>>16486659 (lb)

>Democratic Socialist Party of America

The U.S. labor movement has been fueled by the passion and fire of socialists, anarchists, communists, and leftists of many types. Socialists have been active since the very beginnings of the nationally organized movement.

In the following decades, former SP members rose to top positions in their unions and, sometimes, in the broader labor movement. These include Walter Reuther (president, United Auto Workers and president, CIO; vice-president, AFL-CIO); his brother Victor (international director, UAW); and Sidney Hillman (president, Amalgamated Clothing Workers and vice-president, CIO). Later, prominent members of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, a predecessor to DSA, included Jerry Wurf (president, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) and William Winpisinger (president, International Association of Machinists). As leaders of major industrial unions, they often had a significant role in Democratic Party politics, meeting with U.S. presidents and promoting important social legislation.

September 27, 2016

Democratic Socialists of America:

https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/the_socialist_party_s_legacy_in_the_u_s_labor_movement/

(pb) >>16483015

>Elon Musk Reveals Who He Believes is Actually Driving the Democratic Party

“I think the general public is not aware of the degree to which unions control the Democratic party,” Musk began.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk told a panel of Silicon Valley Tesla owners he and the United Auto Workers have been fighting for years.

https://resistthemainstream.org/elon-musk-reveals-who-he-believes-is-actually-driving-the-democratic-party/

What is the Economic Policy Institute?

Economic Policy Institute: Board of Directors

Thomas Perez: currently serves as chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC)

Keith Ellison: Attorney General of Minnesota

Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.7-million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO

Becky Pringle: President, National Education Association [NEA]

Elizabeth H. Shuler: president of the AFL-CIO

Mary Kay Henry: international president of Service Employees International Union

Wilma Liebman: President Obama named [her] to be Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January 2009

Robert Martinez Jr.: currently serves as the International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)

Lee Saunders: president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO

Christopher M. Shelton: currently serves as the president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA)

Robert Johnson: Previously served as managing director at Soros Fund Management and Bankers Trust Company…

https://www.epi.org/about/board/

>>16487052

>Russia announced a special military operation after being left with no other means to make it clear to the West that it is engaging in criminal activity by dragging Ukraine into NATO

Maybe I am wrong—tragically wrong—but I cannot dismiss the suspicion that [we are witnessing an elaborate charade], grossly magnified by prominent elements of the American media, to serve a domestic political end.

My words, and my voice was not the only one. In 1997, when the question of adding more members to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), I was asked to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In my introductory remarks, I made the following statement: “I consider the Administration’s recommendation to take new members into NATO at this time misguided.

If it should be approved by the United States Senate, it may well go down in history as the most profound strategic blunder made since the end of the Cold War. Far from improving the security of the United States, its Allies, and the nations that wish to enter the Alliance, it could well encourage a chain of events that could produce the most serious security threat to this nation since the Soviet Union collapsed.”

So far as Ukraine is concerned, U.S. intrusion into its domestic politics was deep—to the point of seeming to select a prime minister. It also, in effect, supported an illegal coup d’etat that changed the Ukrainian government in 2014, a procedure not normally considered consistent with the rule of law or democratic governance.

Well, as I have suggested earlier, maybe this is just an expensive charade.

14 Feb 22

https://ccisf.org/u-s-ambassadorjack-matlock-todays-crisis-over-ukraine/

Glencore pleads guilty to bribery related to African oil operations

Last month, Glencore said it would pay a $1.1bn (£900m) US settlement, and indicated it would plead guilty in the UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/21/glencore-african-oil-operations

Bribery Scandal To Cost Glencore $1.1 Billion, While Billionaire Execs Avoid Blame—For Now

May 26, 2022, 11:44am

https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2022/05/26/bribery-scandal-to-cost-glencore-11b—billionaire-execs-avoid-blame-for-now/

Glencore Entered Guilty Pleas to Foreign Bribery and Market Manipulation Schemes

Swiss-Based Firm Agrees to Pay Over $1.1 Billion

Glencore International A.G. (Glencore) and Glencore Ltd., both part of a multi-national commodity trading and mining firm headquartered in Switzerland, each pleaded guilty today and agreed to pay over $1.1 billion to resolve the government’s investigations into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and a commodity price manipulation scheme.

These guilty pleas are part of coordinated resolutions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

May 24, 2022

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/glencore-entered-guilty-pleas-foreign-bribery-and-market-manipulation-schemes

Head of Glencore’s agriculture business to retire after 17 years

May 23 2019

https://www.ft.com/content/5cafe4c4-7d78-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560

A secretive multinational company worth billions, whose founder turned fugitive was pardoned by a president.

An Israeli diamond tycoon, rumoured to be the inspiration for a Hollywood blockbuster.

And a struggling African nation, blessed and burdened by natural resources, riven by war and corruption.

Behind the black letters of the Paradise Papers lies a world of extraordinary colour.

the unique ability of companies linked to Gertler to win cut-price mining licences and agreements in DRC cost the country more than $[1.3]bn, almost twice the nation’s combined health and education budgets, in [one] [three]-year period alone

But the Paradise Papers cast new light on background dealings between Gertler and Glencore that appear to have saved them hundreds of millions of dollars – money lost to DRC and its people.

The papers reveal some of the complexity of Glencore’s global operations and the breadth of its reach. Glencore is the largest commodity trader in the world and the biggest supplier of zinc and cobalt. The fruits of its products are used every day by millions, including anyone who drives a car or makes a call on a smartphone.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/05/the-inside-story-of-glencore-hidden-dealings-in-drc

it's important to understand what trouble at Glencore means because of the huge size of the company's debt pile, banks' exposure to it and its role in the world economy as a producer and trader of more than 90 commodities.

So here's an explainer of Glencore's mess is and how it got there.

The story starts with Belgian-born commodities billionaire Marc Rich, who, in 1974, circumvented the Arab oil embargo to buy oil from Iran and Iraq for $12 a barrel and sell it for a huge profit to US companies.

In 1983, Marc Rich was indicted in the U.S. by then-U.S. prosecutor Rudolph Giuliani for multiple criminal activities including tax-evasion, racketeering and embargo breaches.

In 1993, Rich lost $172 million and control of his firm in a failed attempt to dominate the market for zinc. After a management buy-out, Marc Rich + Co AG was reborn as Glencore in 1994. Willy Strothotte became CEO.

In 2001, Marc Rich was controversially pardoned by Bill Clinton on his last day as US president. It later emerged that Denise Rich, Marc Rich's wife, made a $1 million donation to the Democrat party.

In 2013, Glencore completed its merger with mining company Xstrata. The deal, which took 450 days, created a company with 190,000 employees in 50 countries and more ships than the British navy. Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg took the helm of the new firm.

Marc Rich died in the same year.

Oct 7, 2015

https://www.businessinsider.com/glencores-history-and-what-happened-to-the-company-2015-10