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Labor DayMay Day/ Labor Day
I celebrate May Day, but I don’t celebrate Labor Day — I just observe it. To me, Labor Day means the codification of the labor bureaucracy’s subservience to the capitalist class. That was the original purpose for the United States capitalist class when it made labor day a holiday. It was organized, as such, in opposition to the Labor Day that was/is celebrated everywhere else in the world — a demonstration class solidarity! — May Day! May Day was celebrated, in memory of the martyrs of the Haymarket Massacre in 1886 Chicago and the unending struggle of the world working class for their “unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
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:
Background For Britain’s Crisis of Democracy:
Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley recently published a report that warned its clients about the possibility of a general election in 2018 and – in turn – of a Corbyn-led Labour victory. Such an outcome, the bankers described, would be a “worse threat to business than Brexit”. Whilst the ruling class has been drumming up fear and hysteria about Corbyn from day one, this latest statement (unlike many previous attempts) isn’t a complete fabrication. It reflects a real and genuine concern of the capitalists. The City of London and their wealthy big business clients are completely correct to be nervous about Corbyn. More importantly, they are rightly afraid of the movement behind him. Corbyn’s response to the Morgan Stanley statement was honest, bold, and inspiring. “When they say we’re a threat, they’re right,” Corbyn asserted in a video on social media made especially in response to the financial firm. “We’re a threat to a damaging and failed system that’s rigged for the few.” — Britain: “We are a threat” – Corbyn responds to the bankers
Donald J. Trump : “Would be very hard for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, to seek a no-confidence vote against New Prime Minister Boris Johnson, especially in light of the fact that Boris is exactly what the U.K. has been looking for, & will prove to be “a great one!” the US president tweeted on Wednesday. Jeremy Corbyn Responds: I think that the Us president is saying is that Boris Johnson is exactly what he has been looking for, a compliant Prime Monster who will hand Britain’s public services and protections over to US corporations in a free trade deal. — Jeremy Corby Responds to Trumps Tweet
Videos of the Day:
Is it Cynical to Believe the System is Corrupt?While a new poll shows most US citizens believe the political and economic system is rigged against them, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren also echo this sentiment.
Venezuela’s Press Is More Free Than You’d Think Opposition figures regularly speak their mind on talk shows and news programs in Venezuela, undermining the notion that freedom of the press is highly restricted, says Joe Emersberger
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! The United States takes from the poor and gives to the Rich
A class-action lawsuit was filed in California accusing the government of denying adequate food, medical care and other basic necessities to migrant prisoners in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. The suit says the dire conditions inside the migrant jails amount to torture and highlights the mistreatment of people with disabilities. The Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the groups that filed the suit, said imprisoned immigrants are “at risk of illness, discrimination on the basis of disability and the arbitrary imposition of solitary confinement as a result of ICE’s reliance on mass incarceration and its indifference to the conditions in its prisons”. Meanwhile, a joint investigation by the Associated Press and the Public Broadcasting Service’s Frontline reveals that dozens of families who were separated at the southern border are preparing to sue the government over claims that young children were sexually, physically and emotionally abused while in federally-funded foster care. The infrastructure and policies, including using cruelty to “deter” immigrants, that Trump is using and expanding through edicts, were put in place by both Democrats and Republican in Congress and under both Democratic and Republican presidents. Not one single candidate running for the Democratic Party nomination for president, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, proposes to do away with that infrastructure and those policies, aiming their fire only at Trump’s worst excesses. A small exception is Juan Castro, who proposes to eliminate the law making crossing the border without papers a crime — a law Trump is using to justify putting children in cages. In general, Democratic Party spokespeople, including the candidates, preface their criticisms of Trump with the assurance that they are for “border security” — everything that was put in place by Clinton, Bush and Obama that Trump is now using. The Democrats are not the answer.— Barry Sheppard, War on the Mexican Boarder: Why Democrats Are Not the Answer
Bankrupt and Irrelevant: the Presidential Debates and Four Recent Studies on Pentagon SpendingIn the almost 12 hours of Democratic Party presidential primary debates on June 26-27 and July 30-31, the words “Pentagon budget” or “defense spending” were not uttered, except for a fleeting, unanswered comment from Senator Bernie Sanders. Nor did any of the cable news moderators ask a single question about the more than $1.25 trillion dollars spent in 2019 for national security. By Pierre Sprey, Chuck Spinney and Winslow T. Wheeler
‘Be Given Our Stolen Time Back?’: Trump Once Again Signals Desire to Illegally Extend Term The president’s so-called “jokes” about serving longer than his elected term, said one critic, “aren’t funny anymore.” Not the first time he has done this, President Donald Trump on Friday morning insinuated he would like to extend his term beyond the four years granted by the nation’s constitution when he posed as a question the idea of being granted back “stolen time” that was taken from him because of the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and accusations of misconduct by former FBI head James Comey. By Jon Queally
Environment:
Climate Change Threatens the World’s Food Supply, United Nations WarnsThe world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself. The report, prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and released in summary form in Geneva on Thursday, found that the window to address the threat is closing rapidly. A half-billion people already live in places turning into desert, and soil is being lost between 10 and 100 times faster than it is forming, according to the report. Climate change will make those threats even worse, as floods, drought, storms and other types of extreme weather threaten to disrupt, and over time shrink, the global food supply. Already, more than 10 percent of the world’s population remains undernourished, and some authors of the report warned in interviews that food shortages could lead to an increase in cross-border migration. By Christopher Flavelle
The Fire This Time!: ‘It’s Really Close’: How the Amazon Rainforest Could Self-Destruct Climate change and man-made fires could set off a cycle of self-perpetuating deforestation, scientists warn. As fires rage across the Amazon, a growing number of scientists are raising the alarm about a nightmare scenario that could see much of the world’s largest rainforest erased from the earth. Climate change, along with the fires and other man-made forces, appear on the verge of triggering a significant change in the Amazon’s weather system. No one knows for sure whether and when this might happen, though some scientists who study the Amazon ecosystem call it imminent. If it does happen, a body of research suggests, the Amazon as a whole would cross a tipping point and begin to self-destruct — a process of self-perpetuating deforestation known as dieback. If that is left unchecked, half or more of the rainforest could erode into savanna, according to some estimates, and then the rainforest, which has long absorbed the world’s greenhouse gases, could instead begin to emit them. By Max Fisher
Brazil: Genocide By Fire: Amazon Fires Threaten ‘World’s Most Endangered Tribe’ As Campaigners Say Indigenous Fire Departments Are Being Stopped: ‘These People Depend On The Forest’Fires in the Amazon rain forest are threatening the Awá people—an indigenous group non-profit group Survival International has described as the “most endangered tribe” in the world. Around 80 isolated individuals of this group live in the Araribóia Indigenous reserve in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. This reserve—located in the eastern Amazon—has been already been heavily deforested and now fires have been spotted in the final remaining areas of rain forest where the Awá live, The Guardian reported. The majority of fires in the Amazon are deliberately started by humans. For example, farmers cut down trees to make way for agriculture, and then wait for the dry season—which runs roughly from August to November—to ignite fires to clear the land. This means the fire is a direct result of deforestation. By Aristos Georgiou
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
A First Look: Who Killed Malcolm X? (I was videotaped for this video program.)
Revolution and Black Struggle: Marxism as a Weapon Against Racism and CapitalismRacism, Capitalism, and Slavery In his most important work, Marx states that “Labour in a white skin cannot emancipate itself where it is branded in a black skin.”1 Despite attempts by political and intellectual groups to deny Marx and Engels’ (and, by extension, revolutionary Marxism’s) uncompromising stance against racism, the founders of scientific socialism thoroughly understood that racist oppression served as a tool for the capitalist exploitation of all workers. The relationship between capitalism and racism has only grown stronger in subsequent generations. There have been cases in which the falsification of Marx and Engels’ positions and the conscious attempts to equate Marxism with Stalinism have led to generalized attacks on Marxism.This brief article will describe how the leadership of the Russian Revolution understood the fight against racism.
Labor:
Economy:
Britain: “a constitutional outrage” – kick out this unelected gang! “Boris Johnson has detonated a bomb under the constitutional apparatus of the United Kingdom,” states a recent editorial of the Financial Times, the organ of British finance capital. The actions of Boris Johnson, the Tory Prime Minister, in proroguing Parliament are described as “without modern precedent”. “History has shown that charlatans, demagogues and would-be dictators have little time for representative government. They seek ways around parliament before concluding it is an inconvenience. Mr Johnson may not be a tyrant, but he has set a dangerous precedent. He and the cabal around him who have chosen this revolutionary path should be careful what they wish for.” Britain is in the midst of a profound crisis, not seen in modern times. Everywhere is in uproar. This is the view not of some left-wing newspaper, but the official view of the British ruling class. By Rob Sewell 
Jeremy Corbyn vows to challenge Boris Johnson on Tuesday Jeremy Corbyn said on Thursday (August 29) that politicians would try to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s planned extended shutdown of parliament as soon as they returned to Westminster after their summer break. Corbyn said Johnson’s move to suspend parliament for almost a month was a “smash and grab raid” against Britain’s democracy. “What we’re going to do is try to politically stop him (Johnson) on Tuesday with a parliamentary process in order to legislate to prevent a no deal Brexit and also to try and prevent him shutting down Parliament during this utterly crucial period,” Corbyn told reporters.
General Strike: Remainers Demand Nationwide Protests and Civil Disobedience to Block Boris A Labour MP has called for a general strike as Remainers scramble to find a way to block a no deal Brexit in the wake of Boris Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament. MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle said the move was “nothing short of the start of an anti-democratic coup worthy of a tin-pot dictator” and urged Parliament and the people to engage in a “mass movement of resistance”. He wants Remainers to take to the streets in a nationwide series of marches, civil disobedience and protests. There were small-scale demonstrations in Westminster yesterday after the Queen signs to order to prorogue Parliament and Mr Russell-Moyle is calling for similar acts of defiance across the country. By Simon Osborne
Johnson Faces Huge Backlash in UK After Suspending Parliament A petition against Johnson’s move reached one million signatures within 24 hours while opposition and conservatives alike slammed the suspension of the U.K. Parliament. The opposition Labour Party said Thursday it would trigger an emergency debate in Parliament next week to try to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from taking Britain out of the European Union without a withdrawal deal.
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!
Britons Protest Johnson’s Brexit Move
Signe Wilkenson: Political Cartoon: The No-Tears Johnson & Johnson Opioid Settlement
Quotes of the Day:
Stop The Coup: The March To Stop Boris Johnson’s Brexit
Shadow Government Statistics Corrected Real Gross Domestic Product
World: