How the Financial Plutocracy Tugs the Leash on the Two-Party Duopoly

Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, April 6, 2013

Finian Cunningham: US Protection Racket Root of Korea Conflict

Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, April 6, 2013

Americablog: Think your bank deposits will always be 100% guaranteed by the FDIC? Think again

from AmBlog's Gaius Publius ..

There’s an international move by national governments to write regulations that permit deposit confiscation in the case of bank failure. This is exactly the Cyprus model, and [] confiscating deposits was being considered or enabled prior to Cyprus bank-failures .. Here’s what the New Zealand government says about [its] “Open Bank Resolution” [policy]: "The OBR policy is designed to ensure that first [crisis] losses are borne by the bank’s existing shareholders. In addition, a portion of depositors’ and other unsecured creditors’ funds will be frozen to bear any remaining losses" .. Just as the New Zealand plan has been in process for a while, so is a similar plan in the U.S. and the U.K .. The next banking crisis is anticipated to dwarf the last one, and [since no one will stand for another taxpayer bailout] the Bigs have been making plans to bail it out with depositor funds, not taxpayer funds [effectively ending insured deposit policy]. Cyprus is just the first implementation

where go? what do? .. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Thursday, April 4, 2013

Rap News: War on Terra

Posted by Mike Blaxill, Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Japan Steps Out – NYTimes.com – Paul Krugman

Fascinating
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Sweden Should Issue Assurance It Won’t Extradite Assange to US

Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, September 29, 2012

Ken Butigan: East Timor and the nonviolent option

Butigan at Waging Nonviolence ..

Controlled by the Portuguese since the 16th century and rich in timber and offshore natural gas, East Timor had been decolonized in 1975, only to be promptly invaded and occupied by Indonesia in a military operation green-lighted by U.S. President Gerald Ford and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. A brutal counter-insurgency campaign was waged for decades against the armed resistance that sprang up after the invasion. Though U.N. resolutions condemned Indonesia’s land grab and the massive violence that ensued, Western governments did nothing to challenge this arrangement. In the late 1980s, the resistance set a new course, largely shifting from armed struggle — which had proved ineffective in dislodging Indonesia’s withering domination — to a strategy focused on nonviolent campaigns

and it worked! - mab .. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Sunday, September 2, 2012

BREAKING: Ecuador Grants Assange Asylum, Defying UK Threats

Posted by Michael Butler, Thursday, August 16, 2012

AlterNet: Trans-Pacific Partnership: Under Cover of Darkness, a Corporate Coup Is Underway

Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, July 4, 2012

If we lose the World’s Oldest Living Culture–at least 40,000 years and going!–it will not be an Australian problem. It will be a crisis for all of humanity. This is our last chance. Please help us!

Thank you! Respectfully, Katie Kasben
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, June 13, 2012

FT Alphaville » China’s economic data disaster

Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, May 16, 2012

nailed to crosses

Posted by Michael Hamilton, Friday, April 6, 2012

Crikey! Australia Shocks Corporate America on Trade | Common Dreams

Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, March 3, 2012

Next Stop, Australia: ‘We are Here to Stay’ | Common Dreams

Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, November 26, 2011

Obama Tells Asia US ‘Here to Stay’ as a Pacific Power

More Empire building, all over again
Posted by Michael Butler, Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Foreign Policy (8)

"The Myth of American Exceptionalism"; "What Ails America?" (six short pieces); Two articles on political graffiti; Why Haiti "does not need your old t-shirt"; The slow but significant changes occurring in Cuba; Hillary Clinton on "America's Pacific Century"; The GOP candidates' foreign policy - or lack thereof.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, November 19, 2011

NYT Op-Eds (4)

"Is this payback for a media empire that took glee in the misery of others?" (Nocera); "Where were the practical conservatives when the spending cuts were on the table?" (Brooks); "A cautionary tale about life in Nauru, a place with hard ecological limits" (Guest Op-Ed); "Underwater, but still a sovereign state" (Guest Op-Ed)
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, July 19, 2011

NYT (5): Int’l Affairs

Brooks is arrested in hacking case (see also excellent co-article on the "taint" at Scotland Yard); Is Egyptian military push for larger role in government good or bad?; Obama meets with Dalai Lama; New Zealand just can't get a break; and a new book on the fate of the planet.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, July 17, 2011

NYT (4): Foreign Affairs

Israel rescinds "warning" to journalists re flotilla; Assad allows opposition to meet; France's socialists post-DSK; and Australia may take radical step re smoking - eliminate company logos from cig packs.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, June 28, 2011

NYT (5): Foreign Affairs

Serbia's Mladik, war criminal hunted for 15 years, is found; Egypt to open Gaza border; Turkey warns Assad to reform; Swiss to phase out nuclear power; and Hollywood "sues" New Zealand over sign.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, May 26, 2011

Treason Has No Rhyme Nor Reason

Very interesting Australian article about their PM, Assange, Manning, Crowley
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, March 18, 2011

NYT (7+): Foreign Affairs

SOMALI PIRATES KILL 4 AMERICAN HOSTAGES; As Qaddafi continues brutal crackdown, WikiLeaks cables reveal family predilections; ONE-FIFTH OF ENTIRE COUNTRY AT SINGLE BAHRAIN PROTEST!; Bahrain king visits Saudi Arabia for advice; Yemeni clashes remain violent; and at least 75 dead in NZ quake.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 23, 2011

NYT (9+): Foreign Affairs

In Lybia, Qaddafi is furious but faltering; In Tunisia, fears of anarchy; In Egypt, a commitment to civilian rule; In Bahrain, a "dim view" of U.S. posture; In Yemen, leader will talk but not leave; In Sudan, Bashir won't run again [N.B. He still has four years...]; In Zimbabwe, an absurdly pre-emptive move by Mugabe; Somali pirates kill American hostages; and in New Zealand, a huge earthquake hits a major city.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 22, 2011

NYT (6+): Int’l Affairs

PRO-MUBARAK FORCES TARGET MEDIA PERSONNEL (LATEST FROM EGYPT); New Jordanian PM meets with opposition; Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen...Sudan?; Shippers worried re fate of Suez Canal; Fierce cyclone hits Australia; and protests against Berlusconi.
Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 3, 2011

NYT (6): Int’l Affairs

2010 TIES FOR HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD; As Assange eats bon-bons and has his nails buffed, Manning rots in a brig; Tunisia in turmoil as president flees; Belligerent Belarus breeds broad blowback; Worst-ever Australian floods finally peak; and Chinese driver sentenced to life in prison - for not paying tolls!
Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, January 14, 2011