Daily News Digest Archives

Since World War I, ‘the war to end all wars’, there have been perpetual wars for perpetual peace, this Laura Gray’s cartoon from the front page of The Militant August 18, 1945, under banner headline: “There Is No Peace” Could Still Be Published Today!During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program:

  1. Austerity

  2. Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and

  3. The Iron Heel

Always Remember That Obama Supported the Wall Street Bailout and Remember That President Obama, With a Majority Democrat Legislature, Established, in writing,  the United States Capitalist Austerity Program  — The Race to the Bottom/Pauperization of the 99%!

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.    Socialism Means True Democracy — The 99% Will Rule! — Not the Few!Images of the Day: Quotes of the Day:

Images of the Day:

A Question Of Leadership the ‘New Politics’ Jeremy Corbyn Proclaims Must Be An Explicit Agenda Of Institutional Change, Not Simply A Change Of Style At The Dispatch BoxQuotes of the Day:

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. – Dwight Eisenhower

Videos Of the Day:

TSA Beats Deaf, Blind & Paralyzed Girl Bloody & Arrests Her At Memphis International Airport

U.S.:

The United States is not a Democracy (A government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly)! Only the 1%, through their ownership of the Republicrats and who profit from war and the war budget, vote for War and the war budget — A policy, which Gore Vidal called a  Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. — The 99% Should Decide On War — Not Just The 1% Who Profit From War!  Under a Democracy, The 99% would have the right to vote on the policy of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace! The United States takes from the poor and gives to the Rich.

Impeach the whole damned crooked system! The game is rigged,” Trump rants — and so it is! — though not against him and his billionaire buddies. Now the liar-in-chief has stepped so far over the bounds of “normal” politics that the Democrats have initiated the impeachment process. An investigation into Trump’s abuse of power? Great — bring it on! The Donald should have been brought to justice long ago for high crimes against humanity: brutal suffering of migrants; aid and comfort to white supremacists; environmental destruction through global warming; and gutted lifelines like healthcare, to name a few. For that matter, his predecessors, Republican and Democrat alike, richly deserved the same fate, including Obama, who oversaw the greatest transfer of wealth from workers to the rich in human history. The actual impeachment charges seem to pale in comparison. By Luma Nichol The United States Uses “Blackwater” PMC Mercenaries and Terrorists to Steal Oil in Syria From where did the Kurdish terrorist get his watch worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, how are American PMC mercenaries from “Blackwater” connected, and where do Americans sell stolen Syrian oil? Read the FAN investigation to find out. In early November the Federal News Agency (FAN) discovered that several thousand mercenaries from the American private military company “Academi”, better known by its first name, “Blackwater”, had been deployed to the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor to ensure the illegal export of oil from the country by the United States of America. The use of PMCs allows the United States to disguise its extensive military presence in the occupied oil-bearing areas of Eastern Syria and officially declare a “decline in the US Army military contingent’s strength,” replacing each withdrawn soldier with several mercenaries from “Blackwater”.Environment:

New Report on Ocean Oxygen Loss Gives ‘Ultimate Wake-Up Call’ to Act on Climate “Decisions taken at the ongoing climate conference will determine whether our ocean continues to sustain a rich variety of life, or whether habitable, oxygen-rich marine areas are increasingly, progressively, and irrevocably lost.” A new report on ocean oxygen loss released Saturday should serve as the “ultimate wake-up call” to take bold action to rein in planet-warming emissions and save the world’s “suffocating seas,” researchers said. By Andrea GermanosEven as 500,000 March in Madrid, Greta Thunberg Warns Climate Movement Has ‘Achieved Nothing’ Until Emissions Fall Before taking part in a 500,000-strong climate march in Madrid, teen activist Greta Thunberg spoke plainly yet forcefully Friday about the impact the global climate strike movement has had thus far and reiterated the demand of the climate justice movement for global leaders to act with the urgency the planet’s ecological emergency mandates. “We cannot afford more days going by without real action being taken.” By Andrea Germanos

 Permafrost Hits a Grim Threshold For tens of thousands of years the Arctic’s carbon sink has been a powerful dynamic in the functionality of the Earth System. However, that all-important functionality has been crippled and could be permanently severed. According to new research-based upon field observations conducted from 2003 to 2017, a large-scale carbon emission shift in the Earth System has occurred. The “entire Arctic” now emits more carbon than it absorbs, a fact that can only be described as worse than bad news. “Given that the Arctic has been taking up carbon for tens of thousands of years, this shift to a carbon source is important because it highlights a new dynamic in the functioning of the Earth System,” says Susan Natali at Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts (Source: Thawing Permafrost Has Turned the Arctic Into a Carbon Emitter, NewScientist, Oct. 21, 2019) By Robert HunzikerPotential uranium spill in Detroit River alarms residents, environmental groups Detroit residents and environmental groups are outraged over the handling of a potential uranium spill from a long-contaminated riverbank that collapsed into the Detroit River two days before Thanksgiving. The public was unaware of the potential contamination until the Windsor Star in Canada revealed what had happened Thursday – nine days after the collapse of the riverfront storage site in southwest Detroit. The city of Detroit has drinking water intake lines near the collapsed site.  “How in the world is it possible that we are hearing from Canadian news networks, days late at that, before we are hearing from our own authorities in charge of protecting us?” Sierra Club environmental organizer Justin Onwenu said in a news release. “This took place days ago and we just found out yesterday. Michiganders deserve emergency response systems in place that will assure communities that public health and safety is adequately protected.” On Thursday, a member of the Canadian Parliament, Brian Masse, called for the U.S. and Canadian governments to investigate, noting the site once had “radioactive contamination.” For decades, the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency listed the site as contaminated because of uranium and other dangerous chemicals stored at the site next to Historic Fort Wayne and leased by Detroit Bulk Storage. By Steve Neavling

Global Poison Spring The power of the chemical industry in the United States all but wiped out the US EPA. The politicized department administers laws and regulations that prescribe what it can do. However, in practice, it’s the political appointees that decide what EPA does. Related to this political reality, and knowing the deep roots of industry influence in Congress and the White House, EPA does its work reluctantly most of the time. In the case of hazardous chemicals, EPA is scared to even do the minimum of protecting the health of Americans, much less protect the integrity and health of the natural world. By Evaggelos Vallianatos

Civil Rights/Black Liberation:

Labor:

The shadow government Statistics Alternate Unemployment Rate for November 2019 is 20.9%.  The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers. The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment.

Economy:

Bombshell Report: The Fed Has Not Rejected One Bank Merger Application Out of 3800 Submitted in Past 11 Years In advance of its December 4 hearing to question if federal bank regulators are adequately watching over the nation’s banks, the House Financial Services Committee issued a Memorandum on some of the key concerns. Buried on page three of the Memorandum was this bombshell: “Concerns have been raised about federal financial regulators rubber-stamping prior merger and acquisition applications. For example, based on data provided by the Federal Reserve, from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2017, over 3,800 merger applications were submitted to the agency. During this eleven-year period, however, the Federal Reserve did not reject any merger application. On November 20, the Federal Reserve and FDIC granted approval of the merger between BB&T and SunTrust, creating the sixth-largest bank in the United States.” By Pam Martens and Russ Martens

World:

Huge Crowds Gather To See Jeremy Corbyn In WalesLabour’s Mass Movement – The Unwritten Story Of This Election With under a week to go, Labour is taking its campaign up a gear. Activists are being bussed into marginals to bolster local doorknocking efforts. Money is being raised from grassroots donations in order to reach young voters in key seats. And the party’s mass membership is being mobilized to flood the streets over the next six days. This is on top of the Herculean efforts already made by Corbyn supporters over the past five weeks. Whereas the 2017 election got off to a relatively slow start, Labour’s 2019 campaign has hit the ground running. ‘Unseat’ events – led by prominent left-wing figures such as Owen Jones – have seen hundreds come out at a time on cold winter nights for mass canvassing sessions in important marginal seats. Many more have taken part in rallies and phone-banking. Thousands of Whatsapp groups have sprouted up, allowing members to organize from the bottom-up. And a whole new layer has been brought into political activity, with many taking on leading roles. The scale of this mass movement is the unwritten story of the election. In reality, there have been two elections taking place in parallel: that covered by the capitalist press – mainly a barrage of attacks against Corbyn, bolstered by a torrent of regurgitated lies and smears by the establishment and their media mouthpieces; and Labour’s mass campaign of optimism, taking place on social media and on the streets. The ruling class are terrified. They have lost control of the situation. They no longer have any reliable representatives in Westminster. Their anxieties are accurately portrayed in the recent editorials of serious capitalist journals such as the Financial Times and the Economist – both of whom are weeping about the collapse of the ‘center-ground’ and bemoaning the political polarisation taking place in British society (and internationally). But while the establishment snivels and sobs; while cowards flinch and traitors sneer, hundreds of thousands of people across the country are mobilizing and organizing, inspired by the opportunity to change society. Regardless of what happens on 12 December, this fact alone will change the political landscape irrevocably.

France Paralyzed by Largest General Strike in Decades The general strike beginning today in France may turn into one of the most important strikes in decades. This morning, workers all over the country left their workplaces and gathered to protest Macron’s latest attack on the working class, an overhaul of France’s retirement system that will cut benefits for millions of people, particularly young people and the elderly. Hundreds of thousands of people across France—including workers organized in over 30 unions, young people and students, activists, and many Yellow Vests—are pouring into the streets in defiance of Macron’s plans to make further cuts to social programs. The strike has already extended to many of France’s major cities: workers have walked off the job in Paris, Lyon, Nantes, and Marseilles. With 90% of all trains in the country cancelled, metro stations closed throughout Paris, 40% of schools closed, and hundreds of flights canceled, the country is effectively paralyzed.France: biggest strike in decades signals new era of class struggleYesterday’s general strike against Macron’s pension reform saw a “convergence of struggles” from across French society. According to the CGT (the trade union federation at the head of the strike), 1.5 million people took part in the demonstrations, which would make this the biggest movement since the battle against Alain Juppé’s package of attacks in 1995. The spirit of the gilets jaunes can be felt on the streets, where (despite the limitations of their leadership) the workers are directing their fury, not just against the pension reform, but the government as a whole. The police and the unions have provided conflicting figures for the turnout in different parts of the country, making it difficult to get a completely accurate picture. For instance, in Marseille, the CGT claimed there were 150,000 demonstrators – six-times higher than the official police estimate. The authorities tend to downplay the scale of demonstrations, and looking at the images on social media, it seems the unions’ numbers are closer to the truth. What is not in doubt is the turnout everywhere was significantly higher than in recent years. By Joe AttardMexico’s Govt Launches Massive Auction For ‘Robin Hood’ Program Since taking office in December, Lopez Obrador, a leftist, has rolled out a string of welfare programs for the poor and the elderly, cut salaries for top civil servants Mexico’s government announced on Wednesday an auction of 600 lots consisting in more than 4,000 seized jewels, vehicles and residences,​ officials said on Wednesday, as part of a “Robin Hood” program to use millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains to aid the poor.

Education, Health, Science, and Welfare:

The government of the United States can pass laws in a few days to spend tens of trillions of dollars for war and the bailout of Wall Street and the bankers. Yet, those who ‘govern’, pass universal healthcare for themselves, but they cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers the to be,  a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let the People  Vote on Healthcare