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Images Of the Day:
Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Now Leads the World In Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World!
Always Remember: That President Obama, With a Majority Democrat Legislature Supported the Wall Street Bailout and Remember, That he 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, that the 99% Will Rule, Not the Few!
Quotes of the Day:
In the end, Biden and Chevron won. The final bill, named the “Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008,” would include neither McCain’s provision forcing Chevron to divest nor Lantos’ provision ending Chevron’s tax deduction for its payments to Myanmar’s regime. Instead, the law included a toothless provision urging “U.S., French, and Thai investors to voluntarily divest in the Burmese Yadana gas pipeline project.” Joe Biden never explained why he watered down sanctions against that brutal regime in order to protect a big oil company for which his former chief of staff used to lobby. That’s because he wasn’t asked about it. — The Decade-Old Story of Joe Biden, Big Oil, The Revolving Door, and the military Junta
Videos 0f the Day:
United States:
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 ownershipof the Reublicrats, who profit from war and the war budget, voted 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. Tax the Rich! — They Can Afford To Pay!
United States/Israel Genocide Continues!:
Big Oil Gets What They Paid For!: The ‘Lesser Evil’ Strikes Again: ‘This Is Climate Denial’: Biden Goes to Bat for Massive Alaska Drilling Project Approved Under Trump “When someone describes a project with words like ‘in a paradox worthy of Kafka,’ you can bet it’s not what climate action should look like. We’ll see the administration in court.” —Trustees for Alaska “Burning that oil would create nearly 260 million metric tons of CO2 emissions—about the equivalent of what is produced by 66 coal-fired power plants.” The Biden administration is facing backlash from climate activists and scientists after filing a court brief Wednesday in defense of a major Trump-era Alaska drilling project that’s expected to produce up to 160,000 barrels of oil a day over a 30-year period—a plan that runs directly counter to the White House’s stated goal of slashing U.S. carbon emissions. By Jake Johnson
Biden told You That He Was Big Oil’s Candidate Before the 2020 Election!: Joe Biden’s Campaign Co-Chair is a Big Oil and Gas Booster (‘Cancer Alley’) Rep. Cedric Richmond, the Biden campaign’s national co-chair, has one of the most pro-industry voting records on fossil fuel issues among all congressional Democrats.Former Vice President Joe Biden has surrounded himself with people tied to the natural gas industry for his 2020 presidential campaign. His climate adviser, Heather Zichal, is a former board member of natural gas company Cheniere Energy, while one of his fundraisers is a cofounder of natural gas company Western LNG. In addition, the super PAC supporting his candidacy has a former gas lobbyist on its board. By Donald Shaw (12/16/19)
Ted Rall: Your Opinion Doesn’t Matter. Protests Matter. Your opinion doesn’t matter—not by itself. No matter how heartfelt or important to you personally, your thoughts about Gaza or legal weed or the war on skinny jeans don’t mean anything merely because they reside inside your brain. Your opinion matters only if you express it. Expression of an opinion doesn’t change anything unless it’s done effectively. Opinions expressed en masse, alongside others who share your views, are more likely to effect change—but that’s not enough to move the needle. What changes policy, what improves lives for the foreseeable future, what makes history on a radical scale, is a sustained mass movement that expresses an opinion so aggressively that the ruling classes are forced to change course or risk losing their power and privilege to revolutionary overthrow. Want the U.S. to use its enormous military and financial influence over Israel to force movement toward a two-state solution that emancipates the people of Palestine? Get out into the streets. Stay there. Be militant. Don’t stop until you get results. Want Congress to finally get serious about America’s insane for-profit healthcare system so that anyone who’s sick can see a doctor? Fill the streets of hundreds of cities for months at a time and refuse to leave until the corrupt fools in Washington see reason and let us join the numerous other nations who provide for their people’s basic needs.Want a living wage for anyone who puts in a full day’s work? Don’t just think it—do it. Go out there, confront the cops, refuse to be cowed, make everything stop until employers are forced to do the right thing. Last year’s BLM protests were fueled in size and intensity by the COVID-19 lockdown and high unemployment. Now that workplaces, schools and entertainment venues are reopening, it’s tempting to return to the ad-hoc passive activism of the pre-pandemic era. But wimpy succumbing to “free speech” zones to express grievances on the occasional Saturday or Sunday didn’t work then and it won’t work now. We need to rock the streets every day, hard, like it’s 2020 or 1968.
Selling Death: the US is Dominant Once Again…in Arms Sales When it comes to trade in the tools of death and destruction, no one tops the United States of America. In April of this year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its annual analysis of trends in global arms sales and the winner — as always — was the U.S. of A. Between 2016 and 2020, this country accounted for 37% of total international weapons deliveries, nearly twice the level of its closest rival, Russia, and more than six times that of Washington’s threat du jour, China. . . . Three months into Biden’s term, however, the president’s early pledge to rein in damaging arms deals are already eroding. The first blow was the news that the administration would indeed move forward with a $23-billion arms package to the UAE, including F-35 combat aircraft, armed drones, and a staggering $10 billion worth of bombs and missiles. The decision was ill-advised on several fronts, most notably because of that country’s role in Yemen’s brutal civil war. There, despite scaling back its troops on the ground, it continues to arm, train, and finance 90,000 militia members, including extremist groups with links to the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The UAE has also backed armed opposition forces in Libya in violation of a United Nations embargo, launched drone strikes there that killed scores of civilians, and cracked down on dissidents at home and abroad. It regularly makes arbitrary arrests and uses torture. If arming the UAE isn’t a case of “checking our values at the door,” it’s not clear what is. By William D. Hartung
Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist: Freedom Rider: Biden Breaks His Promises Black people have nothing to show for a Biden presidency despite turning out in droves to put him in office.
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor: Palestine is a Mirror into the Contemporary World Struggle Against Imperialism, and its Contradictions One cannot logically support the liberation of Palestine while simultaneously advocating regime change in Syria and Venezuela and obscene funding for the US military.
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor: US Moves against Ethiopia and Eritrea: Atrocities Alleged, Sanctions Imposed
US hostilities towards Ethiopia and Eritrea look more and more like those preceding US wars in Yugoslavia, Libya, and Syria, writes Ann Garrison.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review: SPEECH: The Meaning of African Liberation Day: Walter Rodney, May 27, 1972 At the 1972 event, Walter Rodney proclaimed that “black unity must be international because we live on every continent, through no choice of our own.
Raymond Nat Turner , BAR poet-in-residence: Preachin’ to the Choir (for Joe, Linda, Tim…) 2020’s hindsight—frost in the rearview mirror. Miles Ahead… I’m Sheltered in Solidarity with National Poetry Month and Jazz Appreciation Month—
David Theo Goldberg: The War on Critical Race Theory
The critics want to wipe clear the actual history of racial oppression that is baked into the social and economic structures of the US.
Elizabeth Hinton, Derecka Purnell: Reclaiming the Power of Rebellion The police as they exist today need to be abolished, there’s no question. “Diversity doesn’t change the fundamental dynamics of policing.”
Dr. Gerald Horne: Against Left-Wing White Nationalism Much of what is called the “left” still insists that the American “revolution” of 1776 is “unfinished,” when history shows that white supremacy was the intended result.
Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies: The Emperor’s New Rules
The US claims that it respects the international rule on law, but instead makes up the rules as it goes along, resulting in the death of millions.
Kweli Nzito: The Planet’s Most Powerful Zionist is a Puppet There is a frank convergence of histories of both nations: dispossession of native populations and a penchant for genocide.
Denise Lynn: Alphaeus Hunton: The Unsung Valiant, by Dorothy Hunton Hunton’s devotion to peace and “mutual cooperation” came out of his understanding that “war and militarism were endemic” to capitalism.
Labor:
Economy:
Justice Department Opens Probe into Potential Bank Cartel that Financed Archegos Last evening, Bloomberg News, followed by the Wall Street Journal, reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a probe into the late March collapse of the Archegos family office hedge fund.The Wall Street Journal reported that “Banks that lent to Archegos, including Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley,” had been contacted for information by the Justice Department By Pam Martens and Russ Martens 
World:
Did China Just End Extreme Poverty? Not entirely, but it’s virtually the only country to have made any progress. According to the World Bank, which defines extreme poverty as living on $1.90 a day or less, 750 million people in China fell into that category as recently as 1990. Today that figure is virtually zero, with Chinese president Xi Jinping announcing earlier this year that extreme poverty had in fact been eliminated.The importance of such a story can’t be overstated. If it is the case that China is single-handedly responsible for reducing global poverty over the last thirty years, eliminating an endemic issue in little more than a generation, then we must think more deeply about the country’s economic model. Just as importantly, it should also serve to highlight the failure of efforts elsewhere in the global south. What is China getting so right that the Washington consensus of the IMF and World Bank got so wrong? After all, the bedrock of its progress, from state ownership to capital controls and fixed exchange rates, is broadly the opposite of what is meant to work. By Aaron Bastani
After Netanyahu’s War: A United Palestinian Movement Emerges After eleven days of the ruthless bombardment of Gaza – which has killed more than 240 Palestinians (almost half of whom were children and women) and left thousands severely injured – Israel has eventually agreed to a ceasefire. The bombardment caused the displacement of 75,000 people. Their homes have been destroyed and severe damage has been inflicted on essential infrastructure: schools, hospitals (including the only COVID-19 testing and vaccination centre), electricity and clean water supplies. The population of Gaza will pay a heavy price for many years to come for Israel’s attack. After eleven days of the ruthless bombardment of Gaza – which has killed more than 240 Palestinians (almost half of whom were children and women) and left thousands severely injured – Israel has eventually agreed to a ceasefire. The bombardment caused the displacement of 75,000 people. Their homes have been destroyed and severe damage has been inflicted on essential infrastructure: schools, hospitals (including the only COVID-19 testing and vaccination centre), electricity and clean water supplies. The population of Gaza will pay a heavy price for many years to come for Israel’s attack. By Francesco Merli
South Africa: Dockworkers refuse to offload Israeli ship in solidarity with Palestine South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) members refused to offload an Israeli ship on May 21, in protest against Israel’s war on Palestine. The Zim Shanghai, owned by Israeli state-owned company Zim Lines, docked in Durban port on May 19.Dockworkers were due to offload the ship and handle the ship’s cargo on May 21, but refused. Instead, they were joined by the South African Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition, progressives and other trade unions in a protest action at Durban port. By Markela Panegyres
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 pass universal healthcare for themselves, but cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers to be, a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let the People Vote on Healthcare
Free the Vaccine!: We Can’t Be Safe, Unless All are Safe!: We Can End the Covid Pandemic in the Next Year This is a global war but bold action on vaccines gives our governments the opportunity to win it Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. We are a strange species. We are able to produce marvels, but then fail to ensure they reach everybody who would benefit, even though the costs would be trivial against the gains to all. The marvel now is the swift arrival of effective vaccines against Covid-19. The failure is to ensure production and distribution at sufficient scale. In our folly, we are throwing away a glorious opportunity. In “A Proposal to End the Covid-19 Pandemic”, Ruchir Agarwal and Gita Gopinath of the IMF have illuminated both the opportunity and the benefits from seizing it. Their suggested plan is to vaccinate at least 40 per cent of the population of all countries by the end of 2021 and at least 60 per cent by July 2022, as well as enabling widespread testing and tracing. The study estimates the cumulative economic benefits at $9tn ($1,150 per person) against a cost of $50bn — a ratio of 180 to one. This must be among the highest-return investments ever. This pandemic is, above all, a health crisis. But it is also an economic disaster. The report is right to insist that “pandemic policy is also economic policy as there is no durable end to the economic crisis without an end to the health crisis.” A comparison of the IMF’s forecasts of October 2019 with those for April 2021 suggests that Covid-19 lowered global real output by $16tn (at 2019 prices) in 2020 and 2021 alone. If the pandemic continues, such losses will cumulate far into the future. By Martin Wolf
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 the Banner Headline: “There Is No Peace”
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! For Decades, Blacks Have Been Subjected to The Iron Heel! Currently, the US Capitalist Class is Divided Over When — Not If, to Apply It to Everyone!
