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.
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism. — TestingTheories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens
We cannot stand by or stay silent at the continuing denial of rights and justice to the Palestinian people — Jeremy Corbyn. Thousands march for Palestine in London
Thousands march for Palestine in London Protesters marched through central London to show solidarity with Palestine LONDON Thousands of people marched through central London in a bid to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the blockade on Gaza. “Free Palestine”, and “End Siege in Gaza” protesters shouted, carrying pro-Palestinian placards. By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal and Muhammad Mussa
Though there are plenty of reasons to critique U.S. foreign policy and the way in which the U.S. military enacts it, serving your country has long been a way for economically marginalized Americans to get an economic step up — and could be for trans people as well. — Chelsea Manning
Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military. —National Priorities Project
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!
I just came across the below 2014 study, it proves what I and many other marxists have been stating that his county. — That it is run by 1%, by the 1%, and for the 1%, through the state and government owned and controlled by the 1%!
Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy The U.S. government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern universities has concluded. The report, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens(PDF), used extensive policy data collected between 1981 and 2002 to empirically determine the state of the U.S. political system. By Zachary Davies BorenThe 1%’s Billion Dollar GovernmentWhere Are the Congressional Hearings on Puerto Rico?Julian Assange should be allowed to go free, UN panel findsWikileaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free and be compensated for his “deprivation of liberty”, a UN legal panel has found. Mr Assange, 44, – who faces extradition to Sweden over a rape claim, which he denies – claimed asylum in London’s Ecuadorean embassy in 2012. He has been arbitrarily detained since his arrest in 2010, the panel said. The UK foreign secretary said the decision was “ridiculous”, but Mr Assange hailed a “significant victory”. Speaking at a news conference via a video link from the embassy, he said the opinion of the panel was “vindication”, adding: “The lawflne of my detention is now a matter of settled law.”
US counties where President Donald Trump held a campaign rally saw a 226% increase in reported hate crimes compared to similar counties that did not hold a rally, political scientists at the University of North Texas said in a WashingtonPost
The scientists found that Trump’s statements during the 2016 campaign “may encourage hate crimes” in the respective counties.
The study measured the correlation between counties that hosted a campaign rally and the crime rates in the months that followed.
Hate crimes in the US reportedly increased 17% in 2017 compared to the previous year, according to an annual FBI report published in November 2018.
The Rot of American Jounalism Runs Deep In the latest episode of “On Contact,” host and Truthdig contributor Chris Hedges sits down with Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone for the first of a two-part series on American media, which Hedges calls a “purveyor of hate.” Together they explore the ways in which Fox News has reshaped the industry in its own image, and how networks like MSNBC have come to tell viewers exactly what they want to hear. Hedges also devotes a portion of his segment to Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky’s seminal book, “Manufacturing Consent,” which remains no less essential several decades after it was first published. .
The Military/Industrial Complexs’s Revolving Door: Trump’s Pick for Defense Secretary Shows Deep Ties With Boeing Shanahan is more complex than just a mere former executive with no military background as media has portrayed him. Based on statements from the DOD, Trump and senior officials in the Pentagon, he will serve a precise objective in the current administration plan’s. A virtual unknown figure to United States’ politics almost two and a half years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary, Patrick Shanahan, is a questioned choice for running the Pentagon, mainly due for his lack of experience in defense and foreign policy, but also for deep ties with private sector interests, especially the Boeing Company.
The White House revoked my press pass. It’s not just me — it’s curtailing access for all journalists.For the past 21 years, I have had the high privilege of holding a White House press pass, a magical ticket that gives the bearer a front-row seat to history.But no more. The White House eliminated most briefings and severely restricted access to official events. And this week came the coup de grace: After covering four presidents, I received an email informing me that Trump’s press office had revoked my White House credential. I’m not the only one. I was part of a mass purge of “hard pass” holders after the White House implemented a new standard that designated as unqualified almost the entire White House press corps, including all seven of The Post’s White House correspondents. White House officials then chose which journalists would be granted “exceptions.” It did this over objections from news organizations and the White House Correspondents’ Association. By Dana Milbank
Environment:
Pompeo’s Arctic Shipping Lanes America’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at the prestigious Arctic Council biannual meeting in Finland, christened the Arctic meltdown: “A wonderful economic opportunity for international trade.” In a nutshell, here’s a critique of the Secretary’s advice: An ice-free Arctic reduces travel time for shipping lanes between Asia and the West by three weeks, which qualifies as one of the biggest transport revolutions since cargo planes first crossed the Atlantic in the early 20th century. By Robert Hunziker
‘Huge Moment for Justice’: Landmark Verdict as UK Jury Acquits Extinction Rebellion Co-Founder Who Argued Necessity Defense“Ordinary people, unlike the judiciary, are able to see the broader picture.” A jury in the United Kingdom acquitted a pair of climate activists—including a co-founder of the Extinction Rebellion movement—of vandalism charges Thursday after they defended their acts of civil disobedience as a proportionate response to the threats posed by the global climate crisis. By Jessica CorbettTrump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The adage is especially relevant for climate-warming greenhouse gases, which are crucial to manage—and challenging to measure. In recent years, though, satellite and aircraft instruments have begun monitoring carbon dioxide and methane remotely, and NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS), a $10-million-a-year research line, has helped stitch together observations of sources and sinks into high-resolution models of the planet’s flows of carbon. Now, President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly killed the CMS, Science has learned. By Paul Voosen
The Carbon Monitoring System assessed deforestation, such as burning rainforest to clear lands for grazing.
Black Liberaation/Civil Rights:
Black Man Found Hanging In The Same Jail Where Sandra Bland Died The Waller County Jail was supposed to implement reforms after Bland’s death. An African-American inmate was recently found dead after apparently hanging himself in the same Texas jail where Sandra Bland also died in 2015, the Houston Chronicle reported. Authorities at the Waller County jail said on Wednesday that Evan Lyndell Parker, 34, attempted suicide on Jan. 25 and died two days later in a hospital. By Monique Judge
Black History:
Devil’s Punchbowl — An American Concentration Camp So Horrific It was Erased from HistorySay the words concentration camps, and most will surmise the topic surrounds World War II and the Nazis; but the hard labor, constant threat of death, and barbarism these microcosmic hells presented weren’t unique to Adolf Hitler — in just one year, around 20,000 freed slaves perished in the Devil’s Punchbowl — in Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.A.. By Claire BernishLabor:
World:
Thousands march for Palestine in LondonProtesters marched through central London to show solidarity with Palestine LONDON Thousands of people marched through central London in a bid to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the blockade on Gaza. “Free Palestine”, and “End Siege in Gaza” protesters shouted, carrying pro-Palestinian placards. By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal and Muhammad MussaIceland Sentences 26 Corrupt Bankers to 74 Years in Prison Iceland just sentenced their 26th banker to prison for his part in the 2008 economic collapse. The charges ranged from breach of fiduciary duties to market manipulation to embezzlement. When most people think of Iceland, they envision fire and ice. Major volcanoes and vast ice fields are abundant due to its position on the northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. (A hot July day in Reykjavik is around 55 degrees.) However, Iceland is also noted for being one of the Nordic Socialist countries, complete with universal health care, free education and a lot other Tea Potty nightmares. Therefore, as you might imagine, they tend to view and react to economic situations slightly differently than the U.S. When the banking induced “Great Recession of ’08” struck, Iceland’s economic hit was among the hardest. However, instead of rewarding fraudulent banking procedures with tons of bailout money, they took a different path. By Maurice Bedard
Venezuela: the imperialist coup loses momentum and the government goes on the offensive, but where does that leave the people?The coup in Venezuela is stagnating. The opposition is losing momentum and internal divisions are resurfacing. The imperialist powers have not yet achieved their objective of placing Guaidó in power, but that does not prevent them from intensifying the imposed sanctions and continuing to promote more blockades. While all of this is happening, the Venezuelan government has begun a tentative offensive, taking shy baby steps, waiting on a response from US imperialism. In the midst of all this chaos and a fierce economic crisis, the people refuse to surrender, despite not even having electricity or water.
Economy:
Economic slowdown: the ruling class fears revolutionSince the beginning of the crisis of 2008, nothing has been resolved. There was never a real recovery in the world economy after 2008 and now we are facing another worldwide recession. This time, however, all the measures that are meant to be used to get the economy out of a recession have already been used up. What is worrying the capitalist class now is the so-called inverted yield curve. In the past, when short-term debt had a higher yield (interest rate) than longer-term debt – a situation that has appeared a number of times over the past few months – recession has followed in short succession. By Niklas Albin SvenssonRecent Wall Street Bonus PoolThe 1% have over 50% of the world’s wealth — Like Scrooge McDuck they are swimming in wealth!
How Wall Street Drives Gender and Racial Inequality The people who sell fancy sports cars and high-end Swiss watches look forward to the time of year when the big Wall Street banks hand out their annual cash bonuses. According to new figures, those bonuses added up a whopping $27.5 billion last year. That’s a lot of Rolexes. Unfortunately, this huge payout also means the reckless bonus culture that crashed our economy in 2008 is still flourishing. And there’s another reason we should be disturbed: These Wall Street payouts drive racial and gender inequality. By Sarah AndersonHealth, 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!
To Be Sick and Not Rich Is the Nightmare of Medical Care in the USBack at home to recuperate, I find a stack of unopened mail, including notices from my insurance company alerting me to the bills that are to follow. Soon enough, they begin to arrive. They include out-of-pocket patient costs for the ambulance, the hospital, doctors, tests of all sorts, drugs of all sorts, and sundry other services. Those bills list both what insurance has paid for each service and the amount of money that I still owe. And here I experience what must be common to so many Americans. I’m surprised and distressed to learn how much of the cost my insurance doesn’t pick up. The surgery, for instance, was $72,000, but my insurance only covers $67,000 of it. The other $5,000 is my co-pay. Add in the co-pays for everything from that ambulance to other medical services and my costs come to almost $13,000. By Beverly Gologorsky
Nurses Tell Big Pharma, “Put Patients Over Profits”Day in and day out, American nurses see the damaging fallout of a for-profit healthcare system. That’s why nurses have long been at the forefront of the fight for healthcare justice. Last week, that fight took them to the headquarters of PhRMA, the trade group that represents pharmaceutical industry companies. Members of National Nurses United, along with other Medicare for All advocates, used bandaids to plaster PhRMA’s walls with the GoFundMe pages of patients who’ve turned to crowdfunding to cover their healthcare expenses. The protest came just one day before Congress held its first-ever Medicare for All hearing. Registered nurses and NNU Presidents Jean Ross, Deborah Burger, and Zenei Cortez told Inequality.org about their spotlight on Big Pharma and their vision for a just healthcare system.
Bendib: Ilhanophobia
Videos of the Day:
The 1%’s Billion Dollar Government
Where Are the Congressional Hearings on Puerto Rico?
Julian Assange should be allowed to go free, UN panel findsWikileaks founder Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free and be compensated for his “deprivation of liberty”, a UN legal panel has found. Mr Assange, 44, – who faces extradition to Sweden over a rape claim, which he denies – claimed asylum in London’s Ecuadorean embassy in 2012. He has been arbitrarily detained since his arrest in 2010, the panel said. The UK foreign secretary said the decision was “ridiculous”, but Mr Assange hailed a “significant victory”. Speaking at a news conference via a video link from the embassy, he said the opinion of the panel was “vindication”, adding: “The lawflne of my detention is now a matter of settled law.”
Trump White House quietly cancels NASA research verifying greenhouse gas cuts You can’t manage what you don’t measure. The adage is especially relevant for climate-warming greenhouse gases, which are crucial to manage—and challenging to measure. In recent years, though, satellite and aircraft instruments have begun monitoring carbon dioxide and methane remotely, and NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS), a $10-million-a-year research line, has helped stitch together observations of sources and sinks into high-resolution models of the planet’s flows of carbon. Now, President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly killed the CMS, Science has learned. By Paul Voosen
Labor:
Health, Education, and Welfare:
