The Original Bern needs to start differentiating himself from his two main competitors. The points of departure are fairly obvious: Biden's neoliberal voting record in the Senate that he seems to have difficulty recalling accurately and Warren's past as a Repugnant. Here is a contribution in kind post that may be of interest to Bernie's campaign advisors:
Larry Fink is a supporter and donor of presidential candidate Joe Biden. So who is Joe Fink? He is the CEO of Black Rock a mega hedge fund that manages
more than $6 trillion in investments. He is also a Democratic superdonor, who allegedly vowed to put 'Gramps' Biden in the Very White House. Fink has paid homage to sustainable enterprise, but as is distressingly clear with most capitalist his commitment does not extend beyond writing letters urging companies he invests in to consider their impact on the environment.
 |
| Amazon fires from space, credit WaPo |
US Person says this because a concerned person need look no further than the biggest on-going environmental disaster on the face of the planet.
Deforestation of Amazonia is contributing to more global warming and
destroy irreplaceable habitat at a time when the Earth needs every
square foot of wild landscape humanity can spare.
[photo right] Black Rock has
provided significant financing to the world's largest meatpacker, JBS
which
has repeatedly bought cattle raised on cleared forest land. According to Yale University, cattle ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation in South America. Ranchers clear cut the forest and then light fires to reduce the timber to ash, which fertilizes the mineral poor soil. Grass replaces the forest, which provide forage for cattle.
The corrupt JBS enterprise is responding to burgeoning demand for beef around the world including the US where fast food businesses buy it in huge amounts. While Fink was publicly telling business leaders to consider the environment in their business decisons, Black Rock was increased investment in JBS by $41 million between 2016 and 2018. According to the NGO Amazon Watch, JBS main supplier of cattle was finded by IBAMA, the Brazilian environmental protection agency in 2017 and 2018 for illegal clearances. The agency has been drastically defunded under the far right Bolsonaro administration; conservation groups have nicknamed him "Captain Chainsaw"; Bolsonaro was an Army captain before becoming president.
It is not just private capital that is funding Amazon deforestation. Because JBS has a US subsidiary, $62.4 million of tax revenue has been given to JBS to mitigate the negative impacts of Il Douche's trade war with China. Black Rock is not alone investing in Amazon deforestation. Capital Group, Vanguard and Fidelity along with Black Rock hold the most significant equity investments in JBS. Notably Black Rock markets it ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) as "sustainable"; these funds alone
have invested $29 millioin in companies driving deforestation. A black lie that you can ask Joe Biden about.
