Daily Archives: August 12, 2019

2019-08-12: News Headlines

Staff (2019-08-12). Trump Reviewing Rule That Would Allow Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits. truthout.org | | The Trump White House is reportedly reviewing a Labor Department rule that would give states the power to force people to pass a drug test before they can receive unemployment benefits, ignoring protests that such screenings would amount to demeaning and unconstitutional invasions of privacy. | "The rule itself would not automatically impose drug tests on the jobless but…

Josh Hoxie (2019-08-12). Five Ways the Economy is Stacked Against the Young. counterpunch.org The mechanics of wealth building are fairly simple. Save more than you spend, invest those savings to generate more money. Lather, rinse, repeat. There's one big problem for younger people trying to do this: The rules are rigged against them. Here are five facts showing the unfair burden millennials carry. 1. Wages are stagnant. Today's More

Climate One (2019-08-12). Heavy Weather: Balancing Joy & Despair during Climate Change. indybay.org Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, California 94105…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-08-12). 'Degrading' and 'Unconstitutional': Trump Reviewing Rule That Would Allow Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits. commondreams.org "This type of futile and unconstitutional intrusion into people's privacy simply because they are out of work is unacceptable." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/donald_trump_workers.jpg

teleSUR (2019-08-12). Hong Kong Protests Occupy Airport, Gov't Warns of 'Terrorism'. telesurenglish.net Opposition protesters in Hong Kong have occupied the city's huge international airport, leading to the cancellation of all flights. Authorities are yet to intervene but have warned against increasing violence and 'signs of terrorism' by Hong Kong protesters. | RELATED: | Videos of Chinese 'Crackdown' in Hong Kong Revealed as Fake by AFP Investigation | On Sunday night, protesters in the wealthy Wan Chai district provoked clashes with police by throwing petrol b…

Jon Queally (2019-08-12). While poorest scapegoated, analysis of 25 world's wealthiest families a reminder of inequality's economic drain. nationofchange.org "It's funny that the real truth about income inequality is not coming from the south like some would like you to believe—the sucking sound draining the middle-class is the 1 percent… Just saying."

Peter Maass (2019-08-10). HBO's "Succession" Is a Masterful Demolition of the Absurdity and Cruelty of Our One Percent Overlords. theintercept.com "Succession" isn't directly about the Murdochs and Fox. It's about a class of super-wealthy individuals who are manifestly unfit to rule.

Ellen Brown (2019-08-09). Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match In China. dissidentvoice.org Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Andy Wong/AP) When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4% and gross domestic product growth was above 3%. If anything, by the Fed's own reasoning, it should have been raising rates. …

United Nations (2019-08-09). 'Preserve, revitalize and promote' indigenous languages, or lose a 'wealth of traditional knowledge', UN chief says. un.org Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the urgency to "preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages" in his message for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, celebrated on Friday.

pip.hinman (2019-08-09). One rule for some, jail for the rest. greenleft.org.au You could be forgiven for thinking theft is suddenly socially acceptable given recent events — provided you act remorsefully after being caught. However, that acceptance only extends so far. | The Fair Work Ombudsman fined celebrity chef George Calombaris $200,000 for underpaying staff $7.8 million in wages. | In 2017 it was estimated that Calombaris's wealth sat at $4.5 million, making him the sixth-richest chef in Australia at the time. | Most of the media focused on a fragile, contrite Calombaris talking about how much he loved his staff. Very little attention was paid to the employees who had their wage…

susan_p (2019-08-09). Brazil's stride into authoritarianism. greenleft.org.au Since Brazil's 2016 parliamentary coup d'etat, in which former president Dilma Rousseff was removed on a later-exonerated technicality, Brazil's ultra-right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro has made every effort to destroy any remnants of the legacy left by the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT). | More than just replacing logotypes and email accounts, Bolsonaro's administration has taken steps to remove environmental protections on the Atlantic and Amazon forests to allow his wealthy rural base access to slash and burn, evict and even kill Indigenous peoples, introduce extreme farming and to use an exhaustive list of to…

splcenter (2019-08-08). SPLC statement on Mississippi immigration raids. splcenter.org Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Julia Solórzano, with the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project, issued the following statement on today's workplace raids in Mississippi:…

pip.hinman (2019-08-08). Maybe Morrison should also try shouting 'how good are homes' at the homeless. greenleft.org.au When the Coalition unexpectedly won the May federal elections, it was tempting to assume no good would come of it. But that type of thinking ignores just how much money the gambling industry lost with the defeat of the odds-on favourite, Labor. | That's where the good news ends, though. | Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly followed up his victory by ramping up class war through big tax cuts to the rich, and Labor quickly followed by voting for it. | Morrison then followed by insisting the government could not afford to raise the rate Newstart, which is significantly lower than the $433 a week poverty line…

Staff (2019-08-07). More Sanctions Against Venezuela Means More Suffering. therealnews.com The Trump administration's new sanctions freeze all of Venezuela's U.S.-based assets and those of anyone who helps Maduro which will only increase poverty, says Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodriguez…

Fight Back (2019-08-06). Crime, poverty, policing point to need for a People's Budget in Jacksonville, FL. fightbacknews.org Jacksonville, FL – There is no denying the separation between the community and city officials in Jacksonville, Florida when it comes to solutions on crime and poverty. Community advocates continually push for solutions that will tackle the social and economic roots of crime while local politicians continue to support more policing. | In 2017 Sheriff Mike Williams and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) received a $4.4 million budget increase to "crack down on crime," but the returns were insignificant. There was no drop in violent crime. The next year, Williams and the JSO received a $36 million increase gr…

Staff (2019-08-02). Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All. democracynow.org The Democratic presidential candidates remain deeply divided on how to expand healthcare to the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both pushed for abolishing private health insurance and establishing a Medicare for All system. Their rivals have pushed a number of different, more incremental approaches. During the first night of the latest debates, Sanders pointed out that the country has taken sweeping action before to expand health coverage to millions of Americans, referring to the 50th anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Me…

Karla Reyes (2019-07-31). 48 hours of overpolicing in NYC. liberationnews.org Recording the police or offering Metrocards will not end the criminalization of poverty, it will not end police terror.

2019-08-12: Social Media Postees

Trump Reviewing Rule That Would Allow Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-08-12
| The Trump White House is reportedly reviewing a Labor Department rule that would give states the power to force people to pass a drug test before they can receive unemployment benefits, ignoring protests that such screenings would amount to demeaning and unconstitutional invasions of privacy. | "The rule itself would not automatically impose drug tests on the jobless but…
truthout.org/articles/trump-reviewing-rule-that-would-allow-drug-testing-for-unemployment-benefits/

Heavy Weather: Balancing Joy & Despair during Climate Change
Climate One | indybay.org | 2019-08-12
Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, California 94105…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/08/11/18825412.php

While poorest scapegoated, analysis of 25 world's wealthiest families a reminder of inequality's economic drain
Jon Queally | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-12
"It's funny that the real truth about income inequality is not coming from the south like some would like you to believe–the sucking sound draining the middle-class is the 1 percent… Just saying."
nationofchange.org/2019/08/12/while-poorest-scapegoated-analysis-of-25-worlds-wealthiest-families-a-reminder-of-inequalitys-economic-drain/

Five Ways the Economy is Stacked Against the Young
Josh Hoxie | counterpunch.org | 2019-08-12
The mechanics of wealth building are fairly simple. Save more than you spend, invest those savings to generate more money. Lather, rinse, repeat. There's one big problem for younger people trying to do this: The rules are rigged against them. Here are five facts showing the unfair burden millennials carry. 1. Wages are stagnant. Today's…
counterpunch.org/2019/08/12/five-ways-the-economy-is-stacked-against-the-young/

'Degrading' and 'Unconstitutional': Trump Reviewing Rule That Would Allow Drug Testing for Unemployment Benefits
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-12
"This type of futile and unconstitutional intrusion into people's privacy simply because they are out of work is unacceptable." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/donald_trump_workers.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/12/degrading-and-unconstitutional-trump-reviewing-rule-would-allow-drug-testing?cd-origin=rss

Hong Kong Protests Occupy Airport, Gov't Warns of 'Terrorism'
telesurenglish.net | 2019-08-12
Opposition protesters in Hong Kong have occupied the city's huge international airport, leading to the cancellation of all flights. Authorities are yet to intervene but have warned against increasing violence and 'signs of terrorism' by Hong Kong protesters. | RELATED: | Videos of Chinese 'Crackdown' in Hong Kong Revealed as Fake by AFP Investigation | On Sunday night, protesters in the wealthy Wan Chai district provoked clashes with police by throwing petrol b…
telesurenglish.net/news/Hong-Kong-Protesters-Shut-Down-Airport-Authorities-Warn-of–Signs-of-Terrorism-20190812-0005.html

HBO's "Succession" Is a Masterful Demolition of the Absurdity and Cruelty of Our One Percent Overlords
Peter Maass | theintercept.com | 2019-08-10
"Succession" isn't directly about the Murdochs and Fox. It's about a class of super-wealthy individuals who are manifestly unfit to rule.
theintercept.com/2019/08/10/hbo-succession-season-two/

'Preserve, revitalize and promote' indigenous languages, or lose a 'wealth of traditional knowledge', UN chief says
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-09
Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the urgency to "preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages" in his message for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, celebrated on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1044071

Neoliberalism Has Met Its Match In China
Ellen Brown | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-09
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (Andy Wong/AP) When the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week, commentators were asking why. According to official data, the economy was rebounding, unemployment was below 4% and gross domestic product growth was above 3%. If anything, by the Fed's own reasoning, it should have been raising rates. …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/neoliberalism-has-met-its-match-in-china/

One rule for some, jail for the rest
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
You could be forgiven for thinking theft is suddenly socially acceptable given recent events — provided you act remorsefully after being caught. However, that acceptance only extends so far. | The Fair Work Ombudsman fined celebrity chef George Calombaris $200,000 for underpaying staff $7.8 million in wages. | In 2017 it was estimated that Calombaris's wealth sat at $4.5 million, making him the sixth-richest chef in Australia at the time. | Most of the media focused on a fragile, contrite Calombaris talking about how much he loved his staff. Very little attention was paid to the employees who had their wage…
greenleft.org.au/content/one-rule-some-jail-rest

Brazil's stride into authoritarianism
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
Since Brazil's 2016 parliamentary coup d'etat, in which former president Dilma Rousseff was removed on a later-exonerated technicality, Brazil's ultra-right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro has made every effort to destroy any remnants of the legacy left by the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT). | More than just replacing logotypes and email accounts, Bolsonaro's administration has taken steps to remove environmental protections on the Atlantic and Amazon forests to allow his wealthy rural base access to slash and burn, evict and even kill Indigenous peoples, introduce extreme farming and to use an exhaustive list of to…
greenleft.org.au/content/brazil-stride-authoritarianism

SPLC statement on Mississippi immigration raids
splcenter.org | 2019-08-08
Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Julia Solórzano, with the SPLC's Immigrant Justice Project, issued the following statement on today's workplace raids in Mississippi:…
splcenter.org/news/2019/08/07/splc-statement-mississippi-immigration-raids

Maybe Morrison should also try shouting 'how good are homes' at the homeless
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-08
When the Coalition unexpectedly won the May federal elections, it was tempting to assume no good would come of it. But that type of thinking ignores just how much money the gambling industry lost with the defeat of the odds-on favourite, Labor. | That's where the good news ends, though. | Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly followed up his victory by ramping up class war through big tax cuts to the rich, and Labor quickly followed by voting for it. | Morrison then followed by insisting the government could not afford to raise the rate Newstart, which is significantly lower than the $433 a week poverty line…
greenleft.org.au/content/maybe-morrison-should-also-try-shouting-how-good-are-homes-homeless

More Sanctions Against Venezuela Means More Suffering
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-07
The Trump administration's new sanctions freeze all of Venezuela's U.S.-based assets and those of anyone who helps Maduro which will only increase poverty, says Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodriguez…
therealnews.com/stories/more-sanctions-against-venezuela-means-more-suffering

Crime, poverty, policing point to need for a People's Budget in Jacksonville, FL
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-08-06
Jacksonville, FL – There is no denying the separation between the community and city officials in Jacksonville, Florida when it comes to solutions on crime and poverty. Community advocates continually push for solutions that will tackle the social and economic roots of crime while local politicians continue to support more policing. | In 2017 Sheriff Mike Williams and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) received a $4.4 million budget increase to "crack down on crime," but the returns were insignificant. There was no drop in violent crime. The next year, Williams and the JSO received a $36 million increase gr…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/8/6/crime-poverty-policing-point-need-people-s-budget-jacksonville-fl

Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-02
The Democratic presidential candidates remain deeply divided on how to expand healthcare to the tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have both pushed for abolishing private health insurance and establishing a Medicare for All system. Their rivals have pushed a number of different, more incremental approaches. During the first night of the latest debates, Sanders pointed out that the country has taken sweeping action before to expand health coverage to millions of Americans, referring to the 50th anniversary of the creation of Medicare and Me…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/2/u_s_healthcare_medicare_medicaid_history

48 hours of overpolicing in NYC
Karla Reyes | liberationnews.org | 2019-07-31
Recording the police or offering Metrocards will not end the criminalization of poverty, it will not end police terror.
liberationnews.org/48-hours-of-overpolicing-in-nyc/