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.
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!
Most industrial countries banned lead in the early 1900s. The United States did not follow suit until the late 1970s.
As lead poisoning law suits started to become public knowledge, The Government and wealth landowners and landlords to steps to get the lead and asbestos out of their buildings.
When I got elected as a business agent for Painters Local #4 in San Francisco in 1994, there was a huge project in San Francisco’s financial district, to eliminate asbestos and lead from downtown San Francisco, wealthy residences, San Francisco Public Housing Projects and all government buildings.
The downtown buildings and principle government buildings did ‘lead Abatement’ which was to remove the lead from the buildings, for workers’ and minority’s rental housing they also did ‘lead abatement’. At a meeting of the Mayor’s Council on lead in housing, it was explained to me and several leaders of community groups, that in rental they would not require lead removal but rather ‘lead containment’ They explained that this was Lead Abatement with a small ‘a’. To which, Richard Brown, a former member of the Black Panther Party, stated that it’s like Murder with a small ‘m’! The reality of government’s lead regulations, was, once the ‘lead containment’ was done the tenants would be responsible to keep the ‘lead contained’ and that the landlord would not be held responsible for any lead poisoning.
The result of this policy left lead in the environment:
The following was printed in yesterday’s news digest: Reuters Exclusive: Lead poisoning afflicts neighborhoods across California: Dozens of California communities have experienced recent rates of childhood lead poisoning that surpass those of Flint, Michigan, with one Fresno locale showing rates nearly three times higher, blood testing data obtained by Reuters shows. The data shows how lead poisoning affects even a state known for its environmental advocacy, with high rates of childhood exposure found in a swath of the Bay Area and downtown Los Angeles. And the figures show that, despite national strides in eliminating lead-based products, hazards remain in areas far from the Rust Belt or East Coast regions filled with old housing and legacy industry. In one central Fresno zip code, 13.6 percent of blood tests on children under six years old came back high for lead. That compares to 5 percent across the city of Flint during its recent water contamination crisis. In all, Reuters found at least 29 Golden State neighborhoods where children had elevated lead tests at rates at least as high as in Flint.
In fact, here are Thousands of U.S. locales where lead poisoning is worse than in Flint.
Instead of spending $trillions on the military and police (depositing lead all over the world), the U.S. should spend the money to get the lead out!
Images of the Day:
Quotes of the Day:
Dr. Seneff noted the ubiquity of glyphosate’s use. Because it is used on corn and soy, all soft drinks and candies sweetened with corn syrup and all chips and cereals that contain soy fillers have small amounts of glyphosate in them, as do our beef and poultry since cattle and chicken are fed GMO corn or soy. Wheat is often sprayed with Roundup just prior to being harvested, which means that all non-organic bread and wheat products would also be sources of glyphosate toxicity. The amount of glyphosate in each product may not be large, but the cumulative effect (especially with as much processed food as Americans eat) could be devastating. A recent study shows that pregnant women living near farms where pesticides are applied have a 60% increased risk of children having an autism spectrum disorder. Other toxic substances may also be autism-inducing. You may recall our story on the CDC whistleblower who revealed the government’s deliberate concealment of the link between the MMR vaccine (for measles, mumps, and rubella) and a sharply increased risk of autism, particularly in African American boys. Other studies now show a link between children’s exposure to pesticides and autism. Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit phthalate chemicals, are more likely to have autism. Children whose mothers smoked were also twice as likely to have autism. Research now acknowledges that environmental contaminants such as PCBs, PBDEs, and mercury can alter brain neuron functioning even before a child is born.
This month, the USDA released a study finding that although there were detectable levels of pesticide residue in more than half of food tested by the agency, 99% of samples taken were found to be within levels the government deems safe, and 40% were found to have no detectable trace of pesticides at all. The USDA added, however, that due to “cost concerns,” it did not test for residues of glyphosate. Let’s repeat that: they never tested for the active ingredient in the most widely used herbicide in the world. “Cost concerns”? How absurd—unless they mean it will cost them too much in terms of the special relationship between the USDA and Monsanto. You may recall the revolving door between Monsanto and the federal government, with agency officials becoming high-paying executives—and vice versa! Money, power, prestige: it’s all there. Monsanto and the USDA love to scratch each others’ backs. Clearly this omission was purposeful. — MIT Researcher: Glyphosate Herbicide will Cause Half of All Children to Have Autism by 2025
Videos of the Day:
U.S.:
Insane Truths: a Vietnam Vet on “Apocalypse Now, Redux” When I hear what is happening in the Middle East, where it has been war after war after war for the Pentagon, I am reminded of what Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his speech on Vietnam on April 4, 1967: ” The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.” by Mike Hastie
Budget Goes Military Like all too many liberal analysts, Baker studiously fails to note a few really BIG numbers in the budget that also don’t get mentioned by the Times and the rest of the corporate media, either as a number or as a percentage.This is a big failing of the liberal left: not calling out the Hannibal’s war elephant in the room. by Dave Lindorff 
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Environment:
A Record-Setting Climate Going Bonkers Never before in the history of the human species has climate set so many spine-chilling new records as last year, 2016. That dire assessment comes via analysis of the World Meteorological Organization’s (“WMO”) annual report d/d March 21, 2017, prompting a thought: Does a wildly out of control climate threaten lifestyle and/or life as we know it? The answer is a resounding yes it does! It’s just a matter of time. by Robert Hunziker 
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Labor:
Richard Bowen Is Skeptical of Citigroup’s Culture Makeover: Here’s Why Editor’s Note: Richard Bowen is the former Citigroup Senior Vice President who repeatedly alerted his superiors in writing that potential mortgage fraud was taking place in his division. At one point, Bowen emailed a detailed description of the problem to top senior management, including Robert Rubin, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary and then Chairman of the Executive Committee at Citigroup. Bowen’s reward for elevating serious ethical issues up the chain of command was to be relieved of most of his duties and told not to come to the office.
World:
Economy: 
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare: 
