2020-06-11: News Headlines

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2020-06-10). Economic collapse and unemployment councils—then and now. mronline.org Hunger, homelessness, and evictions were features of the Great Depression in the United States. Jobs disappeared and working conditions deteriorated. Some "250,000 teenagers were on the road." And how many others? By 1933 one third of farm families had lost their farms. Unemployment that year was 25 percent. The lives of working people were devastated.

W. T. Whitney, Jr. (2020-06-10). Economic collapse and unemployment councils — then and now. mronline.org Hunger, homelessness, and evictions were features of the Great Depression in the United States. Jobs disappeared and working conditions deteriorated. Some "250,000 teenagers were on the road." And how many others? By 1933 one third of farm families had lost their farms. Unemployment that year was 25 percent. The lives of working people were devastated.

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2020-06-10). The economy: we are still in big trouble. mronline.org The announcement by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the federal unemployment rate declined to 13.3 percent in May, from 14.7 percent in April, took most analysts by surprise. The economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, the first increase in employment since February. Most economists had predicted further job losses and a rise in …

teleSUR (2020-06-10). US Navy to Bar Confederate Flags From Ships, Aircraft, Bases. telesurenglish.net The United States Navy is working to ban the Confederate battle flag from all public spaces on Navy installations, ships, and aircraft it was announced Tuesday, as the military and the country grapples with questions about racial inequality. | RELATED: | The Navy made the move amid protests across the U.S. and other countries sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed on May 25 after four white police…

Adriaan Alsema (2020-06-10). Colombia's finance minister open to universal basic income, but fails to see urgency. colombiareports.com Colombia's finance minister promised Congress on Tuesday he would look into the possibility of implementing a universal basic emergency income in response to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus….

Dean Baker (2020-06-10). Ending Emergency Unemployment Insurance Supplements. cepr.net The Republicans have been working hard to ensure that the $600 weekly supplement to unemployment insurance benefits, which was put in place as part of the pandemic rescue package, is not extended beyond the current July 31 cutoff. They argue that we need people to return to work. They do have a point. The supplement …

Philip Giraldi (2020-06-09). Militarized Police a Gift from Israel? thealtworld.com Training of American police in brutal tactics revealed | The killing of black man George Floyd by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has produced the highest level of national unrest seen in the United States since the 1960s. Tens of thousands of protesters are demonstrating against racism and perceived police brutality. As it also comes at a time of coronavirus pandemic and record unemployment, it has the potential to change the U.S. in fundamental ways. The core issue is that many on the left, as well as some on the right, see America's police as something like an "occupying force," increasingly sel…

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-09). US Elections and Trump's Sinking Approval. Main Street Depression and Unemployment. globalresearch.ca It's a political lifetime from now to November 3 presidential, congressional, and local elections. | Things can swing back and forth numerous times between now and then. | Most often, Americans vote with their pocketbook. | If unprecedented main street Depression and unemployment …

Newsclick (2020-06-09). We Must Change the System for Our Future Generation: Roger Waters. peoplesdispatch.org Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, talks to Roger Waters of Pink Floyd on the crisis of capitalism and the need to fight for a better world. Roger Waters talks about the death of activist Ramona Medina in Buenos Aires, poverty and access to water and the responsibility we have to future generations.

Mnar Muhawesh (2020-06-09). Podcast: Pandemic Profiteering — How Billionaires Are Looting American Taxpayers. thealtworld.com In this segment of Mintcast, journalist and author Alan MacLeod discusses how COVID-19 became a boon for the ultra-wealthy and allowed America's billionaires to accrue more wealth in just three weeks of lockdown than they made in total prior to 1980. | Welcome to

WSWS (2020-06-09). Protests erupt in Germany against police violence, racism and fascism. wsws.org The outbreak of mass protests in the US against the police murder of George Floyd was the spark that ignited demonstrations in Germany against the return of the far right and the growth of unemployment and social inequality.

Jack Delaney (2020-06-09). We Need a Universal Basic Income Now and After COVID-19. zcomm.org In easing pandemic uncertainty and promoting a post-pandemic recovery, a permanent UBI with large investments in social programs will increase solidarity, ease poverty and stabilize a volatile market that's headed toward depression…

news.un (2020-06-09). Act now to avert COVID-19 global food emergency: Guterres. news.un.org Although the COVID-19 pandemic could push nearly 50 million more people into extreme poverty, this and other dire impacts of the crisis can be avoided if countries act immediately to shore up global food security, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday.

news.un (2020-06-09). New UN report highlights link between gender, climate and security. news.un.org Even as countries buckle under the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, they must consider the links between gender inequality and crisis, particularly in communities affected by climate change and conflict.

Cutler D. (2020-06-09). How Will COVID-19 Affect the Health Care Economy? jamanetwork.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created an economic crisis alongside a health care crisis. During the 2 weeks ending on March 28, nearly 10 million people filed for unemployment insurance, dwarfing any previous monthly numbers. Estimates suggest that the US economy will contract by 10% to 25% during the second quarter. The US has entered a COVID-19 recession.

Dean Baker (2020-06-08). Understanding the New Unemployment Numbers. counterpunch.org Seventy-three percent of the unemployed report being on temporary layoffs. The May jobs numbers were considerably better than most analysts had expected with the economy reportedly adding 2,509,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 13.3 percent. This improved labor market picture should not have been surprising since many businesses across

WSWS (2020-06-08). Amazon workers declare support for mass protests as management imposes pay cut. wsws.org Amazon workers expressed solidarity with the protests, even as the company, which provides facial recognition software to police departments, feigned concern over racism and inequality.

WSWS (2020-06-08). The global protests and the fight against capitalism. wsws.org The global wave of demonstrations against police violence is the response to decades of unending war, the destruction of basic democratic rights, and a massive concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny ruling elite.

news.un (2020-06-08). Coronavirus: World Bank confirms deepest recession since World War Two. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic will shrink the global economy by 5.2 per cent this year, representing the deepest recession since World War Two, and triggering a dramatic rise in extreme poverty, the World Bank said Monday in its latest Global Economic Prospects report.

WSWS (2020-06-08). German government's stimulus package: €50 billion for automakers, €1 billion for childcare. wsws.org Like the previous bailouts, the latest package showers cash on the rich, concealed behind a few modest rations for families and will produce a further increase in social inequality.

Michael Kink , Kevin Connor (2020-06-08). Governor Cuomo's Pandemic Wealthcare Plan. commondreams.org It's time for Cuomo to work with elected officials in the state legislature. They—not the billionaires—are the representatives of the people in our democracy. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuomo_primary_0.jpg

Peter Phillips (2020-06-07). A Strategy for Global Democracy and Wealth Sharing. globalresearch.ca It is time for power to the people! | Global capitalist inequality contributes directly to health pandemics, environmental degradation, and mass poverty. Elite-corporate oligarchs control the governments and political parties. They use established militarized police states to protect their vast empires …

Staff (2020-06-08). The End of Policing: Alex Vitale on How Cops & Their Unions Cover Up Inequality, Exploitation. democracynow.org Professor Alex Vitale argues the answer to police violence is not "reform." It's defunding. The author of "The End of Policing" says the movement to defund the police is part of "a long story about the use of police and prisons to manage problems of inequality and exploitation." He asks, "Why are we using police to paper over problems of economic exploitation?" He also discusses the role of police unions. "They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing 'thin blue line' politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it's the most desirable way to solve o…

RT (2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African-Amerians. rt.com Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality …it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that." | "We are gonna beg…

RT (2020-06-08). Isn't that racist? Kentucky governor vows to 'prioritize' free healthcare for African Americans. rt.com Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear intends to 'put dollars' into ensuring all of the state's African-American residents have healthcare, citing 'inequalities' in Covid-19 treatment — which was fully funded by the federal government. | "I believe health care is a basic human right," Beshear, a Democrat, said on Monday at a press conference in Frankfort. While he campaigned on providing it to everyone, "as I've been trying to hear from those who have been giving voice on in inequality… it's time to give prioritization in black and African-American communities, so we are going to do that. | "We are gonna begi…

sputniknews (2020-06-10). COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rise in Several States, While Millions of Americans Remain Uninsured. sputniknews.com On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers, physician and co-editor of Popular Resistance.

sputniknews (2020-06-08). Boris Johnson Says Protesters Who Engage in Vandalism Will 'Face Full Force of Law'. sputniknews.com A wave of protests against racial inequality and police brutality has swept through the United Kingdom over the death of African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, with instances of police officers attacked and historic monuments vandalised by protesters.

yenisafak (2020-06-10). HBO Max pulls 'Gone with the Wind' over racist portrayals. yenisafak.com HBO Max has removed war epic film "Gone with the Wind" from its recently launched streaming service over its depiction of slavery, parent WarnerMedia said on Wednesday, joining other media companies that have pulled controversial TV shows as demand for racial sensitivity increases across the country.The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police triggered protests in the United States against racial inequality, while also forcing companies to check deep-seated racism prevalent in popular shows and films that are deemed insensitive.ViacomCBS Inc did not renew "Cops" and Netflix Inc pulled "Little Bri…

yenisafak (2020-06-08). 'Hunger is worse than corona': Sudanese demand end to lockdown amid economic woes. yenisafak.com Like many Sudanese, car mechanic Mohamed Othman says the government must end its coronavirus lockdown now so that he can get back to work because "me and my family have no other source of income".The transitional civilian government, which runs Sudan under a power-sharing deal with the army, ordered most businesses, markets, schools and mosques to shut and imposed travel restrictions nearly two months ago.But it is facing growing demands to end the restrictions from a population mired in poverty and facing annual inflation of nearly 100% as well as complaints that promised aid for poorer Sudanese has failed to ma…

_____ (2020-06-10). Defund The Police, Then Abolish It. popularresistance.org The United States' powder keg of racial capitalism, searing inequality and violent policing, compounded by the state's ruinously indifferent response to a global pandemic and a sputtering economy, has finally exploded. Mass protest has shaken the country, with more than 40 cities instituting curfews and 23 states calling in a total of 17,000 National Guard troops to stamp out the uprisings. | The eruption of righteous fury pulsating around the US represents a historic moment not seen since America's last mass urban rebellions, the "long hot summer" of 1967 and the 1968 uprisings following Martin Luther King Jr.'s…