There’s a poem by William Butler Yeats that says:
“Come away, O human child!
To the waters & the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.”

It’s a lovely poem but we can’t wait for faeries to address the problems presented for children under neoliberalism, the barbaric phase of capitalism. This tiny little child sleeping in an underpass in Manila could not be more vulnerable nor his needs more urgent.

The caption to the photo said “The Philippines’ roaring economy cooled in the first quarter of the year as the impacts of Super Typhoon Haiyan & other natural disasters hit harder than expected.” Who was the economy roaring for? Certainly not the tens of thousands of slum dwellers being burned & bulldozed out of their homes to make room for gentrification–nor for the 1.5 million homeless street children.

Nice touch to blame homelessness among children on natural disasters. What natural disasters would those be? Is that how social scientists now define neoliberalism?

There are no rescue faeries coming. Human beings have to clean up this mess ourselves. We owe it to our beautiful children. May they not forgive us if we don’t measure up to the historic task.

(Photo by Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)

Let it never be said Mexicans have no sense of humor despite being vilified as criminals & rapists by the likes of Donald Trump. It could be said, they’re having the last laugh on that fool–& not just by sale of piñatas with his potato-head. Would that racist outbreaks were always met with such swift justice.

NBC, like Univision the Spanish-language network, severed all business relations with him & will not be airing the annual Miss USA & Miss Universe pageants. He will also not be participating in his signature show, The Celebrity Apprentice.

Donald Trump won’t soon be sent on sensitive diplomatic missions to foreign countries. One could say he just shot himself in the ass with his racist comments about Mexicans. But despite being fired from Univision & now NBC, he will still be running for president. The world waits with bated breath to see what other idiocies lurk in the heart of the man.

(Photo of Trump & Trump-piñata; can you guess which is which?)

It’s wrenching to see what Greek working people are going through. Greece’s current austerity program expires tomorrow. Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras rejected ultimatums from the IMF, European Central Bank, & creditors & has called a July 5th referendum about whether to accept or reject the terms of the austerity package calling for higher taxes, pension cuts, & other public service cuts. Today, tens of thousands of Greeks protested against more cutbacks.

Pensioners have been lining up at ATM machines for withdrawals since pensions are paid at the end of the month. The government closed the banks for several days to avoid a run on the banks & compound the catastrophe–so seniors were unable to withdraw their pensions. As anyone on inadequate pensions knows, that means being unable to eat for several more days.

Standing resolute against the ruthless bloodsuckers is admirable but not the less unsettling & scary to go through–especially for pensioners & those with kids. Rent still has to be paid & food bought. Defying the terms of exploitation is the beginning of a historic process & the unraveling of the European Union. But for working people who live hand-to-mouth it’s hell to go through. Our fullest solidarity with our Greek brothers & sisters.

(Photo of anxious pensioners at ATM machine from Reuters)