(2020-06-25). Repair & Revive: Rev. William Barber on Fighting Racism, Poverty, Climate Change, War & Nationalism. democracynow.org 
The Poor People's Campaign offered a counterpoint to President Trump's sparsely attended Tulsa campaign rally with a mass digital gathering that unveiled a policy platform to spur "transformative action" on five key issues of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and the threat of religious nationalism. "We have to repair and revive," says Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. "That has to be a part of if we're truly going to ever be the democracy we claim to be on paper."
(2020-06-25). Rebuilding After Recession: A Plan For Jobs. popularresistance.org Government investment in green technology and infrastructure is needed to create thousands of jobs and prevent a recession. | Working with unions and employers, the government has put in place the Job Retention Scheme and self-employed income support schemes, protecting the jobs and incomes of millions of workers during the coronavirus crisis. | But more is needed, and fast. Without further bold action from the government, we risk huge losses of jobs and livelihoods and possibly the deepest recession since the 1930s. The OECD estimates that unemployment could hit 11 per cent this year. But this is not inevitable,…
(2020-06-25). Global drug use soars 30% in 10 years: UN. yenisafak.com Around 269 million people used drugs worldwide in 2018, 30% more than in 2009, while over 35 million people suffer from drug use disorders, a UN report said on Thursday.The report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna also analyses the impact of COVID-19 on the drugs markets.While the pandemic effects are not yet fully known, the report said that border and other restrictions linked to the pandemic have already caused shortages of drugs on the street, leading to increased prices and reduced purity.The report noted that rising unemployment and reduced opportunities caused by the pandemic a…
(2020-06-25). Norway Paves Way for Big Expansion of Arctic Oil Exploration Amid 'Challenging' Developments. sputniknews.com Norway is western Europe's biggest oil producer and has built the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund worth over $1 trillion on the back of its oil wealth. In the words of Norwegian Energy Minister Tina Bru new discoveries are needed to uphold employment and value creation.
(2020-06-24). Serial TV and the global drug pandemic. peoplesworld.org 
Three new series deal variously with the drug pandemic, that byproduct of the despair that follows in the neoliberal wake. As opportunities shrink because of a global upward redistribution of wealth away from both the working and middle classes and the socially responsible agencies of the state, more people turn to the powerful opioid fentanyl—it's …
(2020-06-24). Trump Sanctions the International Criminal Court. counterpunch.org On June 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency. Is the emergency the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 450,000 people worldwide, including 110,000 in the US? Is it racist cops killing Black Americans? Is it the nation's sky-high unemployment and the threat of a second Great Depression? No, no, and no. It's the International Criminal Court's investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan.
(2020-06-24). Pandemic intensifies unemployment and poverty among Turkish workers. wsws.org Millions of workers are losing their jobs, left unable to meet basic needs as billions go to cheap loans in the interests of the ruling class in Turkey.
(2020-06-24). Antigone from Canada recounts the struggle of an immigrant youth to defend her brother against state violence. wsws.org Unlike insipid mainstream Canadian cinema, Antigone deals honestly with critical issues such as the oppression of immigrants, police violence, a mounting youth revolt and, to some extent, social inequality.
(2020-06-24). Boris Johnson reinforces imperialist agenda of Britain's overseas aid. wsws.org The Department for International Development, which disperses Britain's £15.2 billion aid budget, is to be subsumed under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
(2020-06-24). Privatization And The Pandemic. popularresistance.org Unlike other epidemics or pandemics — such as tuberculosis, SARS, MERS or HIV/AIDS — COVID-19 has hit hardest at the world's wealthiest countries. As of early June 2020, the 37 industrialized countries of the OECD accounted for 59% of all cases and 78% of deaths, even though they constitute less than 18% of the total population affected. | Looking at the pandemic's effects in another way — using cases and deaths per million population — paints an even starker picture. OECD countries have a prevalence ratio of 2,890 cases per million and a mortality rate of 225 per million, compared with 86…
(2020-06-24). 'Pandemic threatens future of 600M kids in South Asia'. yenisafak.com The coronavirus pandemic is profoundly impacting the future of 600 million children in South Asia, UNICEF warned in a report.The UN agency called on governments to take immediate action to protect millions of children and families in the region."The COVID-19 pandemic is unraveling decades of health, education and other advances for children across South Asia, and governments must take urgent action to prevent millions of families from slipping back into poverty," said the report.It said immunization, nutrition, and other vital health services have been severely disrupted, potentially threatening the lives of up t…
(2020-06-24). Norway plans big expansion of Arctic oil exploration. yenisafak.com Norway is planning a major expansion of oil exploration in the Arctic, despite commitments to tackling global warming and opposition from environmental groups.Minister of petroleum and energy Tina Bru said on Wednesday the expansion was needed to protect jobs and generate wealth.The government will auction up to 136 new oil exploration blocks in a major licensing round, with 125 of those in the Arctic Barents Sea, a relatively unspoiled corner of the planet."We need new discoveries to uphold employment and value creation," Bru said in a statement.Norway is western Europe's biggest oil producer and has built the w…
(2020-06-23). The Politics of Kneeling: A Tribute to Colin Kaepernick. commondreams.org Colin Kaepernick, decided to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem during the 2016 season, his announced intention was to call attention to racial inequality in the United States, and its ugliest manifestations via excessive uses of deadly force by police against African Americans. (Photo: AP) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/kaepernick_trump_protest.jpg …
(2020-06-23). Unemployment protests in Tunisia continue for the third day. peoplesdispatch.org Protesters continued to defy the security forces for a third day on Tuesday June 23, in Tunisia's southern Tataouine region, demanding jobs and better economic conditions. On Following Monday's protests, Tunisia's defense ministry said that it has dep…
(2020-06-23). Trump Attacks Anti-Fascists But Is Silent on Boogaloo & Far-Right Groups Engaged in Deadly Violence. democracynow.org 
President Trump claims without evidence that anti-fascists are inciting riots at protests against police brutality, but has downplayed groups like the "boogaloo" movement, which are using the protests as cover to carry out violence, even murder. "We know that in this country the far right holds a monopoly on political violence and that since September 11th, far-right extremists have killed far more people than members of any other ideology," says Cassie Miller, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. We also speak with journalist Ali Winston about a new BBC investigation into how the neo-Nazi…
(2020-06-23). George Floyd's Killing and Its International Repercussions. dissidentvoice.org 
Part One — Part 2 here. The gruesome killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May 2020 has given rise to an unprecedented campaign against police brutality in the United States, and in turn has acted as a fuse for a worldwide uprising against racism and inequality. Floyd's killing triggered massive demonstrations in …
(2020-06-23). Watch Angela Davis and Boots Riley speak at Oakland's Juneteenth rally. mronline.org 
"Our power comes from the fact that we create the wealth. Wealth is power. We have the ability to withhold that power."
(2020-06-23). Virtual Poor People's Campaign Rally Draws Crowd of More Than a Million. zcomm.org The virtual rally lifted up people who are living the interconnected injustices that have been the campaign's focus for the past two years: systemic racism, poverty and inequality, ecological devastation, and militarism and the war economy…
(2020-06-23). Black Immigrant Domestic Workers Share Notes on the Storm. commondreams.org Black Americans are dying from Covid-19 at three times the rate of white Americans and face higher rates of unemployment. (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-06-23_at_12.30.33_pm.png …
(2020-06-23). Over One Million People View Poor People's Assembly And Moral March On Washington. popularresistance.org President Trump drew a smaller crowd than he expected for his rally this past Saturday, but that wasn't the case for the Poor People's Campaign. Well more than a million people viewed the campaign's Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington via Facebook that same day. Many more viewed MSNBC and C-SPAN simulcasts and two repeat broadcasts over the weekend. | According to organizers, the three and a half hour event was "the largest digital and social media gathering of poor and low-wealth people, moral and religious leaders, advocates, and people of conscience in this nation's history." | The virtua…
(2020-06-23). Covid-19 Will Accelerate March of the Robots. strategic-culture.org Tech revolution threatens an unemployment crisis in China and developed world after gathering pace during pandemic | Gordon WATTS | They have been compared to quantum leaps in humanity's historic journey. But they are more like Grand Canyon-style jumps in our evolution. | During the past 200 years, technological revolutions have expanded the borders of globalization and have dragged millions of people out of poverty. Yet they have come at a price. | The Fourth Industrial Revolution will be no different. | Already the landscape is changing dramatically with China at the forefront of this brave, new world for some…
(2020-06-22). Hundreds of thousands join the New Poor People's Campaign virtual March. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—From eradication of poverty, an end to U.S. racism, to dismantling the war machine and creating a Green New Deal with thousands of well-paying jobs — especially union jobs — hundreds of thousands of people demanded a complete reversal and creation of a better society in three virtual mass marches on D.C. the weekend of …
(2020-06-22). Study: COVID-19 Exacerbating America's Massive Wealth Inequality and Racial Divide. mintpressnews.com Black Americans are dying at almost three times the rate whites are, with Latinos and Native Americans also dying at elevated levels to the rest of the population.
(2020-06-22). Virtual Poor People's Campaign Rally Draws Crowd of More Than a Million. commondreams.org The virtual rallies over the weekend organized by the Poor People's Campaign "lifted up people who are living the interconnected injustices that have been the campaign's focus for the past two years: systemic racism, poverty and inequality, ecological devastation, and militarism and the war economy. Many spoke of how the Covid-19 pandemic has only deepened existing inequalities." (Photo: Poor People's Campaign) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-06-22_at_11.38.50_am.png …
(2020-06-22). The New York Times Doesn't Like It When Workers Have Job Security: The Case of Japan. cepr.net The New York Times had a fascinating piece pointing out that Japan's unemployment rate has barely budged in response to the pandemic recession, even as the U.S. rate (adjusted for measurement issues) has topped 15.0 percent. But the piece comes with an important warning: "Critics say it makes companies reluctant to take risks in hiring …
(2020-06-22). Michigan stagehands to rally June 24 for unemployment extension. fightbacknews.org Grand Rapids, MI – Union stagehands and gig workers are rallying to extend unemployment at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on June 24 at 10 a.m. | "We need unemployment to 'Extend to the end!'" said one of the organizers, Walter Shink, a union stagehand. Shink is worried that there is no end date for the COVID-19 crisis. For stagehands who work at large concert arenas, inside theaters or at corporate shows, there is no return to work. Most events are not set to come back until 2021. | "Workers are the ones who pay into unemployment. That money belongs to us. In this crisis it should be paid out to those w…
(2020-06-22). 'Poverty Is a Policy Choice': Studies Detail How Poorest Saved by Covid-19 Stimulus—and Why More Is Needed. commondreams.org "When you look at the size of the government response, it makes sense." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/food_trump_coronavirus_0_0.jpg …
