Daily News Digest August 15, 2024
United National Antiwar Organization
We are a coalition of organizations bringing our demands to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 2024!
- 12PM Monday August 19 – Union Park 1501 W. Randolph St
- 5PM Thursday August 22 – Union Park 1501 W. Randolph St
The March on The DNC Will Be a March for Palestine! Read Our Full Statement: Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are Responsible for the Israeli Genocide Against Gaza The March on the DNC coalition fights for the rights and liberation of oppressed people and against the exploitation of workers. Beginning on August 19th 2024, we will march on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to bring the people’s agenda to within sight and sound of the Democratic Party leadership. We recognize the Democratic Party as a tool of billionaires and corporations. Their actions, such as financing genocide in Palestine and war in multiple countries; continuing the mass incarceration of Black and brown people; deporting millions of immigrants; and neglecting campaign promises made to the oppressed communities who represent their voting base, show that the Democratic Party only serves the agenda of the rich and powerful. Recent gains in the rights of oppressed people have been made by grassroots organizations in spite of a lack of support and often outright opposition from Democratic Party leaders. History has proven what Frederick Douglass once said: “power concedes nothing without a demand.” We are calling on other grassroots organizations that are fighting for exploited and oppressed people to unite with us as we take the demands of the people to the Democratic Party in August 2024./
Images of the Day:
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”There is No Democracy! When Less Than 1% Control the Wealth, Production, and Price of Everything Produced and Consumed in the World! In the present period of unfettered Capitalism, the pretense of democratic rule does not exist, except in the minds of ‘socialists’ like Bernie Sanders and the Labor Bureaucracy! Capitalists view all struggles as struggles against capitalist rule! Transition demands immediately become revolutionary demands! Therefore, any resistence to the attack of capitalists has to be organized by those that understand this! 
Today, the United States Capitalists are Consolidating Themselves as the Supreme Capitalists! 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:
Malcolm X: The White Liberal
2. Children would still be working in factories: For most of our history, there were no federal regulations on child labor. And during the Industrial Revolution, that meant instead of going to school, young boys and girls were often forced to work in factories for long hours—with heavy, dangerous machinery. But in 1832, New England unions first took a strong stand against children working, marking the beginning of a century-long, union-led fight to regulate child labor. Unions throughout the country eventually joined the movement, lobbying for minimum age laws and hour restrictions. And in 1938, this union-led fight resulted in the first federal regulation of child labor, which ensured that when kids did work, the work would be safe and wouldn’t interfere with schooling. — Five Ways America Would Be Different Without Labor Unions
Podcasts/Vide0s of the Day:
He Had Two Babies There’s a video of him screaming, screaming the way any of us would scream. The screams of a man who suddenly lost
Black Agenda Radio August 9, 2024
Solidarity With the Uhuru Three
Racist And Islamophobic Riots In Britain
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.
No First Use of Nuclear Weapons: Rejecting Nuclear Annihilation The recent collapse of nuclear weapons talks between China and the United States in July 2024, followed the withdrawal by the U.S. and Russia from long-established nuclear weapons treaties, like the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, (ABM) Intermediate-Range Forces Treaty (INF), and The Iran Nuclear Deal (JPCOA). Nuclear tensions have regressed to dangerous levels not seen since the Cold War.
Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine – Elastic Empire The impact of US military aid on Palestine is there for everyone to see. For decades, Israel has been the largest recipient of US military aid. The list of military items Washington has shipped to Israel since October 7, 2023, is almost never-ending. 14,000 MK-84 bombs for bomber aircraft, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, or 3,000 precision-guided Hellfire missiles are only some examples. Israel’s war on Gaza would not have resulted in the death of at least 40,000 Gazans absent US support.
Tlaib Lambasts Blinken for Saying the US Respects the Geneva Conventions “ Is this a joke?” Rep. Rashida Tlaib replied to the secretary of state on X as the US continues to send arms to Israel. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib had harsh words for Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he attempted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions while enabling what many experts consider to be Israel’s genocide in Gaza. “The United States reaffirms our steadfast commitment to respecting international humanitarian law and mitigating suffering in armed conflict,” Blinken wrote on social media Monday. “We call on others to do the same.” Tlaib responded early Tuesday, “Is this a joke?”
Fears Grow of Wider Regional War in the Absence of Ceasefire in Gaza The cycle of escalation across the region is rooted in the US-backed Israeli war, says professor Karim Makdisi.Iran has rejected a call by France, Germany and the United Kingdom demanding it refrain from any retaliatory attacks over the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Tensions also remain high on Israel’s northern border as Lebanon-based Hezbollah vows to respond to the Israeli assassination of its senior military commander Fuad Shukr. On Friday, Israel continued its assassination campaign by killing a Hamas commander in the Lebanese city of Sidon. “It’s a very, very tense time here in Beirut, and in Lebanon more generally,” says Karim Makdisi, a professor of international politics at the American University of Beirut. He says the cycle of escalation across the region has a clear cause, which is Israel’s war on Gaza backed by the United States, and that ending the violence there will bring calm elsewhere. “Get a ceasefire, everything stops.”
United States Funded Genocide in Israel:
International Court of Justice Finds That BDS Is Not Just Legal, But Obligatory The ICJ’s ruling found that states have a duty to bring Israeli occupation, colonization and apartheid to an end. Israel and its lobby have, for years now, been engaged in a frenzy of activity to further insulate Israel from accountability by using their influence in the West to effectively outlaw organized opposition to Israel. Foremost among these efforts has been the Israeli campaign to penalize calls to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel for its gross violations of human rights. As a result, countless laws and policies are now on the books across the U.S. and the broader West, trampling on core constitutional principles and internationally guaranteed human rights in defense of Israeli impunity. But an advisory opinion issued last month by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should help to turn that around.
Environmanet:
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!
Toxic Tuesdays: Styrene Styrene is a chemical compound that can be linked together with itself or other compounds to create strong, flexible polymers that make up plastics, rubbers, and resins. Many products such as foodware containers, printer toner, shoes, plastic pipes, carpeting, fiberglass insulation, and automobile parts contain styrene. Styrene can enter the air, water, and soil through manufacturing and disposal of styrene-containing products. Styrene is a colorless liquid but it readily evaporates, so a large portion of styrene that enters water or soil ends up in the air. While manufacturing and disposal can cause exposure, most people are exposed to styrene through their use of styrene-containing products. For example, people inhale it indoors because styrene-containing building materials and printers release styrene vapors. In addition, the styrene in foodware containers can migrate into the food they hold, causing people to ingest styrene. Once inhaled or ingested, styrene can have many adverse effects on the body. Many of these effects are in the brain, such as impaired vision, impaired hearing, loss of coordination, slowed reaction time, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Studies in laboratory animals have found that styrene exposure can also cause damage to the liver, though it is unknown if it has this effect in humans. The US Department of Health and Human Services classifies styrene as being reasonably anticipated to cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies styrene as probably causing cancer. The pervasiveness of styrene-containing plastics in consumer and industrial products makes these adverse health effects particularly concerning. Decreasing the reliance on plastics – through government regulation, scientific innovation, and consumer education – would help protect people from styrene exposure and its associated health effects
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
A False Accusation Put Me in Prison, a Safety Net Could Have Kept Me Out I received a 60-year prison sentence for a murder I didn’t commit. After 25 years of fighting this injustice, I was exonerated. I’ve learned some hard lessons about our criminal justice system. I’ve also learned how simple safety net policies — like a modest guaranteed base income or no-strings-attached child allowance — could have kept millions of struggling young people like me out of trouble.
Kamala Harris in Her Own Words Kamala Harris on the Breakfast Club, July 12, 2019 Voters in the United States who feel compelled to choose between political duopoly presidential candidates are once again faced with two terrible choices. Donald Trump is the known quantity, a former president and a man of very limited intelligence. So much so that he recently confused Willie Brown with Jerry Brown . He is unsuited for anything other than what he did most of his life, promote himself as a business success when his companies filed for bankruptcy on six occasions . In 2016 he rallied white peoples’ feelings of grievance, pretended to be a champion of working people and won an electoral college vote due to his opponent’s arrogance and incompetence. When he lost the election for a second term in 2020, Trump insisted that he hadn’t and encouraged a mob to enter the Capitol and stop the electoral college election certification. Kamala Harris is the current Vice President who stepped into the role of presidential candidate and Democratic Party nominee when Joe Biden’s physical and mental frailty became so obvious that the rich donors who put him in office decided to take him out of the race. Her campaign consists of little more than repetition of typical party talking points and a lot of good press from corporate media. In this case “good” means no journalists to speak of. The New York Times coverage consists of stories about vibes, joy, and the wonders of Kamala’s once derided laughter. As a presidential candidate in 2020 she won no delegates and dropped out of the race before she could be embarrassed by a bad primary loss in her home state of California. Yet she became Biden’s running mate and ultimately vice president, a job for which she was spectacularly unsuited. Harris became known for having a stunning inability to speak intelligently unless she was in front of a teleprompter. When unscripted she would often blurt out that young people are very stupid or gibberish about not falling out of a coconut tree. “Everything is in context. My mother used to… she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’ You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
Labor:
Economy:
Money for Banks Nothing for Wealth and Welfare! Data from the Fed’s Emergency Funding Program Shows Spring 2023 Banking Crisis Was Far Deeper than Americans Were Told
World:
The Imperialists are Bleeding the Poor, And the Poor are Fighting Back The crisis of capitalism is hitting poor countries hard. After hikes in interest rates over the past two years, the debt collectors are knocking on the door. As a result, imperialist institutions are now forcing draconian austerity measures and tax hikes on the poor in so-called developing countries. This is provoking anger and mass protests worldwide.
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
Child Labor: Historically, “child labor” is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. However, not all work done by children should be classified as child labor. Children or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. … The Great Depression catalyzed changes in political attitudes in the United States, especially surrounding child labor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal sought to prevent extreme child labor, and almost all of the codes under the National Industrial Recovery Act significantly reduced child labor. The Public Contracts Act of 1936 required boys to be 16 and girls to be 18 to work in firms supplying goods under federal contract. The Beet Sugar Act required children to be 14 to work in cultivating and harvesting sugar beets and cane. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) set the minimum working age at 14 for employment outside of school hours and 16 during school hours. Furthermore, non-agricultural work in interstate commerce required a minimum age of 16 during school hours and 18 for positions designated as “hazardous” by the secretary of labor. Overall, these laws were successful, not only to the generally widespread disapproval towards child labor, but also because many previously unemployed adults became employed once children were limited in the workforce.
Child Labor in America Is Back—and It’s As Chilling as Ever It should be a reminder of how deeply retrogressive capitalism has once again become both here at home and elsewhere across the plane. … But we better get used to it, since child labor is making a comeback with a vengeance. A striking number of lawmakers are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that have long prevented (or at least seriously inhibited) the possibility of exploiting children. Take a breath and consider this: The number of kids at work in the United States increased by 37 percent between 2015 and 2022. During the last two years, 14 states have either introduced or enacted legislation rolling back regulations that governed the number of hours children can be employed, lowered the restrictions on dangerous work, and legalized subminimum wages for youths. …Legislators offer fatuous justifications for such incursions into long-settled practice. Working, they tell us, will get kids off their computers or video games or away from the TV. Or it will strip the government of the power to dictate what children can and can’t do, leaving parents in control—a claim already transformed into fantasy by efforts to strip away protective legislation and permit 14-year-old kids to work without formal parental permission. … Subscribe today and Save up to $129. Nor are these assaults confined to red states like Iowa or the South. California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, as well as Georgia and Ohio, have been targeted, too. Even New Jersey passed a law in the pandemic years temporarily raising the permissible work hours for 16-to-18-year-olds. The blunt truth of the matter is that child labor pays and is fast becoming remarkably ubiquitous. It’s an open secret that fast-food chains have employed underage kids for years and simply treat the occasional fines for doing so as part of the cost of doing business. Children as young as 10 have been toiling away in such pit stops in Kentucky and older ones working beyond the hourly limits prescribed by law. Roofers in Florida and Tennessee can now be as young as 12. Recently, the Labor Department found more than 100 children between the ages of 13 and 17 working in meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses in Minnesota and Nebraska. And those were anything but fly-by-night operations. Companies like Tyson Foods and Packer Sanitation Services (owned by BlackStone, the world’s largest asset management firm) were also on the lis