Daily News Digest January 26, 2023

Daily News Digest Archives

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The U.S. Blockade of Cuba Hurts Medical Patients in Both Countries

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!apitalism as a Failed  System: World Capitalism 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:

But we must see that the struggle today is much more difficult. It’s more difficult today because we are struggling now for genuine equality. And it’s much easier to integrate a lunch counter than it is to guarantee a livable income and a good solid job. It’s much easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee the right to live in sanitary, decent housing conditions. It is much easier to integrate a public park than it is to make genuine, quality, integrated education a reality. And so today we are struggling for something which says we demand genuine equality.     It’s not merely a struggle against extremist behavior toward Negroes. And I’m convinced that many of the very people who supported us in the struggle in the South are not willing to go all the way now. I came to see this in a very difficult and painful way in Chicago the last year where I’ve lived and worked. Some of the people who came quickly to march with us in Selma and Birmingham weren’t active around Chicago. — MartinLuther King Jr. Speech: The Other America 1967

Videos/Podcasts of the Day:

As Germany & U.S. Agree on Tanks for Ukraine, German MP Accuses U.S. of Pushing Berlin into Proxy War

Jeremy Scahill: Biden & Trump Scandals Point to Deeper Problems with Overclassification of Gov’t Docs

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 Republicrats 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! Both Parties Support U.S. Capitalism’s Wars! (The Only War the Democrats Opposed was the Civil War!)

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 D. Brandeis Quotes

The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government. MLK, Beyond Vietnam 

The U.S. Blockade of Cuba Hurts Medical Patients in Both Countries Scientists in Cuba believe that the breakthroughs they have made in the health care and technology sectors should be used to save and improve lives beyond the country’s borders. This is why the island nation has developed important scientific and medical partnerships with organizations and governments across the globe, including with those in Mexico, Palestine, Angola, Colombia, Iran, and Brazil.   How-ever, such collaborations are difficult due to the blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States, which has now been in place for the last six decades.     In a conference, “Building Our Future,” held in Havana in November 2022, which brought together youth from Cuba and the United States, scientists at the Cuban Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) stated during a presentation that the blockade hurts the people of the United States, too. By lifting the sanctions against Cuba, the scientists argued, the people of the United States could have access to life-saving treatments being developed in Cuba, especially against diseases such as diabetes, which ravage working-class communities each year. 

Chris Hedges: The Plague of Social Isolation The rupture of social bonds and loss of community, caused by the decades-long assault on the poor and working class and the ravages of the pandemic, have resulted in a dangerous social isolation. . . . These ecosystems knit the social bonds that ground us to a community. They give us a sense of place, identity and worth. The economic dislocation of the past few decades, aggravated by the pandemic, have weakened or severed these bonds, leaving us disconnected, atomized, trapped in a debilitating anomie that fosters rage, despair, loneliness and fuels the epidemic of substance abuse, depression and suicidal ideation. Estranged from society, we become estranged from ourselves.  This social isolation, exacerbated by social media, is a plague, leaving the vulnerable prey to groups and demagogues that promise a sense of belonging and purpose in return for loyalty to a dogmatic political or religious ideology. “The chief characteristic of the mass man is not brutality and backwardness,” Hannah Arendt writes, “but his isolation and lack of normal social relations.” Social isolation is the lifeblood of totalitarian movements. There are many things I fear about the future, but this unmooring is one of the most ominous.

 The United States is Like the Roman Empire is Decline — Decadence at the Top!: New Brett Kavanaugh Documentary Sparks Call for DOJ Probe “I do hope this triggers outrage. I do hope that this triggers action, I do hope that this triggers additional investigation with real subpoena powers,” producer Amy Herdy said.     The surprise premiere of a documentary revealing “shocking new allegations” of sexual crimes committed decades ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh sparked new calls on Monday for Senate and Justice Department investigations.

Environment — Ecosocialism of Ecocide!:

Davos 2023 Showed Us a Ruling Class Incapable of Resolving Global Crises Uncertainty and fractures among the lords of transnational capital were on display at the World Economic Forum in Davos. . . . The World Economic Forum served as a premier clearinghouse and planning body of the transnational capitalist class and its political allies during the heyday of capitalist globalization. But now the ruling groups appear to be in permanent crisis management. The Davos elite are acutely aware that global capitalism faces a series of interlinked crises — what the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report for 2023 termed a “poll crisis.” The world is facing “inflation, cost-of-living crises, trade wars, capital outflows from emerging markets, widespread social unrest, geopolitical confrontation and the spectre of nuclear war,” warned the report. These risks are “amplified by comparatively new developments in the global risks landscape, including unsustainable levels of debt, a new era of low growth, low global investment and deglobalization, a decline in human development after decades of progress, rapid and unconstrained development of dual-use (civilian and military) technologies, and the growing pressure of climate change impacts.”  

Staring an Ecological and Humanitarian Disaster in the Face The history of the FSO Safer is nearly impossible to believe.     The Red Sea is a rich marine haven, diverse and home to hundreds of species of fish and coral colonies. At its southern mouth, it also harbors an almost half-century old static oil tanker.     If one were to recount the history of FSO Safer, this fuel storage and off-loading (FSO) vessel, most would find it impossible to believe. Thirty years ago, it was grounded about five miles off the west coast of Yemen; it is still there! To make matters worse, it is also loaded with almost all of its original cargo. This amounts to 1.1 million barrels of oil or four times what was on the Exxon Valdez, which caused the worst environmental disaster in US history.

‘Unprecedented Danger’: Doomsday Clock Set at 90 Seconds to Midnight  “The Doomsday Clock is sounding an alarm for the whole of humanity,” said the Elders chair. “We are on the brink of a precipice. But our leaders are not acting at sufficient speed or scale to secure a peaceful and liveable planet.”     “We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality.”     That’s what Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists president and CEO Rachel Bronson said in a statement Tuesday about the historic symbol being set at 90 seconds to midnight, or global catastrophe, after three years at 100 seconds to midnight. 

Climate Crisis Making Millions Too Poor to Escape… the Climate Crisis “Ongoing climate change is keeping many people in the Global South in poverty, making it more difficult for them to migrate,” said the co-author of a new study. “Thus climate change deprives people of an important way to adapt to its impacts and increases the gap between rich and poor.”    As the worsening climate emergency creates an increasing number of migrants around the world, the economic effects of the planetary crisis are paradoxically making millions of people throughout the Global South too poor to escape its ravages.     That’s according to a study published recently in the journal Environmental Research Letters by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany.

Civil Rights Black Liberation:

Black Agenda Report

 Labor:

While Blocking Paid Sick Leave, Union Pacific Spent More on Stock Buybacks Than Workers While Blocking Paid Sick Leave, Union Pacific Spent More on Stock Buybacks Than Workers “Instead of buying back their own stock, UP should be investing in their employees by offering paid sick leave, reasonable schedules, and a better quality of life for railroaders,” said one union president.     Union Pacific, one of the largest rail corporations in the United States, said Tuesday that it brought in record revenue and profits last year as it successfully fought off workers’ push for paid sick leave.     The company reported $7 billion in net income for 2022 as a whole and said it spent a whopping $6.3 billion repurchasing its own shares—significantly more than the $4.6 billion it spent on employee pay and benefits last year.

Economy:

Michael Roberts Blog: January’s Business Activity Indexes for the Major Economies are Out. 

  • Australia remained in contraction territory with its PMI (as it is called) at 48.2, anything below 50 means a fall in activity.
  • Japan creeped back to 50.8, suggesting a little recovery this month.
  • The Eurozone as a whole also reached 50.2.above the watermark; but the UK PMI fell sharply to 47.9, its lowest level in a year.
  • The US stayed well into contraction territory at 46.6, if better than December’s 45.0 – see graph.
  • Overall, the major economies stagnated at best in January, with the UK and the US economic activity continuing to fall.

Shadow Government Satistics Money Supply Charts The Fed ceased publishing M-3, its broadest money supply measure, in March 2006. The SGS M-3 Continuation estimates current M-3 based on ongoing Fed reporting of M-3’s largest components (M-2, institutional money funds and partial large time deposits) and proprietary modeling of the balance. See the Money Supply Special Report for full definitions.     In February 2021, the Fed redefined its narrowest M-1 Money Supply measure back to May 2020, to incorporate the bulk of Non M-1 M-2, with headline M-1 now covering 93% of total M-2, instead of the prior 28%.  In order to preserve the information reflected in the most liquid measures of M-1, ShadowStats uses the Basic M-1 Money Supply in its charts and Table here.  The original Money Supply measure, Basic M-1 is defined as Currency plus Demand Deposits (checking accounts).

Special Edition Shadow Government Statistics Daily Update January 23rd to 24th

  • THE NEWS: Energy Information Agency report shows domestic gasoline prices up by 10% in the last four weeks. Friday’s (January 20th) release of December 2022 Existing Home Sales continued in full quarterly year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter contractions, as also seen in Fourth-Quarter 2022 reporting of Thursday’s (January 19th) December 2022 New Residential Construction, and in the prior day’s (January 18th) December Retail Sales and Industrial Production. See the later ECONOMY, INFLATION, and LATEST NUMBERS Sections for the headline details.
  • PENDING COVERAGE: December 2022 Money Supply (Tuesday, January 24th); Fourth-Quarter 2022 GDP, December Durable Goods and New Home Sales (Thursday, January 26th). — WJW
  • SPECIAL COMMENTARY — PENDING RECESSION(S) — Come 8:30 a.m. ET, Thursday morning, January 26th, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) likely will report a “recovered” Second-Half 2022 inflation-adjusted “Real” GDP, with headline Fourth-Quarter 2022 Real GDP growth expected to gain at an annualized quarterly pace of roughly 3% +/- 1%, following an unrevised annualized 3.2% gain in Third-Quarter 2022. Yet, that headline positive growth in Second-Half 2022 will have been driven solely by the Biden Administration’s Election-Year political and economic maneuvering and manipulations tied to the export of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) depletion, orchestrated politically, not by common positive movement seen in a regular business cycle.
  • A TWO-QUARTER RECESSION ALREADY IS IN PLACE, BUT WILL IT BE DEFINED AS EXTENDED, OR AS A POLITICIZED DOUBLE-DIP? Shy of the late-year 2022 SPR orchestrated Oil Export gains, Third- and Fourth-Quarter 2022 GDP would have been reported in headline contraction, completing four consecutive quarters of what otherwise would be reported as a still unfolding headline 2022 Recession, with strong indications of continued GDP contraction going into 2023, exacerbated by the Federal Reserve’s recent, massive interest rate hikes.
  • Headline First- and Second-Quarter 2022 GDP declines already have survived their first annual benchmark revisions, showing respective annualized quarterly contractions of 1.5% (-1.5%) and 0.6% (-0.6%), enough to qualify as a standalone recession, as is. Headline recessions formally are defined or called by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER – https://www.nber.org/research/business-cycle-dating ). That traditional arbiter of the U.S. business cycle, however, occasionally has made exceptions to its rules on recession definition. For example, where a recession (only the period of business contraction or downside economic movement) standardly must cover at least two quarters. Yet, the Pandemic-driven collapse of only two months (March and April 2022) was defined as a “Recession.”
  • Consider an orchestrated, distorted positive boost to the headline GDP in the last two quarters of 2022 that shifted headline growth into positive territory, from what otherwise would have been continuing quarter-to-quarter contractions. Exported SPR oil turned the Net Exports account from a net economic drain to a net economic gain. Those otherwise still-evolving current economic contractions underlie and will transcend the manipulated, SPR-depletion-bloated headline Second-Half 2022 GDP numbers, resulting in what could be described as a temporarily masked headline “Recession,” which simply will resurface or be renewed in First-Quarter 2023, assuming the current headline Second-Quarter 2022 GDP SPR gimmicks are left in place.

The U.S. Congress Twiddled Its Thumbs on Crypto while 10 Countries Banned It and 42 Others Placed Heavy Restrictions On January 31 of last year, Oliver Sullivan reported at Lawyer Monthly that the growing list of countries “that wholly banned cryptocurrencies includes China, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh and (as of this month) Kosovo. Forty-two others have passed restrictions to this effect, prohibiting crypto exchanges or limiting the ability of banks to engage with crypto.”     Compare that to the United States, which increasingly looks like a financial backwater, with questionable crypto deposits blowing up federally-insured banks; collapsing publicly-listed crypto mining stocks whose business model is to pump more fossil fuels into the atmosphere in order to solve complex mathematical problems that have no productive purpose; $8 billion in customer funds going missing at the FTX crypto exchange which was promoted by media darlings on television; and, of course, Big Law firms getting fat at the crypto bankruptcy trough after shilling for these same crypto firms for years before federal regulators.

World:

Recollections of a Soviet Citizen: Discovering Trotsky in Paris We are very happy to share the recollections of a member of our French organisation (Révolution), who was born in Moscow in the 1960s, and later moved to Paris, joining the PCF (Communist Party of France) and eventually the IMT. There, he discovered Trotsky’s writings, which accurately reflected the comrade’s experiences of the bureaucratic regime in the USSR. This is a fascinating insight into what life was really like in the USSR (both good and bad), and a personal testament to the correctness of Trotsky’s ideas.

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 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!