Why Voters Will Stay Angry (bloomberg.com). A story told in graphs. One of which is shown below.
The Mental Disease of Late-Stage Capitalism (medium.com).
World War Three may have already begun in Iraq and Syria (blogs.reuters.com).
Uncovering the Secret Locations Where the US Government Illegally Interrogates Its Captives (vice.com). Scary-as-f*ck.
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| At the end of March 2002, the Palestinian known as Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan. American agents transported him to Thailand where, in a secret location, they tried various means of eliciting information from him. By the end of July, the CIA felt it necessary to obtain in writing legal advice from the Department of Justice relating to the techniques that it was using on him. This page was taken from the DoJ's response. Click to enlarge. |
Global inequality may be much worse than we think (theguardian.com). "It’s time we face up to the imbalances that distort our global economy. There’s nothing natural about extreme inequality. It is man-made. It has to do with power. And we need to have the courage to say so."
Join the One Percent and Live a Decade Longer (bloomberg.com).
Why Luck Matters More Than You Might Think (theatlantic.com)
Inequality and Aggregate Demand (economistsview.typepad.com). The link goes to a summary of the paper; the paper itself was presented at the Advances in Research Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (but is not available online yet). Using a mathematical model, the authors show: "A permanent rise in inequality can lead to a permanent Keynesian recession, which is not fully offset by monetary policy due to a lower bound on interest rates." In other words, there is nothing keeping demand from falling (and creating a permanent recession) in a world where there is little or no middle class. Trickle-down won't save us. It hasn't worked so far.
Why the Banks Should Be Broken Up (rollingstone.com) by Matt Taibbi.
How a Cashless Society Could Embolden Big Brother (theatlantic.com).
'Zombie companies' are killing the economy (businessinsider.com). HSBC economic advisor Stephen King posits the existence of zombie companies that, thanks to quantitative easing, have been able to survive without the normal pressure to reduce costs. Take away QE (or let debts unwind), and these same companies will be forced to lay off thousands.
American elections ranked worst among Western democracies. Here’s why. (theconversation.com). "Americans often express pride in their democracy, yet the results indicate that domestic and international experts rate the U.S. elections as the worst among all Western democracies."
The GOP Is Now Openly Bragging About Suppressing Voters (alternet.org).
Colorado loss reveals chaotic, overwhelmed Trump campaign (msnbc.com). I've been saying this for weeks and I'll say it again: Trump will fall short of 1,237 delegates. He needs to get on the phone with Kasich. Riots in Cleveland aren't the answer to anything.
Who's Really Destroying the Republican Party? (finance.yahoo.com). Meet the House Freedom Caucus.
Wind and Solar Are Crushing Fossil Fuels (bloomberg.com).
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