Daily News Digest March 9, 2022
Yesterday, March 8, was International Womens Dar
Humanity Will Not be Covid Free, Until the Vaccines, Like the Salk Polio Vaccine, are Free For the Whole World
Image of the Day:
A March 8, 1917 Demonstration Led By Alexandra Kollontai And Other Organizers 
Malcolm X on the Media 
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:
Ignorance is Strength One of the Key Slogans of Capitalism! Due to the Development of the Media Monoply! The Fourth Estate Truthhas Been Marginalized! The truth will set you free! Bit Where is to be found by all! The Fourth Estate: The term Fourth Estate or fourth power refers to the press and news media both in explicit capacity of advocacy and implicit ability to frame political issues.[1] The derivation of the term fourth estate arises from the traditional European concept of the three estates of the realm: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. The equivalent term “fourth power” is somewhat uncommon in English, but it is used in many European languages, including Italian (quarto potere), German (Vierte Gewalt), Spanish (Cuarto poder), and French (Quatrième pouvoir), to refer to a government’s separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Videos of the Day:
The New BA.2 Omicron Variant – A More Contagious COVID-19 Variant and How to Protect Against It The new BA.2 Omicron variant appears to be more contagious than other COVID-19 variants and has been found in several places around the world, including California. Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of Pediatric Infectious
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!
Chris Hedges: Worthy and Unworthy Victims Dividing the world into worthy and unworthy victims is a tactic used to justify our crimes and demonize our enemies. Conflicts will not be solved until all nations abide by international law and all victims are deemed worthy. Rulers divide the world into worthy and unworthy victims, those we are allowed to pity, such as Ukrainians enduring the hell of modern warfare, and those whose suffering is minimized, dismissed, or ignored. The terror we and our allies carry out against Iraqi, Palestinian, Syrian, Libyan, Somali and Yemeni civilians is part of the regrettable cost of war. We, echoing the empty promises from Moscow, claim we do not target civilians. Rulers always paint their militaries as humane, there to serve and protect. Collateral damage happens, but it is regrettable.
Sanctions May Sound “Nonviolent,” But They Quietly Hurt the Most Vulnerable Economic sanctions are a weapon of war, not an alternative to war. . . . Of course, those who have the fewest resources to survive in Russia — not the most powerful — will be hurt the most. This was entirely predictable. As London-based financier and campaigner against Putin’s government Bill Browder told NPR about blocking Russia from SWIFT, “This is what was done against Iran. And it basically knocks them — any country that’s disconnected — back to the Dark Ages economically.” The impact on Iran that Browder so casually refers to has been disastrous. Ostensibly meant to target the country’s regime for nefarious activities, U.S. sanctions have resulted in such isolation for the Iranian economy that the currency has crashed. The sanctions have especially impacted Iranian health care, severely undermining the country’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and producing shortages of medicines and medical supplies, particularly for people with rare illnesses. In other words, it is the most vulnerable who have suffered the most.
If the US or NATO Put Fighters in the Air over Ukraine We’d Have World War “Clearly, in the absence of a U.N. resolution, which Russia would veto, a strong coalition of like-minded nations should step in and seriously consider a no-fly zone over the Ukraine.” — Sen. Tom Wicker, (R-Miss), Senate Armed Services Committee; “Declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine at the invitation of their sovereign government. Disrupt Russia’s air ops to give the heroic Ukrainians a fair fight. It’s now, or later.”— Rep. Adam Kinsinger, (R – Ill.); “Declare an international no-fly zone.” — Evelyn Farkas, National Security advisor under Obama; The tough-talk politicians in Washington and pundits in the media who are mindlessly calling for establishment of a US or US/NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine to allegedly deter Russian planes from bombing Ukrainian cities, or to “protect” Ukrain’s 15 nuclear reactors are nuts, and fortunately are so far not being listened to.
Chris Hedges: On the Worthiness and Unworthiness of War Victims Dividing the world into worthy and unworthy victims is a tactic used to justify our crimes and demonize our enemies. Conflicts will not be solved until all nations abide by international law and all victims are deemed worthy. Rulers divide the world into worthy and unworthy victims, those we are allowed to pity, such as Ukrainians enduring the hell of modern warfare, and those whose suffering is minimized, dismissed, or ignored. The terror we and our allies carry out against Iraqi, Palestinian, Syrian, Libyan, Somali and Yemeni civilians is part of the regrettable cost of war. We, echoing the empty promises from Moscow, claim we do not target civilians. Rulers always paint their militaries as humane, there to serve and protect. Collateral damage happens, but it is regrettable.
Supreme Court Says Torture at CIA Black Site Is a “State Secret” The Supreme Court has denied Guantánamo prisoner Abu Zubaydah testimony on his torture at a secret CIA site in Poland. Abu Zubaydah, whom the CIA once mistakenly alleged was a top al-Qaeda leader, was waterboarded 80+ times, subjected to assault in the form of forced rectal exams, and exposed to live burials in coffins for hundreds of hours. Zubaydah sobbed, twitched and hyperventilated. During one waterboarding session, he became completely unresponsive, with bubbles coming out of his mouth. “He became so compliant that he would prepare for waterboarding at the snap of a finger,” Neil Gorsuch wrote in his 30-page dissent in United States v. Zubaydah.
Michael Hudson: The American Empire Self-Destructs, But Nobody Thought That It Would Happen This Fast Empires often follow the course of a Greek tragedy, bringing about precisely the fate that they sought to avoid. That certainly is the case with the American Empire as it dismantles itself in not-so-slow motion. The basic assumption of economic and diplomatic forecasting is that every country will act in its own self-interest. Such reasoning is of no help in today’s world. Observers across the political spectrum are using phrases like “shooting themselves in their own foot” to describe U.S. diplomatic confrontation with Russia and allies alike. But nobody thought that The American Empire would self-destruct this fast. For more than a generation the most prominent U.S. diplomats have warned about what they thought would represent the ultimate external threat: an alliance of Russia and China dominating Eurasia. America’s economic sanctions and military confrontation have driven these two countries together, and are driving other countries into their emerging Eurasian orbit.
Environment —Ecosocialism or Ecocide!:
Government Climate Crisis Response: Deny, Delay, and Do Nothing When confronted by the overwhelming evidence of climate change, governments that have a major impact on global warming, glide to the Shuffle’s delay step. While more than a half century ago the Twist was the craze in dance halls globally, today the Climate Change Shuffle is the craze in government halls and conference sites worldwide as officials dance around the dangers of climate change.
Civil Rights/BlackLiberation:
Malcolm X The Militant Labor Forum (May 29,1964 ((Blood Brothers Speech)
Labor:
Economy:
Betting on the Come: Fallen Angels In several previous posts I have highlighted what are called ‘zombie’ companies (companies whose regular profits do not even cover the cost of servicing their outstanding debts) and so must, to paraphrase former BoE governor Mark Carney, depend on the kindness of their creditors”. . An OECD study found that such zombies take up a frighteningly large part of the economy. Across the nine European countries they studied, the share of the total private capital stock ‘sunk’ in zombie companies ranges from 5 to 20 per cent. The suggestion is that such businesses hog capital and crowd the market for newcomers, make it harder for more promising companies to expand and hold back the reallocation of labour and capital to more productive and faster-growing companies. The OECD concludes that “the prevalence of, and resources sunk in, zombie firms have risen since the mid-2000s, which is significant given that recessions typically provide opportunities for restructuring and productivity-enhancing allocation” and that “a higher share of industry capital sunk in zombie firms tends to crowd out the growth—measured in terms of investment and employment—of the typical non-zombie firm.” All in all “a 3.5% rise in the share of zombie firms—roughly equivalent to that observed between 2005 and 2013 on average across the nine OECD countries in the sample—is associated with a 1.2% decline in the level of labour productivity across industries.” The ECB also did a report on zombies and found that (whatever-it-takes ) “industries with a prevalence of zombie firms suffered significantly from the credit misallocation, which slowed down the economic recovery.
The Big Question on Wall Street Is Which Banks Owe $41 Billion on Credit Default Swaps on Russia There is a known $41 billion in Credit Default Swaps (CDS) on Russian debt. There is likely many billions more in unknown amounts. There are also billions more in Credit Default Swaps on state-owned Russian corporate debt and non state-owned Russian corporate debt. In addition to Wall Street not knowing which global banks and other financial institutions are on the hook to pay out on the Credit Default Swap protection they sold in case of a Russian sovereign debt default (or Russian corporate debt default), there is also approximately $100 billion of Russian sovereign debt (whose default is looking more and more likely) sitting on the balance sheets of foreign banks.
World:
International Working Women’s Day: How to end Violence Against Women Across the world, an epidemic of violence against women, femicide, and domestic abuse plagues society. This is yet another symptom of a sick system. Capitalism is the disease. To end sexism and oppression, we must fight for revolution. Under capitalism, women everywhere are subjected to violence, sexual assault, and often murder.
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!
Studies Warn Omicron BA.2 Is the Most Dangerous COVID Variant Ever Recent studies of the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron suggest that it is both more transmissible and more lethal than Omicron BA.1, and that it is quickly supplanting the previous variant in country after country. The findings directly contradict the claims of governments around the world that the pandemic is ending, that Omicron is “mild,” and that public health measures to fight to pandemic can be relaxed or eliminated altogether. For their part, the Biden administration and corporate media have virtually dropped any discussion of the pandemic, focusing all their attention on the war in Ukraine and the frenzied efforts of the NATO countries to intervene in the crisis and prepare for war with Russia. The subject of COVID-19 has virtually disappeared from the news, under conditions where 1,500 people on average are dying each day in the US. The month of February closed with 61,000 total COVID deaths, and January and February were the fourth and fifth worst months of the pandemic, despite nearly three-quarters of the eligible population being vaccinated.