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As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not The 1% Who Profit From Austerity!
Images of the Day:
The Iron Heel From 1964 to Today 
Union of Concerned Scientists November By Adam Zyglis Each year since 2006, UCS has asked artists all over the United States to give us their creative take on the absurdity of political interference in science. This year we picked six winners from our 2015 editorial cartoon contest and commissioned six previous winners to develop cartoons that shine a light on the importance of defending science in the American democracy. The featured cartoons address a number of topics that are critical to the role of science in policy making—from climate change to endangered species — and in our everyday lives. — The 2016 Center for Science and Democracy Calendar
Quote of the Day:
. . .”And this leads me to say something about another discussion that we hear a great deal, and that is the so-called ‘white backlash.’
“I would like to honestly say to you that the white backlash is merely a new name for an old phenomenon. It’s not something that just came into being because of shouts of Black Power or because Negroes engaged in riots in Watts, for instance. The fact is that the state of California voted a fair housing bill out of existence before anybody shouted Black Power or before anybody rioted in Watts.
“It may well be that shouts of Black Power and riots in “Watts and the Harlems and the other areas are the consequences of the white backlash rather than the cause.
What it is necessary to see is that there has never been a single solid monistic determined commitment on the part of the vast majority of white Americans on the whole question of Civil Rights and on the whole question of racial equality. This is something that truth impels all men of good will to admit.” . . . — Martiin Luther King, The Other America
Videos of the Day:
Filmmaker Facing 45 Years for Covering Keystone Pipeline Protest Wins Suspension of Prosecution Award-winning filmmaker Deia Schlosberg says if the corporate media ignores climate change, it’s up to independent media to cover its impacts as well as the resistance to fossil fuel extraction
U.S.
Time to Move the Standing Rock Pipeline By The New York Times Editorial Board
The Iron Heel: The Standing Rock protests are a taste of things to come The way opponents of the Dakota Access pipeline have been treated by police is likely to be replicated on a massive scale under Donald Trump By Kate Aronoff
A Thanksgiving Ode to John Horse and the Black Seminoles John Horse and the Black Seminoles secured the first Emancipation Proclamation years before Lincoln’s by forcing the white establishment in Florida to compromise. Their story is unfortunately overlooked, but important for the future of Black and Brown people across the Americas. In a time when allyship, sacrifice and resistance are all urgently necessary, the Black Seminoles offer key examples. By William C. Anderson
White Nationalism, Bigotry, and Racism
Environment:
Trump to scrap Nasa climate research in crackdown on ‘politicized science’ Nasa’s Earth science division is set to be stripped of funding as the president-elect seeks to shift focus away from home in favor of deep space exploration This would mean the elimination of Nasa’s world-renowned research into temperature, ice, clouds and other climate phenomena. Nasa’s network of satellites provide a wealth of information on climate change, with the Earth science division’s budget set to grow to $2bn next year. By comparison, space exploration has been scaled back somewhat, with a proposed budget of $2.8bn in 2017. By Oliver Milman
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Obama’s Musings on False Narratives and Fake Stories So-called “fake news” has Obama shook up – probably because he and other presidents want to keep their monopoly on false narratives. “The ruling class, which Obama so faithfully serves, has lost control of the social and political narrative, without which it cannot ‘protect’ its wealth, privilege and power. It is a crisis of legitimacy, rooted in the crisis of capitalism, itself.” by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
Freedom Rider: How Not to Protest Trump Donald Trump’s many evils are manifest and obvious. But let’s stop pretending that some historical line has been crossed in U.S. political and social relations. “The dictates of white supremacy are ever present and the numbers of white people who do anything serious about it are small.” Newly outraged Democrats act like they’ve never seen a fascist. “There is an ample supply of domestic fascists. They are the people who wear police uniforms.” by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
Obama’s Departure is One Reason to Feel Optimism for Trump’s Arrival Fears of Trump should not obscure the fact that Barack Obama’s reign was a disaster. “Black America is in a worse condition than before, working class people as a whole have lost ground to a low-wage economy, and the world is closer to a World War III scenario than at any point prior.” The struggle continues, but “it is important to ensure that the protests against Trump are not allowed to be channeled back into the Democratic Party graveyard.” by Danny Haiphong
No More American Thanksgivings “The core ideological content of the holiday serves to validate all that has since occurred on these shores – a national consecration of the unspeakable, a balm and benediction for the victors, a blessing of the fruits of murder and kidnapping, and an implicit obligation to continue the seamless historical project in the present day.” by Glen Ford
by Robin D.G. Kelley The author writes: “I am not suggesting that white racism alone explains Trump’s victory. Nor am I dismissing the white working class’s very real economic grievances. It is not a matter of disaffection versus racism or sexism versus fear. Rather, racism, class anxieties, and prevailing gender ideologies operate together, inseparably, or as Kimberlé Crenshaw would say, intersectionally.”
by Robin D.G. Kelley
Warmongers in the U.S. Congress — Democrats and Republicans – are in a mad dash towards war with Russia in Syria. A “No Fly Zone” resolution passed the House with little debate, cloaked in “humanitarian” language that blames the besieged Syrian government for the totality of the deaths in the U.S.-backed proxy war. The bipartisan regime changers are desperate to complete their mission before the regime change that will occur in Washington, on January 20. by Rick Sterling
How will Donald Trump’s rhetoric on removing what he calls “illegal aliens” be put into actual policy? One thing is certain: It will take a lot more than even a tripling of the current ICE force of 5,000 to surpass President Obama’s record-breaking deportations. “ICE would still rely on local law enforcement to do the bulk of arrests.” Congress would also have to revise existing immigration laws.
by Tanya Golash-Boza
Confusing Jihad with Hirabah Won’t Build a More Peaceful World The author, a reader and colleague of BAR, offers a corrective to our use of the word “jihad,” a term that, in “an Islamic conception, has nothing to do with ‘holy war.’” In this “appeal,” Mr. Esco warns: “When we fail to interrupt this abuse of human language, We lend support to registration programs and internment camps, to islamaphobic attacks and imperial wars of aggression.” by Hugh Esco
What Does a Trump Victory Mean for Africa? Donald Trump is mostly bad news for Africa, including reduced U.S. aid and possibly more support for “imperial African adventurism” – unless, of course, Africa uses Trump’s lemons to make lemonade. His isolationism “could give Africans a chance to recalibrate what is now an excessive, self-destructive reliance on export of oil and gas, minerals and cash crops.” On climate policy, Trump is an unmitigated disaster.
by Patrick Bond
Can Kenya lead the African Union? From championing impunity for suspected masterminds of crimes against humanity, to frustrating African liberation and unity by working in cahoots with Empire; from publicly supporting Israel’s desire to join the African Union, to being a conduit for illicit financial flows from Africa; Kenya is fundamentally unfit to lead the AU. A deeply entrenched kleptocracy has ruined Kenya and actively undermined African interests for over half a century. by Horace G. Campbell
Labor:
Economy:
World:
Theresa May: Capitalism’s dedicated servant The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has announced that the government’s agenda is “unashamedly pro-business”. Millions of Britons who are gearing up for Christmas must be in a state of shock at this earth-shattering news that a Tory government is an “unashamed” supporter of big business. by Rob Sewell
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: