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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!
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U.S. and European Banks Launder Drug Money:
There is a consensus among U.S. Congressional Investigators, former bankers and international banking experts that U.S. and European banks launder between $500 billion and $1 trillion of dirty money annually, half of which is laundered by U.S. banks alone. As Senator Levin summarizes the record: “Estimates are that $500 billion to $1 trillion of international criminal proceeds are moved internationally and deposited into bank accounts annually. It is estimated half of that money comes to the United States”. Over the decade between $2.5 and $5 trillion criminal proceeds are laundered by U.S.banks and circulate in the U.S. financial circuits. Senator Levin’s statement however, only covers criminal proceeds, according to U.S. laws. It does not include illegal transfers and capital flowsfrom corrupt political leaders, and tax evasion by overseas businesses. A leading U.S. scholar who is an expert on international finance associated with the prestigious Brookings Institute estimates that “the flow of corrupt money out of developing (Third World) and transitional (ex-Communist) economies into Western coffers at $20 to $40 billion a year and the flow stemming from mis-priced trade at $80 billion a year or more. My lowest estimate is a $100 billion per year by these two means which we facilitated a trillion dollars in the decade, at least half to the United States. Including other elements of illegal flight capital would produce much higher figures.” The Brookings expert did not include illegal shifts of real estate and securities titles, wire fraud, etc.. . . . The increasing polarization of the world is embedded in this organized system of criminal and corrupt financial transactions. While speculation and foreign debt payments play a role in undermining living standards in the crisis regions, the multi-trillion dollar money laundering and bank servicing of corrupt officials is a much more significant factor, sustaining Western prosperity, U.S. empire building and financial stability. The scale, scope and time frame of transfers and money laundering, the centrality of the biggest banking enterprises and the complicity of the governments, strongly suggests that the dynamics of growth and stagnation, empire and re-colonization are intimately related to a new form of capitalism built around pillage, criminality, corruption and complicity. ‘This Goes Straight to the Top.’ — War on Drugs Dirty Money Foundation of US Growth and Empire Size and Scope of Money Laundering by US Banks (2001)
Videos of the Day:
Foreign Investment and The UK Housing Crisis Real Media speaks to Anna Minton, the author of “Big Capital: Who Is London For?” about the causes, effects and potential remedies for the housing crisis that has been growing for 30 years in London and beyond
Palestinian Protesters Defend Their “Right to Exist” As the Al-Aqsa protests continue despite a deadly Israeli crackdown, writer Mariam Barghouti says Palestinians across the Occupied Territories “are reiterating their right to exist”
U.S.:
Yemen: The World’s Largest Humanitarian Crisis Is Basically Being Blacked Out by Western Media The United States is fueling a conflict that has resulted in war crimes and famine. By Vijay Prashad
The Radicals Were Always Right: Now Is the Time to Decriminalize All Drugs Treating drug users as whole people with human rights rather than as criminals used to be considered a radical act but that is changing. Mass incarceration and a far-reaching opioid crisis are forcing even former anti-drug crusaders to consider tackling addition as a health issue rather than a criminal one. By Mike Ludwig
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Chicago to Host Black Is Back Coalition: The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations holds its national conference in Chicago, August 12 and 13, under the theme, “The Ballot and the Bullet: Elections, War and Peace in the Donald Trump Era.” Kamm Howard, of the Black Is Back steering committee, is active in NCOBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. “One of the ways we’re pushing reparations is a Black Is Back-led push to have a reparations referendum put on the Chicago ballot in March of 2018,” said Howard.
Seeking Reparations by Dropping Slave Claims: In 2006, a federal court ruled that the descendants of Black slaves in the U.S. have no “standing” to sue for reparations. However, Dr. Jahi Issa and Reggie Mabry say they have devised a new legal strategy to overcome the courts’ objections. “Slavery in the United States was immoral, but it was legal,” said Mabry. What was not legal, however, was the importation of Africans as forced labor after the outlawing of the international slave trade in 1808. Issa and Mabry claim “the bulk” of U.S. Blacks are descended from these post-1808 victims of “human trafficking” — as distinct from slavery — and can make a successful case for redress in court.
Missouri Prisoners Push Suit for Hep C Treatment: Citing Mumia Abu Jamal’s successful legal battle against Pennsylvania prison officials, a court has granted Missouri prisoners the right to pursue a class action suit to force the state to treat them for Hepatitis C. In an essay for Prison Radio, Abu Jamal noted that Pennsylvania continues, in practice, to delay treatment for Hep C until prisoners “are at death’s door.” However, the legal precedents have been set, and “we are winning,” he said.
Precious Minerals + Rogue President = Mass Death in Congo: Two million people have been displaced from their homes by violence in the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 80 mass graves have recently been discovered. Not coincidentally, huge deposits of coltan and other precious minerals have been found in the region, said Kambale Musavuli, of Friends of Congo. The killings are widely blamed on soldiers of President Joseph Kabila, who refuses to step down despite having used up his two terms in office. “This is the same area where King Leopold II of Belgium caused the death of millions of Congolese, a hundred years ago,” said Musavuli.
Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: one hour.
Environment:
MIT Researcher: Glyphosate Herbicide will Cause Half of All Children to Have Autism by 2025 Why? Evidence points to glyphosate toxicity from the overuse of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide on our food. For over three decades, Stephanie Seneff, PhD, has researched biology and technology, over the years publishing over 170 scholarly peer-reviewed articles. In recent years she has concentrated on the relationship between nutrition and health, tackling such topics as Alzheimer’s, autism, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as the impact of nutritional deficiencies and environmental toxins on human health By Alliance For Natural Health
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Fukushima Radiation and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Former nuclear industry senior vice president Arnie Gunderson, who managed and coordinated projects at 70 U.S. atomic power plants, is appalled at how the Japanese government is handling the Fukushima nuclear crisis. By Dahr Jamail
Labor:
Economy:
World:
Bolivia’s President Declares ‘Total Independence’ from World Bank and IMF Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has been highlighting his government’s independence from international money lending organizations and their detrimental impact the nation, the Telesur TV reported. “A day like today in 1944 ended Bretton Woods Economic Conference (USA), in which the IMF and WB were established,” Morales tweeted. “These organizations dictated the economic fate of Bolivia and the world. Today we can say that we have total independence of them.” 
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Concussions in Sports: Study links longer football careers to more severe cases of CTE Research involving brains of former NFL players find 99% suffered from disease with symptoms that include memory loss and mood disorders Researchers at Boston University and the Boston Veterans Affairs health system examined the brains of 202 high school, college, semi-professional and NFL players for evidence of the disease. They found increasingly severe CTE in players who had spent more time on the field. “My hope is we’ll stop arguing about whether or not this is a problem, or whether or not it needs to be addressed,” said Dr Ann McKee of Boston University. “We need to take our heads out of the sand. It’s not going away because we want it to.” By Jessica Glenza
The Money-Laundering Cycle
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