During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel.
Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1%Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The 1%Who Profit From Austerity! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico.
Quote of the Day:
When just one man says, ‘No, I won’t’…Rome begins to fear. (Spartacus)
UK Brexit Vote Reflects a Deep Crisis in Capitalism (Pt 1/2)Had the British been presented with the option, people might choose a socialist Britain over a capitalist EU, but they are not given that choice, say Prof. Leo Panitch of York University and Jon Lansman of the British Labour Party’s National Executive Committee Had the British been presented with the option, people might choose a socialist Britain over a capitalist EU, but they are not given that choice, say Prof. Leo Panitch of York University and Jon Lansman of the British Labour Party’s National Executive Committee
Prison hallway and bars in an abandoned Penitentiary
TSA Strike? As Trump and GOP Refuse to End Shutdown, Call Grows for Federal Workers to Rise Up Us there something that TSA agents in particular could do that “would turn their plight into a stand not just against the shutdown but also against the arbitrary and insulting way American workers are so often treated in general?” by Jon QueallyIs there something that TSA agents in particular could do that “would turn their plight into a stand not just against the shutdown but also against the arbitrary and insulting way American workers are so often treated in general?
Brief History Notes on Mexican Immigration to the U.S. By Alvaro Huerta The historical ties of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., specifically the Southwest, distinguishes people of Mexican origin from other immigrant groups, especially those from Europe. While Mexican immigrants continue to be demonized and characterized as “criminals,” “drug dealers,” “rapists,” “illegal aliens” and “invaders” by American leaders and millions of white citizens, they have essentially become “foreigners in their own land.”
Britain: May crushed and humiliated in Brexit vote By Adam Booth Rejection of Theresa May’s Brexit deal was never in doubt. The question was always by how much. But the scale of last night’s defeat for the Prime Minister – losing by an unprecedented 230 votes – defied even the most pessimistic of expectations. With her proposal firmly spurned by parliament, Theresa May is now set to sail the country into uncharted waters.
LA Teachers’ Strike: When Just One Man Says, “No” By Glenn SacksTeachers are supposed to submit to the massive underfunding of our schools and tackle the problems in our usual way–self-sacrifice. This means working insane hours, trying to do what can’t be done, and spending our own money to buy what Los Angeles Unified School District will not. It means being blamed for the district’s shortcomings and the negative effects poverty has on our overwhelmingly impoverished student body. Finally, we said “No.”
Environment:
The Green New Deal Must be Centered on African American and Indigenous Workers to Differentiate Itself From the Democratic PartyBy Andrew Stewart [W.E.B.] Du Bois’s notion of double consciousness reflects a dialectical relationship, a unity and struggle of opposite forces in one dark body. We literally have the worldviews of two civilizations in conflict and struggle within the black mind. This double consciousness is a manifestation of a clash of civilizations, a contradiction that will be resolved by the decline of European hegemony and the transformation of human civilization. The working out of the dialectic within the consciousness of the black individual is a struggle between the hegemon of the modern world, the other (the African past), and the human future. Pregnant within the conflict in each black person is the future beyond European hegemony, an historical movement from the Age of Europe to the Age of Humanity. – Dr. Anthony Monteiro (2011) ‘The Epistemic Crisis of African American Studies: A Du Boisian Resolution’, Socialism and Democracy, 25:1
Philly DA is Focus of Mumia Rally Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal rallied in Philadelphia, demanding that District Attorney Larry Krasner not thwart his appeal of a police murder conviction, 38 years ago. A judge found evidence of bias in rejection of previous appeals by the nation’s best known political prisoner.
Blacks and Latinos Face Global South” Conditions in US Black and Latino workers in the US are more favorable to unions because they “are most like workers in the Global South,” where workers are super-exploited, said Michael Yates, the labor educator and author. “Hispanic came from the Global South as immigrants” and “Black people came from the Global South as slaves whose very bodies were owned by capital,” said Yates. His latest book is titled Can Workers Change the World?
New Cold War Crazier Than the Old One “The peril of this new Cold War is especially great,” said Russia expert Stephen Cohen, “because even when Trump does something sensible with Russia on behalf of our national security, it’s called treason. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Cohen, whose newest book is titled, War with Russia?: From Putin and Ukraine to Trump and Russiagate.
Labor:
The ‘Private Governments’ That Subjugate U.S. Workers By Chris HedgesCorporate dictatorships—which strip employees of fundamental constitutional rights, including free speech, and which increasingly rely on temp or contract employees who receive no benefits and have no job security—rule the lives of perhaps 80 percent of working Americans. These corporations, with little or no oversight, surveil and monitor their workforces. They conduct random drug testing, impose punishing quotas and targets, routinely engage in wage theft, injure workers and then refuse to make compensation, and ignore reports of sexual harassment, assault and rape. They use managerial harassment, psychological manipulation—including the pseudo-science of positive psychology—and intimidation to ensure obedience. They fire workers for expressing leftist political opinions on social media or at public events during their off-hours. They terminate those who file complaints or publicly voice criticism about working conditions. They thwart attempts to organize unions, callously dismiss older workers and impose “non-compete” contract clauses, meaning that if workers leave they are unable to use their skills and human capital to work for other employers in the same industry. Nearly half of all technical professions now require workers to sign non-compete clauses, and this practice has spread to low-wage jobs including those in hair salons and restaurants.
“Public Education Is Not Your Plaything”: L.A. Teachers Strike Against Privatization & Underfunding Los Angeles public school teachers are on strike for the first time in three decades. On Monday morning, tens of thousands of teachers braved pouring rain on the picket line for the strike’s first day. Some 20,000 people marched through downtown Los Angeles, demanding smaller class sizes, higher pay, the regulation of charter schools and more nurses, counselors and librarians. Over 31,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles are striking. We speak with Cecily Myart-Cruz, strike leader and National Education Association vice president at United Teachers Los Angeles, and Eric Blanc, a reporter covering the strike for The Guardian and Jacobin.
Britain: May crushed and humiliated in Brexit vote By Adam Booth Rejection of Theresa May’s Brexit deal was never in doubt. The question was always by how much. But the scale of last night’s defeat for the Prime Minister – losing by an unprecedented 230 votes – defied even the most pessimistic of expectations. With her proposal firmly spurned by parliament, Theresa May is now set to sail the country into uncharted waters.
Men dressed as police massacred civilians in Haiti, witnesses say PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When a police truck carrying men in uniform pulled into an impoverished neighborhood in the Haitian capital, residents thought it was an official operation. Maybe police were finally trying to head off a war between the gangs that run protection rackets in the market next to the sprawling collection of cinderblock shacks and low-rise public housing
People walk through the La Saline market in Port-au-Prince February 4. 2006. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Macron And French Centrists Don’t Have Answers As “Yellow Vest” Protests Head For 10th Week ByJoe PenneyL Last November, The French started a new Saturday tradition: “Gilet jaune” protesters wearing yellow safety vests started to take to the streets by the tens of thousands in the morning, shouting slogans against the high cost of living, against French President Emmanuel Macron, and against his detested taxes and social service reforms.
Luxemburg, Liebknecht and the German Revolution By Marie Frederiksen To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Rosa Luxemburg, we share this article by Marie Frederiksen, author of The Revolutionary Heritage of Rosa Luxemburg (available for pre-order in Danish from Forlaget Marx). Marie explains how the Spartacist Uprising of 1919 was defeated due to the weakness and mistakes of the young German Communist Party, ultimately resulting in Luxemburg’s execution. These events are also explored in Germany 1918-1933: Socialism or Barbarism, available now from WellRed Books.
Will Paying for Kidneys Reduce the Transplant Wait List? By Dean BakerIn a Washington Post column Megan McArdle suggests that we pay people to donate their kidneys as a way on increasing the number of donors and reducing the number of people who must rely on dialysis. Needless to say, to many folks it is attractive to get market relationships into ever more aspects of our lives. However, if we are interested in getting more kidneys, rather than just getting more money for the health care industry, this is likely a bad way to go.
L.A. Teachers Strike Set to Enter Second Day 30,000 teachers are on strike for better pay, smaller class size, and for a limit on the expansion for for-profit charter schools
As Corporate Power Threatens Americans’ Right to Water, Groups Offer UN Body List of Issues to Raise With US“Civil and political rights must encompass the human right to water, which is increasingly under threat by corporations that seek to use and abuse our water supplies for profit.” By Andrea Germanos
