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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:
Women Soldiers of Cuba
Broken Promises of Genetically Modified Crops About 20 years ago, the United States and Canada began introducing genetic modifications in agriculture. Europe did not embrace the technology. This is how it has played out.
Quotes of the Day:
A response statement from Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics said the corporations remain “fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe. Nothing this Administration has done today changes that in any way.” The Trump administration could easily approve the project early next year. The Obama Administration has never guaranteed the water protectors or the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that they would use force to stop Dakota Access from drilling under the river without a permit, if necessary. The Army Corps has not yet agreed to pursue a full EIS for the entire length of the pipeline. —DAPL Easement Denied, But The Fight’s Not Over
It appears Europe has been right all along to renounce GE crops. An in-depth examination recently published by the New York Times found that GE crops have largely failed to achieve two of the technology’s primary objectives: to increase crop yields and decrease pesticide use. Pesticides in particular have come under increasing fire in recent years, not only for their negative impact on human health and wildlife, but for decimating populations of key food crop pollinators; specifically bees, which we rely on to pollinate a third of food crops. While consumer awareness of the effects of pesticides has grown, the ongoing battle over GE crops has largely zeroed in on whether or not such foods are safe to consume. But as Times investigative reporter Danny Hakim points out in his article about the paper’s analysis, “the debate has missed a more basic problem“—that GE crops have “not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.” Analyzing academic and industry research, as well as independent data, the Times compared results on the two continents and found that the “United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields—food per acre—when measured against Western Europe.” The paper also cited a recent National Academy of Sciences report that found “little evidence that the introduction of GE crops were resulting in more rapid yearly increases in on-farm crop yields in the United States than had been seen prior to the use of GE crops.” — We’ve Been Sold a Lie for Two Decades About Genetically Engineered Foods Europe has been right all along to renounce GE crops.
“Regardless of the outcomes of the Paris climate talks, if TISA was passed it would massively reduce the ability of national governments to make the sort of rational choices about energy production that would move us further towards a low carbon economy,” Dearden continued. “TISA seeks to place corporate handcuffs on our governments at a time when they need as much flexibility as possible to steer us away from fossil fuel dependency,” he said. “If we want to fight climate change, we must also stop TISA and the other toxic trade deals that are being cooked up behind closed doors.” Added Friends of the Earth president Erich Pica: It is hypocritical for President Obama and other leaders of developed economies to meet in Paris to address climate change when their trade ministers are secretly crafting a Trade in Services Agreement which would undermine initiatives to cut carbon emissions. . . . Big oil services companies, water services multinationals, tar sands pipeline companies, exporters of fossil fuels and other corporate polluters are beneficiaries of TISA. President Obama and other heads of state are their willing handmaidens — How the Toxic Trade Deal You’ve Never Heard Of Could Kill the Climate TiSA seeks to place ‘corporate handcuffs’ on government attempts to steer away from fossil fuels, says Global Justice Now
Videos of the Day:
U.S.
The Robber Barons’ State Iron Heel, The Mafia State: Systems of governance that are seized by a tiny cabal become mafia states. The early years—Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton in the United States — are marked by promises that the pillage will benefit everyone. The later years — George W. Bush and Barack Obama — are marked by declarations that things are getting better even though they are getting worse. The final years — Donald Trump — see the lunatic trolls, hedge fund parasites, con artists, conspiracy theorists and criminals drop all pretense and carry out an orgy of looting and corruption. The rich never have enough. The more they get, the more they want. It is a disease. By Chris Hedges
Genocide and European Colonialism Continues — Dakota Access Pipeline Robber Barons Plan to Illegally Ignore the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Obama: With Air of Caution, Water Protectors Celebrate Victory Over ‘Big Black Snake’ ‘We have to be ready and we will be ready but we are going to take this victory right now,’ said Tom Goldtooth The Obama administration’s rejection of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is being widely hailed as a victory for the Standing Rock Sioux and Indigenous people throughout North America, as well as a testament to the power of people, who united to overcome “one of the most powerful economic and political forces in the world.” But the fight is clearly not over. After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced late Sunday that it would not be granting permission for the easement required for the oil pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe, pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners issued a statement denouncing the Corps’ decision as “purely political” and vowing to complete the pipeline “without any additional rerouting.” by Lauren McCauley 
Stalingrad at Standing Rock? Whether the ultimate showdown occurs on Monday or not, there is certainly a moment of great historical significance in the making at Standing Rock. The two ends of the chain of (what I will call) “absurd brutality” and “brutal absurdity” are connected there, the chain set in motion by European colonialism and presently manifesting in postmodern capitalism. At either end of the chain there is a supposed “question” that is absurd, ridiculous, crazy. In this meeting point of the two ends of the chain we see a world that appears to have spiraled into not only insanity but even into a late stage of dementia. by Bill Martin
The Iron Heel Ideology of the 1%: Standing Rock and the Ideology of Oppressors: Conversations with a Morton County Commissioner by Matthew Hannah 
Huge Antarctica Glacier in Serious Trouble The global warming crisis seems to get worse and worse, faster and faster. Now, Antarctica is in the spotlight with brand-new shocking research of a spine-chilling development. The whole of Antarctica, if melted in its entirety, equates to a sea level rise of 200’, but that will not happen during current lifetimes. It’s too big and would require way too much heating for way too long. But, a meltdown of a significant part of Antarctica, like West Antarctica, has the potential, according to new research, to submerge Miami and New York during current lifetimes. This is the first time scientific observation has officially come to the conclusion that such a horrendous meltdown is probable so soon! by Robert Hunziker
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Is Police Reform Possible Under Police State Trump? Police forces across the nation have been emboldened by Donald Trump’s election victory last month, including the nation’s largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which endorsed Trump in September. With law enforcement organizations celebrating the ascendance of a “law-and-order-loving” president-elect, what’s at stake now for the movement to rein in police abuses after January 20? By Candice Bernd
Private Prisons Are Really Bad, But Good Enough for Immigrants, Concludes Homeland Security Report Private immigration detention facilities may be bad — but they’re probably not going anywhere. That, in essence, was the conclusion of a much anticipated review of the Department of Homeland Security’s reliance on private companies to detain an immigrant detainee population that’s reaching historic highs, and that the president-elect is promising to escalate to even greater levels. By Alice Speri 
Labor:
Economy:
Renzi resigns: Italian crisis unfolds The results of the Italian Constitutional referendum and the sudden announcement of prime minister Renzi’s resignation are sending shockwaves throughout Europe. A victory for the No vote was expected, but the scale of the defeat for Renzi, with almost 60 percent supporting No, goes far beyond what had been anticipated by all exit polls by Francesco Merli
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Trump Saved Jobs at Carrier by Making the Same Deal American Politicians Always Make Trump was able to stick it to the fat cats at Carrier. The truth is that instead of busting up a system that encourages companies to threaten relocation in exchange for big public subsidies, Trump has reinforced it. By Henry Grabar
Environment:
Eyes in the Sky: Cutting NASA Earth Observations Would Be a Costly Mistake — Donald Trump’s election is generating much speculation about how his administration may or may not reshape the federal government. On space issues, a senior Trump advisor, former Pennsylvania Rep. Bob Walker, has called for ending NASA earth science research, including work related to climate change. Walker contends that NASA’s proper role is deep-space research and exploration, not “politically correct environmental monitoring.” By David Titley
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Italy’s Referendum Should Be a Warning to Donald Trump By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World: