(2021-02-14). Layoffs continue at high rate. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – During the week ending February 6, almost 800,000 (793,000) people filed for new claims for regular state unemployment insurance. More than 330,000 others applied for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA that covers the self-employed and gig workers. This comes to a total of more than 1.1 million people who have lost their jobs in the past week. | Beginning the week ending March 21, 2020, more than a million Americans each and every week have had to file for unemployment insurance benefits. As of the latest data for the week ending January 23, there were still more than 20 million pe…
(2021-02-14). Class War Intensifies During the Pandemic. counterpunch.org 
We will soon be a year into the Covid-19 pandemic. Are you rolling in new wealth? No? Too bad you are not a billionaire. With millions of deaths, unemployment soaring, millions threatened with losing their homes and economies struggling around the world, the world's billionaires are doing fine. More than fine. So fine that they
(2021-02-14). Left organizations in Delhi launch campaign to declare work as a fundamental right. peoplesdispatch.org 
Delegates from the CITU, DYFI and the SFI took the decision at the Delhi state-convention on unemployment to launch militant struggles for an urban employment guarantee act, guaranteeing 200 days of employment, at no less than Rs. 21K per month.
(2021-02-14). US Meddling In Ecuador's Historic Election And Fake NGO 'Left'. popularresistance.org Max Blumenthal speaks with Ben Norton, who is reporting from Ecuador, on the historic February 7 election, and how the US government, regime-change networks, and wealthy oligarchs are trying to prevent the return of the socialist Citizens' Revolution movement of former President Rafael Correa. We discuss the fake NGO "left," represented by coup-supporting pseudo-environmentalist candidate Yaku Pérez, and how a victory of leftist Andrés Arauz could help bring back the progressive, anti-imperialist Pink Tide in Latin America.
(2021-02-14). Democrats' Shameful Cave. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-12923215461.jpg …
(2021-02-14). Forced Labor In The United States. popularresistance.org By any measure, the United States has the worst human rights record among the nations called democratic or developed or advanced or "free world" or any of the other labels that rich capitalist countries use to describe themselves. The U.S. has the worst health care system in that group, the worst benefits for workers, and the worst income inequality. It also has the dubious distinction of being the world's biggest jailer, with some 2.3 million people behind bars. This country which treats its people so terribly is also the one most likely to project its evil doing on to others. | There is a method to the madness.
(2021-02-14). Four Purposes of Federal Taxes. realprogressives.org Federal taxes have four very important functions. | The first one I am going to list is to change the distribution of income and wealth. | Taxes that take a higher share of the income of those with higher incomes are called progressive. | Most of us would return to a far more progressive tax system than exists now — something more like what existed in the 1960s. | So we would 'tax the rich'. | But we don't like it when people say we should tax the rich to 'pay for' federal spending. | We don't like it because it is factually incorrect, gives the wealthy too much power, is misleading and biases the policy…
(2021-02-13). Taxes on the Rich: One-Sixth of What They Used to Be. commondreams.org A new IPS briefing paper highlights the unique role of tax policy in wealth concentration. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/marchonbillionaires_0.jpg …
(2021-02-12). People looking forward to stimulus checks 'already screwed,' financial guru Dave Ramsey tells Fox, kicking up storm online. rt.com 
Radio host and financial pundit Dave Ramsey set off a bout of controversy after arguing that those relying on stimulus checks amid the Covid-19 pandemic were "already screwed" and may suffer from mental issues. | "I don't believe in a stimulus check," Ramsey told Fox News' Bill Hemmer during a Thursday interview when asked how much the government should devote to relief payments, comparing the checks to "peeing on a forest fire." | Because if $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already. You've got other issues going on. You have a career problem, you have a debt problem, you have a r…
(2021-02-12). US sees higher than expected number of new weekly jobless claims. wsws.org February marks the 11th consecutive month since the start of the pandemic last March, where new weekly unemployment claims have stood above 700,000, a level without modern historical precedent.
(2021-02-12). "Our society is sick:" The Lancet condemns American capitalism. wsws.org The Lancet, one of the world's premiere medical journals, argues that the dead from COVID-19 in the US should be added to the toll of "missing Americans" whose deaths were attributable to the rise of social inequality over the past four decades.
(2021-02-12). EU recovery package signed amid pandemic crisis. yenisafak.com The European Union's €672.5 billion ($814 billion) recovery package was signed on Friday.The largest stimulus package in the bloc's history aims at relaunching the European economy after the COVID-19 crisis by channeling EU funds to preserve jobs, to maintain social security systems and to invest in health care.The act was signed by Portuguese premier Antonio Costa on behalf of the EU member countries, as the chair of rotating presidency of the Council of European Union, and European Parliament President David Sassoli.The recovery package is "vaccine to save lives, vitamin to boost the economy"
(2021-02-12). Ralph Nader: Biden Must Hold Boeing Accountable for Deaths Due to Faulty Planes. truthout.org 
Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and…
(2021-02-12). Where Are the Witnesses? Ralph Nader Says Democrats' Impeachment Case Is "Prescription for Defeat" democracynow.org 
As the historic Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump continues, we speak with longtime consumer advocate, corporate critic and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who says Democrats have set themselves up for defeat by rushing proceedings and failing to call witnesses — including Trump himself. "The narrow approach of the articles of impeachment keep the Democrats from having a full hand," says Nader. "They have like 10 arrows in their quiver and they're using one or two."
(2021-02-12). Ralph Nader on Corporate Crime, Holding Boeing Accountable for 737 MAX Deaths & Biden's First Weeks. democracynow.org 
Legendary consumer advocate Ralph Nader says the U.S. is experiencing a "corporate crime wave," and that the Trump administration's $2.5 billion settlement with Boeing over the manufacturer's faulty 737 MAX jets amounts to a "slap on the wrist." Boeing's faulty planes were involved in two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, including Nader's 24-year-old grandniece Samya Stumo. Nader says the Biden Justice Department should reopen the previous administration's settlement and hold Boeing fully accountable. "This is just another example of giant companies getting away with their corporate criminal…
(2021-02-12). We Must Expose the Insurrection Financiers. commondreams.org The January 6 assault on our democracy should lead to greater accountability for future political leaders—and their wealthy financial backers. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_insurrection-955px_0.jpg …
(2021-02-11). Every New Yorker Has A Right To A Roof. popularresistance.org Well before the beginning of the pandemic that has turned life upside down, New Yorkers already faced a devastating affordable housing and homelessness crisis. Even without the dramatic wave of unemployment brought about by a global pandemic, low-income tenants and homeless people across the city faced a grave lack of truly affordable housing and the absence of an effective citywide plan to fix it. Now, of course, the crisis has deepened, with tenants who have long lived paycheck to paycheck unable to scrape together even a modest living to pay their rent, and the danger of living on the street or in a congregate…
(2021-02-11). New Lancet Report: 40 Percent of US COVID Deaths Could Have Been Avoided. truthout.org 
If the United States had death rates on par with other wealthy nations such as Canada and Japan, there would have been 40 percent fewer deaths attributed to COVID-19 last year. In 2018 alone, an estimated 461,000 fewer people would have died if the U.S. was as healthy as France or Germany. | The failure to contain COVID in the U.S. confirmed that our approach to health care and public health is broken, and former President Donald Trump made a bad situation worse. That's the message from a multidis…
(2021-02-11). US unemployment remains sky-high as cuts to benefits loom. rt.com 
US unemployment numbers remain perilously high following the inauguration of President Biden, who has promised to "shut down" Covid-19 without shutting down the economy even as jobless benefits for millions are poised to expire. | Unemployment totals have dropped slightly, to 793,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, acknowledging that the drop from last week's total of 812,000 doesn't necessarily represent an improvement in the country's economic situation. | Instead, the unemployment rate's decline to 6.3 percent from 6.7 percent represents the fact that many who lost their jobs earlier in the pand…
(2021-02-11). Sale of 'anti-Arab' Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem to UAE royal frozen. middleeasteye.net 
Sale of 'anti-Arab' Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem to UAE royal frozen | Future of $92m deal up in the air after questions raised over Hamad bin Khalifa's true wealth | Thu, 02/11/2021 – 16: 08 | Moshe Hogeg, Beitar Jerusalem's CEO, standing between Hamad bin Khalifa Al Nayhan, and his son Mohammed, after signing the sale deal in Dubai in December (Twitter) | Israel's Foot…
(2021-02-11). Andrew Yang Pledges to Make NYC 'Hub for BTC', Other Cryptocurrencies if Elected Mayor. sputniknews.com Andrew Yang, who is now seeking to become the New York City mayor, earlier took part in the Democratic primaries for the US presidency, but dropped out in February 2020 and endorsed Joe Biden one month later.
(2021-02-11). Democracy Not Feudalism: A Left-Libertarian Critique of the Libertarian Right Part 2. realprogressives.org Libertarianism is the championing of liberty. We can't have liberty with economic and political organization where the majority of the wealth generated is extracted by uninvolved, unproductive rich people who are powerful just because they exist. There's no freedom if people have zero say in the decisions which will affect their entire livelihood. That goes for all government. Today, nobody bats an eye when we have appointed politicians with no consent from the public, without even mandatory public referendum. Unless the economy is designed so all those involved have an equal say to the same degree they are af…