(2020-10-06). How Not To Talk About Obama. counterpunch.org 
Sound materialist analysis (not always satisfying) often adds a little treat at the end. For example, let's take the Barack Obama rules. Instead of saying Barack Obama was a neoliberal President who largely complied with the general trend of the last half-century of consolidating wealth, privatizing industry, and using imperialism and capitalism together to continue
(2020-10-06). Ranks of long-term jobless soar as US unemployment aid dries up. wsws.org Both parties are using mass unemployment and the threat of destitution as a bludgeon to force workers back into unsafe factories and workplaces.
(2020-10-05). Combating The Virus: Mass Unemployment is Not the Solution. globalresearch.ca Image: India unemployment at record high | Millions of people around the World are victims of the fear campaign. Panic prevails. Day after day, the persistent impact of media disinformation concerning the Killer Virus is overwhelming. | Fear and panic, coupled …
(2020-10-05). If You Could Save a Million Lives, Would You Do It? commondreams.org The IMF leadership, and almost all of the 189 member countries — including U.S. allies such as Germany and Canada — are ready to allocate the aid that Congress is considering.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/poverty_4.jpg …
(2020-10-05). The Supreme Court's War on Equality. thenation.com 
In Supreme Inequality, Adam Cohen offers a damning indictment of Supreme Court jurisprudence, reminding us of just how political the country's highest court is.
(2020-10-05). 'Tax the Rich! Feed the Poor!': Activists in Chicago Are Raising a Voice for the Unemployed. progressive.org On the city's first 'Unemployment Day,' the streets tell a tale of a city divided.
(2020-10-05). Growing length of economic crisis forcing women out of the job market. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Friday, October 2, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the official unemployment rate had dropped to 7.9% in September, from 8.4% in August. But of the almost one million people who left the official unemployment count, 70% stopped looking for work and did not find a job. This is because the government's unemployment rate only counts those who are both without paid work and who are looking for work. | Even worse, almost 90% of the people dropping out of the unemployment rolls were women, and only 10% were men. This recession is different from earlier recessions, where the unemployment rat…
(2020-10-05). Ending Poverty In Yuangudui, China. popularresistance.org "Another year passes, but an unprecedented change begins." Yuangudui's stunning metamorphosis began on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month in 2013, the traditional Chinese holiday of New Year's eve. On that day, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, arrived at Yuangudui. There, General Secretary Xi, concerned as he is with the elimination of poverty, personally interviewed the villagers about their livelihoods, and earnestly enjoined the party cadres and villagers alike: "Let us all work harder together, and make the days to come even brighter than before."
(2020-10-05). Debt Collectors Are Thriving This Year — and Now They're Filing Even More Suits. truthout.org Earlier this year, the pandemic swept across the country, killing 100,000 Americans by the spring, shuttering businesses and schools, and forcing people into their homes. It was a great time to be a debt collector. | In August, Encore Capital, the largest debt buyer in the country, announced that it had doubled its previous record for earnings in a quarter. It primarily had the CARES Act to thank: The bill delivered hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stimulus checks and bulked-up unempl…
(2020-10-05). I Don't Have Qualified Immunity; Why Should Police? commondreams.org As a pediatrician, I find the entire concept of qualified immunity absurd.(Photo: Screengrab/WBFO) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/commonwealth.png …
(2020-10-05). As Trump Gets 'Excellent Taxpayer-Funded Care,' Analysis Finds Frontline Workers Disproportionately Lack Health Insurance. commondreams.org Given how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted people in "essential" industries and their high uninsured rates, the Public Citizen report says "the argument for Medicare for All has never been stronger." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_farmworkers_coronavirus_1.jpg …
(2020-10-04). In Address on Inequality Amid Pandemic, Pope Calls on Global Community to Confront 'Destructive Effects of Empire of Money'. commondreams.org In his third encyclical Sunday morning, Pope Francis denounced free market capitalism and the "magic" theory of trickle-down economics, saying the coronavirus pandemic has once and for all disproven the notion that it will benefit low-income people through job creation and investments. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1278405034_1.jpg …
(2020-10-04). Trump's Biggest Advantage in Fighting Off Covid: His Wealth. commondreams.org President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on September 23, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/donald_trump_pharma.jpg …
(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). 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). 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). 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…