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!
Sisters and brothers, it is essential to talk about the structural causes of the different crises. Transnational companies control food, water, non-renewable resources, weapons, technology and our personal data. They intend to commercialize everything, to accumulate more capital. The world is being controlled by a global oligarchy, only a handful of billionaires define the political and economic destiny of humanity. 26 people have the same wealth as 3.8 billion people. That is unfair, that is immoral, that is inadmissible. The underlying problem lies in the model of production and consumerism, in the ownership of natural resources and in the unequal distribution of wealth. Let’s say it very clearly: the root of the problem is in the capitalist system. — Evo Morales,The Root Problem is the Capitalist System
‘The Government Can and Will Just Waive Any Rights That We Have Today’ In addition to the border wall, the federal government has set up an entire system of ultra-vigilance which can record and forensically review everything that happens in the border area, presenting serious concerns for members of the Tohono O’odham nation.
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.
At Major US Corporations, Employees Would Have to Work 1,000 Years to Earn What CEOs Made in One: Report “Tax penalties on extreme CEO-worker pay gaps would encourage large corporations to narrow their divides.” By Jessica CorbettThe Untold Story of the Trump-Ukraine ‘Scandal’: The Routine Corruption of US Foreign Policy The Impeachment Offensive Against Donald Trump Is Another Symptom of a Partisan Disease That Ignores An Even Greater Malignancy The most crucial aspects of the Trump-Ukraine “scandal,” which has led to impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, are not being told, even by Republicans. Trump was very likely motivated by politics if he indeed withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kiev launching an investigation into Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, though the transcript of the call released by the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelinsky does not make certain such a quid-pro-quo. But what’s not being talked about in the mainstream is the context of this story, which shows that, politics aside, Biden should indeed be investigated in both Ukraine and in the United States.We know from the leaked, early 2014 telephone conversation between Victoria Nuland, then assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Geoffrey Pyatt, then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, that then Vice President Biden played a role in “midwifing” the U.S.-backed overthrow of an elected Ukrainian government soon after that conversation. That’s the biggest crime in this story that isn’t being told. The illegal overthrow of a sovereign government. By Joe Lauria‘Reprehensible’: Critics Explode After Trump Tweets Impeachment Could Lead to ‘Civil War’ “This isn’t about Civil War, it’s about violence.” Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry from the House over his asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and days ago suggested the whistleblower who filed a complaint about his call with Zelensky be executed. On Sunday, the president went further in quoting a series of tweets remarks made that morning by Southern Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress on the latest Fox & Friends Sunday. By Andrea Germanos
Once Reserved For (Accused) Spies, Espionage Act Now Used Against Suspected Leakers A hundred years ago this month, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act to deal with spying against the U.S. in World War I. Historically, the most notorious U.S. spy cases have been tried under the act, like the one against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted in 1951 of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and executed two years later. But prosecutions have been relatively rare and limited almost entirely to spies — until recently. The Obama administration used the Espionage Act to prosecute suspected national security leakers and now the Trump administration is doing the same. The act is sweeping and bars any disclosure of secrets that could harm the country’s defense. By Greg Myre
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg attend their 1951 trial in New York. They were charged and convicted of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union under the 1917 Espionage Act. The law was intended for spies but has been used by the Obama and Trump administrations to prosecute suspected national security leakers.Ap
Environment:
Socialism is the only realistic solution to climate changeCapitalism will not and cannot prevent climate disaster. A socialist response at governmental and societal level is an historic necessity. A lot has been written, including by myself, on why capitalism, by its very nature, cannot tackle or stop climate change. The purpose of this article is not to repeat those arguments but to make the positive case for socialism as necessary to deal with this existential crisis for humanity. By socialism I mean simply the combination of two things: public ownership and democratic control of production and society. By public ownership I mean not the elimination of personal private property or the nationalization of every small business and corner shop but of the main banks, corporations, industries, services and utilities. For example, public ownership of bus and transport networks, of the health service, of one main state bank and one main state insurance company, of social housing, of waste management, of water, electricity, gas, wind and solar power production, of Larry Goodman’s ABF Food Group, of Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp and so on. by John Molyneux2nd Wave of Protests Caps Week Focused on Climate Action Students took to the streets across the globe in the hundreds of thousands Friday for a second wave of worldwide protests demanding swift action on climate change. The protests were inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who spoke to world leaders this week at a United Nations summit in New York. By Frank Jordans nd Giada Zampano
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
‘Chilling’: Mississippi City Claims Undocumented Man Killed by Police Had No Constitutional Rights “We’re stunned that someone put this in writing,” a lawyer for Ismael Lopez’s family said. A court filing publicized late last week drew outrage on Monday over the case of Ismael Lopez, a 41-year-old man who was killed by police two years ago in Southaven, Mississippi. To avoid responsibility for the man’s death, attorneys for the city arguing that Lopez had no constitutional rights due to his status as an undocumented immigrant—blatantly contradicting U.S. law and numerous rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Kristen Clarke, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, was among the immigrant rights defenders who drew attention to the case on social media. By Julia Conley
If you watched the two-part series, and you did not learn anything about the historical background of the sixties, The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War; you would think that the Newark Mosque of the Nation of Islam ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. Exactly the position of the government. Only this tv show stated that jealousy and money were the reasons the Nation of Islam assassinated Malcolm.
If the tv show showed that both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King had come to similar positions about capitalism and the Vietnam War at the time of their death. It would have become clear that the government had the motive to assassinate both Black Leaders. (More)
Black Agenda Radio for Week of September 30, 2019 Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford In the corporate-organized Race to the Bottom, withdrawal of health care is a weapon to discipline workers and their families, as is the hole
“austerity” regime.
Canada No Safe Haven for Blacks Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen FordMore than half of Canada’s Black population was born elsewhere, but disproportionate stops by police “can not only end in jail, but deportation and removal,” said Robyn Maynard, a Montreal-based writer and activist and author of “Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present.” Canada has been especially harsh in its treatment of Haitians attempting to enter the country, said Maynard.
The US Black Liberation Movement Has Always Been Internationalist Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford African Americans practiced an internationalist politics in their epic struggle against US white supremacism, said Paul Ortiz, professor of history at the University of Florida and author of the new book, “An African American and Latinx History of the United States.” Blacks looked for inspiration and support from Haiti and the anti-colonial struggles in Latin America and Africa. According to Ortiz, escaped US slaves “found sanctuary as much or more in Mexico as they did in Canada.”
Tiny St. Vincent Blasts US Sanctions of Venezuela Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford The Prime Minister of the Caribbean island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines denounced US sanctions against Venezuela and called the Juan Guaido “government,” recognized by the US and its allies, “a fictitious creation of foreign powers.” In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves noted significant moves towards Pan African unity, with Caribbean nations in the forefront.
Amerikaners: The Afrkaners’ First Cousins Glen Ford, BAR executive editor White America and white “Boer” South Africa share remarkably similar national mythologies. Let’s call them Amerikaners.
Since June 2009 Americans have lived in the false reality of a recovered economy. Various fake news and manipulated statistics have been used to create this false impression. However, indicators that really count have not supported the false picture and were ignored. For example, it is normal in a recovering or expanding economy for the labor force participation rate to rise as people enter the work force to take advantage of the job opportunities. During the decade of the long recovery, from June 2009 through May 2019, the labor force participation rate consistently fell from 65.7 to 62.8 percent. — The Diminishing American Economy
Bureau of Labor Statistics Civilian labor Force Participation RateShadow Government Statistics The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers. The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment. The ShadowStats Alternate Unemployment Rate for August 2019 is 21.2%.
Economy:
Neither Democrats Nor Republicans Will Admit the Problem Is Capitalism Itself Leaders around the world increasingly worry about the next capitalist recession (or economic downturn) now looming globally. In Europe’s strongest economy, Germany, a recession has already arrived in all but formal naming. U.S. manufacturing has declined for the last two quarters. Negative interest rates (where lenders pay borrowers to safely make a loan) are an increasingly widespread sign. Another sign is that lenders charge higher interest rates for short-term vs. long-term loans because they fear an impending recession will make borrowers’ ability to repay riskier in the short term. Anxieties about safety reflect the sense of an impending economic crash. By Richard D. Wolff
World:
Haiti On The Brink Of Insurrection The mass movement to oust Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has intensified in recent weeks. Facing severe fuel and food shortages, and a totally inept and corrupt government, the masses have taken to the streets once again to force the president to resign and fight for a way out of the deepening economic and social crisis. Mass strikes and demonstrations have shut down the country for several weeks, with the movement intensifying this past weekend into a nationwide uprising against the Moïse government. By Rob LyonHealth, 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!
Quotes of the Day:
The Untold Story of the Trump-Ukraine ‘Scandal’: The Routine Corruption of US Foreign Policy The Impeachment Offensive Against Donald Trump Is Another Symptom of a Partisan Disease That Ignores An Even Greater Malignancy The most crucial aspects of the Trump-Ukraine “scandal,” which has led to impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, are not being told, even by Republicans. Trump was very likely motivated by politics if he indeed withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kiev launching an investigation into Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden, though the transcript of the call released by the White House between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelinsky does not make certain such a quid-pro-quo. But what’s not being talked about in the mainstream is the context of this story, which shows that, politics aside, Biden should indeed be investigated in both Ukraine and in the United States.We know from the leaked, early 2014 telephone conversation between Victoria Nuland, then assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Geoffrey Pyatt, then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, that then Vice President Biden played a role in “midwifing” the U.S.-backed overthrow of an elected Ukrainian government soon after that conversation. That’s the biggest crime in this story that isn’t being told. The illegal overthrow of a sovereign government. By Joe Lauria
‘Reprehensible’: Critics Explode After Trump Tweets Impeachment Could Lead to ‘Civil War’ “This isn’t about Civil War, it’s about violence.” Trump is facing an impeachment inquiry from the House over his asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and days ago suggested the whistleblower who filed a complaint about his call with Zelensky be executed. On Sunday, the president went further in quoting a series of tweets remarks made that morning by Southern Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress on the latest Fox & Friends Sunday. By Andrea Germanos
2nd Wave of Protests Caps Week Focused on Climate Action Students took to the streets across the globe in the hundreds of thousands Friday for a second wave of worldwide protests demanding swift action on climate change. The protests were inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who spoke to world leaders this week at a United Nations summit in New York. By Frank Jordans nd Giada Zampano
Black Agenda Radio for Week of September 30, 2019 Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford In the corporate-organized Race to the Bottom, withdrawal of health care is a weapon to discipline workers and their families, as is the hole
Shadow Government Statistics The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers. The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment. The ShadowStats Alternate Unemployment Rate for August 2019 is 21.2%.
Health, Education, and Welfare: