Daily News Digest May 23, 2023
Capitalism is Now a Worldwide Threat to Humanity! It is on the Fast Track to Global Warming and/or Nuclear War Catastrophes!
Images of the Day:
G7 to the World: Burn Baby Burn: (When Bodies Start Stacking Up From Climate Change-Related Disasters, Will These Monsters be Held to Account?) 
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 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:
The global environmental crisis and crumbling infrasticrure are two clear examples of capitalism in this current epoch of impeurrialist decay!
I remember in grade we learned that we have open borders! From Malik Miah: U.S. Anti-immigrant Policy Continues Under Biden: Solution: Open Borders. Open borders—South, North and othe ports of entry—should be implemented. It would give all refugees from economic crises caused by US sanctions, wars and by climate changes. The refugees should be given court dates, temporary work permits and allowed basic services. History shows that refugees like all immigrants create more wealth than they take in their transition to permanent residency and citizenship. Most immigrants are willing to do jobs that many native-born citizens won’t. Their children get educated and generally are successful. Democrats and the Republicans know these facts. An Open Border policy is the solution few will acknowledge since it begins with human rights not cruelty and scapegoating immigrants for society’s other problems.
After spending fifteen years researching more than 300,000 pages of declassified FBI and CIA documents, Washington Post staff writer Karl Evanzz summarized his findings in The Judas Factor (1992). Evanzz documents how the intelligence community, the CIA, the FBI, and the New York Police Bureau of Special Services and Investigation (BOSSI) used provocateurs and infiltrators to set the stage for the assassination of Malcolm X. “(A few days after Malcolm X’s press conference announcing his split from the Nation of Islam) William C. Sullivan (the FBI agent in charge of COINTELPRO) contacted the directors of BOSSI and asked them to recruit several African Americans to infiltrate Malcolm X’s new organization. [One of the directors], Anthony Ulasewicz … told Sullivan that he would have officers ready to infiltrate Malcolm X’s new organization within thirty days. While Sullivan was coordinating the domestic counter-intelligence program against Malcolm X with BOSSI, the CIA initiated a similar program to determine the extent of Malcolm X’s influence with Third World leaders.” (p.214) — The Judas Factor
I related and discussed the momentous events of 2015 in many posts at the time. I won’t go over the arguments presented then by the mainstream and within the left over what policy to adopt and what mistakes were made. You can read my views here. But also see this excellent account of the Greek debt crisis by Eric Toussaint. for which I wrote a preface. Syriza’s capitulation to the Troika despite the vote of the Greek people and its implementation of their demands in return for funding ensured victory for the ND in 2019. The legacy of that defeat in 2015 and the revival of Greek capitalism at the expense of Greek workers’ livelihoods since remains a black mark against the Syriza leaders. — Greece: another Chapter
Videos/Podcasts of the Day:
Journalists for Sale: Tucker, Teixeira and Taibbi (w/ Patrick Lawrence)
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. Tax 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
GOP Pushes for Even Larger Pentagon Budget Amid ‘Unconscionable’ Profiteering “Free advice for the speaker of the House: if you want to cut spending so bad, start and end with the Pentagon budget,” said one watchdog group. With the U.S. just 10 days away from a possible default, House Republicans are now demanding a military budget even larger than the record $858 billion that Congress authorized for the current fiscal year as they continue pushing for steep cuts to key aid programs. The GOP demand was reported over the weekend after Republican negotiators rejected a White House offer to “freeze” both military and non-military spending—an idea that congressional Republicans previously appeared open to—in exchange for a debt ceiling increase, causing talks to break down. The powerful defense industry, which donates heavily to Democrats and Republicans, howled in protest earlier this year at the prospect of military spending cuts.
Military Drones are Swarming the Skies of Ukraine and Anything Goes When It Comes to International Law That is daily life in Ukraine, where pilotless vehicles known as drones litter the sky in an endless video gamelike – but actually very real – war with Russia. Both Russia and Ukraine are using drones in this war to remotely locate targets and drop bombs, among other purposes.
Chris Hedges: Why the Conspiracy Theory About Trump and Russia Won’t Go Away The latest investigation into the charges that Donald Trump’s campaign worked in concert with the Russian government exposes a cynical collaboration between Trump opponents and the FBI. There is no report, investigation or new revelation, including the recent release of Special Counsel John Durham’s “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns” that will implode the myth that Russia was responsible for the election of Donald Trump. Myths are impervious to facts. They fulfill an emotional yearning. They are a short circuit from reality into a world of childish simplicity. Hard and painful questions are avoided. Thought-terminating cliches are spat out to blissfully embrace a willed ignorance. The cynical con the Democratic Party and the FBI carried out to falsely portray Donald Trump as a puppet of the Kremlin worked, and continues to work, because it is what those who detest Trump want to believe.
‘Chilling’: Rights Advocates Blast FBI for Abusing Surveillance Tool 278,000+ Times “The FBI’s systematic misuse of these resources proves that it (and the rest of the federal government) simply can’t be trusted to wield this sort of power,” said one campaigner. “Let 702 die.” Friday’s “alarming” revelations about U.S. law enforcement’s abuse of a powerful surveillance tool “confirmed the worst fears of advocates” and likely further complicated a brewing battle in Congress over reauthorizing a constitutionally dubious spying law.
Biden Keeps Doing His Beast to Elect Trump!: Abortion Rights Activists Face Attack From Desantis and Conspiracy Lawsuit — For Spray Painting The absurd RICO allegations come after the Biden administration hit the activists with federal charges that carry a 12-year sentence.
Environment — Ecosocialism of Ecocide!:
War and Climate Crisis Threaten Global Progress on Human Health, Warns UN Chief “We can return to the path of progress. We can realize our ambitions for health and well-being for all,” said António Guterres. “But only if the world works together… despite the tensions straining relations between nations.” “Progress is in peril.” That was United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ warning Sunday to the 76th World Health Assembly.
‘A Death Sentence’: Green Groups Decry G7 Support for More Gas Investments “Energy security can only be achieved by rapidly and equitably phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy, not locking in deadly fossil fuels and lining the pockets of oil and gas executives,” said one critic.
Even at Ground Zero of the Climate Crisis Denial Remains the Norm As much talk about nuclear war instills fears of the world ending for many, climate disaster ominously looms in the background, eating away at the environment around us.
Weekly Average CO2 at Mauna Loa. Week beginning on May 14, 2023: 423.45 ppm. Weekly value from 1 year ago: 421.20 ppm. Weekly value from 10 years ago: 400.14 ppm
Only 13 Percent of Methane Emissions Are Actually Regulated, Study Shows Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and the second biggest driver of global warming. Our study is the first global review of methane policies which have been adopted across the world since the 1970s. It reveals that only around 13% of man-made methane emissions from the biggest sources (agriculture, energy and waste) is regulated by policies capable of controlling and preventing them.
Proposed PFAS Regulations Ignore Major Source of Drinking Water Contamination Certain “precursor” compounds can transform into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances when subjected to right conditions. A study published Monday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology finds that PFAS “precursors” from firefighting foam can make their way into the soil and groundwater, where they slowly transform into the carcinogenic substances the EPA targeted. At a military site in Massachusetts — the focus of the study — these precursors accounted for roughly half of all groundwater contamination by those chemicals. But on a national scale they are infrequently monitored, and none are regulated. Bridger Ruyle, the study’s lead author and a former doctoral student at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said the results raise concerns about ongoing PFAS pollution at hundreds of military locations. Regulators are “missing the big-picture chemistry at these sites,” he told Grist.
‘Roads Have Disappeared’: Italy Begins Cleanup After Catastrophic Floods Emilia-Romagna still on alert, with 36,000 people homeless after six months’ worth of rain fell in 36 hours
On Belonging to Earth—and a Shared Humanity “ we belong to the Earth rather than to a nation.” The changes that human civilization as a whole must make in order to rescue the global ecosystem – devastated by human exploitation and pollution – are almost beyond comprehension. “. . . we belong to the Earth rather than to a nation . . .” These words stick in my heart like a wedding ring. They emanate a cutting glow, a crying wish and hope that slices to the core of me. At the same time, I feel surrounded by a cynical “realism”: Don’t be a fool. A marriage like that isn’t possible. Be grateful you’re an American. Arm yourself! We’re being invaded. The border! When the term is used, it virtually always means the southern one, where migrants die in the desert – an estimated 10,000 over the last 25 years. Yeah, the southern border, America’s vulnerable spot, where hordes of Third Worlders congregate, shaking their fists, demanding entry and access to our wealth, our jobs. For lots of Americans, the response is obvious; it’s basic racism. They’re different from us! That means they don’t belong here.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Only He’s Different
If you grew up in Northeast Ohio and were Black, Jim Brown was a God. As a kid who loved football, I really just thought of him as the greatest Cleveland Brown to ever play. Then I started my own journey as a professional athlete and realized what he did socially was his true greatness. When I choose to speak out, I always think about Jim Brown. — Lebron James, LeBron James pays tribute to Cleveland legend Jim Brown
Labor:
Economy:
The Banking Crisis for the Biggest U.S. Banks Began in April 2022; By December 14 They Had Shed $457 Billion of Deposits Pretty much everything the average American has read about the banking crisis is wrong. And there is at least a prima facie case that could be made that Big Media is responsible for that misinformation. Let’s start with the dozens of mainstream media reports that small banks were bleeding deposits and these deposits were flooding into the biggest banks in the U.S. as a safe haven. Those reports gave the distinct impression that the mega banks on Wall Street are viewed by Americans as a safe place to stash money, never mind that they blew up the U.S. financial system in 2008 and still have more than $200 trillion in derivatives lurking in the shadows.
World:
The Guardian View on England’s Water Companies: A Badly Broken System Ministers were warned about the risks of private equity entering the sector but did nothing. Now we’re paying the price Ministers were warned about the risks of private equity entering the sector but did nothing. Now we’re paying the price The revelation should anger all who care about England’s rivers and beaches. Two decades ago, ministers were warned about private equity firms buying up water companies. In a briefing prepared for Britain’s competition regulator prior to the takeover of Southern Water, researchers raised the alarm that private equity-owned water companies would become “impossible” to regulate. Despite the 20-year transparency rule, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has not released the briefing. Its existence was uncovered by this newspaper. Though its full contents remain secret, its implications are clear: ministers were alerted to the devastating impact that this industry could have on England’s water supply, but they chose not to act.
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 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