm

Latin America: Evo Morales and Nicolas Maduro defend the region’s union

Latin America’s progressive governments: origins, nature and challenges http://links.org.au/node/3389

 

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

Income inequality is surging, and there are few countries where it is rising faster than the United States. The distance between rich and poor is greater in America than nearly all other developed countries, making the US a leader in a trend that economists warn has dire consequences. GlobalPost sets out on a reporting journey to get at the ‘ground truth’ of inequality through the lenses of education, race, immigration, health care, government, labor and natural resources. The hope is to hold a mirror up to the US to see how it compares to countries around the world. http://www.globalpost.com/special-reports/global-income-inequality-great-divide-globalpost

ROBIN BLACKBURN: FINANCE FOR ANARCHISTS http://newleftreview.org/II/79/robin-blackburn-finance-for-anarchists

Sympathy for the Luddites By PAUL KRUGMAN http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/opinion/krugman-sympathy-for-the-luddites.html?ref=opinion&_r=2&

Apple shop in London targeted by Mark Thomas and tax protesters http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/jun/06/apple-london-mark-thomas-tax-protest

A New Guide for Understanding Our Inequality http://inequality.org/growing-apart/

LAND, LABOUR & THE ENVIRONMENT

Mark Bittman, Welfare for the Wealthy, New York Times, June 4, 2013. The mega millionaires of agriculture continue to prosper off the tax dollars of ordinary Americans. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/welfare-for-the-wealthy/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130605

Facing Off: The Integration of Capital vs. the Integration of Peoples in the Americas- This is excerpted from a speech by João Pedro Stédile, Co-coordinator of the Landless Workers Movement of Brazil. Edited by Beverly Bell. http://towardfreedom.com/home/americas/3249-facing-off-the-integration-of-capital-vs-the-integration-of-peoples-in-the-americas

David Harvey, speaking at Dangerous Ideas for Dangerous Times, about his latest book, explaining how cities have been, and will continue to be, the main arena of struggle against capitalism and its affects http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/46-video/16496-video-david-harvey-introduces-rebel-cities-from-the-right-to-the-city-to-the-urban-revolution-

The shale revolution and its unintended climate side effects http://tinyurl.com/mxneu43

Secret Trade Agreements Threaten to Undo Our Last Shreds of Food Safety http://www.alternet.org/food/secret-trade-agreements-threaten-food-safety

The left needs an ecosocialist vision: Socialists must go beyond talking about the ecological crisis, and fully integrate it into our analysis of capitalism and the potential for revolution. http://climateandcapitalism.com/2013/06/09/the-left-needs-an-ecological-vision/

Marx and Engels, radical environmentalists http://climateandcapitalism.com/2013/06/04/marx-and-engels-radical-environmentalists/

CULTURAL DISSENT

On the road to change we need music like this – Magnificent music from the struggle in Istanbul … http://climateandcapitalism.com/2013/06/09/on-the-road-to-change-we-need-music-like-this/

Zombie Love: Chewing on the Entrails of Genre – Contemporary Zombie Narrative Meets Horror by Mark Williams http://werewolf.co.nz/2013/06/chewing-on-the-entrails-of-genre/

A major critic says we’ve forgotten how to read. Does it matter? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/a-major-critic-says-weve-forgotten-how-to-read-does-it-matter/article12128764/

Movies We Love about Workers, Work, and the Workplace http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/movies-we-love-about-workers-work-and-workplace

Iain Banks: tributes pour in for ‘one of Scotland’s literary greats’ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/09/iain-banks-dead-tributes-author-scotland

Iain Banks, 1954-2013: an interview with Ken Livingstone http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2009/09/livingstone-interview-culture

“The Purge”: A Horror Flick About…Income Inequality?! http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2013/06/purge-jason-blum-interview-politics-ethan-hawke

The Guillotine by The Coup – A revolutionary anthem for our times http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/the-guillotine-by-coup-revolutionary.html

Game of Thrones as Theory http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137360/charli-carpenter/game-of-thrones-as-theory?page=show

Mark Schmitt, George Packer’s U.S.A., American Prospect, June 11, 2013. The most insightful commentary yet on an important new book that tracks a generation of growing inequality. http://prospect.org/article/george-packers-usa

AUSTRALIA

Australian Government increases repressive measures against refugees http://refugeecouncil.org.au/n/mr/130516_Excision.pdf

Refugee rights convergence to Yongah Hill detention centre – See more at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54248#sthash.Y84OVOyU.dpuf

Privatisation agenda locks Australia into failure – The state of immigration detention tells us this neoliberal consensus is damaging the country. We must challenge it http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/28/privatisation-agenda-locks-australia-failure

BRAZIL

 

Mass World Cup Protests Rock Brazil http://www.thenation.com/blog/174844/we-want-health-and-education-world-cup-out-mass-protests-rock-brazil

Michel De Souza’s video of events on the ground:

CAMBODIA

Professor Wolff on Garment Workers’ Strikes in Cambodia http://rdwolff.com/content/professor-wolff-garment-workers-strikes-cambodia

415 Cambodian Nike workers sacked for striking http://www.industriall-union.org/415-cambodian-nike-workers-sacked-for-striking

CANADA

The woes of Canada’s political right are deepening http://www.rogerannis.com/%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8Bthe-woes-of-canadas-political-right-are-deepening/

CHINA

At least 119 workers confirmed dead in Jilin factory fire http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/least-119-workers-confirmed-dead-jilin-factory-fire

Wages in China rise but ordinary workers yet to reap the benefit http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/wages-china-rise-ordinary-workers-yet-reap-benefit

CUBA

Cuban Five’s Rene Gonzalez Home In Cuba http://tomhayden.com/home/cuban-fives-rene-gonzalez-home-in-cuba.html

Rene Gonzales (centre) with Tom Hayden (right)

Labrador’s flag flying in Communist Cuba http://www.thetelegram.com/Opinion/Columnists/2013-06-08/article-3271921/Labradors-flag-flying-in-Communist-Cuba/1

Sea levels creeping up on low-lying Cuba; government acts http://www.rogerannis.com/sea-levels-creeping-up-on-low-lying-cuba-government-acts/

The Cuban revolution and ‘democracy’: the case of Yoani Sanchez http://links.org.au/node/3387

EGYPT

Egyptian trade union leader facing jail http://www.industriall-union.org/egyptian-trade-union-leader-facing-jail

GREECE

Authoritarianism behind the mask of austerity as media savagely attacked in Greece http://usilive.org/authoritarianism-behind-the-mask-of-austerity-media-savagely-attacked-in-greece/

Greece, the IMF and debt default http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/greece-the-imf-and-debt-default/

The Crisis and Socialist Strategy: Lessons from the Greek Left. Michalis Spourdalakis is a founding member of Syriza and currently serves on its policy planning committee. Professor of Political Science at Athens University and current chair of the Hellenic Political Science Association, he is also on the Secretariat of Nicos Poulantzas Institute, and a corresponding editor of the Socialist Register. He is the author of many books including The Rise of the Greek Socialist Party and Party of European Socialists: Prospects and Challenges. He is a frequent contributor on Greek politics for The Bullet, and his essay “Left Strategy in the Greek Cauldron: Explaining Syriza’s Success” appears in The Socialist Register 2013. http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls177.php

State broadcaster run under workers’ control as its closure sparks calls for gov’t sacking – See more at: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54264#sthash.H7CfIUgm.dpuf

IRELAND

G8 summit: Irish trade unions call in human rights monitors http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/11/g8-summit-trade-unions-human-rights

IRAN

Iran’s Presidential Elections: The Live Embers of a Democratic Opposition Glow http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/12233/iran%E2%80%99s-presidential-elections_the-live-embers-of-a

Khamenei suffers major blow as the masses raise their heads again http://www.marxist.com/khamenei-suffers-major-blow-as-the-masses-raise-their-heads-again.htm

Rising poverty, declining labour rights http://www.fidh.org/iran-rising-poverty-declining-labour-rights-13403

Reading Marx in Tehran http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/opinion/reading-marx-in-tehran.html?_r=0

KENYA

UK expresses regret over abuse as Mau Mau promised payout http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/05/kenyan-mau-mau-payout-uk-regret-abuse

LATVIA

Left bloc gets 59% in municipal elections http://links.org.au/node/3383

LIBYA

Army chief quits after militia kills dozens in Benghazi http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/libya-shield-benghazi-clash-militia

PACIFIC

The new battle for the Pacific http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/the-new-battle-for-pacific.html

Alleged mass killings in West Papua http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-24/alleged-mass-killings-in-west-papua/4712122

PAKISTAN

The Filthy Rich Election by Tariq Ali http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n12/tariq-ali/the-filthy-rich-election

PALESTINE

Iranian Threat Is “Western Obsession” Noam Chomsky – Obama Escalates Israel-Palestine Conflict: More Extreme than Reagan – Video And Transcript http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35336.htm

“In occupied Palestine, there’s no distorting the facts on the ground” – UN Special Rapporteur http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1306/S00173/palestine-theres-no-distorting-the-facts-on-the-ground.htm

One Palestinian child has been killed by Israel every 3 days for the past 13 years http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/6185-one-palestinian-child-has-been-killed-by-israel-every-3-days-for-the-past-13-years

Up to Six Mass Graves Discovered in Jaffa, with Hundreds of Victims from 1948

Origins of Israel Palestinian Conflict

100-Year-Old Israeli General: We Razed Arab Villages, So What? http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35272.htm

PHILIPPINES

Dole Bananas and military harassment of unions in the Philippines http://aps-nz.org/2013/06/14/dole-bananas-and-military-harassment-of-unions-in-the-philippines/

SOUTH AFRICA

Economic war in South Africa http://terrybellwrites.com/2013/06/14/economic-war-in-south-africa/

SYRIA

Despite Horrific Repression, the US Should Stay Out of Syria http://truth-out.org/news/item/16815-despite-horrific-repression-the-us-should-stay-out-of-syria

Syria: proxy theatre of war – The Syrian people’s uprising began as a struggle over social and economic conditions, a fight for democracy in place of repression. Now it has been hijacked by regional and global conflicts. http://mondediplo.com/2013/06/02syria

As U.S. Deploys Patriot Missiles and F-16s to Jordan, Could Syrian Conflict Engulf the Middle East? http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/5/as_us_deploys_patriot_missiles_and

Why does the left find it so difficult to take a position on Syria? http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/06/why-does-left-find-it-so-difficult-take-position-syria

Sarin Gas Use Doubted Experts Don’t See Evidence http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35294.htm

Patrick Cockburn on U.S. Plans to Arm Syrian Rebels: Where is the Skepticism About Chemical Weapons? http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/14/patrick_cockburn_on_us_plans_to

Why There Is No Military Solution to the Syrian Conflict http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/11680/why-there-is-no-military-solution-to-the-syrian-co

TURKEY

Turkish Unions Hold National Strike as Protesters Face Worst Crackdown to Date http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/17/turkish_unions_hold_national_strike_as

Gezi Park Evacuated, Istanbul and Turkey Explode by Sungur Savran http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/837.php

Chapuling in Turkey: The Turkish Uprising of May 27, 2013 by T. Sabri Öncü http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/836.php

Turkish Unions Strike, Joining Mass Protests http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/turkish-unions-strike-joining-mass-protests

‘Occupy Gezi’ — Istanbul’s red-green uprising; Right to the City movement and the Turkish summer http://links.org.au/node/3373

Turkey: from Tahrir to Taksim – What caused the uprising in Turkey, and what are its chances of survival? by Kerem Oktem http://werewolf.co.nz/2013/06/turkey-from-tahrir-to-taksim/

Turkey: a Second 1848 … or 1905? http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/11/turkey-a-second-1848-or-1905/

UK

Recession prompted ‘unprecedented’ fall in wages http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22860320

Selling off RBS would defraud the public and damage economic recovery – Stephen Hester has been forced to leave the bank by George Osborne in his determination to accelerate privatisation http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/13/rbs-selling-off-stephen-hester

GCHQ intercepted foreign politicians’ communications at G20 summits http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/16/gchq-intercepted-communications-g20-summits

USA

Fifty Years: Remembering Medgar Evers http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/3876

Is Edward Snowden a Hero? A Debate with Journalist Chris Hedges & Law Scholar Geoffrey Stone http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/12/is_edward_snowden_a_hero_a

More Intrusive Than Eavesdropping? NSA Collection of Metadata Hands Gov’t Sweeping Personal Info http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/12/more_intrusive_than_eavesdropping_nsa_collection

“A Massive Surveillance State”: Glenn Greenwald Exposes Covert NSA Program Collecting Calls, Emails http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/7/a_massive_surveillance_state_glenn_greenwald

“You’re Being Watched”: Edward Snowden Emerges as Source Behind Explosive Revelations of NSA Spying http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/10/youre_being_watched_edward_snowden_emerges

The Student Loan Debt Crisis in 9 Charts http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/student-loan-debt-charts

NSA Whistleblowers: “All U.S. Citizens” Targeted by Surveillance Program, Not Just Verizon Customers http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/6/nsa_whistleblowers_all_us_citizens_targeted

Striking Workers Bring Bangladesh Safety Demand to Walmart Headquarters

http://www.thenation.com/blog/174692/striking-workers-bring-bangladesh-safety-demand-walmart-headquarters#ixzz2VWGcSLJR

Victoria Brittain, Miscarriages of Justice – Sometimes, when you watch the strange, repetitive political dance that swirls around the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — the president announcing yet again that he plans to “close” it and the Republicans in Congress swearing that they won’t let him — it’s hard not to wonder what alternative universe we live in. http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175709/tomgram%3A_victoria_brittain%2C_miscarriages_of_justice/

Guantanamo guard converts to Islam, demands release of detainees http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gitmo-guard-converts-islam-demands-release-detainees-article-1.1357918#ixzz2VnD75nvb

ILO: U.S. Inequality Now Literally Off the Chart http://inequality.org/ilo-report-inequality-literally-chart/

Union workers in California stage rally against low wages http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/08/307872/us-workers-rally-against-low-wages/

Reform Rekindled in US union movement by Mark Brenner http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/reform-rekindled

U.S. and Colombian Auto Workers Keep GM in the Spotlight – See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2013/06/us-and-colombian-auto-workers-keep-gm-spotlight#sthash.DqJI0x6X.dpuf

Breast Cancer Patients Declare Victory as Supreme Court Bars Patenting of Human Genes http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/14/breast_cancer_patients_declare_victory_as

MIKE DAVIS: THE LAST WHITE ELECTION? http://newleftreview.org/II/79/mike-davis-the-last-white-election

Domestic dissent can change US foreign policy for the better – From the Vietnam era to the Iraq war, it’s clear that the moral authority of protest has altered US government behaviour http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/17/domestic-dissent-change-us-foreign-policy

Living on Minimum Wage http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/06/15/business/living-on-minimum-wage.html?_r=1&

A Medical Ethics-free Zone? Guantánamo Doctors Urged to Stop Force-Feeding Hunger-Striking Prisoners http://www.democracynow.org/2013/6/18/a_medical_ethics_free_zone_guantnamo