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Images of the Day:
The Silence of Our Friends is Deafening!
Bendib: Who’s President?
America Is BackAnother Example of Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Was Aware of the Danger of Cornovavirus Threat Over 5 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!
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”
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 of the Day:
Across racial lines, the United States has the highest rates of maternal mortality than any other developed country in the world, with 17.4 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), this rate of maternal death was more than double the rates of maternal mortality in countries of comparable wealth. The following year, in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. Black maternal mortality ranks even worse. Maternal mortality rates for non-Hispanic African American women rose from 37.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018 to 44.0 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019. Black women’s maternal mortality exceeds that of other BIPOC women, including Latinx women, whose rates of maternal mortality (11.8 in 2018 and 12.6 in 2019) are lower than white women (17.4 in 2018 and 17.9 in 2019). — Black Women Are Leading Efforts to Combat Rising Maternal and Infant Mortality
And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested. – George Orwell, 1984
The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped. — Vice President Humphrey
This brings us back to my question: how can someone who claims to be concerned about the burden of the government debt on our children, ignore the burden, in the form of higher prices, created by government-granted patent and copyright monopolies? If the government were to put a tax on prescription drugs to help cover its debt service, we would all recognize this tax as a burden on households. Yet somehow, we are supposed to believe that if the government gives out a patent monopoly that allows a drug company to charge a price that is far higher than the free market price, that is not a burden. That makes zero sense. — High Drug Prices and the Refusal to Talk Seriously About Debt and Deficits
The exploitation of some women, particularly women of color and poor women, has long been a centerpiece of the far right. What could have been more ludicrous than the court jester and alleged serial abuser of women, Donald Trump, holding a bible and railing against abortion? The paymasters of the political elite will always have access to all the rights and privileges that can be imagined, and their attacks against vulnerable members of this society and those around the world make good grist for their hypocrisy. They draw in the fundamentalist crazies and others who believe that women ought to be relegated to subservient roles. — The Women’s March
Videos of the Day
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, who profit from war and the war budget, voted 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! Every ‘Tax. Reform’ From President Kennedy has Been an incrase in taxes from the Poor,the Woking Class, and the Middle Class, to the Rich! —The United States takes from the poor and gives to the Rich. Tax the Rich! — They Can Afford To Pay!
The Deficit and Patent and Copyright Monopolies: There is a similar story with the deficit and these monopolies. And again, it is a matter of logic, not whether we think they are good mechanisms for supporting innovation and creative work. (I talk about alternatives in chapter 5 of Rigged [it’s free].). Patent and copyright monopolies are intended to motivate people to innovate and do creative work. This means that they increase spending and GDP. The concern over large deficits is that the government is over-stimulating the economy, that it is demanding so many goods and services that the economy can’t meet both the demand from the private sector and the government. If this is a concern, why should we not also be concerned about the increased demand created by government-granted patent and copyright monopolies? According to the National Income and Product Accounts (Table 5.6.5, Line 9), the pharmaceutical industry spent $105.7 billion on research in 2020. This has the same impact on demand in the economy as if the government spent another $105.7 billion on research. How can we be concerned about the inflationary impact of government spending, but not the patent-induced spending by the industry? That makes zero sense. —High Drug Prices and the Refusal to Talk Seriously About Debt and Deficits
AT&T: Corporate Sponser of Trump Lies!: Far Right Cable Channel Peddling Trump’s Election Lies Is Funded by AT&T One America News Network (OANN), a far-right news network that continues to provide an unwavering platform for Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud – is overwhelmingly bankrolled by AT&T according to a bombshell Reuters report from Wednesday. The revelations stem from court documents, obtained by Reuters, that shed light how OANN was founded and has been maintained. Back in 2019, the company’s founder Robert Herring Sr. reportedly revealed in a deposition that the impetus for OANN was originally inspired by AT&T executives.
The Supremes are No Longer Viewed as ‘Supreme’!: The US Supreme Court’s Crisis of Legitimacy New opinion polling shows that public approval of the court has plunged to record lows—and for good reason. The truth is—and always has been—that the court is political. It just practices politics by other means. As the U.S. Supreme Court embarks on a new term, Justice Samuel Alito is feeling angry and hurt. The hallowed institution on which he has served since 2006 is experiencing a crisis of legitimacy not seen since the early 1930s.
Elizabeth Warren Probes “Corrupt” Link Between Tax System and Private Sector The lawmakers have sent letters to five top accounting firms asking them to detail their revolving door relationships with the government. The request comes after a September New York Times report exposing how staff and executives at accounting firms like PwC take jobs within the Treasury Department and other agencies to help write tax codes that will benefit their former companies — and then return to those companies with raises or promotions.
An Open Letter to Biden: Feminists Call for an End to the War on Terror As transnational feminists united against militarism and war, we call for a new U.S. foreign policy that recognizes interdependence and prioritizes connection and cooperation, reparations for historic and systemic harms, valuing people and the planet over profit, and protecting everyone, especially those made most vulnerable.
People Don’t Become Homeless. This Cruel Society Makes Them Homeless. It’s clear we have lost our humanity when so many are cast aside. Shelter is a basic survival need, along with food, clothing and health care. But it’s even more than that. It’s also a psychic and spiritual need. As the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote: “A home shelters daydreaming, a home protects the dreamer, a home allows us to dream in peace.”
Environment: 
Hurricane Ida Is Proof Systemic Racism Aggravates the Effects of Climate Crisis With nearly two months left of this year’s turbulent hurricane season, thousands of Louisianans are entering their sixth straight week without power following Hurricane Ida. Meanwhile, displaced residents in search of adequate shelter for their families are piling into any neighbors’ homes that are still intact, some with up to 10 people in a single-wide trailer. Destroying more of Louisiana’s power grid than any other storm in the state’s history, Hurricane Ida has left millions without homes or access to clean water during a pandemic. This destruction wasn’t by simple happenstance or some sort of unpredictable anomaly — it was the direct result of the failure of political and corporate leaders, year after year, to build adequate infrastructure, implement equitable protections for relief and provide Black communities the same resources and protections afforded to wealthy, white neighborhoods.
Federal Court Rules Soldier-Butler Logging is Illegal, Halts Massive Logging and Road-Building Project in Ninemile Valley Approving a magistrate judge’s recommendations, on October 5th the Montana federal district court ruled for the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force in their lawsuits opposing the Soldier-Butler timber sale. The court ruled that the Forest Service failed to comply with its own self-imposed rules to protect elk winter range and habitat for snag-dependent species. The court also found that the Forest Service did not ensure that grizzly bears will not be harmed by the project’s road construction plans.
As Profiteers Roam the Planet Spreading Global Warming Lies: The Oil and Gas Industry Is Using Louisiana’s Climate Task Force to Push Carbon Capture Louisiana is facing dangerous effects of climate change more acutely than ever: Sunny-day flooding is making coastal roads impassable, stronger hurricanes are demolishing homes, and intense heat is killing vulnerable residents during prolonged power outages. A 23-member task force assembled by the Democratic governor last summer is meant to chart a path to reduce Louisiana’s contributions to climate change. But the oil, gas, and chemicals industries are using the group to push for policies to extend the state’s dependence on fossil fuels—particularly through carbon capture, use, and sequestration. The technology involves capturing carbon dioxide, or CO2, from industrial facilities before it enters the atmosphere and piping it deep underground to be stored or used to increase production of oil and gas wells. The state’s unwavering support of the oil, gas, and chemical industries has made it difficult to reduce emissions, fund coastal restoration, or address extreme weather. The energy sector has immense power in the Republican-controlled legislature, which would need to approve any plan put forth by the task force. At least four industry appointees serve on the task force, including a corporate lobbyist, two trade group representatives and a power company executive. The Speaker of the House designated the lobbyist, who works for oil and gas company BHP Group.
Civil Rights/ Black Liberation:
The Sound of Silence: In the Age of Covid, Where Have All the Heroes Gone? Because Covid-19 is the third leading killer of Black folks in America, silence or worse—acquiescence to mumbo-jumbo uttered by miseducated celebrities on social media—is unconscionable.
Black Women Are Leading Efforts to Combat Rising Maternal and Infant Mortality Black women and their newborn babies are trapped in a public health crisis that is rooted in enslavement and perpetuated by systemic racism. Centuries of marginalization, exposure to environmental toxins, use of Black women’s bodies for scientific and pseudo-scientific experimentation, poor housing, substandard education, and the food apartheid that denies Black people self-determination in nutritional health have conspired over centuries to produce alarming health disparities and literally kill Black women and infants. These deaths are preventable, yet the numbers of the dead have risen. Looking forward, experts fear that the COVID-19 pandemic will only exacerbate racial disparities in maternal and infant health.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist Thousands of Police Killings Are Unreported Police killings of Black people are a feature of American law enforcement and they are deliberately under counted.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review PROCLAMATION: LIBERTY OR DEATH, JEAN JACQUES DESSALINES, 1804 This proclamation by Jean Jacques Dessalines, the first leader of a free Haiti, is one of the most radical declarations of freedom in history.
Ann Garrison, BARtributing Editor Shell Shocked in Amhara, Ethiopia: “I don’t even want to hear the word ‘America’ ” A displaced person in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region told photographer and human rights investigator Jemal Countess that he didn’t want to talk to him because he was American and “didn’t even want to
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor AOC Offers a Hard Lesson on the Need to Dump the Duopoly Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other so-called progressives exemplify the dangers of depending on the Democratic Party to enact any meaningful change.
Mark P. Fancher From Russia Without Love – Mercenaries in Mali The “scramble for Africa” continues with the U.S., former colonizers such as France, and now Russia, all competing for influence. African nations struggle for true sovereignty.
Salome Ayuak Imperialism and the Horn of Africa Speech by Salome Ayuak given at the International Month of Action Against AFRICOM launch event.
Kevin Edmonds Let Haiti Breathe – CORE Group Out of Haiti Dismantling the unelected and colonialist CORE Group is the first step to loosening the imperialist stranglehold over Haiti
Salimah Valiani, PhD Africa’s COVID-19 Vaccine and the Scandal of the Centuries African nations might have produced a patent free vaccine that would have benefitted the whole world.
Labor:
Economy:
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Initial Estimate of the August 2021 Real Merchandise Trade Deficit Showed a Continuing Trend for the Current Record Trade Deficit to Hold for a Third Consecutive Quarter
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Paralleling Weakening Quarterly Contractions in Housing Starts and New-Home Sales, August 2021 Real Construction Spending Continued in Early Trend for a Third-Quarter 2021 Quarterly Decline, Following a Second-Quarter 2021 Drop
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Second-Quarter 2021 GDP Inflation Held at a 40-Year High, Amidst Mixed Revisions to “Final” Estimates of the GDP, GDI and GNP
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Net of Surging Inflation and Extremely Volatile Commercial Aircraft Orders, August 2021 Real New Orders for Durable Goods Dropped 1.6% (-1.6%) Month-to-Month • Continuing Downtrend in Real Retail Sales Was Consistent With the Contracting Retail Trade Employment and Flat Leisure and Hospitality Jobs in August
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S. Real Median Household Income Fell by 2.9% (-2.9%) in 2020, With the Official Poverty Rate Jumping by 1.0% to 11.4% • August 2021 Manufacturing and Mining Held Down Respectively by 2.2% (-2.2%) and 8.0% (-8.0%) from Recovering August 2018 Peak Activity in Industrial Production
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August CPI Inflation Notched Lower to 5.3%, from Its 5.4% 13-Year Peak in June and July, with the August ShadowStats Alternate Backing off a Notch from Its 41-Year Peak of 13.4% in July • August PPI-FD Monthly Annual Inflation Set Its Fifth Consecutive Series High
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Amidst Faltering August 2021 Labor Conditions, How Can the Economy Be Minimally Recovered With Headline Annual Payroll Growth Weaker Than at the Troughs of the Last Seven Recessions, the 2007 Great Recession Excepted? — [Expanded detail follows in the LATEST NUMBERS Section]
Senator Pat Toomey Launches a Red-Scare Campaign Against Biden’s Nominee to Head a Top Wall Street Bank Regulator Yesterday, at 4:19 in the afternoon, Wall Street On Parade received an email from the nice communications folks at the Senate Banking Committee, which is chaired by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, a progressive Democrat who has had about all he can stand of the robber barons on Wall Street. The ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, who was supposed to become the Chair of the Committee in a Trump coup d’état, is Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who has been serially funded and backed by Koch-funded front groups. Koch Industries owns a big trading operation, so it is very much vested in what happens in terms of stricter regulations for Wall Street. (For the role of Koch money in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, see our report: The Money Trail to the Siege at the Capitol Leads to Charles Koch and Koch Industries.)
World:
Britain: Wayne Couzens, Sexism, And the State – More Police On the Streets Won’t Protect Us The horrifying rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in March by a serving police officer caused a wave of rage and disgust across Britain. The killer’s trial and its aftermath have now unearthed a whole mountain of sexism and misogyny, affecting the police at every level. This was not a case of a single bad apple, as the Metropolitan police commissioner claimed: the entire institution is as rotten as the capitalist system it defends.
A People’s History Podcast: The Chartist Revolution Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal and author of Chartist Revolution, recently appeared on A People’s History podcast talking about the Chartist movement, alongside John McDonnell, Emma Griffin and Katrina Navickas. The Chartist movement represented the first time the organised working class fixed its eyes on the seizure of power. The Chartists unashamedly fought for radical, socialist changes. Today, the Marxist movement stands on the shoulders of the great Chartist fighters – a revolutionary tradition to which we owe a tremendous debt. Listen to the full podcast here.
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 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!
Nicaragua to Use Cuban Covid Vaccines Nicaragua, which is suffering a wave of coronavirus infections, on Saturday approved emergency use of the Abdala and Soberana 02 vaccines developed by Cuba, the state-run BioCubaFarma announced. “The Health Regulation Authority of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) grants the Emergency Use Certification to the Cuban vaccines Soberana and Abdala,” BioCubaFarma, a state group of scientific institutions, said on Twitter. In addition to Nicaragua and outside of Cuba, the Abdala vaccine has been approved by Vietnam, whose government has already authorized the purchase of 10 million doses. Venezuela also signed a supply contract with the island for 12 million units.
Shadow Government Statistics Daily Update (October 7th to 8th) Sampling Of Economic Headlines:
