Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War'

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/25-1

Published on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 by Common Dreams

Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War'
- Common Dreams staff

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, normally an opportunity for the global elite to congratulate one another on their continued dominance of world economic matters and policy victories, has been unable this year to ignore the growing popular movements that have risen to challenge many of the forum's fundamental prescriptions for growth and economic stability.

<snip>

Further proving that the forum has taken a more pessimistic tone this year is the title of one of today's sessions, 'Seeds of Dystopia,' which mirrors the WEF's Global Risks 2012 Report, released earlier this month. Among those who share the financial worries of a continued economic slump and predict further social and political upheaval, is Nouriel Roubini. An economist and co-author of the book Crisis Economics -- and also known as Dr. Doom for some of his (accurate) predictions of past economic events (read 'meltdowns') -- Roubini spoke on today's panel. The Business Insider delineates some of Roubini's key points:

Roubini & Co. Scare The Crap Out Of Davos
'Social unrest, Roubini says, is tied directly to economic uncertainty'

•What is connecting everyone in the world these days is economic and financial insecurity, the rise of income and wealth inequality, challenges from poverty, unemployment effects of financial crisis.
•Freakouts about debt loads, moreover, are leading to budget cuts — which, in Europe, at least, are making the recession worse.
•225 million people worldwide are unemployed
•1 in 3 people on the planet are poor or unemployed
•1% of the world's families own 40% of the wealth
•Wages as a percent of GDP are at an all-time low
•Corporate profits as a percent of GDP are at an all-time high
•Current policies will lead to explosions
•This inequality is "Great Gatsby revisited"
•We're in a "vicious circle"... fiscal austerity to solve debt problem is making everything worse

..more..

[G_j]

1. nine recs, no kicks...

[tosh]

2. K&R...

and thanks for the post, G_j.

[Louisiana1976]

3. K&R!

[PA Democrat]

4. George Soros was sounding the alarm at Davos as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/george-soros-davos-2012-europe-austerity_n_1231243.html

Soros has been sounding the alarm for more than a month about deflation, which he warns will cause more class warfare and oppression as the global financial system teeters closer to collapse. These tensions are clearest in Europe, Soros said in Davos, where troubled eurozone countries are being forced to slash their budgets. He said that these austerity measures will push wages and prices down, which will force to consumers buy less and companies to lay off workers, further hurting consumer demand and quality of life. Ultimately, he said, this economic turmoil will result in political repression as leaders fear the anger of the new poor.

[G_j]

5. yep

political repression and austerity measures by the one per cent, unfortunately , that is a given.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. Yep, that is a given...........

How we (and I really mean ALL the world's 99%) react is NOT a given.

Do we fight or not?

[BeHereNow]

6. kick & rec!

BHN

[PotatoChip]

7. K&R

Interesting article. Thanks

[malaise]

8. Thank you Arab Spring, thank you Wisconsin,thank you Ohio,

Thank you OWs, Thank you 99% and thank all progressive websites and blogs including the great DU

[G_j]

9. & a special thanks to women in every country

No Arab Spring without women
http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/01/25/190506.html

No Arab Spring without women
By Najat Al-Saeid

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Under the banner of “No Spring without Women,” a Lebanese feminist organisation has organized a march in Beirut, as part of the 5th New Arab Woman Forum. The slogan of the march is “Sawa Sawa”, which in this context means “Let’s walk together, let’s make it together”, calling for a Spring that includes both men and women. Before getting the invitation to this march, my mind was already preoccupied with the future of Arab women after the revolutions and how women’s status might be impacted in each of the Arab countries. My concern is: can there be Arab union or organisation to sustain Arab women’s status in the post-revolution era?

Women in the Arab world have suffered in the revolutions, but the question now is, what will the outcome of all this suffering and sacrifice be? To date, the revolutions have not resulted in any improvement in women’s status. In Egypt, there are now voices saying that women should leave the revolution to men, and during a demonstration on International Women’s Day in March, men jeered at the women marching, telling them to go home and feed their babies.

On Dec. 21, 2011, women marched from Tahrir Square through the city, outraged by the image of a young woman kicked by troops and dragged along the ground. What’s more, there are no women on the committee that has been tasked with drafting the new constitution, though many are qualified to be. Since the revolution, the women’s quota in parliament has been abolished, which means there will be fewer women and their presence will barely make a difference.

Tunisian women have not suffered from the same abuses, but their legal position has not changed since the revolution. Tunisian women are trying to preserve their rights instead of winning new ones. One large party only, the Democratic Modernist Pole, has promised to install a woman as its leader.


..more..

[malaise]

12. Nice

Remember that a young man set himself on fire in Tunisia - we need both genders to beat the system.

[hifiguy]

11. K&R nt

[G_j]

13. k