(2020-12-18). Mass Starvation Looms as Yemen's Currency Nears Historic Freefall. mintpressnews.com 
TAIZ, YEMEN- — Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates seem to be doing everything in their power to prevent an end to the suffering in Yemen. Even those living in areas under the total control of the wealthy Gulf monarchies are facing levels of devastation that harken back to the total destruction of European cities during World War II. | With no functioning government to provide residents with even basic assistance and facing a collapsed economy amid a famine that could soon beset all of Yemen according to the United Nations, the collapse of Yemen's rial, particularly in Saudi-coalition-controlled a…
(2020-12-18). Workers suffer as US pandemic relief bill goes nowhere in Congress. peoplesdispatch.org As the COVID-19 pandemic spirals out of control in the United States, inaction and deadlock in the government have left workers to fend for themselves amid mounting unemployment.
(2020-12-18). "Unhealthy Americans". Best Healthcare For the Rich. Highest Child Poverty Among Developed Nations. globalresearch.ca The world's richest country USA has one of the least healthy populations. | Among developed nations, Americans have shorter lifespans, more illnesses and injuries — despite around double the per capita amount spent on healthcare compared to other developed countries. | In …
(2020-12-18). More signs of weaker economy point to a 'double-dip' recession. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – Last week the U.S. economy showed more signs of weakness as retail sales in November fell for the second month in a row and new claims for regular state unemployment insurance and the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance rose for the second week in a row. These are more signs of a weaker economy that point to a 'double-dip' recession. | Retail sales, including online orders, fell 1.1% in November. The October figure was revised down from a 0.3% gain to a 0.1% loss. Sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, which included Cyber Monday, were down 14% as compared to a year earlier. The slide in sales i…
(2020-12-18). Health and Wealth in India — Farmers' Lives Matter. globalresearch.ca To appreciate what is happening to agriculture and farmers in India, we must first understand how the development paradigm has been subverted. Development used to be about breaking with colonial exploitation and radically redefining power structures. Today, neoliberal dogma masquerades …
(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
(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). 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. …
(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…
(2020-12-17). UK: Pandemic hits working class hardest due to deep social inequality. wsws.org The "COVID-19 Marmot Review" substantiates a growing body of analysis that the disease impacts most severely on the working class.
(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… |
(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."
(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 …
(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 …
(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.
(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…