Skip to content
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. Socialism Means True Democracy — The 99% Will Rule! — Not the Few!
Images of the Day:
Quotes of the Day:
Why has Assange become a target of these Western governments’ coordinated attack? Over 10 million documents that WikiLeaks released with a pristine record of accuracy revealed the corruption of these governments, including US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is apparent that Assange is being punished for revealing these governments’ inconvenient truth. But more significantly, he has been condemned because WikiLeaks’ publication exposed the true face of Western liberal democracy, informing the public about how the structure of power really works. What is Western liberal democracy? It is a particular style of governance that was developed in the US and exported around the world. Political theorist Sheldon S. Wolin (2008) described it as “modern managed democracy” and attributed its creation to the framers of the Constitution. Wolin described how the Founding Fathers made a system that favored elite rule and that “the American political system was not born a democracy, but born with a bias against democracy” (p. 228). The framers of the constitution wanted to have power over people. As a testimony to this, the original draft of the constitution did not have a Bill of Rights. They were added to the constitution as amendments. This didn’t come about without a struggle. The proponents of the Bill of Rights demanded them in order to safeguard individual liberty and challenged those who seek to preserve levers of control. — In Crisis of Democracy, We Must All Become Julian Assange
The continued intervention of the U.S. hasn’t made life better for everyday Puerto Ricans. It’s made life better for people who are rich who can come to Puerto Rico and pay no taxes. — As Puerto Rico Erupts in Protests, “La Junta” Eyes More Power
Videos of the Day:
Democracy Now!: Puerto Rico Enters Uncharted Territory as Ricardo Rosselló Prepares to Resign as Governor Facing mass civil unrest and a growing protest movement, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló is expected to resign today. El Nuevo Día first reported the news late Tuesday night. Rosselló has faced nearly two weeks of demonstrations—each one larger than the last—demanding he step down, following a massive leak revealing sexist, homophobic and violent text messages exchanged between the governor and government officials, in which he mocked victims of Hurricane Maria and joked about shooting San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. We speak with Democracy Now! co-host Juan González on the significance of Rosselló’s resignation.
Democracy Now!: The Young Lords: Exploring the Legacy of the Radical Puerto Rican Activist Group 50 Years Later Fifty years ago this week, a group of young radical Puerto Ricans took to the streets of New York City to announce the formation of the New York chapter of the Young Lords. Formed in the same radical tradition of the Black Panther Party, the activists soon became a force in the community that inspired people around the nation. The Young Lords occupied churches and hospitals to offer services to the community, and educated people about Puerto Rican culture and history. They called for self-determination for all Puerto Ricans, independence for the island of Puerto Rico, community control of institutions and land, freedom for all political prisoners and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam, Puerto Rico and other areas. While the group disintegrated in the mid-1970s, its impact is still felt today. Ahead of a commemorative event at the Schomburg Center in Harlem Friday, we speak with three former Young Lords: Denise Oliver-Velez, Carlito Rovira and Democracy Now!’s Juan González, who helped found the organization and served as its first minister of education. We also speak with Johanna Fernández, associate professor in the Department of History at CUNY’s Baruch College. She is the author of the upcoming book “The Young Lords: A Radical History.”
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!
In Crisis of Democracy, We Must All Become Julian Assange The US government’s indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange marked the worst attack on press freedom in modern history. Assange has been charged with 18 counts, including 17 violations of the Espionage Act. James Goodale, former general counsel of The New York Times, who urged the paper to publish the Pentagon Papers during the Nixon administration noted, “If the government succeeds with the trial against Assange, if any, that will mean that it’s criminalized the news gathering process.” By Nozomi Hayase
Democrats reach deal with Trump on budget and debt ceilingIn a deal that demonstrates that the Democratic Party offers no genuine opposition to the Trump administration, the congressional Democratic leadership has reached an agreement with the White House on a two-year, bipartisan plan to boost military spending to record levels and guarantee to Wall Street that there will be no limit on federal borrowing that would cause instability in the financial system. Trump tweeted his support for the agreement, worked out between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a tweet Monday evening. Pelosi sent a letter to every member of the House Democratic majority hailing the deal, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged the full support of the Senate Republican leadership. By Patrick Monk
Media Ignoring US Officials Saying Trudeau Adopts “America First” foreign policy Wouldn’t you think the corporate media would be interested in the US embassy’s reaction to the appointment of a new Canadian foreign minister? Especially if that reaction was to claim Ottawa had decided to adopt an “America First” foreign policy? Wouldn’t some big newspaper or TV station, dedicated to telling the truth about what our governments, corporations and other institutions are doing, find it noteworthy enough to report the existence of an embassy memo claiming Justin Trudeau appointed Chrystia Freeland foreign minister in order to promote the interests of President Donald Trump? Surprise, surprise, no! By Yves Engler
Environment:
‘This Is the Beginning’: New Study Warns Climate Crisis May Have Been Pivotal in Rise of Drug-Resistant SuperbugResearch argues that deadly Candida auris “may be the first example of a new fungal disease emerging from climate change.” A new analysis warns that “global warming may have played a pivotal role” in the recent rise of a multidrug-resistant fungal superbug, sparking questions and concerns about the emerging public health threats of the human-caused climate crisis. By Jessica Corbett
The Cheapest Way to Save the Planet Grows Like a Weed Planting billions of trees across the world is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to tackle the climate crisis. So states a Guardian article, citing a new analysis published in the journal Science. Fortunately, as of December 2018, there is now a cheaper, faster and more efficient alternative—one that was suppressed for nearly a century but was legalized on a national scale when President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.This is the widespread cultivation of industrial hemp, the nonintoxicating form of cannabis grown for fiber, cloth, oil, food and other purposes. Hemp grows to 13 feet in 100 days, making it one of the fastest carbon dioxide-to-biomass conversion tools available. Industrial hemp has been proved to absorb more CO2 per hectare than any forest or commercial crop, making it the ideal carbon sink. It can be grown on a wide scale on nutrient-poor soils with very small amounts of water and no fertilizers. Hemp products can promote biodiversity and reverse environmental pollution by replacing petrochemical-based plastics, which are now being dumped into the ocean at the rate of one garbage truck per minute. One million seabirds die each year from ingesting plastic, and up to 90% have plastic in their guts. Microplastic (resulting from the breakdown of larger pieces by sunlight and waves) and microbeads (used in body washes and facial cleansers) have been called the ocean’s smog. They absorb toxins in the water, enter the food chain and ultimately wind up in humans. To avoid all that, we can use plastic made from hemp, which is biodegradable and nontoxic. By Ellen Brown
Mothers Nature and Human: Another Blueprint for Survival The real fight for biodiversity is also a fight against prejudice and patriarchy, against inequality and cruelty. It’s a fight against the corrosive and self-defeating pretence that nature is separate from humanity. That’s simply not true: Both nature and humanity are our mother and each is part of the other, as everyone once knew and we must now learn afresh. Our fight must yoke human rights to environmental concerns and so point the way to the survival of a better and kinder world. By Stephen Corryy
Killer Heat Forever, From Our Fossil-Fueled Inertia By Manuel García Jr. Sometime between 2070 and 2099, assuming “business as usual” between now and then as regards the use of fossil fuels, the following will occur:
-
For the equivalent of a week or more each year, about 120 million people across the U.S.A. will be exposed to conditions so hot, the heat index (or “feels like” temperature, which is produced by the combination of heat and humidity) will surpass the limits of the National Weather Service’s heat index charts. Depending on locality at that time, the upper limit of the heat index scale could be at or above 127°F (52.8°C);
-
In 47 of the lower 48 U.S. states, these “off-the-charts” conditions will occur in at least one county at least once a year. Historically, “off-the-charts” conditions have only occurred in the Sonoran Desert region, along the California-Arizona border, and only for a few days each year.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Labor:
Coal Bosses’ Senator Shuns Black Lung Victims: “He Might’ve Stayed a Minute”: Coal Miners With Black Lung Slam McConnell for Brushing Them Off in Healthcare Meeting “It was a worthless trip, that’s the way I feel,” said one of the 120 coal miners who traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Republican leader Around 120 miners and their families traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to meet with the Kentucky Republican and pressure him to take action to finance the federal Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which serves as a lifeline for an estimated 12,000former coal miners nationwide. By Jake Johnson
Economy:
Overview
-
Budget Deficit and Federal Debt Ceiling Crises Threaten Financial and Economic Stability Underlying Economic Numbers Still Show an Unfolding and Deepening Recession GDP Should Begin to Catch Up With Tomorrow’s July 26th Reporting and Revisions Second-Quarter 2019 GDP Expectations of 1.3% to 2.6% Should Be Disappointed Real Quarterly GDP Contraction Remains Likely, At Least by the Second Revision First-Quarter 2019 GDP Growth of 3.1% Should Revise Lower Economy Cannot Resume Stable, Positive Growth Without an Active, Healthy Consumer Major Fed Easing Looms; Renewed Quantitative Easing Could Be in Place by September FOMC Easing Now Could Mark Onset of Perpetual Quantitative Easing
-
U.S. Fiscal Conditions, U.S. Economic Activity and Federal Reserve Policy All Are in Turmoil, with Domestic Financial Markets and the U.S. Dollar Eventually Taking Related Major Hits. Likely weaker-than-expected second-quarter GDP should have negative implications for domestic financial- market and fiscal stability.
-
U.S. Debt Versus the GDP. The Trump Administration and Congress reportedly have reached a deal on U.S. fiscal policy to go beyond the 2020 election, with expanded deficit spending and an increased debt ceiling. While there may be some needed economic stimulus in that package, the effects will intensify the long-range solvency issues for the U.S. Government, with resulting mounting stress on the domestic financial markets and particularly on the exchange-rate value of the U.S. Dollar and the U.S. Dollar versus precious metals. The Federal Debt section expands upon these issues, including a rather startling graph of the GDP minus Federal Debt (Graph 1).
82% of Wall Street Bank Analysts Have a Buy Rating on Citigroup: Run for Cover If you are buying stocks based on what your stockbroker (a/k/a “financial advisor”) is telling you the research analysts at his brokerage firm are recommending, our headline above should provide a cautionary warning. On July 21, Philip Van Doorn, a reporter for Dow Jones’ MarketWatch, published a chart showing that 82 percent of bank research analysts on Wall Street have a “buy” rating on the stock of Citigroup. According to MarketBeat.com, among the stock analysts making “buy,” “outperform,” or “overweight,” recommendations on Citigroup are those receiving a paycheck from Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Bank of America – all of whom have a vested interest in wanting Citigroup – and each other — to stay strong because they are all interconnected as derivative counterparties. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Super-rich get richer, whilst workers feel the squeezeA recent study has revealed the eye-watering inequality that exists in Britain, with the mega-rich of the top 0.01% laughing all the way to the bank, whilst the rest of us see attacks on living standards. This is capitalism. The super-rich in Britain have never been richer. Whilst millions suffer wage cuts and relentless austerity, the top 0.01% have seen a dramatic rise in their fortunes. By James Kilby
This London Firm Helps the Wealthy Hide Assets – or Steal Them. Luckily We Have 15 Years of Their Client Communications.It is my cheerful duty to announce the acquisition of around 85 gigabytes of leaked emails, phone calls, faxes, and other documents originating from the London-based tax shelter firm Formations House, best known to the public for the assortment of often colorful scandals involving such figures as former Ukranian president Viktor Yanukovych, and best known to the global kleptocracy as a cheap and discreet option by which to avoid taxes or steal them altogether. These materials, which cover fifteen years from the company’s founding in 2001, were recently obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, the transparency organization founded by longtime researcher, activist, and Freedom of Information Act request record-holder Emma Best to facilitate and host leaks from state and corporate actors. My own non-profit Pursuance, meanwhile, has partnered with DDOS to help oversee early access by reporters, and thereafter to implement experimental crowd-sourced research protocols by which networks of volunteers will sift through this immense field of data to better ensure that critical stories are discovered and made public over the coming months and years. By Barrett Brown
Boris out! Corbyn in!This afternoon, Boris Johnson will take his place in 10 Downing Street as the latest Prime Minister of Britain. His premiership will be characterised by deep crises and intense class struggles. Johnson has the reactionary ranks of the Tory Party to thank for his new position. Two-thirds of this 160,000-strong rabble voted for Boris to succeed the hapless Theresa May as Conservative Party leader – and thus as PM also. And recent surveys show that this ‘hang-em, flog-em’ brigade has only one thing on their mind: Brexit – an aim that they will stop at nothing to achieve.
United States or Britain Cops Protect the Rich — Not the 99%: Police abuse scandal: who’s protecting who?It is clear that the police — and the elite that they exist to protect — act with impunity, carrying out violence and abuse without any reprecussions. This is the reality of the capitalist state: there is one law for those with power, and another for the rest. It was reported earlier this year that there have been nearly 1,500 claims made concerning sexual abuse committed by police officers across the country. These claims cover 33 police forces, over a period between 2012 and 2018 (10 forces didn’t choose to provide any information). By Luke Boulby
Puerto Rico Governor Resigns After Popular ProtestsPuerto Rico governor resigns after popular protests After two weeks of protests demanding his removal, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced his resignation late Wednesday night. In a statement posted online, Rosselló said he would step down on August 2. The announcement was met with cheers by thousands of protesters who gathered outside the governor’s La Fortaleza (The Fortress) residence in the Old San Juan district of the Caribbean island’s capital. Popular anger has been escalating since the release two weeks ago of private text messages between Rosselló and his inner circle, which mocked the victims of Hurricane Maria and draconian austerity measures imposed by the US federal government’s Fiscal Oversight Board. The protests reached their highpoint Monday with the largest demonstration in the history of the US territory. Between 500,000 and 1 million people participated in the huge procession in San Juan, a substantial portion of the island’s 3.2 million inhabitants. By Jerry White
As Puerto Rico Erupts in Protests, “La Junta” Eyes More Power Embattled Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is expected to resign July 24 amid massive protests on the island and around the world. A demonstration in the capital city of San Juan on Monday drew an estimated 1 million people — almost a third of the island’s total population — to protest a decades-long economic crisis that peaked in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The unelected and Washington-appointed body now overseeing the island’s finances — the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board, called la junta by Puerto Ricans — may use a democratic explosion in Puerto Rico to further curtail its democracy. By Kate Aronoff
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!
Carlos Latuff: Student of History
