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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:
Halloween or Hallowe’en (a contraction of All Hallows‘ Evening),[5] also known as Allhalloween,[6] All Hallows’ Eve,[7] or All Saints’ Eve,[8] is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide,[9] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain; that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church. Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain.) — Halloween
Corporate media have a long history of lamenting wars they themselves helped sell the American public, but it’s rare so many wars and so much hypocrisy are distilled into one editorial. On Monday, the New York Times (10/22/17) lamented the expansion of America’s “forever wars” overseas, without once noting that every war mentioned is one the editorial board has itself endorsed, while failing to oppose any of the “engagements” touched on in the editorial. The Times began by noting the sheer scope of US military reach: The United States has been at war continuously since the attacks of 9/11 and now has just over 240,000 active-duty and reserve troops in at least 172 countries and territories. — Why Does the NYT Take Such Pains to Pretend It’s Not a Mouthpiece for Imperial War?
Videos of the Day:
Ponzi Scheme: Subprime Derivatives: What are they? — A quick tutorial
Trump Expands Oil Drilling But Obama Paved the Way Investigative Journalist Steve Horn, of DeSmogBlog, discusses how a new hire at Interior Department, Todd Wynn, is right from the ranks of pro-fossil fuel, climate change denying, lobby group ALEC, which is funded by the oil billionaire Koch Brothers
Catalonia Vows to Resist Madrid’s Direct Rule Expect to see acts of civil disobedience, resistance from public servants, and election boycotts in the weeks ahead – as well as criminal persecution of Catalonia’s political leaders, says Sebastiaan Faber of Oberlin College
U.S.:
Below is one of his (Martin Luther King) last speeches, given 40 years ago and one year before his assassination, at Stanford University in April 1967 and titled the ‘The Other America’. Here he speaks not of a dream but of the nightmarish economic condition of Black people. When he talks about ‘work-starved men searching for jobs that do not exist’ and living on a ‘lonely island of poverty surrounded by an ocean of material prosperity,’ the speech remains timely in today’s world. —Roland Sheppard’s Introduction to the The Other America, for the San Francisco Bayview Nespaper
Puerto Rico says it’s scrapping $300M Whitefish contract amid increased scrutiny The head of Puerto Rico‘s power company said Sunday the agency will cancel its $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings amid increased scrutiny of the tiny Montana company’s role in restoring the island’s power system following Hurricane Maria. The announcement by Ricardo Ramos came hours after Gov. Ricardo Rossello urged the utility to scrap the deal for Whitefish’s help in rebuilding the electrical system. By Danica Coto
Fool Me Twice? Americans Reject Trump’s Tax Cuts The old idiom, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” has important implications for democracy. It speaks to the incalculable value of political learning for holding political leadership accountable. If citizens cannot learn from their mistakes, especially in cases when they are manipulated by official propaganda, then there’s little hope for a meaningful democracy in which citizens play an informed, direct role in shaping the political process. by Anthony DiMaggio
Indicted: Trump’s Former Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Now in FBI Custody Along with business associate Rick Gates, Manafort was ordered to submit to federal authorites on Monday The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased at record speed last year to hit a level not seen for more than three million years, the UN has warned. by Jon Queally
Environment:
Now that the alleged threat of communism has disappeared and there are no longer any more excuses for cold wars, arms races, and military spending, what is blocking the immediate use of these resources to promote the development of the Third World and fight the threat of the ecological destruction of the planet? Let selfishness end. Let hegemonies end. Let insensitivity, irresponsibility, and deceit end. Tomorrow it will be too late to do what we should have done a long time ago. — Fidel Castro, Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992
Global atmospheric CO2 levels hit record high UN warns that drastic action is needed to meet climate targets set in the Paris agreement By Jonathan Watts
A Dripping Wet Chemical Planet Each and every year an avalanche of toxic chemicals, amounting to 250 billion tonnes, drips over Earth, which, over time, will sanitize all life, turning the planet into a massive gooey glob that glistens dazzlingly orange, not vividly blue. Already, scientists categorize Earth as a “toxic planet.” (Source: “Scientists Categorize Earth as a ‘Toxic Planet,” Phys.Org, Feb. 7, 2017) by Robert Hunziker
Ongoing Big Energy Crisis:
Disaster Capitalism— PG&E Wants to Get Rewarded for its Deferred Maintenance Policy:
PG&E wants ratepayers to pay California wildfire costs Fearing billions of dollars in future liability, PG&E has been aggressively urging state regulators to make it easier for the company to charge ratepayers — rather than its shareholders — when its power lines and other electrical equipment cause wildfires. Top PG&E executives met as recently as last week to lobby officials at the state Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco over the issue, which could arise powerfully in coming months if the utility is found to be responsible for the Wine Country fires, a serious possibility that state regulators are now investigating. By Paul Rogers
Regulatory agency launches investigation into California wildfires, probes PG&E activities in fire zones The state’s Public Utilities Commission has launched an investigation into whether PG&E’s maintenance of its power infrastructure in Sonoma and Napa counties may have played a role in the deadly Wine Country fires. The regulatory agency sent a letter to the utility ordering that it preserve all equipment possibly related to the string of fires, as well as internal communications discussing the disaster. The PUC president announced that his agency would focus on the energy company’s maintenance history. “We are in contact with PG&E about their response, and we’ll be collecting information about maintenance history and vegetation management in these areas,” President Michael Picker said at the agency’s recent meeting (3minute mark). By Matthias Gafni
PG&E power lines linked to Wine Country fires As the first reports came in Sunday night of numerous fires that would grow into one of the most destructive wildfire disasters in California history, emergency dispatchers in Sonoma County received multiple calls of power lines falling down and electrical transformers exploding. By Paul Rogers 
Black Liberation/Civil Rights:
Labor:
Economy:
Catalan Republic crushed by Spanish state – without a fight After a week of about turns, indecision and last minute attempts to find a negotiated way out, the Catalan Republic was proclaimed on Friday, October 27. Tens of thousands celebrated in the streets of Barcelona and other Catalan towns and cities. By Jorge Martin
Health, Science, Education, and Welfare:
New edition of Trotsky’s biography of Stalin reviewed in widest circulated Spanish paper Yesterday the Spanish daily El Pais carried a full spread (see images) review of the new edition of STALIN the biography written by Leon Trotsky, which was recently republished with a wealth of new material left out by the original publishers. The review, which appeared prominently in the popular Sunday suplement of El Pais, quoted the editor of the new edition, Alan Woods – also editor of www.marxist.com – as well as Esteban Volkov, the grandchild of Leon Trotsky. El Pais is the largest circulation printed paper in Spain and the first online newspaper in Spanish in the world with over 11 million unique readers every month. The article was also printed in the Portuguese language edition of the paper. Below you find images of the spread. We will also translate the text to make it available to our readers tomorrow. By In Defence of Marxism
The U.S. ‘Safety Net’
Quotes of the Day:
JFK Files Prove US Gov’t Planned to Set Off Bombs Inside US, Kill Innocent People in Cuban False Flag A damning document revealed in the JFK files that the US government planned to stage false flag attacks inside the United States to start a bogus war. By Matt Agorist
World: