Fwd: Health Care for All - and Tariff article too

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From: John H

Just in case you are wondering where the Democratic Party establishment stands on Medicare for All, Glen Ford of The Black Agenda Report lays it out in the first attachment.  In the second, economist Michael Hudson examines the Donald's tariff and trade policy.  It's not as radical as one might think, but it is certainly not well thought through.  I'm certain you are shocked to hear that; but, oh well, such is life in the new era.

  John

 

Links

• The Health Care Bait and Switch, a PDF
• Trump's Travesty of Protectionism - a PDF

Fwd: Is America Willing to Launch World War III

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From: John H

Attached is an exceptional article by renowned journalist Nafeez Ahmed discussing U.S. – Russian relations and touching upon the incessant drumbeat of 'Russiagate' news which has dominated the mainstream media for the past many months.  Ahmed does not for a second believe that Russia was not involved in these troll placements of information on Facebook and in Twitter, but points out that the U.S. has been far more active interfering with Russian politics ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.  Ahmed then documents this by referring on U.S. military report, Cultural Perspectives, Geopolitics & Energy Security of Eurasia: Is the Next Global Conflict Imminent?, that spells out clearly what the U.S. involvement in this has been and why we have been so interested in destabilizing Russia – hint, it just might involve the control of natural resources. 

In light of the media's nonstop focus on Russiagate and the total absence of focus on U.S. activities internationally, this is an extremely important article if we are to come to understand why the world situation is so very perilous today.  The fact is that the American Empire project is rapidly pushing the world to a position where nuclear war will not only be possible, but likely.  This is not something any of us should be taking lightly – particularly given the instability at the head of our government combined with numerous senior military people who believe that winning a nuclear war is possible.

For those in the Pittsburgh area there will be a revealing talk on this subject by Dan Kovalik on Friday, March 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Church of the South Hills in Mt. Lebanon, discussing his recent book, The Plot to Scapegoat Russia, see attached flyer for details.

John

Links:

• Is American Willing to Launch World War III to be...
• Book presenentation and discussion

Fwd: Wall Street is again mucking with the financial system

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From: John H

Things are once again getting very interesting in the neoliberal centers of money and power.  As we saw in 2007-2008 releasing the money center banks form any real semblance of regulatory control produced some of the most frightening and destructive events of our era.  Well, the powers that be are at it once again.  As usual, led by the propagandists at The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, neoliberal stormtroopers in Congress are planning to eviscerate even the modest regulatory reforms put in place following the Great Financial Crisis.  The thing is that these folks manage to profit massively even when the economy for most of us falls apart.  For the 'too big to fail' banks there appears to be little to no risk unless they get too cocky and really blow things up in a big way. 

Sadly, this is a very real possibility given the obscene volume of uncontrolled derivatives mucking around in the system today.  No one, including the banks and hedge funds which play with them, has any real idea of the counterparty risks involved in this play.  Should a new financial crisis explode on the scene, it might well exceed the capacity of the various nations' central banks to paper over in time to forestall a complete banking system collapse and thus a financial disaster.  Any such a collapse would be catastrophic for the rest of us since we are seen as little more than financial cannon fodder.  This, therefore, is something that all Americans should be thinking about and letting Congress-critters know is not the kind of policy they should be considering. 

Yes, I know, this might not be quite as catastrophic as what President I've got a bigger button might create in a fit of pique at three in the morning, but it could be close.  Given Israel's insistence that the U.S. do its bidding and finish the job in Syria and then attack Iran and Trump's determination to nuke North Korea along with the potential Wall Street mess, these are truly trying times.

John

 Links

NY Times is pro capitalism 

Link 2

Fwd: More on Russiagate

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From: John H

I realize that I have sent out numerous missives concerning the so-called 'Russian attempt to destroy our democracy'. However this has become the political scandal of the decade and it warrants as much clarity as possible. The sheer volume of McCarthyite paranoia that has accompanied this mainly media manufactured mania is almost beyond reasonable understanding and it has almost totally overwhelmed any rational discussion of far more important issues with which we are all confronted. The disturbing thing is that there appears to be no there, there. Any in-depth examination of the facts, including Muller's indictments of thirteen Russian Trolls working for the IRA (Internet Research Agency) in no way establishes any kind of effective distortion of U.S. 'democratic processes' (this assumes, of course, that the U.S. really does have democratic election processes beyond the chimera of voting); nor does it establish any real connection with the Russian government. Whatever it is, it is not as one Congressman asserted the equivalent of Pearl Harbor or 9/11. As far as anyone has been able to determine, contrary to mainstream media panic attacks, whatever these trolls did during the 2016 election, it had no impact whatsoever on the outcome.

It is, I believe, extremely important to look at what really happened from a different perspective and the attached articles do just that. It is also vitally important that, whatever the Russians might have done or might do, be examined against what the United States has been doing for the last seven decades in the way of interfering in the elections and political stability of other nations around the world – including Russia. I have argued repeatedly that we Americans cannot form any reasonable opinion about 'Russiagate' in the absence of assessing our own liability and responsibility for establishing a basis for other nations interest in subverting our processes and practices. The sad fact is that the United States is rightfully no longer regarded as 'a shining light on the hill' or even as a good neighbor and partner. When surveyed, most of the world regards us with fear and disdain, listing the U.S. as the most dangerous nation on earth because of our long history of committing murder and mayhem all around the globe. Contrary to popular belief here in the U.S., we are neither exceptional nor admired – just feared.

It is extremely difficult for those of us raised on the belief that our nation was a good nation. A nation endeavoring to promote positive values, democracy and assistance to other nations not so blessed as ours. But sometimes it is necessary to take a step back and reconsider just what it is that we have become before there can be any hope that Americans can once again regain control of the handles of power to attempt to force our nation to bring real and meaningful change in this country – change that will permit other nations to see us as a valuable partner in making the entire planet a safer and more reasonable environment for all peoples. All of us are now facing a global climate catastrophe and yet all the U.S. is doing is engaging in ever more wars of aggression, which are by international rules we established following World War II, international crimes for which our leaders could and should be condemned to death. But we, of course do not recognize the International Court of Justice when the crimes involved are those we commit. Such is the terrible state of this nation at this sad time in history.


Please do read the three articles in the two attachments. They are very good and reasonably thorough. Two by Paul Street which are somewhat long and one by Eleanor Goldfield. Also, for those of you with no aversion to strong language, please watch the episode of the Jimmy Dore Show on this subject which is linked below.


John

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN-tf3HM9ao
2. 
   
3. Link 1
4. 
   
5. Link 2

Fwd: Russian election meddling

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From: John H

Watch this brief 4-minute video the next time you are tempted to become hysterical about Russian interference with the 2016 election by trolling Facebook and Twitter on social media.  U.S. interference goes back way further and has been far more destructive and bloody than anything Russia has ever attempted.  Furthermore, our interference has virtually always been in support of fascistic right-wing dictators working hand-in-glove to support American corporate interests in the impacted countries.  And, don't forget our direct involvement in supporting the takeover of post-Soviet Russia by our puppet Boris Yeltsin as well as our direct support of the overthrow of an elected government in Ukraine (of course it was corrupt, as is the government we helped to replace it with).  We need to worry about the interference we can actually control, the interference our government continuously employs to make "our world" safe for corporate and financial exploitation.  And, remember, the incidences shown in the video are but a small fraction of our interventions in other nations' political processes.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21203%27%20style=%27color:#000;

  John

Fwd: What to say and what to fear

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From: John H

If the left is ever to prevail in the battle of ideas we will have to develop better framing and a simpler means of communication of our ideas that is currently the case.  The first attachment delves into this issue.  While the article itself in not, in my opinion, very dispositive the comments to the article which are attached are quite interesting.  The second attachment should be very frightening for anyone in the workforce.  The technologies discussed in the article will no doubt be first applied to blue-collar workers, then moved to white-collar workers and finally to professionals.  We will all then be monitored and controlled every minute of the day by our employers and ultimately by our rulers.

  John

Links

1. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpT2gtZ0dtSzBQYzZHZGliTTlsR1VTRjk4TnR
2. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpZ1U4aVpsSUkwaWZmd3ZKZUJmVGVOX1FUeXh3

Fwd: Money & Markets

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From: John H

This evening's missive deals with money (i.e., government deficits and debt) and markets (i.e., the financialization of the world).  The first attachment deals with one of my pet peeves, the disheartening fact that very few Americans have any real idea about how our government money works – or, perhaps more accurately, should work – if more people understood that it is no longer a commodity-backed (i.e., gold) currency.  The article deals primarily with the bi-polar attitude of Congresscritters who will one minute lament the overwhelming burden of debt on the American taxpayer and the very next vote for massive federal deficits and astronomical increases in the federal debt. 

People need to understand that there is absolutely no level of federal debt (as long as it is denominated in dollars) which the federal government cannot pay instantly without ever increasing the tax burden on the people.  Furthermore, much, if not most, of the federal debt is owed to us, the American people – think Social Security 'Trust Fund' and Treasury Bonds.  This is the very nature of a sovereign fiat currency which the United States, of course, has.  Until large segments of the American public come to understand this our neoliberal political parties (and yes, they are both equally neoliberal austerity mongers, one is just a bit nicer on the surface than the other) will continue passing off the myth that we cannot afford social safety-net programs while, at the same time, we can easily afford endless wars and bailouts of corporate and financial interests.  Folks, this is a very BIG deal and if you understand it please let your friends and neighbors know how money should be working for them and not against them.  Also included is a link below to an excellent video presentation by Dr. Stephanie Kelton (mentioned in the article) explaining money and debt in a fiat money economy.  If you have not as yet seen it, it is very good and well worth passing on.

The second attachment is for those who really want to understand how financialization has impacted worldwide financial and equity markets and in the process created enormous risks for calamitous, even catastrophic, financial crises which could break out at any time.  These are mostly unregulated operations encouraged by the world's central banks which are a primary source of instability and inequality in our world today; next to, that is, the U.S. predilection engaging is apparently endless elective wars of aggression (in itself a war crime) and decades-long efforts to destabilize and overthrow governments which do not favorably respond to demands to subvert their own national interests to those of global neoliberal corporate and financial capital.

This article is somewhat long and rather technical piece which provides a good preliminary overview of how neoliberal financialization works.  I have also included the usually excellent comments for this article found at the Naked Capitalism site since they in some ways amplify the points made in the piece.  For those interested in some more depth and background, I recommend reading two books by economist Michael Hudson, Finance as Warfare (2015) and Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy the Global Economy.

Stephanie Kelton on Money and the Economy, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1SMjeuyF-Y

Happy Valentine's Day!

  John

Why is it easier to imagine the total destruction of mankind, from nuclear war to a climate catastrophe,

than to work on changing the system of relations spawned by neoliberal capitalism?

Pepe Escobar

Link 1

Link 2

Fwd: Amazon HQ2

From: John H

If anyone in Pittsburgh (or wherever else you might be if your city is making a pitch) wonders just why it is not such a great idea to win this negative lottery, take a look at this information provided by Wolf Richter at Wolf Street.  Pittsburgh survived the housing bubble crisis quite nicely thank you because we did not have the kind of bubble that much of the rest of the nation (particularly California and Florida) experienced.  Housing bubbles are wonderful for those relative few who need to sell, but they are hell for everyone else – particularly low income wage earners and renters.

  John

Why is it easier to imagine the total destruction of mankind, from nuclear war to a climate catastrophe,

than to work on changing the system of relations spawned by neoliberal capitalism?

Pepe Escobar

Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpOEpDdDVBbF9uLTJ1eWtNU2xGcVhMeUV1U0pj

Fwd: The Democrats are coming on . . .

From: John H

Well here we go, the establishment Democrats and the DNC are, in the light of 2016's cataclysmic losses, now pushing extra hard to . . . do the same old things in 2018.  Some would characterize this as being stone-deaf to the prevailing attitudes of the electorate.  But the real culprit is almost certainly an unwillingness to wean the Party from tits of big finance and the corporate military/industrial/security complex to which the 'New Democrats' are hopelessly wedded.  Instead of supporting insurgent candidates with wide popular support, the Party is determined to run the same old tired slate of 'moderate' corporatists who can self-finance or raise lots of corporate cash.  This is both a foolish and a losing strategy and will most certainly backfire on the Party and the nation at a time when the world desperately needs progressive victories in coming elections.

The attached article is rather long, but it clearly documents how the Party has done everything in its power to discourage and defeat progressive candidates with popular support all around the nation – and, in most cases, have suffered grievous losses as a result.  The article identifies some of the third-party insider groups which cling tenaciously to Party dogma even when it means a race which could have been won will be lost.  This is a terrible state of affairs when real harm is the outcome of these losses.   It's way past time for the Democratic Party elite to come down from their high-horse and admit that the 2016 debacle was not the result of any alleged Russian interference, but their own stubborn adherence to corrupting corporate largesse from which most of these so-called leaders handsomely benefit personally – and, in particular, their handpicked campaign consultants who formulate and direct so many losing campaigns.

John

Article: The Dead Enders, PDF

Fwd: This is how MONEY works when we understand it

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From: John H

Jim Kavanagh (The Polemicist) regularly produces some of the best postings of anyone out on the Internet.  Today's article is certainly no exception.  Here he tackles what for most Americans is little more than an enigma wrapped in a mystery, the function of money in a sovereign issuer of its own currency.  Americans have been, since at least 1971, seduced into believing that federal government money is a scarce resource and that our over-spending is certain to lead us into a catastrophic collapse due to a crushing national debt.  This is one of the great myths of our time and is, unfortunately, politically debilitating once citizens have been propagandized into believing it.  The problem is that it seems so normal to equate the federal budget and spending policies with each of our household budgets and spending priorities.  They are, however, nothing alike. 

As Jim explains quite clearly, the federal government is a currency creator of its own sovereign money.  Your and my households are users of government created money.  We, unlike the federal government, cannot create our own dollars – that is called counterfeiting.  This means that we are resource constrained when it comes to money.  We can only spend what we can accumulate by working, borrowing and, perhaps, inheriting.  The federal government is no so constrained, nor is it constrained by debt (at least insofar as its debt is denominated in Dollars).  To be clear, there is no limit on the amount of Dollar debt the federal government can pay, without creating rampant inflation.  And, there can be no adverse consequence for our children or their children as a result of this debt.

Here is the kicker, virtually all of the constraints we face in terms of obtaining meaningful social safety-net benefits, infrastructure, and, yes, even military expenditures are artificially created by Congress (including the existence of the national debt itself) and maintained because this false belief system operates to the great benefit of the plutocracy.  Neoliberalism, the political philosophy which has overtaken our world in recent years, depends upon this myth persisting in order to maintain control and impose austerity everywhere possible – not just in the U.S.

As many of you know, this has long been an issue close to my heart.  If somehow we can get people to overcome their unawareness of how money should work, it will open many minds to the realization of just how messed up this system has become; and, perhaps, give them cause to stand up and say enough is enough.

  Do read Jim's piece.  It is somewhat long, but well worth the effort.

John

A Left Take on Taxes, Spending and Modern ...

Fwd: Things to think about

From John H

This may well be a watershed year in American politics, or not.  But as January passes with the government shut down there is much for Americans to consider and reflect upon if any sort of actual positive change is to occur.  Attached are two articles which should provide some fodder for thought.

John

• Article 1, those Dems
• Article 2, Dr. King

Fwd: Announcement of public meeting, Wednesday, Jan 24

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From: John H

For those interested this should be an excellent meeting to attend.  The idea is based on sound organizing principles and focuses on bringing together diverse groups of folks with various interests and experiences in an effort to establish community-based movements in a coordinated manner which is necessary to effect change in our society.  I urge you to attend if you are free next Wednesday evening.  I have a conflict and will be unable to attend, but I did attend a planning session for the program this evening and can assure you that it will be well worth while to be there. Jules Lobel and Carl Redwood, et al, have a great grasp of what needs to be done to move a progressive agenda forward in South Western PA.  Check out Carl Redwood's speech at the link below.

John

From: Lobel, Jules [mailto:jll4@pitt.edu]
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2018

Subject: announcement of public meeting

There will be a meeting to form a new organization of residents in Southwest Pennsylvania who believe in the need for radical change of our economic and political system.  This group will combine  activism with independent participation in local elections  to challenge a system that is run by and for the interests of a small corporate dominated elite who use racism and sexism  to divide us, and not in the interests of  the majority of the city and county's population. The group is organized to provide an alternative in Pittsburgh  based on the principles stated by Carl Redwood in his speech to the Thomas Merton Center this past June.  Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ6Uf64VUyU at 53.30

The meeting will discuss the basic platform of the group, what initial activities and campaigns we should get involved with, and our longer term strategy.  Wednesday January 24 from 7 pm to 9 pm, University of Pittsburgh Law School, 3900 Forbes Ave (corner of Forbes and Bouquet St) in Room 229.  For more information, contact Jules Lobel at 412-648-1375

Fwd: Two must read articles

From John H

Attached are two "must read" articles both of which deal in one way or another with the future of American "democracy".  The first, by eminent historian Jackson Lears.  It is perhaps the best I have encountered anywhere concerning the Russian hacking story and what it means for the ability of the American people to regain our democratic institutional processes which are rapidly being discarded and destroyed by the exclusion of dissent and the envelopment of society in a neo-McCarthyist mindset. 

The second brief article by Norman Solomon follows on with some comments about how Americans concerned with these processes should respond to the neoliberal/neoconservative nature of the Democratic Party elite which has shown no interest whatsoever in modifying its pro-corporate, pro-Wall Street, pro-military interventionist policies in order to focus on the real needs of the people it claims to represent.

I strongly encourage you to read both.

John

Articles:

• What we don't talk about when talking about Russian hacking
• This is what Pseudo-Democracy looks like

Fwd: Mixed bag

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From: John H

It's very near the holidays so a very merry chug of holiday cheer to all who read this!

Attached are two very different pieces, but both worth reading – particularly if you are one of those tempted to invest in bitcoins for Christmas.  It is now pretty clear that the current bitcoin frenzy is mirroring the Dutch tulip bulb bubble in the 1500's; so, if you elect to proceed, do so with great caution and be prepared to lose a great deal.

The second article is particularly important for those who still believe that the mainstream media provides accurate reporting when it comes to Russia and the U.S. activities in and toward Russia.  It is written by Mark Ames, the founder and editor of the The eXile an ex-pat satirical news sheet and Matt Taibbi published in Russia during the Yeltsin years and into the Putin years when it was shut down by the Russian government.  Ames wrote is as a defense of his integrity after he was demeaned in a 'hit piece' by Kathy Lally, a reporter for the Washington Post, in the Washington Post, years after the supposed events took place.  It is important because Ames provides an interesting inside examination of the types of reporting done by mainstream journalists operating out of Moscow during those years.  It is worth a good look.

Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year to all and to all a good night.

John

Articles:

• Bitcoin bubble
• Mark Ames, Russia stuff

Fwd: Statement by Paul Jay of the Real News Network

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From: John H

Below is a short video by Paul Jay of the Real News Network.  He makes some extremely important points that all of us need to hear.  I urge you to watch it and, if possible, donate to this important news site, it is one of the very best available these days.  Thanks!

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20757:Paul-Jay%3A-Help-Me%2C-I%27m-Bewildered#pop1

John

Fwd: Warning, take heed!

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From: John H

I'm sending this article out to a much wider group of folks than I normally would, but Christmas is approaching and there will be endless pitches to purchase some form of voice-controlled home management or entertainment system.  As the article details, these systems are the ultimate privacy destroyers.  Unless you don't care at all about your privacy at home it would be wise to avoid such devices. 

John

Link: Don't Buy Anyone an Echo

Fwd: Trump's America . . . one year out

 Forwarded message ---------

From: John H

Well, it's been almost a year in Trumplandia and Henry Giroux offers his take on where we as a people have come (or, perhaps I should say, sunk) during this period.  On the other end, he offers some cogent suggestions about where and how we need to move forward if we are to somehow climb out of the primeval wasteland of a swamp into which we have sunk.

John

Article

Fwd: The end of capitalism . . . when it comes

From: John H

Attached is a particularly interesting article by Jayati Ghosh reviewing a book, How will capitalism end?, by German thinker Wolfgang Streeck.  As Ghosh describes it, the end of capitalism will not be particularly pretty, but not in the way most of us envision.  The disturbing prospect is that he may well be correct and that we are now seeing the tangible signs of that end playing out.

John

Link

Fwd: This is Armistice Day

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From: John H

It's long past time for us to act to force our government to end the senseless wars of aggression we have been waging since 2003.  It is time to examine our past actions in the light of the harsh reality they present.  And it is time to raise our voices to our politicians demanding that they act in our interests and not those of the military/industrial/intelligence contractors and the corporate whores who support and profit from these futile and destructive wars. 

We have become the 'evil empire' imposing our will (or attempting to) upon the rest of the world.  While we shiver in fear of terrorism, most of which we are directly responsible for, too few of us recognize what it is that we as a nation have become and how most of the rest of the world have come to see us.  This is a form of propaganda induced mental disease from which we must somehow recover before we allow our leaders to resort to nuclear Armageddon in a futile attempt to sustain world dominance.

In the attached article Edith Bell proposes an excellent first start.

John

• This is Armistice Day, let's declare war on war - PDF article

Fwd: Race, Repression and Russiagate

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From: John H

It's important to look around every so often and reflect on just how this "system" of ours deals out major parts of society and those it can't directly control with propaganda denigrates as communists, revolutionaries, criminals and otherwise "bad people".  Because this has become the norm and because the most common victims of this treatment are Blacks and other folks of color, it is incumbent on the part of whites to recognize and respond as best we can.  The history of this process is long, disturbing and terribly destructive of the values most of us pretend to hold dear but seldom rise to defend.

John

• Link to article