Daily News Digest October 21, 20222
Images of the Day:
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!
Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capilalism Has Been Aware of the Comming Catastrophe of Global Warming 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 very future of Humanity Is Now At stake!
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:
Jorge Martin: Liz Truss was not the cause of the UK’s political and economic crisis, but merely a symptom or aggravating factor. The ruling class decided to get rid of it, but that doesn’t solve the plight faced by millions of families who cannot be fed every day and that has generated an unprecedented wave of strikes. I explained in 3 minutes for TeleSur (See Original)
Videos of the Day:
War and Revolution: A World on the Brink
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 the poor and gives to the Rich. Rax the Rich! — They Can Afford To Pay!
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.” ― Louis Brandeis
In America, Democracy Can Simply Be Bought by the Billionaires Citizens United lets billionaires set the terms of debate. “Since Citizens United, just 12 mega-donors, eight of them billionaires, have paid one dollar out of every 13 spent in federal elections.”
Utility CEOs See Soaring Pay as Families Struggle to Afford Energy Bills “This goes beyond run-of-the-mill executive greed, and it’s a stark example of rewarding failure,” said one critic.The top executives of utility giants in the United States are enjoying rising annual compensation as their customers in households across the country struggle to afford their high energy bills, with costs continuing to rise ahead of the winter months. An analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission filings by Utility Dive found that the CEO of California-based Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)—the largest utility firm in the U.S.—received $51.2 million in total compensation in 2021, an increase of 640% compared to her previous year’s pay.
Courts Assuming Executive/Legislative Powers!: Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Student Debt Cancellation Program “Don’t panic. Student debt relief isn’t dead,” one campaigner wrote in response to the court order. “And let this be a reminder. The folks who want to keep us in debt are organized. We need to be too.” The court’s one-page order said it decided to grant the GOP officials’ emergency request for an “administrative stay” preventing the Biden administration from “discharging any student loan debt under the cancellation program,” pending further review of the Republican legal challenge early next week.
Armed ‘Poll Watchers’ in Arizona Heighten Alarm Over Right-Wing Voter Intimidation “This is obviously totally incompatible with liberal democracy and an open society,” said one commentator. Video footage released Friday night showing armed individuals sitting near a ballot drop box in Mesa, Arizona is heightening alarm over right-wing intimidation efforts as early voting kicks off across the United States. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office told a local ABC affiliate that it is investigating several individuals who were watching a Mesa voting location on Friday. The department confirmed that two individuals at the site were armed.
Environment: Ecosocialism or Ecocide!:
Environmental Racism!: EPA(Finally!) Launches Civil Rights Investigation Into Mississippi Water Crisis EPA investigating whether state agencies discriminated against majority-Black city of Jackson by refusing to fund improvements The US Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements for its failing water system. The announcement came days after leaders of two congressional committees said they were starting a joint investigation into a crisis that left most homes and businesses in Jackson without running water for several days in late August and early September. Heavy rainfall in late August exacerbated problems at Jackson’s main water treatment facility. The Republican governor, Tate Reeves, declared an emergency 29 August, and the state health department and the Mississippi emergency management agency have been overseeing operations and repairs at the facility since then.
UK Court Acquits Climate Scientists Who Glued Their Hands to Government Building “The magistrates acknowledged that we were expressing our right to protest, which should be the cornerstone of any democracy,” one defendant said while noting the “raft of oppressive laws against legitimate protests being adopted in the U.K.”
Civil Rights/ Black Liberarion:
United States of Incarceration: 1 in 3 American Adults has a Prison Record!
Criminal Record Statistics That Can Shock You In 2022 Techjury is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Most people think of America as a global leader in technology, employment opportunities, and living standards. But did you know that the United States is also the global leader when it comes to incarcerations? Here are some shocking US criminal record statistics. Disturbing Criminal Record Statistics:
- One in every three US adults has a criminal record.
- There are 2.3 million people in prison in the US, a 500% increase over the last four decades.
- 27% of ex-convicts in the US are unemployed.
- Less than half of all crimes are reported.
- People of color only make up 37% of the total US population, but 67% of the US prison population.
- 17 million Americans are forbidden to cast their votes in the 2020 election because they have a felony record.
- The average bail bond in the US is $10,000.
Barriers to Work: People with Criminal Records Improving Access to Licensed Occupations for Individuals With Criminal Records Approximately 77 million Americans, or 1 in 3 adults, have a criminal record. Having a criminal record can make it difficult, or even impossible, for an individual to work in a given field, especially one that requires an occupational license. In 2014, employment barriers faced by people with felony convictions—including occupational licensing and other challenges, such as lower levels of education and job skills—were associated with a reduction in the overall employment rate, amounting to a loss of at least 1.7 million workers from the workforce and a cost of at least $78 billion to the economy.
Labor:
Despite Record Profits, Rail Companies Reject Union’s Demand for Paid Sick Leave Paid sick leave “has become a norm in this society,” said one labor organizer—one that rail carriers “can very easily afford.” A statement from the United States’ major freight rail companies left railroad workers feeling increasingly “disenfranchised and undervalued,” according to one labor organizer, as the National Carriers’ Conference Committee rejected a proposal from the third largest rail workers union which called for just seven days of paid sick leave per year. While claiming “the health, safety, and wellbeing of rail employees is a top priority for all railroads,” the NCCC said it would not accept the proposal from the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED), which was introduced last week.
Economy:
Michael Roberts Blog: Yet more predictions of a global recession in 2023. Oxford Economics: more pessimistic than the consensus and the IMF. And BNP Paribas reckons: “We now expect a terminal fed funds rate of 5.25%, thereby lifting policy rates to a sufficiently restrictive stance to cause recession… The recession is likely to start around Q2 2023 and endure for three to five quarters” Yet more predictions of a global recession in 2023. Oxford Economics: more pessimistic than the consensus and the IMF. And BNP Paribas reckons: “We now expect a terminal fed funds rate of 5.25%, thereby lifting policy rates to a sufficiently restrictive stance to cause recession… The recession is likely to start around Q2 2023 and endure for three to five quarters”
Inflation And Uncertainty
- Global economic activity is experiencing a broad-based and sharper-than-expected slowdown, with inflation higher than seen in several decades. The cost-of-living crisis, tightening financial conditions in most regions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic all weigh heavily on the outlook. Global growth is forecast to slow from 6.0 percent in 2021 to 3.2 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent in 2023. This is the weakest growth profile since 2001 except for the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Global inflation is forecast to rise from 4.7 percent in 2021 to 8.8 percent in 2022 but to decline to 6.5 percent in 2023 and to 4.1 percent by 2024. Monetary policy should stay the course to restore price stability, and fiscal policy should aim to alleviate the cost-of-living pressures while maintaining a sufficiently tight stance aligned with monetary policy. Structural reforms can further support the fight against inflation by improving productivity and easing supply constraints, while multilateral cooperation is necessary for fast-tracking the green energy transition and preventing fragmentation.
Global Prospects and Policies
- The slowdown in global economic activity is broad-based and sharper-than-expected, with inflation higher than seen in decades.
- The economic outlook depends on a successful calibration of monetary and fiscal policies, the course of the war in Ukraine, and growth prospects in China.
- Risks remain unusually large: monetary policy could miscalculate the right stance to reduce inflation; diverging policy paths in the largest economies could exacerbate the US dollar’s appreciation; tightening global financing could trigger emerging market debt distress; and a worsening of China’s property sector crisis could undermine growth.
- Policymakers should focus on restoring price stability and alleviating cost-of-living pressures. Multilateral cooperation remains necessary to fast-track the green energy transition and prevent fragmentation.
World:
Health,Education, 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
Dangerous New COVID-19 Variants Threaten Massive Fall-Winter Surge One month into the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere, it is clear that the next global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has begun. Due to the dismantling of testing and data reporting throughout much of the world, official infection figures are now largely worthless. The most accurate estimate of the real number of daily COVID-19 infections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) shows that 21 million people were infected globally on Wednesday, up 23 percent from the most recent trough of 17 million infections on September 27. Amid this deepening crisis, the ruling elites throughout the world have discovered the perfect cure for the pandemic: Simply ignore it and cover it up. At most, the broadcast news has brief segments on the pandemic once per month, while the print media just echoes the lies of the capitalist politicians.
Secret Files Suggest Chemical Giant Feared Weedkiller’s Link to Parkinson’s Disease. Documents seen by Guardian detail effort to refute scientific research into paraquat and derail nomination of key EPA adviser For decades, Swiss chemical giant Syngenta has manufactured and marketed a widely used weed-killing chemical called paraquat, and for much of that time the company has been dealing with external concerns that long-term exposure to the chemical may be a cause of the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease. Syngenta has repeatedly told customers and regulators that scientific research does not prove a connection between its weedkiller and the disease, insisting that the chemical does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, and does not affect brain cells in ways that cause Parkinson’s. But a cache of internal corporate documents dating back to the 1950s reviewed by the Guardian suggests that the public narrative put forward by Syngenta and the corporate entities that preceded it has at times contradicted the company’s own research and knowledge.