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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:
“I’ll be 90 years old soon,” he said at the time. “Soon I’ll be like all the others. The time will come for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain as proof on this planet that if they are worked at with fervor and dignity, they can produce the material and cultural goods that human beings need, and we need to fight without truce to obtain them.” — Cuban Revolutionary Leader Fidel Castro Dead at 90
I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. — Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Videos of the Day:
U.S.
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Fidel Castro was an unwavering champion of racial equality Okay, the media failed supremely in not realizing Americans could elect an empty-headed, knee-jerk liar as President. But, still, I say the greatest media shortcoming of the past half century was not recognizing that Fidel Castro was the most dedicated and powerful proponent of racial justice the world has ever known. By Ronald Howell 
Labor:
Economy:
Trump and the One Percent: Making the Super-Rich Even Richer Well take the word capital gains. When most people think about capital gains, they have an image of industry growing and innovation taking place. There’s an indication as if somehow when real estate and housing prices go up, everybody’s getting richer. When stock prices go up, the economies got richer. So Hillary Clinton was able to say, look at how the stock market soared in the last 8 years thanks to Mr. Obama. by Michael Hudson and Sharmini Peries
A Closer Look at Donald Trump’s Chief Strategist, Stephen K. Bannon As we reported on November 20, three of the men associated with Citizens United, the right-wing organization that took the legal case to the U.S. Supreme Court that ushered in today’s unprecedented era of unlimited corporate money in U.S. elections, took key posts in the Donald Trump campaign beginning this past summer. One of the men, Stephen K. Bannon, has been named by President-elect Trump to be his Senior Counselor and Chief Strategist in the White House. While Bannon is widely cited for his executive role at Breitbart News prior to joining the Trump campaign, he is also the long-tenured, right-wing filmmaker for the Citizens United organization. A number of the films made by Bannon list Lawrence Kadish as Executive Producer and Victory Film Group as an affiliated entity involved in the documentaries. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Breaking the Chains of Empire: the Enduring Legacy of Fidel Castro Fidel Castro dedicated his life to the resistance of empire and the ocean of injustice and oppression inflicted in its name. Though his death may mark the end of the man, it gives birth to a legend that will endure for centuries to come. by John Wight
Fidel Castro has died – the Cuban revolution must live! At 10.29 pm on Friday, November 26, the Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. His brother Raul Castro announced the news to the Cuban population and the world around midnight in a televised speech. His death was not unexpected, as he had been ill for a number of years and had already stepped down from his formal political responsibilities, but still it came as a shock to both friends and enemies. by Jorge Martín 
Patrick Cockburn: Threats between Erdogan and the EU ring hollow – they need each other All sides are paying a price for letting the wars in Syria and Iraq go on for so long and doing so little to bring them to an end
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Cuba has a population of 11,236,000 which is about the same as Ohio. The life expectancy is 74.7 for males and 79.2 for females in 2001 compared to 74.3 for males and 79.5 for females in the U.S. The infant mortality rate is 7 per 1,000 live births. Cuba’s universal health system began in 1959 with the change of government. Cuba spends 6.3 percent of it GDP on healthcare, and its 1997 per capita expense was $131-USD. Despite Cuba’s low spending, it was ranked 39th for “overall health system performance” by the World Health Organization, compared to the U.S. ranking of 37 (out of 191 countries).
Cuba has a national health service. Services are available without charge to everyone. They are provided by salaried personnel in facilities run by the government. Patients have access to 24-hour, neighborhood doctor and nurse teams (1 doctor-nurse team per 120-170 patients). If necessary, patients are referred to multi-specialty clinics (“polyclinics”) and/or hospitals. A patient may change their GP to a doctor in another neighborhood. Physicians spend their mornings in their practice and their afternoons making house calls to the elderly and the infirm. Every patient is seen at least twice a year, either by coming into the clinic or by a house call from the physician.
The government pays for 89.2 percent of health expenditures. Benefits include full medical and dental services, as well as prescription drugs. Private out-of-pocket expenditures account for the remaining 10.8 percent of health expenditures. Because of the strict embargo, Cuba relies on donations of some medical supplies from Canada, Europe, Latin America, and U.S. NGOs. However, Cuba exports physicians to practice all over Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. Cuba also has established medical schools, staffed by Cuban professors, in Guyana, Benin, Uganda, Ghana, Yemen and Equatorial Guinea.
Cuba
Quotes of the Day:
In the Age of the Media Monopoly: In this dangerous new world, journalism must protect itself We face an existential crisis, a threat to the very relevance and usefulness of our profession. Our values of truth can win out, if we stand together in their defence By Christiane Amanpour
America (Roosevelt) once turned its back on Anne Frank, just as Donald Trump rejects Muslim refugees today Anne’s father Otto sought visas to the United States and the door was slammed in their face. I do wonder what the Trump administration would have done By Robert Fisk
Indigenous Resolve ‘Stronger Than Ever’ as Feds Order DAPL Protest Camp Shut Down ‘If the Army Corps tears down this protest camp hundreds more will spring up in its place,’ says filmmaker Josh Fox by Deirdre Fulton
Environment:
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
International Health Systems: Cuba