Daily News Digest December 4, 2020

Daily News Digest Archives

Another Example Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Was Aware of the Danger of Cornovavirus Threat Over 4 Years Ago and Did Nothing!:  Under Capitalism — Human Lives Don’t Matter  Capitalism Does Not, and Never Has, Worked for the Masses! In Its Death Agony, Capitalism Is Traveling About The World Like The Four Horsemen of the The Apocalypse, Spreading  Racism,  War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. The future of Humanity Is Now At stake!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 the Banner Headline: “There Is No Peace”During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program: 1.Austerity,2. Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and 3.  The Iron Heel!    For Decades, Blacks Have Been Subjected to The Iron Heel!   Currently, the US Capitalist Class is Divided Over When — Not If, to Apply It to Everyone!

Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Now Leads the World In  Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World!

Always Remember:  That President Obama, With a Majority Democrat Legislature Supported the Wall Street Bailout and Remember, That he Established, in writing,  the United States Capitalist Austerity Program. —  The Race to the Bottom/Pauperization of the 99%!

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, that the 99% Will Rule, Not the Few!

Images  of the Day:

Signe Wilkinson: How Low Can You Go, Cybercriminals?Quotes 0f the Day:

Although man’s record as a steward of the natural resources of the earth has been a discouraging one, there has long been a certain comfort in the belief that the sea, at least, was inviolate, beyond man’s ability to change and to despoil. But this belief, unfortunately, has proved to be naïve. In unlocking the secrets of the atom, modern man has found himself confronted with a frightening problem—what to do with the most dangerous materials that have ever existed in all the earth’s history, the byproducts of atomic fission. Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us

Rachel Carson was the first scientist to come forward and explain the potential dangers of the new pesticides, fertilizers, and other toxic pollutants. Her first book, The Silent Spring, is credited with the beginning of the environmental movement. This book explained that cancer and other diseases have become part of the world’s food chain and even present in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Predicting the coming catastrophe if the mode of production does not change, Rachel Carson wrote in The Sea Around Us: “It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose, should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.” . . — Whither Humanity? The Environmental Crisis of Capitalism

Videos of the Day:

A Massacre in Lagos: Nigerian Military Forced to Admit It Fired Live Rounds at Peaceful Protesters

Indian Farmers Lead Historic Strike & Protests Against Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism & Inequality

United States:

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 Reublicrats 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. Rax the Rich!  — They Can Afford To Pay!

Bipartisan Nuclear Bailout: Dead-End for Climate’: Coalition Denounces Senate Bill to Fund Nuclear Industry Bailout “Instead of propping up the nuclear energy industry, Congress should be driving the transition to truly renewable energy.” By Andrea GermanosHow We Burned Through a Whole Hemisphere in Just 500 Years An Interview with Donald Worster  In Worster’s most recent book, Shrinking the EarthThe Rise and Decline of American Abundance (Oxford University Press, he shows how the great windfall of land, resources, and ecological bounty that greeted Europeans when they arrived in the New World five centuries ago dramatically altered the history not only of the Americas but of the entire Earth. He argues convincingly that to the Europeans, the Western Hemisphere was, in practical terms, a “Second Earth.” (Of course, the hemisphere’s inhabitants at the time of Columbus regarded it as their Only Earth, and they would lose it.)  Worster argues that U.S.-style capitalism and industrialism were made possible by the Second Earth’s natural abundance and that over the past two centuries, they have deeply depleted the hemisphere’s landscapes and ecosystems. America, Worster writes, is going to have to shift from a culture of abundance to a culture of limits. He covers much other ground as well in the book, in rich detail. I recently asked him about some of that in a May 18 conversation via Internet; he was in Beijing at the time, and I was in Kansas. In Worster’s most recent book, Shrinking the EarthThe Rise and Decline of American Abundance (Oxford University Press, he shows how the great windfall of land, resources, and ecological bounty that greeted Europeans when they arrived in the New World five centuries ago dramatically altered the history not only of the Americas but of the entire Earth. the hemisphere’s landscapes and ecosystems. America, Worster writes, is going to have to shift from a culture of abundance to a culture of limits. He covers much other ground as well in the book, in rich detail. I recently asked him about some of that in a May 18 conversation via Internet; he was in Beijing at the time, and I was in Kansas. By Stan CoxEnvironment:

With Pandemic a ‘Tipping Point,’ UN Warns 1 Billion More People Headed for Extreme Poverty by 2030 Unless strong and meaningful action is taken now, including major social investments and a Green New Deal-style program, the Covid-19 crisis will make an already dire economic situation much worse. By Kenny StancilUN Chief Pleads for Stronger Climate Policies to End ‘Suicidal’ Addiction to Fossil Fuels “It’s time to imagine, and plan for, a better future.” “The state of the planet is broken. Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal.” That’s how United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres began a Wednesday address at Columbia University, in which he reflected on the past 11 months of extreme weather and challenged world leaders to use the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to construct a better world free from destructive greenhouse gas emissions.  By Kenny StancilDubai Heads Backwards to Its Clean Energy Future A clean energy future is what Dubai says it’s aiming for. So why has it built a huge new coal-burning power station? Dubai, surrounded by desert but with its skyscrapers, luxury hotels, beach resorts and kilometres of shopping malls, promotes itself as a city with a clean energy future.  Yet when it comes to meeting the challenges posed by climate change, the Gulf state is going smartly backwards. Within the next few months, what will be the Gulf’s first coal-fired power plant will start operations in the desert south of Dubai city. By Kieran CookeForever Chemicals — Forever in the Body:Toxic PFAS Chemicals Discovered in Hundreds Of Products Climbing ropes, guitar strings, and hand sanitizer are among the newly reported uses for the toxic “forever” chemicals.   Scientists have detailed more than 200 uses of PFAS chemicals in 64 industrial areas, including mining, book conservation, plastics production, photography, printing, watchmaking, car manufacturing, air conditioning, fingerprinting, and particle physics. Many of the uses, which are laid out in an article published in the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, were previously unknown. By Sharon Lerner

Rising Ocean Heat Leaves Fish Gasping For Oxygen Lack of oxygen will leave some fish gasping as the thermometer rises. Deep time offers a guide to those at greatest risk. As global temperatures soar, the planetary menu could start to dwindle. Cod, sea bass and haddock will move to cooler and more distant waters. Tropical species relying on the shelter of coral reefs could simply disappear. Fish gasping for oxygen will struggle to survive. And although the world’s marine catch is already under pressure from pollution, ocean acidification and overfishing, the real threat is now clear. As ocean temperatures rise, oxygen levels in the world’s seas will fall, and the most active fish could start to stifle.  By Tim RadfordCivil Rights/Black Liberation:

Labor:

Toxic Tuesdays: Formaldehyde Formaldehyde is a dangerous chemical that affects the respiratory system, lungs, eyes, and skin. It is classified as a carcinogen, hazardous substance, and hazardous waste. According to the American Cancer Society, Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong smelling gas used in making building materials and many common household products. It is well known for its preservative and anti-bacterial properties. It is commonly used in building materials such as particle board, pressed wood, insulation, glues and adhesives and more. It is also found in medicines, cosmetics, and cleaning products. Formaldehyde is even used in some food products as a preservative. Formaldehyde is a dangerous chemical and is a known human carcinogen.

Economy:

World Economy Engulfed By “Debt Tsunami” Global debt has risen to unprecedented levels since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in what the Institute for International Finance (IIF), whose members include over 400 banks and financial institutions, has characterised as an “attack of the debt tsunami.” In its Global Debt Monitor report issued on Wednesday, the IIF, said global debt would set a new record and reach $277 trillion by the end of the year, equivalent to 365 percent of world GDP. “Spurred by a sharp rise in government and corporate borrowing as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, the global debt load increased by $15 trillion in the first three quarters of 2020 and now stands at $272 trillion,” the IIF report said. By Nick Beams

FRED: Federal Debt: Total Public Debt is 127.35849%  of Gross Domestic Product 

House Hearing: Wall Street Gets Bailed Out by Fed; Main Street Gets Sold Out Sparks were flying throughout yesterday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing. After Fed Chair Jerome Powell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin appeared before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, they were grilled for 2 more hours yesterday by members of the House Financial Services Committee. The atmosphere was far less cordial than the prior day, which wasn’t exactly tea and crumpets either. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens

World:

France: “Reform” the Bourgeois Police? The images of the beating of Michel Zecler (a black music producer) on 21 November and the huge success of the “freedom marches” the following Saturday have exposed once again the thoroughly reactionary, racist nature of the police, and accentuated the French government crisis. By Jérôme MétellusVenezuela Wins Simply by Holding an Election These days, even the holding of an election is a contest between the Venezuelan people and the United States government. Since Chávez became the president, the United States government and its allies have tried to destabilize Venezuela’s government, including by direct efforts at regime change. When it became clear that Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, which he led, had strong popular support and could not be defeated at the ballot box, the U.S. government and its allies pushed to delegitimize Venezuela’s political sovereignty. By Vijay Prashad – Carlos RonEducation, Health, 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 pass universal healthcare for themselves, but cannot spend even one trillion dollars for universal health for those who are ‘governed’! This is what is considered, by the powers to be,  a democracy and part of the democratic way. — Roland Sheppard, Let the People  Vote on Healthcare 

COVID-19 Hospitalization and Death by Race/EthnicityUnited States: Virus Hot Spots in Prisons and Native American Reservations . The current upsurge of COVID-19 infections in the United States is, by far, the most serious of the pandemic to date. New cases and hospitalisations are breaking records every few days, and deaths will soon surpass 2200 a day, which was reached in March when hospital workers were just beginning to learn how to treat patients. Hospitals are reaching capacity in some areas, which may become a national problem. By Barry Sheppard