Daily News Digest August 4, 2022
Condemn FBI Raids on African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement!
We encourage all anti-imperialist, progressive, antiwar, civil liberties organizations, union and community organizers to speak out against the July 29 FBI raids in St Petersburg, FL and St Louis, MO. In a 5 am surprise attack, including flash bang grenades and seizures of files, phones and computers, the FBI sought to terrorize members of the African Peoples Socialist Party for speaking against U.S. war in Ukraine. The FBI indictment of a Russian national makes claims of a “Russian foreign influence” operation. This type of charge has historically been used to silence opposition to U.S. government policies internationally. We condemn these McCarthyite tactics. This is a racist attack on a well-known Black organization and an effort to criminalize freedom of speech and freedom of association. We support the constitutional right to speak and organize against U.S. wars and racist injustice. We assert our right to write, speak with and to visit with peoples in countries targeted by U.S. wars and sanctions. This includes movements of exchange and solidarity with Cuba, Palestine, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Iran, Libya, Korea, China, Russia and other countries. Our most basic rights are threatened by this outrageous act of political repression.
Stop FBI Attacks!
An Injury To One is An Injury To All!
Images of the Day:
This American For-Profit Healthcare System Would Just as Soon Kill You as Look at You
Another Example Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Has Been Aware of the Comming Catastrophe of Global for Over 5 Decades 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:
In my view, if we are going to make our planet healthy and habitable for future generations, we cannot provide billions of dollars in new tax breaks to the very same fossil fuel companies that are currently destroying the planet,” the Vermont senator said. “Under this legislation, up to 60 million acres of public waters must be offered up for sale each and every year to the oil and gas industry before the federal government could approve any new offshore wind development. — Sanders Blasts ‘Huge Giveaway’ to Fossil Fuel Industry in Manchin Deal
Videos of the Day:
Chris Hedges: Moby Dick and the Soul of American Capitalism
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!
‘Enormous Victory’: Kansas Voters Resoundingly Defeat Anti-Abortion Amendment “This is truly a historic day for Kansas and for America. Freedom has prevailed.” Kansans voted by a decisive margin on Tuesday to reject a proposed amendment that would have removed the right to abortion from the state’s constitution and empowered the Republican legislature to advance a total ban. With almost all precincts reporting, the count was 59% against the amendment and 41% in favor, a strong win over GOP lawmakers’ attempt to overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that deemed abortion a protected right under the state constitution.
Sanders Blasts ‘Huge Giveaway’ to Fossil Fuel Industry in Manchin Deal “We cannot provide billions of dollars in new tax breaks to the very same fossil fuel companies that are currently destroying the planet.” Sen. Bernie Sanders took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to offer a sweeping critique of the Democratic Party’s new reconciliation package, applying particularly close scrutiny to the legislation’s massive and destructive handouts to the fossil fuel industry.
The People in Hiroshima Didn’t Expect it Either When New York City recently released a grotesque “public service announcement” video explaining that you should stay indoors during a nuclear war, the corporate media reaction was principally not outrage at the acceptance of such a fate or the stupidity of telling people “You’ve got this!” as if they could survive the apocalypse by cocooning with Netflix, but rather mockery of the very idea that a nuclear war might happen. U.S. polling on people’s top concerns find 1% of people most concerned about the climate and 0% most concerned about nuclear war. Yet, the U.S. just illegally put nukes into a 6th nation (and virtually nobody in the U.S. can name either it or the other five that the U.S. already illegally had nukes in), while Russia is talking about putting nukes into another nation too, and the two governments with most of the nukes increasingly talk — publicly and privately — about nuclear war. The scientists who keep the doomsday clock think the risk is greater than ever. There’s a general consensus that shipping weapons to Ukraine at the risk of nuclear war is worth it — whatever “it” may be. And, at least within the head of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, voices are unanimous that a trip to Taiwan is worth it too.
US-Saudi Relationship: Beyond the Obvious An adage favored by Claud Cockburn as well as Otto von Bismarck advises “Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.” Indeed, it should be a clear tenet of political analysis that stated goals are frequently not actual goals. US war planners used rhetorical concerns over non-existent Iraq WMDs as a pretext for invasion. Alleged human rights preoccupations were falsely heralded as the rationale for NATO bombings in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya. One reason it was clear in real time that the US establishment was putting forward false pretexts in those cases was the contrast with the US relationship with Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Weeks After Biden Fist-Bumps Saudi Prince, US OKs $5 Billion in Gulf Arms Deals hile the Pentagon said the sale of Patriot and THAAD missiles would boost regional “stability,” one Yemeni journalist countered that the transfer would only bring more Saudi “aggression” to his war-torn nation.
Rent Is Skyrocketing Everywhere and US Tenants Are Paying the Price As the median rent spikes to $2,000 across the country, housing justice activists double down on efforts to counter price-gouging landlords. When real estate giant Redfin issued its monthly rental report in June, it noted that, for the first time in history, the median monthly rent in the U.S. had surpassed $2,000, a 15 percent bump from the previous year. Austin saw the largest increase of any metropolitan area, with rents over the past year surging by 48 percent to a median of $2,707 a month. But regardless of whether you’re a tenant in Anaheim (median: $3,400); Boston (median: $3,970); Chicago (median: $2,454); Fort Lauderdale (median: $3,157); Los Angeles (median: $3,400); Miami (median: $3,157); Newark (median: $4,008) or Seattle (median: $3,097), rents are skyrocketing everywhere.
We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both— Supreme Court Judge Louis D. Brandeis
Environment: Ecocide or Ecosocialism!:
As the Climate Dries the American West Faces Power and Water Shortages, Experts Warn “We are talking about a 20-year period of drought-like conditions with an ever-increasing demand on water,” Two of the largest reservoirs in America, which provide water and electricity to millions, are in danger of reaching ‘dead pool status.’ A result of the climate crisis and overconsumption of water, experts say. Lake Mead, in Nevada and Arizona, and Lake Powell, in Utah and Arizona, are currently at their lowest levels ever. ‘Dead pool’ status would mean the water level in the dams was so low it could no longer flow downstream and power the hydroelectric power stations. The Lake Mead reservoir, which is the largest artificial body of water in America, was created in the 1930s by the construction of the Hoover Dam, an engineering masterpiece. Lake Powell, the second largest, was created in the 1960s, with the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. “The conditions in the American west, which we’re seeing around the Colorado River basin, have been so dry for more than 20 years that we’re no longer speaking of a drought,” said Lis Mullin Bernhardt, an ecosystems expert at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “We refer to it as “aridification” – a new very dry normal.”
Seawalls Ease Property Owners’ Fears of Erosion – But Not for Their Neighbors After Concordia University Wisconsin built a 2,700ft rock wall to protect its beach and bluff, neighbors saw their own beaches begin to wash away Six years ago, David Spector bought an 80-year-old house perched on a 120ft bluff, with a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. But that priceless view may end up costing Spector more than he could have imagined. His house, located about 20 miles outside of Milwaukee, sits in a particularly bad spot for erosion, with wind and waves whittling away at the base of the bluff. Ten years ago, the house stood 50ft away from the bluff’s edge. Today it’s less than 10ft away.
Kentucky Death Toll Rises to 35 From Devastating Flooding as Hundreds Still Missing More heavy rains pummel mountain communities, as Kamala Harris announces $1bn to deal with disasters from climate crisis Heavy rain has pummeled Kentucky once again, raising fears of further devastating flooding that has already killed 35 people, with hundreds more still missing. Another round of rainstorms hit inundated mountain communities on Monday as more bodies emerged from the sodden landscape, and the state’s governor warned that high winds could bring falling trees and utility poles.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
My Body Is Not Your Capital-Producing Machine – Or Is It? There are three basic freedoms: freedom to say NO; freedom to move away; and freedom to change what does not work. Individual freedom requires social support. To say NO, you need others to respect your choice and not force you to obey. To move freely, you need others to support your movement and not erect walls and roadblocks. To change what does not work, you need others who are affected to accept the change. Basically, freedom is a social relationship, where me having my freedom depends on you having yours. A system is required to secure this social arrangement. — Systems Shape Us— We create systems in order to make things happen. A system has three elements: a purpose or goal; a set of rules, policies, and procedures designed to achieve the goal; and relationships that are shaped by applying the rules, policies, and procedures. The systems we create are not separate from us; they organize us. Consider competitive sports. There is a goal (to win). There are rules of the game and penalties for violating them. And there are participants, whose behavior and relationships are shaped by the game. The goal of the capitalist system is to extract capital from human labor. Achieving that goal requires a system with rules, penalties, and social relationships that all support the goal. This three-part essay examines how the capitalist system robs us of all three basic freedoms; what blocks us from claiming our freedom; and how we can create a social system that supports freedom for all.
Why the Great Migration Did Little to Bridge the Racial Divide During the early 1900s through 1970, many African Americans migrated from the deeply segregated agricultural South to the industrial, less segregated Midwest and North. They hoped that escaping from Jim Crow states to cities with growing industrial jobs would create better economic opportunities for themselves and future generations. This phenomenon was called the Great Migration and many Black children who experienced it went on to become legendary figures. They include the actor James Earl Jones, the writer Zora Neale Hurston, and baseball star Jackie Robinson. But important new research by Dr. Ellora Derenoncourt of Princeton University casts doubt on the long-term benefits of the Great Migration for Black families. In a paper published by the American Economic Review, Derenoncourt points out that while there might have been an initial increase in opportunity, many African American grandchildren and great grandchildren of these migrants today are financially struggling. Despite their ancestors’ hard work and optimism, they have seen little bridging of Black/white economic inequality.
Labor:
The Treacherous Role of the Labor Bureaucracy in Alliance with the Captialist Class!: Britain: ‘Sir’ Starmer vs the Working Class With the Tories in turmoil, and the class struggle sharpening, the Labour leadership is straining to prove what a safe pair of hands it would be for the capitalists. It is clear whose side Keir Starmer is on: that of the bosses, not the workers. ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer has recently, and rightly, drawn ire for his attacks on those who have dared to defy him. In recent weeks, Starmer has threatened his own MPs; sacked a shadow minister for visiting a picket line; and expelled prominent socialist activist Audrey White from the party, after she confronted the Labour leader during his visit to Liverpool. This all comes alongside further commitments to pro-capitalist policies and flagrant anti-worker gestures.
Economy:
Globalization, Greed and Reality It wasn’t long ago that economists in our capitalist system were absolutely giddy over what they dubbed “globalization.” In this reality-denying construct, nations all over the planet would work together, each producing commodities using available resources, and we’d all be happily living in a Golden Age of peace and prosperity for all. “A rising tide would lift all boats” we were told. But now globalization has run headlong into the grim realities of war, resource depletion, and a planet on fire. Toss in wars, international sanctions, the pandemic, and globalization, for what it was ever worth, is deader than a doornail. Looked at objectively, one can credibly wonder how these economists and politicians ever expected humanity to suddenly “just get along.” What, they didn’t foresee Russian attempting to continue its excursion into Ukraine? What have nations ever done except to invade and plunder resource-rich countries for themselves?
Judge Orders Jury Trial for JPMorgan Whistleblower Who Claims Bank Fired Her for Reporting Suspicious Payments to Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair Playing out in a federal courtroom in Chicago have been JPMorgan traders telling a jury that it was standard operating procedure at the bank to rig precious metals markets in order to make huge profits for their trading desk. That case is U.S. v. Smith in the Northern District Court in Chicago. (Case number 1:19-cr-00669.). Now there may be more explosive revelations spilling out against JPMorgan Chase in the Southern District Court in Manhattan beginning this fall. That case is Shaquala Williams v JPMorgan Chase. (Case number 1:21-cv-0932.) Last week, Judge Jed Rakoff, who is overseeing the Williams case, ruled that JPMorgan’s motion for dismissal would not prevail on Williams’ claim for retaliatory dismissal and ruled that a jury trial would begin on November 7. (Judge Rakoff did dismiss the Williams’ claim that the bank’s actions had adversely affected a job offer.)
World:
Sri Lanka’s Political and Economic Crisis Sri Lanka, an island of 22 million people, continues to be in the grip of its worst economic and political crisis since independence on 10 February 1948. Since April there have been protests against extensive shortages of food and fuel, as well as a profound crisis of trust in Sri Lanka’s political institutions, primarily parliament and the presidency (both have faced repeated charges of corruption and nepotism for decades, a situation unable to be surmounted by a cowed judicial system).
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!
This American For-Profit Healthcare System Would Just as Soon Kill You as Look at You Our healthcare system is the most direct killer of all. It is designed to be indifferent to human suffering, to life and death. To this system, it doesn’t matter whether a person lives or dies as long as it gets paid. That’s why our healthcare costs are so high, even though our life expectancy is so low.