Daily News Digest June 7, 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:
Deficit Nation: Ted Rall:Deficit hawks say that the government should live within its means, like us. They obviously haven’t heard of auto loans, home, mortgages, student loans, or credit card debt. Americans carry trillions of dollars of debt for purchases they couldn’t afford.
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:
Usury laws and the Supreme Court How do the credit card companies get away with charging usurious interest rates to “customers” all across the country? The Supreme Court has been a big help. In Marquette National Bank v. First of Omaha Corp., the Court allowed First Omaha, a nationally chartered bank based out of Nebraska, to charge its cardholders in Minnesota a rate of interest acceptable under Nebraska law but illegal under Minnesota usury law. In an opinion written by Justice Brennan, the court held that the National Bank Act provision, which authorizes a national banking association “to charge on any loan” interest at the rate allowed by the laws of the State “where the bank is located” preempted Minnesota state law. The result: a nationally chartered bank can charge all of its cardholders according to the law of the state where it is chartered. — Why Can Credit Card Companies Charge Such High Interest Rates?
FromThomas Paine, The Rights of Man: In France aristocracy had one feature less in its countenance than what it has in some other countries. It did not compose a body of hereditary legislators. It was not “‘a corporation of aristocracy, for such I have heard M. de la Fayette describe an English House of Peers. Let us then examine the grounds upon which the French Constitution has resolved against having such a House in France.
- Because, in the first place, as is already mentioned, aristocracy is kept up by family tyranny and injustice.
- Because there is an unnatural unfitness in an aristocracy to be legislators for a nation. Their ideas of distributive justice are corrupted at the very source. They begin life by trampling on all their younger brothers and sisters, and relations of every kind, and are taught and educated so to do. With what ideas of justice or honour can that man enter a house of legislation, who absorbs in his own person the inheritance of a whole family of children or doles out to them some pitiful portion with the insolence of a gift?
- Because the idea of hereditary legislators is as inconsistent as that of hereditary judges, or hereditary juries; and as absurd as an hereditary mathematician, or an hereditary wise man; and as ridiculous as an hereditary poet laureate.
- Because a body of men (Supreme Court — R.S.), holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody.
- Because it is continuing the uncivilised principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property in man, and governing him by personal right.
- Because aristocracy has a tendency to deteriorate the human species. By the universal economy of nature it is known, and by the instance of the Jews it is proved, that the human species has a tendency to degenerate, in any small number of persons, when separated from the general stock of society, and inter-marrying constantly with each other. It defeats even its pretended end, and becomes in time the opposite of what is noble in man. Mr. Burke talks of nobility; let him show what it is. The greatest characters the world have known have arisen on the democratic floor.
Aristocracy has not been able to keep a proportionate pace with democracy. The artificial NOBLE shrinks into a dwarf before the NOBLE of Nature; and in the few instances of those (for there are some in all countries) in whom nature, as by a miracle, has survived in aristocracy, THOSE MEN DESPISE IT. — But it is time to proceed to a new subject.
Videos/Podcasts of the Day:
David Sirota: Working Class Will Be “Deeply Harmed” by Biden’s “Big Win” on Debt Ceiling
This Video Was Blacked by YouTube!: Journalists for Sale: US Troops to Peru, Castillo’s and the Future of Latin America (w/ Ben Norton)Coup
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
The Enduring Cost of War . . . The tremendous stress of war increases the chances of interpersonal violence, particularly against women. When the victims of violence are pregnant women, the intergenerational effect manifests as the increase of still births and premature births among them. Mothers who were the children of Holocaust survivors were shown to have higher levels of psychological stress and less positive parenting skills. During the siege of Sarajevo, perinatal mortality and morbidity almost doubled, and there was a significant increase in the number of children born with malformations. By analyzing the number of people killed indirectly by the “War on Terror” in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, a report by the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs estimates that the war in those countries resulted in 3.6 – 3.7 million indirect deaths, while the total death toll in those same countries could reach at least 4.5 – 4.6 million, and counting.
Chris Hedges: Dr. Cornel West Announces He Is Running for President Dr. Cornel West, in his first interview since deciding to enter the U.S. presidential race, explains why he is a candidate. Dr. Cornel West, the moral philosopher and civil rights activist, will formally announce today he is running for president on the People’s Party ticket. Cornel will be a singular voice for serious social and political change in an electoral system saturated with corporate money and rigged to crush third parties. His decades-long commitment to the oppressed, his fierce opposition to American militarism and empire, his condemnation of the grotesque avarice of the billionaire class, and his determination to halt the ongoing ecocide, will see him contemptuously dismissed by the establishment. For all of these reasons we must support him.
The People’s Party For peace, freedom and prosperity Cornel West announces run for president with the People’s Party!
1. Create True DemocracyClean out government corruption and create a true democracy. Get money out of politics and ban corporate lobbying. Enact term limits in Congress and switch to hand-counted paper ballots.
2. Revitalize Our Economy Guarantee quality education, housing, paid leave, and a living wage to all. Curb inflation, support unions, and expand Social Security.
3. Medicare for All. Create a national single-payer health care system. Lower drug prices and abolish medical debt.
4. End the Wars Create True Democracy Clean out government corruption and create a true democracy. Get money out of politics and ban corporate lobbying. Enact term limits in Congress and switch to hand-counted paper ballots.
5. Revitalize Our Economy Guarantee quality education, housing, paid leave, and a living wage to all. Curb inflation, support unions, and expand Social Security.il Liberties Guarantee equal rights to all Americans. Restore free speech, protect choice, end the drug war, and abolish mass incarceration.
6. Protect the Environment Clean up pollution in our food, water and air. Tackle climate change and shift to regenerative agriculture.
Journalists for Sale: US Troops to Peru, Castillo’s Coup and the Future of Latin America (w/ Ben Norton) Ben Norton breaks down the recent deployment of U.S. troops to Peru, and the shocking events that have led to this moment. On this week’s episode of Journalists for Sale, hosts Diego Ramos and Max Jones talk to Geopolitical Economy Report founder and editor Ben Norton about the deployment of U.S. troops in Peru, and America’s unwavering support for the brutal military dictatorship that has proceeded the coup on former President Pedro Castillo.
Biden Hailed Debt Deal as a Win for the US. But Who Actually Won? President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a debt ceiling deal into law that averts a catastrophic default by the United States through January 1, 2025, hailing it as a “big win” for the country. Critics say the agreement protects wealthy corporations and tax dodgers while imposing new cuts on key social programs and expanding work requirements for some recipients of food stamps. The legislation has also been called a “dirty deal” by climate activists because it rolls back environmental regulations and fast-tracks the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia, a pet project of powerful Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. “The working class of this country was deeply harmed by this bill,” says investigative journalist David Sirota of The Lever. He also faults Democratic leaders for not raising the debt ceiling after the midterm elections, when the party still had control of Congress. “What you see is a picture of a party
As US Considers Reoccupying Haiti, History Shows Occupation Is the Root Problem. The tragedy unfolding in Haiti is a direct result of over a century of U.S. political, military and economic coercion. The United States government is spearheading an effort to reinvade and reoccupy Haiti. On May 4, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, led the latest diplomatic anti-Haitian assault traveling to Brasilia to try to convince the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to again lead the “multilateral effort.” Bogged down in a proxy war in Ukraine to the tune of $113 billion, the Biden administration has been searching for a Caribbean Community and Common Market nation or another ally to deputize to carry out the unpopular mission. Under the guise of humanitarianism, and as a potential prelude to a full-scale invasion, Canada has been sending spy aircraft, ships and military aid to the Haitian National Police. The unelected, Core Group/U.S.-backed Haitian prime minister, Ariel Henry, has been calling for a foreign intervention since October 7
Envionment:
Nuclear Fusion: Eternal Energy = Eternal Damnation Nuclear fusion is far, far too expensive to provide energy “too cheap to meter” during upcoming decades. Not only is tritium (costing $30,000 per gram) necessary to start the initial reaction, reactors must be lined with expensive lithium. Equipment to make the tiny event happen is enormous, requiring space equal to three football fields. The complexity of the system requires twice as many employees – 1000 for fusion vs. 500 for a fission reactor. This helps explain why original cost projections of $6.3 billion mushroomed to DOE’s current estimate of $65 billion.
Civil Rights/Black Liberation:
Labor:
Journalists at US’s Largest Newspaper Company Walk Out Against Corporate Greed They say CEO Mike Reed has overseen the gutting of local newsrooms while collecting a multimillion-dollar salary. As shareholders gathered at the annual meeting of Gannett, the largest newspaper company in the United States following a 2019 merger, hundreds of unionized employees from across the country walked off the job on Monday to demand investors take action against what the journalists say is corporate greed at the top of the organization. The journalists, who are represented by the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America (CWA), say CEO and chairman Mike Reed has overseen the gutting of local newsrooms across the country at Gannett’s more than 300 publications, jeopardizing readers’ access to local news and threatening the livelihoods of reporters while Reed collects a multi-million-dollar salary.
Economy:
JPMorgan and Citigroup Are Using the Same Accounting Maneuver as Silicon Valley Bank on Hundreds of Billions of Underwater Debt Securities As we reported yesterday, Silicon Valley Bank was not even on the “Problem Bank List” maintained by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) when it imploded in a span of 48 hours in March. According to testimony by the Federal Reserve’s Vice Chairman for Supervision, Michael Barr, on March 28 before the Senate Banking Committee, depositors had yanked $42 billion of their deposits from the bank on March 9 and had queued up to grab another $100 billion on March 10 when it was abruptly put into FDIC receivership. Had the FDIC not stepped in, Silicon Valley Bank would have lost 85 percent of its deposits in a two-day stretch. Two of the key internal problems at Silicon Valley Bank were its large amount of uninsured deposits (which pose a flight risk in times of banking turmoil) and Silicon Valley Bank’s decision to classify 43 percent of its assets to the Held-to-Maturity (HTM) category. Under a highly controversial accounting rule, HTM debt instruments are not marked to market or shown on the balance sheet at fair value, but are instead listed at amortized cost – effectively what was paid for the debt instrument at the time of its purchase
World:
From The Ukrainian Offensive: Preliminary Assessment: In the bloody battle for Bakhmut, Ukraine lost a very large number of experienced troops, whereas the Russian losses seem to have been mainly confined to the Wagner Group, which did most of the fighting and is not even part of the Russian army. The main Russian forces are intact and entrenched behind a heavily reinforced line of defence. Let us remember Napoleon’s statement that defence has an advantage over offence of three to one. The Russians have had plenty of time to prepare to meet a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Despite the nonsensical claims of the West, they are not short of ammunition. Unlike Ukraine, Russia has a powerful war industry, which is working overtime, producing weapons, ammunition and missiles. By contrast, the Ukrainians are entirely dependent on supplies from the West and are constantly complaining that they lack just about everything. In recent months, Zelensky has shown increasing signs of desperation. His constant trips abroad were aimed at ensuring that there will be no reduction in arms supplies. In this, he has succeeded – at least in the short term. However, the future is unclear. In public, the USA and NATO continue to proclaim that they are united and will continue to back Ukraine for “as long as it takes.” But in private, things are very different. There is very clear evidence that the appetite for this war in the West is failing. Inflation, directly linked to the war, is hitting the West, while the sanctions aimed at Russia, while they have caused some damage, have not had anything like a comparable effect, and no effect at all on the Russian war machine.
Education. Heal, 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