Plutocracy

Patty Culhane | (Aljazeera English) | – – “United States Vice President Joe Biden has said will not run for president in 2016, ending months of indecision and removing one of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s biggest potential obstacles to the party’s nomination. Patty Culhane reports.” Aljazeera English: “Biden says he won’t contest 2016 US presidential […]

Economy

Trans-Pacific partnership raises the barriers for the access to affordable medicines

contributors

By Carlos M. Correa | (Inter Press Service) | – – GENEVA (IPS) – The pharmaceutical industry from the US and Europe scored a major victory with the adoption, in 1994, of a binding agreement on intellectual property (Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights – TRIPS) in the context of the nascent […]

Bernie Sanders

Thanks to Sanders, Democratic Party Just Debated Capitalism

contributors

By Sarah Lazare, staff writer | ( Commondreams.org) | – – Presidential hopefuls broke usual parameters of discourse when they debated capitalism versus socialism Tuesday night. Breaking the usual parameters of election season discourse, Democratic presidential hopefuls Tuesday night debated the merits of capitalism on the national stage—a development that many attribute to the candidacy […]

Plutocracy

Donald Trump wants to cut taxes of self, other Billionaires by $3 Trillion

contributors

John Iadarola and Jimmy Dore | (The Young Turks) | – – “Donald Trump’s tax plan is being pitched, and covered by the media, with terms like “populist” and “tax hikes for the wealthy,” but those are complete lies. John Iadarola (Think Tank) and Jimmy Dore (The Jimmy Dore Show Podcast), hosts of the The […]

Plutocracy

Is the United Nations being captured by Transnational Corporations?

contributors

By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | – – UNITED NATIONS, Sep 22 2015 (IPS) – The United Nations, which is commemorating its 70th anniversary next week punctuated by a summit meeting of world leaders, is facing charges of being politically manipulated by big business and transnational corporations (TNCs) – some openly violating labour […]

Climate Change

To Contain Carbon Bomb, US Must End Fossil Fuel Leasing on Public Lands

contributors

By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – ‘Each new lease puts us farther down the path toward climate catastrophe,’ says Friends of the Earth If the U.S. government wants any chance of meeting its stated global climate pledges, it should start by curbing emissions from publicly owned property and end new fossil […]

Bernie Sanders

Hillary v. Bernie on Student Debt: Whose Plan is more Progressive?

contributors

AJ+ | (Video report) | – – “Hillary Clinton announced on August 9 her New College Compact plan to tackle America’s $1 trillion student debt problem. Clinton worked with education experts on the plan, which is considered progressive and more politically to the center than Bernie Sanders’ tuition-free plan.” AJ+: “Will Hillary’s New Student Debt […]

Banking

Game of Groans: How focus on Trump Taunts hides GOP war on Middle Class, Workers

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The condition of late capitalism produces a press discourse strangely devoid of any mention of class. Last Thursday we had 10 rich males, all but one white, on a debate stage seeking to represent the billionaire class (some 536 individuals in US, who have more wealth […]

Campaign Finance

Could Scott Walker’s Legal Victory Expand PAC Superpowers?

contributors

By Robert Faturechi | (ProPublica) – – A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling on Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign practices clears the way for state candidates to work more closely with legally independent political groups and their enormous war chests. The big unanswered question is how ripples from the case might spread beyond the state’s borders. The […]