(2020-10-03). Covid Crisis Has Triggered Mass Unemployment in America: Over One Million UI Claims in the US for 28 Straight Weeks. globalresearch.ca Dire US economic condition exceed the worst of earlier times. | Current conditions are unprecedented in US history with no signs of turning things around any time soon. More on this below. | *** | According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), "(a)nother …
(2020-10-02). Truth Is The First Casualty In Cold War: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Governments make evidence-free claims which the mass media report uncritically, with ordinary citizens expected to either prove them wrong or shut up and believe. The burden of proof is fallaciously placed on members of the public and tiny indie media outlets with no resources to disprove the claims, instead of on massive news media outlets with abundant wealth and resources. It should be the exact opposite: with unproven government claims ignored until hard proof is provided, and with mass media reporters doing their goddamn jobs. | ~ | No institutional changes were made to ensure that the evils of the Iraq inva…
(2020-10-02). Under Pressure, Amazon Reveals Over 20,000 Employees Likely Contracted COVID. mintpressnews.com Amazon is not a company known for treating its employees' welfare as its top priority. Workers feel under so much pressure that they urinate in bottles or wear adult diapers rather than risk the wrath of management.
(2020-10-02). 'Stars and Strife' wants unity but falls short of demanding systemic change. peoplesworld.org 
The new documentary Stars and Strife wants you to know that the world, and particularly the United States, is in trouble. It presents a compelling argument regarding the ills of society like poverty, racism, and political corruption. Where it falls short is in its presentation of a solution. Stars and Strife seemingly has good intentions …
(2020-10-02). Ground-Truthing in a Time of Continuing Criminal Enterprises. dissidentvoice.org 
First, the reality on the ground — I am still working, losing billable hours weekly as my contract with an "anti-poverty/social capital" organization winds down. This is with a non-profit that is pushing over $100 million ("donated" by millionaires, billionaires, philanthropies and in some cases state and city programs) that came down the pike just …
(2020-10-02). Scheer Intelligence: In A Time Of Mortal Crisis. popularresistance.org There's no denying there's been a renewed wave of interest in socialism in the United States, thanks in large part to Bernie Sanders. While the Vermont senator gained support across the country for his rallying cry against inequality and for promoting equitable policies like Medicare for All, Rabbi Michael Lerner, a lifelong progressive and author of the new book Revolutionary Love: A Political Manifesto to Heal and Transform the World, believes there was something missing from Sanders' socialist message.
(2020-10-02). Dragging Lebanon toward normalisation. thealtworld.com Lebanese politicians browbeaten into agreeing a deal with Israel ahead of US elections | After the Beirut Port explosion destroyed half the Lebanese capital, killed and injured thousands of people and made 300,000 homeless; and after a contrived banking crisis caused the collapse of the Lebanon's currency and drove more than 60% of the population below the poverty line; Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced on Thursday that, as a result of US mediation, a 'framework agreement' had been reached with Israel to demarcate the maritime boundary. | Direct talks on delineation are to be conducted by Lebanese army chi…
(2020-10-02). Brazil: Consumer Confidence Decrease To Unprecedented Levels. telesurenglish.net Brazil's National Industry Confederation (CNI) reported on Thursday that consumer confidence decreased to unprecedented levels in September as a result of high unemployment and a spike in inflation. | RELATED: | According to CNI, the National Consumer Expectation Index (INEC) showed 42.8 points, 3.3 points below the index's historical average of 46.1 points. | The latest report notices that the remarkable lack of trust is common to all cons…
(2020-10-02). Worse to come as layoffs continue. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – The latest report by the Department of Labor on unemployment insurance applications shows that the tide of layoffs continues. But this week, major U.S. corporations announced even more layoffs to come as the economy tilts on the edge of a 'double-dip' recession. | The Labor Department report released on Thursday, October 1 showed that there was no letup in the pace of layoffs. While the number of regular state unemployment insurance claims for the week ending September 26 fell by 36,000 from a week earlier, the number of new applications for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA progr…
(2020-10-02). In a Time of Mortal Crisis, Rabbi Michael Lerner Prophesies a Caring Society. scheerpost.com Click to subscribe on: Apple / Spotify / Google Play There's no denying there's been a renewed wave of interest in socialism in the United States, thanks in large part to Bernie Sanders. While the Vermont senator gained support across the country for his rallying cry against inequality and for promoting equitable policies like Medicare for All, Rabbi Michael Lerner, a lifelong progressive and… |
(2020-10-02). Economy Adds 661,000 Jobs in September, Unemployment Falls to 7.9 Percent. cepr.net The large jump in long-term unemployment and people leaving the labor force are ominous signs for the future. The September employment report showed a sharp slowing in the rate of job growth, with the economy adding 661,000 jobs, less than half of its August rate. The unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 7.9 …
(2020-10-02). Economy Adds an Abysmal 661,000 Jobs as Further Layoffs Loom. truthout.org The September employment report showed a sharp slowing in the rate of job growth, with the economy adding 661,000 jobs, less than half of its August rate. The unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 7.9 percent, but most of this was due to people leaving the labor force. The employment to population ratio (EPOP) only rose by 0.1 percentage point. At 56.6 percent, it is still 4.4 percentage points below its year-ago level. | With jobs remaining in short supply, many people may permanentl…
(2020-10-02). Social distancing doesn't apply to rich fox hunters terrorising cubs. thecanary.co Right now, chainsaws are Our countryside isn't for the likes of you and me: it's a haven for the wealthy to do as they please and for corporations to plunder. | This reality becomes even starker if you're unlucky enough to come across hun…
(2020-10-01). Latest jobs data give the lie to Trump's 'great economy'. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Some 18.16% of U.S. workers—almost one of every five—got state or federal jobless benefits in the latest week of available federal data, ending Sept. 12, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That's 524,856 more people than in the week before, BLS's table showed. That increase in total unemployment aid beneficiaries does not count the 1,437,062 …
(2020-10-01). UK govt seeking to avoid national lockdown to 'stop unemployment in millions' — minister. rt.com 
The UK government is seeking to avoid a full national lockdown to save jobs, Environment Secretary George Eustice has said, after 700,000 people became unemployed during the Covid-19 crisis. | "I've not seen any projections of four million [unemployed materializing] but certainly we know that there are some 700,000 extra people that are already unemployed," Eustice told Sky on Thursday. "It's for precisely that reason that we are trying to avoid full lockdown." | The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in July that unemployment in Britain would peak at 11.9 percent in the last quarter of 2020, which is e…
(2020-10-01). The Pentagon Took Money for Covid-19 Relief and Bought… More Weapons. commondreams.org The Trump administration took $1 billion in stimulus funds that were supposed to go towards making masks and other protective equipment for the pandemic — and gave most of it to weapons manufacturers. (Photo: Shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/shutterstock_1779766358.jpg …
(2020-10-01). The Pandemic That Never Was. globalresearch.ca On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. When I think of this scary word it conjures up heartbreaking images of vast numbers of people suffering, precipitated into abysmal poverty. The WHO used to agree with …
(2020-10-01). The Racial Wealth Gap Is About the Upper Classes. zcomm.org Here's an idea: we should redistribute wealth from the largely white 1 percent to the poor and working class of all races — tackling both racial and class inequality simultaneously.
(2020-10-01). New Technologies Should Be Regulated by Government — Not by Those Who Profit. truthout.org Humans are inventing new technologies at a breakneck pace, adding to the thousands of previous innovations that have created vast wealth and greatly expanded the possibilities for human well-being. But technology has also created the climate emergency, the As tec…
(2020-09-30). Fed Study on Household Wealth Reveals Troubling Trends in American Inequality. mintpressnews.com Millionaires and billionaires hold a remarkable 79.2 percent of the United States' household wealth. That is according to a newly released triennial
(2020-09-30). One year on, has Iraq's anti-government protest movement changed the country? middleeasteye.net 
One year on, has Iraq's anti-government protest movement changed the country? | Activists and analysts say year-long campaign has had huge social – if little political – impact on Iraq | Wed, 09/30/2020 – 09: 18 | Iraqis protest on Jumhuriya bridge in Baghdad in November 2019 (MEE/Alex MacDonald) | In the year since Iraqis took to the streets en masse to protest against unemployment, corruption,…
(2020-09-30). Vietnam: Virus Contained, Inequality Let Loose. globalresearch.ca Vietnam won international praise for its response to COVID-19. But the country's intensifying capitalist restructuring may leave its people sicker and more impoverished. | *** | As of the first week of August, official records showed that 10 people had died of …
(2020-09-30). China, Climate Change and the Uighurs. thealtworld.com China's new national objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 depends on bringing the remainder of its population out of poverty and then focusing on carbon-neutral technologies to achieve full sustainability. To support this ambition, China is counting on the economic and political success of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for foreign investment and development, and especially the New Silk Road transportation system connecting Chinese manufacturing and markets to consumers in Central Asia and Europe. This geographical pivot in trade and investment draws heavily on the vast spaces of western China [md…