Daily News Digest June 20, 2023
Capitalism is Now a Worldwide Threat to Humanity! It is on the Fast Track to Global Warming and/or Nuclear War Catastrophes!
As the world rapitly warms capitialism has demonstrated, by it’s actions (Expanding the burning of fossil fuels, fracking, ect.), it has acted for more profits and more profits to the detriment of the environment! It has no accountability to humanity! The Republicans and the Democrats have demonstrated their support for capitalism’s anti-environmental decisions! For the defense of all creatures, great and small, don’t vote for the 1% the captialist’s bought and paid for political parties! Don’t vote for ecocide! To save humanity and all life, humanity of all nations have to cooperate on all levels to take the necessary steps to stop global warming! Global cooperation, requires a coperative society, a socialist society! Under the banner of ecosocialism or ecocide we can an must build a society where we put life, liberty and pursuit of happiness! Not The Profits of the 1% — the Capitalist Class! We can and we must build a political organization to oppose the ecocidal capitalist class. We can either have Ecosocialism or Ecocide! To begin, we must stop supporting capitalism’s political parties the Republicrats (Democrats/Republicans, Etc.) Life, itself, is at stake.
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 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:
A Vote for Trump or Biden is a Vote for Ecocide:
The latest round of net-zero pledges from the world’s biggest oil and gas producers are “largely meaningless”, with many of the companies selling off their most carbon-intensive extraction sites to boost their net-zero credentials rather than shutting them down, according to two new reports released this week. Those properties remain in production and may even emit more climate pollution under new ownership, states a report this week by the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment. A separate assessment by the UK’s Net Zero Tracker found that net-zero pledges by 75 of the world’s 112 biggest oil and gas companies “do not fully cover or lack transparency on Scope 3 emissions—which include the use of a company’s products, the biggest source of emissions for fossil fuel companies—or don’t include short-term reduction plans,” Reuters reports. “The report also found that none of the fossil fuel companies were making the needed commitments to move away from fossil fuel extraction or production.” — Net-Zero Pledges ‘Largely Meaningless’ as Oil Companies Sell Off Assets that Keep On Emitting
Videos/Podcasts of the Day:
Cornel West on capitalism, Ukraine, and his presidential run | The Chris Hedges Report
Historian Clint Smith Speaks on Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across US
After World War II Rosa Luxenburg Coined the Slogan: ‘S0cialism or Barbaism’!
Now the Slogan Should Be: ‘Ecosocialism or Ecoside’!
One of Many Ways to Begin to End Global Warming: Expose ‘Greenwashing’ — Tax the Polluters 100%!:
Freaky Friday: Climate Scientists’ Warned Us About A ‘Global Wildfire Crisis’ in 2022 While I know the sight of blue skies after a week of smoke can be a huge relief, we must continue to talk about these issues. One day the smoke won’t part and the water won’t run clean unless we make real changes to how we live. If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know I like to look backward from time to time. Well, just found this report from last year: In a 2022 report, Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires, by UNEP and GRID-Arendal, found that climate change and land-use change are making wildfires worse and anticipated a global increase of extreme fires even in areas previously unaffected. The report, which involved more than 50 researchers from six continents, estimated that the risk worldwide of highly devastating fires could increase by up to 57 percent by the end of the century.
Power Companies Quietly Pushed $215m Into US Politics Via Dark Money Groups Power companies quietly pushed $215m into US politics via dark money groups Donations have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislators. US power companies have made political donations of at least $215m to dark money groups in recent years, according to a new analysis of 25 for-profit utilities, amid growing concerns around how they wield influence. 
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. 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
Chris Hedges: The Imminent Extradition of Julian Assange and the Death of Journalism Julian Assange’s legal options have nearly run out. He could be extradited to the U.S. this week. Should he be convicted in the U.S., any reporting on the inner workings of power will become a crime.
Norman Solomon’s ‘War Made Invisible’ Repudiates Collusion With War Makers Solomon’s 13th book shows how the U.S. hides the human toll of its military machine. Following a string of U.S. “forever wars,” a profusion of well-written, often riveting novels, memoirs, and analyses have been published. Talented authors have aimed to promote understanding about the human cost of war. In the same period, mainstream media sources have continually developed ways to make war appear normal—something necessary, justifiable, or in some cases, “humane.”Norm Solomon’s War Made Invisible erects an edifice of evidence showing deliberate, consistent, coordinated and well-funded efforts to squelch movements opposing the vicious consequences of war.
Free Press Advocates Slam ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’ Conviction of North Carolina Reporters “Reporters shouldn’t be arrested for doing their jobs,” said one First Amendment advocacy group. Press freedom and civil liberties defenders on Friday condemned what legal experts called the unconstitutional conviction of two Asheville, North Carolina journalists for violating a public park curfew while covering the police eviction of unhoused people on Christmas night 2021. An Asheville jury deliberated for two hours following a weeklong trial in the case of Asheville Blade reporters Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit, who were found guilty of misdemeanor second-degree trespass for remaning in Aston Park after closing time. The journalists were ordered to pay $100 each plus court costs, the Asheville Citizen Timesreports. “We don’t have secret police in the United States. Officers are not entitled to operate without press and public scrutiny just because it’s dark out,” Freedom of the Press Foundation advocacy director Seth Stern said in a statement. “The Constitution requires that journalists be given sufficient access to public land to report the news, no matter the time.”
Civil Rights/Blackliberation:
This Juneteenth, We Are at War Over Our Right to Teach Black History The right is trying to make truth-telling about U.S. history illegal because it fears the end of white supremacy. The truth is illegal. That’s what Black history teacher Valanna White realized at a routine, back-to-school meeting in August 2021. Tennessee had just banned teaching “critical race theory” in public schools. Now, if she or any other teacher dares to mention systemic racism in class, even during lessons on Black history, their licenses can be suspended or revoked. She and her colleagues are not the only ones facing this terror. Tennessee is not the only state. Currently, 18 states have banned “critical race theory” and nine more are pushing for a ban.
Kevin Cooper: Whitewashing Historical Truths: The Story of Sullivan’s Island While everyone’s heard of Ellis Island, the equivalent port of arrival for countless slaves is rarely mentioned in American history, writes Kevin Cooper from death row in San Quentin. Kevin Cooper: Whitewashing Historical Truths: The Story of Sullivan’s Islan While everyone’s heard of Ellis Island, the equivalent port of arrival for countless slaves is rarely mentioned in American history, writes Kevin Cooper from death row in San Quentin.
Calls for Systemic Transformation of US Policing Follow Damning DOJ Report on Minneapolis PD “Reform isn’t what we need! ‘Reform’ means more money for the killer cop industry that will never erase its origins out of slave patrols,” asserted Black Lives Matter. Racial justice defenders on Friday said the Department of Justice probe of the Minneapolis Police Department—which detailed a pattern of excessive violence, racism, and civil rights violations—underscores the need for deep systemic transformation of U.S. policing. The DOJ’s 89-page report—the result of an investigation launched in the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin—found that, as many community members have said for decades, the MPD and Minnesota’s largest city “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”
Lawless Cops: ‘Pretty Staggering’: Thousands of California Police Officers Could be Stripped of Their Badges Under New Law California’s police standards commission is bracing to decertify or suspend 3,000 to 3,500 police officers each year for serious misconduct under a new state law, according to estimates from the commission. The estimates suggest the police officers engaging in serious misconduct in any given year could represent a significant percentage of the roughly 90,000 officers working in California, although some may already be fired or retired by the time the commission moves to strip them of their certification.
Conservatives Say the Justice System Has Been Weaponized. Cop City Proves Them Right In the wake of the Trump indictments, conservatives are concerned that the justice system is being used to target political enemies. They’re right about that — but as the repression of Cop City protesters shows, they’re wrong about who the real targets are.
Labor:
An Epidemic of Wage Theft Is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year Millions of Americans struggle to get by on low wages, often without any benefits such as paid sick leave, a pension, or even health insurance. Their difficult lives are made immeasurably harder when they do the work they have been hired to do, but their employers refuse to pay, pay for some hours but not others, or fail to pay overtime premiums when employees’ hours exceed 40 in a week. This failure to pay what workers are legally entitled to can be called wage theft; in essence, it involves employers taking money that belongs to their employees and keeping it for themselves. Amounts that seem small, such as not paying for time spent preparing a work station at the start of a shift, or for cleaning up and closing up at the end of a shift, can add up. When a worker earns only a minimum wage ($290 for a 40-hour week), shaving a mere half hour a day from the paycheck means a loss of more than $1,400 a year, including overtime premiums. That could be nearly 10 percent of a minimum-wage employee’s annual earnings—the difference between paying the rent and utilities or risking eviction and the loss of gas, water, or electric service.
Economy:
2023: Another Global Recession is Coming The latest news shows that the economy is once again taking a turn for the worse. The Eurozone is in recession. China is slowing down sharply. The US is teetering on the brink. Another economic crisis is on the way. Millions of workers are asking themselves: why does capitalism seem to be in permanent crisis? It is now 16 years since the beginning of the 2007-2008 crash, and over this entire period one crisis has followed another. Commentators and economists have even coined a new term, “permacrisis”, to try to describe the constant state of uncertainty that the world finds itself in. This is just another way of describing what Trotsky identified as an organic crisis of capitalism 90 years ago: that is, a state of prolonged crisis, in which capitalism cannot find a new equilibrium.
Shadow Government Statistics Daily Update June 16th to 20th
- University of Michigan’s Early-June 2023 Consumer Sentiment gained 7.9% in the month, still holding shy by 36.7% (-36.7%) of ever recovering its February 2020 Pre-Pandemic level.
- May 2023 Industrial Production declined 0.2% (-0.2%) in the month, gaining 0.2% year-to-year.
- May 2023 Real Retail Sales activity was on track for both quarterly and year-to-year contractions, consistent with patterns of contraction in the prior three quarters.
- The June 2023 FOMC paused in hiking Interest Rates, as promised, but Fed Chairman Powell indicated at least two more rate hikes are likely in coming months.
- Recent annual CPI and PPI inflation swings were tied to year-ago oil-price gyrations around the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
- May 2023 Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation dropped year-to-year to 1.09% from 11.09% in May 2022 thanks to collapsing gasoline prices.
- May 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) inflation slowed year-to-year to 4.05% from 8.58% in May 2022, with the ShadowStats Alternate CPI easing to 11.9% from 16.8% in the same period.
- Still hit by high Inflation and dropping Economic Activity, Non-Supervisory real average weekly earnings declined year—to-year by 0.9% (-0.9%) in May 2023, its 18th annual decline in the last 19 months.
- Not seasonally adjusted May 2023 Cass® Freight Index shipments declined year-to-year by a deepening 5.6% (-5.6%).
JPMorgan Is Alleged to Have Used Its Hedge Fund’s Private Jet to Engage in Sex-Trafficking for Jeffrey Epstein At a March 13 court hearing this year, prominent attorney, David Boies, argued in open court that the largest federally-insured bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase – which has more than 5,000 Chase bank branches holding mom and pop savings from coast to coast – had used a private jet owned by the bank’s hedge fund, Highbridge Capital, to transport girls for Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
World:
Health. Welfare, and Education:
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