Daily News Digest December 24, 2024
Images of the Day:
Latuff: Syria
t’s Not Over Thinking about the basic contours of a better world is a prerequisite to becoming effective in bringing about a better world. The march forward of human history is not a gift from gods above nor presents handed us from benevolent rulers, governments, institutions or markets — it is the product of collective human struggle on the ground. The path to a better world can’t be found without knowledge of history. It’s Not Over: Learning From the Socialist Experiment analyzes the 20th century attempts to supplant capitalism in order to draw lessons with application to the emerging and future movements that seek to overcome the political and economic crises of today. This history is presented through the the words and actions of the men and women who made these revolutions, and the everyday experiences of the millions of people who put new revolutionary ideas into practice under the pressures of enormous internal and external forces. This is history that can be applied to today’s struggles to shape our world, in which new ideas are emerging to bring about the economic democracy that is indispensable to a rational and sustainable future. Repeated economic crises and ongoing stagnation has led millions of people around the world to question the economic assumptions that they have long lived with, and to begin to seek out new ideas. As part of this process, people will inevitably look to the attempts to supplant capitalism in the past and want to know more about them. After frank examinations of the Soviet Union, the Prague Spring of Czechoslovakia and Sandinista Nicaragua, It’s Not Over concludes with a chapter on why we have the difficulties we do.
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”There is No Democracy! When Less Than 1% Control the Wealth, Production, and Price of Everything Produced and Consumed in the World! In the present period of unfettered Capitalism, the pretense of democratic rule does not exist, except in the minds of ‘socialists’ like Bernie Sanders and the Labor Bureaucracy! Capitalists view all struggles as struggles against capitalist rule! Transition demands immediately become revolutionary demands! Therefore, any resistence to the attack of capitalists has to be organized by those that understand this!
Today, the United States Capitalists are Consolidating Themselves as the Supreme Capitalists! Capitalism’s Gluttony is Demonstrated by It’s Quest for More and More Profits at the Expense of Humanity! The Rise of Capitalism was Under the Banner of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity! Now There is Less Liberty, More Inequality, and Less Fraternity of Humanity! Every Day, From Global Warming to Global War There is a New Example of Capitalism in Imperialist Decay!
Capitalism has Outlived its Time, It is Now a Threat to Life and Humanity! Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Has Been Aware of the Coming 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!
The Current Five Current and Constant Threats to Humanity!:
- Pauperization of the World, as the 1% get Richer!
- Global Warming!
- Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace!
- The Crisis of Famine is Soaring Throughout the World! And
- Factory Farms Production is the Primary Cause of Pandemics!
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program: Austerity, Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and 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! Globaly, With the Current Gaza War, The Right of Assembly is Under Attack! Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Still Leads the World In Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World!
The Majority of the World, Despite the Media Monopoly’s Lies, are Opposed to the Palestinian Genocide and Global Warming — The 1% Minority Funds Them! At, this Time in History, Capitalism is Exposing the Fact That it is Opposed to Majority Rule/Democracy!
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:
Re: It’s Not Over: “As Cold War taboos on honest discussions of capitalism and socialism lose their force, important books like this are emerging. They ask why capitalism keeps provoking movements to go beyond it, why they have not yet achieved that goal, and what we must learn from them so the next efforts prove more effective. Dolack here contributes to the vital emerging answers.” —Rick Wolff, author of Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism and host of the Economic Update radio program
This need for more water, at the same time that the big energy companies have already sucking dry the Colorado water basin, at a time of drought in the southwest. (“The group, Western Resource Advocates, used public records to conclude that energy companies are collectively entitled to divert more than 6.5 billion gallons of water a day during peak river flows. The companies also hold rights to store, in dozens of reservoirs, 1.7 million acre feet of water, enough to supply metro Denver for six years.” — Oil, Water Are Volatile Mix in West, Energy Firms Buying River Rights Add to Competition for Scarce Resource)
Podcasts/Vide0s of the Day:
Landmark Rape Case of Gisèle Pelicot: As Ex-Husband & 50 Men Are Sentenced, Will French Laws Change?
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!)
Migration isn’t the Problem! The Migration of Wealth to the 1% is the Problem! The most significant “migration problem” is not the movement of people across borders, but rather the migration of wealth into the hands of a small elite (1%) which ultimately drives people to migrate in search of better economic opportunities! Addressing wealth inequality is key to tackling the root cause of global migration issues! — Roland Sheppard
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
The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I cannot be Silent. ― Martin Luther King Jr.
More Than 1 in 5 Renters Say Their Entire Paycheck Goes to Rent: Redfin Survey 22% of U.S. renters say all their regular income goes toward rent payments. 19% of renters report they have worked a job they hated to afford rent. Just over one in five (22%) U.S. renters say all of their regular income goes directly to paying their rent, according to a new survey from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Working a second job is also a fairly common way for renters to pay housing costs, with 20% of renters citing that method. Nearly the same share (19%) say they have worked a job they hated to afford rent. One in seven (14%) renters have used a cash gift from family to pay rent. Renters also report dipping into money that was earmarked for retirement to pay their housing costs. More than one in 10 (13%) pulled money out of retirement funds early, and 12% contributed less to retirement savings.
Trump Demands Control of Panama Canal, Transfer of Greenland to U.S. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said. This past weekend, President-elect Donald Trump suggested that his administration would seek to reclaim parts of Panama and wrest control of the entirety of Greenland. During a Sunday rally in Arizona, Trump said that his administration would seek to regain control of the Panama Canal, wrongly claiming that the U.S. had “given” the canal to Panama, despite the fact that Panama’s control over the canal had been negotiated in a 50-year-old treaty.
United States Armed and Funded Terrorist Middle East War/Palestinan Genocide: When Biden Says ‘He’s a Zionist’ —Believe Him!
More Than 1 in 5 Renters Say Their Entire Paycheck Goes to Rent: Redfin Survey 22% of U.S. renters say all their regular income goes toward rent payments. 19% of renters report they have worked a job they hated to afford rent. Just over one in five (22%) U.S. renters say all of their regular income goes directly to paying their rent, according to a new survey from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Working a second job is also a fairly common way for renters to pay housing costs, with 20% of renters citing that method. Nearly the same share (19%) say they have worked a job they hated to afford rent. One in seven (14%) renters have used a cash gift from family to pay rent. Renters also report dipping into money that was earmarked for retirement to pay their housing costs. More than one in 10 (13%) pulled money out of retirement funds early, and 12% contributed less to retirement savings.
Trump Demands Control of Panama Canal, Transfer of Greenland to U.S. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said. This past weekend, President-elect Donald Trump suggested that his administration would seek to reclaim parts of Panama and wrest control of the entirety of Greenland. During a Sunday rally in Arizona, Trump said that his administration would seek to regain control of the Panama Canal, wrongly claiming that the U.S. had “given” the canal to Panama, despite the fact that Panama’s control over the canal had been negotiated in a 50-year-old treaty.
Environment:
Fund Climate! — Not Genocide! 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’!
We Must Hold These Monsters to Account!
Climate Change Taking the World’s Four Legacy Empires Down Some 2,000 years ago, an itinerant preacher, Saul of Tarsus, was writing to a wayward congregation in Corinth, Greece. Curiously enough, his words still capture the epochal change that may await us just over history’s horizon. “For now we see in a glass, darkly,” he wrote. “Now I know in part, but then shall I know fully.” Indeed, mesmerized by a present filled with spellbinding events ranging from elections to wars, we, too, gaze into a darkened glass unable to see how the future might soon unfold before our eyes — a future full of signs that the four empires that have long dominated our world are all crumbling.
Extinction Rebellion: Global Newsletter #92: Beyond Elections – Here Comes the Resistance This issue: Amazon Mega-Fires | AntiCOP | Action Round-Up Dear Rebel, This year has seen pivotal elections worldwide, each leaving its mark on our shared future. On November 5th, the U.S., one of the world’s most powerful nations, voted to bring a climate criminal, Donald Trump, back to power. The implications for the planet and humanity’s future are devastating. It was a moment to grieve. While Trump poses an existential threat, his opponents, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, also skyrocketed the fossil fuel industry and represent a system that has long exploited the Global South and endangered future generations. All operate within an imperialist, hyper-capitalist power structure built on exploited land and the legacies of colonial violence. Together, they push our world further toward the abyss of ecological and social collapse. In this critical moment, our reminder is that democracy is not confined to the ballot box. True democracy means active participation every day. We can no longer accept elite-driven, symbolic candidates. Instead, we stand for everyday people to stand up and make their communities’ voices heard. We call for a “House of the People”—Citizens’ Assemblies led by everyday people, ensuring countries are guided by the majority’s will rather than powerful interests. Common sense for the 21st century will become clear when the charade of circus and celebrity is removed, and the people are empowered. Immediate action will be taken on rampant inequality, climate destruction, and the ongoing atrocities in places like Palestine, Sudan and the Congo.Until such a model exists, we must resist their imperial regimes of domination. This means being relentless—organizing, occupying, blocking, boycotting, and holding power to account for actions that lead to suffering and environmental devastation. That means disrupting greenwashing parades like this year’s fossil-funded COP and not stopping until the people are truly in charge. Imagine a global assembly, led by the majority world. It’s possible and we are building it. The increasing wave of repression against environmental defenders is making it harder and harder to tell the truth. Dozens of our rebels are now in prison, some for up to 5 years. Yet it’s with their sacrifice and future generations in our hearts that we can find the softness and strength to resist anew. As the Americans say, “Onward!”.
Oil and Gas Firms Operating in Colorado Falsified Environmental Impact Reports State’s energy and carbon management commission said fraudulent pollution data was reported for at least 344 well Oil and gas companies operating in Colorado have submitted hundreds of environmental impact reports with “falsified” laboratory data since 2021, according to state regulators. Colorado’s energy and carbon management commission (ECMC) said on 13 December that contractors for Chevron and Oxy had submitted reports with fraudulent data for at least 344 oil and gas wells across the state, painting a misleading picture of their pollution levels. Consultants for a third company, Civitas, had also filed forms with falsified information for an unspecified number of wells, regulators said.
Black Liberation Civil Rights:
Labor:
Robber Barons in the New Gilded Age: Over $1.5 Billion in Workers’ Stolen Wages Recovered From 2021-23 “Workers who can least afford to bear the cost of lost earnings—particularly low-wage workers—are disproportionately vulnerable to wage violations,” according to Economic Policy Institute researchers A report published Friday by the progressive-leaning think tank the Economic Policy Institute found that federal, state, and local efforts were able to recover more than $1.5 billion in stolen wages between 2021 and 2023. Wage theft, which includes things like paying workers less than the legal minimum wage or denying workers their legal meal breaks, “is pervasive across all industries and income levels,” according to the report’s authors, “but workers who can least afford to bear the cost of lost earnings—particularly low-wage workers—are disproportion-ately vulnerable to wage violations.”
Economy:
Austerity has Been Around for a Long Times, It has Been the Public Program of World Capitalism Since the 2008 Crisis!: Political Economy Contradictions as We Lurch Into 2025 The Republicans (GOP), traditionally the U.S.’s anti-tax party, now promise to use tariffs to wage trade wars, to massively deport immigrants, and to stop drug traffic. But tariffs are simply the name of one kind of tax (on imported goods and services). So the GOP becomes both anti-tax and pro-tax. Likewise, the traditional party of minimal government, today’s GOP now favors massive subsidies to industries that big government will select as well as economic sanctions and bans on enterprises and whole countries that big government will select. Beyond the right-wing ideology and financial self-serving, Trump reflects deeper contradictions in the GOP’s evolution. The GOP, traditionally the laissez-faire party of private enterprise, now favors increased government control of what private enterprises can and cannot offer in markets for reproductive healthcare, control medications and devices, and also for vaccines and drugs. The GOP, traditionally supporting “freedom,” now insists on blocking the free movement of people across borders and favors protectionist economic policy over a commitment to “free trade.” Some of Trump’s cabinet nominees voice traditional GOP views while others pronounce the new anti-traditional positions. Some nominees do both. Trump does not resolve the deep contradictions in the GOP’s message, thereby confusing both its messengers and its public audiences. In the moment, those contradictions give Trump some power. Amid the confusion, he decides. But soon conflicts among U.S. policies will expose the incoherence of Trump’s project and thereby sap his power.
World:
Capitalism’s Global Attack on Freeddom of Assembly!: As Pakistan Murders Protesters, Leading US Papers Play Down Washington’s Role Missing from the coverage of Pakistan protests in leading US papers was the ongoing support the government has received from the Biden administration. Islamabad was roiled by a days-long protest in the last week of November. Supporters of political prisoner and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and of his Pakistan Movement for Justice party, marched into the city, demanding Khan’s release and the resignation of the military-backed Sharif government of Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan’s political crisis has Washington’s fingerprints all over it. However, readers of the New York Times and the Washington Post would be forgiven if they thought the protests were a purely domestic issue. Missing from the protest coverage in leading US papers was the ongoing support the Pakistani government has received from the Biden administration, continuing a pattern of obscuring US actions and interests in Pakistani political affairs
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 Strike at Kaiser Permanente: California Mental Healthcare Workers Demand Parity The behavioral healthcare workers in Kaiser Permanente’s vast empire of hospitals, clinics medical offices, and homecare settings are on strike today in the third month of walking picket lines in Southern California from San Diego to Bakersfield. These workers, members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), include psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine counselors, licensed clinical counselors, and marriage and family therapists. They provide behavioral health care for Kaiser’s 4.8 million members. Kaiser is the biggest Health Maintenance Organization in the country. The strike began on October 21, three weeks after the workers’ contract had expired.