Daily Archives: February 3, 2021

2021-02-03: News Headlines

Lola Loustaunan (2021-02-03). Fighting the "Immigrant Threat" indybay.org Milkman shows how the flux of low-wage immigrants into the U.S. workforce in recent decades is "not the cause either of the massive economic restructuring that began in the 1970s or the accompanying growth of economic inequality and labor degradation," but precisely a consequence of these developments.

Inforum at Commonwealth Club (2021-02-03). Thursday 2/11: Islam, Immigration & Women's Rights: Ending Marginalization and Assault of Immigrant Women. indybay.org Online event…

Staff (2021-02-03). Warren Says Her First Move on Finance Committee Will Be a Wealth Tax. truthout.org On Tuesday, among a slate of other committee assignment announcements, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is going to be "I'm very pleased to join the Finance Committee, where I'll continue t…

Ramzy Baroud (2021-02-03). The Palestinian boycott of Israel is not racist, it is anti-racist. juancole.com ( Middle East Monitor ) — The claims made by Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in a recent op-ed in the Jewish weekly The Forward, point to the prevailing ignorance that continues to dominate the US discourse on Palestine and Israel. Yang is a former Democratic Presidential candidate and is vying for …

_____ (2021-02-03). Medicare For All Reaches The Crossroads. popularresistance.org In 2021 the U.S. healthcare crisis has, again, reached a boiling point. It was already simmering in 2019 when the number of uninsured grew to 33 million. Covid then triggered a job crisis that added anywhere from 15 to 27 million to the ranks of the uninsured. The still-growing job crisis has pushed the number of uninsured near or beyond the 49 million uninsured that existed prior to Obamacare, whose goal was "universal healthcare." | It's no surprise then that Medicare For All emerged, pre-Covid, as the most popular policy during the Presidential Democratic primaries. But after the Democratic Party organized, on…

Staff (2021-02-03). Headlines for February 3, 2021. democracynow.org Democrats Say Trump "Singularly Responsible" for Jan. 6 Insurrection in Impeachment Brief, U.S. to Start Sending Vaccines to Pharmacies; Single AstraZeneca Shot Cuts Transmission by 67%, Senate Confirms Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS Chief, Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary, Senator Warren to Introduce Wealth Tax on Households Worth Over $50 Million, Kevin McCarthy Weighs Removing Marjorie Taylor Greene from Education Committee After Bipartisan Condemnation, Alexei Navalny Receives 3.5 Years in Prison Amid Mass Protests, Healthcare Workers in West Bank Receive Vaccines from Israel While Other Palestinians Mad…

Natalie Shure (2021-02-03). What's Keeping the Vaccine From Getting to Those Who Need it Most? thenation.com What's Keeping the Vaccine From Getting to Those Who Need it Most?

Prof. Charles McKelvey (2021-02-03). Racial Inequality, Institutional Discrimination: The "Great Awokening" in Global and Class Context. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | From 1972 to 2010, at three church-related colleges and one public …

Colin Todhunter (2021-02-03). Viral Inequality and the Farmers' Struggle in India. counterpunch.org According to a new report by Oxfam, 'The Inequality Virus', the wealth of the world's billionaires increased by $3.9tn (trillion) between 18 March and 31 December 2020. Their total wealth now stands at $11.95tn. The world's 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by $540bn over this period. In September 2020, Jeff Bezos

_____ (2021-02-02). Bolivarian Missions: Mision Nevado. popularresistance.org While it could be compared to a social program, or as our oligarchs call them here in the United States "entitlement programs," it is clearly defined as much more than that. Not only is the direct participation of the masses in the administration of these programs enshrined in law to avoid clientelism and promote popular participation, but the law defines missions as part of the battle to eradicate poverty and towards a full actualization of the constitution of the Bolivarian Republic. This is what sets apart these programs from traditional welfare programs in the capitalist world; they are aimed at popular empow…

Steve Sweeney (2021-02-02). 'Slow-motion genocide': West Papuan liberation leader describes Indonesian occupation. peoplesworld.org This article was first published in Morning Star on Jan. 29, 2021. It has been an incredible journey for exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda. From a childhood spent living in poverty in the mountains where he witnessed his auntie being raped by Indonesian soldiers to a daring escape from prison in 2002, his "long …

Christopher Williams (2021-02-02). Bill Gates Has a New $1bn Yacht That Shows He Is Morally Superior to You Because It's Hydrogen-Powered. anti-empire.com Editor's note: A $1bn yacht might be the ultimate symbol of excess, conspicuous consumption, and waste. But make it "hydrogen-powered" and suddenly it's a symbol of virtue, or so the bottom-feeding press would have you believe (see an exhibit below if you can stomach it). | And at all that Gates did not even earn his fortune (that he is now using to help keep you in lockdown), but is a tax parasite owing all his ill-begotten wealth to a state-granted monopoly patent. These were rightfully abolished centuries ago, but for some reason when it comes to the bogus concept of "intellectual property" a "patent" can stil…

Jesse Jackson (2021-02-02). The nation can't afford Republicans' stimulus sabotage. peoplesworld.org In his first ten days in office, Joe Biden launched an intense effort to address the "cascading crises" that America faces. In addition to issuing executive orders to reverse several of Trump's most poisonous acts—ending federal contracting with private prisons, reviving enforcement of discrimination laws, ending the Muslim ban, re-entering the Paris Climate Accord, and …

Staff (2021-02-02). Polls Show Major Support for Biden's Stimulus Plan That GOP Wants to Undercut. truthout.org Two separate polls conducted recently show that the majority of the American public is in favor of passing a COVID-19 stimulus bill quickly and that they are largely supportive of Joe Biden's version of the bill. With Congress poised to pass Biden's stimulus through reconciliation soon, the polls show that bipartisan agreement among the public shows that

Robert Pollin (2021-02-02). Biden's $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Is a Vital Beginning for a New New Deal. zcomm.org This reliance on big pocketed financiers will be a continuing obstacle to truly reorienting finance to serve society…

WSWS (2021-02-02). Biden discusses Republican demands to drastically cut stimulus spending. wsws.org In what might be described as a demand for preemptive surrender, not negotiation, ten Republican senators are proposing a 70 percent cut in the Biden administration's COVID-19 relief package.

Claudio Katz (2021-02-02). After Trump, what prospects for Biden in the Global imperial disorder? mronline.org The United States seeks to regain its sagging world dominance by capturing wealth, quelling rebellions, and deterring competitors. It supports this operation with gigantic military power and a burdensome arms economy.

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2021-02-02). Warren Blasts 'Unconscionable' $740 Billion Pentagon Budget While Millions Suffer From Poverty, Joblessness, and Covid-19. commondreams.org "A budget is about priorities," said the Democratic senator. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/warren_military_budget_0.png

Chuck Collins (2021-02-02). Six Questions for Justin Farrell, 'Billionaire Wilderness' Author. zcomm.org Concentrating wealth hasn't just disrupted our major cities. It's now changing our towns and countryside. Author Justin Farrell shows us how…

Marty Hart-Landsberg (2021-02-02). The Failings of Our Unemployment Insurance System Are There by Design. zcomm.org This history makes clear that nothing will be given to us. We need and deserve a better unemployment insurance system. And to get it, we are going to have to fight for it…

Meg Wiehe, Jenice Robinson (2021-02-02). Biden's Child Tax Credit Plan Could Right a Historical Wrong. commondreams.org One lesson from 2020 is that economic and racial inequality are intrinsic challenges that have been either swept under the rug or addressed at the margins for far too long. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/child_poverty.jpg

Grant Molen (2021-02-02). White or Wealth Supremacy? realprogressives.org The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 authorized the dissemination of US state department propaganda to foreign nations deemed a threat to American democracy. This act has been a useful tool for intelligence operatives who have repeatedly sought to stamp out populist revolutions in countries with access to valuable natural resources. Through the spread of propaganda and the arming of US aligned insurgency groups, the US has been able to foment confusion and discord in foreign populations resulting in unwinnable political battles, power struggles and weak leadership representing the working people's interests. In the pow…

Project Censored (2021-02-02). Giants: The Global Power Elite — Rebroadcast. projectcensored.org Although a new administration has taken office in Washington, the administrators of the world's wealth have not changed. Project Censored presents a rebroadcast of "Giants: The Global Power Elite." Project…

Chris Hedges (2021-02-01). Chris Hedges: Papering Over the Rot. mintpressnews.com Princeton, New Jersey (

_____ (2021-02-01). Take Action To End The Economic War At Home And Abroad. popularresistance.org It is the same neoliberal economic system, white supremacy and disregard for human life that underlie sanctions abroad and at home. The current recession and pandemic have exposed this in a brutal way in the United States. The populations that are harmed the most are Indigenous peoples and communities of color. The United States government could have taken the effective steps of cancelling rent and debt, providing a monthly income and nationalizing healthcare that other countries took but instead passed laws that funneled wealth to the top while providing minimal relief to the majority.

Jeet Heer (2021-02-01). Biden Should Reject the Latest GOP Bipartisan Fantasy. thenation.com Biden Should Reject the Latest GOP Bipartisan Fantasy…

sputniknews (2021-02-01). 'Silversqueeze' Becomes New GameStop as Reddit Traders Call to 'Destroy the Biggest Banks'. sputniknews.com Wealthy Wall Street hedge funds lost billions of dollars last week after amateur investors from Reddit's r/WallStreetBets forum raised the stock price of electronics GameStop retailer and other companies with a coordinated "short squeeze" attack. Now they have apparently found a new target.

Colin Todhunter (2021-02-01). Viral Inequality and the Farmers' Struggle in India. dissidentvoice.org According to a new report by Oxfam, 'The Inequality Virus', the wealth of the world's billionaires increased by $3.9tn (trillion) between 18 March and 31 December 2020. Their total wealth now stands at $11.95tn. The world's 10 richest billionaires have collectively seen their wealth increase by $540bn over this period. In September 2020, Jeff Bezos …

WSWS (2021-02-01). French government rejects a new lockdown to stop coronavirus spread. wsws.org Like his counterparts across Europe, Macron is sacrificing masses of lives to increase the wealth of the super-rich.

Abdul Rahman (2021-01-31). Eradicating the inequality virus calls for more than just slogans. peoplesdispatch.org The Oxfam inequality report highlights that the impact of COVID-19 has been different across different sections of society. Government policies across the world have enabled the rich and powerful to increase their wealth during the pandemic…

David Soll (2021-01-31). Democrats, You PROMISED Survival Checks NOW! realprogressives.org On January 5 there was a special election held in Georgia where the two running Democrats ultimately won. How were they able to pull it off? No, the election was not stolen by Russia, China, Venezuela, or little green men. It was won because the Democrats promised the American people relief in the form of immediate distribution of $2000 survival checks! | These words were verbatim, by then Senate candidate Jon Ossoff, during an interview just days before the election,"We will be able to pass $2,000 dollar stimulus checks for the people next week when we win these races in Georgia and get economic relief direct…

news.un (2021-01-31). Fair Finance: The women entrepreneurs lifting communities out of poverty. news.un.org Helping women start and grow businesses in the world's poorest countries is a path to lifting them and their families out of poverty, the high-profile businesswoman, and new UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Goodwill Ambassador Sonia Gardner, has told UN News, in the second of our two part series this weekend, on the role the financial sector can play in reducing inequality.

Faramarz Farbod (2021-01-31). Late Capitalism and Its Runaway Inequality Problem. dissidentvoice.org One of the great unexamined questions of our times is why there is so much suffering, despair, misery and rage in the midst of unimaginable wealth. Naturally, pundits and politicians wish to avoid this question because an open public discussion of the widening wealth gap can impart critical insights into the nature and logic of …