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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:
According to AFRICOM, the US military command based in Stuttgart, Germany, the US special forces deployed to Niger are tasked with providing training, logistics, and intelligence to assist the Nigerien military in fighting militants affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Mali and Boko Haram in neighboring Nigeria. AFRICOM has officially stated that its forces interact with the Nigerien army in a “non-combat advisory” capacity. The circumstances surrounding the ambush which resulted in the deaths of the four Green Berets expose AFRICOM’s claim of non-engagement as a lie. The killings occurred during a joint patrol of elite American soldiers and Nigerien forces in a remote hostile region on the border with Mali known for frequent raids conducted by Islamist militants. Some 800 US commandos are deployed to bases in Niamey and Agadez making quite clear the offensive role that the American military is playing in Niger. — Why is the US at war in West Africa?
Videos of the Day:
US and Israel Show UNESCO their Anti-Palestinian Bias The U.S. and Israel are pulling out of UNESCO over what they call an ‘anti-Israel bias,’ but the move may actually underscore their bias towards basic Palestinian rights. Meanwhile, Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have reached a new unity deal
As the Rich Get Richer, Public Schools Suffer During a hearing on how to create more equitable funding for public schools in Maryland officials revealed how tax breaks for wealthy developers in Baltimore could threaten future funding
U.S.:
Envisioning an America Free From Police Violence and Control Images from the mass protests in St. Louis last month against the acquittal of a white former police officer in the fatal shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith felt like déjà vu: raised fists, Black Lives Matter signs, swarms of police armed in full riot gear. But this time, as police made arrests on the third night of protests, they began to chant “Whose streets, our streets” — a refrain that, stolen from the voices of protesters, mutated into an unsettling declaration of power, entitlement, and impunity. By Rashmee Kumar
The Rich Can’t Achieve Plurality, But the Poor Can Democracy — America’s take on it — is troubling. As a component, instead of opponent, of capitalism it tends toward inequality. by James Munson
Profiting from America’s Longest War: Trump Seeks to Exploit Mineral Wealth of Afghanistan October 7th marked sixteen years since the start of the US War in Afghanistan — America’s longest war. In an effort to justify the continued and expanded presence of US troops in the country, President Trump is seeking a plan to have US companies extract minerals from resource-rich Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s deposits of iron, copper, zinc, gold, silver, lithium and other rare-earth metals are estimated to be worth roughly $1 trillion, a price tag which has intrigued the business mogul-turned-President Trump. by Ben Dangl
Environment:
Corporate TV Drops the Ball on Climate Change Legendary independent journalist I.F. “Izzy” Stone often cautioned, “All governments lie.” But even Izzy would have been dizzy with the deluge of lies pouring out of the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump’s claim that human-induced climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to hurt the U.S. economy. Global warming has exacerbated recent catastrophic events from Houston to Miami to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and, now, to raging fires sweeping across California. The corporate TV weather reporting aids and abets Trump’s misinformation by consistently ignoring the role of climate change in this string of disasters. By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan 
National park ban saved 2m plastic bottles – and still Trump reversed it A ban on bottled water in 23 national parks prevented up to 2m plastic bottles from being used and discarded every year, a US national park service study found. That is equivalent to up to 326 barrels of oil worth of emissions, 419 cubic yards of landfill space and 111,743lb of plastic, according to the May study. Despite that, the Trump administration reversed the bottled water ban just three months later, a decision that horrified conservationists and pleased the bottled water industry. By Jessica Glenza
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
‘The Great Divide’ — No Law and Order for the Rich — Prison Slave Labor for the Poor: Louisiana Attorney General Says Oil, Gas Industry Deserve ‘a Break’ for First-Time Crimes Louisiana’s first-term attorney general Jeff Landry often presents himself as a staunch tough-on-crime and anti-corruption candidate, pushing his office’s powers to the limits (and beyond) as he seeks to lock up offenders. But when it comes to prosecuting companies for environmental crimes, Landry arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the Shale Insight conference with a very different message: sometimes, mistakes happen. “And so I think that everyone should get an opportunity to get a break the first time,” he told the audience of shale drilling executives. By Sharon Kelly
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
‘You should have been more careful’: when doctors shame rape survivors — The gynaecologist rolled her eyes, seemingly exhausted at my naivety. ‘Put your clothes on and come pay,’ she said before walking out of the room Surviving sexual assault is difficult enough when 33% of women who are raped contemplate suicide and 13% actually attempt to take their lives according to Rainn, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States. Many survivors of sexual assault experience depression, hopelessness, and PTSD, and the last thing they need is to be further interrogated, shamed, or blamed for their sexual assaults by their gynaecologist, the very people entrusted with their care. By Annalise Mabe
Labor:
Economy:
World:
Catalan defence committees ready to take to the streets When teachers, students, parents and activists turned up to defend polling stations against police in Catalonia’s banned independence referendum, it became evident that a well-organised grassroots movement had emerged. Many were part of “committees to defend the referendum”, or CDRs — neighbourhood groups set up about a month prior, at times with the help of well-honed activists, to ensure the vote went ahead on October 1 despite a court ruling it unconstitutional. Now, scattered across Catalan town and cities, driven by their quest for independence, they are ready to take to the streets against Spain’s central government — and pressure their own regional separatist executive if they back down. By Marianne Barriaux and Alvaro Villalobos 
Venezuela regional elections: the right wing seeks to advance while the PSUV offers more of the same The overwhelming victory won by the revolution on July 30 [in the National Constituent Assembly elections], was the result of the hope of millions of workers who came out to vote regardless of the guarimbas siege of opposition rioting. They were hopeful that the ANC would be the instrument that would definitively defeat the galloping inflation and the chronic shortage of income and basic necessities.That result demoralized and completely demobilized the opposition rank and file, and managed to defeat the violent opposition rioting of the guarimbas. By Lucha de Clases
Hurricanes Make the Need to Dismantle Colonial Economics in the Caribbean Increasingly Urgent By Nikolaos Karagiannis and C.J. Polychroniou
Cuba and Irma: Irma, a Category 5 hurricane—the strongest possible— struck Cuba with immense force in early September. The storm came fast and hard. The devastation was severe. In the small town of Moscu in the municipality of Esmeralda (Camaguey province), only 10 of its 289 houses remained standing. The Cuban journalist Yaditza del Sol Gonzalez reported for Granma that near Jiguey beach “the sea took it all”. The storm surge overcame the Malecon sea wall in Havana, sending water into its streets with ferocity. Havana, with its old buildings, suffered from flooding and power cuts. Ten people died, the majority of them in Havana. Cuba’s President Raul Castro took to the airwaves, calling for unity of the nation and for reconstruction of the island. “This is not the time to mourn,” Castro said, “but to build what the winds of Irma attempted to destroy.” By all indications, the death toll in Cuba was remarkably low as was the devastation to the island’s infrastructure. Certainly, homes in the old part of Havana are brittle and parts of the infrastructure are in severe need of modernisation. But the island’s preparation for the hurricane and the general community spirit that prevails there saved it from total devastation. Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated from Havana in anticipation of the storm, and over a million people from across the island went into shelters. One such shelter was at the Karl Marx Vocational Pre-University in Matanzas, where volunteers gathered food, water and medical supplies for the evacuees. The country’s pharmaceutical industry halted production of medicines a week before the storm in order to build up the stock of hydration salts, which were then distributed across the island. Electricity and gas supplies were cut before the storm came to the island, and measures were taken to protect the lines and transformers from the impact of the winds and the flooding. The government made sure to dispatch flour to state bakeries, which worked overtime to produce stocks of bread for the aftermath of the storm. Agricultural workers from Santiago de Cuba harvested their crops before they ripened in the field and distributed the produce. Meanwhile, brigades and defence councils began to conduct search-and-rescue operations across the areas most affected by the hurricane. “The most important task is, and will be, the preservation of life,” said Dr Jose Luis Aparicio Suarez, a coordinator of one of the medical brigades. “The recovery will come later, gradually. Health and life are the absolute priorities.” — A Tale of Two Islands
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
Editorial: The Guardian view on the IMF’s message: yes, tax the super-rich The Reagan-Thatcher revolution changed society’s beliefs about taxes for the worse. It’s a good thing the IMF agrees with Labour that we need a rethink if we want economic growth shared fairlyFigure 1‘The IMF’s findings on tax provide ample and welcome political cover for Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell as they seek to convince voters that Labour’s tax plans are not just equitable but also economically workable.’ Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
The NFL stood by African American players … until its money was threatened For a while, the world’s most lucrative league supported its players in the face of hostility from Donald Trump. Then the NFL looked at its bottom line NFL players are sacrificing their brains for a league that will make at least $14bn off them this year. Many are shorting their memories, breaking their bodies and forgoing any hope of walking normally past the age of 45. The majority of them do not have guaranteed contracts and while the very best are paid well for the tiny window that is their professional career, they remain among the most exploited of American professional athletes – their sports lives dangling by the sturdiness of their ACLs. By Les Carpenter
Spa of the Rich and Powerful
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