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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 Who Profit From Austerity! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico!
Images of the Day:
When Monsanto made their genetically engineered bovine growth hormone, they noticed a couple of problems right towards the end — right before approval. They noticed that laboratory animals were getting cancer, and they noticed that cows were getting mastitis, ulcers in their udders. They were putting more pus and bacteria into the milk. So Monsanto arranged — We’ve heard from Dr. Maryanski this morning, and Dr. Maryanski talked about the Pure Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act but what he didn’t tell you was that in 1958, Robert Delaney, a congressman from New York, added the Delaney Amendment which was named after him. The Delaney Amendment stated that if a food additive caused cancer, it was not to be approved -— a pretty good law — right? -— Monsanto got their attorney, Michael Taylor from the firm of King & Spalding -— By the way, when they started in 1979, they groomed their attorney who is now in the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, from the same law firm — Anyway, Monsanto’s attorney, Michael Taylor, wrote and minimized the Delaney Amendment- he wrote a scientific paper that was published in the “Journal of Toxicology”. Lawyers –they write in law review journals, but this lawyer wrote in the “Journal of Toxicology”: “a De-Minumus interpretation of the Delaney Amendment” became the new protocol, the new standard operating procedure at FDA. They minimized cancer. Michael Taylor was hired by the Food & Drug Administration, and became the second most powerful man there. Monsanto’s attorney — he wrote the standard operating procedure. In other words, if you see cancer, ignore it. Margaret Miller and Suzanne Sechen, Monsanto’s scientists, were hired by the FDA to review Monsanto’s own research. Margaret Miller knew cows were getting mastitis. The first week at the FDA, December 3, 1989, she was given broad power, and here’s an effect of genetic engineering nobody has considered. She knew cows were getting sick from the genetically engineered hormone. She changed the amount of antibiotics that farmers could have in their milk. She changed it from 1 part per 100 million to 1 part per million — this is a fact! She increased it by 100 times. — Robert Cohen FDA Testimony December 14, 1999
Videos of the Day:
TRNN Replay: The Video that Bradley Manning says Pushed Him to Upload to Wikileaks Josh Stieber, a member of the army company that came upon the Iraqis murdered by the US helicopter crew, discusses the Wikileaks video and army training that makes killing civilians acceptable
Corbyn: War on Terror is not Working – We Need a New Solution Kam Sandhu of Real Media UK, says that Corbyn has opened up a conversation in the UK that many people want to have but they have been under siege with ongoing terror attacks
U.S.:
Trump’s “America First” Infrastructure Plan: Let Saudi Arabia and Blackstone Take Care of It The two that made the news — a $110 billion arms deal and a $100 million gift to an Ivanka Trump-inspired endowment — are remarkable in their own right. But the third, which was rolled out much more quietly, is no less stunning: The Saudi kingdom joined forces with a top outside adviser to Trump to build a $40 billion war chest to privatize U.S. infrastructure. The vehicle would employ the same kind of public-private partnerships, known as P3s, the Trump administration has endorsed for its trillion dollar infrastructure plan. The deal hands over control of projects to rebuild American roads and bridges to the private sector and a foreign country. By David Dayen
Donald Trump’s War on Journalism Has Begun. But Journalists Are Not His Main Target. By Peter Maass 
Ask not for whom the bells toll: The Afghan Toll Afghan sources say that the number of war dead must be near the million mark. The human toll has been considerable. In 2016, over half a million people fled their homes because of the conflict. This is the highest number of displacements since 2008. Of the estimated population of 32 million Afghans, almost two million have been displaced by the conflict; about three million are refugees from the almost 40 years of war in the country. In the five months that ended in May, UNAMA found that already 90,000 people had been displaced. by Vijay Prashad
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Alton Sterling: A Life of Collateral Insecurity On May 2, the Department of Justice declined to level federal charges against the two police officers involved in the murder of Alton Sterling. However, Sterling’s life was devalued by the criminal legal system long before his death. He was a victim of the collateral consequences of a criminal record. By Ebony Slaughter-Johnson, Truthout | News Analysis 
Environment:
A Budget That Scorches the Planet President Trump’s new slash-and-burn budget puts polluters first and the rest of us — and our children — last. President Trump opened a new front in his assault on our environment and health on Tuesday, releasing detailed budget proposals that amount to a scorched-earth campaign—literally and figuratively. By Rhea Suh 
Humans Cannot Simply Plant Their Way Out of Climate Change
If the world’s nations really do intend to contain global warming to within 2°C, there is no alternative to drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study. The tree could be regarded as low-technology carbon removal machinery and, in theory, carefully managed plantations could soak up the carbon released from fossil fuel combustion. But the sheer scale of such plantations would have devastating environmental costs, scientists say. By Tim Radford
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era The March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident prompted regulators around the world to take a hard look at their requirements for protecting nuclear plants against severe accidents. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ordered a “top-to-bottom” review of its regulations, and ultimately approved a number of safety upgrades. It rejected other risk-reduction measures, however, using a screening process that did not adequately account for impacts of large-scale land contamination events. Among rejected options was a measure to end dense packing of 90 spent fuel pools, which we consider critical for avoiding a potential catastrophe much greater than Fukushima. Unless the NRC improves its approach to assessing risks and benefits of safety improvements—by using more realistic parameters in its quantitative assessments and also taking into account societal impacts—the United States will remain needlessly vulnerable to such disasters. By Edwin Lyman, Michael Schoeppner. and Frank von Hippe
Oil and plastic are choking the planet People who deny that humans are wreaking havoc on the planet’s life-support systems astound me. When confronted with the obvious damage we’re doing to the biosphere — from climate change to water and air pollution to swirling plastic patches in the oceans — some dismiss the reality or employ logical fallacies to discredit the messengers. By David Suzuki 
Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ Residents Push Back Against Industrial Polluters A group of residents in St. Gabriel, a suburb of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is no stranger to industrial pollution. The small town is on the banks of the Mississippi River in a stretch of land between New Orleans and Baton Rouge containing more than 100 petrochemical factories. To the industry, it’s known as the “Petrochemical Corridor,” but to everyone else it’s “Cancer Alley.” This fact is fueling a local drive to stop any new industrial plans that would add to the area’s already heavy pollution burden. By Julie Dermansky
Louisiana’s Cancer Alley 
The revolving door between business and government: Former Obama EPA Official Now Lobbying for Atlantic Coast Pipeline A new disclosure by Dominion shows that a long-time employee for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now lobbying for the controversial Atlantic Coast pipeline (ACP). By Derek Seidman 
Labor
What the crimes, since the 1980s, of the labor bureaucracy, in partnership with the boss, have led to — the impoverishment of the working class.:
Why U.S. Manufacturing Workers Are On Food Stamps And Medicaid A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeleyshows that over one-third of manufacturing workers in the U.S. are on some form of public assistance. The percentage shoots up to 50% when temporary manufacturers are factored in.The results of the study follow similar ones that show a high percentage of fast-food and retail workers on public assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. But the findings on manufacturing workers are eye-opening because those jobs are so often extolled as being the highest-quality jobs available for non-college-educated workers. By David Kiley
Corbyn is right: of course Manchester was linked to British foreign policy We committed armed aggression against sovereign peoples who had not attacked us, claiming our motive was ‘to keep terror off the streets of Britain’ By Simon Jenkins
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
The Artist as Prophet The Israeli writer and dissident Uri Avnery asked an Egyptian general how the Egyptians managed to surprise the Israelis when they launched the October 1973 war. The general answered: “Instead of reading the intelligence reports, you should have read our poets.” The deep malaise, rage and feelings of betrayal that have enveloped American society are rarely captured and almost never are explained coherently by the press. To grasp the savage economic and emotional cost of deindustrialization, the destruction of our democratic institutions, the dark undercurrent of nihilistic violence that sees us beset with mass shootings, the attraction of opioids, the rise of the militarized state and the concentration of national wealth in a tiny cabal of corrupt bankers and corporations, it is necessary to turn to a handful of poets, writers and other artists. These artists, who often exist on the margins of mass culture, are our unheeded prophets. By Chris Hedges
Jeremy Corbyn
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Economy:
World: