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Showing posts from May, 2014

Το πάρτι των λόμπι σε μια Ευρώπη που παρακμάζει

Μπαρόζο: Χρυσό μετάλλιο στην εξυπηρέτηση συμφερόντων κατά τη διάρκεια της “λαμπρής” του θητείας “ Το μεγαλύτερο δώρο όμως που προσέφερε ο Μπαρόζο στις μεγάλες ευρωπαϊκές επιχειρήσεις ήταν η δυνατότητα της Κομισιόν να παρεμβαίνει άμεσα στον καθορισμό των μισθών των Ευρωπαίων εργαζομένων. Τα μεγαλύτερα επιχειρηματικά λόμπι της Ευρώπης όπως το BusinessEurope και η Στρογγυλή Τράπεζα Ευρωπαίων Βιομηχάνων (ERT) χειροκροτούσαν εκστασιασμένα τις αποφάσεις του Μπαρόζο, τις οποίες τα ίδια είχαν παρουσιάσει σαν προτάσεις ήδη από το 2002 – χωρίς όμως τότε να βρουν ανταπόκριση από την Επιτροπή και το Συμβούλιο. Σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις οι προτάσεις που κατέθεσε η επιτροπή για τον περιορισμό της προστασίας των εργαζομένων ήταν κυριολεκτικά αντιγραφή, λέξη προς λέξη, από τις προτάσεις του BusinessEurope, δηλαδή της ένωσης Ευρωπαίων εργοδοτών.” “ Η μεγαλύτερη 'καινοτομία' του Μπαρόζο όμως ήταν να συμπεριλάβει τις ίδιες τις εταιρείες στους μηχανισμούς λήψης αποφάσεων των θεσμικών ο

Greece: Unprecedented propaganda before euro elections

A mainstream media message: Vote for "stability"=current government regime or you will get chaos They are called "Psychological Operations" and used normally during periods of war. Their goal is to demonize the opponent through terrorising population. During the Cold War, one of the most famous American propagandistic films was depicting Soviets attacking US with nuclear weapons and the reactions of American pupils in a school. In Greece we had similar operations last week. This time, however, were not conducted by the government, but by a private TV station. All the Greek mainstream media excessively promoted politicians' statements like Evangelos Venizelos who warned that in case that voters would not support his party Elia (ex-PASOK), chaos will come to country. However, in one of the biggest TV channels of Greece, the "dirty job" has been done by the "reporters". It was like a thriller or a farce comedy when these reporters

More jobs in danger due to hyper-automatization?

Google's self-driving car “ Google unveiled a brand new self-driving car prototype on Tuesday; the first company to build a car with no a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal.” “ It is the first truly driverless electric car prototype built by Google to test the next stage of its five-year-old self-driving car project.” “ It is the first real physical incarnation of Google’s vision of what a self-driving car of the near future could be.” “ Once the journey is done, the small screen displays a message to remind you to take your personal belongings – reinforcing that this is not aiming to be a substitute for your personal car at the moment, but more as a replacement for the taxi without the human driver.” “ They are designed to be more like shared vehicles, possibly within a family or more likely as a replacement for taxis.” “ A law was passed in California over a year ago that made the testing and operation of self-driving vehicles

The Greek government in constant denial

A historical win for the Left in euro elections (a short comment) Although the Leftist party SYRIZA has won the elections by a difference nearly 4 pc, the parties of the government coalition are in constant denial, claiming that there is no need for a government change. The neoliberal regime will pass the new measures by "sword and fire", but this situation is very unstable for the systemic establishment. It is the first time in history that the Left wins any election in Greece. The mainstream media focused on the fact that SYRIZA has just maintained its power compared to the national elections in 2012, but they tried to downgrade the fact that the government coalition parties Nea Dimokratia and PASOK (now called Elia), had heavy losses, as well as that in traditional Right-wing regions of the country, Nea Dimokratia suffered historical losses. We should worry for the very high percentage of the neo-nazi party Golden Dawn which took the thi

What the European neoliberal economic empire fears

EU ELECTIONS by system failure The latest four years, Greece has been experienced one of the worst periods in its modern history. Due to the economic crisis, the country has become the lab rat in an experiment which seeks to detect the reactions against the new conditions imposed by capitalism in its most destructive version. In the field of the new conditions imposed, the strength and tolerance of a whole society is being tested - a society that fate have chosen to play the role of the lab rat in one of the most cruel experiments in modern history. However, since the experiment is not finished yet, what the European neoliberal economic empire fears most, is its abrupt termination which will put in danger the plans for its expansion throughout Europe. The fact that current European political class is being used by the European economic elite to deregulate the system further, proves that this economic elite fears the rise of other European political forces

Τι φοβάται η Ευρωπαϊκή νεοφιλελεύθερη οικονομική αυτοκρατορία

ΦΑΚΕΛΟΣ ΕΥΡΩΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ του system failure Τα τελευταία τέσσερα χρόνια, η Ελλάδα έχει περάσει μια από τις χειρότερες περιόδους της σύγχρονης ιστορίας της. Με αφορμή την οικονομική κρίση, έχει γίνει το πειραματόζωο σε ένα πείραμα που επιχειρεί να ανιχνεύσει τις αντιδράσεις απέναντι στα νέα δεδομένα που επιβάλει ο καπιταλισμός στην πιο καταστροφική του εκδοχή. Στο πεδίο των νέων συνθηκών που επιβάλλονται, δοκιμάζονται οι αντοχές και οι ανοχές μιας ολόκληρης κοινωνίας, που η μοίρα την έφερε να παίξει τον ρόλο του πειραματόζωου σε ένα από τα πιο βάρβαρα πειράματα της σύγχρονης ιστορίας. Επειδή όμως το πείραμα δεν έχει τελειώσει, αυτό που η Ευρωπαϊκή νεοφιλελεύθερη οικονομική αυτοκρατορία φοβάται περισσότερο, είναι μια απότομη διακοπή του, με αποτέλεσμα να εκτροχιαστούν επικίνδυνα τα σχέδια για την επέκτασή του σε όλη την Ευρώπη. Το γεγονός ότι η Ευρωπαϊκή οικονομική ελίτ χρησιμοποιεί την παρούσα Ευρωπαϊκή πολιτική τάξη για να απορρυθμίσει το σύστημα περισσότερο, αποδεικνύ

How the mainstream media "buried" Serbia under water

“ Little did Hasanovic know, both rivers around Obrenovac burst their banks, the Sava and the Tamnava, and by now the 'water was almost up to our knees, it was raining, there was a foul odor, and I simply could not believe that we would be leaving our house without anything once again'.” “ The rain has stopped, yet the water is still rising, and the media has only just begun to cover the worst flooding to afflict Serbia and neighboring states in recorded history.” “ As Serbia sinks further into oblivion in front of an international community selective about the natural disasters they choose to assist, scores of people are dying and thousands are displaced. Hasanovic’s hometown of Obrenovac, a sleepy town not to far from the capital, Belgrade, now resembles an Eastern European version of Venice – minus the pulchritude – as bodies are floating across the streets – err, canals. Ninety percent of the city is under water.” “ The region’s worst flooding coupled with

Juncker-Verhofstadt: Lobbies and groups of interests in the EU are unavoidable!

A good example of neoliberal “rationalism” EU ELECTIONS by system failure This was probably the final conclusion that came from the debate for the presidency of the EU at the end through the question from the moderator Monica Maggioni. The answer by the head of the European Greens, Ska Keller, who seems to have a special sensitivity on this matter, was also quite revealing. Keller said clearly that the lobbies in EU are so deeply involved in various decisions that there are times when their representatives forget to remove the headlines with the names of the companies on the amendments in Brussels' corridors! She also said that lobbies spend millions in order to influence lawmakers and commissioners. This is the picture of Europe today, further details are obviously unnecessary. For the rest, the debate was something that more or less someone should expect. Even the positions of the candidates were signaling that the people who organized this debate, knew

Γιούνγκερ-Φερχόφσταντ: Τα λόμπι και οι ομάδες συμφερόντων στην ΕΕ είναι αναπόφευκτα!

Ένα καλό παράδειγμα νεοφιλελεύθερου “ορθολογισμού” ΦΑΚΕΛΟΣ ΕΥΡΩΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ     του system failure Ίσως αυτό να ήταν τελικά το βασικό συμπέρασμα του ντιμπέιτ για την προεδρία της ΕΕ και βγήκε προς το τέλος με την ερώτηση της συντονίστριας Μόνικα Ματζιόνι. Η απάντηση της επικεφαλής των πρασίνων, Σκα Κέλλερ, η οποία φαίνεται ότι έχει μια ιδιαίτερη ευαισθησία στο θέμα αυτό, ήταν εξίσου αποκαλυπτική. Η Κέλλερ είπε ξεκάθαρα ότι τα λόμπι στην ΕΕ είναι τόσο βαθιά εμπλεκόμενα στις διάφορες αποφάσεις, που καμιά φορά οι εκπρόσωποί τους ξεχνούν να βγάλουν τις ετικέτες με τα ονόματα των εταιριών τους πάνω στους φακέλους που δίνουν και παίρνουν στους διαδρόμους των Βρυξελλών! Είπε επίσης ότι τα λόμπι ξοδεύουν εκατομμύρια προκειμένου να επηρεάσουν τις αποφάσεις των θεσμικών οργάνων και των επιτρόπων. Νομίζουμε ότι δεν χρειάζεται τίποτα παραπάνω για να περιγράψει κανείς την εικόνα της Ευρώπης, τι πραγματικά πρεσβεύει αυτή η Ευρώπη σήμερα. Κατά τα άλλα, το ντιμπέιτ ήταν

98% voted against water privatization in Thessaloniki

The citizens of Thessaloniki gave a decisive answer against government plans for the privatization of the public water organization as they voted by 98% not to be privatized. The voting took place on Sunday 18 May, parallel to that of the local elections in Greece. 218,002 citizens have voted in 181 electoral centers. 213,508 (98.04%) have voted against water privatization, 4,278 (1.96%) have voted for it. Counting votes process ended at 4:00 in the morning. In 2 of the 192 spots the process was canceled while in 9 of them, were areas that they are not being supplied by the public water organization of Thessaloniki. 30 workers-union members in sectors of European water organizations and members of the European Federation of Public Service Unions, as well as member of European organizations against water privatization from other EU countries, were present as observers on the process. Many people participated in the process, despite government's plans to forbid it. T

More info that automatization is about to replace nearly every human activity

Key points: “ The US Office of Naval Research this week offered a $7.5m grant to university researchers to develop robots with autonomous moral reasoning ability.” “ ... the Navy says that it envisions such systems having extensive use in first-response, search-and-rescue missions, or medical applications.” “ The idea behind the ONR-funded project will isolate essential elements of human moral competence through theoretical and empirical research, and will develop formal frameworks for modeling human-level moral logic. Next, it will implement corresponding mechanisms for moral competence in a computational architecture. Once the architecture is established, researchers can begin to evaluate how well machines perform in human-robot interaction experiments where robots face various dilemmas, make decisions and explain their decisions in ways that are acceptable to humans ...” “ ... even though today's unmanned systems are 'dumb' in comparison to a human

Today: Thessaloniki votes on water privatization

An unofficial referendum on water ownership Thessaloniki's water company is about to sold to a private mulitnational but referendum organisers hope results of unofficial poll on keeping water public will be heeded. The citizens of Thessaloniki will have the opportunity to participate in a unique experiment in democracy today, when they will be invited to vote in an unofficial referendum on water privatisation while casting their ballot in the local and regional elections. More: http://www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.politics&id=1936 Related: http://adiritos.blogspot.gr/2013/07/stop-water-privatization-in-europe.html Update: According to some info, the Greek government threatened to arrest those who will make the referendum outside the buildings of the local elections! The Leftist parties SYRIZA and former government coalition party DIMAR reacted against this decision. Officials of local authorities have also reacted against this decision

Net Neutrality already in danger?

Key points: “ The Federal Communication Commission has begun to kill the Internet as most people know it, adopting proposed rules to create a caste system allowing the giant Internet service providers to segregate users by delivery speeds and ability to pay.” “ The proposed rules now goes to a 120-day comment period, which is bound to be very confrontational. The vote came as protesters occupied the FCC’s Washington offices for a week, held protests at 20 FCC offices around the country, and collected 3.4 million online signatures to defend an equal-access-to-all Internet, known as 'net neutrality'.” “ The activists and entrepreneurs that said that proposed rules drafted by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and passed by the board would create an Internet caste system, because the largest companies with the deepest pockets could essentially buy better content-delivery services and then gain an unfair advantage over their emerging competition. Consumers, needle

The big barrier called Putin

... and the suspension of the global economic oligarchy's plans for Russia by system failure Even when in 1989, the Berlin wall was falling, there were only few who could believe that the global economic oligarchy would dissolve the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia, bringing a bloodbath at the heart of Europe. After the invasion of the neoliberal IMF-type doctrine in Russia and the destruction of the economy, what was expected to come, was that Russia could be transformed into a huge feud for the local oligarchs, who with the help of the Western capital, could literally steal the basic resources and structures of the country which the Soviet state had bequeathed. The local oligarchs, with Boris Berezovsky in charge, brought their man in power, as they thought, to do the job. The oligarchs' media managed to boost Putin's publicity, beating Yevgeny Primakov, who was quite dangerous for their plans at that time. Even today, it is not quite certain who was respo

Το εμπόδιο που λέγεται Πούτιν

... και η αναστολή των σχεδίων της παγκόσμιας οικονομικής ολιγαρχίας για την Ρωσία του system failure Ακόμα και όταν το 1989 το τείχος του Βερολίνου κατέρρεε, λίγοι ήταν αυτοί που πίστευαν ότι η παγκόσμια οικονομική ολιγαρχία θα μπορούσε να διαλύσει την Σοβιετική Ένωση ή την Γιουγκοσλαβία, αιματοκυλίζοντας της καρδιά της Ευρώπης. Μετά την εισβολή του νεοφιλελεύθερου δόγματος στα πρότυπα του ΔΝΤ στη Ρωσία και την καταστροφή της οικονομίας, αυτό που διαφαίνονταν, ήταν ότι η Ρωσία θα μπορούσε να μετατραπεί σε ένα τεράστιο φέουδο των εγχώριων ολιγαρχών, που σε συνδυασμό με την εισροή Δυτικών κεφαλαίων, θα έκαναν πλιάτσικο σε βασικές πλουτοπαραγωγικές πηγές και υποδομές της χώρας, που άφησε ως κληροδότημα το πάλαι ποτέ Σοβιετικό κράτος. Οι εγχώριοι ολιγάρχες με επικεφαλής τον Μπόρις Μπερεζόφσκι, έφεραν έναν δικό τους άνθρωπο, όπως νόμιζαν, στην εξουσία για να κάνει τη δουλειά. Τα μίντια των ολιγαρχών κατάφεραν να εκτοξεύσουν την δημοτικότητα του Πούτιν, κατατροπώνοντα