Politics

Despite being immensely popular among the people of Argentina, the Argentinean government’s decision to nationalize the YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales) oil company has continued to come under attack by those who obstinately promote extractive capitalism. The measure would nationalize YPF and restore 51 percent of the company’s ownership to Argentina.

Shareholder meetings can be routine, unless you are Bank of America, in which case it may be declared an “extraordinary event”. That is what the city of Charlotte, North Carolina called the bank’s shareholder meeting this week. Bank of America is currently the second largest bank in the US (after JP Morgan Chase), claiming more than $2tn in assets.

I was questioned under caution! Not in a gloomy cellar, without blinding projectors like in the movies, without Shin Bet ( Israel Security Agency ) interrogators who shouted and caressed alternately.

The questioning was conducted by officials from the Interior Ministry’s Construction Inspection Unit, in Jerusalem.

No other image embodies better the mood of the moment: Munch’s “The Scream” becomes another example of economic violence and the dehumanisation of this system’s values by selling for a record $119.9 million. Meanwhile, as the Spring/Occupy/Indignados movement prepares for a Global Spring to move from despair to action, we are given a clear choice to open the future.

Plans to install surface-to-air missiles on the rooftops of buildings within 2 miles of London’s Olympic Stadium with 10 troops to operate them have been met with anger and disbelief by the buildings’ dwellers. The city prepares for a £1 billion full blown police and military alert to respond to possible terrorist attacks. Some pensioners refusing to pay the London-wide levy

Labor and immigrant groups were joined by Occupy demonstrators nationwide on Tuesday in May Day rallies for economic injustice and humane immigration reform. In New York City, a long day of separate actions converged in a rally at Union Square and then a march down to Wall Street, where the Occupy movement began last year.

Twenty-four hunger strikers from villages of the Tirunelveli District are on indefinite hunger striker and from 4th May, 2012 onwards, local women have proposed that they too will join the fast – following the scheduled talks with the Tamil Nadu Government 3rd May. They will demand the closure of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) permanently.

Many may feel satisfied to see the most ruthless media mogul of our times apologising for illegal activities such as hacking into private conversations, not just of the rich and famous, but also of murder victims’ relatives, just to sell more papers. He is not apologising, however, for the manipulation of the people to favour this or that politician, nor are the politicians.

Labor and progressive groups are preparing for a national slate of protests on Tuesday in what’s expected to be one of the largest May Day turnouts since the immigrant rights marches of 2006 and 2007. Occupy Wall Street is seeking a turnout of tens of thousands under the slogan of “General Strike. No Work. No Shopping. Occupy Everywhere.”

There is a lot of noise coming out of different quarters about the “imminent collapse” of the UN observer mission in Syria. “Dead on arrival,” says one American commentator. “Failure to uphold truce,” accused the White House and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, pointing fingers at the Syrian government. (See Al Akhbar website, link below)