(2020-12-03). Indian Farmers Lead Historic Strike & Protests Against Narendra Modi, Neoliberalism & Inequality. democracynow.org 
As COVID rages through India, which has the second-highest number of reported cases worldwide, hundreds of thousands of farmers are converging on the capital New Delhi to demand the government repeal new laws that deregulate agricultural markets, saying the reforms give major corporations power to set crop prices far below current rates and devastate the livelihoods of farmers. Agriculture is the leading source of income for more than half of India's 1.3 billion people. The farmer revolt comes as some 250 million workers across the country took part in the largest strike in history against the Modi government's n…
(2020-12-03). COVID-19 could see over 200 million more pushed into extreme poverty, new UN development report finds. news.un.org An additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030, due to the severe longterm impact of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total number to more than a billion, a new study from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found.
(2020-12-03). The Economy Isn't Working. That's Exactly the Plan. zcomm.org Forty years ago, around 1980, the uber-wealthy decided they wanted to get their money out of the economy. So, they engineered a controlled demolition of the U.S. economy…
(2020-12-03). Seeds of Destruction, Globalization of Poverty, Globalization of War: Three Important Books From Global Research Publishers. globalresearch.ca Global Research brings you a selection of three books that help give some context to the current state of the world and the power dynamics that got us here. Unfortunately, these books remain rather relevant, if not more so than …
(2020-12-03). "We have delegated our moral judgment to the markets" indybay.org "Yes, we can" was a call to solidarity and common goals. The legend that everyone in America can rise as high as their talents can carry them goes back to Ronald Reagan. Access to education should not be a substitute for policies that directly address the roots of inequality and the dignity of work.
(2020-12-03). Revealed: The cost of the pandemic on world's poorest countries. news.un.org More than 32 million of the world's poorest people face being pulled back into extreme poverty because of COVID-19, leading UN economists said on Thursday, highlighting data showing that the pandemic is likely to cause the worst economic crisis in decades among least developed countries (LDCs).
(2020-12-03). COVID-19 could push more than a billion into extreme poverty, new UN development report finds. news.un.org An additional 207 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030, due to the severe longterm impact of the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total number to more than a billion, a new study from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has found.
(2020-12-03). Looking Inward: Can We Win? Or Will We Defeat Ourselves? counterpunch.org By win, I mean win it all, not win a little. Win a new world. Win new defining social institutions. Win an end to injustice, inequality, subordination, and domination. Win an end to class, gender, sex, race, and all hierarchies that position some people above and other people below. Win equity. Win solidarity. Win diversity.
(2020-12-03). Tuesday 12/15: Equity in Health Care: The Awful Truth About Race, Economic Status & U.S. Health Care. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-12-02). Independent report finds myriad problems with pandemic relief, jobless aid. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The federal government's effort to help the millions of people harmed—physically, economically, or both—by the coronavirus pandemic suffers from myriad problems, a new independent report says. And the non-partisan Government Accountability Office adds that in states' own rush to get jobless aid to people, such as gig workers, who don't qualify for regular unemployment benefits, …
(2020-12-02). Inequality Gone Viral: The Obscene Numbers. zcomm.org Something has to be done to heal the rupture in the sickened body of our nation…
(2020-12-02). As Nonprofit Sector Suffers, Coalition Calls on Congress to Force Wealthy Foundations to Ramp Up Charitable Giving. commondreams.org "Increased funding could be immediately absorbed by food banks, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and organizations addressing issues like poverty alleviation, economic development, safe and secure voting, and social justice." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1287419642_1.jpg …
(2020-12-02). Tuesday 12/15: Equity in Health Care: The Awful Truth About Race, Economic Status & U.S. Health Care. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-12-02). "We have delegated our moral judgment to the markets" indybay.org "Yes, we can" was a call to solidarity and common goals. The legend that everyone in America can rise as high as their talents can carry them goes back to Ronald Reagan. Access to education should not be a substitute for policies that directly address the roots of inequality and the dignity of work.
(2020-12-02). Congress Approves Bill to Bar Chinese Firms That Refuse Audits From US Stock Exchanges. sputniknews.com By barring major Chinese firms like Alibaba from participating in US stock exchanges if they don't submit to what Beijing considers to be onerous procedures, a bill expected to soon be signed into law could likely drive that wealth to other markets, experts claim.
(2020-12-02). McConnell COVID Plan: No Direct Payments and Stricter Unemployment Requirements. truthout.org Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday began circulating a Described as a "targeted"
(2020-12-02). The coronavirus pandemic and the case for expropriating the financial oligarchy. wsws.org As the deaths pile up in every country, the ruling class is taking advantage of the pandemic to orchestrate an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich.
(2020-12-02). Book Review of The Inner Level. zcomm.org As this book both documents and generously discusses, rising income inequality leads to a plague of ills: higher rates of people in prison, higher teenage birth rates, higher rates of mental illness, more child neglect and bullying…
(2020-12-02). We Need an Essential Workers Bill of Rights. commondreams.org Walmart's owners are seeing their wealth surge while my former coworkers there go without hazard pay. That has to change. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/essential_worker.jpg …
(2020-12-01). "I spoke to impoverished families in 1975 and little has changed since then" dissidentvoice.org 
A British family from the film Smashing Kids, 1975. Photograph: John Garrett John Pilger interviewed Irene Brunsden in Hackney, east London about only being able to feed her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes in 1975. Now he sees nervous women queueing at foodbanks with their children as it's revealed 600,000 more kids are in poverty …
(2020-12-01). On unemployment benefits, Wall Street Journal's 'common sense' is nonsense. peoplesworld.org 
"The latest attempt to defy common sense is a study by Yale economists that purportedly finds the $600 federal enhancement to jobless benefits hasn't affected the incentive to work. But the study offers limited evidence for this conclusion, which is contradicted by other data and real-world evidence." —Editorial Board, "Economists vs. Common Sense: If you …
(2020-12-01). Tuesday 12/8: "The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California" Book Talk w/ Mark Arax, Author. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2020-12-01). #22. An Emergency Wealth Tax to Confront Coronavirus Pandemic. projectcensored.org From March 18 to May 14, 2020, more than 36 million US workers lost their jobs, while the wealth of US billionaires increased by more than $368 billion, an increase…
(2020-12-01). COVID-19 can spark new generation of social protection measures: UN chief. news.un.org While COVID-19 has wiped out important development gains in mere months, with extreme poverty rising for the first time in decades, the pandemic could spark the transformations needed to achieve stronger social protection systems, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday.
(2020-11-30). Iraq: Sadrists' deadly violence prompts fears for upcoming elections. middleeasteye.net 
Iraq: Sadrists' deadly violence prompts fears for upcoming elections | The government's failure to confront violent militias is stoking fears of delaying parliamentary elections, a major demand of the 2019 uprising | Mon, 11/30/2020 – 12: 37 | A demonstrator sits down on the rubble of a destroyed protest encampment in Nasiriyah's Haboubi square, Iraq on 28 November 2020 (MEE/Asaad Mohammed)…
(2020-11-30). The Planet Cannot Heal Until We Rip the Mask Off the West's War Machine. counterpunch.org 
Making political sense of the world can be tricky unless one understands the role of the state in capitalist societies. The state is not primarily there to represent voters or uphold democratic rights and values; it is a vehicle for facilitating and legitimating the concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands.
(2020-11-30). Austerity Is Still A Political Choice. popularresistance.org When Rishi Sunak delivered the spending review earlier this week, the coverage focused predictably on levels of government borrowing. With GDP set to contract by more than 11% in 2020 — the largest fall in three centuries — and unemployment expected to reach 7.5%, government spending is the only thing standing between the UK economy and complete economic meltdown. As a result, we're forecast to see the highest levels of public borrowing since the Second World War. | In this context, Sunak felt the need to balance some new spending pledges…
(2020-11-30). Violent attacks against anti-government protesters in Iraq leave seven dead. peoplesdispatch.org Anti-government protests in Iraq entered the third day on November 29, Sunday. As many as seven people were killed in the previous two days. Massive protests took place in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and southern parts of the country, including the cities of Nasiriyah, Kut and Amara. The anti-government protesters were met by thousands of armed followers of influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. His followers reportedly attacked and clashed with the protesters in Nasiriyah, resulting in the deaths of seven people and wounding 60 others. | The epicenter of the violence was the Haboubi square in Nasiriyah, wh…
(2020-11-30). As pandemic aid ends, California families face brutal new year. zcomm.org An estimated 750,000 Californians are set to lose federal unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, and 2.1 million could lose their homes weeks later when a statewide eviction moratorium lifts…
(2020-11-30). Wednesday 12/9: Impact of COVID-19 on Refugees & Aid Workers in the Middle East. indybay.org Online via livestream (FREE)…
(2020-11-30). The Economy Isn't Working. That's Exactly the Plan. commondreams.org Inequality is reaching feudal proportions, where very few own almost everything, and everyone else is crushed under the wheel of engineered destitution. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/reagan_lies_0.jpg …
(2020-11-30). The Actual Effects of Enhanced Unemployment Benefits. zcomm.org Overwhelming evidence supports quite a different bedtime story—one that calls for far more humane unemployment policies…