Daily News Digest August 31, 2016

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Daily News Digest August 31, 2016

Images of the Day:

Fred Hampton Quotes of the Day:

 . . . In the present world, the rights of the capitalists to make a profit are in direct conflict with our basic rights. In this sense, the capitalist system has become a threat to humanity. Jefferson’s words, from the Declaration of Independence, that human rights are unalienable, mean that these rights can never be superseded. At all points of conflict the rights of humanity to survive must supersede the right of the few to make a profit. The right to a safe environment is an unalienable human right! Since environmental illness and destruction are a global concern, it requires all of humanity to act collectively, in our overall interests for our survival as a species, to correct the problem and to remove the obstacle of capitalism. It requires a society where humanity has social, economic, and political control over the entire environment. Such a society, a socialist society, is needed to ensure that all decisions affecting the environment are under the democratic control of humankind so that the production of goods will be done for the needs and survival of humanity instead of the production and the destruction of humanity and other species for profit. With common ownership of the means of production, and common control and protection of all property and wealth, science and society will be in harmony with the ecosystem and humanity’s future. With these goals we can begin to build a more effective environmental movement. As we continue to organize against capitalism and its destructive course, we can and will transform the world. Roland Sheppard, Whither Humanity? The Environmental Crisis of Capitalism

 After 400 Years of Genocide, Should Native Americans Stand at Attention for the National Anthem? — Roland Sheppard

The Media Monopoly Stands for the National Anthem, But Not the Bill Rights! — Roland Sheppard

Video of the Day:

Glenn Greenwald: Regardless of Trump, Journalists Must Do Their Homework and Investigate Clinton

 U.S.

Spirit Wins and Media Lies Lose at Standing Rock Protest By Georgianne NienaberIt Makes No Sense for Colin Kaepernick to Sing an Anthem That Celebrates Murder of African-Americans The San Francisco 49ers quarterback making headlines for his protest against racism and police violence is making a crucial point about the U.S.; Fox News may be on its last leg at last; meanwhile, the disclaimer at the end of most films claiming they’re fiction oddly enough has to do with Grigori Rasputin, the historical Russian mystic. These discoveries and more below. Colin Kaepernick Is Righter Than You Know: The National Anthem Is a Celebration of Slavery
Almost no one seems to be aware that even if the U.S. were a perfect country today, it would be bizarre to expect African-American players to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Why? Because it literally celebrates the murder of African-Americans.Environment:

 World is Warming at Rate ‘Unprecedented’ for 1,000 Years ‘People who think this is over are viewing the world through rose-tinted spectacles. This is a chronic problem for society for the next 100 years’ by Nadia Prupis

To Stop Climate Change, Don’t Just Cut Carbon. Redistribute Wealth. Climate disruption is inextricably linked to economic inequality. Serious climate solutions must be, too. By Jorge Villarreal The Anthropocene Is Here: Humanity Has Pushed Earth Into a New Epoch The epoch is thought to have begun in the 1950s, when human activity set global systems on a different trajectory by Deirdre Fulton Ongoing/Big Energy Disasters:

‘The Mother of All Risks’: Insurance Giants Call on G20 to Stop Bankrolling Fossil Fuels Multinational firms managing $1.2tn in assets declare subsidies for coal, oil, and gas ‘simply unsustainable’ By Lauren McCauleyBlack Liberation/Civil Rights:

 The Assassination of Fred Hampton 45 Years Later “You can kill a revolutionary but you can never kill the revolution.”  In the early hours of December 4, 1969, a dozen Chicago Police Department officers stormed into the ground floor apartment of Black Panther Party (BPP) Chairman Fred Hampton, and fired between 82 and 99 shots killing Hampton, 21 years old, and BPP member Mark Clark, while they slept. The seven survivors of the raid were arrested on charges for attempted murder. The police, led by Cook County State’s Attorney Edward Hanrahan, claimed it had been a “shootout,” and that they had to storm the apartment because the Panthers had been firing on the police officers.Thousands Sign Petition Supporting SF 49er Colin Kaepernick’s Brave Stance on Racial Justice As criticism mounts, so do defenders. By Steven RosenfeldKareem Abdul-Jabbar Speaks up When Brown arrived on the NFL scene in 1957, he fought for equal rights in a league that still limited the number and influence of African-American players. “We had to fight in a certain kind of way to make it better,” Brown said, “so these young people can make the kind of money they’re making and the league can be 80 percent African American. “Young men in my day really stepped up. … These were champions for freedom, equality and justice for all humans beings, and they were educated individuals that used their education and knowledge to represent their case. So now 50 years later we have a young man saying something that was kind of taken for granted in our day. We were way past that. For me it’s like going back in time.” While professional athletes have been reluctant to speak out in recent years, Brown believes there are signs that they are becoming more outspoken and willing to deal with the public backlash — as Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett implored late last month. “Absolutely. I think Pandora’s Box is open. I’m very happy that it is,” Brown continued. “So many years, we had the great Michael Jordan who stated that Republicans buy sneakers, too. … And for a couple of generations it was about making money, not messing with your image. And the agents became the pivotal figure for a lot of these guys. And the agents kept reminding them that you have to be this all-American boy to make these kind of dollars and these dollars are astronomical dollars. So the money came into the culture and created a couple of generations of individuals who did not want to speak up.” — Jim Brown: I’m with Colin Kaepernick ‘100 percent’

Spike Lee: Kaepernick Not Standing for Pledge in the ‘Tradition’ of Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson Monday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” filmmaker Spike Lee weighed in on the controversy involving San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand for the national anthem at an exhibition NFL game over the weekend. Lee told host Anderson Cooper that Kaepernick’s stand was in the tradition of unpopular stands Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson had taken in their careers to make a political statement.U.S. Government Bans Native American Tribe From Protesting On Their Own Land — Send In Police To Remove ProtestersLabor:

 Economy:

At a Time of Political Darkness in America, Our Whistleblowers and Activists Give Us Reason to Hope Over the past week Rasmussen polls have captured the epic disgust of voters in the direction America is heading. Only 31 percent of likely voters believe the country is heading in the right direction; 67 percent of voters are angry at the current policies of the federal government; and just 24 percent trust the federal government to do the right thing most or nearly all the time. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens

 World:

Who’s afraid of Leon Trotsky? Jeremy Corbyn has shifted British society to the left in many ways. He has encouraged a revival of a number of supposedly antiquated notions: the large-scale nationalisation, the strike and the protest. But perhaps most surprising of all is that Corbyn (or more specifically the campaign against him) has brought the name Leon Trotsky into the mainstream of political debate in Britain.Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: