Common Dreams has the article Sanders and Varoufakis Announce Alliance to Craft ‘Common Blueprint for an International New Deal’.

After arguing in a pair of Guardian op-eds last month that a worldwide progressive movement is needed to counter the unifying rightwing “that sprang out of the cesspool of financialized capitalism,” former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced in Rome on Friday that he and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) plan to officially launch “Progressives International” in the senator’s state on Nov. 30.

This is a very hopeful sign. As the oligarchs frequently point out that if a single country tightens the rules, then international capital will just move to a country where there are friendlier rules (meaning no rules). Only a fairly uniform international set of rules can solve that problem the oligarchs rightfully warn us about.

I have previous posts that talk about how such international cooperation was under way until George W. Bush put a stop to it. See International Tax Competition and Coordination.

Here is a search for all the posts where I may have touched on the subject – Search results for “international tax”

LA Progressive has the article The Legitimization Machine: Elizabeth Warren.

The fundamental problem with Warren is that she begins with the neoliberal assumption that one can prioritize markets and business, while still serving the public good with the right set of incentives and regulations.

This is the best analysis I have yet to read about what bothers me about Elizabeth Warren. I have disparaged her statement that she is a capitalist to her bones, but I never got to a complete analysis as good as the one in this article.

TED has the video George Monbiot: The new political story that could change everything.

To get out of the mess we’re in, we need a new story that explains the present and guides the future, says author George Monbiot. Drawing on findings from psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology, he offers a new vision for society built around our fundamental capacity for altruism and cooperation. This contagiously optimistic talk will make you rethink the possibilities for our shared future

I have posted two other items by George Monbiot before. See Neoliberalism – the ideology at the root of all our problems and George Monbiot: This Bastardised Libertarianism Makes “Freedom” an Instrument of Oppression.

The Real News Network has rebroadcast the video Economic Update: Homelessness in the U.S..

This week: Updates on politicians’ “blame game” of scapegoating to avoid blaming capitalism; middle class squeezed by prices; limits of workers on corporate boards of directors; lessons from a courageous Puerto Rican people; Prof. Wolff interviews Rob Robinson, activist and global advocate for the homeless on the issues of homelessness in the U.S.

This explains why rampant homelessness is a visible indicator that our social system is broken. This is not just a problem of the people who are homeless. This is an indication that the way we have chosen to organize our society has some flaws we need to fix by changing some aspect of our social organization.

If the cost of housing is rising 5 times faster than incomes are rising, we have to understand that this cannot possibly continue forever. At some point we have to figure out how to make the cost of housing and the level of incomes to come into balance. This is a problem that an individual homeless person cannot possibly solve given how widespread the problem is.

It does not take a genius to create an electronic voting system that is far better than paper ballots. What takes the genius is the creation of a hackable system. For well over 6 years, I have been proposing an electronic voting system that would allow individual voters to check the official voting database to see if their vote was properly recorded. If not, the voter would have acceptable legal proof that there was an error. Furthermore, anybody with a computer could download the official database and use their own computer to count the votes. Why are no governments at any level demanding a system with these capabilities?

Here is the earliest post on this blog that I can find, Making Electronic Voting Transparent.

Counter Punch has the article Let Them Eat Cake: a Journey into Edward Said’s Humanism.

We had learned in Hebrew school that Israel was a land without people for a people without land. Perfect, I thought. People gave me bar mitzvah gifts including certificates for trees planted there in my honor. A land without people suggested barrenness to me. Trees seemed like a sensible idea.

I remember having long discussions about Israel with a Palestinian friend. I described to him my upbringing that was similar to what was discussed in this article. My only point was that it would be understandable for people to believe what they had been taught as a child. I was not trying to make the case that what they had been taught was true. He educated me a lot about the Palestinian situation, but we never came to a point where I could see eye-to-eye with him. Over the years as we went our separate ways professionally, I have seen how right he was, and how wrong I had been. The final straw for me came when someone recommended that I read “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel” by Ari Shavit. The purpose of the suggestion was to make me less negative about the State of Israel. This book, written by the grandson of one of the founders of the Zionist movement, showed me how correct my Palestinian friend had been in ways that I could not have imagined.

After reading the book and commenting on what I had learned, the person who suggested I read it, banished me from his circle of friends, and we have never spoken since.

YouTube has the video Max Blumenthal: Nicaragua beat US regime change, but sanctions and sabotage continue.

The Grayzone’s Max Blumenthal explains how Nicaragua celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution just one year after defeating a US-backed coup effort — and how US sabotage efforts continue today.

Here is some antidote to the lies you have been told about Nicaragua. Nicaragua used to be a focus of Bernie Sanders back in the 1970s. I have been curious as to why he seems to have forgotten that experience lately.

YouTube has the video Abby Martin & Richard Wolff Discuss Socialism in 2019.

Abby Martin sits down with renowned Marxist Economist Richard Wolff to discuss the growing popularity of socialism under Trump and its historical roots in America, misconceptions about Russia and China’s economic success and Marx’s theory of alienation and monopoly capitalism.

If you can manage, try to put aside your ingrained notions that you grew up with. Try to listen to what is being said, so that you can decide if this matches what your experience in everyday life.

Yes! Magazine has the article Post-Soviet Co-ops: Mongolian Herders Borrow a Tool From the Recent Past.

To make ends meet without selling their livestock one by one, some herders, including Terbish-Ragchaa and Galbadrakh, are beginning to borrow a tool from the past, forming cooperatives so that, together, they can manage the pastureland, sell directly to factories, and form other value-adding businesses. This time, it’s not mandated by the state—herders own the livestock and the cooperatives themselves.

Rethink how socialism can work.I suppose some people might even think of this as capitalism. No matter what you call it, the difference seems to be who owns the means of production.

I woke up this morning with the thought of trying Newton’s Theory of gravity. The idea came to mind because of an experience last night that I will get to in a moment.

The first thing I did was to sit up in bed and reach for the glass of water on my night stand. As I picked it up, the water was still sitting in the glass just as Newton’s Theory said it would. I lifted the glass to my lips, tipped it up, and the water came spilling out into my mouth and down my throat. I was beginning to think that I liked this theory.

I threw my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. That worked pretty well. I walked over to the stairs. Carefully grabbing the side rails to prevent me from flying off into space, I walked down the stairs to the dining room for breakfast. Fortunately, I was able to walk down the stairs without the help of my hands on the side rails. With each step I took, I descended the stairs, and did not fly up to the ceiling.

Tomorrow, I might try out someone else’s theory of gravity to see if it works as well as Newton’s theory.

Oh, yes, I promised to talk about my experience last night that prompted me to try out the theory of gravity.

Last night we went to a restaurant for supper. I decided to try Modern Money Theory as an experiment. We were ushered in. We sat down, We ordered our meals. The waitress brought them to us. When we were done, I figured it was time for me to try the new money theory.

I handed my credit card to the waitress. She used the restaurant’s computers to connect with the credit card company to see if they would cover the bill. One computer said to the other, “Sure we’ll cover this bill. We’ll even cover the nice tip for the waitress. Trust us.” The restaurant was satisfied. We walked out of the restaurant, free and clear. The restaurant and the waitress were happy to have served us, we were happy to have eaten there, and no dollar bills were ever seen or mentioned while we were there.

It turns out that the day before, I had received a credit card bill for the month of August. I had logged into my bank account on the web using my computer, and told the bank to pay the credit card bill. Their computer also said, “Sure we’ll pay it, Trust us.” I keep records of all my computer transactions, but no bank has ever failed me yet.

I know that the bank lends out most of the money it has so that it can earn interest. What would have happened if the bank did not have the money on hand to pay the bill as they said they would? They could have connected to the computers at The Federal Reserve Bank, and said “We need to borrow some money to cover this payout.” The Federal Reserve’s computer would say, “Sure, we’ll credit your account here at the Federal Reserve with the money you need. Trust Us.”

So far, nobody has ever doubted the word of The Federal Reserve Bank. When the Fed says you have the money, you just know that you have the money. Modern Money Theory is just an explanation of all of this. This is just like Newton’s theory that explained that I would not fly up to the ceiling if I didn’t use the hand rails. It doesn’t make any difference if Newton’s Theory is right or not. It just happens to explain and predict what happens in every day life. This is exactly the power of Modern Money Theory. You don’t specifically try the theory. It just explains what happens.