News outlets are officially reporting that the ‘No’ side has won a decisive victory in Greece, rejecting a bailout offer from foreign creditors that would have imposed further austerity and economic hardship. Reuters reports that government officials “immediately said they would try to restart talks with European partners,” perhaps as soon as Sunday night. 25% of votes in, #oxi leading by 60%. Estimates that this will …
Wall Street Frets about its Nightmare Generation by Wolf Richter
Turns out, to the greatest consternation of some folks on Wall Street, millennials are smart. “They don’t trust the stock market,” Goldman Sachs determined in a survey. Only 18% thought that the stock market was “the best way to save for the future.” It’s a big deal for Wall Street because millennials, having surpassed the baby boomers, are now the largest US …
Russia, China and the Battle Against Dollar Hegemony by MICHAEL HUDSON and THE SAKER
The Saker: We hear that the Ukraine will have to declare a default, but that it will probably be a “technical” default as opposed to an official one. Some say that the decision of the Rada to allow Iatseniuk to chose whom to pay is already such a “technical default”. Is there such thing as a “technical default” and, if …
The Perpetual Punitive Machine Backfires by RALPH NADER
Our nation has a penchant for creating unnecessary complexity and obstacles for its people in areas such as the tax, health insurance and student debt miasmas. The prison industry adds to this with what it euphemistically calls “collateral consequences.” In simple language, this means a series of state-based statutory punishments – rooted in the medieval English practice of “civil death” …
Is US Planning to Increase Military Aid to Israel Even More? – Sarah Lazare
The United States is “likely” to significantly boost its already astronomical military aid to Israel, Reutersreported Thursday. Citing an anonymous U.S. official, journalist Dan Williams wrote that, after the $3 billion annual military aid package expires in 2017, this amount could be raised to $3.6 to $3.7 a year. An unidentified Israeli official pegged this post-2017 amount between $3.5 billion and $4 …
Is the US planning a “Gulf of Tonkin” incident in the South China Sea? – Peter Symonds
Following weeks of scaremongering by American officials over China’s activities in the South China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry used his visit to Beijing last weekend to issue an ultimatum to Chinese leaders to halt land reclamation on islets and shoals. His Chinese counterpart Wang Yi bluntly refused, insisting that China would safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity …
Bringing the Crisis to a Head in Baltimore – Glen Ford
“The only thing that can work to fundamentally change the system for Black people – whether in the 21st century or the Sixties – is mass organization for popular empowerment.” It’s been nine months since the Black youth of Ferguson, Missouri, set history in motion with their demand for justice for Michael Brown, yet the “movement” has maintained its momentum while …
The case for banning Monsanto’s Roundup – Dr. Jeff Ritterman
* There’s strong evidence that the herbicide causes birth defects and probably causes cancer. There’s also reason to believe it causes or exacerbates numerous chronic illnesses On March 20, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified glyphosate as a chemical that probably causes cancer. The IARC is a branch of the World Health Organization that focuses on cancer, …
Staggering Rise in Fracking Earthquakes Triggers Kansas to Take Action
It seems unlikely that Kansas, known as one of the most conservative states in the U.S. and home to fossil fuel barons the Koch Brothers, would take action against the oil and gas industries. But in the face of a new wave of earthquakes attributed to the underground injection of fracking wastewater, its industry regulating body, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), ordered a reduction …
In Dry California, Thirsty Oil and Big-Ag Industries Exempt from Water Regulations
As California Governor Jerry Brown this week instituted the state’s first-ever mandatory restrictions on water usage to combat its historic four-year drought, environmental activists are pointing out two glaring exemptions from the order: the fossil fuel and agriculture industries. Brown’s mandate, announced Wednesday, directs cities and communities to cut down their water consumption by 25 percent, but does not make …