The Coming Storm

 ** This article was published on  Counterpunch  February 6, 2019 ** Ruling elites have united behind the Trump administration in its illegal, unjust and brutal attempt to meddle in the internal affairs of Venezuela. Democrats and Republicans alike have fallen in line, revealing the degree to which the two parties march in lock step when the geopolitical prerogatives of the one percent are at stake. The governments of some 20 countries, including Canada, Britain, Spain, Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, Israel and Argentina, have all pledged fealty to the U.S. and its hand-picked puppet in Venezuela. The New York Times , champion of the “liberal” wing of the ruling rich, editorialized in support of the Trump administration’s transparent coup plotting on January 24 insisting, “the Trump administration is right to support Mr. Guaidó.” Pretend socialist and Democrat Bernie Sanders shed crocodile tears , decrying violence and economic disaster in Venezuela while failing ...

               ** This article was published on  Counterpunch  January 11, 2019 ** Chances are, most of what you’ve learned about taxes and the economy is wrong. In fact, the key principles at work in our economic system are very different from what we’re taught.  If you find you’re one of those who’s been misled, it’s not your fault. A system such as ours – where  eight individuals control as much wealth   as half of all humanity – can only be maintained with force and deception. As the industrialist Henry Ford is  said   to have opined, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” It’s commonly believed that: ·        Today’s money has intrinsic value. (It doesn’t.)  ·        Taxes fund government spending. (They do...

               ** This article was published on  Counterpunch  August  30, 2018 ** Humanity faces a multi-faceted crisis. Endless  wars   of imperial aggression, both overt  and   covert – from Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan to Yemen, Palestine and Central and South America. These conflagrations compel those at the bottom of the economic pyramid to fight and die to protect the wealth and privileges of those at the top. These wars destroy human beings and our natural environment, but also opportunities and resources that could be allocated to human betterment. Nuclear  arsenals   remain on  hair trigger   alert, with fearsome destructive potential, one accident or a single myopic policy decision away from wiping out the entire human race.  Economic inequality , having already reached  obscene proportions , is showing no sign of slowing down or reversing course. Racism, xeno...