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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:
One million people, many of them in work, forced to rely foodbanks; 1 in 4 children living in poverty; homelessness, including rough sleeping, at a 30 year high; real wages down; the worst housing crisis of any advanced industrialised economy; healthcare in crisis; the most ramshackle and expensive rail system in Europe; the highest prison population in western Europe; crime up; suicides up – all this at the same time as the richest 1,000 people in the country saw their wealth increase by 14% the past year. This is not Britain in 1817 we’re talking about this is Britain in 2017, thus ensuring that the stakes involved in the country’s upcoming general election on June 8 could not be higher. And with the election looming, isn’t it instructive that the Tory political and establishment have been throwing everything bar the kitchen sink at Jeremy Corbyn and key members of his team? Dredging up positions he held on the IRA in the 1980s, demonstrations he attended, along with speeches and statements he made decades ago, it all points to the fact that despite spending the past year dismissing him as the most inept, feckless, and incompetent leader of the opposition there has ever been in decades — that despite all of that the Tory establishment is worried, and with good reason. Labour’s election manifesto is the most transformative and radical programme for government the UK has seen in over a generation. It is one that plants its colours squarely on the side of working people and the low waged, pledging to reverse decades in which successive governments have worshipped at the altar of the free market, allowing blind economic forces to dictate every aspect of government policy, embracing thereby the economy as a tyrant over the lives of ordinary working people rather than a servant of their needs. In this regard austerity, rolled out as the answer to the global financial crash of 2007-08, has nothing to do with economics and everything to do with ideology — specifically the unleashing of a class war with the objective of blaming the poor and working people for the actions of the rich, whose greed was responsible for the aforementioned crash. — UK Elections: Tory Cynicism vs. Corbyn’s Common Decency
Videos of the Day:
Poll Finds British Agree that UK Foreign Policy Contributes to Terrorism Thomas Barlow, co-founder of Real Media, analyzes latest poll results in light of UK foreign policy, the Manchester bombing, and Thursday’s general election
U.S.:
End the Greedy Silence – Enough Already It is time Americans rise up against the corruption, inefficiency, and cruelty of our healthcare system and tell its corporate captors and Congress – Enough Already! by Ralph Nader
Re: LeBron James’ Los Angeles Home Vandalized With ‘N-Word’ Graffiti . . . My family is safe. At the end of the day, they’re safe and that’s the most important,” the Cleveland Cavaliers forward said during a news conference ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. But it just goes to show that racism will always be a part of the world, a part of America, he added. And hate in America, especially for African-Americans, is living every day. . . .The 32-year-old Ohio native said that he’s “OK” with what happened to him— as long as it continues a dialogue about how African-Americans are treated in society. “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough, and we got a long way to go,” James said.
Environment:
The reason the ecosystem is dying is not because we still have a dryer in our basement. It is because corporations look at everything, from human beings to the natural environment, as exploitable commodities. It is because consumption is the engine of corporate profits. We have allowed the corporate state to sell the environmental crisis as a matter of personal choice when actually there is a need for profound social and economic reform. We are left powerless. — A Reality Check from the Brink of Extinction
. . . It is becoming clear that the struggle for the environment is a fight for human rights and the survival of the species–a struggle for environmental justice. We need to defend, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, humanity’s Unalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We should demand that:
* All products must be tested for toxicity before being produced for the market. The present practice of experimenting on human beings and waiting for the human body counts before determining that substances are toxic must be stopped!
* The production of toxic substances must be stopped and the least toxic alternatives must be used until all toxins can be eliminated from use!
* Gravity, wind, and solar power must be developed to replace fossil fuels and nucleal power as sources of energy. The top priority throughout the world must be the elimination of pollution and the development of science to maintain the earth as a healthy biosphere for humanity;
* The squandering of trillions of dollars on military spending must stop and these trillions of dollars must be used to repair the environment! (In 1991, even after the end of the Cold War, military spending was almost 1 trillion dollars.); and
* There must be a 100 percent tax on the profits of companies that pollute! . . .
Jefferson’s words, from the Declaration of Independence, that human rights are unalienable, mean that these rights can never be superseded. At all points of conflict the rights of humanity to survive must supersede the right of the few to make a profit. The right to a safe environment is an unalienable human right! Since environmental illness and destruction are a global concern, it requires all of humanity to act collectively, in our overall interests for our survival as a species, to correct the problem and to remove the obstacle of capitalism. It requires a society where humanity has social, economic, and political control over the entire environment. Such a society, a socialist society, is needed to ensure that all decisions affecting the environment are under the democratic control of humankind so that the production of goods will be done for the needs and survival of humanity instead of the production and the destruction of humanity and other species for profit. With common ownership of the means of production, and common control and protection of all property and wealth, science and society will be in harmony with the ecosystem and humanity’s future. With these goals we can begin to build a more effective environmental movement. As we continue to organize against capitalism and its destructive course, we can and will transform the world. — Whither Humanity? The Environmental Crisis of Capitalism By Roland Sheppard, 1999
By pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, President Donald Trump has rolled a pair of dice, with high stakes for America’s economic future and the welfare of the whole world. First, he’s betting on a domestic energy policy that strongly favors increased production of fossil fuels. “I don’t want anything to get in our way,” he declared. Second, he’s betting—at least so he said in his speech on Thursday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden—that the rest of the world will come back to the bargaining table for a new deal. (“If we can’t, that’s fine,” he shrugged.) Either bet could go wrong. Missed opportunities in the emerging green economy could end up outweighing any short-term gains from fossil fuels. Today’s fossil fuels could even end up as stranded assets if the rest of the world does hold firm and weans itself off them. “The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord,” Trump proclaimed in an unapologetic speech that was a ringing endorsement of the most radical climate naysayers among his supporters. “As of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country.” The biggest risk of all, though, is that backsliding by the United States could quickly lock in a prolonged and dangerous warming. That would be especially likely if other nations follow Trump out of the global pact. — Paris Agreement: Trump’s Climate Exit Risks U.S. Economy, World’s Welfare
Beyond Democrat Dead-ends: What Real Climate Action Looks Like The global warming situation is absolutely crazy. Millions of people are already experiencing drought, famine, floods, wildfires, superstorms and other climate disasters. As a species, we are teetering on the edge of full-blown catastrophe, with extinction a distinct possibility. Yet, we can’t seem to put in place obvious solutions that are sitting right there in front of us. Even crazier, environmentalists repeatedly praise Democrats for phony climate action plans that don’t come close to what’s needed. By Carol Dansereau
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Labor:
Economy:
Are Students a Class? Students usually don’t think of themselves as a class. They seem “pre-class,” because they have not yet entered the labor force. They can only hope to become part of the middle class after they graduate. And that means becoming a wage earner – what impolitely is called the working class. But as soon as they take out a student debt, they become part of the economy. They are in this sense a debtor class. By Michael Hudson
Dear Fed, It’s Not “Really Hard to Spot Bubbles” by Wolf Richter 
The Unthinkable is Happening to America The unthinkable is happening so fast to America that there is a serious, growing threat that U.S. citizens are becoming desensitized to the chilling reality of our nation’s precipitous decline in respect and credibility around the world. The reflex action is to either deny it’s happening or pull the covers over one’s head. Two weeks before President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, Der Spiegel, one of the most influential and widely read news magazines in Europe, published a breathtaking assessment of the sitting President of the United States. Written by its Executive Editor, Klaus Brinkbäumer, the editorial was brutal and came from a publication known for its investigative acumen. By Pam martens and Russ Martens
World:
The Eagle & the Dragon: Rising militarism in Asia Pacific The lingering economic crisis of the global capitalist system is now intensifying geopolitical struggles and social conflicts all over the world. Imperialist states, led by the U.S., are becoming ever more aggressive in capturing and controlling more territories as sources of raw materials and low-cost labor, as captive markets and supply routes, and as launching pads for projecting military force overseas. Resurgent powers such as Russia and China are joining the fray and threatening U.S. hegemony. by Paul Quintos
Brazil: a divided bourgeoisie faces the rising workers’ struggle Michel Temer’s government, which was sworn in after Dilma Roussef’s impeachment trial last year, is a government without a social base of support (with only 4 percent support) and has faced massive popular demonstrations against it over the last period by Alex Minoru
Solidarity with the Moroccan masses! Down with dictatorship and oppression! Since last October, Al Hoceima and its neighboring regions have seen a big protest movement. The direct reason behind this has been the crushing of a young fish vendor (Mohsen Fikri) in a garbage container by local officials after protesting the confiscation of his goods. Behind the movement however there are other deeper reasons, such as dictatorship, exploitation, marginalization and unemployment: i.e Capitalism and its state.
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
People & Planet Before Profits!
Despite the Paris Climate Agreement Carbon Dioxide Levels and Global World Temperate Dempatures has Continued to Rise Carbon Dioxide Latest Measurement: April 2017
Quote of the Day:
Black Liberation/Civil Rights: