By Ted Glick
When I first began hearing CNN journalist and news anchor Lou Dobbs being interviewed a month or so ago on radio and TV about his new book, "War on the Middle Class," I was interested in learning more. I've never been a fan of Dobbs given what I've picked up were his racially-discriminatory-racist-views on illegal immigration of Latinos from Mexico and Central America. But I was intrigued when, in the media interviews, I heard him castigate the Democrats and Republicans as parties bought and controlled by big business. He called for action to address the health care crisis and took other generally progressive positions.
So I bought and read his book.
There's a lot in it that is positive. Some examples:
-"I strongly reject unfettered capitalism and those forces that now rampant corporatism has arrayed against our middle class and those who aspire to be part of it." (more...)Archive for November, 2006
Lou Dobbs and the Dead-End of White Anti-Corporate Populism
By Ted Glick
When I first began hearing CNN journalist and news anchor Lou Dobbs being interviewed a month or so ago on radio and TV about his new book, "War on the Middle Class," I was interested in learning more. I've never been a fan of Dobbs given what I've picked up were his racially-discriminatory-racist-views on illegal immigration of Latinos from Mexico and Central America. But I was intrigued when, in the media interviews, I heard him castigate the Democrats and Republicans as parties bought and controlled by big business. He called for action to address the health care crisis and took other generally progressive positions.
So I bought and read his book.
There's a lot in it that is positive. Some examples:
-"I strongly reject unfettered capitalism and those forces that now rampant corporatism has arrayed against our middle class and those who aspire to be part of it." (more...)The Real Fracture in Venezuela’s Labor Movement is Ideological
By Steve Mather, VenezuelaAnalysis.com
With punches being thrown and the odd chair flying through the air it was clear there was a good old fashioned labor union debate taking place. The different factions or currents within the National Union of Workers (the UNT, the pro-Chávez confederation of labor unions) had fallen out over priorities. Should there be a leadership election now or should that wait until after the Presidential election in order to devote all energy to that? While that is an accurate portrayal of the dispute at the II Congress there was much more to it than that. Under the surface a more dangerous quarrel is simmering away that could have consequences for the government and its revolutionary credentials. What is up for grabs is the meaning of XXI century Socialism and the UNT’s role within it.
On the surface the Bolivarian Revolution, internally, is sound: the flagship social missions, participatory democracy at the local level and occupied factories under partial worker’s control are empowering Venezuelans and are examples of which the government is proud. People come from all over the world to offer support, solidarity and to learn from the experience of Venezuela. (more...)Reflections on Being a Godmother
by Carol Pagaduan-Araullo, Philippines
You know you are undeniably getting older, not necessarily richer or wiser, when you find yourself spending more and more time in the beauty parlor, having your hair done for a wedding ceremony that you are marching in as one among the many pairs of godparents.
Some take it as a measure of success, if not respectability; that is, how often one is chosen ninang among so many other qualified and willing candidates. This is especially so among the well-heeled since being a godparent entails gifting the newly-weds with something commensurate to the giver’s station in life, and the esteem with which the couple or their parents are held by the godparent.
Theoretically, the role of a godparent, as surrogate parent, extends long after the wedding bells have stopped ringing. It ranges from helping the couple stabilize financially by helping (more...)
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You know you are undeniably getting older, not necessarily richer or wiser, when you find yourself spending more and more time in the beauty parlor, having your hair done for a wedding ceremony that you are marching in as one among the many pairs of godparents.
Some take it as a measure of success, if not respectability; that is, how often one is chosen ninang among so many other qualified and willing candidates. This is especially so among the well-heeled since being a godparent entails gifting the newly-weds with something commensurate to the giver’s station in life, and the esteem with which the couple or their parents are held by the godparent.
Theoretically, the role of a godparent, as surrogate parent, extends long after the wedding bells have stopped ringing. It ranges from helping the couple stabilize financially by helping (more...)Global Notes #7: Book Review of ‘The Political Economy of US Militarism’ by Ismael Hossein-zadeh
by Jerry Harris, SolidarityEconomy.net
Hossein-zadeh has written an essential book on US imperialism and the influence of the military/industrial complex. His effort produces two unique insights on the economic importance of military funding and divisions within the US ruling class over the strategic direction of imperialism.
On political economy Hossein-zadeh argues against the common view that the war in Iraq is mainly about oil. Instead his focus is on the economic base of the military/industrial complex itself and the need for profits via government funding. The author points to the continual pressure of the market and the need for greater accumulation as the basis for the development of militarism in US society. As he states; “The combination of private ownership and the market-driven character of the United States’ arms industries has drastically modified the conventional relationship between war and the means of warfare: it is now often the supply or profit imperatives of weapons production that drive the demand for arms, hence the need for war.†(p. 200) (more...)Innovation Economy for Russia
By Dr. Dmitry Orlov, Member of the RIA Novosti Expert Council
Some experts describe the Russian economy as "an extended raw materials model", while others claim Russia is "an energy superpower".
In my opinion, both definitions are true, but one describes the current economic structure, in which energy revenues are mostly accumulated and used, and only partly invested in long-term development. The other is an aspiration.
Contrary to the fears of Russia's eastern neighbors, the aim of turning Russia into an energy superpower does not imply Russia's non-commercial domination of the oil and gas export sectors, although its influence there will definitely grow considerably. An energy superpower differs from a raw materials supplier in that it turns oil and gas into innovation. (more...)Shift Toward Services Industries Won’t End Global Warming
November 13, Science Daily
The shift toward a service-based economy won't automatically reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHS) in the air, a University of Minnesota researcher has found. His research contradicts assumptions about global warming often preferred by some economists and national policy experts.
Sangwon Suh, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's bioproducts and biosystems engineering department, uses a "life-cycle assessment" approach to quantify the environmental effect of products and services, taking into account all the materials and energy used to create a product or a service throughout its life-cycle.
(more...)Meet Senator Millionaire
by Jessica Holzer, Forbes
Despite having a hardscrabble farmer and an avowed socialist in their ranks, the incoming class of senators does little to shake the Senate's image as a millionaires' club.
Bob Corker, senator-elect from Tennessee, boasts an estimated $64 million to $236 million fortune, according to the financial disclosure he filed to the Senate. Claire McCaskill, the senator-to-be from Missouri, has a portfolio worth roughly $13 million to $29 million.
And Sheldon Whitehouse, who ousted the fifth-richest member of the Senate, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, is hardly hurting for cash himself: He has $4 million to $14 million parked in various trusts and funds.
All told, at least half of the ten men and women joining the Senate next year are millionaires, with Corker and McCaskill shoo-ins to number among the ten richest senators. That rarefied club includes Sen. John Kerry, (more...)Impeachment Democrats, Antiwar Democrats, Count-Every-Vote Democrats VS. Democratic Party Leaders
by BAR Managing Editor Bruce Dixon
“Leading national Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are in deep, longstanding and fundamental disagreement with Democratic voters.â€The Democratic party won the midterm elections of 2006. But did Democratic voters? A sneaky and unscientific ABC News poll in late October lifted the lid on the dirty secret shared by Democratic party leaders and the nation's corporate media. The poll showed a wide majority of respondents in favor of (more...)
Cities For Peace
by Karen Dolan
Red state, blue state? That is SO last week.
As Democrats have swept into power, shamelessly ignoring the once-sacred red state–blue state divide, one more aspect of this blurring of the nation's political divide remains underreported. This story more fully illustrates the passionate energy of anti-war sentiment in America and it’s a lesson former red-staters would do well to heed.
This election, 162 communities in Wisconsin, Illinois and Massachusetts voted on ballot measures calling for the U.S. to end the Iraq War. In every one of those communities, the measures swept to victory.
(more...)Or else
by Carol Araullo, Philippines
The headline of a widely-read national broadsheet blared: “Foreign businesses to GMA: Stop killings.†The prominence given to this development is deserved because it is unprecedented. We do not recall any instance any time in the past -- not even during the martial law years -- that the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce (JFC) or any similar grouping of foreign investors in the Philippines expressed its deep concern, or made any public statement, much more a strongly worded one, on the dire human rights situation besetting the country.
The message is very clear. It is not only an appeal; it is a warning, if not a threat: stop the killings or we pull our investments out. The threat is aimed at the jugular. It unequivocally and categorically states that failure of the government to stop the killings will affect investments and economic aid, the very things the Gloria (more...)Global Notes #6
. What They Say
Gary Samore, director of studies at the influential Council on Foreign Relations says; “You could have Superman become the US ambassador to Baghdad now and he couldn’t fix the problems or put the pieces together again.†George W. Bush is looking a lot like Humpty Dumpty these days.
Going back into the files I came across an editorial by William Jones, former US ambassador to Haiti under Carter. Jones’ hatred and fear of Aristide and the attempt to help the poor just oozes from his writing. Says Jones, “The misguided threats of the present administration to redistribute wealth must stop. A legal code favoring capital investment should be drawn up as soon as possible by trained professionals, not by politicians… The old Marxist notions of class warfare and hostility to business – still popular in Haiti – have no place in the modern world. Foreign investment must be encouraged…Haitian political and economic leaders must accept it is in (more...)Inequality in America
The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them
Jun 15th 2006 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition (view original article online)
The rich are the big gainers in America's new prosperity
AMERICANS do not go in for envy. The gap between rich and poor is bigger than in any other advanced country, but most people are unconcerned. Whereas Europeans fret about the way the economic pie is divided, Americans want to join the rich, not soak them. Eight out of ten, more than anywhere else, believe that though you may start poor, if you work hard, you can make pots of money. It is a central part of the American Dream. (more...)A Way Out of Iraq
Thursday 16 November 2006
On Election Day, the American people weighed in at the ballot box: They want to get our troops out of Iraq. Voters rejected the president's failed Iraq policy, putting Democrats in charge of Congress and responsible for setting a new direction for Iraq, and, most importantly, for our national security.
Democrats agree that we should begin redeploying troops, but some do not want to set a target deadline for the majority of troops to be withdrawn. That is a mistake. Without a target date, redeployment could drag on indefinitely. The president consistently refused to set a target date for withdrawal, and Democrats shouldn't follow in his footsteps. Democrats should move forward with a new Iraq policy that includes a target date for the redeployment of U.S. troops so that we can refocus on defeating global terrorist networks.
(more...)The Case for Engagement
The distance between the northern suburbs of the Iranian capital of Tehran and the nuclear enrichment facility of Natanz is roughly 180 miles. What transpires on the ground between these two geographical points has seized the attention of the international community, and in particular the government of the United States, as the world wrestles with how best to respond to the issues surrounding Iran's decision to pursue indigenous enrichment of uranium in defiance of the United Nations Security Council's resolution demanding that all such activity cease.
I recently returned from a trip to Iran, where over the course of a week I made the journey from the northern suburbs of Tehran to the gates of the Natanz enrichment facility, and in doing so had my eyes opened. The Iran that I witnessed was far removed from the one caricatured in the US media. I left with the frustrating realization that, as had been the case with Iraq, America was stumbling toward a conflict, blinded by the prejudice and fear born of our collective ignorance.
The first thing that becomes apparent upon arrival in Tehran is that Iran is nothing like Iraq. I spent more than seven years in Iraq and know firsthand what a totalitarian dictatorship looks and acts like. Iran is not such a nation. Once I (more...)How I Was Wrong About Thomas Friedman
Last week my column was a parody of how Thomas Friedman writes about the global economy. Since then, I've learned that I was in error on a matter that shines some light on the worldview of the syndicated New York Times columnist and best-selling author.
"Let's face it - at this point I'm a rich guy, and I work for a newspaper run by guys who are even richer than I am," the satirical version of Friedman said in my article. But actually, Friedman is not just "a rich guy."
Days ago I read a long feature story that appeared in the July issue of The Washingtonian magazine. It provides some background on the world of Thomas Friedman - and the personal finances that have long smoothed his path.
Much of Friedman's emphasis in recent years has revolved around economic relations. He's been a strong supporter of "globalization": the international trade rules and government policies allowing corporations to function with legal prerogatives that routinely trump labor rights, environmental protection and economic justice. (more...)[SolidarityEconomy.net is proudly powered by WordPress.]
