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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
February is Black History Month
Images the Day:
Modern racism is an ideology to justify the exploitation of the world by European and American capitalists ie: The White Man’s Burden. — Roland Sheppard
Yesterday, I went to the film showing of The Invisible War, “An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.” I was struck by the hypocrisy of United States ‘Justice’, since almost no rape are prosecuted by the powers that be, even though the epidemic has been ongoing for decades. In these cases, rapes are decided by the military commanders (deciders), who sometimes commit the rapes themselves! These ‘deciders’ sometimes then charge these rape victims for adultery and other crimes. — Roland Sheppard, June 30, 2012
Videos of the Day:
‘The Invisible War’ review: military rape examined “The Invisible War” is tough to stomach, but then again, so are the facts of rape. So are the facts of combat. This distressing documentary, the latest collaboration from “Outrage” writer-director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering, contains far too many accounts from far too many veterans describing far too much sexual abuse in the American military, and it is far too difficult to watch. Which means we must. By Amy Biancoll
A New “Cancer Alley” for Appalachia The Trump administration, the Chinese government, and major petrochemical companies are moving forward with a new multi-billion dollar petrochemical hub in Appalachia, which would become one of the largest in the US. The project raises concerns about the environmental and health impact and suffers from serious conflict of interest problems. Steve Horn reports
Potomac Pipeline Would Be ‘Another Contradiction’ From Larry Hogan Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who signed a state-wide fracking ban last year, has yet to deny the permit for a pipeline that would transport fracked gas under the Potomac River — and time is running out
U.S.:
Drones in the Sahara A Massive U.S. Drone Base Could Destabilize Niger — and May Even Be Illegal Under Its Constitution Late in the morning of October 4 last year, a convoy of Nigerien and American special forces soldiers in eight vehicles left the village of Tongo Tongo. As they made their way between mud-brick houses with thatched roofs, they were attacked from one side by dozens of militants, if not hundreds. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Nigeriens and Americans fled, some on foot, running for cover behind trees and clusters of millet, their boots caked in the light brown earth. By the time the fighting was over, five Nigeriens and four Americans were killed, their bodies left naked in the bush after the militants took their uniforms. By Joe Penney 
‘Peace Through Strength’ is a Racket Donald Trump has embraced the popular “peace through strength” doctrine (PTSD) with his characteristic panache: “I’m going to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody — absolutely nobody — is gonna to mess with us,” Trump says. On other occasions he’s said similar things: “We want to defer, avoid and prevent conflict through our unquestioned military strength” (same link) and, a year ago, “Nobody is going to mess with us. Nobody. It will be one of the greatest military build-ups in American history.” I will acknowledge that the PTSD has surface appeal. Why not show the world the United States is so awesomely powerful that no one in his right mind would even think to get on its wrong side? It seems to make sense in a practical sort of way. by Sheldon Richman
People Care More About the OSFAM Scandal Than the Cholera Epidemic The earthquake that devastated Haiti on 12 January 2010, killing 220,000 people, produced a terrible and disgusting failure by those who came from abroad to help the survivors. Among these were UN soldiers from Nepal, which was then in the middle of a cholera epidemic, who brought the disease with them and allowed it to enter the rivers that provide Haitians with their drinking water. By Patrick Cockburn
Environment:
Deforestation in the Tropics Tropical forests around the world play a key role in the global carbon cycle and harbour more than half of the species worldwide. However, increases in land use during the past decades caused unprecedented losses of tropical forest. Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have adapted a method from physics to mathematically describe the fragmentation of tropical forests. In the scientific journal Nature, they explain how this allows to model and understand the fragmentation of forests on a global scale. They found that forest fragmentation in all three continents is close to a critical point beyond which fragment number will strongly increase. This will have severe consequences for biodiversity and carbon storage.
There Is No Time Left Imagine a scenario with no temperature difference between the equator and the North Pole. That was 12 million years ago when there was no ice at either pole. In that context, according to professor James G. Anderson of Harvard University, carbon in the atmosphere today is the same as 12 million years ago. The evidence is found in the paleoclimate record. It’s irrefutable. Meaning, today’s big meltdown has only just started. And, we’ve got 5 years to fix it or endure Gonzo World. That’s one big pill to swallow! by Robert Hunziker
The Royal Society and the GMO-Agrochemical Sector In 2015, Steven Druker challenged the Royal Society to justify its outspoken and partisan support of genetically modified (GM) crops and to correct any errors of fact in his book ‘Altered Genes,Twisted Truth’. Not long after the book’s release, he wrote an open letter to the Society calling on it to acknowledge and correct the misleading and exaggerated statements that is has used to actively promote genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and in effect convey false impressions. by Colin Todhunter
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
How Donald Trump Plans to Enlist Fossil Fuels in the Struggle for Global Dominance We’re in an age of unprecedented environment disaster, and the president is only making it worse. The new U.S. energy policy of the Trump era is, in some ways, the oldest energy policy on Earth. Every great power has sought to mobilize the energy resources at its command, whether those be slaves, wind-power, coal, or oil, to further its hegemonic ambitions. What makes the Trumpian variant — the unfettered exploitation of America’s fossil-fuel reserves — unique lies only in the moment it’s being applied and the likely devastation that will result, thanks not only to the 1950s-style polluting of America’s air, waters, and urban environment, but to the devastating hand it will lend to a globally warming world. The new U.S. energy policy of the Trump era is, in some ways, the oldest energy policy on Earth. Every great power has sought to mobilize the energy resources at its command, whether those be slaves, wind-power, coal, or oil, to further its hegemonic ambitions. What makes the Trumpian variant — the unfettered exploitation of America’s fossil-fuel reserves — unique lies only in the moment it’s being applied and the likely devastation that will result, thanks not only to the 1950s-style polluting of America’s air, waters, and urban environment, but to the devastating hand it will lend to a globally warming world. By Michael Klare
Safety Officials Order Partial Shutdown of Sabine Pass LNG Export Facility After Discovering 10-Year History of Leaks Sabine Pass, the only liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in the country, has reportedly been experiencing safety issues for the past decade, and yet federal safety officials were only informed of this history while investigating the terminal’s latest leak in January. Owned by Cheniere Energy, Sabine Pass is located on the Gulf Coast on the border of Texas and Louisiana. Regulators became aware of the export facility’s issues after the most recent accident and leak at an LNG storage tank. As NOLA.com reported: “Supercold liquefied natural gas leaked into a space between inner and outer walls of a major storage tank at the Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Cameron Parish on Jan. 22, and its minus 260-degree temperature created numerous 1-foot to 6-foot cracks in the carbon steel outer tank wall, allowing some of the gas to escape.” By Justin Mikulka
Civil Rights/ Black Liberation:
Rape of military women has, for too long, been a standard military pratice: Women in the US Military Say #MeToo, Demand an End to Impunity of Sexual Assault Women in the US military are fed up with the empty words of military commanders saying they have “zero tolerance” for military sexual assault. We want action and accountability, not lip service. For decades, military commanders have given a pass to sexual predators in their ranks. Many scandals made news: The Tailhook scandal of 1991, in which US Navy men were raping both military and civilian women with impunity; the 1997 Aberdeen Proving Ground scandal in which US Army drill instructors were raping their students and getting away with it; the 2003 Air Force Academy scandal, in which male cadets raped female cadets while the Academy leadership ignored it; the 2011 Lackland Air Force Base scandal, in which drill instructors raped women recruits while silencing their voices. By Sarah L. Blum 
Labor:
Economy:
World:
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Tragic Suicide at D.C. SEED Boarding School If you saw the film “Waiting for Superman,” you may recall that one of the model charter schools featured in the film was a boarding school in D.C. called SEED. Unmentioned was that the annual tuition was $35,000. The school appeared idyllic, and one of the students was eager to gain admission and realize his dreams. Now SEED has a problem. A 12-year-old student hung herself, and news reports say she was bullied. Terrible things happen at all kinds of schools, as we have seen recently. I am not singling out SEED because it is a charter, but because it was promoted as a cure-all, a model school. ”Stormiyah’s death prompted backlash from dozens of parents who have come forward to FOX 5, reporting issues of widespread bullying and lack of supervision at SEED. They claim the complaints are not properly being dealt with by school administrators. “In response, SEED has held multiple parent meetings to address concerns. The latest one held Tuesday was called “SEED Safety and You….” By dianeravitch 
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel.
The White Man’s Burden
Quotes of the Day: