Daily News Digest June 26, 2024
Images of the Day:
Ted Rall: American Democracy Redux 
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”
The Rise of Capitalism was Under the Banner of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity! Now There is Less Liberty, More Inequality, and Less Fraternity of Humanity! Every Day, From Global Warming to Global War There is a New Example of Capitalism in Imperialist Decay!
Capitalism as a Failed System: World Capitalism Has Been Aware of the Comming Catastrophe of Global Warming Over 6 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 Five Horsemen of the the Apocalypse, Spreading Racism, War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, and Misinformation! The very future of Humanity Is Now At stake!
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three-Point Political Program: Austerity, Scapegoat Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal’ Immigrants for Unemployment, and 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! Globaly, With the Current Gaza War, The Right of Assembly is Under Attack! Due to Years of Austerity, Cuts to Public Health Care, And An Anti-Science and Profiteering President, The United States Still Leads the World In Coronavirus Cases and Deaths in the World!
The Majority of the World, Despite the Media Monopoly’s Lies, are Opposed to the Palestinian Genocide and Global Warming — The 1% Minority Funds Them! At, this Time in History, Capitalism is Exposing the Fact That it is Opposed to Majority Rule/Democracy!
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:
Derivatives Bubble: This is a sequel to a Jan. 15 article titled “Casino Capitalism and the Derivatives Market: Time for Another ‘Lehman Moment’?”, discussing the threat of a 2024 “black swan” event that could pop the derivatives bubble. That bubble is now over ten times the GDP of the world and is so interconnected and fragile that an unanticipated crisis could trigger the collapse not just of the bubble but of the economy. To avoid that result, in the event of the bankruptcy of a major financial institution, derivative claimants are put first in line to grab the assets — not just the deposits of customers but their stocks and bonds. This is made possible by the Uniform Commercial Code, under which all assets held by brokers, banks and “central clearing parties” have been “dematerialized” into fungible pools and are held in “street name.” — Ellen Brown: Defusing the Derivatives Time Bomb: Some Proposed Solutions
Podcasts/Videos of the Day:
A Sermon by Chris Hedges: The Crucifixion of Julian Assange
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 ford 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 : My own Government, I cannot be Silent. ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Assange is Free, But Freedom of the Press is Not!: Assange Is Free, But Justice Has Not Been Done Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley): Julian Assange is free. As of this writing he is en route to the Northern Mariana Islands, a remote US territory in the western Pacific, to finalize a plea deal with the US government which will see him sentenced to time served in Belmarsh… Julian Assange is free. As of this writing he is en route to the Northern Mariana Islands, a remote US territory in the western Pacific, to finalize a plea deal with the US government which will see him sentenced to time served in Belmarsh Prison. Barring any shady shenanigans from the empire in the process, he will then return to his home country of Australia a free man. Importantly, according to experts I’ve seen commenting on this astonishing new development it doesn’t appear that his plea deal will set any new legal precedents that will be harmful to journalists going forward. Joe Lauria reports the following for Consortium News: “Bruce Afran, a U.S. constitutional lawyer, told Consortium News that a plea deal does not create a legal precedent. Therefore Assange’s deal would not jeopardize journalists in the future of being prosecuted for accepting and publishing classified information from a source because of Assange’s agreeing to such a charge.”
Native American Genocide: US Admits Dams in Pacific North-West Have Devastated Native Americans Interior department says dams killed off salmon, inundated villages and burial grounds, and spirited away tribes’ wealth The US government, in a report published on Tuesday, acknowledged for the first time the harms that federal dams have inflicted on Native American tribes in the US Pacific north-west. The report by the interior department details the “historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia River Basin Tribes”, including how dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have devastated salmon runs, inundated villages and burial grounds, and deprived tribal members of the ability to exercise traditional ways of life.
A Sign No Confidence for the 1%’s, Bought and Paid For, Corrupt Government!: 7 in 10 Americans Want SCOTUS to Be Subject to Investigation Over Ethics Issues Proposals for stronger ethics rules are backed by a majority of both Democratic and Republican voters. In the wake of numerous controversies regarding the ethical legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court, a new poll demonstrates that the vast majority of Americans, across political lines, want a stronger enforcement mechanism to hold justices of the Court accountable. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted from June 16-18 found that the Supreme Court currently has a very low approval rating, with only 35 percent giving the institution positive marks and 50 percent saying they disapprove.
The American Billionaires Who Fell In Love With Fascism Are Not the First The ultra-rich will happily march us into a dictatorship if we let them. “The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread in the law courts and to the army, and finally, when even the sword became enslaved by the power of gold, the republic was subjected to the rule of emperors.” —Plutarch, “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism – ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. ” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, April 29, 1938 (Message to Congress)
Pillaging by the Super-Rich Will Continue Until the Working Class Revolts American workers are not stupid. They’re getting fleeced and they know it. But until we rebuild large scale working-class power, it’s going to be a very rough ride. They’ll stone you when you’re at the breakfast table. “They’ll stone you when you are young and able.
They’ll stone you when you’re tryin’ to make a buck. They’ll stone you and then they’ll say good luck.” —Bob Dylan, from “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” There comes a time in the history of a nation when extreme inequality turns into pillage. If economic power is concentrated so is political power, and the wealthy are able to do whatever they damn well please. They can lie, cheat, and steal because they know they won’t be held to account
U.S. Funded Palestinian Genocide:
Over 20,000 Children Missing in Gaza, With ‘Unknown Number’ in Mass Graves: Report “No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body,” said the Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East. The humanitarian group Save the Children estimated Monday that around 21,000 kids are missing in the Gaza Strip as Israel’s military continues its assault on the enclave, reducing much of the Palestinian territory to rubble.
Gaza Journalist Has Courage Award Rescinded After Smear Campaign Maha Hussaini says she has been targeted for attacks and intimidation as a Palestinian journalist for years. In the wake of numerous controversies regarding the ethical legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court, a new poll demonstrates that the vast majority of Americans, across political lines, want a stronger enforcement mechanism to hold justices of the Court accountable. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted from June 16-18 found that the Supreme Court currently has a very low approval rating, with only 35 percent giving the institution positive marks and 50 percent saying they disapprove.
Environment:
Fund Climate! — Not Genocide! 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’!
We Must Hold These Monsters to Account!
Why Ecosocialism is not Just a Good Idea, But A Necessity! As the climate emergency and extinction crises deepen, more activists are realising that the capitalist system is the main barrier to the urgent changes needed. All the warnings from the overwhelming majority of scientists and appeals to reason are coming up against a roadblock: the capitalist pursuit of profit. The cost of renewable energy has been lower than fossil fuels for years and it continues to fall. Yet since the Paris Agreement on climate was adopted in 2016, the world’s 60 biggest banks have committed US$6.9 trillion ($10.4 trillion) to the fossil fuel industry. The reason they continue to fund fossil fuels is because they can still make huge profits by doing this, even though it comes at a terrible ecological and social cost. Research by Climate Analytics shows that, in the three decades to 2018, the 25 biggest emitting oil and gas companies in the world made US$30 trillion in profit while a partial accounting of damages linked to their products was US$20 trillion. On this calculation, these companies could have paid for the climate damage they caused and still made US$10 trillion in profit!Perversely, governments around the world continue to subsidise the fossil fuel industry at a growing rate.
9 Looming Climate Tipping Points That Imperil Our Planet New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing A new report by the University of Exeter Global Systems Institute specifically pointed to three broad areas where tipping points are concentrated: the cryosphere, the biosphere and the ocean and atmosphere. The world is soon to meet several tipping points but we can still “take decisive actions to avert the worst of these impacts, and perhaps even forge a new path toward a bright, sustainable and equitable future,” the U.N. report said.
- Mountain glaciers melting:
- Accelerating extinctions:
- Unbearable heat:
- Greenland ice sheet collapsing:
- Dying coral reefs:
- Groundwater depletion:
- Unbearable heat:
- Changing ocean currents:
- Space debris:
Climate Crisis Driving Exponential Rise in Most Extreme Wildfires Scientists warn of ‘scary’ feedback loop in which fires create more heating, which causes more fires worldwide The climate crisis is driving an exponential rise in the most extreme wildfires in key regions around the world, research has revealed. The wildfires can cause catastrophic loss of human life, property and wildlife and cause billions of dollars of damage. Scientists say this is climate change “playing out in front of our eyes”.
Gavin Newsom’s $12 Billion Radioactive Diablo Scam Could Soon Be Twisting In The Wind Diablo Canyon’s infamous $12 billion nuclear war is raging hot and heavy in Sacramento. Citizen action may soon decide the outcome. In the midst of a massive budget crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom is slashing social programs left and right. But he still wants to subsidize PG&E’s two money-losing atomic reactors near San Luis Obispo. The cash he wants from the state comes as part of a $1.4 billion package he strong-armed through the legislature in 2022. Much of that is coming from the feds. But now he wants $400 million from California taxpayers. And the legislature— amidst a fierce public uproar— may be on the brink of a definitive “NO!” Safe energy groups like the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace are rallying public pressure to stop the bailout.
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Rescinding Dr. Segal: Mt. Irony in the Age of Resurrected US McCarthyism The resurrection of McCarthyism in the US has returned in full force since October 7th. Careers have been truncated, protests have been muffled and employment opportunities curtailed. MSNBC cancelled the Mehdi Hasan Show in November. In June, Briahna Joy Gray was canned by The Hill, where she co-hosted the Rising web series. 30% of students who demonstrated against the Israeli genocide and famine as a weapon of war had their jobs rescinded. University presidents have responded to pro-Palestinian encampments on campuses in true anti-First Amendment fashion (and hence anti-American) by calling in the police to clear them. While the police have used heavy-handed tactics against pro-Palestinian activists, when the same protesters were attacked by a pro-Israeli mob, the police stood idly by. While these are just some instances of McCarthyism related to Palestinian rights not seen since the 1950s Red Scare, this month has shown us layer upon layer of irony, yielding Mt. Irony.
Labor:
Economy:
Goldman Sachs’ Bank Derivatives Have Grown from $40 Trillion to $54 Trillion in Five Years; So How Did Its Credit Exposure Improve by 200 Percent? Last Friday, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, the federally-insured, U.S. taxpayer-backstopped commercial bank that the international trading behemoth, Goldman Sachs Group, is allowed to operate, got a smackdown from two of its regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board (the Fed). The two regulators released a letter they had sent to David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group, which revealed that the commercial bank had flunked its wind-down test known as its “living will.” Derivatives were specifically cited for the “shortcomings.” Of particular note, the regulators wrote that Goldman Sachs Bank USA “…did not demonstrate the ability to model its derivatives portfolio unwind by counterparty for segmenting the portfolio in resolution. In the [upcoming] 2025 Plan, the Covered Company should demonstrate the ability to view derivatives positions at a counterparty level within both the portfolio unwind and segmentation capabilities.”
World:
Kenyan Police Open Fire on Protesters as Crowd Try to Storm Parliament Demonstrators were protesting against legislation to raise taxes in country reeling from cost-of-living crisis Police have opened fire on protesters outside Kenya’s parliament as they attempted to storm the building while MPs inside passed legislation to raise taxes.
How Britain’s Oldest Animal Welfare Charity Became a Byword for Cruelty on an Industrial Scale As it celebrates its 200th birthday, the RSPCA has lost its way – and is helping endorse indefensible abuse in factory farms How Britain’s oldest animal welfare charity became a byword for cruelty on an industrial scale it happen? How does an organisation end up doing the opposite of what it was established to do? This month marks the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: the world’s oldest animal welfare organisation. I wonder what there is to celebrate. If you mistreat your dog or cat or horse or rabbit, you can expect an investigation by the RSPCA. If the case is serious enough, it could lead to prosecution. If you abuse animals on an industrial scale, you might face not investigation and prosecution, but active support and a public relations campaign to help you sell your products. This is the conclusion of the deepest and most wide-ranging report yet conducted into something called RSPCA Assured. When you see meat or fish or eggs in the supermarket, you might find the RSPCA’s stamp of approval on the packaging, telling you that the animals they came from benefited from “high welfare” farming. It might seem odd that an organisation devoted to animals is promoting their exploitation and killing. It seems odder still when you discover that this “high welfare” farming includes massive factory farms, indistinguishable from the norm, in which animals live short, distressing lives before being trucked away to be stunned and slaughtered.
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