Daily News Digest Archives
Daily News Digest June 16, 2016
Images of the Day:
“In the Land of the ‘Free’”
Quotes of the Day:
NBA Hall of Famer, Rick Barry, stated that the call by refs and the consequent suspension of Draymond Green was ‘Bullshit’ —The reason for fouls being called and fouls not being called: The Sports Industrial complex makes more money if the series goes the full 7 games. Nothing more needs to be said. — Roland Sheppard
Varoufakis is timid in taking such demands to their full revolutionary potential, instead choosing to hide in the shadows of reformism. He is paralysed by a deadly combination of fear and pessimism, choosing the path of “pragmatism” in order to defeat the main threat that he sees for Europe: the rise of the far right. But what Varoufakis fails to also see is that the greatest boost for the far right comes from the very timidity of Left leaders such as himself, whose “pragmatic” attempts to try and reform European capitalism mean they cannot offer a genuine solution to the problems facing society. When such “progressives” fail and the Left is defeated by its leadership’s lack of confidence in the power of the working class, is it any wonder that demagogues and far-right populists gain a certain echo in society? With his pessimism and “pragmatism”, therefore, Varoufakis ends up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, sowing the seeds of our own demise, and bringing into being the very future he is trying to stop. — Varoufakis’ “Modest Proposal”: Pragmatism or Utopianism?
Videos of the Day:
4 out of 5 Prisoners Would Have to be Released to Reduce U.S. Incarceration to 1972 Levels (Audio)
Police clash with demonstrators in Paris amid fresh labour reform protests
Nina Simone: Why (The King of Love Is Dead)
U.S.
Before Orlando, Omar Mateen Worked for Human Rights Abusers by Phyllis Bennis
Orlando Shooters Father Worked For The CIA by Sean Adl-Tabatabai 
BFP Book Review: “The Terror Factory: Inside the FBI’s Manufactured War on Terrorism’ by Trevor Aaronson”: How the FBI creates and facilitates phony terrorist plots so that the bureau can then claim victory in the war on terror. By Mark Mondalek
Environment:
The 1% Favor Immediate Profits over Climate — Despite Threat to Humanity!: World’s Banks Driving Climate Chaos with Hundreds of Billions in Extreme Energy Financing Wall Street continues to back the most polluting fossil fuel industries “at the expense of some of the most vulnerable communities on the planet,” states new report by Lauren McCauley 
Report Finds Big Ag’s Global Land Grab Expanding to New Frontiers While ‘food security-driven land grabbing’ has subsided in recent years, ‘plain old profit-driven agribusiness expansion is now the dominant agenda’ by Deirdre Fulton 
Ongoing/Big Energy Disasters!:
Fukushima radiation blamed for spike in U.S. sailor deaths; 400 veterans suffering serious, debilitating illnesses: The death and sickness toll for U.S. sailors who were aboard an American aircraft carrier sent to assist the Japanese government in the hours and days following the http://www.fukushima.news/ is growing, with scores more continuing to come forward by: J. D. Heyes 
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
4 out of 5 Prisoners Would Have to be Released to Reduce U.S. Incarceration to 1972 Levels: The U.S. prison system is the true measure of how America regards its Blacks citizens. In a country that is till two-thirds white and only one-sixth Black, African Americans make up majorities of the prison population in 12 states. To bring U.S. incarceration rates down to 1972 levels, fully 80 percent of the 2.3 million current prison inmates – a total of 1,850,000 men and women – would have to be let go. A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford 
Freedom Rider: September 9th Prison Strike: Prison inmates around the country have organized to resist the world’s largest and most profitable system of human bondage. Mass Black incarceration marks the U.S. as a racist police state. “When we stand up to these authorities,” say the prisoners, “they come down on us, and the only protection we have is solidarity from the outside.” All decent men and women must answer the call to action from the belly of the gulag in September. by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
America: The Land of Terrorists and Massacres: The massacre in Orlando was not the largest mass killing in U.S. history, and the United States has been responsible for the massacre of millions around the planet. We should all be mindful of “the nexus between US foreign policy adventures that plunder and violate countries in search of natural resources and US domestic racist actions.” U.S. crimes against humanity stretch from My Lai to Ferguson. by BAR editor and columnist Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo
Muhammad Ali and Dylann Roof: Contested Meanings and Contested Lies: In the space of a week, Muhammad Ali was eulogized by “the rapist and petty opportunist politician” Bill Clinton, and the U.S. government announced it would pursue the death penalty for the Charleston shooter. Nothing in America is innocent. The first event represents the rulers’ attempt to “Americanize” Black icons. The second cynically seeks to undermine opposition to the death penalty among Blacks, the group most opposed to capital punishment. by BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka
Keep Muhammed Ali’s Legacy Away from Beyonce and Kanye West: Airheaded commentators compare Beyonce’s media products and Kanye West’s off-hand quips to Muhammad Ali’s heroic political struggle and genuine sacrifice in the Sixties. That’s nonsense. “Beyonce can dress up in Black Panther dress and subsequently fail to use her platform to educate others about the Black Panther Party precisely because she is selling a product, not building a movement. The same goes for Kanye West and all corporate artists.” by Danny Haiphong
Prisons are for Burning: On Abolition and Dystopia: When people claim they have a plan to abolish prisons, make sure they are not hawking some techno-analytic, biometric, genetic mapping, computer-based or electronic ankle bracelet alternative designed to ensnare us all. Rather than abolishing incarceration, they would democratize it. When it comes to phony prison “abolition” schemes, “the president and his opposition all sound an awful lot like Angela Davis.” by Neal Shirley
Hillary Clinton: Something Wicked This Way Comes: Lesser evils” are still evil – and, who says Hillary Clinton is the “lesser” in a contest with Donald Trump? “If you wish to vote for someone evil who adores war and destroying human life, by way of wars of aggression, then Hillary Clinton is your candidate.” Trump’s evil is also manifest in his nostalgia for Jim Crow and his crude and contemptible xenophobia. by Solomon Comissiong
Green Party Seeks 2016 Ballot Access in all 50 States, an Interview with Rick Lass: The two major parties maintain their duopoly, not just on the strength of corporate money, but by making it so hard for independent parties to get on the ballot. The author spoke to New Mexico activist and Stein campaign staffer Rick Lass about efforts to get the Green Party on the ballot in all 50 states. He reminded her that it also “takes an inspiring candidate with an organization to raise the funds and attract the volunteers needed to get on the ballot.” by Ann Garrison 
Labor:
Economy:
“The Business of America Isn’t Business Anymore.” It’s Tricked Up Financial Engineering. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Varoufakis’ “Modest Proposal”: Pragmatism or Utopianism? by Thomas Soud
Health, Education, and Welfare: