Daily Archives: August 14, 2020

2020-08-14: News Headlines

WSWS (2020-08-14). Congress adjourns for month-long vacation without action on US unemployment crisis. wsws.org The capitalist politicians will be holding their presidential nominating conventions while millions of workers have been cut off from federal benefits.

Olivia Baaten (2020-08-14). Stimulus spending to promote clean energy as a vehicle for environmental justice. indybay.org Issues of environmental justice have been highlited in recent events, and it is high time that the nation take action. Minorities are disproportionately affected by Coronavirus, an issue which is exacerbated by environmental injustice. Low interest rates make the current hour opportune for clean energy stimulus spending, which would serve the state where fossil fuels have failed.

United We Dream (2020-08-13). Wednesday 8/12: Action: Demand Congress Include All Immigrants in the Next COVID Stimulus Bill. indybay.org Online action…

Laurent Ross (2020-08-13). Our fight is with capitalists, not with higher-paid workers. peoplesworld.org This submission was received as a response to the article Is Black Lives Matter a tipping point on class inequality?, by Tim Libretti, which appeared in People's World on Aug. 4, 2020. It also engages with the long-running topic of meritocracy which has appeared in previous articles by Libretti. Author Tim Libretti once again, for …

RT (2020-08-13). Trump suggests he's withholding post office funds to stop 'universal mail-in voting'. rt.com Donald Trump is being accused of "trying to steal" the election after claiming talks with Democrats on Covid-19 economic relief was stalled when the president refused post office funding for "universal mail-in voting." | Asked by Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo what led to the standstill between the White House and Democrats on a coronavirus stimulus package, the president said one of the main points the left will not budge on is extra funding for the US postal service to handle universal mail-in voting, something he is staunchly against. | "They want three-and-a-half billion dollars for the mail-in votes. Unive…

Margot Rathke (2020-08-13). The Stimulus Deal Should Include Free College. counterpunch.org The Covid-19 crisis bill currently under negotiation should both extend student loan relief and offer free college for young people facing limited job opportunities. Hayat Rahmeto is one recent college graduate who has decided to go back to school while the economy is in shambles. After graduating from college last year, she moved back in

Norbert Trenkle (2020-08-13). When Wealth Destroys Wealth: Inverse Capitalism and its Limits. indybay.org Ever-increasing real estate prices was an illusion. The boom that the US stock markets have experienced in recent years deserves the name fracking boom. Fictitious capital put the US economy back on the growth track. Inverse capitalism describes contemporary capitalism determined by dynamics of the financial market.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-08-13). As GOP Blocks Covid Relief, Experts Warn of 'Wave of Despair' and Devastating Anecdotes Show Crisis Already Here. commondreams.org As millions of Americans grapple with the consequences of federal lawmakers' failure to extend the $600 weekly unemployment benefit credited with temporarily lifting the poorest families out of poverty this spring, experts warned Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic could directly lead to a rise in suicides, drug overdoses, and despair across the country. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1256539780_0.jpg

WSWS (2020-08-12). Over a million jobs lost in Spain amid coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org Another 1 million workers are still furloughed in Spain, and will likely be cast onto unemployment rolls when this scheme comes to an end in the autumn.

Michael Owens (2020-08-12). How South Korea's past informs Moon Jae-In's civil rights policy. indybay.org President Moon Jae-In is the current president of South Korea. His presidency began without the typical two-month adjustment period, coming out of the previous scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. His justice minister pick became embroiled in a scandal, and the country's economy and unemployment rate have taken a turn for the worse. His approval rates have fallen to record lows, as protestors take to the streets. What actions is President Moon taking to bolster his candidacy? Let's examine how South Korea's political history has informed President Moon Jae In's public policy.

_____ (2020-08-12). A Company Of Thieves Run By Washington To Steal Syrian Oil. popularresistance.org Stealing the resources of the Syrian people and plundering their wealth has always been a major goal of the United States in Syria, as it has completed its hostile approach by supporting terrorism there through an agreement between it and Qasad (SDF) militia to pillage the Syrian oil in an aggravated and declared crime that violates the rules of international law. | The administration of US President Donald Trump has worked for years on the scheme to plunder the Syrian oil, which was finally embodied in the agreement between Washington and Qasad militia as informed sources revealed to the (CNN) that the agreement…

Robert Reich (2020-08-12). Betsy DeVos Has a Very Deadly Plan to Reopen US Public Schools. commondreams.org "In the middle of the worst public health crisis in more than a century," writes Reich, Trump's Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is "jeopardizing the safety of our students, teachers, parents, bus drivers, and custodians, while rerouting desperately needed public school funds towards the private schools she's always championed." (Image: Inequality Media) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/devos_betsy_reopening_schools.jpg

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-08-12). Amid Pandemic and Economic Pain, UNICEF Unveils First-Ever Project to Combat Child Suffering in US. commondreams.org International children's aid agency UNICEF on Wednesday announced its first permanent initiative focused on aiding children in the U.S., after decades of focusing mainly on supporting young people in developing countries affected by extreme poverty, war, and disease. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1207373633_1.jpg

Paul Street (2020-08-11). Defund Fascism, Blue and Orange. counterpunch.org The American ruling class says it is opposed to "big government." It isn't. The wealthy Few are only against what the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu called "the left hand of the state" — those parts of government that reflect the victories of past and ongoing social movements by serving the common good, regulating Big Business,

WSWS (2020-08-11). Louisiana Supreme Court denies review of Fair Wayne Bryant's life sentence for allegedly stealing a pair of hedge clippers. wsws.org This horrific experience demonstrates the true face of justice in America, with one set of rules for the poor and oppressed and another set of rules for the wealthy.

Claudia Webbe (2020-08-11). Debt cancellation is vital for global recovery. zcomm.org Cancelling debt for poor countries is desperately needed to shore up public health systems, social protections and address global structural inequality…

Walker D. (2020-08-11). Work of Philanthropy in Responding to COVID-19 and Addressing Inequality. jamanetwork.com In this Viewpoint the president of the Ford Foundation calls on philanthropic and other wealthy organizations to make creative and generous grants to less well-endowed counterpart institutions and communities to redress the racial and socioeconomic disparities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and continued killings of Black Americans.

Dean Baker (2020-08-11). There is No Evidence That Generous Unemployment Benefits are Making It Difficult to Find Workers. counterpunch.org The July employment report showed the economy adding another 1,761,000 jobs in July. This follows gains of 2,725,000 in May, and 4,791,000 in June, leaving the economy down 12,881,000 jobs from its February level. The unemployment rate fell from 11.1 percent to 10.2 percent, while the employment to population ratio (EPOP) rose from 54.6 percent

Marlee Kokotovic (2020-08-11). Conservative group board members make millions in pandemic aid yet lobby against unemployment benefits. nationofchange.org "If these groups are concerned the government is spending too much during this historic crisis, they are welcome to return their taxpayer-funded bailouts."

Fight Back (2020-08-11). Jobless workers will get little or no help from Trump's executive orders. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Saturday, August 8, President Trump signed four executive orders that he declared would "take care of, pretty much, the entire situation." But jobless workers will get little or no help from the triple whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis and the recent loss of the additional $600 a week in unemployment benefits, known as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, of FPUC. | Instead, Trump ordered $400 a week in additional payments, calling the cut in benefits "generous." But he ordered the money to come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA. There is only enough mon…

Wingo Smith (2020-08-11). There's No Debate; Southern States Need Congress to Extend CARES Act Unemployment Benefits. splcenter.org

Mike Ervin (2020-08-11). Smart Ass Cripple: Love Thy Neighbor . . . Unless They're Poor. progressive.org Trump's latest attempt to get the wealthy, suburban vote comes in the form of an attack on low-income housing.

David Rovics (2020-08-11). Tear Gas Ted Has a Tantrum in Portland. counterpunch.org The liberal landed gentry dripping with multi-generational wealth and entitlement, as represented by Tear Gas Ted Wheeler, has made a pronouncement: the good folks trying to burn down the police station there in outer east Portland the other night were guilty of "attempted murder," as twenty defenseless, though heavily-armed, police officers inside cowered and shivered

Margot Rathke (2020-08-11). Why the Stimulus Deal Should Include Free College. commondreams.org "Even before the pandemic, the exorbitant cost of higher education was holding our country back. That's especially true now." (Image: via Inequality.org/IPS) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-08-11_at_1.57.58_pm.png

Elijah Magnier (2020-08-10). Is the Partition of Lebanon now on the table? thealtworld.com Following the end of the 1975 civil war in Lebanon, the Taef agreement (one of the worse agreements on record) was signed between the belligerents. It delivered the country into the hands of the civil warlords who today rule Lebanon along with their children. Since then they have been frenetically diligent in stealing public wealth, mismanaging the country and offering precious little infrastructure to the inhabitants. They shelter behind the religious leaders, who are keen to offer protection to these lords… as long as they guard the governmental position allocated to each of the 18 Lebanese religions, accordi…