During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: Austerity, Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and The Iron Heel.
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.
The question is not, though: Do you like President Maduro? The question is: Do you think the Venezuelan people are going to be helped by having Donald Trump, John Bolton, Mike Pence and Elliott Abrams intervene in their country, engineer regime change and then prop up whatever leader they like best? And all you have to do is look at not just the history of US interference in Latin America, but the statements that those people are making about what their real motives are. They’re not even pretending that their motive is to bring liberation and democracy and freedom to the Venezuelan people. Of course, Donald Trump doesn’t care about the Venezuelan people. How gullible do you have to be to think that? They’re admitting openly that their motive is access to Venezuelan oil markets and to capital markets, because that would benefit United States and its oligarchical class. — Glen Greenwald
So, 23 February came and went. This was the day that had been billed by the US and its local puppets as D-Day, when “humanitarian aid” was supposed to enter the country against the will of the evil Maduro, something which, as even the BBC correspondent admitted, had little to do with aid and everything to do with defying the authority of President Maduro. In his madness, Guaidó (“White Dog” as Venezuelans call him) had addressed himself to the Venezuelan Armed Forces, giving himself the title of “commander-in-chief”! What next? Pope? Nobel Prize winner? — Venezuela: 23 February – the day they did not pass
The main balance of the day can be found in this CNN Spanish subheading: “la entrega no se logró” (“the delivery failed”). In fact, in their morning press conference, the assembled gang already had doubts and announced a further meeting on Monday where they would impose more sanctions. Meanwhile, in Caracas, a large Chavista march took place to reject imperialist intervention. This was a sizeable demonstration, proving how the threat of imperialism is provoking a counter-reaction in which, even many who are disillusioned with or critical of Maduro, are closing ranks against US aggression (watch this PBS report to get an idea of this). At the rally, Maduro announced he was breaking all diplomatic relations with Colombia. The NY Times correspondent at the border summed up the day with these words: “Feeling like the momentum is getting lost on the bridge. The rally feel of yesterday is gone and the bridge looks more like a press conference with frustrated regional leaders.” — Venezuela: 23 February – the day they did not pass
“Hands Off Venezuela” Rallies Held in Cities Around the World This is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network. On Saturday, February 23, protesters gathered in cities across Canada and the United States to demand that Western powers keep their hands off of Venezuela. The aim of the protests was not to express support for Nicolas Maduro or any particular politician or political party in Venezuela. Rather, the protesters sought to defend the principle that Venezuela is a sovereign nation, and that its current economic and political crisis should be resolved peacefully by the people of Venezuela, without economic or military corrosion by external powers.
Trump’s Border Wall: Who Profits? So just who will be making these billions off this wall? The two main beneficiaries of this enormous budget will be the infrastructure companies and the security and arms industry. The Trump administration, as others before it, is letting infrastructure in the United States crumble. We need regular infrastructure maintenance for our bridges, railways, underground pipes, and the electric grid. This is how our infrastructure companies survive, and we survive as a society. So while our infrastructure needs go unmet, Trump brings us the border wall that will pour billions into those companies’ coffers.
Emergency – Parody Of Urgent By Foreigner: It’s a “National Emergency.” So this is our commentary on that development. To enhance the effect of the music and lyrics, we used a background video of a 18,000 MPH journey along the entire US/Mexican border. The images flashing past in the background are from a six minute documentary created by Josh Begley and produced by Sierra Pettengill. You’ll definitely want to visit the link below and watch the documentary on their website: https://aeon.co/videos/what-would-2-000-miles-of-a-us-mexico-border-fence-actually-look-like
‘We Refuse to Create Technology for Warfare and Oppression’: Microsoft Workers Demand Company End Army Contract “As employees and shareholders we do not want to become war profiteers.” Declaring to chief executives that they refuse “to become war profiteers,” a group of Microsoft workers on Friday demanded the company cancel a contract with the U.S. Army that they say would “help people kill” and turn warfare into a “video game.” Their open letter is addressed to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and president and chief legal officer Brad Smith, and, according to the “Microsoft Workers 4 Good” Twitter handle, which posted the document, it got over employee 100 signatures in its first day. By Andrea Germanos,
‘Horrific Attack on Women’s Health’: Trump-Pence Regime Blasted for New Domestic Gag Rule Final draft of changes to federal family planning program would unleash devastating consequences, say healthcare advocates. Reproductive rights advocates sounded the alarm Friday after the Trump administration released a final draft of a rule critics have called an attack on women’s rights and dubbed a “domestic gag rule.” The implications of the restrictive changes to Title X—on which over 4 million people rely—”are staggering,” said Dr. Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, adding that the move amounted to “an attack on poor women and people of color.” By Andrea Germanos
Environment:
Judge in Monsanto Roundup Trial Is Already Hindering Testimony Anyone concerned about probable carcinogens in the environment needs to keep an eye on the trial of Edward Hardeman v. Monsanto Company, which begins on February 25, in the Federal District Court in San Francisco. A bellwether for future challenges against the company, the federal court has grouped hundreds of plaintiffs into this multidistrict litigation case. The plaintiffs have sued Monsanto claiming to have contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) after being exposed to Roundup, the company’s glyphosate-based herbicide. While there are an estimated 9,300 lawsuits against the chemical giant because of Roundup, Hardeman will be only the second NHL trial against Monsanto ever. By Robert Howard
Can YouTube Solve Its Serious Climate Science Denial Problem? “What are we in for next?” asks the narrator on the YouTube video. “Will the temperature resume an upward trend? Will it remain flat for a lengthy period? Or will it begin to drop? No one knows, not even the biggest, fastest computers.” The video — with the clickbait title “What They Haven’t Told You about Climate Change” — has been watched more than 2.5 million times on the Google-owned video platform. Produced by the conservative group PragerU, the video sees Canadian lobbyist and fossil fuels advocate Patrick Moore run through a long-debunked argument that because the world’s climate has changed before, there’s no problem with burning record amounts of fossil fuels. Moore claims, for example, there has been “no significant warming trend” in the 21st century — not mentioning that nine of the 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2005, or that the world’s oceans have been heating rapidly. Despite the clear errors, the video has gathered more views than any other climate science denial clip on YouTube. All up, PragerU claims the video has been watched 4.4 million times across all platforms. By Graham Readfearn
Big Energy:
The Inevitable Death of Natural Gas as a ‘Bridge Fuel’ Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently announced the city is scrapping plans for a multi-billion-dollar update to three natural gas power plants, instead choosing to invest in renewable energy and storage. “This is the beginning of the end of natural gas in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Garcetti. “The climate crisis demands that we move more quickly to end dependence on fossil fuel, and that’s what today is all about.” Last year America’s carbon emissions rose over 3 percent, despite coal plants closing and being replaced in part by natural gas, the much-touted “bridge fuel” and “cleaner” fossil fuel alternative. By Justin Mikulka
Oilfield wastewater disposal operation near Bakersfield closes under pressure from regulators, environmentalists A controversial oilfield wastewater disposal operation east of Bakersfield has been shut down amid a years-long regulatory crackdown and opposition by environmental activist organizations. The Jan. 3 closure of Valley Water Management Co.’s Fee 34 and Race Track Hill facilities, which sprayed wastewater on the hillsides south of Breckenridge Road for more than half a century with little notice, puts an end to a practice regional water quality regulators say threatened to foul Bakersfield’s water supply through a slow process of underground migration. By John Cox
These Sprinklers dispose of “produced water,” in an area just off Breckenridge Road about a mile east of Camanche Road in 2015. The system had been operated by a Bakersfield nonprofit all Valley Water Management Co. Felix Adamo. The Californian
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
“The Green Book: Guide to Freedom”: How African Americans Safely Navigated Jim Crow America The Academy Awards take place this weekend, and one of the top contenders is the movie “Green Book,” which has renewed interest in the history of “The Negro Motorist Green Book.” So today we look at a remarkable new documentary called “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom,” that offers a real look at the history of a travel guide that helped African Americans safely navigate Jim Crow America. The film premieres Monday on the Smithsonian Channel and details the violence, insults and discrimination black travelers faced on the road, as well as the pride and sense of community they felt in the safe spaces they created around the country, in the form of restaurants, hotels and vacation retreats. We feature excerpts and speak with writer and director Yoruba Richen, professor in the documentary program in the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Colin Kaepernick: Moving the Goal Post Forward “In the spirit of a few Black athletes before him, Kaepernick has used his status to elevate an issue that white America continues to ignore and earnestly take on—the issue of race. He added his voice to the national debate about the treatment of Black and Brown people by so-called law enforcers. He took on the powerful NFL and won. Whether Kaepernick gets an NFL contract or not, his place in the struggle for human dignity and racial justice is noteworthy.” I want to bring together two seemingly unrelated recent rulings. The National Football League settled with former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Three white Chicago cops who lied in their reports about the murder of Laquan McDonald were acquitted by a judge. How are these two rulings related? By Jamala Rogers
. . . The 60-year history of the Cuban Revolution vouches for that truth, almost like a mathematical axiom. The first step was the Literacy Campaign. Just two years after the revolutionary triumph, Cuba was declared a Territory Free of Illiteracy. Then came the battle for the sixth and ninth grades, which drove enrollment in worker-campesino schools, to complete the upper middle educational level among workers. Today we have one of the highest averages of university graduates – 21% of the total population of the country – of Latin America and the Caribbean, and much of the world. This strength led us to promote and extend our cooperation with the entire Third World, creating literacy programs in our language and in indigenous languages. And, logically, an event such as this needed to be born and grow, capable of showing and sharing the best experiences – with respect for the diversity and identity of each nation – that among Cuban educators has generated an extraordinary movement from schools, fostering creativity, innovation, experimentation, research and exchanges among them and their colleagues in the world. As had been said more than once, the Pedagogy Congress is the most important scientific event of the Cuban teaching profession. And it is also an inexhaustible source of solidarity among our peoples, with expressions of great political and social commitment in each concrete historic moment. The final declarations of each edition attest to what I say. . . . We remain committed to a possible better world and we believe that the basis of that desire is education.
On December 17, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba and ease economic restrictions on the nation. The President also said the U.S. will move towards re-opening its embassy in the communist nation and allow some travel, education and cultural exchange and trade that had been banned under a decades-long embargo instated during the Kennedy administration.
With recent developments in the renewal of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba, we thought it would be good to start the new year by sharing a few facts on Cuba and its education system.
Country Facts:
Here are 15 facts on Cuba:
1. The official name of Cuba is the Republic of Cuba.
2. Cuba is the largest of all islands in the Caribbean. The country also includes more than 4000 other much smaller islands and cays.
3. The capital and largest city of Cuba is Havana or “La Habana” in Spanish.
4. Cuba has a population of 11,047,251 (July 2014 est.)
5. Original indigenous inhabitants of Cuba were the Guanajatabey people followed by the Ciboney and Taíno tribes. In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived on the island and claimed it as a Spanish territory.
6. Cuba remained a Spanish colony until the Spanish-American War of 1898 when the country became part of the United States. The country was given independence in 1902.
7. The United States had a strong influence over the island until 1959, when communist revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, overthrew the Government of Batista. Castro himself stepped aside in 2008 due to health complications succeeded by his brother Raul Castro as President.
8. The United States pays Cuba approximately $4,085 a year to lease the 45 square miles that the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station occupies. Cuba has not accepted the payment since 1959.
9. Cuba is renown for its music, bands play everywhere in the capital Havana. The main musical form is called son, which is a combination of upbeat rhythms with classical guitar.
10. Sugar from sugar cane is the main crop grown in Cuba, followed by tobacco which is used in the making of hand-crafted cigars that are famous for being the finest cigars in the world.
11. Nickel is Cuba’s most important mineral resource at 21% of total exports in 2011 nearly 4% of the world’s production.
12. In a traditional Cuban meal the food is not served in courses, instead all the food is served at the same time.
13. Baseball is the most popular sport in Cuba by far. The country is also dominant in boxing and has produced a number of Olympic boxing champions. Other sports of interest include basketball, volleyball, cricket, football (soccer) and athletics.
14. The game of dominoes is extremely popular in Cuba.
15. As of 2013 Cuba has 9 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list, 7 of these cultural sites and 2 of them natural.
Education Facts
Here are 15 facts on Cuba’s education system:
1. Since 1961, the educational system in Cuba has been run by the state nationalizing private institutions at all levels of education
2, The education system is 100% subsidized by the government, meaning that Cuban students at all levels can attend school for free. The Cuban government has been investing a substantial part of its budget into education for many years.
3. According to a 2014 report by The World Bank, Cuba has the best education system in Latin American and the Caribbean and the only country on the continent to have a high-level teaching faculty. The World Bank Report also praises Cuba for its success in the fields of education and health, with social services that exceeds those of most developing countries and, in certain sectors, are comparable to those of the developed nations. The country’s social system that ensures state-sponsored universal access to education and health services has helped Cuba to achieve universal literacy, eradicate certain diseases and provide universal access to safe drinking water and basic public sanitation. Cuba now has one of the region’s lowest infant mortality rates and longest life expectancies.
5. Cuba is also the nation in the world that allocates the highest share of its national budget, 13 percent, to education.*
6. Education is compulsory for children from the ages of 6 to 16.
7. Students attend primary school for six years, after which they proceed to basic secondary or high school for a period of 3–4 years.
8. On completion of the basic secondary level, education splits into two categories: pre-university education and technical or professional training. A pre-university education leads to a Bachillerato diploma; completion of technical or professional training enables students to attend one of the country’s many technological institutes.
9. From an early age, children are indoctrinated in their schools with the government’s political beliefs of communism. Parents who violate this code by teaching their children contrary doctrine face the prospect of prison.
10. All universities and technical schools are run by the Ministry of Higher Education (Ministerio de Education Superior – MES). The MES is responsibilities include managing the schools, regulating teaching methodology and courses, establishing educational policies and ensuring all the schools comply with government standards.
11. Cuba has over 47 universities with a total enrolment of over 400,000 students. The older and more well known universities in Cuba include:
• The University of Havana
• Universidad de Oriente
• Universidad Central de Las Villas
• Universidad Catolica de Santo Tomas de Villanueva
• Universidad Masonica
• Universidad de La Salle en Nuevo Vedado
12. The requirements for entering a university or technical institute of higher education in Cuba are as follow:
• Students must show proof of completing a secondary education
• Students must pass college entrance exams
• Men must show proof of having completed compulsory military service or proof of non-compliance due to medical reasons or family obligations
13. Political Clearance: Students must be cleared by the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution before they are allowed to take the university entrance examinations. Students demonstrating good political standing in relation to their Communist beliefs receive a letter of approval allowing them to take college entrance exams. Students with a “poor” political standing may be “blacklisted” from furthering their education.
14. Distance education is available for students in Cuba to study for a professional career. There are approximately 15 centers for distance education throughout Cuba providing degrees in the following career choices: History, Law, Finance and Accounting, Economics and Science and Technology. Requirements for distance education include completion of secondary education, one year work experience and being between 25 and 35 years of age. Male students must also show proof having completed mandatory military service.
15. There are three stages in the university system which include the following:
• Stage 1– The Licenciatura (Bachelor’s degree equivalent) or professional degree (Titulo) is the first stage of university studies requiring completion of 4-5 years of study. A degree in medicine may require 5 to 6 years to complete.
• Stage 2 – The second stage of higher education consists of three levels: Diplomado, Maestria and Especialista. Within each of these levels, students must complete a minimum of 200 hours in theory, practicum and internship. Upon completion of this stage, which generally lasts for two years, students are awarded the degree of Diplomado, Maestria or Especialista (equivalent to the Mater’s degree).
• Stage 3 – The third stage of higher education is to obtain a Doctoral Degree. Students must study for 3 to 4 years before they are considered for candidacy in a Doctoral program. Once they are approved for candidacy, students are admitted into the Doctoral Program where they will conduct their scientific research, defend the findings of their work and finally be awarded their Doctoral Degree.
Big Energy:
