Daily News Digest July 12, 2024

Daily News Digest Archives 

Images of the Day:

Bendib: Burning Democracy

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”

Capitalism’s Gluttony is Demonstrated by It’s Quest for More and More Profits at the Expense of Humanity!     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 Iron Heel

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:

In the spring of 2023, the second, third and fourth largest bank failures in U.S. history occurred. One of those banks (Silicon Valley Bank) experienced the fastest run on its deposits in U.S. history, showing just how quickly large banks can fail in the digital age. The Fed ran to the rescue again with another emergency bailout program: the Bank Term Funding Program.       Wilmarth correctly concludes his article at the American Banker with this:    “Megabanks continue to exploit implicit subsidies resulting from widely shared expectations of future bailouts. Given the lack of credible strategies for resolving failures of megabanks without publicly funded rescues, we must recognize that megabanks pose grave threats to financial stability and social welfare. Requiring big banks to increase their equity capital significantly would be an important first step in addressing those threats.”   The second critical step would be separating federally-insured banks from the casino trading houses on Wall Street by restoring the Glass-Steagall Act, which provided financial stability in the U.S. for 66 years until its repeal in 1999. —The Fund Created to Unwind a Failing Megabank Has a Problem: There’s No Money in It. — The Fund Created to Unwind a Failing Megabank Has a Problem: There’s No Money in It

Vide0s of the Day:

Glenn Greenwald: Biden Admin Blames Russia for Biden Age Concerns; Corporate Media Parrots

Black Agenda Radio July 5, 2024

Black Politics in Louisiana Kevin Griffin-Clark joins us to analyze Louisiana politics, including recently enacted legislation requiring public schools and universities to post the Ten Commandments in all classrooms.    Biden and Trump Debate BAR’s Executive Editor, Margaret Kimberley, was recently a guest on the Sputnik program, Political Misfits with co-hosts Michelle Witte and John Kiriakou. They discussed the fallout from the recent debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump – including the absence of Black political topics and Biden’s debate performance. They also covered the bipartisan support of Israel, a recent US Supreme Court decision, and Democratic Party actions which resulted in a right-wing supermajority.

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.

To this day, we have a government and state apparatus that is designed to “protect the minority of the opulent against the majority.” Democracy for white and wealthy men only! — Roland Sheppard, My Forefathers and The 1%’s Forefathers.

Zombie and Gangster Face Off in Presidential Debate Following the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, one question is on the minds of millions of ordinary Americans and the US ruling class: “How the hell are these our only options?”     The agonizing 90 minute display saw a bewildered Biden mumble and stumble his way through incomprehensible half sentences, after which his wife had to lead him by the arm from the stage. Trump put in his usual performance of bragging, blustering, and lying at an average rate of once every three minutes (according to CNN).    The “debate’”(if one can call it that) has aptly set the tone for the remainder of this farcical election contest between two of the least popular presidents in US history. On the one hand, we have a senile genocide enabler; on the other, a megalomaniacal huckster. Heads, we lose. Tails … we lose. 

Settler Colonialism and the Engineering of Historical Amnesia It should come as no surprise to those of us with even a cursory understanding of the history of U.S. imperialism that the once sovereign Kingdom of Hawai’i became the very first state in the nation to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Hawai’i is an occupied nation, and has been since 1893 when the U.S. launched a coup to overthrow the sovereign rule of Queen Liliʻuokalani. We don’t need to dive that far back into historical memory to discover that even this imperialist overthrow was acknowledged by none other than then president Bill Clinton, who, in 1993 (on the centennial of the coup) issued an official apology to the Hawaiian Kingdom—an apology that notably did not include a return of the land to the people of this occupied island nation.    In fact, we only need to turn the dial of history back less than one year to the devastating wildfires that occurred in Maui in August of 2023 to understand the imperial and settler colonial legacies of U.S. intervention in Hawai’i — a legacy so potent that it even made it to the opinion pages of the New York Times, as Yarimar Bonilla put it, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has acknowledged that the climate crisis is rooted in the exploitation and degradation of the environment, people and cultures, which were foundational principles of colonialism. Settlers prioritized immediate resource gains over long-term ecological health, shunning Indigenous land management practices as outdated barriers to progress.” 

US Imperialism Pushes Russia and North Korea into Each Other’s Arms With the world roiling in two wars in Ukraine and Palestine, while anxieties rise over a potential third conflict erupting over Taiwan, yet another potential flashpoint appears to be brewing in the Korean Peninsula, with sabre-rattling on both sides causing alarm.     Since the beginning of this year, sharp exchanges between the North Korean regime and the South have not been confined to barbed words. We’ve seen military exercises, missile tests, and balloons containing trash punctuating the sky above the 38th parallel. 

Calling BS on the DNC’s Bogus Pre-Convention Nomination of Biden The DNC is still insisting on the early August 7 virtual nomination “to be safe.” Safe from what? The very definition of gaslighting is to tell people to believe what someone falsely claims to be true, not what people can clearly see with their “lying eyes.” One example is Democratic leaders telling voters that President Joe Biden just had an “off night” when those who watched the debate could clearly see he has significant cognitive decline.     The latest example of gaslighting by the Democratic National Committee is continuing to insist that its presidential nominee must be officially nominated by a “virtual roll call” on August 7—nearly two weeks ahead of the in-person Democratic National Convention on August 19-22—in order for the candidate to qualify for the Ohio ballot in November. Do you want to believe the DNC’s false claim? Or do you want to believe your lying eyes by reading the actual law in Ohio that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor?

U.S. Funded Palestinian Genocide:

Israel’s Leading Paper Says Its Own Army Deliberately Killed Israelis on October 7. But US Media: Silence Three days ago, Israel’s leading newspaper, Haaretz, published the results of its thorough, comprehensive investigation into what actually happened when Hamas attacked on October 7. So far, the U.S. mainstream media has not said a word about the shocking results of that investigation. Critics sometimes use the expression “media malpractice” to describe the American mainstream’s failure to report accurately about Israel/Palestine. This time, though, what’s happening is even worse; it has to be deliberate self-censorship, designed to hide the truth from the U.S. audience.

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!

Urban Heat Island Effect Making Temperatures 8F Hotter in 65 US Cities – Study Nearly 34 million people in those cities, or 15% of the US population, experiencing temperatures higher than in surrounding areas Almost 34 million people in 65 major US cities, or 15% of the country’s population, are experiencing temperatures that are 8F higher than their surrounding areas, according to a new analysis from Climate Central, a non-profit research group.    That is largely due to built environments like parking lots and asphalt sidewalks, and a lack of trees, that contribute to what’s known as the urban heat island effect. 

The Role of Factory Farms in Deforestation and Habitat Destruction Demand for meat fuels deforestation    Factory farming, also known as intensive animal farming, has become a dominant method of producing food in many parts of the world. With its efficiency and ability to meet the growing demand for meat, dairy, and eggs, this industrialized form of agriculture has significantly expanded in recent years. However, with such growth comes consequences, and one of the most pressing issues is the role of factory farms in deforestation and habitat destruction.      As the demand for animal products continues to rise, more and more land is being converted into factory farms, leading to the destruction of natural habitats and loss of biodiversity. This article will explore the relationship between factory farming and deforestation, highlighting the devastating impacts it has on our environment and wildlife.       We will also delve into the underlying reasons behind this destructive practice, and the solutions that can help mitigate its damaging effects.      By understanding the role of factory farms in deforestation and habitat destruction, we can make informed choices as consumers and advocate for more sustainable and ethical practices in our food production system.     The alarming connection between the demand for meat and deforestation cannot be ignored.     As the global population continues to grow, so does the appetite for animal products. This insatiable demand leads to the expansion of commercial agriculture, particularly in regions like the Amazon rainforest, where vast areas of land are cleared for livestock production and the cultivation of feed crops.      The consequences are devastating, as deforestation not only destroys precious habitats and biodiversity but also contributes to climate change by releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.      It is crucial for us to acknowledge the significant role that our meat consumption plays in driving deforestation and take action to promote more sustainable and ethical alternatives in the food industry. …. Deforestation contributes to climate change.  The process of deforestation, characterized by the clearing of forests for various purposes such as agriculture, logging, and urbanization, significantly contributes to climate change. Forests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by acting as carbon sinks, absorbing and storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.      However, when forests are cut down or burned, the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps heat and contributes to global warming.      The loss of forests also reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb and regulate carbon dioxide levels, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. Additionally, deforestation disrupts local weather patterns, leads to soil degradation, and contributes to the loss of biodiversity, further exacerbating the environmental consequences.    Therefore, addressing deforestation is essential in combating climate change and protecting the planet’s delicate ecological balance.

Black Liberation/Civil Rights:

Delta Airlines Forces Passenger to Remove T-Shirt in Anti-Palestine Move Louie Siegel describes how Delta Airlines threatened to kick him off a plane over his “Jews Say Ceasefire Now” T-shirt.

The Supreme Court Is Demolishing Decades of Precedent on Workers’ Rights A flurry of Supreme Court rulings this term has undermined workers and underscored the court’s anti-union agenda. 

Black Agenda ReportAnalyzing the Biden and Trump Debate and the 2024 Electoral Process Reaction to the first 2024 debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump focused on Biden’s performance. Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report editor and columnist, analyzes the politics behind that debate.

Labor:

Economy:

Project 2025: The Fossil Fuel and Banking Money Behind the Madness Last week, Wall Street On Parade published an article with this title: The Supreme Court Crowns a King, Immunizing Future Criminal Acts Under Project 2025 – a Right Wing Manifesto. We began the article with this:      “In the span of two business days, six of the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court have radically altered American democracy. On Friday, those six right-wing justices gutted the ability of federal government agencies to protect the waters Americans drink, the air they breathe, their ability to impose food and drug safety rules and worker protections. On Monday, the same six effectively crowned the President of the United States a king by immunizing the President from criminal prosecution for any conduct that can be construed as official acts.”

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