Daily News Digest Archives
Daily News Digest September 13, 2016
Image of the Day:
Jeremy Corbyn Iraq 2003
Quotes of the Day:
We are not beasts and we do not intend to be beaten or driven as such… What has happened here is but the sound before the fury of those who are oppressed. — L. D. Barkley, participant in Attica rebellion
“Today, of the 100 wealthiest economic entities in the world, 69 are now corporations and only 31 countries,” wrote Global Justice Now campaigns and policy officer Aisha Dodwell. “This is up from 63 to 37 a year ago. At this rate, within a generation we will be living in a world entirely dominated by giant corporations.” — ‘Be Afraid’: Largest Corporations Wealthier Than Most Countries
Videos of the Day:
Architects and engineers:”It was a controlled demolition”
U.S.
Why Oliver Stone’s Snowden is the Best Film of the Year Snowden is the most entertaining, informing, and important film you are likely to see this year.It’s the true story of an awakening. It traces the path of Edward Snowden’s career in the U.S. military, the CIA, the NSA, and at various contractors thereof. It also traces the path of Edward Snowden’s agonizingly slow awakening to the possibility that the U.S. government might sometimes be wrong, corrupt, or criminal. And of course the film takes us through Snowden’s courageous and principled act of whistleblowing. by David Swanson
Welcome to Your Delusional Democracy — Boycott For some years I have used the term “delusional democracy” to describe the condition of the US. It seemed obvious to me that the vast majority of Americans have deliberately chosen to fool themselves. They have been brainwashed to believe what no longer is true. Become convinced that you do not live in a true and terrific democracy, or that your democracy is the best in the world. I stopped believing this myth many years ago. All the objective evidence I saw over fifty years of paying intense attention both as a citizen and someone who worked within the political system showed me that American democracy had steadily declined in quality, integrity and effectiveness. This Presidential Election by Joel S. Hirschhorn
Live Updates from the National Prisoner Strike After a call to action to end slavery in America by the Free Alabama Movement (FAM) with “Let the Crops Rot in the Fields,” and tireless organizing on the part of IWW-IWOC, FAM, and other prisoner solidarity groups, people on the inside are leading a national work-stoppage on this, the anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. There is so much to say, but as events continue to unfold, we’ve opted to try to collect as many links to live coverage as possible. We’ll be updating this article over the next few hours.
‘Be Afraid’: Largest Corporations Wealthier Than Most Countries ‘The power of corporations is so great within our society that they have undermined the idea that there is any other way to run society’ by Nika Knight
9/11: 15 Years Of A Transparent Lie — Paul Craig Roberts There are many conspiracy theories about 9/11. The US government’s own expanation of 9/11 is a conspiracy theory in which a few Saudi Arabians outwitted the American national security state. Little doubt that many of the more imaginative conspiracy theories were created for the purpose of stigmatizing any skepticism, no matter how well reasoned and supported, of the official story. When thinking about 9/11, it is important to differentiate expert opinion from improbable explanations.
Environment:
Ongoing/Big Energy Disasters:
Fukushima Backlash Hits Japan Prime Minister Nuclear power may never recover its cachet as a clean energy source, irrespective of safety concerns, because of the ongoing saga of meltdown 3/11/11 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Over time, the story only grows more horrific, painful, deceitful. It’s a story that will continue for generations to come. by Robert Hunziker
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights
Why Urban Rage in America Is a Powder Keg That’s Ready to Blow We are facing some big trouble ahead. By Vijay Prashad
Black Agenda Radio for Week of September 12, 2016
Networks Need to “Do Their Jobs” and Hold 4-Way Debates:
RootsAction.Org is circulating a petition urging the television networks and cable news operations to “do their job, to hold a presidential debate with all the candidates that should appropriately be in it,” said veteran antiwar activist David Swanson. The Democrat- and Republican-controlled debate commission “was created to keep other candidates out and to keep any serious questions out,” while the petition demands that the debates be “open to any candidate who is already on ballots in enough states to win and who is either at 5 percent in the polls or has a majority saying they should be in the debates,” said Swanson. “Just adding Jill Stein would create an entirely different conversation, that just won’t be there with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump,” he said.
Baraka: Clinton is “Lying” About Her Support for TPP
Speaking at a Green Party rally in Chicago, vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka urged voters to dismiss Hillary Clinton’s claim that she no longer supports the Trans Pacific Partnership corporate trade deal. “If you understand her history, her ideological orientation, you know that she is lying. She is a neoliberal capitalist and she supports TPP,” said Baraka. “This campaign is about building a movement, it’s about building an alternative to the status quo. It is recognizing that we are in a protracted struggle for fundamental change,” he said.
Priority in Pittsburgh: Community Control of the Police:
“We have a police union that is at the forefront of maintaining a violent and white supremacist type of police presence,” said Khalid Raheem, of the New Afrikan Independence Party, which recently held its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “In order for any serious change to come about,” he said, “we really have to have community control of the police, and that means we have to dismantle the current system and replace it with something that’s controlled and run by the people, themselves.” The New African Independence Party is part of the Black Is Back Coalition.
Blacks Suspect Police Involvement in Ferguson Activist’s Death:
Darren Seals, who gained national attention as part of community resistance to massive police repression in Ferguson, Missouri, following the killing of Michael Brown, in 2014, was found shot to death and incinerated in his car last week. “The word on the streets is that somebody paid $10,000 for it to happen, it was police-motivated,” said Edwin Chanell, who collaborated on various projects with Seals. “He was an activist from the streets, trying to bring the community together.” Chanell’s New Generation Black Council works with gang members in Greater St. Louis.
Black Teacher Shunned the Flag Before Colin Kaepernick was Born:
Back in 1985, Hardy Williams was fired from his coaching position at a Los Angeles high school for turning his back on the national anthem. Williams won a $25,000 settlement in a suit against his principal and the school district. Now turning 70, he said he’s been shunning the American flag and anthem since 1973. “I don’t honor it. In my opinion, American doesn’t honor us,” said Williams, who was “elated” to hear of Colin Kaepernick’s game-time actions. “I think, hopefully, that I’ll be able to meet him.”
Black Colombians Prepare for Peace Deal Signing:
On September 26, FARC guerillas and the Colombian government will sign an historic accord to end a more than half-century of civil war, to be followed by a popular referendum on the agreement, October 2. Charo Mina-Rojas, a national coordinator of the Black Communities Process in Colombia, said Afro-Colombians worry that demobilized guerillas will be relocated close to Black and indigenous people’s territories, and that right-wing paramilitaries show signs of stepping up their activities. “We are concerned about how the implementation of these agreements is going to happen, and how we are a part of the process,” she said.
Mumia: Give Generously to Prison Radio:
The nation’s best known political prisoner is asking his supporters to help Prison Radio “keep the wolf from the door.” Prison Radio distributes regular commentaries by Mumia Abu Jamal and reports from other activists in America’s Gulag. “Prison Radio has brought you the voices behind the walls— the fastest growing public housing development in America,” said Abu Jamal.
Labor:
Economy:
Hillary Clinton and the Church of the Sacred Fed “You should not be commenting on Fed actions when you are either running for president or you are president.”If you’re wondering where this view came from, it’s known as the guiding doctrine of the “church of the sacred Fed.” This religion is most closely associated with Robert Rubin, the notorious Wall Street banker and treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton. By Dean Baker
Rattled: Friday’s Market Selloff in U.S. Roils Overnight Foreign Markets European and Asian stock markets were firmly in the red overnight as Friday’s 394 rout in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fueled global concerns. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Corbyn’s Manifesto on Digital Democracy
Technological advancements have transformed our daily lives, and politics is changing too. The issues may not change that much – people want decent housing and decent jobs, they want access to education and opportunity, they want thriving public services and a society which works for the millions not just the millionaires. But the terrain on which opinions are formed is changing.
With rapid advances in digital technology, data and information can become sources of inequality and exploitation as well as. This digital manifesto is about ensuring that our advances are shared, utilised and enjoyed by everyone, as part of a wider strategy to rebuild and transform Britain so that no one and no community is left behind.
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Universal Service Network: We will deliver high speed broadband and mobile connectivity for every household, company and organisation in Britain from the inner city neighbourhoods to the remotest rural community.
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Open Knowledge Library: We will create a free-to-use online hub of learning resources for the National Education Service.
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Community Media Freedom:We will ensure that a diversity of views and opinions are heard. The BBC Charter will be updated with a commitment to nurture programming from local and identity communities. Ofcom will protect network neutrality. Funding bodies will be encouraged to sponsor new media arts projects. We will reform the laws on intellectual property so that producers and consumers benefit.
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Platform Cooperatives: We will foster the cooperative ownership of digital platforms for distributing labour and selling services. The National Investment Bank and regional banks will help to finance social enterprises whose websites and apps are designed to minimise the costs of connecting producers with consumers in the transport, accommodation, cultural, catering and other important sectors of the British economy.
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Digital Citizen Passport: We will develop a voluntary scheme that provides British citizens with a secure and portable identity for their on-line activities. The Digital Citizen Passport will be used when interacting with public services like health, welfare, education and housing.
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Programming For Everyone: We will encourage that all publicly funded software and hardware is released under an Open Source licence.
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A People’s Charter of Digital Liberty Rights: We will launch a public consultation with people and parties across the political spectrum to draw up a digital bill of rights.
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Massive Multi-Person On-line Deliberation: We will utilise information technologies to make popular participation in the democratic process easy and inclusive. We will aim to organise both online and offline meetings for individuals and communities to deliberate about pressing political issues and participate in devising new legislation.
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: