Daily News Digest January 23, 2019

Daily News Digest January 23, 2019

 The Cuban Revolution: Always of and by the people During the luminous January of 1959, following the triumph of the Revolution, Cuba’s nascent government was fulfilling one its moral commitments: bringing to justice the terrorists, criminals, and torturers of the Batista dictatorship who had caused the people so much pain and mourning, amidst a ferocious media campaign to discredit the trials, orchestrated by the United States, where many of these murderers had already taken refuge.Fidel immediately perceived Washington’s objective, thinly veiled behind the lies and manipulation. First, on January 13, 15, and 16, in public appearances, he recalled how the U.S. press and government had ignored the crimes of the Batista dictatorship and, after the revolutionary victory, denounced measures taken against Batista’s henchmen. 

Daily News Digest Archives

Laura Gray’s cartoon from the front page of The Militant August 18, 1945, under banner headline: “There Is No Peace”

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.

Images/Quote of the Day:

This Below Quote By Martin Luther King Rings True Today!:

The Greatest Purveyor of Violence in the World — Is My Own Government!!!Mexico Has Decided to Pay for the Wall 

AntiVietnam War Demonstration 1967 Crowd at Central Park Untitled-1

 Martin Luther King and Dr. Benjamin Spock at the head of the Anti-Vietnam War March fromCentral Park to the United Nations Building  New York City, April 15,1967  Photograph by Benedict Fernandez. Published in: Kasher, Steven. The Civil Rights Movement:A Photographic History, 1954-68. New York: Abbeville Press, 1996Picture9

Quotes of the Day:

Videos of the Day:

MLK Documentary: ‘When Silence Becomes Betrayal’On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr., join us for a screening of a new documentary on MLK’s opposition to the Vietnam War, based on King’s April 30th, 1967 speech.

U.S.:

Trump’s war on science: how the US is putting politics above evidence Experts say the administration is blatantly dismantling proven programs, and the consequences could be dire Donald Trump’s administration is cutting programs scientists say are proven to protect Americans, from pollution safeguards to teen pregnancy prevention and healthier school lunches, with effects that could last for years. By Emily Holden 

Abstinence programs are being favored over evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention.
Abstinence programs are being favored over evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Abstinence programs are being favored over evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention. Photograph: RGB Ventures / SuperStock / Alam/Alamy

The ‘Gilets Jaunes’ Are Unstoppable: “Now, The Elites Are Afraid”The gilets jaunes (yellow vest) movement has rattled the French establishment. For several months, crowds ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets every weekend across the whole of France. They have had enormous success, extracting major concessions from the government. They continue to march. By Tyler Durden

A ‘Fundamentally Inhuman’ Economy: 26 Billionaires Own as Much as World’s 3.8 Billion Poorest PeopleWhile the wealth of billionaires increased by $900 billion last year, or $2.5 billion a day, latest Oxfam report on inequality shows “this bonanza has not been felt by the poorest half of the world, which saw its wealth decline by 11 percent.” By Jake Johnson

The US War Against the WeakWar Against the Weak is a well-documented book of more than half a thousand pages, written by Edwin Black. It describes a criminal operation planned by the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century and put into practice between the 1930’s and 1960s  with the purpose of creating a dominant superior race. By Manuel E. Yepe 

Refugees Are Not Health Threat to Host Countries, WHO Study Finds. In Fact, It’s the Opposite. “Despite the widespread assumption to the contrary, there is only a very low risk of refugees and migrants transmitting communicable diseases to their host population.” By Julia Conley

‘Literally What Jesus Told People to Do’: In Arizona, Possible Prison Time for Leaving Food and Water for Migrants“If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?” By Jessica Corbett 

New US Economic Attack Against Cuba, Long Threatened, May Hit Soonby W. T. Whitney  That section of the 1996 anti-Cuban Helms-Burton Act known as Title III allows Cuban exiles or their families and a few U.S. companies to seek remedies in U.S. courts for properties they lost in Cuba due to nationalization by the revolutionary government. Ever since, the U.S. government at six month intervals has announced that Title III would not be taking effect during the following six months. But on January 16 U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo indicated that suspended implementation that begins on February 1 will last only 45 days and not the usual six months.

The Next Recession: What It Could Look Like The next recession will not look like the last recession. The last recession was caused by the collapse of a massive housing bubble that had been the driving force in the previous recovery. While economists like to pretend this was an unforeseeable event, that is not true. By Dean Baker

Environment:

Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:

Civil Rights/Black Liberation:

A Dream Deffered, We’re Headed Toward Economic Apartheid Most known for his famous “I Have Dream Speech,” King envisioned a future in which deep racial inequalities — including deep economic inequality — were eradicated. He worked tirelessly towards that mission.By Jessicah Pierre

It’s Time to Heed King’s Call for the Abolition of Poverty As long as what’s called “Western civilization” has existed, people have been punished for being poor. This isn’t something the Western world invented, but it’s been a consistent characteristic of it. In Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. … The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty.” Through this call to abolish poverty, King put forth an indictment of Western civilization and of capitalistic society. By William C. Anderson

Labor:

Economy:

From the chart above shows that real weekly wages have been cut $160 per week since 1965. The drastic cut was done with the support of the neoliberal bureaucratic Trade Union leadership which by 1986 implemented the program to be in partnership with the boss—the capitalist 1%! (As do the rest of the leaderships of the Black, Minorities, Women’s groups! — The Procapitalis Bureaucrats!) For more information read my essay The Fall of the Trade Union Movement

World:

Mayor’s assassination reveals Polish capitalism’s impending crisisB By A wave of deep consternation shook Poland on Sunday 13 January. A well-known, liberal politician and mayor of the major coastal city of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, was stabbed on stage in front of hundreds of people. He died in hospital the following morning. Adamowicz, who had been the city’s mayor since 1998, was taking part in the biggest annual charity event, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Aid, as he was stabbed in his chest repeatedly by a raving terrorist. Many are in a state of disbelief, as this is widely considered to be the most serious political assassination since the murder of Polish President Gabriel Narutowicz in 1922. By Henryk Kazlowski

Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: