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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!
Image of the Day:
In his book, Where do we go from here: Chaos or community?, New York: Harper & Row, 1967, King wrote the course that he was planning to take in the fight for economic equality: “There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities… The coalition of an energized section of labor, Negroes, unemployed, and welfare recipients may be the source of power that reshapes economic relationships and ushers in a breakthrough to a new level of social reform. . . . The total elimination of poverty, now a practical responsibility, the reality of equality in race relations and other profound structural changes in society may well begin here.”
Just before the 2000 Presidential Election, in September 2000, George Bush’s think tank, The Project for the New American Century, put into writing a document titled Rebuilding America’s Defenses, Forces and Resources For a New Century. In that document they called for war upon Iraq, a US military presence in the middle east, and the construction of military bases throughout Asia and the world to enforce, what they termed, as a ‘strategic goal’, the preservation Pax Americana — the ‘new world order’ that was proclaimed after the first Gulf War. There has been no objection or opposition, from the Democratic Party, to this ‘strategic goal’ for this century, even though the document stated, two years prior to 9/11: A transformation strategy that solely pursued capabilities for projecting force from the United States, for example, and sacrificed forward basing and presence, would be at odds with larger American policy goals and would trouble American allies. Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor. When the September 11, 2002 implosion of the World Trade Center occurred, both the Democrats and the Republicans were united in taking the advantage of the ‘catastrophic and catalyzing event’ to begin to implement the first stage of Pax American-the war upon Iraq and to make the middle east a zone of ‘democratic peace’ — a safe area for exploitation and control, by the United States, or as the document stated: Today its task is to secure and expand the “zones of democratic peace;” to deter the rise of a new great power competitor; defend key regions of Europe, East Asia and the Middle East; and to preserve American preeminence through the coming transformation of war made possible by new technologies. — Roland Sheppard, Pax Americana and The Failure of ‘Lesser Evilism’ (2008)
Videos of the Day:
U.S.:
Killing (Terrorizing) Our Way to Victory To wage the global war on terrorism, the leaders of the United States have settled on one basic strategy. Taking advantage of their extraordinary military power, they have tried to kill their way to victory. by Edward Hunt
Black Liberation/Civil Rights
Women’s rights, class struggle and building the forces of Marxism in Poland On the surface, the wave of political earthquakes shaking Europe and the world seemed to have left Poland unaffected. The seething anger growing from decades of privatisations and austerity has produced neither a Corbyn nor a SYRIZA. By Maciej Krzymieniecki
Freedom Rider: Black Misleaders Act Like Republicans Black politics in Baltimore has sunk to the very bottom of the sewer, with mayor Catherine Pugh’s veto of a rise in the minimum wage. “Black people have no reason to rejoice with the Pughs of the world in office, because they are just as eager to act against their interests if powerful people give them marching orders.” Push is “a typical member of the black misleadership class, who live off of the crumbs of corporate tribute.” by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley
50 Years Later, We Must Again Confront and Reject U.S. WarmongeringMore than ever, Black America needs a peace movement to confront militarism and the global structures of white supremacy. “We are calling for a new alliance to help revive the black anti-war and peace movement in the black community as an essential component of a revived broader anti-war and pro-peace movement,” says human rights activist and former Green Party VP candidate Ajamu Baraka, an organizer of the new Black Alliance for Peace. by Ajamu Baraka
Baltimore’s Mayor Rejects $15 Minimum Wage Bill, Sharpening the Divide between Black Workers and Black Political leadership Who enforces poverty wages in Black America? In Baltimore, a Black mayor blocked a minimum wage hike on the grounds that it would make the city “uncompetitive.” Mayor Catherine Pugh has bought into the imperial doctrine that poverty is an advantage in the marketplace. Pugh’s veto “is a stark indication that the Black misleadership class stands in the way of alleviating the burning poverty of the Black working class.” by Danny Haiphong
Brother Harvey Matthews: “I’m Fighting for My Ancestors.” The Bethesda African Cemetery: Part II When whites dispossessed an established Black community in Bethesda, Maryland, a half century ago, they “destroyed the life that we loved,” said Harvey Matthews, who grew up near a Black cemetery that has been paved over. The damage is more than psychological. “The whites destroyed our ability to pass on our land from one generation to the next. If the whites had not stolen our land, we would be millionaires now.” by BAR editor and columnist Dr. Marsha Adebayo 
Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the following remarks at Riverside Church, in New York City, on April 4, 1967. The speech marked Dr. King’s decisive break with President Lyndon Johnson, whom many considered a friend of civil rights. Exactly one year after his Riverside Church speech, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Book Extract: South Africa’s Corporatized Liberation: A Critical Analysis of the ANC in Power Not only did the ANC consciously choose (before 1994) to turn its ideological and strategic back on the possibilities of organizing a massive wellspring of popular power to pursue much more thoroughgoing systemic change, but it also made a conscious choice after 1994 to exercise its unparalleled political position and power (mostly through the state) in partnership with and in service to capital. by Dale McKinley 
Obama White House Committed Impeachable Offenses by Encouraging Leaks Against Trump and Russia Glen Ford on The Real News Network In its last months in office, the Obama administration facilitated massive leaks of Trump team members’ telephone conversations and other raw intelligence. The operation succeeded in creating great clouds of innuendo intended to buttress the totally unproven allegation that Russia and Trump operatives collaborated to meddle in the election process. In deliberating encouraging leaks, former president Obama probably committed impeachable offenses –- that may still be indictable. The Ford Report on the Real News Network
Ahmed Kathrada, Veteran Communist and South African National Liberation Icon, Dies Another of South Africa’s founding revolutionaries has been laid to rest. Ahmed Mohamed “Kathy” Kathrada, a stalwart of the African National Congress who was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, recently wrote “an open letter to President Jacob Zuma, the current leader of the party, that perhaps he should step down in light of accusations of constitutional violations.” by Abayomi Azikiwe
Environment:
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Labor:
Casino Economics: From Our Hands to Their Pockets by Jeff Berg September 2014 Harvard Business Review article by William Lazonick, “Profits without Prosperity,” calculating that for the decade 2003-2012, the 449 companies publicly listed in the S&P 500 index spent only 9% of their earnings on new capital investment. They used 54% to buy back their own stock, and 37% to pay dividends. I told the reporter that I thought the President’s point was that the financial sector was not financing capital formation and employment to increase output. — Michael Hundson
Profits Without Prosperity Five years after the official end of the Great Recession, corporate profits are high, and the stock market is booming. Yet most Americans are not sharing in the recovery. While the top 0.1% of income recipients—which include most of the highest-ranking corporate executives—reap almost all the income gains, good jobs keep disappearing, and new employment opportunities tend to be insecure and underpaid. Corporate profitability is not translating into widespread economic prosperity. The allocation of corporate profits to stock buybacks deserves much of the blame. Consider the 449 companies in the S&P 500 index that were publicly listed from 2003 through 2012. During that period those companies used 54% of their earnings—a total of $2.4 trillion—to buy back their own stock, almost all through purchases on the open market. Dividends absorbed an additional 37% of their earnings. That left very little for investments in productive capabilities or higher incomes for employees. By William Lazonick 
World:
Capitalism: a history of horror without end [Parts 1, 2 and 3] Today we publish the third part of Fred Weston’s series about the horrors which capitalism has inflicted on humanity. The violence of the bourgeoisie throughout history has not been confined solely to the way it has reacted to attempts at revolution by the downtrodden masses. It was also applied systematically in its methods of empire building. (Click here to jump straight to part three) 
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
The Crisis of American Healthcare To say that the American healthcare system is criminally expensive and convoluted would be an understatement. Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that 20% of people under the age of 65, although insured, have trouble paying medical bills. 75% of them reported that, as a result, they had had to cut back on household spending, and 63% of them used up all or most of their savings to pay a medical bill. By Parson Young
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Economy: