Privatisation is the opium of the masses (well, a few men in suits who love the smell of burning unions in the morning). Democracy Now! reports on moves to privatise the American postal service under the guise of improving efficiency but is this yet another move by corporate crack fiends to allegedly reduce costs and…
Showing all posts tagged United States
Does a free society tolerate, even encourage, a robust exchange of ideas?
Mark Steyn on Free Speech at the IPA from Institute of Public Affairs on Vimeo. Rupert Murdoch’s Andrew Bolt a free speech champion? I fear so. See here, here and here. Of course, it doesn’t help that Bolt made so many mistakes in his piece against Aboriginal Australians, seemingly designed to denigrate them. Should Western…
Disparate people are speaking globally and elites clueless to respond
Interesting report in the New York Times that highlights the growing global disenchantment with capitalism. A thinking Left would step in with alternative plans, so where are we in strength? But it always starts in the streets and here we are: Hundreds of thousands of disillusioned Indians cheer a rural activist on a hunger strike.…
When the state wants to read my tweets if I slam official view
Of course, such plans are framed as a simple desire to be able to respond to questions or problems. And that may be sometimes true. But we should always be skeptical of major bodies looking to expand an ability to spy on average citizens: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) has invited companies…
We fight more battles but care little about those people in the firing line
Imperial nations love to fight wars – and Barack Obama has only increased the American military footprint – but it comes with a heavy cost (via ProPublica): Private contractors injured while working for the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan filed a class action lawsuit in federal court on Monday, claiming that corporations and insurance…
What happens when privatisation becomes the natural way of war
Profiteers and crooks love this world (via the AP): A man accused of running an illegal contractor spy ring in Afghanistan has resigned from the Air Force, still maintaining his innocence, and still facing possible criminal charges. Two investigations continue in a case that has tested the definition of what contractors are allowed to do…
Palestine statehood bid signals long struggle ahead for equal rights
My following piece is published today on ABC’s The Drum: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas returned from New York to occupied Ramallah on the weekend as “an Arab leader of significant standing“, according to writers from the liberal Israeli paper Haaretz. The Abbas speech in front of the United Nations, calling for the international body to…