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Turning Mirage Recovery into Real Recovery
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
Recently, news reporters have been sounding almost giddy, saying that unemployment is dropping, housing prices are rising and the stock market is growing to new highs. But, these reports do not ring true with what people see around them. When you look beyond the sunny headlines, the sad reality is mirage recovery
The economy is limping along with unemployment and underemployment remaining at high levels while the number of new jobs is still way too low. This is especially true for US youth, many of whom will soon be graduating. Increased housing prices represent Wall Street taking advantage of cheap loans from the Fed and profiting from the collapse by buying up real estate. It is another massive transfer of wealth to the wealthiest. What economists have been emphasizing throughout the collapse remains true today – until the job market strengthens dramatically there will be no real recovery. Here is the latest on jobs, housing, health care and Obama's appointments.
The bottom line is that recovery will come from grassroots efforts to build local sustainable economies and put real pressure on those in power.
Malcolm Shabazz's Suspicious Death
by Stephen Lendman
On May 9, Amsterdam News (AN) headlined "Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, killed."
AN said he was killed in Tijuana, Mexico. Unconfirmed reports said "he died early Thursday morning, May 9, 2013, from injuries sustained after he was thrown off a building or shot as he was being robbed."
Family members acknowledged his death. They haven't confirmed where or how.
Talking Points Memo (TPM) said it "independently confirmed his death through a (non-family) source with close knowledge of the situation." It said he "was beaten during a robbery Wednesday night in Mexico City."
Obama's Syria Game Plan: Libya 2.0
by Stephen Lendman
Obama's already waging multiple direct and proxy wars. He's heading America for more. Media scoundrels support it. They back all US aggression. They're beating the drums again now. They're manipulating public sentiment for support.
Russia, China and most other nations want peace. May 8 commemorates Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). Russia's toll was greatest. For many, war horrors still echo.
On May 9, Russia commemorated Victory Day. Ceremonies included an elaborate Red Square military parade. Vladimir Putin spoke on the occasion. He's mindful of Washington's imperial plans. He stressed Russia's commitment to peace, saying:
"We remember what the tragedy of war means, and we will do everything, everything that we can to ensure that no one ever dares unleash another one, to ensure that no one threatens our children, our home, our land."
Hawking Boycotts Israel
by Stephen Lendman
Hawking was invited to participate in a June 18 - 20 Israeli Presidential Conference. Initially he accepted. In early May he declined. He's boycotting. He's protesting Israel's occupation. More on that below.
Hawking's a renown British physicist. His web site says he's the "former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge."
His books include "A Brief History of Time
It's described as a "groundbreaking new work." It's based on Hawking's 40 years of research and recent "extraordinary astronomical observations and theoretical breakthroughs to reveal an original and controversial theory."
Hawking remains active at Cambridge. He retains an office in its Department for Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics. He's university Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
Fannie and Freddie in Good Hands with Mel Watt
by Stephen Lendman
On May 1, Obama nominated Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). It replaced the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD). It did so following their statutory merger. FHFB regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and 12 Federal Home Loan Banks.
If approved, Watt will replace Edward DeMarco. Since August 2009, he's been acting director.
Change.org called him the "single biggest obstacle to meaningful economic recovery."
Willie Manning: Unjustly Sentenced to Death
by Stephen Lendman
Capital punishment is barbaric, unjust and unconscionable. It's the ultimate denial of human rights. Nothing justifies state-sponsored murder. Wrongfully executing innocent victims alone explains why.
David Protess heads the Chicago Innocence Project (ChIP). It investigates wrongful convictions. On March 19, he headlined "Executing the Death Penalty," saying
"Since 1973, 142 death row inmates have been officially exonerated." Many others should have been but weren't. Most countries abandoned capital punishment. America uses it abusively.
On May 6, Protess headlined "Murder in Mississippi," saying:
Willie Manning is Black. In 1994, he "was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1992 murders of two white college students. (He) steadfastly professed his innocence." He still does.
Kerry in Moscow
by Stephen Lendman
Russian condemnation of Israeli air strikes preceded Kerry's arrival. Moscow's Foreign Ministry called them "a threat to regional stability."
It wants politicizing chemical weapons use stopped. On May 6, Russian Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev said "no one has reliable information about the use of chemical weapons in Syria."
"If anyone does, we would like them to show their evidence that such weapons have indeed been used."
On May 5, UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) investigators said testimonial evidence indicates "rebel forces" used sarin. A day later they reported "no conclusive findings" of their use.
UN Human Rights Council Duplicity
by Stephen Lendman
A previous article said the following:
On May 5, Reuters headlined "UN has testimony that Syrian rebels used sarin gas: investigator."
Geneva-based "UN human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria's civil war and medical staff indicating that rebel forces have used the nerve agent sarin, one of the lead investigators said on Sunday."
"The United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons…."
On May 6, the UN News Centre headlined "Syria: UN human rights Inquiry has 'no conclusive findings' on use of chemical weapons."
Guantanamo Closing—Why it’s Symbolically, Spiritually and Materially Important
By Don Dust
Finally. President Barack Obama has made a clear and convincing case for closing Guantanamo! Yet many Americans expected, or assumed, it would have closed early in his first term—that is to say the case was already self-evident. After all it was one reason this president was elected our new leader—to reverse the criminality and immorality of the Bush Administration. Mostly the same reasons finally articulated were just as true as when he initially took office. (See Obama Remembers Gitmo Exists Says ‘Not Necessary’ for American Safety by Lucy Steigewald at AntiWar.com April 30, 2013.)
Closing this stigma of war crime and national shame has always been a high agenda item for many Americans. It is has now become the watermark battleground that could begin to show who, or what, really runs this country—certain special interests (that elected legislators really represent) and the Pentagon/ CIA or The People of this country? In essence it is our own Berlin Wall (and to think Dick Cheney’s company played a part in building it).
Profile of Lawless Aggression
by Stephen Lendman
Israel and America are longstanding imperial partners. They spurn international laws. They do so repeatedly. They ignore their own.
They jointly plan and wage wars. Israel's attack on Syria was a joint US/Israeli provocation. Haaretz's military correspondent Amos Harel suggested it, saying:
"The (US) administration officials' familiarity with the nature of the Syrian targets seems to indicate that there had been advance coordination with Israel, and make the attacks look more and more like part of a larger campaign that isn't over yet."
Israel's weekend attacks were lawless acts of aggression. Post-WW I, the League of Nations failed to prevent them. So did Kellogg-Briand.
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