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During This Economic Crisis, Capitalism’s Three Point Political Program: Austerity, Scapegoating Blacks, Minorities, and ‘Illegal Immigrants’ for Unemployment, and The Iron Heel .
What Democracy?: As the Capitalist Robber Barons Steal from the 99%, Only the 1% Voted For Austerity, The 99% Should Decide On Austerity,— Not Those Who Profit From Austerity! Under Austerity, All of the World Will Eventually Be Pauperized, Humbled, and Desecrated Like Greece and Puerto Rico!
The Media, the government, Trump, and the capitalist class promote racist terror at home and abroad, to justify their perpetual war for perpetual peace and austerity — Terror is it an integral part of the The Iron Heel.
The first civil and human rights movement by and for Black people started during the Civil War and the period of Black Reconstruction that followed. It was a time of radical hopes for many freed slaves. But it was also a time of betrayal. Then President Andrew Johnson and the non-radical Republicans, in collusion with the Democratic Party, the party of slavery, sold out the early post-war promises for full equality and “40 acres and a mule”. Instead, the promise of equality was soon replaced by the restoration of the property rights of the former slave owners in the South. This was accomplished by the Compromise of 1877. —How did they accomplish this betrayal? The answer is They used police and terroristic Ku Klux Klan violence. These extra-legal activities laid the basis for the overthrow of Black Reconstruction and the institutionalization of legal segregation (Jim Crow) in the former slave states. To enforce Jim Crow, Black people were, for decades, indiscriminately lynched and framed. — Roland Sheppard, The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights Movement
Video: See It. One dead as car mows down counter-protesters in Virginia at tumultuous white supremacist rally One person was killed and 19 others were injured after a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters marching against a “pro-white” rally Saturday in Charlottesville, Va., witnesses and officials said. Video of the terrifying moment shows at least one person being tossed into the air as the silver Dodge Charger mowed into the crowd.
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During this Era of Capitalism’s Death Agony and Decay, it is now very Clear — That There is no Democracy! — Just Capitalist Rule Bringing Perpetual War, Pestilence, and Death To the World in the Quest for Profits! Trumps is Just an Example of Capitalalism’s Death Agony! — Roland Sheppard
On April 7, 2011, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 12,409.49. Yesterday, it closed at 22,048.70, an increase of more than 9600 points over the six-year span. A bull market of this magnitude lasting more than half a decade would have been expected by Wall Street experts to have sucked in even the most cynical Wall Street naysayers. It hasn’t. Each April, the polling firm, Gallup, conducts its annual Economy and Personal Finance Survey. It asks U.S. adults whether they personally or jointly have money invested in the stock market, either in individual stocks or stock market funds, including through vehicles such as 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Gallup began its 2011 survey on April 7, 2011, the day that the Dow closed at 12,409.49. That year’s survey found that 45 percent of Americans owned no stocks. Despite a meteoric rise in the major stock indices since then, this year’s Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans still own no stocks. Since 2011, the number of Americans eschewing stock ownership has ranged from the mid 40 percent level to a high of 47 percent in April 2013. In April 2007, before the financial downturn had gripped the attention of Americans, Gallup found that only 34 percent of Americans owned no stocks. While record household debt levels and inability to save certainly play some role in the low level of stock ownership, continuing distrust in Wall Street is likely also a key factor. Since the financial crash in 2008, the tentacles of Wall Street corruption have touched every facet of American life and have been chronicled in bestselling books, on the big screen, in documentaries and in the hearing rooms of Congress. Words like “casino,” “rigged,” and “banksters” have become part of the new lexicon to describe how Wall Street functions. — Pam martens and Russ Martens, Despite Record Stock Markets, Almost Half of Americans Own No Stocks
Videos of the Day:
Israel Is Arresting Palestinians At Highest Rate in Years TRNN’s Shir Hever discusses the reasons for the rapid rise in Palestinian incarceration, including hundreds of children
As Trump Threatens North Korea, US Preps War Games Next Door President Trump has doubled down on his “fire and fury” threat to North Korea, saying maybe it “wasn’t tough enough.” Christine Ahn of Women Cross DMZ says that despite dangerous bluster from both sides — and upcoming US-South Korea war games — peaceful solutions are still within reach.
U.S. Pipelines Spill 9,000 Gallons of Dangerous Chemicals a Day Leading anti-pipeline campaigner Diana Best discusses hearings in Nebraska that may mark Keystone XL’s last stand and a new Greenpeace warning that four proposed Tar Sands oil pipelines threaten water resources
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China says it will defend North Korea in event of US invasion Editorial in Chinese official newspaper Global Times sets out China’s red lines: China will intervene in event of US invasion of North Korea to prevent regime change there By Alexander Mercouris
Why Do North Koreans Hate Us? One Reason — They Remember the Korean War. Yes, the Korean War. Remember that? The one wedged between World War II and the Vietnam War? The first “hot” war of the Cold War, which took place between 1950 and 1953, and which has since been conveniently airbrushed from most discussions and debates about the “crazy” and “insane” regime in Pyongyang? Forgotten despite the fact that this particular war isn’t even over — it was halted by an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty — and despite the fact that the conflict saw the United States engage in numerous war crimes, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, continue to shape the way North Koreans view the United States, even if the residents of the United States remain blissfully ignorant of their country’s belligerent past. By Mehdi Hasan
Overcoming Nuclear Crises Alarmingly, tensions between the United States and North Korea have again reached crisis proportions. The United States wants North Korea to curtail any further development of its nuclear weapons program, as well as to stop testing its missiles. North Korea evidently seeks to bolster its security by acquiring a sufficiently robust deterrent capability to discourage an attack by the United States. by Richard Falk – David Krieger
Gulf Government Gave Secret $20 Million Gift To D.C. Think Tank United Arab Emigrates is on pace to contribute $20 million over the course of 2016 and 2017 to the Middle East Institute, one of Washington’s leading think tanks, according to a document obtained by The Intercept. The outsized contribution, which the UAE hoped to conceal, would allow the institute, according to the agreement, to “augment its scholar roster with world class experts in order to counter the more egregious misperceptions about the region, inform U.S. government policy makers, and convene regional leaders for discreet dialogue on pressing issues.” By Ryan Grim
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Thou Shall Not Film Illegal Actions of Police Brutality or Politicians: Eighth Circuit: Citizens do not have a right to film public officials in public In a free speech ruling that contradicts six other federal circuit courts, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a district court ruling that says Americans do not have a first amendment right to videotape the police, or any public official, in public. by Dan Claxton
Environment:
Climate Change Compounds Louisiana Flooding Threat a Year After Historic Floods “It was eerie to watch images of New Orleans’ flooding almost a year after the Baton Rouge flood,” Tam Williams, a videographer who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told me. Every time it rains, she is a bit on edge, wondering if her city is going to flood again. A week before the anniversary of last summer’s 1,000-year flood in Baton Rouge, rain inundated New Orleans, with more than 9 inches falling in only three hours. By Julie Dermansky
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
This problem is with all Nuclear Power plants in the world.: The Idaho National Lab created a ‘wonder fuel.’ Now, it’s radioactive waste that won’t go away In the early days of atomic energy, the federal government powered up an experimental reactor in Idaho with an ambitious goal: create a “wonder fuel” for the nation. The reactor was one of the nation’s first “breeder” reactors — designed to make its own new plutonium fuel while it generated electricity, solving what scientists at the time thought was a looming shortage of uranium for power plants and nuclear weapons. By Ralph Vartabedian
New Fraud Allegations Emerge at Troubled ‘Clean Coal’ Project As Southern Co. Records Multi-Billion Loss Southern Co. is accused of fraudulently misrepresenting the prospects for its troubled “clean coal” project in Kemper County, Mississippi in several legal filings this summer. Southern announced in late July that it was shuttering the troubled “clean coal” part of Kemper after construction ran years behind schedule and the company spent $7.5 billion on the 582 megawatt power plant — over $5 billion more than it first projected. By Sharon Kelly
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Venezuela: Constituent Assembly Starts Work, Opposition Stages Terror Attack The National Constituent Assembly (ANC) — a body of 545 representatives of different localities, and social movements, labor groups, and indigenous communities which is now the highest legal power in Venezuela — was sworn in on August 4 at a ceremony attended by thousands of jubilant Chavistas who support the Bolivarian revolutionary government. During the ceremony, Delcy Rodríguez, who resigned months ago from her post as Foreign Minister in hopes of winning a seat in the ANC, was unanimously elected president of the assembly. By Jordan Woll
The Battle for Venezuela and Its Oil Despite the public battles between the New York Times and President Donald Trump, the two seem to be on a similar page about the unfolding crisis in Venezuela. Last week, the administration announced it had “designated” President Nicolas Maduro and other Venezuelan officials, freezing their U.S. assets and barring Americans from doing business with them. The Times called that the best way to confront the Venezuelan government. The Times, though, went a step further calling on European and other nations to join what it called a “quarantine” of Maduro. It was an interesting word choice. That was also the term used for the early days of the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba. Interestingly, none of these players — Trump or the New York Times — are calling for a boycott on Venezuelan oil, which is heavily consumed by Americans. U.S. hostile posturing toward Venezuela is nothing new. Washington, under both Democrats and Republicans, loathed the late President Hugo Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution. By Jeremy Scahill
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