Daily Archives: October 31, 2020

2020-10-31: News Headlines

The Canary (2020-10-31). Unions call for more measures to protect jobs as furlough scheme ends. thecanary.co Fears have been raised that people will be pushed into in hardship as government coronavirus support schemes end.Unions are calling for more measures to protect jobs as the furlough scheme ends, saying the new support plans are "not adequate", while poverty campaigners have concerns about the end of mortgage holidays.With no certainty about whether Covid-19 can be brought under control in the near future and millions of UK people living under further restrictions, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey called on the Government to bring forward clear plans for the protection of health, jobs and incomes.Mr McCluskey…

Raul Diego (2020-10-31). From a wealthy socialite to an Israeli Govt censor, Facebook's new "Free Speech Court" is anything but independent. mronline.org Freedom of speech on the Internet is all but extinct, and on the eve of the 2020 U.S. elections, a de facto "free speech court" is going to make sure it never comes back. On Facebook at least.

Labor Creates All Wealth (2020-10-31). Labor Gen Strikes re 11/3/20 Election Urged by 3 Labor Groups. indybay.org As we enter this Get Out The Vote (GOTV) 4 Days, 10/31-11/3/20, three labor organizations have called for a General Strike to protect the vote and demand Nazi Trump leave office when defeated. They are from Rochester, NY, Seattle, WA and Western Massachusetts. Where is the San Francisco Labor Council resolution demanding a General Strike?>

Virginia Rodino (2020-10-30). Why I'm Voting Green in 2020. globalresearch.ca Author's note: Kevin and I worked on this article together right before his untimely passing on September 6. I met Kevin during Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign. Throughout the years since, I appreciated seeing his anti-imperialist and eco-socialist arguments strengthen …

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-10-30). As Households Face Crushing Debt and Pandemic, Trump CFPB Opens Door for Collectors to 'Endlessly Harass Struggling Families'. commondreams.org Consumer advocates say the rule amounts to "the administration's latest gift to wealthy donors at the expense of consumers." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/debt-rule.jpg

Staff (2020-10-30). Uninsured COVID Patients Aren't Being Told Their Hospital Bills Are Covered. truthout.org When Darius Settles died from COVID-19 on the Fourth of July, his family and the city of Nashville, Tennessee, were shocked. Even the mayor noted the passing of a 30-year-old without any underlying conditions — one of the city's youngest fatalities at that point. | Settles was also uninsured and had just been sent home from an emergency room for the second time, and he was worried about medical bills. An investigation into his death found that, like many uninsured COVID-19 patients, he ha…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-29). On anniversary of Great Depression, 25 million collecting unemployment. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Some 25 million people drew or sought federal or state jobless aid checks through Oct. 24, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Oct. 29. That includes 22.65 million people already getting aid and 2.2 million more who applied for it since then, split almost evenly between the succeeding two weeks. The numbers are reminiscent …

Staff (2020-10-29). More Than 8 Million Have Been Forced Into Poverty Since COVID Relief Ended in US. truthout.org The massive $2 trillion CARES Act — which sent households one-time payments and boosted unemployment checks with an additional $600 a week through July — helped keep millions afloat, but more than 8 million people have been forced into poverty since the aid ended. "The relief was temporary, and much of it has now expired, so now we're seeing poverty rise again," says Megan Curran, a researcher at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. "We know that famili…

WSWS (2020-10-29). Wealthy areas switched support to Labour Party in New Zealand election. wsws.org Some of the richest areas of the country switched their support to Labour, seeing it as a more reliable option than the rival National Party to deepen the assault on working class living standards and boost the profits of the business elite.

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-10-28). Billionaires and the Pandemic. mronline.org WEALTH distribution data are notoriously difficult to interpret. This is because variations in stock prices affect wealth distribution, so that a stock market boom suddenly makes the rich appear much richer, while a stock market collapse makes wealth distribution less unequal overnight.

_____ (2020-10-28). Mutual Aid Is Essential To Our Survival. popularresistance.org When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a crisis in the U.S. in early 2020, people all over the country started coordinating to deliver groceries and prescriptions to vulnerable people, making and distributing masks and hand sanitizer, and raising money for people who were losing jobs and ineligible for unemployment benefits. By the time the uprising against anti-Black racism and police violence brought people into the streets in early summer, the concept of "mutual aid" had gained significant traction in the media, and it was visible on the streets as people…

Justinas Baltrusaitis (2020-10-28). Five World's Wealthiest Families Control a Fortune of over $620 Billion. globalresearch.ca Spread across different economic sectors, some of the global most affluent families continue to amass more wealth. Despite the recent economic uncertainty, the wealthiest families in the world appear to be doing just fine. | Data presented by

Greg Wilkinson (2020-10-28). Between Chaos and Commonwealth. commondreams.org We may call this state of affairs Capitalism, but the rot goes back deep into the history of Civilization, a history of conquest, colonization, and oppression of the many by the few. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1802162571_1.jpg