Daily News Digest October 26, 2023
Images of the Day:
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
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!
Qu0te of te Day:
As the World Burns: This should truly have been the time of our discontent. The northern hemisphere just experienced the hottest summer in recorded history, including month by month the warmest June, July, August, and (by a country mile) September ever. Staggering heat records were set in place after place globally. Fires from Canada to Hawaii to Europe broke all records. (In fact, those Canadian summer fires are now threatening to burn straight into the winter months for the first time — and I fear this phrase is going to be become all-too-boringly repetitive — in history.) The southern hemisphere had a “winter” from — yes! — hell. In Europe, which was burning up, Greece experienced unprecedented fires and floods as well. Libya had a significant part of a major city washed away. China, too, experienced unprecedented flooding around its capital, where 1.2 million people had to be evacuated, and in Hong Kong, too. The sea ice in the Antarctic fell to the lowest levels (yes again!) in recorded history, as did sea ice in the Arctic, helping to ensure a future in which rising sea levels could flood coastal cities. And Greenland has been lending a hand to that same future, starting 2023 with temperatures unmatched in at least 1,000 years and still setting new temperature records in July. Worse yet, that’s just to begin down a list that increasingly seems unending. — How our Petty Wars Are Distracting Us From the Existential Challenge of Climate Change
Videos of the Day:
Juan González: U.S. “Economic Warfare” Targeting Venezuela, Cuba & Nicaragua Fuels Migrant Crisis
“A Man of Two Faces”: Author Viet Thanh Nguyen on New Memoir, U.S. Imperialism, Vietnam & More
Palestinian Genocide:
Gaza and the Deepening Crisis of Western Democracy Western democracy is under strain, and we have been observing the symptoms of its decline for some time now. These symptoms include the rise of far-right extremism, increasing rate of xenophobia, a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, and its questionable efficacy in handling crises. In addition to its internal erosions, Western democracy has been highly challenged on the global stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis provided an opportunity for authoritarian, regimes particularly China and Russia, to spotlight what they perceive as the shortcomings of democracies in responding to the pandemic, in contrast to the perceived effectiveness and decisiveness of authoritarian regimes. These challenges to Western democracies had not subsided when the events in the Palestinian-occupied territories erupted. For Western democracies, the history of the Arab- Israeli conflict only started on October 7, 2023. This misleading narrative has provided cover for Israel’s ruthless attack on Gaza’s civilians. It simply disregarded the fact that Israel has been occupying Palestinian lands for over 75 years, and subjected the Gaza Strip to a sea, air, and land blockade for over 15 years, effectively turning it into an open-air prison. People in this densely populated area are deprived of their basic necessities, and their fundamental rights as humans. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank continue to face oppression, displacement from their homes and lands, and the unjust detention of over 5000 of them in Israeli prisons where some of them are minors. The narrative that has dominated since October 7 fails to address these harsh realities, revealing a Western profound conception of selective humanity.
Refusal to Back Cease-Fire Is an Endorsement of Israel’s Genocidal Attack on Gaza By failing to advocate for a ceasefire, western states have given a green light to Israel’s agenda of collective punishment. In the avalanche of emotionally fraught commentary on the 7 October attack by Palestinian fighters against Israel and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza, media and political leaders appear to have forgotten that from the perspective of international law, Gaza remains an occupied territory subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention (Geneva IV). Although Israel unilaterally proclaimed its “disengagement” from Gaza in 2005—withdrawing its troops, dismantling 21 settlements and ejecting 8,000 settlers (somewhat offset by giving each unlawful settler family hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation)—this did not end Israel’s
Protests Intensify Across US as Gaza Death Toll Surpasses 5,000 Activists blocked rush hour traffic in Chicago on Monday in the latest direct action against genocide. As the death toll of Israel’s brutal siege and intensifying bombardment of the Gaza Strip surpassed 5,000 on Monday, dozens of activists blocked a major intersection in Chicago as mass protests against U.S. support for the Israeli military continue to erupt despite scant mainstream media coverage. “Only a ceasefire can protect Palestinian and Israeli lives in this perilous moment,” said Eli Newell, an organizer with the Jewish peace group IfNotNow in Chicago, who participated in the direct action on Monday. “Collective punishment won’t make anyone safe — not Palestinian civilians, not Israeli hostages.”
UN Chief Says ‘Clear Violations of International Humanitarian Law’ in Gaza Antonio Guterres pleads for civilians to be protected in Israel-Hamas war, says the fighting increases risk of a wider regional conflagration. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has renewed his demand for a ceasefire in Gaza and said that international law was being violated in the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
Israel-Hamas War Live: Israel Calls on UN Chief to Resign; Death Toll From Israeli Airstrikes Passes 5,700 Israel says Guterres must step down for saying it cannot justify ‘collective punishment’; Gaza’s health authority says 5,791 Palestinians have died Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has called on UN secretary-general, António Guterres, to resign after his remarks earlier today saying the “appalling attacks” by Hamas inside Israel on 7 October cannot justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”. Things got pretty aggressive at the UN security council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York a little earlier, after Guterres called for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza and said that the attacks by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October didn’t happen “in a vacuum” and followed “56 years of suffocating occupation” for the Palestinian people by Israel. Erdan posted angrily on X/Twitter, demanding that Guterres resign immediately.
Environment:
One of Many Ways to Begin to End Global Warming: Expose ‘Greenwashing’ — Tax the Polluters 100%!
After World War II Rosa Luxenburg Coined the Slogan: ‘S0cialism or Barbaism’! Now the Slogan Should Be: ‘Ecosocialism or Ecocide’!
After World War II Rosa Luxenburg Coined the Slogan: ‘S0cialism or Barbaism’! Now the Slogan is Ecoscialism or Ecocide!
Earth’s ‘Vital Signs’ Worse Than at Any Time in Human History, Scientists Warn Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history, an international team of scientists has warned, meaning life on the planet is in peril. Their report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track the climate crisis are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators also include human and livestock population numbers. Many climate records were broken by enormous margins in 2023, including global air temperature, ocean temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent, the researchers said. The highest monthly surface temperature ever recorded was in July and was probably the hottest the planet has been in 100,000 years. The scientists also highlighted an extraordinary wildfire season in Canada that produced unprecedented carbon dioxide emissions. These totalled 1bn tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the entire annual output of Japan, the world’s fifth biggest polluter. They said the huge area burned could indicate a tipping point into a new fire regime.
The World Is Failing Forests’: Report Finds Leaders Way Off Track From Halting Deforestation by 2030 ‘”We are investing in activities that are harmful for forests at far higher rates than we are investing in activities that are beneficial for forests,” the assessment coordinator said. We are investing in activities that are harmful for forests at far higher rates than we are investing in activities that are beneficial for forests,” the assessment coordinator said. Despite promising to halt global deforestation by 2030, world leaders have not done enough to protect forests, a new report has found. The 2023 Forest Declaration Assessment, released late Monday, calculated that human activities destroyed 6.6 million hectares of forest in 2022, which means the world is 21% off track from meeting the 2030 deadline. In addition, 4.1 million hectares of especially vital primary tropical forests were cleared, 33% off where they need to be to stay on schedule. “The world is failing forests with devastating consequences on a global scale,” WWF Global Forests Lead Fran Price said in a statement. “It is impossible to reverse nature loss, address the climate crisis, and develop sustainable economies without forests.” 
‘Nightmare Scenario’ Hurricane Otis Slams Acapulco as Category 5 After Stunning Intensification “There are no hurricanes on record even close to this intensity for this part of Mexico,” said the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico as a powerful Category 5 storm early Wednesday after intensifying from a tropical storm in a matter of hours, stunning forecasters who described the turn of events as a “nightmare scenario.”
US Troops in Iraq, Syria, targeted by Shiite Militias in Sympathy with Occupied Palestinians of Gaza On Wednesday, Al-Quds al-`Arabi reports two rockets were fired at `Ayn al-Asad base in al-Anbar Province, Iraq, where US troops are stationed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both put pressure on Iraqi prime minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani. Al-Sudani reaffirmed his determination to keep the US military trainers and advisers safe. The Shiite militia al-Nujaba’ rejected al-Sudani’s stance. Its leaders maintained that Israeli intelligence was using the US presence as a Trojan horse to infiltrate Iraqi bases. According to Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, in the past week US troops in Iraq have been subjected to attacks on at least 10 separate occasions, and those in Syria have been attacked 3 times. The attackers used a mix of “one way attack drones and rockets.”
Capitalism Can’t get the Lead Out of Its System: Half of children in Poorer Countries Have Lead Poisoning, Says Study Health crisis has been ‘neglected’, particularly in low-income countries, and it’s killing three times more people than lung cancer The failure to create buffer zones between mining waste facilities and residential areas also contributes to soil and air contamination in poor countries, as does the absence of well-enforced safety and environmental standards for lead-acid battery recyclers. As a result, it is estimated that more than half of all children in low-income countries have lead poisoning – the figure is just 3% in rich nations. During the height of the water crisis in Flint, in the US state of Michigan, where lead was found in drinking water, less than 4% of Flint’s children were clinically
Scientists Discover Hidden Landscape ‘Frozen in Time’ Under Antarctic Ice Hills and valleys carved by ancient rivers in area the size of Belgium has remained untouched for more than 34m years. Scientists have discovered a vast, hidden landscape of hills and valleys carved by ancient rivers that has been “frozen in time” under the Antarctic ice for millions of years. This landscape, which is bigger than Belgium, has remained untouched for more than 34m years, but human-driven global warming could threaten to expose it, the British and American researchers warned.
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
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Labor:
A Poultry Plant in Ohio Is Under Federal Investigation for Hiring 24 Children “For too long this industry has been given carte blanche to disregard laws,” an advocate told Truthout. Gerber’s Poultry, a poultry plant in Kidron, Ohio, which produces Amish Farm Chicken, is under investigation after federal agents found more than two dozen minors illegally employed in meat processing and sanitation. “The discovery of yet another meat processing facility in the U.S. relying on child labor is the latest reminder of the harms that industrial animal agriculture inflicts at every turn, with the most vulnerable — children, people of color, immigrants, and nonhuman animals — paying the highest price,” Delcianna J. Winders, associate professor of Law at Vermont Law and Graduate School told Truthout.
Rail & Labor News from RWU: Editor’s Note: The more that gets exposed about the ‘fix’ being in for the sale, the greater the chance we may actually win and keep the Cincinnati Southern in public hands! Re: Mayor Aftab Pureval’s Re-Election Campaign Treasurer Is Also The Treasurer For The Railway Sale Campaign Pureval, when asked, gave the wrong name of who his treasurer is. The campaign to sell Cincinnati’s railroad to Norfolk Southern Corp. has spent more than $600,000 on TV ads promoting the sale, according to media buying records submitted by local stations to the Federal Communications Commission. Critics of the sale claim that creates a conflict of interest for Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who stars in the ads and could benefit from media exposure as he prepares to run for re-election in 2025. In an interview with the WCPO 9 I-Team, Pureval said he has “no direct involvement” in Building Cincinnati’s Future, the pro-sale campaign he said is “largely funded by Norfolk Southern.”
Economy:
Interest Rate on Reserve Balances 5.40% (Up from 5.33%)
Shadow Government Satatistics Federal Debt
· As of October 5th 2023, Total U.S. Federal Debt Stood at a Record $33,513,382,512,663.51 ($33.5 Trillion), with no Containment in Place
· Up by 45% Since the Pandemic Onset
· As a Separate Issue, August 2023 Money Supply and the September 2023 Monetary Base Suggest Continuing FOMC stimulus
Federal Debt Outstanding, Quarterly 1q1966 to Early 4q2023 U.S. Congress and President Abandoned the $31.5 Trillion Debt Ceiling The Latest October 5th Debt Level Hit a Record $33.5 Trillion [U.S.Treasury, ShadowShadowStsts.com]
The Dow Went Negative for the Year on Friday. One-Third of the Dow Is Down by Double-Digits. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 big-cap stocks closed out last year on Friday, December 30, 2022 at 33,147.25. After setting a year-to-date low of 31,819.14 on March 13 of this year during the banking crisis (a negligible decline of 4 percent year-to-date), the Dow climbed its way back to a year-to-date high of 35,630.68 on August 1. Since then, the Dow has been setting sharply lower lows – a sign of deterioration in its components. The Dow again went negative year-to-date last Friday, October 20, closing at 33,127.28.
World:
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