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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:
One must accentuate especially the role which Jack London attributes to the labor bureaucracy and to the labor aristocracy in the further fate of mankind. Thanks to their support, the American plutocracy not only succeeds in defeating the workers’ insurrection but also in keeping its iron dictatorship during the following three centuries. We will not dispute with the poet the delay which can but seem to us too long. However, it is not a question of Jack London’s pessimism, but of his passionate effort to shake those who are lulled by routine, to force them to open their eyes and to see what is and what approaches. The artist is audaciously utilizing the methods of hyperbole. He is bringing the tendencies rooted in capitalism: of oppression, cruelty, bestiality, betrayal, to their extreme expression. He is operating with centuries in order to measure the tyrannical will of the exploiters and the treacherous rôle of the labor bureaucracy. But his most “romantic” hyperboles are finally much more realistic than the bookkeeper-like calculations of the so-called “sober politicians.” It is easy to imagine with what a condescending perplexity the official socialist thinking of that time met Jack London’s menacing prophecies. If one took the trouble to look over the reviews of The Iron Heel at that time in the German Neue Zeit and Vorwärts, in the Austrian Kampf and Arbeiterzeitung, as well as in the other socialist publications of Europe and America, he could easily convince himself that the thirty-year-old “romanticist” saw incomparably more clearly and farther than all the social-democratic leaders of that time taken together. But Jack London bears comparison in this domain not only with the reformists. One can say with assurance that in 1907 not one of the revolutionary Marxists, not excluding Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg, imagined so fully the ominous perspective of the alliance between finance capital and labor aristocracy. This suffices in itself to determine the specific weight of the novel. The chapter, The Roaring Abysmal Beast, undoubtedly constitutes the focus of the book. At the time when the novel appeared this apocalyptical chapter must have seemed to be the boundary of hyperbolism. However, the consequent happenings have almost surpassed it. And the last word of class struggle has not yet been said by far! The “Abysmal Beast” is to the extreme degree oppressed, humiliated, and degenerated people. Who would now dare to speak for this reason about the artist’s pessimism? No, London is an optimist, only a penetrating and farsighted one. “Look into what kind of abyss the bourgeoisie will hurl you down, if you don’t finish with them!” This is his thought. Today it sounds incomparably more real and sharp than thirty years ago. But still more astonishing is the genuinely prophetic vision of the methods by which the Iron Heel will sustain its domination over crushed mankind. London manifests remarkable freedom from reformistic pacifist illusions. In this picture of the future there remains not a trace of democracy and peaceful progress. Over the mass of the deprived rise the castes of labor aristocracy, of praetorian army, of an all-penetrating police, with the financial oligarchy at the top. In reading it one does not believe his own eyes: it is precisely the picture of fascism, of its economy, of its governmental technique, its political psychology! The fact is incontestable: in 1907 Jack London already foresaw and described the fascist regime as the inevitable result of the defeat of the proletarian revolution. Whatever may be the single “errors” of the novel – and they exist – we cannot help inclining before the powerful intuition of the revolutionary artist. — Trotsky and the Iron Heel
While Marxists call for an energetic struggle against Trump and all that he represents, we nevertheless insist on an objective analysis of his election. Consider the fact that when Hitler took power, before the “night of the long knives,” there were 3,000,000 members of the SA/Brownshirts. What mass paramilitary forces exist in the US today? We point out that with the current balance of class forces, the working class could easily swat away these reactionary buffoons, but it must be organized into a class-independent political force that fights to overthrow capitalism. The alt-right needs to be analyzed in the same manner. — USA: Should We Fear or Fight the Alt-Right?
The term “fascist” is bandied about today more than at any time since 1969, but there is little discussion of what fascism actually looks like in the 21st century. The truth is, it looks like Democrats and Republicans; it operates through the duopoly, the political apparatus of the ruling class. Donald Trump’s fascism is largely the residue of the fascism of apartheid America, under Jim Crow, which had many of the characteristics of – and in some ways presaged – the “classic” fascism of pre-World War Two Europe. The establishment corporate Democratic and Republican brand of fascism is far more racially, sexually and culturally inclusive, but just as ruthless. And, at this moment in history, the corporate Democratic fascists are the more aggressively warlike brand. These fascists also fight each other, sometimes viciously — as we are now witnessing. But they mesh and overlap more than they differ. Donald Trump rants about taking away people’s citizenship for burning the flag, but Hillary Clinton introduced her own flag-burning measure when she was a senator. And Trump could become a regime-change fanatic in an instant. It’s all part of the menu in the late-stage capitalist duopoly. As BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley wrote in her article, “Who’s the Fascist”: “In just the last 40 years American presidents or their allied partners in crime have killed people in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Congo, Somalia, Haiti, Grenada, Gaza, Kosovo, Serbia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen. What do they have to do to be called fascists? Showing bad manners seems to be the only thing that sets off expressions of outrage among Americans.” The Democrat-Fascists are most concerned with maintaining their endless wars for global domination. Therefore, their hit list is heavy with anti-war folks, mostly right-wingers who dance to Trump’s “America First” tune. — Glen Ford
Video of the Day:
Protesters in Haiti Say Moise Victory Amounts to ‘Electoral Coup’ Some parties maintain their supporters were denied the right to vote and many are taking to the streets despite campaign of intimidation, says journalist Margaret Prescod
U.S.:
U.S.Our ‘National Disgrace’: The Crime at Standing Rock So. We come to the close of Native American Heritage Month. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved a joint resolution of Congress designating November “National American Indian Heritage Month,” and it has been so designated by every President and Congress since. And yet, look at where we are today. Shockingly, we are reliving history! The worst parts of history! The Native Americans of this country are fighting as “Water Protectors” against something we should all be fighting against: polluted water (get the background on Standing Rock). This fight goes beyond Standing Rock to places like Flint, Michigan and possibly to your own home town. In this month set aside to honor Native Americans, we have witnessed these proud People arrested and held in chain-link cages like you would use for animals. By Jon Waterhouse with Mary Marshall
The U.N. Sent 3 Foreign Women To The U.S. To Assess Gender Equality. They Were Horrified. The human rights experts concluded that the country falls far behind most others. The delegates were appalled by the lack of gender equality in America. They found the U.S. to be lagging far behind international human rights standards in a number of areas, including its 23 percent gender pay gap, maternity leave, affordable child care and the treatment of female migrants in detention centers. By Laura Bassett 
Both Parties Support the Use of the Iron Heel to Opposition: Fascism with a Democratic Party Face BAR and 12 other leftwing web sites have been put on a hit list publicized by the Washington Post. Fascists of the Democratic kind are responsible. “Had Clinton won the election, she would have begun a campaign of repression against the Left along the same national security lines as the Washington Post article, with that paper probably leading the propaganda charge.” Donald Trump isn’t the only fascist to worry about. by BAR executive editor Glen Ford 
Environment:
Labor:
World:
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
The ‘Big Lie’: ‘Social Security is Broke’!
Quotes of the Day: 
Leading Rights Groups Launch ‘Wave of Litigation’ to Protect Abortion Access ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Center for Reproductive Rights say ‘these laws are dangerous, unjust, and unconstitutional—and they will come down’ by Nadia Prupis
Petraeus Redux? The news that President-elect Donald Trump called in disgraced retired Gen. David Petraeus for a job interview as possible Secretary of State tests whether Trump’s experience in hosting “The Celebrity Apprentice” honed his skills for spotting an incompetent phony or not. by Ray McGovern
Egoism and Empathy in the Era of Neocons and Neoliberals by RP Burnham 
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Obama Quietly Undercutting Climate Legacy With Foreign Fossil Fuel Investments: InvestigationUnder Obama, U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has gotten three times more financing than during George W. Bush’s terms by Andrea Germanos
What Can We Learn From Romania’s Grizzly Experience? In an astonishing move, the government of Romania recently banned trophy hunting of the country’s large carnivores. This was welcome reprieve for the country’s 5,000 or so brown bears (of the same species as grizzly bears), which constitute the largest population remaining in Europe outside of Russia. Several thousand wolves and hundreds of lynx and wildcat which find refuge in the verdant forests of Romania as well are also now protected from sport hunting. by Louisa Willcox
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Economy: