RED EYE ON THE NEWS ... October 5, 2022

Life under capitalism is getting worse
The Next Recession, 9/11–Life expectancy fell in the US in 2021 to its lowest since 1996, the second year of a historic retreat, mainly due to COVID-19 deaths…disparity in life expectancy between men and women widened last year to the highest in more than two decades, with American men now expected to live just 73.2 years, nearly six fewer years than women.

Deaths from COVID-19 contributed to over half of the overall decline in U.S. life expectancy last year. But COVID was not the only factor in the decline. Drug overdoses and heart disease are also major contributors,the data showed…Suicide-related deaths are the third-leading contributor to the decline in life expectancy for American men.

The decrease in US life expectancy was highly racialized: as the largest decreases in 2020 occurred among American Indian/Alaska natives, hispanics, Black and Asian populations. For native Americans and Alaska natives, life expectancy fell to 65, close to the national average during World War II…China’s life expectancy at birth is now higher than that of the US…“The stagnation in life expectancy reflects deep societal challenges — not just in our health system but also in our economic and political systems,” said Dave Chokshi, a physician and former NYC health commissioner.

Israel’s  Mossad admits it helped murder thousands of Palestinian refugees
The Cradle, 9/9–According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the office of the Israeli prime minister, which oversees and directs the Mossad, released the dateless document that implicates the intelligence agency in the atrocities carried out by right-wing Lebanese Christian militias. The document in question…exposes the Mossad’s role in, and facilitation of, weapon transfers that were used in the two-day, round-the-clock massacre of Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

The bloody massacre took place in 1982, between 16-18 September at a camp under siege by the Israeli army, leaving thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians dead, raped, and injured by the militias to whom Israeli occupation forces provided passage, weapons, and protection…“Goyim killing Goyim,” [Israeli President Menachim] Begin is famously quoted as saying in a bid to disavow any Israeli role in the events.

However, as Pultizer prize-winner Patrick J. Sloyan revealed in his book When Reagan Sent the Marines, [Israeli general Ariel] Sharon met with the Phalangist militia leaders the day after the assassination of president Bachir Gemayel, and abetted them in avenging his death. Sharon told the commander of the Lebanese Forces Militia Elie Hobeika: “I don’t want a single one of them left,” in reference to the Palestinians in the camps in Beirut.

Mining companies steal and poison in Colombian state of La Guajira
IGWIA, 9/16–Despite this Caribbean region’s natural wealth, Wayuu children in La Guajira are dying of hunger and thirst. Exploitation by multinationals, a lack of rainfall and the contamination of their wells only add to historical injustices. Today nearly 40% of the population of La Guajira does not enjoy optimal nutrition,...Indigenous children… are malnourished and since the beginning of 2021, 17 Wayuu children have died from malnutrition.

In recent years, plundering by multinationals, who exploit their resources in exchange for low-quality jobs, and pollution have only added to these historical debts...La Guajira is blessed with many natural riches: coal, gas, salt, sun and wind. The only ones benefiting from this wealth are the Colombian State and a few multinationals.

The Indigenous people blame more than 30 years of coal mining for contaminating their reservoirs. As if that were not enough, the mining companies have obtained licenses to divert rivers and exploit the riverbeds. As a result, the wells that the Indigenous people used to rely on to get through the summer have dried up. The State, however, has declared the extractive industries to be of “national interest”, condemning communities to involuntary resettlement and displacement.