Daily News Digest September 5, 2024
Images of the Day:
Universal Basic Income
It’s Still the Same Old Story: Low Wages High Rent!(The Condition of Laborers at Pullman 1894)
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Rent of Primary Residence in U.S. City Average 
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:
But we must see that the struggle today is much more difficult. It’s more difficult today because we are struggling now for genuine equality. And it’s much easier to integrate a lunch counter than it is to guarantee a livable income and a good solid job. It’s much easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee the right to live in sanitary, decent housing conditions. It is much easier to integrate a public park than it is to make genuine, quality, integrated education a reality. And so today we are struggling for something which says we demand genuine equality. — The Other America Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stanford University April 14, 1967
During the pandemic, government spending rose sharply to try and ameliorate the impact of job and wage losses. But once that ended, the coalition government applied fiscal austerity measures, supposedly to keep in line with EU Commission strictures and the German constitution that stipulates the state ‘may only spend as much money as it earns’. The government froze its climate and modernisation funding plans and plugged a €17bn ‘hole’ in its budget with austerity measures. This included scrapping a diesel subsidy for agricultural vehicles which set off angry protests by farmers. Tractors stormed cities and blocked off several autobahn junctions. The disruption to millions of commuters was exacerbated by a train drivers’ strike on a disintegrating privatized rail system. To top it all, the finance minister Christian Lindner, who is the leader of the small neo-liberal ‘free market’ FDP party, is insisting on cutting social spending (particularly hammering those in eastern Germany). Lindner wants to cut government spending by up to €50 billion! What all this shows is that even German capitalism, the most successful advanced capitalist economy in Europe, cannot escape the divisive forces of the Long Depression. But it is also shows that the German coalition government’s slavish following of the interests of US imperialism in the name of ‘Western democracy’ over Ukraine and Israel is destroying the hegemony of German capital and the living standards of its poorest citizens. No wonder the voices of nationalism and reaction are gaining traction. —Germany: The End of EU hegemony?
Podcasts/Vide0s of the Day:
Digital Deception: Disinformation, Elections, and Islamophobia: Juan Cole et al. In 2007, the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. established the Brookings Doha Center (BDC). For fourteen years, BDC provided critical analysis on geopolitical and socioeconomic issues in the Middle East and North Africa and became recognized as a hub for high-quality independent research and policy analysis on the region. In 2021, with the support of its key stakeholders, BDC evolved into an independent policy research institution under the name of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.
You Can Measure the Health Of A Society By How It Treats Its Warmongers And Its Peacemongers
While US Arms Israel, DOJ Hits Hamas Leaders With Terrorism Charges “We could, at any time, simply stop providing weapons to a far-right nationalist state intent on genocide. Instead, we just filed criminal charges against Palestinian militants who fought back,” one professor lamented.
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.
Hamilton is a ‘Founding Father’ that Federalists/Orignalist Supreme Court Honor!: Alexander Hamilton’s Assault on Working People, Enslaved and Free A new book, The Hamilton Scheme, explores a very different founder than the one we’ve come to think we know. Labor Day is an excellent time to talk about Alexander Hamilton. Because for the last decade, everyone has been talking about Hamilton – in ways that would’ve likely made him scoff. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit play, inspired by Ron Chernow’s biography of the subject, painted Hamilton as a daring genius embodying the American Dream and setting the bar for upward mobility – a dashing figure of rivalries, affairs, and death by duel. But that’s just the glossy front; it skips over Hamilton’s darker legacy – especially regarding the aspirations of ordinary people. Historian Billy G. Smith observes that if he had seen the play, Hamilton would have loathed the “sight of himself singing, dancing, and intermingling on a stage with so many common, ordinary people.” The nobody from Nevis might’ve come from humble beginnings, but once he made it big, he left all that behind for good. The common people? Not his scene. True, Hamilton was the mastermind behind America’s early economic engine, molding the nation with his big financial ideas and a dream of a centralized powerhouse. But while he was busy crafting a stable financial system and forging a path to national greatness, his policies left everyday workers paying the price.
United States Funded Genocide in Israel:
Israel Official: Without US Aid, Israel Couldn’t Sustain Gaza Operations for More Than a Few Months The US has sent over 50,000 tons of weapons to Israel since the genocidal war began and increased shipments over the past month. Asenior Israeli Air Force official has told Haaretz that without US military aid, Israel would not have been able to sustain military operations in Gaza for more than a few months, demonstrating how crucial US support is for the genocidal slaughter of Palestinians. The support is especially crucial for the Israeli Air Force. The report said the US provides the IAF with “all of its fighter planes and some of its bombs, missiles and intelligence equipment.” The US also helps Israel develop “joint weapons systems for all three layers of air defense.”
Israel Kills 4 in Strike on Gaza Aid Convoy Led by US-Based Group The strike came just after the UN’s food agency was forced to pause movement across Gaza due to another Israeli attack. Israeli forces killed four people in an attack on a humanitarian aid convoy organized by a U.S.-based group on Thursday, the day after the World Food Programme announced that another Israeli attack earlier that week was forcing it to suspend movements for safety reasons. The aid convoy organized by U.S.-based nonprofit American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) was carrying food and fuel to a hospital in Rafah when Israeli forces struck the leading vehicle in the convoy. The convoy’s route had been organized with Israeli forces ahead of time.
Netanyahu Doubles Down on Gaza Border Occupation Amid Pro-Ceasefire Protests Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting that Israel permanently control the entirety of Gaza’s border.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has doubled down on his insistence that the Israeli military permanently occupy Gaza’s border with Egypt, further obstructing ceasefire negotiations as protests for a hostage release deal erupt in Israel. On Monday, Netanyahu hosted a long press conference in which he pledged not to “surrender to pressure” that he strike a ceasefire deal. He said Israel will not accept a deal that does not include Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor — a strip of land that runs along the only section of Gaza’s outer boundary not bordered by Israel or the Mediterranean Sea.
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!
As Capitalism Produces and Burns More Fossil Fuels: Earth Just had its Warmest July on Record July was the globe’s 14th month in a row of record warmth The average July global surface temperature was 2.18 degrees F (1.21 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees F (15.8 degrees C), ranking as the warmest July in NOAA’s 175-year global record. July 2024 was also the 14th-consecutive month of record-high temperatures for the planet. Last month’s temperatures were above average across much of the global land surface except for Alaska, southern South America, eastern Russia, Australia and western Antarctica. Africa, Asia and Europe had their warmest Julys on record, while North America saw its second-warmest July.
Big Oil Is the Winner from Dutch Carbon Capture Subsidies Flagship project burnishes climate credentials of Shell and Exxon, while state assumes lion’s share of the risk. … After years of delay, a joint venture known as Porthos, an acronym for Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transport Hub and Offshore Storage, is due to begin operating in 2026. It’s a 1.3-billion-euro joint venture between state-owned gas companies Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) and Gasunie, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The CEOs of these organisations are due to join Sophie Hermans, the Netherlands’ minister of climate policy and green growth, and senior European Union officials, for a ceremony on Monday to toast the start of construction work at the site. At full capacity, Porthos is expected to handle 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 captured annually from facilities operated by its four dedicated customers: Shell, ExxonMobil, and the hydrogen producers Air Liquide and Air Products. That total is equivalent to roughly 10 percent of the port’s emissions, and 1.5 percent of the Netherlands’ current CO2 output. Once captured, the gas will be pumped under the North Sea throughout a 15-year period, or until the storage space reaches a maximum estimated capacity of 37.5 million tonnes.
One Result of Biden’s LGN Exporting to Europe!: ‘I Want Out’: How s Natural Gas Project Along the Gulf Coast is Upending Residents’ Lives Venture Global’s plant depletes water, emergency services and road space, say local officials, people and paramedics. When America’s newest gas giant arrives in your town, the world turns upside down. Residents of Plaquemines parish, 70 miles south of New Orleans, say they have faced unreliable essential services, water shortages and impassible traffic since 2021, when Venture Global began construction on what will become one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) hubs.
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Meta’s Role in Israel’s Digital Proxy War on The Cradle The banning of The Cradle from Facebook and Instagram shows a troubling alliance with Israeli-linked groups to silence voices critical of the occupation state, especially those media outlets covering its…On 16 August, social media giant Meta permanently banned The Cradle from Facebook and Instagram. The outlet’s accounts on those platforms, which had amassed over a hundred thousand followers and millions of views, were unilaterally purged without warning or a chance to appeal. Permabanned. The officially-stated grounds were purported violations of community guidelines for “praising terrorist organizations” through its reporting on the activities of West Asia’s resistance movements. Meta summarily informed The Cradle: No one can see or find your account, and you can’t use it. All your information will be permanently deleted. You cannot request another review of this decision.
Florida State Parks Whistleblower Fired After Exposing Ron Desantis’s Plans James Gaddis tanked Florida governor’s secretive scheme to build hotels and golf courses over acres of preserved land Florida’s department of environmental protection has fired a whistleblower who exposed and sank governor Ron DeSantis’s secretive plan to pave over environmentally sensitive state parks and build lucrative hotels, golf courses and pickleball courts. James Gaddis, who worked for the agency for two years as a cartographer, was terminated for “conduct unbecoming a public employee”, according to a letter he received on Saturday.
Labor:
Cornell Has Driven Up Local Cost of Living. Workers Had No Choice But to Strike. The university’s service and maintenance staff struck for two weeks, saying they can no longer afford to live in Ithaca. After two weeks on strike at Cornell University, the United Auto Workers (UAW) members who comprise the university’s service and maintenance staff have returned to work after Labor Day weekend. The school semester has already started amid the strike, with students receiving occasionally frozen box lunches, faculty being asked to bring their own food, and the university asking for volunteer labor from other staff, faculty and retirees to fill in for its striking workers.
Economy:
After JPMorgan Threatens to Sue, the Fed Cuts Its Capital Requirement on the 5-Count Felon from a Planned 25 Percent Hike to Less than 8 Percent It appears that Senator Elizabeth Warren was spot on in her assessment of the lack of a backbone for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell when it comes to raising capital requirements on the powerful megabanks on Wall Street. At a March 7 Senate Banking Committee hearing in which Powell was appearing as a witness, Warren said this: “Despite all you said last year when the banks failed [in the spring banking crisis of 2023] about supporting Vice Chair Barr’s recommendations to strengthen rules for big banks, public reporting now says that you are driving efforts inside the Fed to weaken the capital rule. You even told the House Financial Services Committee representatives yesterday that you think it’s ‘very plausible’ that you withdraw the rule.”
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
US Drug Prices Still Far Higher Than Other Nations’ Even After Medicare Talks The U.S. “has always accepted that we are the country that overpays relative to the rest of the world,” said one health policy expert. The Biden administration’s Medicare drug price negotiations yielded lowered costs for 10 commonly used drugs, and the White House said last month that Americans would save an estimated $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses thanks to the talks—but an analysis out Tuesday found that the U.S. will still be paying far more than other wealthy countries. Reuters reviewed the maximum prices that Australia, Japan, Canada, and Sweden have agreed to pay for nine of the 10 drugs for which Medicare negotiated prices this year, and found that the U.S. will still be paying more than double the amout for the medications on average.
COVID Vaccines May Cost $200 for Uninsured People Due to Federal Funding Cuts The cost of the latest version of the vaccine may no longer be covered for roughly 25 million Americans. to $200 for the roughly 25 million uninsured people in the U.S., due to the defunding of a federal program that previously covered the costs, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. It’s the “latest tear in the safety net” as pandemic-era programs wind down, the newspaper reported. Covid-19 vaccines were free for everyone in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022, per federal policy. However, in January, congressional Republicans negotiated a deal that rescinded $6.1 billion in emergency coronavirus relief funding, which killed the Bridge Access Program, launched in April 2023, that covered the cost for the uninsured.