Democracy is Bad for Business

A story that has gotten weirdly little play in the US (I can’t speak for the UK press or the press in other countries) is the pushback by the ‘Big Four’ accountancy firms against the democracy movement in Hong Kong. On July 1, over 100,000 people marched in protest against Chinese plans to curtail democracy in Hong Kong. But the Big Four had not only made it clear that they didn’t like the protests – they had threatened that business would ... Read more

The Yes Men Secure the Homeland

The Yes Men chose the Homeland Security Congress as our audience for this plan precisely because they were not our people. Many of them would be bonafide, gun-loving, flag-toting, rightwing patriots. Our goal was to see if we could promote this revolutionary (but entirely feasible) plan to people on the exact opposite end of the political spectrum. If we could get even those on the “Dark Side” to embrace a plan to end fossil fuels and ... Read more

How to Pay for a Free, Non-Racist Higher Education

Corinthian Colleges is going out of business, and other for-profit rip-offs will follow. However, “The very existence of Corinthian, Phoenix, Ashford and the other gangster institutions proves beyond doubt that the vast bulk of the existing U.S. educational establishment is not serving” Black and poor people. Yes, America needs free higher education, but the excluded classes also need a new system that is not hostile to their very presence. Read more

You Know a Politician or Talking Head is Clueless When…..

People will work for decades to make the money they need to pay the bills and other necessities. Yet, fewer than 1 in 1000 people understand how this money actually gets into circulation and who benefits from our current system. Politicians and talking heads also do not understand this. Read more

A Quick Way to Build a Wireless Network

Called a mesh network, the technology lets users connect directly to each other rather than through a central hub. For the citizens of Sayada, that means they can create a community network free from government surveillance or interference. For residents of Red Hook, the local mesh network helps them stay connected during power outages. Of course, mesh networks aren’t new. They’ve been operating in Europe for years. They are, however, ... Read more

Is Cheap, Public Internet Possible?

The business lobby often demands that government get out of the way of private corporations, so that competition can flourish and high-quality services can be efficiently delivered to as many consumers as possible. Yet, in an epic fight over telecommunications policy, the paradigm is now being flipped on its head, with corporate forces demanding the government squelch competition and halt the expansion of those high-quality services. Whether ... Read more

Corporations crossing the border cause more problems than individuals

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service describes a new wave of companies going through a process politely known as “inversions.” What’s really happened is that these firms have renounced their U.S. “citizenship” and reincorporated themselves in tax haven countries in order to escape federal taxes. Dirt Digger Digest - These companies go on operating as before, keeping their U.S. offices, their U.S. sales and all the other ... Read more

How capital captured politics

In June, WikiLeaks made public the secret draft text of the agreement. It covers 50 countries and most of the world's trade in services. It sets rules that would assist the expansion of financial multinationals into other nations by preventing regulatory barriers. It prohibits more regulation of financial services, despite the fact that the 2007-08 financial meltdown is generally perceived as resulting from a lack of regulation. Furthermore, ... Read more

Cooperative Cuba

Photo courtesy of The Cuban Economy By Cliff DuRand Published in Z Magazine, October 2013, under the title “Laboratory for a New Society: Moving toward a cooperative economy.” Cuba is engaged in a fundamental reshaping of its society. Calling it a renovation of socialism or a renewal of socialism, the country is re-forming the economic system away from the state socialist model adopted in the 1970s toward something quite new. This is ... Read more

Did the Other Shoe Just Drop? Big Banks Hit with Monster $250 Billion Lawsuit in Housing Crisis Read

For years, homeowners have been battling Wall Street in an attempt to recover some portion of their massive losses from the housing Ponzi scheme. But progress has been slow, as they have been outgunned and out-spent by the banking titans. In June, however, the banks may have met their match, as some equally powerful titans strode onto the stage. Investors led by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and PIMCO, the world’s largest ... Read more