June 3, 2010 UPDATE: Bloomberg says he will freeze raises to save 4,400 jobs, but unions say he does not have the right to make this move unilaterally; Bloomberg says he does because both teachers’ and principals’ unions are working under expired contracts.  Here is the NY Times article.

Criminal probe opened to find whether Goldman Sachs committed fraud in shorting the mortgage market while encouraging their clients to buy long.

New offshore drilling projects halted after massive disaster in the Gulf.

UPDATE: If pipe collapses, there will be no way of containing it; it is a gusher, not a “spill”: likely to enter the Gulf Stream and head up the East Coast.

UPDATE: Hallibuton investigated for shoddy plumbing job; had sealed well with cement 20 hours before explosion.

Key NYC community hospital goes bankrupt and closes its doors after 150 years.

Rosa Luxemburg makes the cogent point that capitalism is not opposed to anarchy and anarchists: rather, she says, capitalism PRODUCES anarchy: “The terrible sufferings of the working class, the insecurity of people’s existence, exploitation, the distance between rich and poor.”  Add to that global war with no end in sight, environmental disaster, contaminated food and water, declining wages, a failed health delivery system, and an emaciated educational system, facing insupportable budget cuts.  At what point do the internal contradictions of the capitalist system become too much for the system itself to bear?  May Day seems to be a fine moment to reflect on this question.