Daily News Digest December 28, 2023
Images of the Day:
Of Course You Have Free Speech Is the right to free speech real in a world in which there are so many disincentives for using it?
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”
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: Austerity, Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, andThe 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:
The Newspeak In the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), by George Orwell, Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate. To meet the ideological requirements of Ingsoc (English Socialism) in Oceania, the Party created Newspeak, which is a controlled language of simplified grammar and limited vocabulary designed to limit a person’s ability for critical thinking and thus limit the person’s ability to articulate abstract concepts, such as personal identity, self-expression, and free will,[1][2] which are thoughtcrimes, acts of personal independence that contradict the ideological orthodoxy of Ingsoc collectivism.
Videos of the Day:
Palestine Exception: U.S. Colleges Suppress Free Speech, Academic Freedom for Students & Professors
Black Agenda Radio December 22, 2023
Alex Saab Is Free After three years of illegal captivity by the United States, Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab was freed in a prisoner exchange.
Descendants and Survivors of the Displaced Palm Springs Black Community Demand RestitutionThe Black families of Palm Springs’ Section 14 were forcibly displaced from their community when city officials decided to develop the area for luxury tourism. Section 14 survivors and their descendants are calling for justice and repair. They have initiated a billboard campaign, Know Before You Go , which tells visitors their stories. We are joined by Deiter Crawford, a Section 14 descendant.
Construction of the Ouanaminthe Canal in Haiti, Part 2 We’re joined by Imani Umoja of the PAIGC (African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, the steering committee of the Black Alliance for Peace US Out of Africa Network, and a member of the coordination council of the West African People’s Organization. He gives an update from Guinea-Bissau on the political situation there and explains why it is important to the African continent and to the diaspora.
The PAIGC Struggle for Democracy in Guinea-Bissau We’re joined by Imani Umoja of the PAIGC (African Party of Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde), the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, the steering committee of the Black Alliance for Peace US Out of Africa Network, and a member of the coordination council of the West African People’s Organization. He gives an update from Guinea-Bissau on the political situation there and explains why it is important to the African continent and to the diaspora.
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. Tax the Rich! — They Can Afford ford To Pay! Both Parties Support U.S. Capitalism’s Wars! (The Only War the Democrats Opposed was the Civil War!)
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both. — Louis D. Brandeis Quotes
Five Corporations Spread Biden’s Gaza War Spin/Newspeak: The New MediaMonopoly: A Completely Revised and Updated Edition with Seven New Chapters When the first edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 1983, critics called Ben Bagdikian’s warnings about the chilling effects of corporate ownership and mass advertising on the nation’s news “alarmist.” Since then, the number of corporations controlling most of America’s daily newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, book publishers, and movie companies has dwindled from fifty to ten to five.
Why Is There No Party for the Working Class? Is it possible to build a political party that truly speaks to the needs of working people in an era of runaway inequality and incessant mass layoffs? A quarter century ago, the late labor leader Tony Mazzocchi issued a dire warning. Unless a labor party was created, working people would abandon the Democrats and flock towards authoritarians who would promise job protections and economic stability. Mazzocchi found enormous resonance among workers when he declared, “The bosses have two parties. We need one of our own.” That rings even more true today for many working-class people. But is it possible to build a political party that truly speaks to the needs of working people in an era of runaway inequality and incessant mass layoffs?
President Biden: Learn the Names of Children You’ve Helped Israel to Murder You’ve often spoken of how much you care about children and how terrible it is when they’re murdered. “Too many schools, too many everyday places have become killing fields,” you said at the White House last spring on the one-year anniversary of the school shooting in Uvalde. At the time of that tragedy in Texas, you had quickly gone on live television, speaking gravely. “There are parents who will never see their child again,” you said, adding: “To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. . . . It’s a feeling shared by the siblings, and the grandparents, and their family members, and the community that’s left behind.”
U.S. Funded Palestinian Genocide:
Will US get Drawn in? Houthis Support Gaza by Loosing 17 Drones on Red Sea Traffic, Hit Container Ship The Houthi movement that rules northern Yemen announced Tuesday that it had again targeted a commercial vessel, the MSC United VIII, with a drone in the Red Sea. Sarea said that the vessel had refused to answer warnings by the Houthi navy three times. MSC Mediterranean said, according to Aljazeera, that no crew members were killed and the ship was continuing its voyage, carrying goods from King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia to Karachi in Pakistan. About 10% of world trade goes through the Suez Canal on some 17,000 ships per year, which is more like 30% of world seaborne trade. About 12% of world energy supplies also traverse the Red Sea.
Forced Transfer, ‘Moral Imperative’ and Colonial Contempt Two op-eds published on Christmas Day, one by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Wall Street Journal, and the other in the Jerusalem Post by Joel Roskin, geologist and geographer at Bar-Ilan University, both point towards the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. Only Netanyahu’s rhetoric, not his orders, so do slightly more indiscreetly, so as to appeal to the West, whose approval he requires to destroy Gaza completely. Netanyahu listed three prerequisites for “peace” and no mention of the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza and under the threat of being killed by the IDF’s bombing. “Hamas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarised, and Palestinian society must be deradicalized.” Of course, Netanyahu requires international complicity and insisted that the international community “should blame Hamas for the massive civilian casualties of the current war”. No, it shouldn’t. Israel is bombing Gaza on the pretext of eliminating Hamas, to sustain a thorough ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinian people.
Israel Will Deny Visas for Some UN Officials Following Criticism of War on Gaza The UN special rapporteur on Palestine slammed the new policy and said the UN must hold Israel to account. Israel’s foreign ministry said Monday it would deny visas for multiple United Nations employees after officials and agencies within the world body — including a panel on which an Israeli expert accused the country of genocide — continued their sharp criticism of the war on Gaza. “I instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to extend the visa of one of the organization’s employees in Israel, and to deny the visa request of another employee,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on social media. “The conduct of the U.N. since October 7th is a disgrace to the organization and the international community.” Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestine, slammed the new policy.
Marjorie Cohn: As US Veto Power Enables Genocide, There Are Still UN Options to Protect Gaza Any country can refer the matter to the International Court of Justice, which could make a finding of genocide. As Israel continues its genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza — with the death toll now exceeding 20,000 (about 70 percent women and children) — the world seems powerless to stop the slaughter. The Biden administration, Israel’s chief enabler, defanged the resolution that was ultimately passed by the UN Security Council on December 22, rendering it merely symbolic. The final resolution calls for humanitarian assistance but not for a ceasefire which would allow aid to reach the people of Gaza. The U.S. saved diplomatic face by not employing its customary veto, but it did not vote for the resolution, electing instead to abstain.
Environment:
One of Many Ways to Begin to End Global Warming: Expose ‘Greenwashing’ — Tax the Polluters 100%! After World War II Rosa Luxenburg Coined the Slogan: ‘S0cialism or Barbaism’! Now the Slogan Should Be: ‘Ecosocialism or Ecocide’!
Flooding Hamas Tunnels With Seawater Risks ‘Ruining Basic Life in Gaza’, Says Expert Senior hydrologist warns Israeli plan would constitute one element of the crime of genocide A potential plan by Israel to flood the Hamas tunnel network with seawater risks “ruining the basic conditions for life in Gaza”, one of the elements of the crime of genocide, a senior hydrologist has told the Guardian. Environmental experts have warned the strategy – which Israel has yet to commit to – risks causing an ecological catastrophe that will leave Gaza with no drinkable water and devastate what little agriculture is possible in the 141 sq mile territory.
2023’s Costliest Climate Disasters Show Poor Lose Out in ‘Global Postcode Lottery’ Countries less able to rebuild or who have contributed least to climate crisis suffer worst, research reveals A list of the 20 costliest climate disasters of 2023 has revealed a “global postcode lottery stacked against the poor”, according to an analysis. The research by the charity Christian Aid found that devastating wildfires and floods are hitting those who can least afford to rebuild, and the countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis by burning far fewer fossil fuels than wealthy nations, which have faced fewer climate disasters.
Great Unknowns: Nine Top Scientists on the One Mystery on Earth They’d Like to Solve What are the greatest secrets that remain about life on our planet – and how might they affect our future? We asked the experts to pick one burning question From the depths of the Amazon rainforest to the deserts of Antarctica, huge questions remain unanswered about life on Earth. We asked leading scientists and conservationists: what is the one thing you would like to know about the planet that remains a mystery?
- How many species are there on Earth?
- I’d go back 540m yearsto see the ‘biological big bang’
- Could some of the smallest life forms help avert climate crisis?
- What is the full biodiversity of the Amazon or Congo basin rainforests?
- How do animals influence the functioning of Earth?
- What will happen to the Gulf Stream?
- Do universal rules govern how plants and animals evolve?
- How many humans could Earth support?
- Which species will adapt to the climate crisis – and which will not?
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
No Black Hisotry — Only White History Allowed in These Schools: All-White School Board in Missouri Votes to Remove Black History Courses The same board voted a few months ago to revoke an anti-racism resolution enacted after the murder of George Floyd. An all-white school board in Missouri voted Thursday to remove Black History and Black Literature courses that had been taught at the Francis Howell School District since 2021. The board voted 5-2 to remove the electives which had more than 100 students enrolled in the Fall semester, according to AP News.
Labor:
“It Looks Like the Railroad Is Asking for You to Say Thank You”
After brakeman Chris Cole lost both his legs on the job, railroad officials removed evidence before state regulators could see it, omitted key facts in reports and suspended him from a job he could never return to. “The culture of management is that we are going to cover ourselves and cover the railroad and make sure that it doesn’t look bad in the public eye,” Cole said. “And if we got to bury one of our employees, or somebody else, we’re going to do that.”
Economy:
Interest Rate on Reserve Balances: 5.40% 
World:
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
US Media Suppressed Their Government’s Role in Ousting Brazil’s Government US journalists remained silent about their government’s role in removing Brazil’s front-running presidential candidate in the 2018 elections. In a new peer-reviewed academic article in Latin American Perspectives (11/19/23), “Anticorruption and Imperialist Blind Spots: The Role of the United States in Brazil’s Long Coup,” Sean T. Mitchell, Rafael Ioris, Kathy Swart, Bryan Pitts and I prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the US Department of Justice was a key actor in what we call Brazil’s “long coup.” This was the period from 2014, beginning with the lead up to the illegitimate 2016 impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, to the November 2019 release of then-former, now-current President Lula da Silva from political imprisonment. “For over half a century, intervening against democratically elected governments has been only half the story,” we wrote; “the second half involves justifying, minimizing or denying US involvement.” The article criticized US scholars on Latin America for ignoring a significant body of evidence of this involvement. It called on Latin Americanists to return to the anti-imperialist tradition that established their field as a leading source of informed criticism of US foreign policy.