(2022-08-25). Headlines for August 25, 2022. democracynow.org President Biden to Cancel Up to $20,000 of Student Debt Per Borrower, Federal Judge Blocks Part of Idaho's "Trigger Ban" Criminalizing Abortion Care, Russian Missile Attack on Ukrainian Train Station Kills at Least 25 Civilians, U.N. Chief Slams "Senseless War" in Ukraine on 6-Month Anniversary of Russian Invasion, Russian Dissident Arrested After Calling Russia's War in Ukraine an "Invasion", Fighting Shatters Truce in Ethiopia's War-Torn Tigray Region, California to Phase Out Sales of Gasoline-Powered Cars by 2035, Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo…
(2022-08-25). Making A Case for Universal Free Housing. indybay.org Factually, the current homeless epidemic in California will never be solved unless we, as a society, are willing to provide no-cost housing for unhoused persons.
(2022-08-25). "Freedom Dreams": How Student Debt Crushes Black Women & Why Debt Relief Would Benefit Everyone. democracynow.org 
"Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis," a new short documentary from The Intercept, profiles Black women educators and activists struggling under the weight of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars in student loan debt. It is directed by Astra Taylor and Erick Stoll, narrated by former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, and was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. "A system where Black women do not have to be subject to crushing debt is a system that would benefit everyone," says Shamell Bell, one of the women featured in the film.
(2022-08-25). Biden's Debt Cancellation Plan Is a Step Forward on the Racial Wealth Divide. inequality.org
(2022-08-25). Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Is a Drop in the Bucket. scheerpost.com 
A desperate statement spray-painted on a wall. [ By India Walton and Sam Rosenthal | As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden was hardly bullish on student debt cancellation. He was cajoled by progressives and his presidential primary opponents into adopting a more forceful student debt cancellation stance, one which ultimately helped win him the support of young voters. | Now, after a series of tepid moves, President Biden's grand statement in the student debt saga has arrived. To put it mildly, it's not very inspiring. Over t…
(2022-08-25). Weaponizing Charity to Advance a Political Agenda. inequality.org
(2022-08-25). Cancel It All: Debt Collective's Astra Taylor on Biden Plan & Need for Full Student Debt Relief. democracynow.org 
In a much-anticipated move, President Biden has signed an executive order Wednesday for student debt relief that could help more than 40 million borrowers by canceling up to $20,000 of their federal loans. Many advocates for canceling student debt say Biden's plan doesn't go far enough, while Republicans decry the plan as "student debt socialism." We speak to Astra Taylor, writer, filmmaker and co-director of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors and one of the original advocates for a debt jubilee that would cancel all student debt. Despite the mixed reaction, "this is incredibly…
(2022-08-25). Letter to Mayor Brunner on City Council's Latest Homeless Hayride. indybay.org I wrote a letter to Mayor Brunner regarding the City's end run around human decency in the Benchlands. Item 19 is a double-barreled blast at those outside–showcasing an empty report that has no significant expansion of shelter for the planned Benchlands demolition. As well as a seizure of homeless funding–using it as demolition money.
(2022-08-24). When People Want Housing in India, They Build It. orinocotribune.com 
By Vijay Prashad — Aug 18, 2022 | It all started with a survey. In April 2022, members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), went door to door in the town of Warangal in Telangana state. The party was already aware of challenges in the community but wanted to collect data before working on a plan of action. Thirty-five teams of three to four CPI(M) members and supporters went to 45,000 homes and learned how people were suffering from a range of issues, such as the lack of pensions and subsidised food. Many expressed anxieties around the absence of permanent housing, with a third saying that…
(2022-08-24). BREAKING NEWS: Biden Cuts Student Debt. levernews.com Today, after extensive pressure, President Joe Biden
(2022-08-24). UK National Health Service warns thousands will die due to unaffordable energy bills. wsws.org According to research published by the University of York last week, two thirds (65.8 percent) of all UK households will be trapped in fuel poverty by January. This equates to 18 million families, or 45 million people.
(2022-08-24). An Engineered Food and Poverty Crisis to Secure Continued U.S. Dominance. globalresearch.ca The issue is not food shortage but speculation on food commodities and the manipulation of an inherently flawed global food system that serves the interests of corporate agribusiness traders and suppliers of inputs at the expense of people's needs and genuine food security.
(2022-08-24). PSL Editorial — Cancel ALL the student debt now! liberationnews.org 
All student loan debt should be canceled immediately. This is something that Biden has the power to do through executive order — he cannot blame obstruction by the Republicans or uncooperative Democrats like Joe Manchin.
(2022-08-24). How U.S. Capitalism Buries Students in Debt. liberationnews.org How did we end up in a situation where borrowers have accumulated over $1.7 trillion in debt just because they wanted to get an education?>
(2022-08-24). In OtherWords: August 24, 2022. otherwords.org On Wednesday, President Biden took the huge step of cancelling up to $20,000 in student debt for working and middle-class borrowers. We'll have some valuable perspectives to offer on that very soon. | Canceling student debt will befit tens of millions of ordinary people, but it's an usual step for the federal government. This week in OtherWords, Rakeen Mabud takes aim at a much more common policy that has the opposite impact:
(2022-08-24). Biden Expected To Announce Student Debt Relief Of $10,000 For Borrowers With Income Less Than $125K. moguldom.com Under pressure from congressional Democrats, the Biden administration is expected to announce today the cancellation of up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers who earn less than $125,000 income. Student loan payments have been on pause during the pandemic until now. President Joe Biden has been under pressure to forgive at least $ ,000 …
(2022-08-24). Pensacola service workers walk out over unsafe working conditions. liberationnews.org 
On July 31, service industry workers staged a walkout at The Leisure Club cafe in Pensacola over intolerable working conditions.
(2022-08-24). Argentina: Cristina Kirchner Denounces Trial as 'Media-Judicial Firing Squad'. orinocotribune.com Despite the lack of evidence following three years of trial, and the blunders that the judiciary committed by taking "evidence" from other cases, the prosecutors asked for 12 years in prison and a lifetime political ban for Cristina Kirchner. The court, confirming its partiality, denied the former president and current vice-president of Argentina her right to expand the preliminary statement, which prompted a forceful response from her. | Rarely have the workings of the media-judicial-political system in Argentina been exposed with such clarity as we have seen with the nine-day display of a diversionary strategy…
(2022-08-24). Minnesota Nurses' Strike Vote Puts Safety And Conditions In Spotlight. popularresistance.org Minnesota – Throughout the Covid pandemic, nurses around the US have faced deteriorating working conditions and challenges, from safety concerns to increasing workloads that have stemmed from understaffing as nurses have quit their jobs or retired early. | Those nurses who are still on the job at many hospitals say they have been expected to do more with fewer resources, an issue that nurses say is causing retention crises and jeopardizing patient safety and care. | Now nurses at 15 hospitals in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis-St Paul) and Duluth, Minnesota, that are negotiating new union contracts with their r…
(2022-08-24). Black America Condemns WeWork Founder Raising $3 M From A16z After Prior Implosion. moguldom.com Adam Neumann co-founded New York-based co-working spaces, in 2010. It had a fast rise, expanding first with several locations nationwide before going global. But then several missteps by Neumann caused the company to implode. Despite this, Neumann has once again attracted major investment for yet another idea. This isn't sitting well with many in Black …
(2022-08-24). WW commentary: A Marxist view of the search at Mar-a-Lago. workers.org 
Aug. 21 — The most recent conflict among U.S. ruling institutions displays the depth of the crises wracking U.S. imperialism. As U.S. worldwide dominance declines and the government at home fails to stem growing inequality or resolve health and climate disasters, internal conflicts are sharpening. Credit: Tony Murphy U.S. ruling-class . . . |
(2022-08-24). UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman: Mobilize the entire working class behind striking Columbus teachers! wsws.org This statement was issued by UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman in support of 4,000 teachers in Columbus, Ohio currently on strike.
(2022-08-24). Gravity power holds major promise for the decarbonization of electricity grids: Wind and energy get a lift from falling-weight technology. juancole.com By David Henry | ( Landscape News) The Energy Vault Resiliency Center, a scalable gravity-powered energy storage center that holds major promise for supporting clean energy transitions. Business Wire 4 August 2022 David Henry The general workings of gravity are nothing new: What goes up must come down. Over the past decade, scientists …
(2022-08-24). Recommended Labor Day Reading, Viewing, and Listening. inequality.org
(2022-08-24). Pandemic sets back poverty reduction efforts in Asia by 2 years: ADB report. ecns.cn The COVID-19 pandemic has set back the fight against poverty in Asia and the Pacific by at least two years, and many in the region will likely find it harder than before to escape poverty.
(2022-08-24). A Note on the Wharton Student Debt Forgiveness Model. peoplespolicyproject.org 
Yesterday, Junlei Chen of Penn Wharton released an | The description of Chen's methodology is sparse, but she appears to be using the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to produce this estimate. As far as I know, the SCF is the only public data source that allows one to produce an estimate like this and the SCF is mentioned in the re…
(2022-08-24). Heartland Alliance workers say wages qualify them for its services. peoplesworld.org 
CHICAGO Over 0 workers are locked in a battle with Heartland Alliance, one of the nation's oldest, largest, and most venerable social justice non-profits, over wages and health and safety conditions. The workers say poverty-level wages qualify them for many of the agency's services. Heartland and its unionized workforce are negotiating a new contract …
(2022-08-24). The Only Decent Economy Is One That Works for Working People. commondreams.org A simple shift in perspective can eradicate our taste for austerity.
(2022-08-24). Progressives Say Biden Student Debt Plan 'A Good Start, But Not Enough'. commondreams.org "In the long term, we need to keep pushing for more relief and for free public college and vocational school," said Rep. Ro Khanna.
(2022-08-24). After $1.9 Trillion Giveaway to Rich, McConnell Calls Debt Relief for Working Class 'Slap in the Face'. commondreams.org "You literally canceled $1,900,000,000,000 in tax cuts for the rich," said Public Citizen.
(2022-08-24). More than 800 people died in Pakistan flood. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 24 (MNA) — The unprecedented rainfall and natural disasters caused by devastating floods since last month in various regions of Pakistan have killed more than 800 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
(2022-08-24). Biden Student Debt Relief Plan a 'Big Deal,' Says Sanders, 'But We Have Got to Do More'. commondreams.org "At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, education, from pre-school through graduate school, must be a fundamental right for all, not a privilege for the wealthy few."
(2022-08-24). Unhoused Activists Are Fighting A Wave Of Anti-Homeless Legislation. popularresistance.org As soaring rents force many out of their homes, advocates across the country are battling a slew of state and local measures that criminalize homelessness and imperil those living on the street. | Police in riot gear stormed the chambers of a Los Angeles City Council meeting on Tuesday after one protester climbed a bench to confront Council President Nury Martinez over an ordinance banning homeless encampments near schools and daycares. | Martinez briefly recessed the meeting as dozens of activists chanted "Abolish 41.18!" — a reference to the ordinance. Last week, around 70 protesters shut down a council v…
(2022-08-23). Victory For Powerloom Workers In Pakistan. popularresistance.org For two weeks, several thousand workers and their families participated in a sit-in protest on Jhang road, blocking the route to Faisalabad International Airport, demanding an increase in wages. The workers claimed that the Labor Department in Punjab had failed to implement the new minimum wages set by the provincial government. | After several rounds of negotiations and backtracking by the district administration and the powerloom owners, an agreement was reached between them and the leaders of the Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM), the umbrella body of powerloom workers in Faisalabad. Most of the demands of the nearl…