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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 true hegemony of the ruling class consists of more than simply control of the “commanding heights” of the economy and positions of governmental power, but also of the authoritative political narrative. The “fake news” bugaboo is a Trojan Horse for speech and thought control, a ruse to reestablish the imperial narrative in all its domestic and international dimensions. It ain’t about “pizza-gate” — it’s about corporate global power. The mass of folks that are repelled and frightened by Donald Trump and his gang of generalissimos and billionaires may think that they are in a common struggle alongside Clinton and Jill Stein and much of Black leadership against “fascism” in the person of Trump, but the forces in Clinton’s Big Tent are fascists, too, of the global corporate, endless war and deepening austerity kind, who are now drawing up lists of who can speak and what subjects can properly be discussed. The same people that brought us the Mass Black Incarceration State and preventive detention without charge or trial, too big to jail, systematic Black urban displacement, Kill Lists, proxy jihadist wars and universal surveillance of humanity. The Democrats are emphatically not waging a fight against “fascism.” Instead, they have unleashed a war hysteria. — Corporate Democrats Stir Up War Fever Against Russia to Turn Election
Videos of the Day:
An urgent letter from Emma Thompson & Danny Glover We believe this proposal from The Real News Network to create a Global Climate Change Bureau deserves your attention. It is a critical link in the effort to fight for effective action to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and transition to an equitable, sustainable green economy
U.S.
Corporate Democrats Stir Up War Fever Against Russia to Turn Election The orchestrators of the anti-Russian war hysteria “have shown over the past several weeks that they are willing, and even eager, to bring down the whole edifice of U.S. social and political ‘checks and balances’ — freedom of speech and other civil liberties — to sustain the momentum of their neoliberal offensive in the world.” White Republicans stole the election, as usual, not Russians. Corporate Democrats want to steal the Bill of Rights. by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
Government — ‘A Family Affair’: “Damn Corrupt”: Trump’s Kids Attend Father’s Meeting with Top Tech Execs “How can Trump’s kids run his business and yet be privy to presidential meetings…… damn corrupt!!” Despite consistent demands that Donald Trump create clear firewalls between the involvement of his family, the operation of his business empire, and his new responsibility as a public servant, the president-elect on Wednesday invited three of his grown children—Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric—to attend a high-profile meeting with some of the nation’s most wealthy and powerful executives from the tech industry. By Jon Queally
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: Bette Davis Was Right About the Long War “U.S. leftists and liberals need to reorganize themselves and prepare for a LONG WAR that has no end in sight with militant groups like the Trump White House and their allies in Fox News…,” is my absurd mistranslation of Joint Chief of Staff’s Gen. Martin Dempsey’s farewell speech to the Pentagon about our endless war. Of course what Dempsey actually said is that this “long war” will be against ISIS and involve worldwide proxy wars like Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Africa. by Clancy Sigal
Seeking ‘True Accountability,’ First Civilian Drone Victim Appears in US Court If the Obama administration wins in Jaber v. Obama, ‘it would give the Trump Administration remarkably free rein insofar as drone killing and the U.S. courts are concerned’ by Deirdre Fulton
Environment:
EPA Finally Concludes That Fracking Is a Threat to U.S. Water Supplies Starting in 2008, ProPublica published stories that found hydraulic fracking had damaged drinking water supplies across the country. The reporting examined how fracking in some cases had dislodged methane, which then seeped into water supplies. In other instances, the reporting showed that chemicals related to oil and gas production through fracking were winding up in drinking water, and that waste water resulting from fracking operations was contaminating water sources. By Patrick G. Lee
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Labor:
Economy:
Whistleblower Vindicated: Massive Trading Firm Knight Capital Charged With Abusing “Naked Shorts” Back in September, I wrote a seven-part series at The Intercept chronicling how former Wall Street trader Chris DiIorio, determined to figure out how he lost a small fortune on a penny stock, came to the conclusion that gigantic market-making firm Knight Capital, now known as KCG, repeatedly violated federal regulations meant to prevent abuse in what are known as “naked short sales.” By David Dayen
Shadow Government Statistics
Senate Specifics on Why Goldman Sachs’ Gary Cohn Should Not Have a Role in the U.S. Government With the news that Gary Cohn, the sitting President of Goldman Sachs, will join two other Goldman Sachs alumni to make up the economic, treasury and strategy team in the Donald Trump administration, we had a fleeting vision of retired Michigan Senator Carl Levin flinging open a window in Detroit and screaming obscenities into the wind. Cohn was the Co-President of Goldman Sachs who oversaw its trading business in the leadup to the 2008 crash as it offloaded billions of dollars of toxic subprime mortgage paper onto its customers, with employees even referring to one offering as a “shitty deal” in emails, while Goldman shorted the hell out of the paper (betting against it) to make massive profits for itself. Billions of dollars of this rotten paper was sold to retirement funds for low-wage municipal workers. By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
World:
Referendums and Social Movements in Italy and Europe The results of the referendum on the Italian constitution on December 4 confirms the capacity of civil society and movements to appropriate the institutions of direct democracy to advance progressive objectives. The extraordinary victory of “No” (almost 20 per cent more votes than “Yes”) and the unexpected increase in voter participation would not have been possible without the mobilization from below of thousands of people and social organizations. This is just one example of opportunities offered by referendums when seen as an instrument of “politics from below” that have taken place during these years of crisis. By Donatella della Porta
The fall of Aleppo and the fog of war Aleppo has fallen. After four years of bloody war of attrition, the pre-civil war commercial hub and Syria’s largest city is once again under the complete control of the Assad regime. For the rebels and their foreign backers this represents a humiliating blow which will have major consequences internationally and domestically. by Hamid Alizadeh
Labor Groups Protest Reopening of Rail Lines Near Fukushima Labor activists have protested the reopening this month of a railway line in parts of northeast Japan where they believe radiation levels are still dangerous. The Joban Line runs from Nippori Station in Tokyo to Iwanuma Station, just south of Sendai City. It is one of main connections between northeast Tokyo’s major station of Ueno up along the coast through Chiba, Ibaraki and Miyagi prefectures. This region was severely damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011, while the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster meant that large areas through which trains pass were contaminated by radiation. by William Andrews
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Revisted: : Seven Reasons Why the US’s New Mental Health Law Is Dangerous This week, President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act, touting the bipartisan mental health measure as “bringing to reality the possibility of new breakthroughs to some of the greatest health-care challenges of our time.” However, the reality behind this legislation is not quite what it appears to be.The 21st Century Cures Act will increase the ease with which individuals can be involuntarily hospitalized in a locked ward, increase funding for institutionalized settings, and demand that states implement forced outpatient treatment in order to receive funding. Many media reports are suggesting that it will fix a broken mental health system, incorporate patient voices into clinical processes, decrease mass violence and modernize clinical trials. But will it really? Here are seven reasons why Obama’s signing of the 21st Century Cures Act is less than grounds for celebration. By Noel Hunter
Naked Capitalism What Could Go Wrong?
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Ongoing Big Energy Crisis: