(2020-03-24). Five Ways Using Stimulus Funds for Energy Efficiency Would Reduce Inequality and Protect the Planet. counterpunch.org I am getting some serious 2008 flashbacks these days. Our economy is going into what could become a serious recession, and our political overlords want to use it as an excuse for even more handouts to big banks, big oil, big airlines, and assorted other industries who already have too much. Meanwhile, communities and workers
(2020-03-24). Online Event: Invisible Threats: COVID-19 and Climate Change (live stream). indybay.org Online live stream event…
(2020-03-24). Online Event: Andy Warner, comics artist & author of graphic memoir, "Spring Rain" indybay.org Online live stream…
(2020-03-24). The New Federal Reserve as Garbage Can for All Capitalist Debt. counterpunch.org Yesterday, the Federal Reserve crossed its latest liquidity free money Rubicon. It announced it will provide unlimited credit—and assume the bad debts, not just of banks, shadow banks, and wealthy investors but for what it called 'Main St.' But by 'Main St.' it doesn't mean consumers or households. It means that virtually any capitalist financial
(2020-03-24). US Media Predict 'Decline and Fall' of Gulf States' Fabulous Wealth Amid Collapsing Crude Prices. sputniknews.com Crude futures fell nearly 30 percent in trading last week, suffering their biggest weekly losses in nearly three decades amid the global economic disruption caused by COVID-19 and by OPEC+'s failure to reach an agreement on production cuts.
(2020-03-24). 'We need joint action, not fake news': Moscow slams HRW chief for touting story on Russia's rich grabbing life-saving ventilators. rt.com 
Russia's top diplomat in the US has demanded the Human Rights Watch chief stops spreading misinformation about Russia's readiness to fight Covid-19, after he touted an article claiming it's letting the wealthy buy up ventilators. | www.facebook.com/RusEmbUSA/posts/1265573460319708?__tn__=K-R | Anatoly Antonov, Russia's envoy in Washington, has penned a scathing rebuke to the group's executive director, Kenneth Roth, who tweeted that the Kremlin was "doing nothing to stop wealthy Russians from buying up ventilators," all that while "leaving ordinary Russians with a likely shortage of this life-saving eq…
(2020-03-24). Britain: Mass deaths, mass poverty, mass repression. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-23). World faces virus and new Great Depression, Trump cries "Poor me!" peoplesworld.org 
The Trump Labor Department has ordered individual states not to reveal their unemployment numbers, but when the national total comes out later this week, it is expected to be in the millions. With retailers, restaurants, hotels, airlines, theaters, factories, and more closed down, paychecks will soon stop for many workers, if they haven't already. The …
(2020-03-23). Death of the "Usual": Economic Evolution and the Emergence of the New. dissidentvoice.org Humanity is faced with a series of self-made, interrelated crises, from the environmental catastrophe to poverty, inequality, the absence of peace and an unprecedented level of displaced persons, among other pressing issues. All have been brought about by the negative behaviour of mankind, by the pervasive modes of living, the corrosive values and ideologies that …
(2020-03-23). Reaching 'beyond the possible' in Hawaii to meet sustainability goals. news.un.org The people and government of the US state of Hawaii will reach "beyond the possible" to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality; The SDGs are a set of targets agreed by countries around the world to reduce poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all, by 2030. Hawaii introduced its own initiative, Sustainable Hawaii, in 2016 in support of the SDGs.
(2020-03-23). COVID-19: A US Scheme for Greater Consolidation of Wealth and Power? globalresearch.ca Earlier global crises were manufactured to enhance the power of US ruling authorities, serve corporate favorites, and transfer wealth from ordinary people to privileged ones. | Since the neoliberal 1990s alone, that's what the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, 2000
(2020-03-23). 'Green Stimulus' Demanded to Battle Convergent Crises of Coronavirus, Economic Injustice, and Climate Emergency. commondreams.org "As a nation we face three converging crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession; the climate emergency; and extreme inequality." That's the warning from progressive policy experts, climate leaders, and academics who have joined together to support a new "Green Stimulus" plan. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-956582876-2_0.jpg …
(2020-03-20). FIRST PERSON: The 'inseparable bond' between Hawaiian culture and native plants. news.un.org The 17 goals agreed by the global community to reduce poverty and create a sustainable planet are the responsibility of all people, wherever they are in the world, according to the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs represent a boundary-pushing blueprint for the future of the Earth and it's anticipated they will be realized by 2030. UN News joined the International Labour Organization on a visit to Hawaii where many people are already living aspects of the goals in their everyday work.
(2020-03-20). Unemployment Insurance applications surge. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, March 19, the Department of Labor reported a surge of applications for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite into the economy. For the week ending March 14, a seasonally adjusted 281,000 claims were filed, up 70,000 (or one-third) from the week before and much greater than the predicted 220,000. A National Public Radio poll also conducted last week showed that 18% of all households had already lost income from layoffs or reduced work hours. | But this is just the beginning of the tidal wave of layoffs in the works. In the first three workdays of th…
(2020-03-19). Joseph Stiglitz: Trump's "Trickle-Down" Economic Plans Are Not Enough to Meet Coronavirus Challenge. democracynow.org 
The coronavirus relief package signed by President Trump Wednesday provides unemployment benefits and free coronavirus testing to millions of Americans suddenly out of a job, but guarantees paid sick leave to less than 20% of American workers. Earlier this month, Trump signed into law an $8 billion coronavirus response package and has laid out the first details of a third, $1 trillion economic package and invoked the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to allow the government to direct industrial production. For more on those bailouts and who benefits, we speak with Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economis…
(2020-03-19). "Coronavirus Capitalism": Naomi Klein's Case for Transformative Change Amid Coronavirus Pandemic. democracynow.org 
Author, activist and journalist Naomi Klein says the coronavirus crisis, like earlier ones, could be a catalyst to shower aid on the wealthiest interests in society, including those most responsible for our current vulnerabilities, while offering next to nothing to most workers and small businesses. In 2007, Klein wrote "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." Now she argues President Trump's plan is a pandemic shock doctrine. In a new video for The Intercept, where she is a senior correspondent, Klein argues it's vital for people to fight for the kind of transformative change that can not only curb…
(2020-03-19). Proposals for the 2020 US Elections. dissidentvoice.org 
The broad left has been uniting behind the Democratic Party for the past four decades without having achieved much real progress for its base constituencies. In fact, there has been considerable regress: increased inequality of wealth and income, diminished collective bargaining, increased homeless numbers, rising student debt burdens, reduced abortion access, increasingly unaffordable costs of …
(2020-03-19). US Aims to 'Maximize Suffering' With Iran Sanctions as Outbreak Deepens — Scholar. iranian.com On Tuesday, the US added even more sanctions on Iran, which is in the midst of a severe COVID-19 outbreak. US sanctions were already killing the sick in Iran even before the pandemic, but one Iranian scholar told Sputnik the bigger problem is regional poverty, which is also largely Washington's doing. US Secretary of State …