Reading

Created
Sat, 24/12/2022 - 04:10
The return of Lula and the challenges facing the Brazilian economy post-Bolsonaro, both domestically and in relation to geopolitics and geoeconomics with the heavy hand of the US in the background. In the larger picture, US hegemony means control of the world's resources, which means subjugating the large resources holders, Russia, China, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and the African continent — that is, most of the Global South and east — while keeping Europe in state of vassalage. This is the principal dynamic of this ear. The rest is just details, e.g., hybrid warfare as a means to this end. This dynamic is the prism through all else on the world stage must be viewed in terms of the present state of the world system, which is now in flux. Lula is cast in the role of a major player in "the Great Game" being played on the global chessboard. Pepe Escobar elaborates.

Pepe Escobar is always upbeat about this views. But the world situation and the specific events he describes are gritty and outcomes uncertain for epistemological reasons (known unknowns) and ontological reasons (unknown and unknowable unknowns).

Asia Times
Created
Sat, 24/12/2022 - 03:06

One not so good item in the package of retirement fund provisions in the omnibus funding bill raises the age for mandatory distributions from retirement accounts from 72 to 75. This is phased in over a decade, but it does go up immediately to 73 in 2023. It had already been raised from 70.5 years […]

The post Quick Note on Minimum Age for Mandatory Retirement Fund Distributions appeared first on Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Created
Sat, 24/12/2022 - 01:33

Prolific academic Vijay Prashad joins "The Most Censored News With Lee Camp" to discuss empire, coups, censorship and his latest book co-written with Noam Chomsky, “The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S.”

The post Gaining Power in the Struggle for a Better World, with Vijay Prashad appeared first on MintPress News.

Created
Fri, 23/12/2022 - 23:37

This year’s Christmas arrives amid freezing weather and widespread hardship. For many, the cost of living crisis that’s been a fundamental part of our national landscape for almost a year means scaled-down festivities, perhaps dependent on what’s been donated to the local foodbank recently. Years of stagnant pay and growing inequality that go beyond that […]