Daily News Digest July 16, 2024
Images of the Day:
‘Anti-Semitic’: Guardian Sacks Cartoonist Over Netanyahu Caricature
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 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:
The fact is that the West has always claimed that NATO is a defensive alliance, when in fact it is offensive. Now, how do they manage to make what is essentially an offensive alliance look defensive? Well, they do it by massively, hysterically magnifying their threat perception. So the slightest thing that the enemy does constitutes a major threat. Whereas they can continue, the United States can establish over 800 military bases around the world. It can place missiles and so on right on the doorstep of its target countries. Whereas if they do anything in retaliation, then they are starting the war. — NATO Focus: From Defensive to Offensive
Our class enemies are in the habit of complaining about our terrorism. What they mean by this is rather unclear. They would like to label all the activities of the proletariat directed against the class enemy’s interests as terrorism. The strike, in their eyes, is the principal method of terrorism. The threat of a strike, the organisation of strike pickets, an economic boycott of a slave-driving boss, a moral boycott of a traitor from our own ranks—all this and much more they call terrorism. If terrorism is understood in this way as any action inspiring fear in, or doing harm to, the enemy, then of course the entire class struggle is nothing but terrorism. And the only question remaining is whether the bourgeois politicians have the right to pour out their flood of moral indignation about proletarian terrorism when their entire state apparatus with its laws, police and army is nothing but an apparatus for capitalist terror! However, it must be said that when they reproach us with terrorism, they are trying—although not always consciously—to give the word a narrower, less indirect meaning. The damaging of machines by workers, for example, is terrorism in this strict sense of the word. The killing of an employer, a threat to set fire to a factory or a death threat to its owner, an assassination attempt, with revolver in hand, against a government minister—all these are terrorist acts in the full and authentic sense. However, anyone who has an idea of the true nature of international Social Democracy ought to know that it has always opposed this kind of terrorism and does so in the most irreconcilable way. Why? ‘Terrorising’ with the threat of a strike, or actually conducting a strike is something only industrial workers can do. The social significance of a strike depends directly upon first, the size of the enterprise or the branch of industry that it affects, and second, the degree to which the workers taking part in it are organised, disciplined, and ready for action. This is just as true of a political strike as it is for an economic one. It continues to be the method of struggle that flows directly from the productive role of the proletariat in modern society. — Leon Trotsky: Why Marxists Oppose Individual Terrorism
Vide0s of the Day:
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.
The Myth of the Magic Bullet While much remains unknown about the motives of the would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania, one thing is certain. The man who attempted to kill Donald Trump believed his bullet would change the course of history for the better. Such thinking is common and is promoted in most school books that exhort young people to be better citizens by featuring the stories of national heroes who have changed the world. The killer’s belief that murdering a political leader could improve the nation was the logical converse of this mistaken principle.
Chris Hedges: Statement on Attempted Trump Assassination The assassination of Trump would not remove the yearning of tens of millions of people, many conditioned by the Christian right, for a cult leader. Most of the leaders of the Christian right have built cult followings of their own. These Christian fascists embraced magical thinking, attacked their enemies as agents of Satan and denounced reality-based science and journalism long before Trump did. Cults are a product of social decay and despair, and our decay and despair are expanding, soon to explode in another financial crisis. The efforts by the Democratic Party and much of the press, including CNN and The New York Times, to discredit Trump, as if our problems are embodied in him, are futile. The smug, self-righteousness of this crusade against Trump only contributes to the national reality television show that has replaced journalism and politics. This crusade attempts to reduce a social, economic and political crisis to the personality of Trump. It is accompanied by a refusal to confront and name the corporate forces responsible for our failed democracy. This collusion with the forces of corporate oppression, which have impoverished the working class, fostered endless war, militarized our police, created the largest prison system in the world, licensed corporations to exploit the most vulnerable and transferred wealth upwards into the hands of a billionaire class, neuters the press, Trump’s critics and the Democratic Party. Our only hope is to organize the overthrow of the corporate state that vomited up Trump. Our democratic institutions, including the legislative bodies, the courts and the media, are hostage to corporate power. They are no longer democratic. We must, like resistance movements of the past, engage in acts of sustained mass civil disobedience, especially strikes, and non-cooperation. By turning our ire on the corporate state, rather than Trump, we name the true sources of power and abuse. We expose the absurdity of blaming our demise on demonized groups such as undocumented workers, Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, liberals, feminists, gays and others. We give people an alternative to a bankrupt Democratic Party — whose presidential candidate is in clear cognitive decline — that is a full partner in corporate oppression and cannot be rehabilitated. We make possible the restoration of an open society. If we fail to embrace this militancy, which alone has the ability to destroy cult leaders, we will continue the march toward tyranny
There’s An Important Lesson in all These Democrats Wishing Trump a Speedy Recovery Why buy into the drama of their pretend elections and feigned opposition when they themselves do not? They’re showing you it’s all fake. Believe them. All the high–profile Democrats who’ve been wishing Trump a speedy recovery from his assassination attempt after years of calling him an existential threat are the same people who now treat George W Bush like a cuddly wuddly snugglepoo after years of calling him an evil dictator. The enmity between these factions is a performance, like cage fighters who hug warmly after weeks of trash talk once their match is over and admit all the drama was really just about promoting the fight and selling Pay-Per-Views. Their actions show you that their conflicts are fake and they’re no more enemies than actors on the stage are enemies, so why should you treat their performance as real? Why buy into the drama of their pretend elections and feigned opposition when they themselves do not? They’re showing you it’s all fake. Believe them.
The US Came Close To Having TWO Presidential Candidates With No Brain The western political-media class hasn’t been this sympathetic and supportive toward Trump since he bombed Damascus. Donald Trump is now on the receiving end of a deluge of sympathy and support throughout the western world after surviving an assassination attempt, despite the fact that he himself is an open and unapologetic perpetrator of assassination. Seems like everyone’s got a theory about what happened and why right now. As of this writing I’m content to just sit back and not know until more information comes in.
Biden’s Press Conference and the War Hysteria of American Imperialism Far more significant than the semi-senility of Biden is the political madness expressed in his policies and his statements, a madness shared by the entire ruling class political establishment. The media commentary following US President Joe Biden’s press conference Thursday has been dominated by discussion over whether or not he proved himself capable of maintaining his position as the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2024 elections. Far more significant than the semi-senility of Biden, however, is the political madness expressed in his policies and his statements. But this is a madness shared by the entire ruling class political establishment, along with the corporate media. Biden began the news conference with an eight-minute war-mongering rant, beneath the banner of NATO, the military alliance that is the spearhead of American imperialism’s global war. He declared the NATO summit in Washington a great success and credited himself with leading it. The summit effectively ended the pretense that NATO is not directly at war with Russia by establishing a NATO Command based in Germany, placing NATO officers in Kiev, and agreeing to deploy long-range missiles in Germany capable of hitting major cities deep inside Russia, including Moscow. Referring to Putin, Biden declared, “Once again a murderous madman was on the march.” The only solution to countering this “monster,” Biden said, is massive military escalation. In fact, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was provoked through the relentless expansion of NATO. It has been utilized, as Biden himself boasted, to increase the membership of the military alliance and bring it even further to Russia’s doorstep.
US Funded Palestinian Genocide:
Record Israeli Land Grab Fuels Already Soaring Tension in the West Bank Israel has reportedly approved its largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, according to a report released on July 3 by Israeli anti-settlement watchdog, Peace Now. The seizure involves more than 12 sq km of land in a key corridor bordering Jordan. Land that is privately owned by Palestinians in the West Bank can be declared as “state land” by Israel and subsequently seized. One of the primary outcomes is the establishment or expansion of Israeli settlements on the land, which are widely considered illegal under international law.
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!
Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Weekly average CO2 https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/weekly.html Week beginning on July 07, 2024: 426.25 ppm. Weekly value from 1 year ago: 422.37 ppm Weekly value from 10 years ago: 399.92 ppm. Last updated: July 14, 2024
New Labour Government in UK Unleashes Onshore Wind, with 61% of British Electricity now Low-Carbon The new Labour government in Britain last week took steps to remove the ban on onshore wind farms instituted by the Conservative government, which made it possible for such projects to be forestalled even by a single objection. Gavin McGuire at Reuters reported that for the first time this winter, wind generated more power for Britain than all fossil fuels combined. It produced 39.4% of all electricity in the emerald isles, as opposed to 36.2% from fossil fuels. The new Labour government in Britain last week took steps to remove the ban on onshore wind farms instituted by the Conservative government, which made it possible for such projects to be forestalled even by a single objection. Gavin McGuire at Reuters reported that for the first time this winter, wind generated more power for Britain than all fossil fuels combined. It produced 39.4% of all electricity in the emerald isles, as opposed to 36.2% from fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuel Plants Belched Toxic Pollution as Hurricane Beryl Hit Gulf Coast Medical experts urge the Biden administration to block construction of new fossil fuel plants in the path of hurricanes. The hurricane season is just getting started, but a powerful storm has already brought a round of toxic releases from a cluster of fossil fuel plants on the Gulf Coast. Multiple refineries and petrochemical plants reported losing power as Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas as a Category 1 storm on Tuesday. Those outages force operators to “flare,” or burn off, excess gases, which can release cancer-causing benzene and other toxic pollutants directly into the atmosphere. Freeport LNG, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Southeast Texas, previously suffered a massive explosion in 2022. On Tuesday, the terminal reported flaring during power outages caused by Beryl to state regulators. So did the Formosa Plastics Corporation, which is notorious for agreeing to a $50 million settlement in 2019 after dumping millions of plastic pellets into Texas waterways. Marathon Petroleum reported a “safe combustion of excess gases” at its refinery in Texas City, but the company did not disclose the volume or duration of the flaring. Toxic flaring at fossil fuel plants is unfortunately common across the heavily industrialized region even in good weather, but power outages and flooding brought by intensifying storms can unleash extreme levels of pollution into wetlands and residential areas.
Farmers Turn to Solar Panels to Shade Crops, Save Water and Generate Power For 31 straight days last summer, temperatures in Phoenix hit or topped 110 degrees, the longest such streak ever. That searing Arizona heat dehydrates crops and evaporates water the state needs to conserve. Creating shade is one way to combat the problem. By using solar panels, farmers can simultaneously protect their plants, save water and lower their energy bills – and some are doing just that with help from federal programs designed to encourage this sustainable method of growing.
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Systemic Environmental Racism: Hispanics and Pacific Islanders Exposed disproportionately to Toxins from Great Salt Lake – Study Winds blow particulates from drying lake into minority neighborhoods, exposing people to harmful particulates Toxic dust storms from the dried, exposed Great Salt Lake bed disproportionately poisons the air in Utah neighborhoods with higher levels of Hispanic and Pacific Islander populations, new research finds.
Labor:
Economy:
World:
World ‘Cannot Remain Silent in the Face of This Endless Massacre,’ Says Lula “The Israeli government continues to sabotage the peace process and the cease-fire in the Middle East,” said the Brazilian president after a deadly weekend of bombings. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the Israeli government on Sunday after bombings across the Gaza Strip killed more than 140 people and wounded hundreds more, adding to the gruesome death toll and worsening the enclave’s humanitarian emergency as cease-fire talks continue. Lula specifically decried Israel’s Saturday attack on al-Mawasi, an overcrowded town on Gaza’s southern coast to which Israeli forces previously ordered Palestinians to flee. Israel claimed to be targeting Hamas’ military chief in the attack; Hamas said Sunday that the commander was not harmed in the strikes, which killed around 90 people—including children.
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