(2021-10-09). Behind NATO's 'cognitive warfare': 'Battle for your brain' waged by Western militaries. thegrayzone.com Western governments in the NATO military alliance are developing tactics of "cognitive warfare," using the supposed threats of China and Russia to justify waging a "battle for your brain" in the "human domain," to "make everyone a weapon." NATO is developing new forms of warfare to wage a "battle for the brain," as the military alliance put it. The US-led NATO military cartel has tested novel modes of hybrid warfare against its self-declared adversaries, including economic warfare, cyber warfare, information …
(2021-10-09). Behind NATO's 'cognitive warfare': Western militaries are waging a 'battle for your brain'. thegrayzone.com Western governments in the NATO military alliance are developing tactics of "cognitive warfare," using the supposed threats of China and Russia to justify waging a "battle for your brain" in the "human domain," to "make everyone a weapon." NATO is developing new forms of warfare to wage a "battle for the brain," as the military alliance put it. The US-led NATO military cartel has tested novel modes of hybrid warfare against its self-declared adversaries, including economic warfare, cyber warfare, information …
(2021-10-09). [Perspectives] Rebuilding happiness. thelancet.com It may seem courageous, even foolhardy, for a scientific and cultural institution to put on exhibitions dedicated to joy and tranquillity. Foolhardy because a joyful experience in western culture might well have been underpinned by someone else's labour in the Global South. And in the COVID-19 pandemic, joy and tranquillity, for many, have been hard to come by. The Joy and Tranquillity exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection, London, UK, are part of the On Happiness season, which aims to "celebrate the complexity of positive emotions".
(2021-10-09). Pandora Papers reveal finance minister profited from offshore account as misery ravages Brazil. wsws.org The revelations stand as a testimony to the rampant social inequality that is the defining trait of Brazilian capitalism, provoking deep nervousness within ruling circles.
(2021-10-09). How Facebook's Quest for Profits Is Paved on Hate and Lies. zcomm.org New revelations by a whistleblower prove that the world's largest social media platform understands clearly its negative impact on society, but that profits are a greater lure than preserving democracy…
(2021-10-09). Haiti has the World's Second Largest Iridium Deposits. orinocotribune.com By Graham G. Henry — Oct 6, 2021 | As difficult to work with as it is rare, iridium is found in large quantities in Haiti's southeast, which has the second largest reserves in the world. This metal is today worth more than gold and Bitcoin. Its resistance to high temperatures and corrosion makes it almost indispensable in the manufacture of aircraft engines and deep water pipelines. Its exploitation could be a lever for the revival of the Haitian economy and the creation of millions of jobs, argues the economics professor, Dr. Henry Vixamar. | Haiti has one of the largest iridium reserves in the world. The c…
(2021-10-09). Credit Suisse: Venezuela's GDP to Grow 5.5% in 2021. orinocotribune.com Credit Suisse investment bank has forecast that Venezuela's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 5.5% in the current year. | Among the factors driving the economic growth, the first to be recorded since 2013, "are the positive effects on income due to high oil prices and the widespread use of foreign currency in daily economic activities." According to Credit Suisse's latest report, Venezuela may be entering a "new phase." | "Our estimate for next year assumes the stability of oil production and non-oil GDP growth of approximately 4%," states the October report of Credit Suisse, the well-known bank headquart…
(2021-10-09). Finance capital and the World Economy. mronline.org 
THE period of neo-liberalism witnesses an increase in the share of economic surplus in total output both in individual countries and also for the world as a whole.
(2021-10-09). Financial parasitism and the decline of US industry. wsws.org A speech by US President Joe Biden this week was a chronicle of the decline of US industrial capacity as well as economic and social infrastructure.
(2021-10-09). Renaissance of the Social Market Economy. indybay.org A social market economy is based on two political pillars: (1) taming the market dynamics via regulation and (2) mitigating its consequences in distribution policy. (3) The development and care of an economic culture of moderation and fairness in dealing with one another forms the third, the cultural pillar of taming and civilizing market interactions.
(2021-10-09). Israel lobby takes back the Labour Party. electronicintifada.net Opponents of Palestinian rights at conference celebrate end of Corbyn "nightmare."
(2021-10-09). Science Saturday: A robotic GPS for targeting, delivering regenerative biotherapies. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org A remote-controlled bronchoscope that acts like a GPS system hunts down hard-to-find lung masses and accurately biopsies them, according to a Mayo Clinic collaborative study. This multisite research, which is published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery, lays the foundation for precisely finding early-stage cancer and targeting it with regenerative biotherapeutics needed to stimulate healing. Artificial intelligence gleaned from CT scans directs the robotic fiber optic cable, providing a GPS-like pathway to tiny nodules, or masses, that manual bronchoscopes…
(2021-10-09). Italian S.I.Cobas FedEx Workers Face Attack As Leader Is Released & 10/11 Gen Strike On. indybay.org Italian SI Cobas FedEx workers are under attack and the government is also jailing their leaders. They celebrated as a leaders was released and prepared for a general strike on October 11, 2021. There will be a solidarity action at the Italian consulate in San Francisco.
(2021-10-09). Capitalist dilemmas and The Greed for More. indybay.org The overexploitation of nature did not remain without resistance. However, these were ignored by both the left and the right due to the hopelessness of the capitalist form of wealth. The "requirements of shipping and agriculture" destroy original functions of the floodplain landscapes. "And if solutions within the system are so impossible to find, maybe we should change the system itself," said Greta Thurnberg…
(2021-10-09). Wall Street cracks the whip and Senate passes short-term extension of debt ceiling. wsws.org When it comes to the basic financial interests of the corporate-financial oligarchy, and Wall Street gives the marching orders, partisan gridlock in Congress suddenly dissipates.
(2021-10-09). President Maduro: 50% of Population is now Vaccinated & 2.6 Million COVAX Vaccines Arrive on Saturday. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro reported this Friday, October 8, that in Venezuela 50% of the population has already received at least one dose of immunization against COVID-19. | During a televised address broadcast by state-owned TV station VTV, the president stressed that the goal, which he announced last Sunday, was reached "by overcoming barriers, obstacles, and financial persecution"—a reference to the criminal hardship imposed on millions of Venezuelans by US and European illegal sanctions. | "Today in Venezuela we reached 50% of the population vaccinated," said the head of state. "We have a goal…
(2021-10-09). Biden downplays disastrous September jobs report, touts pandemic "success" wsws.org In the face of a report showing a gain of just 194,000 jobs in September, the president sought to change the subject, playing up the modest drop in new COVID-19 cases and "progress" on his spending bills.
(2021-10-09). Sportswashing at Tyneside: Saudi Arabia moves into English Football. dissidentvoice.org The recent acquisition of the Newcastle United football club by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, along with financier Amanda Staveley and the billionaire Reuben brothers, was a source of much excitement for some former players. Old boy Alan Shearer did little to conceal it. "We can dare to hope again," he rejoiced. In The Guardian, …
(2021-10-09). Memphis Kellogg's workers on the picket line. fightbacknews.org Memphis, TN – At midnight on Tuesday, October 5, workers at Kellogg's factories across the United States went on strike. Union workers in Memphis say the company made an unacceptable offer at contract time. | Rob Eafan, a member of the local union's leadership, said of the contract, "The company wants to have a permanent two-tier wage system, with reduced wages and benefits for our new employees. The bottom line: it's all about corporate greed. The company made record profits throughout this pandemic while working us record hours," he said. "And they had record bonuses of 158%." | The Bakery, Confectionery, Toba…
(2021-10-09). Extracting Profits — imperialism, climate change and resistance in Africa. mronline.org 
2018 seems like a lifetime ago. When 'Extracting Profit' came out that year, the COVID-19 pandemic was two years away. Since then, the world has been plunged into a devastating crisis, with 4.5 million lives lost globally, including close to 200,000 reported deaths on the African continent.
(2021-10-09). In historic vote, 60,000 Hollywood workers authorize first ever countrywide strike. mronline.org 
Workers employed in major film and television production houses have complained of abysmal working conditions such as long hours, often exceeding 12 hours a day, low wages and low healthcare contributions from producers.
(2021-10-09). US unions ignore workers' demands during negotiations with auto parts maker Dana. wsws.org Even after workers voted for strike authorization, unanimously in some cases, the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers unions have downplayed any talk of industrial action.
(2021-10-09). Turkey plans to purchase 40 new, modernize 80 more U.S. F-16s. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Reuters: Turkey wants to buy 40 F-16 fighters from the USA Turkey has asked the United States to purchase 40 F-16 fighters, as well as modernize about 80 American fighters that Ankara has…. …the deal is estimated at billions of dollars, but is still being studied by the State Department and the relevant government agency …
(2021-10-09). Socialism with Chinese characteristics only correct path toward national rejuvenation: Xi. ecns.cn Socialism with Chinese characteristics has proven to be the only correct path to realize national rejuvenation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday.
(2021-10-09). Jacobin boosts Teamsters bureaucracy's campaign to "organize" Amazon workers. wsws.org Jacobin and the Democratic Socialists of America speak for a privileged upper middle-class layer that wants to block a rank-and-file movement of workers and prevent it from coming under the influence and leadership of genuine socialists.
(2021-10-09). Video: SEP Electoral Members call on supporters to fight Australia's anti-democratic electoral laws. wsws.org "The Socialist Equality Party is the only political party that is warning workers and young people about the dangers of war."
(2021-10-09). The Propaganda War Against China. libya360.wordpress.com On Saturday 9 October 2021 (2pm Britain, 9am US Eastern, 9pm China), Friends of Socialist China are hosting an international webinar to discuss the intensifying information warfare being waged by the US and its allies against the People's Republic of China. We will discuss the relationship between this propaganda onslaught and the New Cold War;…
(2021-10-09). Sunday 10/24: How to end the pandemic: The case for eradication. indybay.org International online webinar.
(2021-10-08). From EL FARO ENGLISH: Exposed by the Pandora Papers. latinorebels.com Central America, in Brief: The Pandora Papers, a global investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) involving more than 600 journalists in 117 countries, shed new light on how offshore banking shields the cash of Central America's wealthy and well-connected, including presidential candidates and former heads of state. While the practice doesn't prove illegal activity, it raises serious questions about transparency and economic inequality.
(2021-10-08). Pandora Papers: How London became a financial hub for Gulf rulers and the super-rich. middleeasteye.net 
Pandora Papers: How London became a financial hub for Gulf rulers and the super-rich | Many of the secretive structures used to hide wealth from scrutiny were created during the British Empire and involved the Middle East | Fri, 10/08/2021 – 12: 00 | A statue of a dragon marks the boundary of the City of London, the British capital's financial hub (Reuters) | Since leaving the European Union, the B…
(2021-10-08). Government and Landlords Declare Class War Against Tenants: Who Will Win? liberationnews.org 
This interview is an episode of The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, a podcast providing news and views about the world for those who want to change it. You can follow the show on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Brian and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the massive scale of the eviction crisis and the urgent need …
(2021-10-08). Venezuela condemns U.S. veto blocking access to IMF's COVID-19 funds and other stories. peoplesdispatch.org In today's episode of the Daily Round-up, we take a look the IMF's restrictions on Venezuela's access to 5 billion dollars in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) funds; the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq scheduled for October 10th following years of protests for political and economic reforms; the occupation of a pipeline facility of Peru's state-owned PetroPeru company by Indigenous activists protesting contamination by oil spills; and the ongoing strike against unsafe working conditions and low pay by health workers in Guinea-Bissau.
(2021-10-08). How to Avert Afghanistan's Food and Economic Crises. counterpunch.org Afghanistan's humanitarian situation is spiraling into catastrophe. Millions of Afghans are now facing severe economic stress and food insecurity in the wake of the Taliban's August takeover, set off by widespread lost income, cash shortages, and rising food costs. Officials with the UNand several foreign governments are warning of an economic collapse and risks of worsening acute malnutrition and outright
(2021-10-08). Taliban Lacks Necessary Finances To Deliver Functioning Government. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size imageAfghanistan has little economic prospects after 20 years of war. | Written by Paul Antonopoulos, independent geopolitical analyst | The U.S. could not vanquish the Taliban, failed to defeat Al-Qaeda, and were unsuccessful in leaving behind a pluralistic, tolerant and economically-sustainable Afghan state. Washington failed to induce good governance in Afghanistan and to stop Pakistan's multifaceted support for the Taliban. After twenty years of war with the U.S., the Taliban now confronts the hard challenge of governing and managing the economy. | Formal legal incomes make up a small p…
(2021-10-08). Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: Chinese Property Markets & Affordable Housing. roarmag.org Season 3, Episode 22 — Chinese Property Markets & Affordable Housing: | In this episode of ACC, Prof. David Harvey talks about the crisis of affordable housing on a global level, with particular emphasis on China and the US. Harvey argues that providing affordable housing for people cannot be accomplished by the private sector as it conflicts with the capitalist profit motive, and it therefore requires an anti-capitalist approach. | You can support this podcast on
(2021-10-08). 10,000 Alberta Superstore workers vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike action. wsws.org The poorly-paid grocery workers are outraged over poverty wages, the company's erratic scheduling practices and the virtual absence of COVID-19 protections in the workplace.
(2021-10-08). The Democrats' one chance to cut child poverty in half. nationofchange.org Poverty is a policy choice. Congress must make the Child Tax Credit permanent.
(2021-10-08). ISU graduate students vote on union-backed contract enforcing poverty wages. wsws.org The Illinois State University Graduate Workers Union is working to push through a sellout contract that enforces poverty-like conditions in a no-strike contract.
(2021-10-08). Mixed Jobs Report: Economy Adds Just 194,000 Jobs, but Unemployment Falls to 4.8 Percent. cepr.net The index of aggregate hours rose 0.9 in September, the largest rise since March. | The number of jobs added in September came in far below most forecasts, with the establishment survey showing just 194,000 new jobs. However, the household survey showed the unemployment rate falling by 0.4 percentage points to 4.8 percent. This decline was not due to people dropping out of the labor market, as the survey showed a rise in employment of 526,000, and the employment-to-population ratio rose 0.2 percentage points to 58.7 percent. | The Establishment Survey is Not as Bad as it First Appears | It is not clear that the w…
(2021-10-08). Ending Unemployment Benefits Had Little Impact on Job Growth. truthout.org 
The number of jobs added in September came in far below most forecasts, with the establishment survey showing just 194,000 new jobs. However, the household survey showed the unemployment rate falling by 0.4 percentage points to 4.8 percent. This decline was not due to people dropping out of the labor market, as the survey showed a rise in employment of 526,000, and the employment-to-population ratio rose 0.2 percentage points to 58.7 percent. | The Establishment Survey Is Not as Bad as It First Appears
(2021-10-08). Hope For Labor At The End Of History. popularresistance.org It was "the end of history": America in the 1990s. Francis Fukuyama published a book with that title in 1992. Things would continue to happen, according to the philosopher, but the underlying story line had come to a finish with the triumph of liberal democracy and capitalism. As the decade wore on, Fukuyama's prophecy seemed practically clairvoyant. At the turn of the millennium, Bob Dylan captured the zeitgeist: "I used to care, but things have changed." | Yet how could that be? Talk of a second Gilded Age of gross disparities in income and wealth was already commonplace. Homelessness, declining wages, a reemer…
(2021-10-08). Lisa Graves on the Fight for the Post Office, Stevana Sims on Saving Anti-Racist Education. fair.org 
(image via BillMoyers.com) | This week on CounterSpin: The thing about the US Postal Service: Low-income people get the same service as the rich; rural people get their prescriptions and paychecks and ballots in the same timeframe as those in big cities. The idea has always been that postal service is a public good, not to be mined for profit, and not tiered to give the wealthy yet another leg up. USPS is the second-largest employer in the country, traditionally offering opportunities for people of color—and unlike the number one employer, Walmart, it doesn't subsidize itself by paying wages so low that em…
(2021-10-08). Open Letter to Australian Labor MPs re IHRA & Labor "Progressive Except Palestine" (PEP). dissidentvoice.org At the outset I must declare that I am an anti-racist Jewish Australian scientist and humanitarian writer with a sole allegiance to Australia. Coming from a famous Jewish Hungarian family near-eradicated from Hungary by the WW2 Jewish Holocaust, I am inescapably bound by the key moral imperatives from that catastrophe, to whit "zero tolerance for …
(2021-10-08). NATO on the Caspian: 30-year Azerbaijan-Turkey military collaboration reaches "even higher level" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Defence chief receives Turkey's new military attache Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov has received Turkey's newly-appointed military attache Maj-Gen Zakaria Yalcin, the ministry reported on October 8. *** Along with other spheres, Azerbaijan and Turkey tightly cooperate in the military field and periodically hold joint drills to improve interaction and communication between their army units. Military …
(2021-10-08). Want a Working Democracy? Try Democratizing Work. counterpunch.org Google's well-known motto, "Don't be Evil," might imply the company expects employees will use their moral compass. Then again, maybe not. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently reviewed a case regarding Google's termination of several employees for applying their conscience at work. What the NLRB decides will have major implications for workplace rights. But
(2021-10-08). Collaboration key for science Imperial Provost tells Conservatives conference. imperial.ac.uk Imperial's Provost Professor Ian Walmsley spoke at the Conservative Party conference this week on the importance of science advice within government.
(2021-10-08). The Rich are Different: They're Richer Than Us and Far Greedier. counterpunch.org F. Scott Fitzgerald is famously said to have once remarked to his pal Ernest Hemingway, "The rich are different from you and me, Ernest," to which Hemingway is said to have replied, "Yes, they have more money." Fitzgerald had it right. Particularly these days, when the wealthiest people in the US are not millionaires, or
(2021-10-08). Leaked details of UAW-Deere contract reveal attacks on pay, benefits. wsws.org The deal includes paltry wage increases which would fall far below the current rate of inflation of 5 percent.
(2021-10-08). Legislation In Limbo. Dem Caucus In Disarray. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Written by William Stroock, observer, author of military fiction | With inflation rising, the border crisis worsening, and Americans still trapped in Afghanistan, President Biden's approval numbers are bad and getting worse. In a Quinnipiac poll released this week only 38% of those surveyed approved of the president's job performance. On the Economy Biden's approval rating is 39%, taxes 37%, immigration 25%, and foreign policy 34%. Of those polled only 42% believed the Biden Administration was competent. On the congressional front the Quinnipiac poll found that Americans favor Republicans ove…
(2021-10-08). Lies the Timber Industry Tells. counterpunch.org An employee of RY Timber presented misleading commentary in his essay "Forest Service is Right to Restore Forest Health." First, keep in mind that the timber industry and forestry profession (both dependents on logging for their employment) have conveniently defined forest health. For example, the commentator suggests dead beetle-kill lodgepole pine represents an "unhealthy" forest.