Daily News Digest Archives
During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: 1. Austerity, 2. Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and 3. The Iron Heel.
Daily News Digest March 20, 2017
Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99% — Only the 1% Voted For Austerity — The 99% Should Decide On Austerity — Not Just The 1% Who Profit From Austerity!
Images of the Day:
People & Planet Before Profits!
Quotes of the Day:
In a recent speech titled “After Trump and Pussy Hats” delivered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges tells the audience that “resistance must also be accompanied by an alternative vision of a socialist, anti-capitalist society.” After a fierce indictment of what he calls the kleptocracy that rules the United States, Hedges urges organizing “with lightning speed” because this is our “last chance” to do so. “This resistance must also be accompanied by an alternative vision of a socialist, anti-capitalist society. Because the enemy in the end is not Trump or Bannon — it is corporate power,” Hedges says. “And if we do not stop corporate power, we will never dismantle fascism’s seduction of the white working class and unemployed.” “Hope comes from the numerous protests that have been mounted in the streets, in town halls,” he continues. “We must engage in these battles on a local and on a national level … we will have to build new radical movements and most importantly, new parallel institutions that challenge the hegemony of corporate power. It will not be easy; it will take time.” — Chris Hedges: The Enemy Is Not Donald Trump or Steve Bannon—It Is Corporate Power (Video)
Video of the Day:
Will Trump’s Plan to Roll Back Fuel Economy Regulations Help American Autoworkers? Retired General Motors employee Frank Hammer and Sierra Club’s Andrew Linhardt say that high efficiency standards lead to job creation while stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions from cars that contribute to climate change
U.S.:
Trump’s Budget Shreds the Social Safety Net President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget so far reflects Steve Bannon’s agenda to ‘deconstruct the administrative state’
Trump’s 2005 Tax Forms: ‘Like Going to Dinner And Being Served Pictures of Food’ Economists James Henry and Bill Black hypothesize that there are fraudulent and criminal activities lurking within Trump’s unreleased Tax forms
Tillerson Puts Preemptive Strike Against North Korea ‘On the Table’ Tillerson’s “rejection of diplomacy and gesturing towards conflict with North Korea is both irresponsible and dangerous,” says anti-nuclear group by Nadia Prupis
Trump’s New Era of Militarism and Mendacity There is no better introduction to the militarism and callousness of the Trump era than the budget proposal for 2018. Much has been written about the miserly cuts to Meals on Wheels, housing aid, and other community assistance, but it’s just as important to examine the unjustified and unnecessary increases in defense spending. The Trump budget is clearly designed to enable another cycle of militarized national security policy and, in the words of Steve Bannon, to “deconstruct the administrative state.” by Melvin Goodman
Dahr Jamail: Naval Exercises Add Trillions of Pieces of Plastic Debris to Oceans 
Black Liberation/ Civil Rights:
Environment:
East Chicago’s Pleas for Clean Drinking Water Go Unanswered as Trump Moves to Weaken EPA Environmental justice is on the chopping block at the Environmental Protection Agency, and that doesn’t bode well for communities like East Chicago, Indiana, where the agency recently discovered that drinking water is contaminated with lead. By Mike Ludwig
Documents Show Monsanto Colluded With EPA To Hide RoundUp’s Cancer Link Unsealed court documents have been released that reveal emails between Monsanto and officials at the Environmental Protection Agency showing the two groups working together to draft reports saying that RoundUp’s active ingredient glyphosate does not cause cancer. Monsanto was allowed to ghostwrite the reports themselves, and that’s why the federal agency refused to label the product as carcinogenic. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
Monsanto Isn’t Feeding the World—It’s Killing Our Children Two new reports issue scathing indictments of U.S. and global regulatory systems in collusion with chemical companies. By Katherine Paul 
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Fracking site approval by government based on legal errors, court hears Residents opposed to the drilling sites in Lancashire say the communities secretary Sajid Javid’s decision was unlawful By Josh Halliday
Japanese government held liable for first time for negligence in Fukushima Court rules government should have used regulatory powers to force nuclear plant’s operator to take preventive measures By Justin McCurry
In first, government and Tepco found liable for Fukushima disaster A court in Japan has ruled for the first time that the government and the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were responsible for failing to take preventive measures against the March 11, 2011, quake-triggered tsunami that killed scores and forced tens of thousands from their homes.Friday’s stunning ruling by the Maebashi District Court was the first to recognize negligence by the state and Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. It called the massive tsunami predictable and said the major nuclear disaster could have been avoided. By Daisuke Kikuchi
Seven oil multinationals that are pulling out of Canada’s tar sands – Environmental Defence The world’s largest oil companies are retreating from the tar sands, as low oil prices and stronger policies to fight climate change make then uneconomical. 
Trump Takes Aim at Fuel Efficiency Requirements, Prompting Concern US Automakers Will Lag on Innovation By Sharon Kelly
Energy News:
Nuclear Engineer: My biggest concern is Fukushima plant will collapse… Concrete under reactors is being “eaten away”… “There’s ongoing chemical attacks” — Containment structures are tilting, in jeopardy of falling over (AUDIO)
Massive die-offs reported in Pacific Ocean — Officials: “No fish out there, anywhere, over a very large area”… “What’s happening? Where’s their food?” — “Alarming… Frightening… Total failure in reproduction… Like nothing we’ve ever observed before” (VIDEO)
Labor:
Economy:
World:
EarthRx: The Irish Potato Famine Was Caused by Capitalism — Not a Fungus By Ocean Malandra
“I Stand by my Assessment that Israel is Committing the Crime of Apartheid,” Head of UN Body Resigns Following Pressure from UN Secretary-General Guterres To Withdraw Critical Report Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called for the highly critical report to be removed from the UN’s website By Middle East Eye
United Nations Report: Israel Has Established an ‘Apartheid Regime’ A new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) concludes that Israel has established an “apartheid regime.” The report is titled “Israeli Practices Toward the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid.”
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Healthcare for Profit Cancer Costs 
Killing the Elderly: Social Security Starves Us Slowly as the GOP Tries to Kill Us by Gutting Health Care by Dave Lindorff
New Website! Study 1917 – prepare for Revolution today! The International Marxist Tendency is proud to present the In defence of October website – www.bolshevik.info – a new page dedicated to the Russian Revolution, with videos, reading guides and much more for all those who wish to study the Revolution and the ideas of Bolshevism. 100 years after the Russian Revolution, the lessons of that great event are more valuable than ever before. In 1917, the Russian workers and peasants led by Lenin and the Bolshevik party, overthrew the rule of the Tsar, the landlords, bankers and industrialists and took the first steps toward the socialist transformation of society.
