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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 Those 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:
Puerto Rico is dying. Let those words sink in. Three and a half million people are without power, water, fuel, food, and support. This isn’t some uninhabited atoll. This is where I grew up. This is where my family lives. This is my home. And my home is dying. I have been desperately trying to come up with the right words to express what I feel and what I think for the better part of a day. My social media has as of late provided me with a space to write my remarks, observations, and more often than not, rants about the situation on Puerto Rico. I shared my anxieties when hours, then days passed without a word from my family. I cried in silent sobs at the pictures that slowly started to come out of the island. Despair began to unite the large Puerto Rican diaspora as we comforted each other, and waited as the absolute silence became more and more unbearable. “Have you heard from…” “Does anyone have any information about my hometown…” “My mom, she’s not well, I can’t reach her…” “I can’t find my partner…” It was only last Friday when I had proof of life from my family in my hometown of Arecibo. And it was on Sunday that I was finally able to speak to them over the phone. Speak… more like share moments of absolute joy and tears of happiness. Of feeling born again. And with that memory fresh in my mind, I sat down to write. Nothing came except tears. I’m crying as I write this. How can one put into words how it feels to be completely powerless as the world I’ve always known slowly turns into Hell for those that I love the most? How can one fully express in words that could convey, in any way, the overwhelming sense of constant pain, of horrible uncertainty, the fear of loss, and the fury over what is, in the end, an unnatural disaster? And how can I live with myself for not being there? How can I explain to people that Puerto Rico, my home, my island, my heart and soul, is dying? — Memento Mori: a Requiem for Puerto Rico
The New Media Monopoly Is Hurting Progressive and Independent News — The story is about monopoly on steroids. It is about the extreme and unconstrained power of Google and Facebook, and how they are affecting what you read, hear and see. It is about how these two companies are undermining progressive news sources, including AlterNet. In June, Google announced major changes in its algorithm designed to combat fake news. Ben Gomes, the company’s vice president for engineering, stated in April that Google’s update of its search engine would block access to “offensive” sites, while working to surface more “authoritative content.” This seemed like a good idea. Fighting fake news, which Trump often uses to advance his interests and rally his supporters, is an important goal that AlterNet shares. But little did we know that Google had decided, perhaps with bad advice or wrong-headed thinking, that media like AlterNet—dedicated to fighting white supremacy, misogyny, racism, Donald Trump, and fake news—would be clobbered by Google in its clumsy attempt to address hate speech and fake news. — The Numbers Are Striking — We have had consistent search traffic averaging 2.7 million unique visitors a month, over the past two and a half years. (Search traffic makes up 30-40 percent of AlterNet’s overall traffic.) But since the June Google announcement, AlterNet’s search traffic has plummeted by 40 percent—a loss of an average of 1.2 million people every month who are no longer reading AlterNet stories. — Editorial: Google’s Threat to Democracy Hits AlterNet Hard
Videos of the Day:
Trump’s Corporate Tax Would Trigger a Global Race to the Bottom Trump’s proposal to reduce the corporate tax rate will contribute to a global taxation race to the bottom where the losers will be all countries and the winners will be corporations, explains tax justice expert James Henry
Trump’s Tax Giveaway to the Rich Won’t Boost Economy Donald Trump’s tax plan lowers highest income tax bracket and the corporate tax rate and eliminates the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, all of which will massively benefit him and his rich friends, explains CEPR’s Dean Baker
U.S.:
Boss Trump To Puerto Rico: ‘Your Fired’ (‘Let Me Prey’)
The Shock Doctrine Has Taken Hold of Puerto Rico In the ruins of post-hurricane Puerto Rico, one fact remains clear: disaster capitalism will use this tragedy to its own advantage. The exploiters were on the march before Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall. Now that hurricane season has made a mess of the island, corporate interests will use the chance to score a profit. What is the devastation of nature next to the carnivorousness of man? By Jason Rhode
Trump attacks Puerto Rico mayor: ‘They want everything done for them’ — President’s tweet accuses Carmen Yulín Cruz of ‘such poor leadership’ — San Juan mayor had said logistics chaos was ‘close to genocide’ Ahead of his visit to the US territory next week, the US president used Twitter to say of Carmen Yulín Cruz “… such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help”. He went on: “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.
Report From Puerto Rico: Death Toll Higher Than Reported Amid Water Shortage and Health Crisis Good news or fake news? Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and the Trump administration defend their response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, where many of the 3.5 million residents remain without electricity and are desperate for fresh water, food and other supplies. We speak with Laura Moscoso, a data journalist at the Puerto Rico-based Center for Investigative Journalism. She says the death toll is much higher than the government reports, noting, “Our phones have been ringing with many testimonies.” By Amy Goodman
Memento Mori: a Requiem for Puerto Rico by Miguel A. Cruz-Díaz
Trump Threatens Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea Donald Trump threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 19. That threat violates the UN Charter, and indicates an intent to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, the war crime of collective punishment and international humanitarian law. Moreover, a first-strike use of nuclear weapons would violate international law. By Marjorie Cohn
Fanon’s Knife and Puerto Rico “Colonialism only loosens its hold when the knife is at its throat.” — Frantz Fanon by José Tirado
The 1% Used Private Mecenaries In Standing Rock: TigerSwan Tactics Part 7: Police Used Private Security Aircraft for Surveillance in Standing Rock No-Fly Zone At the height of the movement to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline’s construction last fall, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a rare “temporary flight restriction,” also known as a no-fly zone, covering nearly 154 square miles of airspace above the pipeline resistance. The no-fly zone — a response to the activities of indigenous drone pilots, whose aerial videos documenting the struggle at Standing Rock drew large social media followings — was approved from October 25 to November 4 in 2016 and renewed twice to cover a smaller area, remaining in effect until December 13. By Alleen Brown, Will Parrish and Alice Speri
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
All of the Work, None of the Credit Don’t Drop the Ball on the WNBA’s Activism Recently, President Trump made headlines—and enraged many NFL players, coaches, and owners — when he said that players who protested during the national anthem should be fired. In response, over 100 players participated in some semblance of an anthem protest — the largest demonstration to date — and many teams released statements condemning Trump’s comments. But Sunday was not just a historic day for the NFL: During the first game of the WNBA Finals, the Minnesota Lynx linked arms in solidarity during the anthem while their opponents, the Los Angeles Sparks, walked off the court and into the locker room. The WNBA’s visible protest is no surprise: They’ve been the most socially conscious professional sports league for a while now. This demonstration is just the latest example in a long line of actions WNBA players have taken to protest injustice. by Britni de la Cretaz
Environment:
Corrupt Capitalism Preys Upon Flint: Nestlé pays $200 a year to bottle water near Flint — where water is undrinkable While Flint battles a water crisis, just two hours away the beverage giant pumps almost 100,000 times what an average Michigan resident uses into plastic bottles by Jessica Glenzain Detroit, Michigan
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Labor:
Economy:
Shadow Government Statistics Alternate Inflation Charts The CPI chart on the home page reflects our estimate of inflation for today as if it were calculated the same way it was in 1990. The CPI on the Alternate Data Series tab here reflects the CPI as if it were calculated using the methodologies in place in 1980. In general terms, methodological shifts in government reporting have depressed reported inflation, moving the concept of the CPI away from being a measure of the cost of living needed to maintain a constant standard of living.
World:
Catalan firefighters join students as referendum defence committees get organised The moment that hundreds of uniformed Barcelona firefighters joined the 90,000 -strong student demonstration in Barcelona is an indication of the level of class conflict developing in Catalonia. These scenes are reminiscent of other periods in history, such as May 1968 when the workers and students came together. By Jorge Martin
Catalonia Refuses to Halt Independence Referendum, Defying Spanish Court The regional government of Catalonia made it clear on Friday that it has no plans to abandon a referendum on independence from Spain scheduled for Sunday, despite the deployment of thousands of Spanish police officers to Barcelona, the Catalan capital, with orders to prevent the vote from taking place. By Robert Mackey
All the powers gang up against Iraqi Kurds Millions of Iraqi Kurds last Monday voted in a referendum on secession from Iraq and to set up an independent state. According to the official organisers, 92.73 percent of voters supported Kurdish independence while the participation rate stood at 72.16 percent. A huge majority of the Iraqi Kurdish people have made it clear that they feel no attachment to the quasi-sectarian Iraqi central government. By Hamid Alizadeh 
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Quotes of the Day: