The Democrats assumed the working class had nowhere else to go. They were wrong!
Archiv: poverty / workers / have-nots / underclass
Sanders: Democratic Party ‘has abandoned working class people’
“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy, which has so much economic power?” Sanders asked.
“Probably not,” he said in response to his own question.
‚The American people are angry and want change‘: Bernie Sanders slams Democrats for loss
Sanders, 83, highlighted several issues he believes the nation has failed to address under the Biden-Harris Administration, from wealth inequality and a worsening standard of living to high prescription drug prices and the lack of guaranteed medical leave.
Though he is an Independent, Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party, and has long championed policies like Medicare for All and a higher federal minimum wage.
Do Something Every Day To Help De-Normalize The Abuses Of The Empire
One very important task we can undertake as citizens of the western empire is to help de-normalize the tyranny, murderousness and savagery that the imperial propagandists work to normalize.
(…)
Denormalize poverty.
Denormalize injustice and inequality.
Denormalize the ruined buildings and ruined bodies in Gaza.
Denormalize the nuclear brinkmanship with Russia.
Denormalize the destruction of our biosphere in the ravages of ecocidal capitalism.
Denormalize the surging authoritarianism we’re experiencing as the empire works frantically to stomp out dissent.
Denormalize the war machinery rolling out around the world, and the increasingly militarized police forces in our streets.
Denormalize the psychopathy of the politicians and government officials who cheerfully serve the empire in facilitation of these horrors.
Denormalize the way media and government institutions controlled by the powerful work to manipulate the way we think and perceive every day of our fucking lives for the benefit of the powerful.
Amid Police Provocation, Thousands Gathered in Nazareth to Celebrate May Day
MK Cassif said to journalists, “In spite of the fascist menace and terrorization, we marched today, thousands of Jews and Arabs together, to protest against the criminal massacre in Gaza, the occupation and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, against social injustice, class exploitation and fascism, and for the release of the hostages on the basis of ‘all-for-all’ principle, for social and national equality, democracy, and just peace.”
Canada‘s UN ambassador says gangs now control Haiti. What will the international community do?
(10.03.2024)
Haiti is gripped by chaos and disorder, as criminal gangs increasingly assert control over the country. Haiti‘s acting leader, Ariel Henry, is outside the country and attempting to negotiate a way home, even as the United States calls for him to resign and plan elections for a new government.
On Sunday, the U.S. said it had deployed additional security to its embassy in Port-au-Prince and airlifted some non-essential diplomatic staff out of the country.
Haiti: Gangs, Violence and a State in Total Chaos
(16.07.2023)
A few days ago, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made an official visit to Haiti, trying to shed light on the situation for the world to see. Tweeting from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, Guterres expressed his solidarity with the Haitian people and called for an international response against the lawlessness and violence that has swallowed the country. It is not the time to forget Haiti, he said, but have his words fallen on deaf ears?
Haiti: Nearly half of the population is facing acute hunger
(29.05.2023)
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis (March 2023), 4.9 million people in Haiti – nearly half of the country‘s population – are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. This figure represents an increase of 200 000 people in just five months. And of the total number of people affected, 1.8 million are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) – up from the analyses in the last three years.
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David as photographed last week during a visit to two weapons factories: #Elbit Systems and IAI. On a shell intended for use in bombings in the Gaza Strip he wrote: „The people of Israel live. Greetings from the Histadrut and the workers in Israel
I know what it‘s like to struggle. I escaped an abusive marriage and ended up homeless. I relied on public assistance to raise my two young sons as a single mom. I couldn‘t afford childcare, so my kids came to class with me while I earned my college degree. I know you know what I‘m talking about. More than half of Californians live one paycheck away from poverty. It‘s time for us to have a voice in the Senate.
(28.09.2023)
No U.S./French-backed invasion of Niger!
(August 6, 2023)
Niger is a target of imperialism for many reasons. Its natural resources include uranium, which supplies up to one third of France’s entire electrical grid. Yet Niger remains one of the poorest countries in the world with the majority of its over 27 million people lacking access to their own electricity. Niger also holds strategic importance to the U.S. military as a hub for its drone operations in Central Africa, used to maintain U.S. influence in the region as well as assist in French military interventions.
In addition to 1,500 French troops, there are over 1,000 U.S. troops stationed in Niger, which the U.S. government now refuses to withdraw, despite the security agreements between the U.S. and Niger being suspended and multiple European countries evacuating their citizens. The U.S. military machine is digging in, hoping to restore the pro-imperialist government by whatever means necessary.
Gabon soldiers seize power in OPEC member in latest coup
Gabon’s dollar bonds due June 2025 and November 2031 were the worst-performing in emerging markets on Wednesday. The 2025 notes fell 8.55 cents to 84.74 cents on the dollar as of 11:48 a.m. in London. Shares in French mining group Eramet SA, oil and gas producer Maurel & Prom SA and a listed unit of TotalEnergies SE, which all have operations in Gabon, sank in Paris trading.
‘A tinderbox waiting to explode’: Niger and neo-colonialism
The coup of the 26th July 2023 in Niger was precipitated by the stated desire of former President Bazoum to remove the head of the presidential guard. Irrespective of the reasons for the coupists seizing power, the coup, to gain legitimacy, has tapped into a festering resentment against the ex-colonial power, France. French control of Niger’s economy through fiscal and monetary means using a regional version of the Franc (CFA Franc), with the collaboration of elements of Niger’s elite, has meant that France has the scope and access to pillage the country’s resources relentlessly.
As Niger has no control over its currency, it is unable to embark upon any form of meaningful development to lift or transform the living standards of the people. The CFA Franc and the fiscal and monetary control that France has over its ex-colonies is a scandal. It represents the rawest form of neo-colonial domination.
About Kav LaOved
Kav LaOved is a non-profit organization which aims to uphold full and equal labor rights for all workers in the Israeli labor market regardless of religion, nationality, gender or legal status. We advocate on behalf of the most marginalized workers, namely low-income Israeli citizens, refugees and asylum-seekers, Palestinians and migrant workers, through grassroots individual assistance efforts as well as policy and legal advocacy to promote systemic change.
Selby and Ainsty by-election results: Keir Mather’s historic Labour win unpacked
The Labour Party candidate Keir Mather has won a record victory over the Conservatives in the Selby and Ainsty by-election, in the highest majority the party has ever overturned in by-election history.
It marks the first time Labour has ever won the seat, with a majority of 4,161 on a 41.9% turnout. One party source said that if Labour won seats requiring a similar swing at a general election, it would win more seats than in 1997.
In Mather’s victory speech, he said he had seen so much “hardship” in the constituency during his campaign, with voters highlighting the cost-of-living squeeze, and pledged to ensure change.
It’s the inequality, stupid
(June 15, 2023)
Economic inequality has exploded in the US since Bill Clinton took office. (It started to tick up after Clinton’s predecessor Ronald Reagan came on the scene, but Clinton’s tenure witnessed a continuation of this trend.) Today, there are 735 billionaires in the US, three of whom – Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Jeff Bezos – hold wealth more than 1 million times (!) the median American household wealth. Meanwhile, nearly 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 1/3 of workers make less than $15 an hour, and roughly 38 million Americans live below the poverty line.
Millionaires Are Begging Governments to Tax Them More
(Jun 23, 2023)
On both sides of the Atlantic, the Patriotic Millionaires are notable for being unusually public and unusually frank—US chair Morris Pearl, a former MD at investment firm BlackRock, has described how the Covid-19 pandemic made him personally wealthier, and how he doesn’t check his bank balance because he doesn’t need to. (…)
The richest 1 percent of Brits hold more wealth than the poorest 70 percent combined. “I see it as a problem if you’ve got so much money that you no longer need a functioning society,” she says.
To Foreign Policy Veteran, the Real Danger Is at Home
Mr. Haass recently published a book called “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens,” outlining ways Americans can help heal their own society, like “Be Informed,” “Remain Civil,” “Put Country First” — all admittedly bromides and yet somehow often elusive these days. (…)
Putting his foreign policy hat aside for now, he said he wants to expand the message from his book and help refocus the country on the core values embodied in the Declaration of Independence as the 250th anniversary of the document approaches three years from now.
Electronic Voting Banned in Germany
(Sep 2, 2022)
Earlier this year, there was an important legal dispute in Germany, about whether electronic voting machines were legal for use in German government elections. The dispute was decided by the German Constitutional Court (similar to the U.S. Supreme Court), and the short answer was „no.“ Now, we have available an official English translation of the ruling. As I had been told before, the ruling really does seem to ban any kind of computing equipment from being used in German elections. The legal reasoning was interesting enough that I thought I‘d share one reflection on it. The basis for the ruling was the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (similar in function to the U.S. Constitution) and the principle that „all essential steps in the elections are subject to public examinability.“
Trump Wants to Make America Vote Like It’s the 1960s
(Aug. 16, 2022)
Republicans under Trump’s leadership view voting as a privilege that should be zealously guarded against those who can’t affirmatively prove their eligibility on demand or who aren’t able or willing to stand in long lines on Election Day under the watchful eyes of professional intimidators. All the fatuous talk these days of the GOP being the party of the working class is hard to square with its determination to maintain a throwback system of voting that makes it hard for working people to cast ballots during restricted hours on a weekday.
Suppose we have an interest rate / inflation spiral now, and it’s been created by the Bank of England?
I suspect the Bank to deny this, but they have already admitted their models of inflation based on their own understandings of the issue do not work, so little weight should be given to that.
Instead it‘s time to cut rates and remove the only excuse businesses have to increase prices because interest rates are the only cost expected to remain high, and excessively so, from now into the future.
Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4.5%
(11 May 2023)
The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a point to 4.5% as it forecast inflation would stay higher for longer than previously expected and the economy would perform more strongly.
Supermarkets ‚to be urged to cap price on some foods‘
The scheme would aim to get retailers charging the lowest possible amount for some basic products like milk and bread, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
A Number 10 source said the plans are at „drawing board stage“ and would not involve government-imposed price controls.
Remember the days when the idea of ubiquitous surveillance cameras was repugnant? An Orwellian nightmare fit for the old Soviet Union perhaps, but never for America. #Kennedy24
Eyes on the poor: Cameras, facial recognition watch over public housing
No data is available on how often the cameras are used for this purpose. But the previously unreported practice highlights how efforts to make public housing safer are subjecting many of the 1.6 million Americans who live there — overwhelmingly people of color — to round-the-clock surveillance. If evicted, former tenants can face difficulties finding housing and employment for the rest of their lives.
French unions announce new day of pension protests, strikes for June 6
With lawmakers poised to discuss on June 8 a draft bill proposed by the opposition Liot party to cancel the retirement age reform, the unions said in a joint statement that the day of industrial action on June 6 was meant to “allow all workers to make themselves heard by the MPs.”
JP Morgan Chase now owns First Republic‘s sound assets. The FDIC owns its toxic assets. When big banks‘ gambles succeed, they profit. When they fail, we bail them out. Heads they win, tails you lose. #Kennedy24
Ultimately the problem stems from an over-financialized economy. Finance is supposed to serve production, not replace it. We need to reinvest in the productive base: infrastructure, labor, health, social, and natural capital. #Kennedy24
The Silicon Valley Bank Bailout: The Purpose of Government Is to Make the Rich Richer
(April 2, 2023)
The idea that conservatives like the market and not the government is unadulterated crap. It is a myth that they use to conceal the ways they have rigged the market to make income flow upward. Unfortunately, virtually the entire left has agreed to go along with this absurd myth. Moments like the bailout of the rich depositors at SVB make the truth about conservatives and the market apparent to all. (And yes, this is the point of Rigged [it’s free].)
Fresh protests across France as Constitutional Council largely upholds Macron‘s pension reform
(14.04.2023)
The French constitutional court on Friday approved the key elements of President Emmanuel Macron‘s controversial pension reform while rejecting certain parts of the legislation. Pushing the legal age for drawing a full pension from 62 to 64, the legislation is deeply unpopular in France and has triggered months of mass protests. Follow our blog to see how the day‘s events unfolded
Lebanon declares bankruptcy, has highest unemployment, poverty in the world
(April 5, 2022)
A statement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Lebanese government, Saadeh al-Shami, to announce the bankruptcy of the state and the Central Bank of Lebanon, and that the losses will be distributed among the state, the Banque du Liban, banks, and depositors within Lebanon.
According to statistics provided by the United Nations, 82 percent of the Lebanese population are now living below the poverty line.
‘Democracy at stake’: French protesters vent fury at Macron over pension push
French protesters downed their tools and marched once again in Paris and other cities on Thursday, galvanised by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to ram his deeply unpopular pension reform through parliament without a vote, in what critics have branded a “denial of democracy”.
Emmanuel Macron: France’s Caligula?
Instead, on Macron’s orders, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne used a controversial clause in the Constitution, Article 49.3, to pass the bill.
The Republican Party are widely supportive of Macron’s reform bill, which raises the age of retirement from sixty-two to sixty-four, and issued instructions for its sixty-one Members of Parliament to vote against the motion. But nineteen of its MPs defied orders, adding to the dissent and disorder which has swept France in recent days, in parliament and on the street.
Macron holds firm on pension reform bill as protests escalate
Dismissing calls for a snap election or a referendum, he said the plan to raise France’s minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 would continue on its “democratic path” and come into force by the end of 2023.
The French president also reaffirmed his faith in Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, whose government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote triggered by Macron‘s use of special executive powers to bypass parliament.
Paris erupts in violence after Macron wins no-confidence vote by just nine
(21.03.2023)
The first motion, which was the only one ever likely to succeed, failed thanks to the decision of the conservative Republican party not to support it.
Amid layoffs and lost games, Amazon Luna comes to Canada, Germany, and the UK
Remember: Google Stadia is dead as a doornail, and Amazon Luna, the company’s rival cloud gaming service, wasn’t doing much better.
Bid to end teacher strikes as government and education unions agree to hold ‚intensive talks‘ on pay and workload
(Friday 17 March 2023)
The news follows the breakthrough in the NHS dispute on Thursday, with union leaders representing thousands of nurses, ambulance crews and other health workers agreeing to suspend further strikes while ballots are held on a new pay offer.
Junior doctors in England agree to pay talks after three-day strike
(17 Mar 2023)
On Friday night the Department of Health and Social Care said the British Medical Association had agreed to enter negotiations on the same terms as unions representing nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers in talks that concluded this week.
Government FINALLY reaches pay deal with NHS unions after months of strikes
(16 Mar 2023)
After three months of strikes, the Government has offered a one off bonus this year of 2.5% for the best paid and 8.2% for the worst paid.
The offer, recommended by most of the main NHS unions, comes on top of the 4% increase already implemented for 2022/23.
This award had come with inflation at over 10% and had sparked the strikes.