Daily News Digest May 27, 2019

Daily News Digest May 27, 2019

Memorial Day By Roland Sheppard

I Morn Those That Died — The 1% Sing Praises To The Spoils Of War Every Year I Honor the Casualties Of The Wars For Profit— Not Just the Americans Who Have/Will Died, but The People World Wide Who Have/Will Die, From The Exploits of US Capitalism:

Daily News Digest Archives

Since World War I ‘the war to end all wars’ there have been perpetual wars for perpetual peace, Laura Gray’s cartoon from the front page of The Militant August 18, 1945, under banner headline: “There Is No Peace,” Could Still Be Published Today!

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:

Students From 1,600 Cities Just Walked Out of School to Protest Climate Change. It Could Be Greta Thunberg’s Biggest Strike YetTheresa May’s Tears Of Self-Pity

What Does the Future Hold for a Country Forever at War?The Poppies Grown On Flander’s Field

Videos of the Day:

Trump Offers No Evidence of Iranian Threat or Terrorism

As Trump Threatens Iran With War, Espionage Charges Against Assange Threaten Journalists

100,000s of Kids Hold School Strike for Climate Action

Daniel Ellsberg on Julian Assange’s Espionage Charges The US Department of Justice issued an 18-count indictment against Julian Assange for violating the 1917 Espionage Act. We speak to Daniel Ellsberg about the dangerous implications this move has for journalism in the United State

When the Labor Bureaucracy is in a ‘Domestic Partnership With the Boss’, it sees a need to organize employers. based upon their promise of collecting the dues checkoff in exchange for cutting the standard of living of the working class.: AFL-CIO Budget Declares Organizing Unimportant

Quotes of the Day:

I Morn Those That Died — The 1% Sing Praises To The Spoils Of War— Roland Sheppard, Memorial Day

Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder. In the Middle Ages when the feudal lords who inhabited the castles whose towers may still be seen along the Rhine concluded to enlarge their domains, to increase their power, their prestige and their wealth they declared war upon one another. But they themselves did not go to war any more than the modern feudal lords, the barons of Wall Street go to war. The feudal barons of the Middle Ages, the economic predecessors of the capitalists of our day, declared all wars. And their miserable serfs fought all the battles. The poor, ignorant serfs had been taught to revere their masters; to believe that when their masters declared war upon one another, it was their patriotic duty to fall upon one another and to cut one another’s throats for the profit and glory of the lords and barons who held them in contempt. And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose—especially their lives. — Eugene V, Debs, The Canton, Ohio Speech, Anti-War Speech

The following paragraphs exemplify Gore Vidal’s concepts throughout the collection of essays.  . . . The damage caused by the September 11 plane bombings is] nothing compared to the knockout blow to our vanishing liberties — the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996 combined with the recent requests to Congress for additional special powers to wiretap without judicial order; to deport lawful permanent residents, visitors, and undocumented immigrants without due process. . . .  Vidal speaks of: . . . an undeclared war under the Clinton presidency which coincided with severe restrictions of our human rights supposedly protected by the Bill of Rights as the first ten amendments to the constitution.  . .The Bush administration (Vidal notes) though eerily inept in all but its principal task, which is to exempt the rich from taxes, has casually torn up most of the treaties to which civilized nations subscribe — like the Kyoto Accords or the nuclear missile agreement with Russia. The Bushites go about their relentless plundering of the Treasury and now, thanks to Osama, Social Security (a supposedly untouchable trust fund), which, like Lucky Strike Green, has gone to a war currently costing us $3 billion a month. They have also allowed the FBI and CIA either to run amok or not budge at all, rather like the Wizard of Oz doing his odd pretend-magic tricks while hoping not to be found out. Meanwhile, G.W. booms, ‘Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists’. That’s known as asking for it. . . . — Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

U.S.:

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! 

As the real cost of livings has gone up nearly 10% Both the Rpublicarts Deny the Elderly Even a Meager Cost of Living Increase!: Did All Democrats Vote Against a 2.8 Percent Social Security COLA Increase?  Social Security cost of living allowances are established by formula and don’t require Congressional approval. All the Congressional Democrats voted against a 2.8 percent Social Security cost of living allowance. By Bethania Palma

 ‘This Is About Attacking Journalism,’ Warn Press Freedom Defenders as Trump DOJ Hits Assange With New Espionage Charges“This is about retaliation for publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes and other crimes by the most powerful nation on Earth. In an unprecedented move that journalists and press freedom defenders denounced as “the most significant and terrifying threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century,” the Trump Justice Department announced Thursday that a federal grand jury charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with 17 new counts of violating the Espionage Act. “This is about attacking journalism and the public’s right to information about war crimes done in their name with their dollars,” The Intercept‘s Jeremy Scahill said in a series of tweets. “This is about retaliation for publishing evidence of U.S. war crimes and other crimes by the most powerful nation on Earth. It’s a threat to press freedom. That’s why you should care.” By Jessica Corbett Iran, Venezuela and the Throes of Empire With the Trump administration threatening war against Iran and Venezuela, the question of how the U.S. was brought to this point needs to be considered. To argue that current circumstances are particular to this administration is to overlook U.S. history vis-a-vis both Iran and Venezuela and that between them they possess a material proportion of the world’s proved oil reserves (graph below). In 2019, the pretense that local provocations explain anything beyond domestic political posturing is absurd. By Rob UrieWar Crimes Pardons: A Terrible Memorial Day IdeaOn May 16, 2008, near the town of Baiji in Iraq, 1st Lieutenant Michael Behenna, US Army, murdered a prisoner. That was the verdict of the jury in his 2009 court martial, anyway. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but paroled in less than five. On May 6, 2019, US president Donald Trump pardoned Behenna. By Thomas Knapp

The Boeing Way: Blaming Dead Pilots The House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation held an oversight hearing last week on the two recent Boeing 737 MAX airplane crashes. Testifying were the heads of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  Asking questions and making statements were 39 members of the House – 22 Democrats and 17 Republicans – who during the 2018 election cycle took in a total of $134,749  – or an average of $3,455 each from Boeing in campaign contributions. By Russell Mokhiber 

Environment:

Students From 1,600 Cities Just Walked Out of School to Protest Climate Change. It Could Be Greta Thunberg’s Biggest Strike YetHundreds of thousands of students around the world walked out of their schools and colleges Friday in the latest in a series of strikes urging action to address the climate crisis. According to event organizers Fridays for Future, over 1664 cities across 125 countries registered strike actions, with more expected to report turnouts in the coming days. Suykin HaynesThe Corporate Silence of the Media Monopoly: What Could Be More Important?’: World Leaders, Media Ignore Biodiversity Report Detailing Mass Extinction Event Now Underway“The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever.” Scientists at the United Nations’ intergovernmental body focusing on biodiversity sounded alarms earlier this month with its report on the looming potential extinction of one million species—but few heard their calls, according to a German newspaper report. By Julia ConleyWar is War on Mother Earth“In order to achieve the massive systemic and cultural transformations required for mitigating climate change…we’re going to have to deal with the socially sanctioned, institutionalized violence perpetrated by U.S. foreign policy that is pouring fuel on the fire of global warming.” – Stacy BannermanBy Richard BoserBlack Liberaation/Civil Rights:

Labor:

Economy:

Shadow Government Statistics Alternate Inflation Charts CPI Year-to-Year Growth  The CPI-U (consumer price index) is the broadest measure of consumer price inflation for goods and services published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).While the headline number usually is the seasonally-adjusted month-to-month change, the formal CPI is reported on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis, with annual inflation measured in terms of year-to-year percent change in the price index. In the charts to the right we show two SGS-Alternate CPI estimates: One based on the pre-1990 official methodology for computing the CPI-U, and the other based on the methodology which was employed prior to 1980.

Shadow Government Statistics Bullet Edition Number Ten

  • Economic Downturn Continued into Second-Quarter 2019; Faltering April Freight Volume Presaged Declines in Production and Retail Sales
  • April Manufacturing Turned Negative Year-to-Year for First Time Since 2015, When Freight Volume Also Turned Negative, Signaling the Onset of an Unofficial Double-Dip Recession in Production and Manufacturing
  • Production and Manufacturing Suffered Heavy Downside Revisions Along With Unexpected Sharp Declines in April Activity
  • April Single-Unit Building Permits Signaled an Unexpected Deepening Downturn
  • April Existing-Home Sales Declined Month-to-Month and Year-to Year
  • Fourth-Quarter 2018 and First-Quarter 2019 Quarterly Contractions in Real Retail Sales Held in Place, Along With an Unexpected, Sharp April Decline
  • Shutdown-Disrupted Retail Sales Data Remain of Suspect Quality
  • Latest Round of Economic Data Implied Downside Revisions to First-Quarter 2019 GDP, With an Intensifying Second-Quarter Downturn
  • Surging Consumer Optimism Tends to Mirror the Tone of the Popular Press Market Sentiment Should Continue Shifting Towards Renewed Fed Easing

 World:

Britain: Theresa May resignation – let’s kick out the rest of the Tories! Kick out capitalism! With the exception of Theresa May herself, nobody will shed a tear at the news of the Tory leader’s resignation (except, perhaps, tears of joy). As well as going down in the history books as perhaps the worst Prime Minister in history for her bungling of Brexit, we must also remember May for the reactionary policies that she has pushed on behalf of the capitalist class. Her reign as PM has seen a continuation of the vicious austerity and attacks that have blighted working-class communities. She has shown no remorse for the victims of the murderous Grenfell disaster – victims who to this day have seen no justice. And, as Home Secretary, she was the architect of the infamous ‘hostile environment’ strategy, which has whipped up racism and seen an endless assault against migrants. For these reasons, and many more, we will be pleased to see the back of May. But ultimately she is just another Tory representative of the broken capitalist system. The task ahead for the labour movement, therefore, must be to kick out all the Tories – and to kick out capitalism. By Adam Both

Corbyn calls for ‘immediate general election’ after British PM steps downBritain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for an “immediate general election” after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation in the aftermath a deadlock with parliament over her negotiated Brexit deal with the European Union. Corbyn said in a tweet on Friday that May was “right to resign” as prime minister and whoever replaced her as leader of the Conservative Party had to call an election. “Theresa May is right to resign. She’s now accepted what the country’s known for months: she can’t govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party,” Corbyn said. “Whoever becomes the new Tory leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election.”

The Amputation Crisis in Gaza: a US-Funded AtrocityMy friend Andrew Rubin is an amputee. He’s lost his right hand, lower arm, right foot, and lower leg. He used to be an avid runner and cyclist. He can’t do much of that anymore, although his walking is getting much better. Soon he might be able to run with his artificial leg. Andrew is incredibly lucky. The medical catastrophe that left his hand and foot so terribly damaged didn’t kill him. But when his limbs never healed even after a decade, he decided to undergo the amputations. It was his choice, and it was made much easier because he knew what lay ahead: the most advanced artificial limbs ever imagined. The kids call him Bionic Man now. By Phyllis Bennis

Health, Education, Science, 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!