Daily Archives: December 17, 2020

2020-12-17: News Headlines

Staff (2020-12-17). As Wealthy Countries Hoard Vaccine Supply, Pandemic Could Rage in Poor Countries Until 2024. democracynow.org Health experts are raising concerns that wealthy countries have reserved enough coronavirus vaccine doses to immunize their populations multiple times over, while poorer countries may only have enough to vaccinate about 20%. Reuters reports the World Health Organization's global plan for delivering COVID-19 vaccines to 91 poor and middle-income countries faces a "very high" risk of failure and could leave billions of people with no access to vaccines until 2024. "What we see is that something like 90% of all the vaccine doses that have been purchased have actually been done directly by countries, mostly middle-in…

_____ (2020-12-17). Bezos' Earth Fund Is An Unnatural Disaster. popularresistance.org Now is the time for undeniably powerful grassroots leadership. If we've learned anything this year from the brilliant, brave, bold, and beautiful Black, Brown, Indigenous and other frontline communities and workers fighting inequitable impacts of pandemics, pollution, poverty, climate disaster and emboldened racism, it's that real change happens at the grassroots. | Yet, in a year when frontline leadership is clearly critical, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (through his newly launched Earth Fund) has doubled down on philanthropy's inequitable modus operandi by funneling hundreds of millions into outdated, ineffective, top…

Lee Camp (2020-12-17). Unemployment Skyrocketing? An Evolved Society Would Celebrate. counterpunch.org Leaf blowers are everything wrong with capitalism. . . . I'll explain that in a minute. We all know times are irredeemably grim, and they're only getting worse. The unemployment level in America seems to be setting the record books aflame, and for some bizarre reason those numbers correlate nicely with the number of Americans under 40

Mark Gruenberg (2020-12-17). Virus deaths, joblessness soar as Senate's ruling Republicans dither. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—New data on both coronavirus deaths and rising numbers of people getting unemployment compensation checks again point up how the U.S. Senate's ruling Republicans are dithering over helping them even as national misery rises. And even if lawmakers finally pass a stripped-down economic aid bill, there will still be a one-week gap, from Dec. 26-Jan. …

Kenny Stancil (2020-12-17). Study of 50 years of tax cuts for rich confirms 'trickle down' theory is an absolute sham. nationofchange.org "Major tax cuts for the rich since the 1980s have increased income inequality, with all the problems that brings, without any offsetting gains in economic performance."

Editor (2020-12-17). FDR Knew Exactly How to Solve Today's Unemployment Crisis. scheerpost.com Eli Christman / CC BY 2.0] By Ellen Brown / Original to ScheerPost Millions of Americans have joined the ranks of the unemployed, and government relief checks and savings are running out; meanwhile, the country still needs trillions of dollars in infrastructure. Putting the unemployed to work on those infrastructure projects seems an obvious solution, especially given that the $600 or $700… |

Margaret Flowers (2020-12-16). The Solutions Are Obvious, But It Will Take A Revolution To Win Them. dissidentvoice.org The United States has reached a severe crisis point and the next few months will determine how we address it. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging across the country and some areas are struggling to provide enough hospital beds and staff to care for people. The recession is deepening as unemployment benefits and the moratorium on …

Dennis Broe (2020-12-16). Coming undone: 'The Undoing,' 'Big Sky,' 'The Deceived' and the limits of MeToo. peoplesworld.org "The rich are different," said Fitzgerald, in a languishing dreamy tone. "Yes," replied Hemingway brusquely, "they have more money." It is difficult not to recall this exchange when watching HBO and Sky Atlantic's David E. Kelly mini-series The Undoing, which in this year of an ever more rapid COVID-induced transfer of wealth from the lowest …

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-16). Iran complains about British FA Committee's biased report. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (MNA) — Iranian envoy to London informed about Tehran's official note to the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, condemning the biased report of Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons on Iran.

Steven Rosenfeld (2020-12-16). A small-town voter drive reveals how decades of inequality shadow voter turnout in rural Georgia. zcomm.org Looking toward January 5, there is an election where its long-suppressed voices—like others across Georgia—could ring from coast to coas…

John Pilger (2020-12-15). The Most Lethal Virus is Not COVID. It is War. counterpunch.org In the midst of the greatest health emergency in modern times, with more than 4 million surgical procedures delayed by the National Health Service, Boris Johnson has announced a record increase of £16.5 billion in so-called defence spending — a figure that would restore the under-resourced NHS many times over.

Chuck Collins (2020-12-15). MacKenzie Scott's Bold and Direct Giving Puts Shame to the Billionaire Class and Their Perpetual Private Foundations. commondreams.org Scott, a newcomer on the billionaire wealth scene, has surrounded herself with advisors that come from under-resourced communities, not the folks that typically sit on foundation boards. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-525160430.jpg

Commonwealth Club (2020-12-14). Tuesday 1/5: "Caregiver: A Love Story": Screening & Talk on the Family Caregiver Burden w/ MD Filmmaker. indybay.org Online via livestream…