Daily News Digest June 17, 2022
Image of the Day:
Humanity Will Not be Covid Free, Until the Vaccines, Like the Salk Polio Vaccine, are Free For the Whole World!
The Covid Pandemic is Not Over! Yesterday, There Were Over 96,374 and Two Days Ago, There Were Over 119,909 New Covid CaseS!
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:
Videos:
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. Taxthe Rich! — They Can Afford to Pay!
We Need Government of, by, and the 99% Majority!
Why Peace and Disarmament are at the Heart of Nonalignment As our world spirals toward the catastrophe of nuclear war, there has never been a greater need for a new global balancing, a rejection of great power war, exploitation, and aggression. Now more than ever, we need to reject the brutal unipolar agenda of the United States, the dividing up of the world between hostile powers, and the suppression of the rights of the many in the interests of the few. Nowhere is this clearer than the possession of nuclear weapons: only nine states possess these ultimate weapons of mass destruction, yet they can hold the rest of the world to ransom with their nuclear terror. The struggle for a genuinely multipolar world, aligned only with the world’s people, not military blocs, has peace and disarmament at its heart: this is as true now as it was 60 years ago when the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was founded. As well as opposition to colonization and economic subjection, those founding the movement championed self-determination and equality in states’ relations, and they also agreed on their opposition to military blocs, their commitment to world peace, and a very strong advocacy of global nuclear disarmament. That thread has remained a constant ever since, and today we continue to see the countries of the Global South leading
As the Supreme Court is gradually uspering ececutive and legislative power: Supreme Court Tortures the Constitution Again The Supreme Court ruled in March that Americans have no right to learn the grisly details of CIA torture because the CIA has never formally confessed its crimes. The case symbolizes how the rule of law has become little more than legal mumbo-jumbo to shroud official crimes. And it is another grim reminder that Americans cannot rely on politically approved lawyers wearing bat suits to save their freedoms.
If Poverty is a Moral Issue, Then the U.S. is Bankrupt Newspaper headlines are warning of rising inflation and the possibility that voters will respond to it by punishing Democrats in the midterm elections this fall. But there are few, if any, headlines about the enormous numbers of Americans who are low-income and poor—a travesty in one of the world’s wealthiest nations. The problem of poverty is marked by several factors, the first of which is a deeply flawed government indicator of who qualifies as poor. Measured by the federal poverty line, about 37 million Americans live below the poverty line—that’s about 11 percent of the population. But this leaves out many millions more Americans who live one emergency expense away from poverty. The Poor People’s Campaign (PPC): A National Call for Moral Revival relies on economic calculations showing that 140 million Americans—which is more than 40 percent of the population—are poor or low-income.
Environment —Ecosocialism or Ecocide!
Groups Sue Biden Admin for Threatening ‘Climate-Imperiled’ Wildlife With Drilling Permits One campaigner said the “cursory approval of more than 3,500 drilling permits contradicts President Biden’s pledges to address the terrifying threat of climate change.” Citing a trio of federal laws, environmental organizations sued the Biden administration on Wednesday for further jeopardizing “climate-imperiled species” by issuing more than 3,500 oil and gas drilling permits on public lands in New Mexico and Wyoming.
How Millions 0f Lives Can Be Saved if The US Acts Now on Climate Researchers have now calculated how many people could be saved from heat-related death if the US takes meaningful action The rapidly shrinking window of opportunity for the US to pass significant climate legislation will have mortal, as well as political, stakes. Millions of lives around the world will be saved, or lost, depending on whether America manages to propel itself towards a future without planet-heating emissions.
The US Activists Holed Up ln Treehouses to Block $90m ‘Cop City’ Atlanta wants to build a police training facility in the city’s forested parkland in spite of wide community oppositionThe US activists holed up in treehouses to block $90m ‘Cop City’ Atlanta wants to build a police training facility in the city’s forested parkland in spite of wide community opposition The sign in the forest reads “You are now leaving The U.S.A.” Then, high up among the branches of a white oak tree, there is a treehouse the size of a closet. It is draped on all sides with white sheets bearing painted messages like “No police”, “No pipelines” and “No prisons
How Millions 0f Lives Can Be Saved if The US Acts Now on Climate Researchers have now calculated how many people could be saved from heat-related death if the US takes meaningful action The rapidly shrinking window of opportunity for the US to pass significant climate legislation will have mortal, as well as political, stakes. Millions of lives around the world will be saved, or lost, depending on whether America manages to propel itself towards a future without planet-heating emissions.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Black Agenda Report June 15, 2022
- Margaret Kimberley The Problem with Juneteenth Juneteenth was a people’s holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate exploiters and cynical politicians to show pretend concern for Black people. At best Juneteenth provides a history lesson and an opportunity for much needed political education.
- Danny Haiphong The Trend Toward a Multipolar World is Defined by Class StruggleThe emerging multipolar world is the result of struggles for national sovereignty and self-determination, which are connected with the world wide class struggle.
- Ann Garrison Democrats Aren’t the Only Game in Town for Ethiopian American Voters
Teddy Fikre is an Ethiopian-American independent candidate for Congress in Virginia. He discusses the challenges that his community faces in advocating for their homeland through U.S. electoral politics. - Raymond Nat Turner The latest from BAR’s poet in residence Flashbacks of wild Boers storming Capitalist Hill
- Maurice Carney A Quarter Century of a Western-backed War of Aggression Against the Congolese People
Rwanda and Uganda have carried out attacks against the Democratic Republic of Congo for the past 25 years. Their aggressions are carried out with the backing of the U.S. and European nations who aid their theft of Congo’s resources. - Roberto Sirvent BAR Book Forum: Habiba Ibrahim’s “Black Age” In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Habiba Ibrahim . Ibrahim is Associate Professor of English at the University of Washington. Her book is Black Age: Oceanic Lifespans and the Time of Black Life.
- Pan- African Community Action (PACA) No COINTELPRO in DC April Goggans is an organizer with Black Lives Matter in Washington DC. After years of FOIA requests she has been granted a hearing to determine if the Metropolitan Police Department are required to reveal the extent of surveillance conducted against her. COINTELPRO is not just a program of the distant past, but of present-day policing as well.
- Mark P. Fancher The Soweto Uprising’s Unfinished Business
International outrage over the killing of Soweto youth protesting on June 16, 1976 was a turning point in South African history. But the end of apartheid was not the end of racist oppression or corporate domination. What should have been a revolution was betrayed by corruption and the cynical politics of representation. - Gerald A. Perreira Leaders of the Americas and the Caribbean Miss Historical Opportunity to Deal Blow to US Imperialism The U.S. excluded
- Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the recent Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles. While there was widespread condemnation against the U.S., only six heads of state had the courage to decline the invitation. An opportunity to strike a blow against U.S. imperialism was lost.
- Black Alliance for Peace AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #40 The latest Black Alliance for Peace AFRICOM Watch Bulletin provides analysis of the U.S. Southern Command and includes an interview with Ahjamu Uni, organizer with the All African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).
- Richard Dunn New Bill That Passed House Reinvokes Old Russian Bogeyman as Pretext For More U.S. Intervention in Africa
Democrats and republicans alike supported a bil to “counter malign Russian influence in Africa.” Such legislation is reminiscent of the worst days of the cold war. Now a member of the Congressional Black Caucus is leading the retrograde action. - Farooque Chowdhury Empire’s Fleeting Leadership in Its Yard The U.S. effort to control the narrative at the Summit of the Americas ended as a diplomatic and foreign policy disaster. The imperative to dominate blew up in the collective faces of the Biden foreign policy team.
Michael F. Brown Israel Lobby’s Black Allies Aim to Unseat Rashida Tlaib Bakari Sellers is the most prominent supporter of a new PAC dedicated to defeating Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. The Urban Empowerment PAC has a goal of “electing pro-Israel Black democrats” and supports a Detroit politician in their effort to defeat Tlaib. - Sean I. Ahern Hubert Harrison, Tribune of the People: Part Two The Voice of Harlem Radicalism
Hubert Henry Harrison was one of the foremost Black socialist and nationalist thinkers of the early 20th century. He was known as “the father of Harlem radicalism.” This is the second of of a three-part commentary on works about Harrison. - Chelli Stanley War on Palestine: The Battle for Masafer Yatta A twenty year battle in Israeli courts ended with a decision to evict more than 1,000 Palestinians from Masafer Yatta. Settler attacks on Palestinians escalated even before the ruling, which allows a firing range to be built where ancient villages now stand.
Labor:
Profits Over Worker Rights: The Employer’s “Catch 22”: If you do not sign the ‘binding agreement’, you don’t get hired! This ruling means that workers rights are uneforcebale! Supreme Court Limits California Labor Law That Allows Private Suits Against Employers “ Lawmakers said the state’s labor laws were going unenforced, even when workers were cheated out of their wages or not paid extra for overtime work. They pointed to industries where ‘labor law violations are the most rampant, including agriculture, garment, construction, car wash, and restaurants.’” In a victory for California employers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday sharply limited a state labor law that has authorized private lawsuits on behalf of groups of workers, even if they had agreed to resolve their disputes through individual arbitration. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled the Federal Arbitration Act preempts or overrides the state law. California is the only state to authorize such private suits as a means of enforcing its labor laws. But in doing so, the state has allowed employees to escape binding arbitration agreements they signed when they were hired, the court said.
Economy:
Blockchains and the Crypto Craze The cryptocurrency craze seems to have taken a dive in recent weeks since the Chinese authorities clamped down on speculation in the bitcoin market. The history of financial markets is littered with asset price bubbles, from tulips in the early-1600s to more recent examples, such as internet stocks in the late-1990s and US house prices before 2008. This looks like another. The ascent of the virtual currency bitcoin, which recently neared $5,000 and has risen about 350% this year, has now turned round, dropping back to $3000, if still hugely above its initial start. But it may be heading for a reckoning now. Bitcoin aims at reducing transaction costs in internet payments and completely eliminating the need for financial intermediaries ie banks. But so far its main use has been for speculation. So is bitcoin, the digital currency that operates on the internet, just a speculative scam, another Ponzi-scheme, or is there more to the rise of all these cryptocurrencies, as they are called?
World:
Suffering at Extreme Levels in Gaza After 15 Years as World’s Largest ‘Open-Air Prison’ (US Asks Israel to Dial Back Oppression of Palestinians—But Just During Biden’s Visit) “Over 800,000 young Palestinians have spent their entire lives trapped within Gaza,” said one aid agency. “They have known nothing else.” Marking 15 years since Israel began imposing its land, air, and sea blockade on Gaza, Oxfam International said Wednesday that the international community is complicit in Palestinians’ ongoing suffering and demanded the United Nations and its member states “become the diplomatic power brokers needed to end this blockade now.”
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!
Mexican Official Says Flawed WTO Proposal on Vaccine Patents ‘Worse Than None at All’ The text proposed by rich nations, argues Hugo López-Gatell, “is nothing more than a PR stunt intended to kill off the possibility of a genuine intellectual property waiver.” As a major World Trade Organization meeting continued on Tuesday, a top Mexican official called out rich governments for obstructing a pathway to waive patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments “in order to put the profits of Big Pharma over people’s lives.
Student Loan Debt Statistics Report Highlights. Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.762 trillion. The debt accumulation rate is slowing, and recent analytics indicate that consumers responsibly manage their student loan debt.
- The outstanding federal loan balance is over $1.606 trillionand accounts for 2% of all student loan debt.
- 4 millionborrowers have federal student loan debt.
- The average federal student loan debt balance is $37,014while the total average balance (including private loan debt) may be as high as $40,904.
- Less than 2%of private student loans enter default as of 2021’s fourth financial quarter (2021 Q4).
- The average public university student borrows $30,030to attain a bachelor’s degree.
