Daily News Digest March 22, 2021

Daily News Digest Archives

Images of the Day:

The U.S. Has Now Spent More On Reconstructing Afghanistan Than Was Spent On The Marshall Plan And The Reconstruction Of Europe. Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace in AfgahnistanBillionaires: Pandemic EditionAnother 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!

Quotes 0f the Day:

Edward R. Murrow Warned US But the Media Was Bought and Monopolized to Sell Orwellian Newspeak!:  “Our history will be what we make it. And if there are any historians about 50 or 100 years from now — and there should be preserved the kinescopes of one week of all three networks — they will there find, recorded in black and white and in color, evidence of decadence, escapism, and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live. We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable, and complacent. We have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.  Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television, and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.” — Edward R. Murrow: Address to the Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation

To ascribe these murders to a “bad day” is to normalize them, and to trivialize the lives lost.Yet, some people are actually buying that Long’s actions were solely over an alleged sex addiction. There are a ton of massage places in the Atlanta area. Why did he only target the ones operated by Asians? It is because he is racist and probably sexist; plain and simple. It should not take domestic terrorists writing white supremacist manifestos, like those of Roof and Crusius, in order for us to classify their behavior as hate crimes. It is not enough for people to only be convicted of murder. They should also be convicted of hate crimes or we will continue to see everyday, mundane acts of racism spill over into larger acts of domestic terrorism. All three violent acts noted above were committed by young white men. They are not anomalies. At times, people use racism and the racialization of people as a way to act out their frustrations with the world. Roughly 75% of domestic terrorist acts are committed by right-wing extremists and 75% of them are committed by white nationalists and white supremacists. Domestic terrorism is so concerning that the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security have classified domestic violent extremism to be the biggest threat for mass violence in the United States. But in order for us to recognize these acts as hate crimes, we have to ensure that racist perspectives are not brushed aside as normal. We also have to change statutes.     Despite these sobering statistics linking white nationalists and white supremacists with domestic terrorism, few people, particularly in law enforcement, are currently publicly linking Long’s actions to right-wing extremism when empirical research and history tells us this is exactly the first link that should be investigated. This is because America over-individualizes and normalizes domestic terror incidents, particularly when committed by white men.  For instance, Sheriff Captain Jay Baker said Long had “a really bad day.”  To ascribe these murders to a “bad day” is to normalize them, and to trivialize the lives lost. — Why is It so hard for America to Designate Domestic Terrorism And Hate Crimes?

Videos od the Day:

Audio: HUD: Growth Of Homelessness During 2020 Was ‘Devastating,’ Even Before The Pandemic

The Social Sources of Sickness: What I Learned from 50 Years in Medicine. There are no ‘social determinants of health’ under capitalism. Nothing about this society generates health for people or their environments. On the contrary, the social sources of sickness are woven into the fabric of society. Inequality, racism, sexism – these social sources of sickness helped to build the wealth of nations, and they continue to build and maintain that wealth, despite the tremendous suffering that results. This webinar (February 25, 2021) was sponsored by the Decolonizing Health, Black Medical Students Association, and Public Health & Preventative Interest Group at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, which is Treaty 6 territory and the ancestral home of many Indigenous peoples.

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

Chris Hedges: CorporationsExhibit E: Monsanto’s Multiple Revolving Doors

Monsanto Revolvimg Door: Mr Monsanto? Biden’s Reported Pick for Department of Agriculture Angers Progressives As the media reported that Democrat Joe Biden plans to appoint former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to head Agriculture in his administration, progressives called out ‘Mr Monsanto’ as a champion of GMO crops and big corporations.Vilsack’s pending appointment was first reported on Tuesday by NPR, citing “a source familiar with the transition discussions.” The same source said Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) was tapped to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Bloomberg later reported the same thing.

Biden Pushes Colombia to Restart Glyphosate Spraying Program Experts: “The recently announced decision sends an unfortunate message to the Colombian people that your administration is not committed to abandoning the ineffective and damaging war on drugs internationally.”      After a six-year halt, Colombia plans to restart the toxic aerial spraying of glyphosate on coca crops as early as next month—drawing “most welcome” support from U.S. President Joe Biden and sharp criticism from 150 regional experts who wrote to Biden, “your administration is implicitly endorsing former President Trump’s damaging legacy in Colombia.”     On March 2nd, the Biden administration welcomed Colombia’s decision to restart its aerial coca eradication program in Biden’s first annual 2021 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report: “The government of Colombia has committed to re-starting its aerial coca eradication program, which would be a most welcome development.”    Colombia halted the controversial spraying program in 2015. In 2018, Colombia’s then-new President Ivan Duque vowed to resume the program but has yet to restart the aerial spraying, By Common Dreams staffRalph Nader: Democrats Ushered in an Era of Corporate Fascism  The consumer advoca te, author and former presidential candidate refuses to mince words about Democrats and their corporate bedfellows in a new interview with Robert Scheer With Joe Biden in the White House and Democrats controlling Congress and the Senate, Ralph Nader, the lifelong good-government crusader and consumer advocate, issues a stark warning to progressives: The Democratic Party is still not on the side of working Americans, no matter what politicians, media pundits and their corporate donors will have us think. The former Green Party presidential candidate has dedicated his life to putting pressure on America’s most powerful corporate and political leaders, and while some activists are ready to let the Biden administration get away with ecocide, expanded drone wars, and other forms of murder, Nader is prepared to do no such thing. His thorough and well-researched critiques, such as his recent piece on the Democrat-assisted corporate takeover of Medicare, are needed now more than ever as American media undergoes what Matt Taibbi calls a mass “sovietization”  during the Biden honeymoon.

AOC Introduces Bill Giving Puerto Rico Pathway to Self-Determination Thursday that would allow residents of Puerto Rico to determine their future political status.       The bill, introduced in the House by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Nydia Velázquez (D-New York), and in the Senate by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), would call for the creation of a “status convention,” composed of delegates from Puerto Rico chosen by voters there.      The delegation would come up with long-term ideas for what the island’s status could be — statehood, independence or another type of arrangement to replace its current territorial status.     The legislation, titled the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act of 2021, is similar to a bill that was introduced by Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez last year, “It is fundamentally incompatible for an open democracy to have subjects,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. By Chris Walkere

Evironment:

Civil Rights/Black Liberation:

Labor:

Garment Workers Win $22 Billion in Historic Victory Against Wage Theft “This wasn’t theoretical money,” said Elizabeth L. Cline, who works with the consumer activist nonprofit Remake. “This was garment workers not being paid for work already done, which is slavery.”     For many brands, this theft was not only legal, but outlined in their contracts with factories overseas, which enabled them to cancel orders at any time. Retailers cited a force majeure clause to claim that they didn’t need to take clothing they had ordered before the pandemic — and they also didn’t have to pay for it, even if the product had already been made after hundreds of hours of painstaking labor.   This decision was enforced by nearly all of the world’s most profitable apparel companies, only 20 of whom control 97 percent of the industry’s profits. Among the offenders were Walmart, Sears, Kohl’s, Nike, Forever 21, H&M, Gap, Adidas, The Children’s Place and Ross Stores.      What followed was one of the largest transfers of wealth from the Global South to the West in recent history.     The effect of the cancellations was immediate: factories, who could no longer afford to pay textile mills and workers, were forced to shut their doors. Millions of garment workers, most of them young women, were sent home without severance or pay.     While wealthy fashion brands continued to deliver shareholder payouts, workers already living in poverty were plunged even deeper into debt and starvation. By Loretta GraceffoUnited States: Amazon Workers Fight For a Union, Dignity The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mailed ballots to nearly 6000 Amazon workers, who will decide whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).     “The battle at the Bessemer warehouse, which opened in March last year, has emerged as one of the largest, and most closely watched, union fights among private US employers in recent history,” wrote Jay Greene in The Washington Post.     The union filed a petition with the labour board in November to hold the vote and won the right to hold a seven-week postal ballot that ends on March 29.     Amazon is the second-largest employer in the US, and one of the most powerful companies on the planet. Its chief executive Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the US, according to Forbes.     The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mailed ballots to nearly 6000 Amazon workers, who will decide whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).     “The battle at the Bessemer warehouse, which opened in March last year, has emerged as one of the largest, and most closely watched, union fights among private US employers in recent history,” wrote Jay Greene in The Washington Post.     The union filed a petition with the labour board in November to hold the vote and won the right to hold a seven-week postal ballot that ends on March 29.     Amazon is the second-largest employer in the US, and one of the most powerful companies on the planet. Its chief executive Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the US, according to Forbes.  By Malik Miah

 Economy:

World:

In Honor of the Paris Commune There Use to bs An Annual Tradition to Mach to the Wall of Communards’ To Honor the Defenders of the Paris Commune:          The Communards’ Wall (Mur des Fédérés) at the Père Lachaise cemetery is where, on May 28, 1871, one-hundred forty-seven fédérés, combatants of the Paris Commune, were shot and thrown in an open trench at the foot of the wall.[1] To the French left, especially socialists and communists, the wall became the symbol of the people’s struggle for their liberty and ideals. Many leaders of the French Communist Party, especially those involved in the French resistance, are buried nearby.     The Père Lachaise cemetery was established in May 1804 on a land owned by the Jesuits for centuries, and where Père (“Father”) Lachaise, confessor of Louis XIV, lived the latter part of his life. Cemetery of the aristocracy in the 19th century, it also received the remains of famous people from previous eras. During the spring of 1871 the last of the combatants of the Commune entrenched themselves in the cemetery. The Armée versaillaise, which was summoned to suppress the Commune, had control over the area towards the end of the afternoon of May 28, and shot all of the prisoners against the wall. The massacre of the Communards did not put an end to the repression. During the fighting between 20,000 and 35,000 deaths, and more than 43,000 prisoners were taken; afterwards, a military court pronounced about a hundred death sentences, more than 13,000 prison sentences, and close to 4,000 deportations to New Caledonia.European AstraZeneca Debacle: Mismanagement, Misinformation and Vaccine Diplomacy  number of countries in Europe halted use of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine over the past two weeks, due to an unproven (and unlikely) association with blood clots. Following a review by the European Medical Agency, they have now resumed, but this politically driven decision has seriously dented public confidence in the vaccine, which was already low. A number of countries in Europe halted use of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine over the past two weeks, due to an unproven (and unlikely) association with blood clots. Following a review by the European Medical Agency, they have now resumed, but this politically driven decision has seriously dented public confidence in the vaccine, which was already low. By Joe Attard

Education, 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