Elections in Hong Kong

"On Monday, Mrs. Lam said in a statement that the government respected the results of the election. “Many have pointed out that the results reflect the public’s dissatisfaction with the social situation and deep-seated problems,” she said, adding that the government would “listen to the views of the public with an open mind and seriously reflect on them.”
This is an opportunity for the two sides to work out compromises that will work for both. The election shows Hong Kong already has a democratic way to possibly solve the contradictions between the protest movement and the government and hopefully both the violent demonstrations and the police responses will be toned down. The leaders in Beijing should draw the correct conclusions from this vote and not over react nor should extremists in the protest movement try to provoke continued violence and appeal to hostile external enemies for support. The US especially should stay clear of this clearly internal affair of the Chinese people.

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NYTIMES.COM

Hong Kong Election Results Give Democracy Backers Big Win

A surge in voting, especially by young people, allowed democracy advocates to win many more seats on local councils.

Warren Retreats from Medicare for All

Ms. Capitalist Bones makes her first retreat. "Her latest proposal, then, is smoke and mirrors, a red herring—any cliche you like." She now wants the public option and will later work for a single payer system. This keeps the private insurance industry rolling along. Don't get me wrong, Ms. CB is still the most progressive Democrat (Bernie is an Independent Socialist and not part of the Democratic Party although he votes with the DP in Congress as an ally against the RP) but not as progressive as Bernie.

It is not a personal failing of Ms. CB that she is backtracking on Medicare for All but rather the logic of the capitalist system that the DP represents and she wants to work within that system and Bernie's Medicare for All smells too socialistic for the powers controlling the DNC. By taking this pro-capitalist position Ms. CB reduces official opposition to her and refocuses stronger opposition against Bernie. 

The same capitalist logic that destroyed Obama as a progressive (he is de facto opposed to both Ms. CB and Bernie) will also kill off most of the progressive programs that Ms. CB now advocates once she gets into office, that's why it is so important for class conscious workers and others who remain convinced in the viability of socialism to redouble their efforts to get Bernie the nomination and not fall for the right-wing labor leaders and their supporters who back Ms. CB and who also know which side of the bread their butter is on (not the socialist side). Bernie may lose and we get stuck with Ms. CB but until then, it should be Bernie or Bust.

NEWREPUBLIC.COM

Elizabeth Warren Retreats From Medicare for All

Her plan to pass a public option before pivoting to single-payer is too clever for its own good.

Trump versus Congress & Pentagon re Aid to Lebanon's Army

The package is known as foreign military financing, which is major aid that is usually managed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, part of the Defense Department." Talk about interfering in other people's countries! Here we give millions to a foreign army to carry out policies against domestic opposition groups the US doesn't like and to keep a government we approve of in power. Here the DNC, MSM, and CIA scream like stuck pigs because they think Russia put up Facebook pages against Killary! Imagine Putin funding the Mexican army to the tune of a hundred million dollars, or that of Venezuela. The US would go ape over that, yet it is business as usual for the US to do just that and even has a special government agency to do it. The ridiculous hypocrisy and childish outrage over alleged Russian meddling in our rigged election system via misleading Facebook pages or revealing the truth about Killary's campaign via unsecured emails is a sick joke compared to the actual deeds of US imperialism (arming and supporting rebel groups in Syria prolonging a destructive and failed attempt at regime change, plus wars and killings around the world on a mass scale) and people on the Left who fall for this garbage should be ashamed of themselves for playing the role of useful idiots for our monopoly capitalist ruling class.

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NYTIMES.COM

White House Freezes Military Aid to Lebanon, Against Wishes of Congress, State Dept. and Pentagon

The indefinite hold halts a $105 million package that the State Department and Congress had approved. Analysts say the winners could be Iran, Russia, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.