Daily News Digest June 24, 2022
Humanity Will Not be Covid Free, Until the Vaccines, Like the Salk Polio Vaccine, are Free For the Whole World!
Image of the Day:
Bendib: Freedom of Repress
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:
The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save—the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour—your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, i.e., the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being. —Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts 1844. — The Future of Work 2 – Working Long and Hard
Videos:
Food Shortage or Economic Crisis? Experts Say Poverty & Capitalism Are Real Drivers of Global Hunger
Earthquake in Afghanistan Kills 1,000+. As Death Toll Rises, U.S. Sanctions Limit International Aid
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!
Extraditing Assange Would Be a “Legalized” Rendition to US Torture A pantomime of “justice” and “rule of law” cloaks the persecution of Julian Assange for exposing U.S. war crimes. As the British government moves ever closer to extraditing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, the pantomime of “justice” cloaking his persecution in the regalia of the “rule of law” continues to unfold: a torture rendition by another name, inching forward as the world watches in real time.On June 17, the U.K.’s Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of Assange to the United States, following the magistrate court’s order that the transfer should proceed. In this fundamentally skewed process, Assange’s capacity to meaningfully defend himself has been systematically assaulted by government smear campaigns; surveillance of his lawyers; and stultifying, arbitrary rules and restrictions obstructing him from participating in his own case — as documented in detail by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer in his recent book, The Trial of Julian Assange.
The Pentagon Gets More Money and Americans Pay the Price The Pentagon Gets More Money and Americans Pay the Price What’s all this new defense spending for? Bipartisanship is a rare and endangered species in today’s bitterly divided Washington. Except when it comes to one thing: the Pentagon budget. From Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democrats to minority leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans, all agree that the Defense Department—which already boasts a budget higher, in comparable dollars, than its levels during the Cold War, and bigger than the combined military budgets of the next nine highest-spending countries—must have more. The only argument is how high the “top line” should go.
Environment —Ecosocialism or Ecocide!:
Progressives Say Windfall Profits Tax a ‘Better Solution’ Than Biden’s Gas Tax Holiday “A windfall tax would get more relief to more people by penalizing the Big Oil profiteering that’s driving up prices,” said one campaigner. As President Joe Biden on Wednesday prepares to urge Congress to temporarily suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes in a bid to ease pain at the pump, progressives are calling instead for the passage of Democratic lawmakers’ overwhelmingly popular bill to impose a windfall profits tax on Big Oil. “Congress should take the president’s call and answer it with the windfall profits tax legislation already proposed in the House and Senate,” Jamie Henn, a spokesperson for the Stop the Oil Profiteering (STOP) campaign, wrote on social media. “A windfall tax would get more relief to more people by penalizing the Big Oil profiteering that’s driving up prices.”
The Last Nuclear Plant in California – And The Unexpected Quest to Save It California’s last nuclear plant was nearing the end of its life. Tucked against picturesque bluffs along California’s central coast, the aging facility known as Diablo Canyon began operating in 1985. It was designed for a different era, with analog knobs and systems that no longer comply with the state’s environmental standards. The plant has faced controversies over its impact on underwater ecosystems, the production of toxic waste and its proximity to earthquake fault lines – and its planned closure by 2025 seemed an all-but-certain step in California’s ambitious journey toward a greener future.
Water Infrastructure as Commons Some People got hopes and dreams Some People got ways and means – Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Survival” We have to recognize the fundamental social realities behind our most pressing crises, in order to have any hope of ever facing and dealing with them. Summer 2020 saw a righteous global awakening against structural racial injustice and death. Summer 2021 as well as 2022 terrifying onslaught of floods, drought and killing heat, adding up to an awakening to the imminent disasters – not mere “risks” – of climate catastrophe. As the late, great John Trudell[i]taught us, sometimes it’s in our interests to deal with the things that are in front of us. Yes, let’s. First some new language for new challenges.
Plastics Cited as ‘Fossil Industry’s Plan B’ as Guilbeault Announces Partial Ban The federal government is banning companies from importing or making plastic bags and takeout containers by the end of this year, from selling them by the end of next year, and from exporting them by the end of 2025. The move will also affect most single-use plastic straws, as well as all stir sticks, and cutlery. Six-pack rings used to hold cans and bottles together will get slightly more time before the ban affects them, with June 2023 targeted for stopping production and import, and June 2024 to ban their sale. There are some exceptions for flexible straws to accommodate people with disabilities. Juice boxes can also be sold with disposable plastic straws attached until June 2024. The plan to ban exports of the six items is a change from December, when the draft regulations were published, The Canadian Press reports. Several environment groups were dismayed that Canad
Civil Rights/Black Liberation: 
Black Agenda Report June 22, 2022
Margaret Kimberley The January 6th Scam Democrats are using the hearings investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol as one long campaign commercial. They believe that saying the name Trump often enough will inspire disappointed and angry people to vote for them despite their lies and failures.
INTERVIEW: Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer by Jack O’Dell, 1965 Editors, The Black Agenda ReviewA 1965 Freedomways interview with Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer provides an unvarnished and unsentimental portrait of Mississippi – and of the tasks of the Freedom Movement.
Ann Garrison Eritrean Martyr’s Day
Eritrea emerged as an independent nation after decades of struggle. It celebrates Martyr’s Day in honor of those who paid the ultimate price.
Raymond Nat Turner BAR’s poet in residence. Poor Peoples’ March
Roberto Sirvent BAR Book Forum: Shanté Paradigm Smalls’s “Hip Hop Heresies”
This week’s featured author is Shanté Paradigm Smalls. Smalls is Associate Professor of Black Studies in the Department of English and Faculty in Critical Race & Ethnic Studies at St. John’s University. Their book is Hip Hop Heresies: Queer Aesthetics in New York City. The book will be published on June 28th and there will be book release event on July 5th at The Strand Bookstore. Details can be found here.
Julie Varughese Celebrations in Colombia’s Streets: Gustavo Petro to Be First Left-Wing President and Francia Márquez the First Afro-Descendant Woman VP The Historical Pact candidates Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez were elected President and Vice President of Colombia. Their victory is the first for leftists in that country but part of a trend in Latin America.
Roger D. Harris Summit of the Americas Flops While Workers Summit Exposes Cracks in the Imperial Façade The U.S. effort to exert control at Summit of the Americas failed spectacularly. The Workers Summit of the Americas in Tijuana, Mexico showed the strength of people’s movements around the world.
Raymond Nat Turner Warriors we are…
The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign & Black Alliance for Peace Center Opposition to War Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign/POOR PEOPLE’S ARMY
As groups prepared to gather in Washington D.C. to discuss poverty, the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign and Black Alliance for Peace say that in the spirit of Dr. King, opposition to war must be at the center of the discussion.
Vijay Prashad Why Does the United States Have a Military Base in Ghana?
Why would the government of Ghana allow a U.S. military base on its territory? Kwesi Pratt Jr., a journalist and leader of the Socialist Movement of Ghana explains.
Sean I. Ahern Hubert Harrison, Tribune of the People: Part Three, The Struggle for Equality
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 last of a three-part commentary on works about Harrison.
Jose Luis Granados Ceja
The election victory of Gustavo Venezuela Celebrates Petro’s Win in Colombia as US Loses its Latin America ‘Bastion’
Petro and Francia Marquez in Colombia has implications for relations with other nations, such as neighboring Venezuela.
Rezo Nodwes Haiti| UN: twenty organizations say “No to the renewal of BINUH!”
The Security Council must say no to continuing interference in Haiti’s affairs through the United Nations Integrated office in Haiti (BINUH). BINUH is just the latest iteration of colonial control which has brought Haiti to its current state of crisis. Sovereignty for the Haitian people is essential and is antithetical to the involvement of the UN in the country.
Nicaragua a ‘Dictatorship’ When It Follows US Lead on NGOs
The U.S. corporate media loyally follow the state’s narrative about other countries. Nicaragua has instituted rules similar to those in the U.S. regarding governance of NGOs. But destabilizing that nation’s government is the goal, accurate reporting is not.
Jonathan Cook Britain Looks to Israel for Ideas on How to Curb the “Problem” of Asylum Seekers Rwanda’s agreement to take asylum seekers from the United Kingdom has its roots in a similar arrangement made with Israel. There would be fewer asylum seekers if the UK and its allies did not hatch regime change plots and other interventions that disrupt the lives of millions of people.
Labor:
The Future of Work 2 – Working Long and Hard In the first post of my Future of Work series, I looked at the impact of working from home and remote work which has mushroomed since the COVID pandemic. In this second part, I want to consider the impact of work on people’s lives and health and how that will pan out over the next few decades. Marx once said “The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save—the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour—your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, i.e., the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being.” —Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts 1844. I take this to mean that, while human (both mental and manual) labour has its satisfactions, work for most people for most of the time, is really toil. People do not live to work (although sometimes people say they do) but work to live. They have little time to develop interests and their imaginative potential.
Economy:
Fed’s Rate Hikes Could Drive US Economy ‘Off a Cliff’ “You know what’s worse than high inflation and low unemployment? It’s high inflation with a recession and millions of people out of work,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren told Jerome Powell. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell directly that the central bank’s recent decision to enact more aggressive interest rate hikes in an effort to combat inflation could push the U.S. economy “off a cliff”—and throw millions of people out of work—without reining in soaring prices. “Inflation is like an illness and the medicine needs to be tailored to the specific problem, otherwise you could make things a lot worse,” Warren (D-Mass.) said during her remarks at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. “Right now, the Fed has no control over the main drivers of rising prices.”
Is the Crypto Threat to U.S. Financial Stability $889 Billion or $10 Trillion? Yesterday, Benzinga reported on a curious statement made by Fed Chair Jerome Powell during his appearance before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday. Powell was asked by Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) if the Fed had been tracking the events in the crypto markets in the past several weeks. Powell responded that the Fed was watching those events “very carefully” but the Fed “did not see significant macro-economic implications.” The article goes on to lend credence to this observation from the Fed by noting the following: “It is important to note the entire cryptocurrency market cap is $889.25 billion versus the American GDP, which is $25.34 trillion, and an equities market that controls more than $49 trillion.” Before we drill down into the weeds of that crypto market cap figure, it’s important to note that former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan told Congress that he saw no major economic threat coming from subprime debt. In October 2008, as much of Wall Street and the U.S. economy lay in ruins from subprime debt bombs and related derivatives, Greenspan testified to a House Committee that “Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief.”
World:
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!
What Causes Declining Sperm? NEW YORK TIMES writer Gina Kolata this week renewed her efforts to discredit the theory and evidence that industrial chemicals interfere with hormones, causing harm to wildlife and humans. [1] A month ago, Ms. Kolata savagely attacked the new book, OUR STOLEN FUTURE, [2]claiming that “careful studies” (none of which she cited) had “refuted” the premise of the book. (See REHW #486.) OUR STOLEN FUTURE reviewed hundreds of studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The book offers substantial evidence that industrial pollutants may be interfering with the hormones that regulate growth, health and behavior in wildlife and humans, thus contributing to birth defects, problems of sexual development, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and even mental problems like attention deficit disorder, diminished IQ, and violent behavior. Among the evidence discussed in OUR STOLEN FUTURE was declining sperm counts in men in industrialized countries, plus data and hypotheses linking such a decline to hormone-disrupting chemicals. In 1992, a report in the BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL [3] analyzed 61 previous sperm studies conducted in 20 countries, concluding that average sperm counts had declined from 113 million sperm per milliliter of semen to 66 million during the past 50 years, a 42% decline.