Daily News Digest February 28, 2022
Humanity Will Not be Covid Free, Until the Vaccines are Free For the Whole World
Image of the Day:
Which Will Dominate Ukraine?
Another Example Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Ws 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!
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”, is Still True for Today’s World!
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 of the Day:
From the Conclusion of Alan Woods’ Essay— Imperialist Hypocrisy and the Invasion of Ukraine: What attitude should we take? The present situation has inevitably been met by an intensified barrage of propaganda in the prostitute media. The aim of this is not at all to promote the interests and well-being of the people of Ukraine. On the contrary, their interests have been cynically sacrificed on the altar of imperialism. It is imperative that we maintain a firm class position and do not allow ourselves to be dragged along by the lying imperialist propaganda machine. Do we support Vladimir Putin and the Russian oligarchy whose interests he backs? No, Putin is no friend of the working class, either in Russia, Ukraine or anywhere else. The invasion of Ukraine is merely a continuation of his own cynical and reactionary agenda. But that is not the question we should ask ourselves at this time. The question is: can we in any shape or form appear to be in the same camp as US and British imperialism? Can we associate ourselves, directly or indirectly with NATO, that reactionary imperialist gang? Or with Boris Johnson and the war-monger Liz Truss, or that Blairite traitor Starmer? It is the task of the Russian working class to deal with Putin. Our fight is against imperialism, NATO and our own reactionary Tory government and those miserable so-called Labour leaders who are its partners in crime. As Lenin always insisted: the main enemy is at home. It is high time we reminded ourselves of that fact.
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 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 th poor and gives to the Rich. Tax the Rich! — They Can Afford to Pay!
Facebook Allows praise of Neo-Nazi Ukrainian Battalion If it Fights Russian Invasion The reversal raises questions about Facebook’s blacklist-based content moderation, which critics say lacks nuance and context. Facebook will temporarily allow its billions of users to praise the Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian neo-Nazi military unit previously banned from being freely discussed under the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy, The Intercept has learned. The policy shift, made this week, is pegged to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and preceding military escalations. The Azov Battalion, which functions as an armed wing of the broader Ukrainian white nationalist Azov movement, began as a volunteer anti-Russia militia before formally joining the Ukrainian National Guard in 2014; the regiment is known for its hardcore right-wing ultranationalism and the neo-Nazi ideology pervasive among its members. Though it has in recent years downplayed its neo-Nazi sympathies, the group’s affinities are not subtle: Azov soldiers march and train wearing uniforms bearing icons of the Third Reich; its leadership has reportedly courted American alt-right and neo-Nazi elements; and in 2010, the battalion’s first commander and a former Ukrainian parliamentarian, Andriy Biletsky, stated that Ukraine’s national purpose was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen [subhumans].” With Russian forces reportedly moving rapidly against targets throughout Ukraine, Facebook’s blunt, list-based approach to moderation puts the company in a bind: What happens when a group you’ve deemed too dangerous to freely discuss is defending its country against a full-scale assault?
Environment —Ecosocialism or Ecocide!:
US Fossil Fuel Industry Leaps on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine to Argue for More Drilling Petroleum lobby calls for looser regulation and drilling on public lands to ‘ensure energy security’ The US oil and gas industry is using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to pressure the Biden administration to throw open more land and ocean for domestic drilling and to loosen regulations for large companies attempting to ramp up their fossil fuel extraction.
“Iowa has a Poop Problem.”: Factory Farms Destroy Ecosystems Factory farms are the Grim Reapers of civilization, inhumanely penning up and slaughtering cows, pigs, and chickens by the tens of millions, as well as unintentionally, but effectively, poisoning, maiming and/or killing birds, insects, amphibians, mammals, and crucial life-supporting ecosystems that are key to human life. And, it’s legal. Factory farms have suddenly arisen out of nowhere, e.g., in Iowa “the state’s number of concentrated animal feed operations, known as CAFOs, grew from 722 in 2001 to more than 10,000 in 2017, according to a study on the industry by two retired University of Iowa professors.” (Source: Environmentalists Make Long-Shot Attempt to Ban New Factory Farms, Pew Trust, February 19, 2021). The first sentence of the Pew Trust article reads; “Iowa has a poop problem.”
Civil Rights/BlackLiberation:
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress. — Frederick Douglass
Black Alliance for Peace: Ukraine
What does this have to do with Black people? What can We Do? As we have outlined here, NATO is a white power organization. Once you understand this, you have to start looking at all the messaging around you and decide to not align yourself in support of the U.S./NATO in the affairs of other nations. The U.S. has never gone anywhere else in the world in support of human rights or out of the goodness of its heart. It is always about the domination of resources. As Western countries stick together to attempt to push Russia out of the world economy, it would be wise to consider that this will likely have an effect on the cost of certain goods, like gas and various food products inside of the U.S. Get outside, have conversations with your neighbors and figure out ways that you can support each other in advance. You also need to think about how much money goes toward financing these wars. It’s billions of dollars that you are told every day do not exist in order to ensure everyone has access to healthcare, housing, education, and food. Every day, your tax dollars are being squandered in countries you’ve never been to. This is not by accident. It’s not because the system is “flawed.” This is how capitalism works. Capitalism requires infinite profit growth in order to expand and maintain itself. That is why it is the #1 priority of the U.S. to ensure it keeps its grip around the throat of the rest of the world and its resources. The Lowcountry Action Committee wants you to consider the importance of organization right now. Black people in the U.S. must begin to see ourselves as a nation within a nation. Our interests are not aligned with the white capitalists that enslaved our ancestors and continue to keep our neighborhoods destitute and torn apart. We must begin to organize toward self-determination, meaning, we need to begin working together to build institutions of our own. Institutions that can feed us, house us, educate our children, provide medical care, etc, as we watch the United States crumble and lose its grip on the world. We never signed up for life under capitalism and imperialism, and we have the right to refuse it. We are African people, connected to the rest of the oppressed people of the world, and as Pan-Africanists, we see the value in assisting our siblings on the continent of Africa, which is oppressed by the U.S./NATO, in fighting back against the beast from within. A free and united Africa works to our benefit. Imagine what this kind of power could look like in the context of a unified, socialist Africa that is able to step in and declare the sovereignty of its people and nations inside of its borders and around the world? From Somalia to the Caribbean to Africans in the Americas. We are our own liberators! Instead of joking around and wrapping ourselves in the U.S. flag, we must begin to figure out how to use this moment of tension between the dominating world powers to our benefit.
Labor:
Russian Labor Confederation: Workers “on Both Sides” Will Suffer Most From War With Ukraine under attack, a Russian labor confederation boasting an estimated two million members on Friday called for a “cessation of military action” and “renewal of peaceful dialogue” between officials in Moscow and Kyiv, arguing that workers in both countries are the victims of war. “The Confederation of Labor of Russia [KTR], as a part of the international trade union movement, considering its direct responsibilities to the working people of Russia, Ukraine, and the whole world, and recognizing its role in promoting and ensuring peace between peoples, is extremely disturbed at the events now taking place,” the organization consisting of more than 20 unions said in a statement.
No to War With Ukraine! Against Russian Military Intervention! The following is a statement by Russian comrades of the International Marxist Tendency, denouncing the invasion of Ukraine that began in the early hours of today. Against military intervention! Against chauvinism! No war between the peoples, no peace between the classes! Read the original in Russian here. Also, this statement should be read in conjunction with the previous one by our Russian comrades, and the latest analysis by marxist.com editor Alan Woods.
Economy:
Here’s Why the Russian Sanctions Are a Dud: Big Foreign Banks from the U.S., France, Austria and Italy Are Operating in a “Routine Manner” in Russia While Ukrainian children sleep with their pets in the subways, living in terror of the bombs raining down on them from their Russian invaders, wealthy Russian oligarchs are being comforted by “relationship managers” at banks owned by the very nations that say they are going to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine. Noticeably missing from President Biden’s press conference yesterday on expanded sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine was any mention of how the U.S. and its allies were going to deal with the big foreign global banks that conduct banking business for thousands of Russian corporations and millions of Russian individuals. Biden only mentioned sanctions on Russian banks. That sent a loud message to the MOEX Index at the Moscow Stock Exchange, which as of 2:49 p.m. today in Moscow (6:49 a.m. in New York) had rallied into positive territory from a loss of as much as 45 percent yesterday, when the precise nature of the expanded sanctions were as yet unknown. (See chart below.)
World:
No to War With Ukraine! Against Russian Military Intervention! The following is a statement by Russian comrades of the International Marxist Tendency, denouncing the invasion of Ukraine that began in the early hours of today. Against military intervention! Against chauvinism! No war between the peoples, no peace between the classes! Read the original in Russian here. Also, this statement should be read in conjunction with the previous one by our Russian comrades, and the latest analysis by marxist.com editor Alan Woods.
Puerto Rican Unionists Protest Austerity, Look at US Responsibility In Puerto Rico on February 18, thousands of publicly employed union workers, retired workers, and university students took part in a national strike and march that spread throughout the island. The largest concentration filled streets in San Juan. Demonstrators made noise and marched behind a long banner saying “People before Debt” “Salary Justice,” Dignified Retirement, “Collective Bargaining,” and “No Privatization.” Their demands grew out of actions of the U.S. government’s Financial Control Board (FCB) which was created under the authority of the U.S. Congress’s PROMESA Act of 2016. The island’s government was bankrupt at the time and the FCB was charged with negotiating with creditors and implementing austerity in Puerto Rico.
Education, Health, 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 they 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!
‘Band-Aid on a Tumor’: Critics Blast Biden Rebrand of Trump’s Medicare Privatization Scheme “Changing t he name doesn’t change the fact that the Direct Contracting program is backdoor privatization of Medicare,” said one progressive advocate. Rejecting pressure to terminate the program in its entirety, the Biden administration on Thursday announced it is redesigning a Trump-era experiment that physicians and progressive lawmakers have criticized as a scheme to fully privatize Medicare.