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.
Images of the Day:
The ecological disaster that is Trump’s border wall: a visual guideSteve Eisman and FrontPoint Were Shorting Wall Street Banks While the Dumb Fed Was Giving FrontPoint Emergency Loans – and that’s not the Worst Part of this Story. . . Now comes the worst part of this story. One week ago Wall Street On Parade reported that Morgan Stanley’s 10K (annual report) for the period ending December 31, 2018 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that some of the counterparties that Morgan Stanley is using for its derivative trades have below-investment-grade ratings — i.e., junk ratings. Morgan Stanley owns two federally insured banks that are backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer. We wrote to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which monitors and reports on the derivatives of national banks. We asked if the OCC, a Federal regulator, has a minimum credit rating for a national bank or national bank holding company’s derivative counterparty? The OCC responded with this: “The expectation from the OCC is for the financial institutions we oversee to have their own internal credit standards, analytics and due diligence processes, and not rely on outside credit ratings.” After Federal regulators watched the greatest Wall Street collapse since the Great Depression just a decade ago because insatiable greed prevented Wall Street from policing itself, the OCC is still wearing silly rose-colored glasses when it comes to Wall Street banks. Or – is it just one more captured regulator nurturing the seeds for the next financial collapse? By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
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!
Since the War on Terrorism Began: $32 Million Per Hour on War Since 2001 Put another way: Since 2001, every American taxpayer has spent almost $24,000 on the wars — equal to the average down payment on a house, a new Honda Accord, or a year at a public university.
The Madness Driving Climate CatastropheBurning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption”The Great Acceleration: This is the designation given to the last 70 years during which industrial countries and a handful of newly rich developing countries extracted and consumed fossil fuels at a reckless rate. While accurate, the metaphor might suggest progress rather than the ominous atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic climate trends ensuing.The 20 hottest years on record have occurred since 1995, almost in tandem with the impotent U.N. climate negotiations begun in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and followed by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, Copenhagen in 2009, Paris in 2015 and Poland in 2018. Yet, even with near global consensus on the necessity of reducing climate-warming emissions radically by 2030 and (nonbinding) national pledges to do so, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose by 2.7 percent in 2018. Moreover, some analysts predict they will rise higherin 2019 due to increasing deforestation, especially in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have risen unremittingly to levels not prevailing since hundreds of thousands (and possibly more than 6 million) years ago. By H. Patricia Hynes
Adding to Richmond California Refinery ‘Cancer Custer, California Proposition 65 Warning: “Breathing diesel engine exhaust exposes you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.”.: Train tussle: Campaign fights plan for ‘wall of railcars’ on Richmond shorelineOn a recent morning, small waves lapped at the rocky shore, picnickers gathered at tables around a lagoon, and families perambulated along the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay to enjoy a sunny day in Richmond. The scenic escape at Miller-Knox Regional Shoreline was carved out of an industrial waterfront more than four decades ago to provide a refuge from the press of nearby freeways, refineries, chemical plants and factories. But a battle between the regional park district and BNSF Railway could soon determine whether the 307-acre space remains a peaceful sanctuary or becomes home to a busy diesel rail line — something many residents adamantly oppose. “This land should be a park,” said Joe Groom, 71, of Richmond, as he strolled along the unused rails with his dog, Keo. “There’s not very much open space like this in Richmond. The railroad would destroy the ambiance of this place. They’re noisy and they’re dirty, and they don’t really belong in a park.” By Michael Cabanatuan
Pennsylvania governor under scrutiny for role in approving pipelineTom Wolf’s office has denied he ordered permits for the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which is under criminal investigation for pollution and property damage, to be accelerated Pennsylvania governor under scrutiny for role in approving pipeline Tom Wolf’s office has denied he ordered permits for the Mariner East 2 pipeline, which is under criminal investigation for pollution and property damage, to be accelerated By Will Parrish
Skyscrapers are killing up to 1bn birds a year in US, scientists estimateNew report ranks deadliest cities for feathered travelers, who often collide with glass-covered or illuminated buildings Scientists estimate that at least 100 million and maybe as many as a billion birds die each year in the US when they collide with buildings, especially glass-covered or illuminated skyscrapers. And, in a new report, conservationists now have a better idea which American cities are the deadliest for those on the wing. Chicago, with its many glass superstructures that spike into what is the busiest US avian airspace during migration, is the most dangerous city for those feathered travelers. More than 5 million birds from at least 250 different species fly through the Windy City’s downtown every fall and spring. By Lauren Aratani
A Green New Deal Can’t Save Us. A Planned Economy Can.Capitalism has put humankind and much of the Earth System at the brink of catastrophe. But there is a way out. . . . Of course, these demands directly challenge the capitalist framework. That is the point. A program for combating the climate crisis and lifting millions of working class and poor people out of poverty, debt and misery requires that we look beyond the “possibilities” capitalism offers. We need democratic control of our economy right now. Climate change will strengthen capitalism’s inherent tendencies toward barbarism. There is simply no time to put our hopes on small reforms and “market-based” solutions that accomplish nothing. In fact, it is precisely the “green” capitalists like Musk who are directing most of their attention to getting to Mars. Capitalism has become a ticking time bomb that threatens the vast majority of the earth’s population. Working people can save the planet and ourselves—but we need to act fast! By Robert Belano and Wladek Flakin
The Big Thaw: As the climate warms, how much, and how quickly, will Earth’s glaciers melt?. . . So far, the results have been positively chilling. When President Taft created Glacier National Park in 1910, it was home to an estimated 150 glaciers. Since then the number has decreased to fewer than 30, and most of those remaining have shrunk in area by two-thirds. Fagre predicts that within 30 years most if not all of the park’s namesake glaciers will disappear. “Things that normally happen in geologic time are happening during the span of a human lifetime,” says Fagre. “It’s like watching the Statue of Liberty melt.” . . . Everywhere on Earth ice is changing. The famed snows of Kilimanjaro have melted more than 80 percent since 1912. Glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya in India are retreating so fast that researchers believe that most central and eastern Himalayan glaciers could virtually disappear by 2035. Arctic sea ice has thinned significantly over the past half century, and its extent has declined by about 10 percent in the past 30 years. NASA’s repeated laser altimeter readings show the edges of Greenland’s ice sheet shrinking. Spring freshwater ice breakup in the Northern Hemisphere now occurs nine days earlier than it did 150 years ago, and autumn freeze-up ten days later. Thawing permafrost has caused the ground to subside more than 15 feet (4.6 meters) in parts of Alaska. From the Arctic to Peru, from Switzerland to the equatorial glaciers of Man Jaya in Indonesia, massive ice fields, monstrous glaciers, and sea ice are disappearing, fast. By Daniel Glick.
Meltwater gushes from an ice cap on the island of Nordaustlandet, in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. Photograph By Paul Nicklen, Nat Geo Image Collection
Polish teachers and government hold talks as exams loomThe Polish government and teachers unions sat down for a new round of talks Tuesday as a nationwide strike that has closed thousands of schools entered its second day and threatened upcoming graduation exams. ZNP leader, Slawomir Broniarz, has said the union wants to “put out this fire” and has called for a mediator to help end the standoff with the government, which responded with an invitation to direct talks later Tuesday. The government insisted that an offer it had previously made but which was rejected by the ZNP, would best be signed. By Monika Scislowska World:
Berlin activists march to demand city seize housing from landlordsThousands of Berlin residents took to the streets on Saturday to vent anger over surging rents and demand the expropriation of more than 200,000 apartments sold off to big private landlords, which they blame for changing the character of the city. Activists have started collecting signatures for a ballot proposal that would require the city to take back properties from any landlord that owns more than 3,000 apartments. Polls suggest such a measure could pass, forcing the city to consider spending billions of euros buying privatized housing back By Caroline Copley
Libya Fighting Has Erupted Again. Here’s the Oil Impact As fighting in Libya encroaches on the capital, the risk of new oil-supply outages from the OPEC member has risen. The country has been in disarray since Muammar Qaddafi, its head of state, was removed from office and killed in 2011. Oil output surged in recent months as a fragile peace took hold, but the latest battles are a reminder that reliable crude flows require a political solution to end eight years of strife. . . . Warlord Khalifa Haftar, who has used control over oil ports to exert political pressure, has moved his self-styled Libyan National Army west toward Tripoli, the base of the United Nations-backed, internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. By Salma El Wardany
Canada: sectarians attack Fightback Ottawa as fascists target Toronto chapter In the past week, two separate attempts were made to shut down events by the IMT in Canada, Fightback, using violence and intimidation. The first incident, involving a group of about five individuals, occurred at a Fightback event at Carleton University, in which our activists and attendees were harassed, our materials were thrown to the floor and stamped on, and an attempt was made to destroy our banner
Economy:
Steve Eisman and FrontPoint Were Shorting Wall Street Banks While the Dumb Fed Was Giving FrontPoint Emergency Loans – and that’s not the Worst Part of this Story. . . Now comes the worst part of this story. One week ago Wall Street On Parade reported that Morgan Stanley’s 10K (annual report) for the period ending December 31, 2018 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that some of the counterparties that Morgan Stanley is using for its derivative trades have below-investment-grade ratings — i.e., junk ratings. Morgan Stanley owns two federally insured banks that are backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer. We wrote to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which monitors and reports on the derivatives of national banks. We asked if the OCC, a Federal regulator, has a minimum credit rating for a national bank or national bank holding company’s derivative counterparty? The OCC responded with this: “The expectation from the OCC is for the financial institutions we oversee to have their own internal credit standards, analytics and due diligence processes, and not rely on outside credit ratings.” After Federal regulators watched the greatest Wall Street collapse since the Great Depression just a decade ago because insatiable greed prevented Wall Street from policing itself, the OCC is still wearing silly rose-colored glasses when it comes to Wall Street banks. Or – is it just one more captured regulator nurturing the seeds for the next financial collapse? By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
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!
Steve Eisman and FrontPoint Were Shorting Wall Street Banks While the Dumb Fed Was Giving FrontPoint Emergency Loans – and that’s not the Worst Part of this Story. . . Now comes the worst part of this story. One week ago Wall Street On Parade reported that Morgan Stanley’s 10K (annual report) for the period ending December 31, 2018 that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that some of the counterparties that Morgan Stanley is using for its derivative trades have below-investment-grade ratings — i.e., junk ratings. Morgan Stanley owns two federally insured banks that are backstopped by the U.S. taxpayer. We wrote to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which monitors and reports on the derivatives of national banks. We asked if the OCC, a Federal regulator, has a minimum credit rating for a national bank or national bank holding company’s derivative counterparty? The OCC responded with this: “The expectation from the OCC is for the financial institutions we oversee to have their own internal credit standards, analytics and due diligence processes, and not rely on outside credit ratings.” After Federal regulators watched the greatest Wall Street collapse since the Great Depression just a decade ago because insatiable greed prevented Wall Street from policing itself, the OCC is still wearing silly rose-colored glasses when it comes to Wall Street banks. Or – is it just one more captured regulator nurturing the seeds for the next financial collapse? By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
