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Since World War I, ‘the war to end all wars’, there have been perpetual wars for perpetual peace, this 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:
Well, when President Trump says that he can annihilate and destroy Iran, in a tweet, then the Iranians are going to take any move by the U.S. military seriously. When the U.S. president and people in the White House constantly speak about “all options are on the table” and Republican senators calling for strikes on Iran, then that makes the Iranian military much more sensitive. The Iranians are already engaged in defensive actions against the United States. They have to constantly monitor American fighter jets and American ships that are constantly moving close to the Iranian border. And when a drone like this violates Iranian airspace, that basically means that they are looking for places to strike. That’s how the Iranians interpret it. So the Iranian military had no option but to shoot down the drone. And the fact that the Americans don’t want to wait to see the evidence in the U.N. Security Council also makes this more suspicious. — Mohammad Marandi,Democracy Now
On June 19, an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone. The White House claimed that its drone was at least 20 miles from Iran, in international airspace, while Iran maintains the drone was in Iranian airspace. Iran presented GPS coordinatesshowing the drone eight miles from Iran’s coast, which is inside the area of 12 nautical miles that is considered Iran’s territorial waters under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Iran has the legal right to control its own airspace. The United States has no lawful claim of self-defense that would justify a military attack on Iran. Both the U.S. and Iran are parties to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which provides “that every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory.” — Marjorie Cohn, Iran Had the Legal Right to Shoot Down US Spy Drone
Videos of the Day:
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!
Bernie Sanders backs the prosecution of Edward Snowden The support by Bernie Sanders for the prosecution of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, which he voiced during Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, is a damning exposure of the pro-imperialist politics of this self-described “socialist” politician. Sanders attempted to distinguish himself from his fellow candidates only by calling for a “lenient” sentence for Snowden. “He did break the law, and I think there should be a penalty to that,” Sanders declared. “But I think what he did in educating us should be taken into consideration.” By Tom Hall
The Intellectual Origins of the Trump Presidency and the Construction of Contemporary American Politics It is foolish to think that Trumpism and Trumpistas are merely a product of personality. To believe that is to assume that Donald Trump is sui generis, elected under unique circumstances and that the politics and polices produced under him are tied to him. Believing that means also that once Trump leaves office, be in 2020 or beyond, Trumpism will end. By David Schultz
A Brief History of US Concentration Camps Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has ignited a firestorm of criticism, from both the left and the right as well as the mainstream media, for calling US immigrant detention centers “concentration camps.” To her credit, Ocasio-Cortez has refused to back down, citing academic experts and blasting the Trump administration for forcibly holding undocumented migrants “where they are brutalized with dehumanizing conditions and dying.” She also cited history. “The US ran concentration camps before, when we rounded up Japanese people during World War II,” she tweeted. “It is such a shameful history that we largely ignore it. These camps occur throughout history.” Indeed they do. What follows is an overview of US civilian concentration camps through the centuries. Prisoner-of-war camps, as horrific as they have been, have been excluded due to their legal status under the Geneva Conventions, and for brevity’s sake. By Brett Wilkins
Trump Prepares to Open New ‘Captured Children’ Facility in Texas as Hundreds of Rights Groups Call for Decriminalizing MigrationFederal policies on immigration continue trending in a more punitive direction A facility to house over 1,000 undocumented children is set to open Monday in Carrizo Springs, Texas—just days after almost 250 groups called on Congress to decriminalize migration and chart a new course for the country’s border policies. By Eoin Higgins
Our ‘Crotch Grabbing’ Government: ICE Detention Center Says It’s Not Responsible for Staff’s Sexual Abuse of Detainees All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government impose criminal liability on correctional facility staff who have sexual contact with people in their custody. These laws recognize that any sexual activity between detainees and detention facility staff, with or without the use of force, is unlawful because of the inherent power imbalance when people are in custody. Yet, one immigration detention center is trying to avoid responsibility for sexual violence within its walls by arguing that the detainee “consented” to sexual abuse. By Victoria Lópezand Sandra Park
Environment:
Philly Thrive was formed in 2015 to provide a voice to low-income neighborhoods and offer a particular analysis of environmental justice in Philadelphia. Toxic emissions and the illnesses they cause are measurably more concentrated in communities inhabited by low-income individuals and by people of color. For those living on the “fence lines” of dirty industry, transitioning to clean energy is not just about the long-term impacts, but about fighting back against an economic system that has justified poisoning certain communities in the name of making a profit for shareholders. To Thrive members, environmental justice means standing up to systemic environmental racism and making sure that those who are most affected by the problem are crafting the solution. Thrive’s campaign identifies Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) South Philadelphia refinery as a major source of air pollution and a violator of the federal Clean Air Act. The detrimental effects of PES massive smokestacks, which rise above the city skyscape, have had detrimental effects, according to a report written by Brian Ratcliffe and Eleanor Hyun. — Facing a warming planet, these organizers are offering their Philly neighborhoods hope and solutions
The United States of Crumbling Infrastructure: Indebted 150 Year Old Refinery Complex Explodes!:
Philadelphia oil refinery explosion causes massive fireball and 3-alarm blazeThe fire occurred at Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Southwest. Officials say no employees were injured; it is the second fire at facility this month Firefighters were called to the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex in Southwest Philly around 4 a.m. Friday after a vat of butane reportedly exploded causing a large fire. Firefighters have contained the three-alarm blaze at the 150-year refinery complex, however it was not under control as of 7 a.m., according to the Philadelphia Fire Department’s Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy. No injuries or evacuations have been reported. By Emily Rolen 
The Dangerous Methane Mystery The East Siberian Arctic Shelf (“ESAS”) is the epicenter of a methane-rich zone that could turn the world upside down. Still, the ESAS is not on the radar of mainstream science, and not included in calculations by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), and generally not well understood. It is one of the biggest mysteries of the world’s climate puzzle, and it is highly controversial, which creates an enhanced level of uncertainty and casts shadows of doubt. By Robert Hunziker
What the ‘Fossil Fuel Economy Looks Like’: Demands for Climate Justice After Explosion Rocks Philly Oil Refinery“Unless we change course now and treat the crisis for what it is, we will continue to see more disasters like today.” By What the ‘Fossil Fuel Economy Looks Like’: Demands for Climate Justice After Explosion Rocks Philly Oil Refinery”Unless we change course now and treat the crisis for what it is, we will continue to see more disasters like today.” Climate advocates reiterated their calls to ditch the fossil fuel economy on Friday following an explosion at an oil refinery complex in Philadelphia that sent a fireball into the sky. By Andrea Germanos
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Race, Identity and the Political Economy of Hate Several theories have been put forward to explain the schisms roiling American politics. The least contentious, meaning the one not obviously intended to produce a political result, is that a battle is underway within the oligarch class. Given the role of security and surveillance state officials, the precise alliances driving the split— if the term is accurate, aren’t clear. An alternate explanation is that a defense of the existing order is underway. The latter has been put forward in terms approximating a ‘redneck rebellion.’ By Rob Urie
Labor:
Economy:
A Critical House Hearing Gets a News Blackout this Week Despite the critical nature of the legislation to be discussed at this hearing, it received a news blackout from corporate business media, with the exception of a report that appeared in advance of the hearing by Francine McKenna of the Dow Jones news outlet, MarketWatch. We knew early on that there was going to be a big push back from Wall Street on this proposed legislation when we saw the name of one of the four witnesses scheduled to testify: Andrew Vollmer, a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. Vollmer is the former Deputy General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who waltzed in and out of the revolving door at the SEC from the big corporate law firm, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Goldman Sachs Is Quietly Trading Stocks In Its Own Dark Pools on 4 ContinentsFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up early this morning by more than 200 points. But the 10-year U.S. Treasury has also had a big rally, which dropped its yield overnight to just below 2 percent. The 10-year Note yield below 2 percent suggests a serious slowdown in the U.S. economy. That’s not something corporate stocks should be cheering about. The continuing aberrations in the U.S. stock market suggest a malfunctioning stock market structure and the first place to look is Dark Pools, which are unregulated stock exchanges run by the same mega Wall Street banks that blew up the U.S. financial system in 2008 and received the largest taxpayer bailout in U.S. history. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Honduras: Protest movement calls for President JOH to step downIn Honduras, a mass movement is reaching insurrectionary proportions and threatens to bring down the illegitimate government of Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH). Protests against planned privatisation of public healthcare and education, which began at the end of May, have recently been escalating. The past week in Honduras has seen a significant broadening of the protest movement out from the health professionals’ and teachers’ trade unions to the wider public. By Rob Smith
Switzerland: women’s strike – biggest mobilisation in years! The women’s strike of 14 June took on a truly mass character in many cities. How did it come about? And what conclusions can we draw from Switzerland’s biggest mobilisation in many years? Last Friday, over 500,000 people took to the streets all over the country. This enormous mass movement exceeded the last big mobilisations against the Iraq war in 2003, and also the historic women’s strike of 14 June 1991. In many cities, it was the largest demonstration of the last 50 years. Enthusiasm and a willingness to fight were clearly felt everywhere. By Dersu Heri
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!
Mercedes Schneider: 49% of NOLA Charter “Graduates” Lacked Credits to Graduate Mercedes Schneider Reports the story of the New Orleans charter school that awarded diplomas to its seniors, but had to revoke 49% of them after a whistleblower pointed out that these students lacked the credits needed to graduate. She writes: Just shy of half of the Class of 2019 at John F. Kennedy High School at Lake Area did not meet graduation requirements and are therefore not eligible to receive the diplomas that they may have expected to receive when they participated in a graduation ceremony on May 17, 2019. (I write “may have expected” because at the time of the ceremony, both students and the general public knew the school was under investigation for grade fixing.) By Diane Ravitch
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