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.
Last time people heard from me, I was reporting on trillions of dollars in unaccounted for tax money. That is trillions, with a “t,” trillions of unaccounted for tax dollars. Trillions in unaccounted for “military” spending, so-called “military” spending. Trillions unaccounted for… no matter how many times I say that, it just always sounds so absurd to say that, “Trillions of unaccounted for tax dollars.” How can that possibly be, right? It’s surreal corruption. $1 trillion is $1000 billion. To accurately report on government corruption, to accurately report on systemic corruption, to report on the corruption of our tax system, not just wasted, stolen and unaccounted for tax dollars when it comes to so-called “military” spending, it’s across our entire tax system, as I will cover in detail, most every government agency is now completely overrun with corruption, and the corruption has gotten so bad, if you accurately report on it, you are going to sound like a crazy person. —David Degraw
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!
Trump Budget Ends Medicaid Expansion, Axes Affordable Housing ProgramsCuts Target the Poor, People of Color and Students Cuts Target the Poor, People of Color and Students The initial release called for cuts to nearly every federal agency, with deep cuts to the State Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and others. Only the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs would receive substantial increases. With this week’s release, the administration provided a fuller picture of its anti-government, pro-military vision for the U.S. The long list of cuts targets programs for the poor, middle-income Americans, the environment and peacekeeping. By Lindsay Koshgarian
Environment:
Record high US temperatures outpace record lows two to one, study finds Scientists say AP study consistent with peer-reviewed literature and shows clear sign of human-caused climate change Over the past 20 years, Americans have been twice as likely to sweat through record-breaking heat rather than shiver through record-setting cold, a new Associated Press data analysis shows. The AP looked at 424 weather stations throughout the US lower 48 states that had consistent temperature records since 1920 and counted how many times daily hot temperature records were tied or broken and how many daily cold records were set. In a stable climate, the numbers should be roughly equal.
Big Energy:
According to California Proposition 65: Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm are found in gasoline, crude oil, and many other petroleum products and their vapors, or result from their use. Read and follow label directions and use care when handling or using all petroleum products. Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm are found in and around gasoline stations, refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities that produce, handle, transport, store, or sell crude oil and petroleum and chemical products. Other facilities covered by this warning include, for example, oil and gas wells, oil and gas treating plants, petroleum and chemical storage tanks, pipeline systems, marine vessels and barges, tank trucks and tank cars loading and unloading facilities, and refueling facilities. The foregoing warning is provided pursuant to Proposition 65. This law requires the Governor of California to publish a list of chemicals “known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.” This list is compiled in accordance with a procedure established by the Proposition, and can be obtained from the California Environmental Protection Agency. Yet the company claims the air is safe
Photos: A massive petrochemical fire in Texas will burn for daysYesterday (March 18), the blaze—which started March17—engulfed tanks holding the toxic chemicals naphtha, xylene, and tolueneat Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, near Houston. Naphtha and xylene are components in the production of gasoline and other petroleum products. Toluene, a widely applied solvent, is in nail-polish remover, glues and paint thinner, . . . the Houston Chronicle notesCompany officials say, as of yesterday, the air-quality measurements had not reached dangerous levels beyond the facility, where photos show the massive column of black smoke emerging from the terminal. Harris County officials warned nearby residents that the smoke could irritate eyes and skin and cause breathing problems.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
‘A Poll Tax By Any Other Name’: Florida GOP Undermines Newly-Restored Voting Rights For 1.4 Million People“The Constitution can’t operate as the supreme law of our nation if it’s consistently subverted. Civil rights advocates Tuesday slammed Republicans in Florida for passing a bill that would severely undermine a law approved by voters last year that restored voting rights to residents with felony convictions.” By Julia ConleyAudio: A Failed Black Upper Class Project to “Reform” Poor Black Girls Between 1919 and 1939, the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs attempted to run a school for “wayward” Black girls called the Efland Home, in North Carolina. Girls ran away and rejected the regimen, and the facility was finally closed. “I think Efland shows that, just because people are of the same race does not mean that they are of the same community,” said Lauren Henley, a doctoral student studying history at the University of Texas, at Austin, who wrote about the Efland saga for Souls, A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society. By Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Video: Martyred Marielle Franco speaks about her background & political perspective on May 15, 2017 Brazilian feminist Marielle Franco da Silva, a Rio de Janeiro city council member, a lesbian and leading critic of the Temer and Bolsonaro regimes was assassinated along with her driver after delivering a speech on March 14, 2018. Her life and work continue to evoke and inspire resistance to the soft coup and austerity in Brazil and against neoliberal rule worldwideMekim-na-Save Projek
Freedom Rider: The Permanence of White Supremacy Zionism, manifest destiny, wars on terror, humanitarian interventions, and the Monroe and other doctrines always boil down to a license to kill. “Pointing fingers at the Australian killer and others of his ilk lets too many people off the hook of responsibility.” Discussions about white supremacy should amount to more than kumbaya moments of interpersonal harmony or hand wringing when lone gunmen go on the periodic racist rampage. Self-identified white people have always posed dangers to every other group. Most of them living today haven’t carried out murder with their own hands but that does not mean that they or their countrymen and women can’t be held to account. By BAR contributor Margaret KimberlyHow the U.S. Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries: A ReviewCynthia McKinney and her co-writers have produced an important literary tool for anti-imperial agitation and education.“Trump’s use of ‘sh*thole’ offered an opportunity to explain the realities of U.S. foreign policy to the people.” Cynthia McKinney has been on the frontlines of the struggle for global peace for decades. Known first as a dissenting voice in Congress and then for her work in exposing the truth about the U.S.-led wars on the Palestinian, Libyan, and Black people here in the United States, McKinney’s voice is seldom heard in the arena of corporate politics. She has long understood that one of the most critical tasks of this historical juncture is the mobilization of the masses to stop the endless wars waged by U.S. Empire. In a series of essays written by activists, scholars, and analysts from across the political spectrum, McKinney shows through practice what this should look like. Her new book How the U.S. Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries is an invaluable piece of literature that seeks to transform anti-war ideas into an anti-war movement. By BAR contributor, Danny HaiphongThe US Is Failing Black Women With HIV Many believe the HIV epidemic in the US is nearing an end, but Blacks represent 43 percent of all persons with newly diagnosed HIV. By Thurka SangaramoorthyTruth, Freedom and Peace will Prevail in Rwanda Millions of Africans in three countries have died in the 25 years since Paul Kagame’s troops shot down the a plane carrying two African presidents. By Robin PhilpotThe Secret to Funding a Green New Deal Millions of job can be created in a national energy transformation without blowing up the deficit. “Franklin Roosevelt paid for his New Deal through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.” As alarm bells sound over the advancing destruction of the environment, a variety of Green New Deal proposals have appeared in the U.S. and Europe, along with some interesting academic debates about how to fund them. Monetary policy, normally relegated to obscure academic tomes and bureaucratic meetings behind closed doors, has suddenly taken center stage. By Ellen Brown
V enezuela: Adiós Guaidó The self-proclaimed interim president committed suicide when he called for U.S. military intervention in his own country. “The gang of thugs in charge of US imperial policy dreamed that the Bolivarian Revolution would implode on February 23.” The aggression of foreign powers gives revolutionary peoples the opportunity to raise their political consciousness and self-esteem, enhance their will and culture of resistance and test their ability to defeat powerful enemies. They are either strengthened in the face of intervention, or they are defeated by intervention and counterrevolution. By Angel Guerra Cabrera
Facing Wrongful Detention and Threats, Afro-Colombian Women Call for JusticeIn Colombia, “all human rights defenders are considered criminals,” especially those who are Black or indigenous. “Black and Indigenous communities have been disproportionately impacted by political assassinations.” “Sara y Tulia Libres!” (“Free Sara and Tulia!”) declared a colorful butcher-paper sign. It was taped to the floor next to a ceremonial centerpiece composed of flowers, leaves, seeds and other natural elements surrounded by candles that burned throughout the day. By J.M. KirbyLabor:
Economy:
Goldman Sachs’ Trading Bloodbath Looks to be Coming from JPMorgan and Citi Last Thursday, Kevin Dugan at the New York Post reported that Goldman Sachs was laying off employees, “focusing on traders and salespeople in the equities and credit divisions, according to two people familiar with the layoffs.” Buried deep in the bowels of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the federal regulator of national banks, is a report that helps to explain the trading pain being felt at Goldman Sachs. According to the OCC report for the third quarter of 2018, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. reported $2.7 billion in trading revenues from cash instruments and derivatives; Citibank N.A. reported $2 billion; Bank of America N.A reported $957 million while Goldman Sachs Bank USA reported a minuscule $266 million. By Pam Martens and Russ MartensWorld:
New Zealand: Christchurch massacre – far-right terrorism and the growing barbarism of capitalist society The terrorist who carried out the attack, Brenton Tarrant, is a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist fascist. Just before the attack, he uploaded a delirious 73-page manifesto on Twitter in which he claimed to be fighting for the future of white people and expressed his intention to “create an atmosphere of fear” to “incite violence” against Muslims in general. The whole attack was designed as promotion for far-right, white supremacist ideology. There is in fact a small, but growing minority fascist fringe, which is becoming more active. These are the people applauding the attack in Christchurch. Who is influencing the thinking of these crazed fascists? In response to his own question, “Is there a particular person that radicalised you the most?”, Tarrant replies, “Yes, the person that has influenced me above all was Candace Owens… [a very right-wing reactionary US ‘commentator’].” He added that, “Each time she spoke I was stunned by her insights and her own views helped push me further and further into the belief of violence over meekness.” Owens made a name for herself recently when she said, “You know, he [Hitler] was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine… The problem is that he wanted — he had dreams outside of Germany.” Owens has a leading position in a conservative advocacy group, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), which promotes an openly reactionary agenda. By Fred Weston
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 ‘govern’, pass universal healthcare for themselves, but they cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers the to be, a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let The People Vote on Healthcare!
Audio: A Failed Black Upper Class Project to “Reform” Poor Black Girls Between 1919 and 1939, the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs attempted to run a school for “wayward” Black girls called the Efland Home, in North Carolina. Girls ran away and rejected the regimen, and the facility was finally closed. “I think Efland shows that, just because people are of the same race does not mean that they are of the same community,” said Lauren Henley, a doctoral student studying history at the University of Texas, at Austin, who wrote about the Efland saga for Souls, A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society. By Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
How the U.S. Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries: A ReviewCynthia McKinney and her co-writers have produced an important literary tool for anti-imperial agitation and education.“Trump’s use of ‘sh*thole’ offered an opportunity to explain the realities of U.S. foreign policy to the people.” Cynthia McKinney has been on the frontlines of the struggle for global peace for decades. Known first as a dissenting voice in Congress and then for her work in exposing the truth about the U.S.-led wars on the Palestinian, Libyan, and Black people here in the United States, McKinney’s voice is seldom heard in the arena of corporate politics. She has long understood that one of the most critical tasks of this historical juncture is the mobilization of the masses to stop the endless wars waged by U.S. Empire. In a series of essays written by activists, scholars, and analysts from across the political spectrum, McKinney shows through practice what this should look like. Her new book How the U.S. Creates ‘Sh*thole’ Countries is an invaluable piece of literature that seeks to transform anti-war ideas into an anti-war movement. By BAR contributor, Danny Haiphong
The US Is Failing Black Women With HIV Many believe the HIV epidemic in the US is nearing an end, but Blacks represent 43 percent of all persons with newly diagnosed HIV. By Thurka Sangaramoorthy
Truth, Freedom and Peace will Prevail in Rwanda Millions of Africans in three countries have died in the 25 years since Paul Kagame’s troops shot down the a plane carrying two African presidents. By Robin Philpot
The Secret to Funding a Green New Deal Millions of job can be created in a national energy transformation without blowing up the deficit. “Franklin Roosevelt paid for his New Deal through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.” As alarm bells sound over the advancing destruction of the environment, a variety of Green New Deal proposals have appeared in the U.S. and Europe, along with some interesting academic debates about how to fund them. Monetary policy, normally relegated to obscure academic tomes and bureaucratic meetings behind closed doors, has suddenly taken center stage. By Ellen Brown
Labor:
World:
