2020-06-17: News Headlines

Alan Macleod (2020-06-17). "It Will Take Me Just Under Twenty Five Years to Pay off the First Surgery" — Journalist Blinded by Cops Speaks Out. mintpressnews.com "The only reason I'm dealing with this so well is I think poverty and low wage work is just as brutal and visceral as losing an eye to a police bullet." – Linda Tirado…

Graham Peebles (2020-06-17). Global Issues Require United Action and a Reinvigorated UN. dissidentvoice.org Whatever corner of the world one happens to live in, the most pressing issues of the day affect everyone. Pandemics/epidemics and the environmental emergency; war and terrorism; poverty and food insecurity; overpopulation and the displacement of persons. Such crises cannot be limited by borders or controlled by nation states; no government or corporate power can …

Massoud Nayeri (2020-06-17). Bipartisan Deadlock: Working People and Youth Must Call for President Trump's Resignation Now! Joe Biden is Not An Alternative. globalresearch.ca The deep and insolvable differences among the wealthy elite indicate that the next U.S. President will be in the office by use of force, not through election and votes. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are preparing the American people …

_____ (2020-06-17). Report: Unemployment by Christmas could reach over 3 million. truepublica.org.uk Boris Johnson has been warned 10 per cent of the British workforce could be unemployed by the end of December, due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis. A ten per cent unemployment figure would mean 3.3 million people out of work in the UK. These levels (numerically, not a percentage of population) have …

yenisafak (2020-06-17). 'Turkish social aid program reached over 6M households'. yenisafak.com The Turkish state helped millions of families through social assistance programs and offered financial support worth billions of dollars during the COVID-19 outbreak, a top government official said on Wednesday.The government launched the Social Protection Shield program to cater to citizens' needs during the pandemic, Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Turkey's family, labor and social services minister, told Anadolu Agency's Editor's Desk.She said the program includes services such as short-time work allowance, unemployment benefits, cash support, and social assistance.According to the minister, the government has so far ex…

Staff (2020-06-17). Post-COVID Economy May Have More Robots, Fewer Jobs and Intensified Surveillance. truthout.org Spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic, global capitalism is on the brink of a new round of worldwide restructuring based on a much greater digitalization of the entire global economy and society. This restructuring began in the wake of the 2008 Great Recession but the changing social and economic conditions brought about by the pandemic will vastly accelerate the process. It is likely to heighten the concentration of capital worldwide and worsen social inequality. Enabled by digital appli…

Morning Star (2020-06-16). Huge anti-government protests sweep Lebanon. peoplesworld.org Huge protests swept Lebanon June 13 as demonstrators called on the government to resign. Demonstrators marched through Beirut demanding an end to the country's sectarian political system, where positions of power are allocated between different factions, and action over an economic crisis that has seen the currency collapse and yawning inequality. A bank was set …

Staff (2020-06-16). Henry Giroux: Black Lives Matter Rebellions Are Pushing for Structural Change. truthout.org A protester kneels and holds up a fist as he and others demonstrate against the death of George Floyd by closing down and blocking traffic on I-395 in Washington, D.C., on June 15, 2020.Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images | In this interview, Henry A. Giroux argues that the current rebellions taking place across the globe offer new hope for both educating people about the interrelated registers of racism, militarism, neoliberalism and scandalous inequality. This is a diverse political rebellion in…

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-06-16). Imperialism and India's food economy. mronline.org The problem before metropolitan capitalism therefore is: how to acquire control over the use of this tropical land-mass in order to obtain the products it needs?>

Mark Gruenberg (2020-06-16). Unions launch massive car caravan for racial, economic justice. peoplesworld.org The nation's unions will launch a massive car caravan on June 17 — and not just in the Nation's Capital — for racial and economic justice. "Facing front line worker deaths, record unemployment and continued racial injustice, working people from coast to coast are demanding action," the AFL-CIO, which led the caravan organizing, says. From …

The Canary (2020-06-16). Johnson scraps international development department in Foreign Office merger. thecanary.co The prime minister has announced he is to scrap the Department for International Development (DfiD) in a merger with the Foreign Office.The move, which has come under fire from former international development secretaries and Opposition MPs, will see the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.Boris Johnson, in a statement to MPs, said it was "outdated" to keep the departments separate.He told the Commons: "We must now strengthen our position in an intensely competitive world by making sensible changes.Aid will be overseen by the Foreign Secretary as part of the shake-up (L(Phot) Joel Rouse/M…

The Canary (2020-06-16). Sturgeon warns against 'reckless relaxation' of lockdown measures. thecanary.co There must not be a "reckless relaxation" of coronavirus lockdown measures to get Scotland's economy moving again, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said. | It comes as official figures show the number of Scots out of work increased by 30,000 to 127,000 over the period February to April. | With unemployment rising, she said an extension to the UK government's furlough scheme, in which public funds have paid the wages of hundreds of thousands of Scots, is almost certainly essential. | The impact of the job retention scheme means the latest figures are "likely to be an underestimate of the full impact of Covid-19"

news.un (2020-06-16). COVID-19: UN agencies warn against rising hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean. news.un.org The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean living in extreme poverty could surpass 83 million this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant rise in hunger, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.

WSWS (2020-06-16). Nearly 24,000 Ohioans told to return unemployment payments. wsws.org State authorities demanded that thousands of workers give back "overpaid benefits" they have received since the start of the economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

_____ (2020-06-16). Act On Dr. King's Call To Tackle Evils Of Racism, Economic Exploitation And War. popularresistance.org Martin Luther King, Jr. King called us to address "Three major evils—the evil of racism, the evil of poverty and the evil of war" to the consternation of the establishment. It is time to tell the truth about the US-Russian relationship and US complicity in driving the nuclear arms race if we are ever to reverse it as well as the race to weaponize space. Perhaps, by addressing the triple evils, we can fulfill King's dream and the mission envisioned for the United Nations, to end the scourge of war! At a minimum, we should be promoting UN Secretary-General António Guterres' call for a global ceasefire while o…

_____ (2020-06-16). Corporations Now Love 'Black Lives'—But What About Their Own Black Workers? popularresistance.org Never underestimate US business community's capacity for hypocrisy. | That's one of the lessons to be drawn from the explosive reaction to George Floyd's murder. As demonstrators began flooding streets, corporate PR departments flew into rapid response mode, issuing a flurry of agonized, apologetic pledges to do more to combat racism and inequality. | Such statements may, on a personal level, be sincere: the depth of righteous pain and anger expressed by African Americans has induced widespread soul-searching, even in executive suites. Yet this high-profile hand-wringing is used to uncouple the outpouring of outr…

_____ (2020-06-15). To Deal With Police, We Must Understand Why They Even Exist. popularresistance.org The recent protests across the country following the murder of George Floyd have elevated the demands to defund and abolish the police. This comes on the heels of the nationwide resurgence of a movement for community control of police led by the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. We speak with author and activist Max Rameau of Pan African Community Action about the role of police in the bigger picture of the evolution of human beings as protectors of private property and wealth, the pitfalls of defunding police if this dynamic is not addressed and what community control of police looks lik…

Dr. Hakim (2020-06-15). Listening to our Anger and Angst. dissidentvoice.org The family of a killed protester demand fair distribution of bread (Credit: Tolo News) COVID-19 is clarifying a significant source of global anger and angst: inequality. At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, Afghanistan had 300 ventilators, only one ventilator for every 110,000 Afghans. As a medical physician, I gasped, my heart racing at the …

WSWS (2020-06-15). The protests against police murder: The way forward. wsws.org The fight against police violence must be connected to the struggles of the working class, in the United States and internationally, against inequality, war and the capitalist system.

The Canary (2020-06-15). Johnson's racial inequality commission written on 'back of a fag packet' says Lammy. thecanary.co Boris Johnson's pledge to establish a cross-government commission on racial inequality is a "back of a fag packet" plan designed to "assuage the Black Lives Matter protest", Labour has claimed. | Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said there have been several reviews into racism in the UK in recent years — and the announcement of another makes it feel like "we want figures, data — but we don't want action". | Johnson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities would look at "all aspects of inequality — in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and a…

Chauncey K. Robinson (2020-06-15). 'Madagasikara': An intense witnessing of capitalist corruption and international poverty. peoplesworld.org When thinking of the island country of Madagascar many people, particularly in the United States, are reminded of the Dreamworks kids film of the same name. In that movie great music is played and the only trouble on the beautiful island is that of the mischievous talking animals. The reality of Madagascar is a very …

G. Dunkel (2020-06-15). Racism, lack of jobs as workers face social pandemic. workers.org June 12 — On June 5, President Donald Trump was over the moon with joy. The numbers were "stupendous," "AMAZING" and "INCREDIBLE." The Dow Jones stock index was up by 829 points, or 3.2 percent, so speculators who bet right made billions. It didn't last. June 11 saw a decline . . . |

Michael T. Hertz (2020-06-15). Creating a mixed race legal system. nationofchange.org We should swear an oath that our children will never need to experience a George Floyd death, and the unfairness and inequality that we have today shall be no more.

_____ (2020-06-15). Members Of Congress Receive COVID-19 Small Business Loans. popularresistance.org Members of Congress obtained disaster loans for their businesses through the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). | The program has been embroiled in controversy since it launched in March. Large corporations received multimillion-dollar loans. Minority-owned businesses were shut out of aid. Seventy-four members of Congress own businesses or have relatives or spouses who own businesses. Of this number, only 14 of them responded to repeated inquiries stating that they did not apply for federal loans, including those with considerable wealth. The CARES Act does contain a conflict of in…

Staff (2020-06-15). Trump Adviser Complains Boost in Unemployment Benefits Is Too Generous. truthout.org With the U.S. jobless rate still at levels not seen since the Great Depression and coronavirus-induced mass layoffs

Tehran Times (2020-06-15). Moms Against Poverty grants $600K aid to Iranian families affected by COVID-19. iranian.com Global charity organization Moms Against Poverty (MAP) has sent a shipment worth 25 billion rials (nearly $600,000 at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to help financially struggling families affected by the coronavirus in Iran, Karim Hemmati, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), said on Sunday. twitter.com/MAPworldwide/status/1270897018005622784 Moms Against Poverty is a global non-profit organization …

_____ (2020-06-14). George Floyd, Coronavirus And Inequality Stealing Black Lives. popularresistance.org Several Black protesters have said, "If the police don't get you, the coronavirus will." Floyd pleaded for mercy as Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into his neck until Floyd could no longer breathe. His death triggered the protests of the past week. But the issues that have driven people to the streets are the same as those identified in the 1968 Kerner report. Over the years, the report has become a benchmark for racial progress. Though it is typically cited for indicting a white, paternalistic perspective in the news media, it also proclaimed "white racism" as the catalyst for the unrest, condemned polic…

Fight Back (2020-06-14). Thousands of Greek protesters sent message: "I can't breathe. Break the chains of exploitation!" fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following account by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) of the June 11 protests. | Thousands of workers protested in Athens and other Greek cities, on June 11, against the system that creates poverty and unemployment, war and refugees, racism and all forms of discrimination. | In Athens, starting with the rally in Syntagma, outside the Greek parliament and marching to the U.S. embassy, workers from all the sectors, from different workplaces, along with the self-employed, students and other young people, took part in the first rally organized after the end of the restric…

Fréa Lockley (2020-06-14). Three years on, the Grenfell tragedy epitomises the UK's brutal inequality, racism and injustice. thecanary.co On 14 June 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire Th…

teleSUR (2020-06-14). Sanders Proposes 10% Cut to Pentagon Budget For Social Programs. telesurenglish.net United States Senator Bernie Sanders announced Friday he will introduce an amendment in the coming days to cut the Department of Defense's US$740 billion budget by 10 percent and redirect that money toward healthcare, housing, and education in the poorest communities. | RELATED: | "Instead of spending US$740 billion on the Dept. of Defense, let's rebuild communities at home devastated by poverty and incarceration,"

Rachel M. Cohen (2020-06-14). There's a Simple Solution to the Unemployment Crisis: Offer Everyone a Job. commondreams.org April's unemployment rate is still an underestimate of the actual number of unemployed workers. It would be higher if all the people who lost their jobs had actually remained in the labor force. (Photo: Witthaya Prasongsin/iStock/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/unemployment_4_0.jpg

Pavlina Tcherneva (2020-06-14). A Simple Solution to Unemployment Crisis: Offer Everyone a Job. zcomm.org Interview on how we should be thinking about a policy for guaranteed employment amid our current economic crisis…

Staff (2020-06-13). Corporations Claiming to Love Black Lives Fight Against Living Wages and Unions. truthout.org This story was originally published at Never underestimate the American business community's capacity for hypocrisy. | That's one of the lessons to be drawn from the explosive reaction to George Floyd's murder. As demonstrators began flooding streets, corporate PR departments flew into rapid response mode, issuing a flurry of agonized, apologetic pledges to do more to combat racism and inequality. | Such statements may, on a personal…