Daily News Digest January 12, 2023
Images:
5 Scathing Cartoons About Controversial Supreme Court Decisions
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”, is Still True for Today’s World!
Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capitalism Has Been Aware of the Comming Catastrophe of Global Warming Over 5 Decades Ago and Did Nothing!: Under Capitalism — Human Lives Don’t Matter Capitalism Does Not, and Never Has, Worked for the Masses! In Its Death Agony, Capitalism Is Traveling About The World Like The Four Horsemen of the The Apocalypse, Spreading Racism, War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. The very future of Humanity Is Now At stake!
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!
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 his book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos Or Community?, New York: Harper & Row, 1967, King wrote the course that he was planning to take in the fight for economic equality:There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities… The coalition of an energized section of labor, Negroes, unemployed, and welfare recipients may be the source of power that reshapes economic relationships and ushers in a breakthrough to a new level of social reform. . . . The total elimination of poverty, here.”now a practical responsibility, the reality of equality in race relations and other profound structural changes in society may well begin
A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look at thousands of working people displaced from their jobs with reduced incomes as a result of automation while the profits of the employers remain intact, and say: “This is not just.” It will look across the oceans and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: “This is not just.” It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America and say: “This is not just.” The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just. A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: “This way of settling differences is not just.” This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing to prevent us from paying adequate wages to schoolteachers, social workers and other servants of the public to insure that we have the best available personnel, in these positions, who are charged with the responsibility of guiding our future generations. There is nothing but a lack of social vision to prevent us from paying an adequate wage to every American citizen whether he be a hospital worker, laundry worker, maid or day laborer. There is nothing except shortsightedness to prevent us from guaranteeing an annual minimum—and livable—income for every American family. There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from remolding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood. ― Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
Japan in December adopted a set of three security and defense strategy documents that break from its exclusively self-defense-only stance. Under the new strategies, Japan vows to build up its counterstrike capability with long-range cruise missiles that can reach potential targets in China, double its defense budget within five years and bolster development of advanced weapons.” —Asahi Shimbun “Japan in December adopted a set of three security and defense strategy documents that break from its exclusively self-defense-only stance. Under the new strategies, Japan vows to build up its counterstrike capability with long-range cruise missiles that can reach potential targets in China, double its defense budget within five years and bolster development of advanced. . . . “U.S. officials have welcomed Japan’s willingness to take on more offensive role, while experts say it could also help widen cooperation with Australia, their main regional defense partner.” —Asahi Shimbun, — Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War
Videos/Podcasts of the Day:
Haiti in the Age of the Ukraine Proxy War Black Agenda Report editors and contributors Margaret Kimberley, Danny Haiphong, and Dr. Jemima Pierre discuss what Haiti’s struggles can teach us at this pivotal moment in history.
International Marxist Radio The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is pleased to announce the launch of its new podcast, International Marxist Radio (IMR). The first episode of this new series features presenter Joe Attard speaking to In Defence of Marxism (IDOM) editor-in-chief Alan Woods. Expect new episodes every Wednesday!
Martin Luther King: Where Do We Go From Here?
Black Agenda Radio January 6, 2023 Black Agenda Radio , Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
- Mumia Abu Jamal Continues His Fight for Freedom
- UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and the Durban Declaration Program of Action
- Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy
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 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. Rax the Rich! — They Can Afford To Pay! Both Parties Support U.S. Capitalism’s Wars! (The Only War the Democrats Opposed was the Civil War!)
The Real Coup d’état!: The Dictatorship of the Supreme Court Democratic activists have been raising the alarm about the future of American democracy since Donald Trump was elevated to the presidency in 2016. January 6 underlined the clear and present danger we face. Representative Benny Thompson, the co-chair of the January 6th committee, argued that the events of that day “and the lies that led to insurrection have put two and a half centuries of constitutional democracy at risk.” For the moment our democratic institutions hung on by a thread, this thinking goes. Democratic leaders now argue that this November’s elections are crucial to preserving them. But, in reality, it may be too late. Authoritarian dictatorship has already arrived in another branch of government. Apparently beyond the reach of Congress, the executive branch, and a majority of the voters, the United States is governed now to an alarming degree by six unelected Supreme Court justices with lifetime tenure who have arrogated to themselves the power to make and break laws with impunity. The recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is only the latest example of their willingness to ignore settled law based on motivated reasoning against the will of the majority of Americans. Both Congress and the President appear powerless to check the unfettered power of this court.
It’s Time to Admit This Right-Wing U.S. Supreme Court Is a Corrupt, Autocratic Tribune The Court has become a handmaiden to the corporate elites trying to increase their dominance over us. Question: How many legs does a dog have if you count the tail as a leg? Answer: Four — calling the tail a leg doesn’t make it one. Likewise, calling a small group of partisan lawyers a “supreme” court doesn’t make it one. There’s nothing supreme about the six-pack of far-right-wing political activists who are presently soiling our people’s ideals of justice by proclaiming their own antidemocratic biases to be the law of the land. On issues of economic fairness, women’s rights, racial justice, corporate supremacy, environmental protection, theocratic rule and other fundamentals, these unelected, black-robed extremists are imposing an illegitimate elitist agenda on America that the people do not want and ultimately will not tolerate.
Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War Across the Indo-Pacific, as well as in the escalating Ukraine War, humanity stands an accident or miscalculation away from the calamity of nuclear war. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida comes to Washington on Friday, January 13. Unlike Japan, his summit with President Joe Biden will not garner much press attention here in the United States, but it marks a signal moment in Japan’s rise in military power and in the implementation of the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy. The Strategy, which prioritizes Chinese and Russian challenges to the so-called “rules-based order”, a euphemism for U.S. primacy which is rife with contradictions, prioritizes the centrality of alliances to U.S. global power, stating that “our alliances and partnerships around the world are our most important strategic asset.”
Environment — Ecosocialism or Ecocide — :Ecosocialism Not Extinction!
San Francisco: Lightning Strike Tranamerics Building and Sutro Tower 
Toxic Tuesdays: Dioxin in Food Dioxins are a group of chemically related compounds formed as a byproduct of industrial processes such as water treatment, paper manufacturing, and waste incineration. If dioxins are not properly captured and stored, they can be released into the environment. Once released into the air, dioxins can travel thousands of miles. They can also attach to soil particles on the ground and sediment in bodies of water. Because dioxins are slow to decompose, they can persist in the environment for years after being released. One of the reasons this is a problem is because dioxins bioaccumulate in animal tissues, meaning if fish or livestock become exposed to dioxins, they accumulate in the animals. Then, when humans eat these contaminated animal products, we can be exposed to high levels of dioxins. This makes dioxins in food a particularly dangerous and widespread method of dioxin exposure. Dioxin exposure is associated with a wide variety of health problems including a skin disease called chloracne, liver damage, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, and immune system dysfunction. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that several types of dioxins cause cancer. It is suspected that dioxins may also cause reproductive damage, birth defects, and miscarriages because it can be passed from a pregnant person to their fetus. Because of their small size and the importance of proper development, dioxin exposure is particularly dangerous for infants and children. With these serious health effects, dioxin exposure through eating contaminated meat, dairy, and fish is a concern. Washing and cooking food does not remove the dioxins from them. Individuals can protect themselves by eating healthy diets that prioritize vegetables, fruits, and whole grains while decreasing meat consumption. (This is the kind of diet you would eat by following the Food Pyramid). When eating meat, choose products low in fat where animals have been grain or grass-fed. If you catch your own seafood, be sure to check local fishing advisories.
Extreme Weather Caused 18 Disasters in US Last Year, Costing $165bn Disasters costing at least $1bn killed 474 people last year, government figures show The US endured a particularly painful year as communities wrestled with the growing impacts of the climate crisis, with 18 major disasters wreaking havoc across the country as planet-heating emissions continued to climb. Storms, floods, wildfires and droughts caused a total of $165bn in damages in the US last year, $10bn more than the 2021 total and the third most costly year since records of major losses began in 1980, according to new US government data.
‘Thank Your Fossil Fuel Friends’: World’s Oceans Had Hottest Year on Record in 2022 “We are getting more extreme weather because of the warming oceans and that has tremendous consequences all around the world,” said one scientist. ‘Thank Your Fossil Fuel Friends’: World’s Oceans Had Hottest Year on Record in 2022 “We are getting more extreme weather because of the warming oceans and that has tremendous consequences all around the world,” said one scientist. As the death toll from the extreme weather facing California this week rose to at least 17 and thousands in the state were displaced by mudslides and flooding, scientists from 16 international universities and institutes published a study Wednesday showing that a major driver of extreme weather—the heating of the world’s oceans—was worse than ever in 2022.
No Time to Lose’: 300+ Groups Push Biden to End Drilling on Public Lands, Waters “More drilling and more fracking is just a recipe for more climate disaster. For our future, President Biden needs to get real. More than 300 environmental and Indigenous rights groups said Wednesday that the Biden administration must take a number of concrete actions to protect the nation’s public lands and waters from fossil fuel industry exploitation and bring U.S. policy into line with climate science—and the president’s own campaign pledges.
The Urgent Need to Stop a Destructive Environmental Precedent A significant percentage of our nation’s protected public lands are found within the boundaries of one state. On the first day of my Public Lands and Waters class, I ask my smart, upper division university students to guess which state contains approximately 60% of all National Park lands, over 90% of all National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness lands, and our country’s largest National Forest. Some students start guessing: “Utah?” “Colorado?” “California?” “No,” I observe. “The answer is Alaska.” These extensive, Congressionally safeguarded federal lands in Alaska have never been more important. Now more than ever, we cannot retreat on the conservation and environmental justice battlefield.
Report Shows ‘Terrible Prognosis’ as US Emissions Continue Rising Amid Climate Emergency “U.S. emissions had been declining pre-Covid,” said one climate scientist. “It wasn’t fast enough, but at least it was going in the right direction For the second year in a row, U.S. carbon emissions increased in 2022—reversing a trend that was evident even before emissions declined significantly in 2020 during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. The Rhodium Group, a nonpartisan research firm, released an analysis on Tuesday showing that even though energy produced by renewable sources surpassed coal production last year for the first time in six decades, that advancement wasn’t enough to stop U.S. carbon emissions from increasing by 1.3%.
Civil Rights Black Liberation:
Labor:
100,000 UK civil Servants to Strike on 1 February Public and Commercial Services union announces one-day strike over jobs, pay and conditions More than 100,000 civil servants will join one-day strike action on February 1 in a major escalation of action by the PCS union. The union members will take action across 124 government departments, with a further 33,000 balloting again on joining strike action from five more departments including HMRC
Economy:
Bankruptcy Law Expert, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Asks FTX Bankruptcy Judge to Boot Sullivan & Cromwell from the Case In what is likely a first of its kind effort, four sitting U.S. Senators, including former Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, who is a bankruptcy law expert, have asked the Judge overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of collapsed crypto exchange, FTX, to dump the Big Law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell as the lead law firm in the case because of its conflicts of interest in the matter. The case has garnered international media attention because more than $8 billion of customers’ money is said to be missing and the fact that high profile U.S. sports figures and celebrities promoted the company.
World:
Health Education 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
‘The Sheer Greed Is Obscene’: Moderna Plans 4,000% Markup for Covid Vaccine “This vaccine isn’t just Moderna’s, it was developed in collaboration with a government agency,” said one campaigner. “It should be available and affordable for everyone, everywhere.” The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical giant Moderna faced angry backlash on Tuesday following the CEO’s announcement that the firm is considering pricing its Covid-19 vaccine somewhere between $100 and $130 per dose in the United States. The upper end of that range, according to the People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA), would represent a 4,000% markup above the cost of manufacturing the shot, which experts have pegged at roughly $2.85 per dose.