Guest Post December 17, 2019

https://citizentruth.org/israel-wants-150-billion-compensation-for-jews-who-left-arab-countries/

“Israel could seek to claim these funds by going to US courts. The whole thing would be laughable if it were not for this fact.”

(MEMO) Israel is preparing to claim a total of $150 billion in compensation for the property of Jews who migrated from Arab countries to occupied Palestine, Israel Today has reported.

The process of estimating the property values started in 2002, the newspaper pointed out. It noted that the law to claim compensation for Arab Jews was passed by the Israeli parliament in 2010 as a condition of a regional peace deal; negotiations began with the Arab countries in 2017.

According to media reports, the compensation claimed will include assets from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. In January, Israel was reportedly planning to seek an estimated $250 billion from Arab countries after the government in Tel Aviv quietly conducted some research on the value of property and assets that the Jews left behind.

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, an international parent group of Jewish organisations, claims that around 856,000 Jews from 10 Arab countries — including Algeria and Lebanon — fled or were expelled during the 1948 Nakba, when 800,000 Palestinians were expelled and 532 villages were destroyed by the creation of the State of Israel.

According to Russian broadcaster RT, former British MP George Galloway denounced the Israeli move for compensation. “Israel bombed and destroyed the nuclear reactors in Iraq some 25-30 years ago. Is Iraq going to be compensated by Israel for that?” the pro-Palestinian Galloway asked. “Israel occupied and has annexed a part of Syria — the Golan Heights — and it is harvesting oil there as we speak. Is Israel going to compensate Syria for that?”

Citing Libya and Iran as examples, he added that some of these countries have got funds frozen in the United Sates. “Israel could seek to claim these funds by going to US courts. The whole thing would be laughable if it were not for this fact.”

In the coming weeks, said Maan News Agency, it is expected that the compensation project will be presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel Wants $150 Billion Compensation for Jews Who Left Arab Countries

Guest Post December 17, 2019

https://citizentruth.org/israel-wants-150-billion-compensation-for-jews-who-left-arab-countries/

“Israel could seek to claim these funds by going to US courts. The whole thing would be laughable if it were not for this fact.”

(MEMO) Israel is preparing to claim a total of $150 billion in compensation for the property of Jews who migrated from Arab countries to occupied Palestine, Israel Today has reported.

The process of estimating the property values started in 2002, the newspaper pointed out. It noted that the law to claim compensation for Arab Jews was passed by the Israeli parliament in 2010 as a condition of a regional peace deal; negotiations began with the Arab countries in 2017.

According to media reports, the compensation claimed will include assets from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. In January, Israel was reportedly planning to seek an estimated $250 billion from Arab countries after the government in Tel Aviv quietly conducted some research on the value of property and assets that the Jews left behind.

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries, an international parent group of Jewish organisations, claims that around 856,000 Jews from 10 Arab countries — including Algeria and Lebanon — fled or were expelled during the 1948 Nakba, when 800,000 Palestinians were expelled and 532 villages were destroyed by the creation of the State of Israel.

According to Russian broadcaster RT, former British MP George Galloway denounced the Israeli move for compensation. “Israel bombed and destroyed the nuclear reactors in Iraq some 25-30 years ago. Is Iraq going to be compensated by Israel for that?” the pro-Palestinian Galloway asked. “Israel occupied and has annexed a part of Syria — the Golan Heights — and it is harvesting oil there as we speak. Is Israel going to compensate Syria for that?”

Citing Libya and Iran as examples, he added that some of these countries have got funds frozen in the United Sates. “Israel could seek to claim these funds by going to US courts. The whole thing would be laughable if it were not for this fact.”

In the coming weeks, said Maan News Agency, it is expected that the compensation project will be presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Almost Half Of All Americans Work Low Wage Jobs as Praise Heaped on ‘Strong Economy’

Peter Castagno December 16, 2019

https://citizentruth.org/almost-half-of-all-americans-work-low-wage-jobs-as-praise-heaped-on-strong-economy/

“We don’t have any basis or any evidence for calling this a hot labor market.” – Fed Chairman Jerome Powell

Despite strong job growth and a 50-year low unemployment rate, nearly half of all American workers qualify as low wage, according to a Brookings Institute analysis published last month. The report found that “53 million Americans between the ages of 18 to 64—accounting for 44% of all workers—qualify as ‘low-wage.’ Their median hourly wages are $10.22, and median annual earnings are about $18,000.”

The report found that low wages pervade in every regional economy throughout the country, and that they are a major source of economic vulnerability in the population.

“Even though the economy is adding more jobs, there’s increasing evidence that many of those new positions don’t offer the kind of wages and benefits required to get ahead,” reported CBS News. “A new measure called the Job Quality Index recently found there is now a growing number of low-paying jobs relative to employment with above-average pay.”

The Brookings report found that contrary to popular belief, the majority of low wage workers aren’t students or young people, the majority “are adults in their prime working years, and low-wage work is the primary way they support themselves and their families.”

“Workers aren’t shy about expressing their frustrations, with about 6 of 10 workers saying their jobs are mediocre to downright bad, according to a recent Gallup job-quality survey,” reported CBS. “For instance, 1 in 5 workers told Gallup their benefits are worse now than five years ago.”

Low unemployment has contributed to some wage growth in recent years after decades of stagnation. From 1978 to 2018, median worker pay only grew by 11.9% when adjusted for inflation, while average CEO pay for the U.S.’s biggest 350 companies grew by 940% over the same period, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

However, as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell explained in July, despite low unemployment wages are barely growing enough to cover productivity increases and the cost of inflation.

“We don’t have any basis or any evidence for calling this a hot labor market,” Powell said. “We have wages and benefits moving up at 3%, which is good because it was 2% a year ago, but 3% barely covers productivity increases and inflation.”

A Great Time For Investors

Beyond the 50-year low unemployment rating, President Trump has touted the stock market’s record-breaking performance as proof that the U.S. economy under his administration is the “best it has ever been.”

“From stocks to government debt to corporate bonds to commodities, no matter where you went, you reaped a profit this year,” wrote CNBC earlier this month.”The S&P 500 is up more than 25% and counting. Treasurys, which tend to fall when risk assets rally, also gained in 2019. Oil, gold and corporate bonds all scored double-digit returns.”

CNBC attributes Fed policy, including cutting interest rates three times and pumping billions into the financial system, as reason for the stock market’s record performance. Yet despite the tight labor market and impressive stock market, some analysts argue that the reality of the population’s economic situation isn’t reflected by these metrics, as demonstrated by the report showing that almost half of Americans work low wage jobs.

Economist Dean Baker has explained how the stock market is often misunderstood as a measure of the health of the economy. However, the stock market is not the economy, Baker explains, “the stock market is a measure of the expectations of future profits of companies that are listed in the exchange.”

“The basic logic here is simple. The price of Microsoft, Boeing or Pfizer stock is not going to rise because workers are getting pay increases or they can take longer vacations,” wrote Baker. “The price of these companies’ stocks will rise if investors believe that events will cause their profits to be higher. That’s the end of the story.”

For example, Goldman Sachs has recently advised investors to pursue a “low labor cost” strategy, based on targeting industries with low exposure to rising labor costs and avoiding companies where wages are growing, demonstrating how what benefits the stock market does not necessarily benefit the economic well-being of the population. The bank’s strategists believe that if wage growth continues, stocks that are immune to rising labor costs will outperform the market.

While Gallup found 55% of Americans reporting they own stock in April 2019, including individual stocks and stocks included in mutual funds or retirement savings accounts like a 401(k) or IRA, the richest 10% of Americans own 84% of all stocks. With nearly half of Americans excluded from the stock market and the majority of its gains accrued to the country’s wealthiest citizens, critics argue that designing policy centered around the stock market exacerbates inequality and hurts the broader economy.

Baker argues that many policies that would hurt the stock market – stopping Big Pharma price gouging, curtailing fossil fuel production, and allowing labor unions to bargain for better wages – would be good for the economy and broader society. The economist notes that the U.S. had very strong growth with widely shared benefits in the 1950s and 1960s despite stock prices being far lower relative to the economy.

Because these policy changes would improve peoples’ jobs and living conditions, Baker argues that it is important for people to “recognize that reining in bad practices in the corporate sector is good for the economy of the country and the world, even if it is bad for investors.”

India Cracks Down on Protests Against Discriminatory Citizenship Law

Guest Post December 16, 2019

https://citizentruth.org/india-cracks-down-on-protests-against-discriminatory-citizenship-law/

Four people have already been killed by police in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, seen by many as a step towards establishing India as a Hindu majority country.

(By Peoples Dispatch) Across India, tens of thousands of people have hit the streets against the discriminatory and controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (earlier known as the Citizenship Amendment Bill or the CAB*), which provides citizenship based on religion. The Indian state has responded with violent repression to the protests against the recently passed law. Yesterday, a protester was shot dead by the police in the northeastern state of Assam, taking the number of people killed in protests against the law to four.

The protests are particularly intense in the states of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura, which lie close to Bangladesh and have historically faced an influx of migrants from across the border.

In New Delhi, massive protests against the law were held at India Gate and Jamia Millia Islamia on December 12.

The amendment to citizenship act allows Hindus, Parsis, Jains, Sikhs and Christians who suffered religious persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, to apply for citizenship. Earlier, they would have been classified as ‘illegal immigrants’ and been barred from applying. However, Muslim refugees continue to fall under the category of illegal immigrants. Critics have pointed out that the law aims at establishing a Hindu majoritarian country, relegating the Muslim minorities to second-class citizen status. They have also pointed out that the ruling far-right wing Bharatiya Janata Party is using this law to mobilize the Hindu majority of the country against Muslims, branding them as outsiders.

As the civilian unrest escalates, curbs have been put on media coverage of the protests with restrictions on internet and cell phone services. Curfew has also been imposed in many northeastern states, and the military has also been deployed in the region in a bid to suppress the growing protests. This seems to be the new normal in India under the far-right government led by Narendra Modi.

Md Asif Khan‏‎‎‎‎‎‎ آصِف@imMAK02

"Hum le ke rahenge Azadi"

Huge rally against NRC and CAB lead by @kanhaiyakumar in Purnia, Bihar. #CAAProtests #CABProtests

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7:06 AM - Dec 16, 2019

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The CAB is seen as supplementary to a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise, which aims at identifying and detaining ‘illegal immigrants.’

The NRC exercise carried out in Assam led to more than 1.9 million people being declared as illegal or aliens in India, rendering them stateless. Hundreds were sent to detention camps, termed by many as concentration camps. According to reports, around 26 people have already died in these detention camps.

Scholars and activists in India have denounced that the CAB and the NRC are part of a larger plan by the far-right forces in the country to destroy the secular fabric of India by providing privileges to the Hindu majority. The Hindus disenfranchised under the NRC exercise have been effectively given an out under CAB, which has, however, been denied to the Muslims.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party have issued a joint statement, calling the NRC-CAB “completely violative of the Indian Constitution and aimed at destroying the secular democratic foundations of the Indian Republic.”

The parties have also called for nationwide popular protests on December 19, the date when Ram Prasad Bismil, a national hero of the independence struggle, was hanged at the Gorakhpur jail in 1927.

The governments of three Indian States, West Bengal, Punjab and communist-ruled Kerala, have also rejected the ‘anti-constitutional’ act and declared that they will not implement CAB or the NRC.

“The spirit of our Constitution is based on secularism and Modi government is trying to undermine secular characteristics of our Constitution by passing the bill. The CAB will divide the nation on the basis of religion and caste,” said Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of Kerala, on Thursday.

Salman Anees Soz

✔@SalmanSoz

I hope my little girl grows up to be as brave as the young women who have been at the forefront of protests against oppression. #CAAProtests

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10:48 PM - Dec 15, 2019

Anti-Impeachment Rep. Van Drew to Flip to GOP After Taking Six Figures From Democratic Colleagues

Guest Post December 16, 2019

https://citizentruth.org/anti-impeachment-rep-van-drew-to-flip-to-gop-after-taking-six-figures-from-democratic-colleagues/

New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew is expected to switch parties from Democrat to Republican after taking large amounts of campaign cash from his Democratic colleagues.

(By Karl Evers-Hillstrom, Center for Responsive Politics) Anti-impeachment Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) is expected to switch parties from Democrat to Republican after meeting late last week with President Donald Trump, enraging those in his party, including many who financially backed his campaign.

Democratic lawmakers, through their leadership PACs and campaign committees, have given $234,600 to Van Drew since his initial House run in 2018, ranking among his top industries.

Prominent donors include Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the No. 2 House Democrat, who has given $28,000 between his campaign and affiliated committee, AmeriPAC. Influential pro-impeachment members such as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also helped fund Van Drew’s campaign.

Van Drew never got any money from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose speaker bid he opposed on the campaign trail. Van Drew voted “no” on Pelosi rather than supporting another member.

Van Drew was one of two House Democrats to vote against the impeachment inquiry. He publicly criticized impeachment, a stance that cost him support with Democrats in his home state and district.

New Jersey Democrats had previously thrown their weight behind Van Drew. He took in $8,000 from Purpose PAC, affiliated with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and endorsed Booker’s presidential run. Booker on Monday blasted Van Drew, urging his supporters to donate to Van Drew’s eventual Democratic challenger.

Those who did contribute to Van Drew when he was a Democrat may ask for refunds, although he is not required to honor those requests.

When Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) switched parties from Republican to Democrat in 2009, he agreed to refund donors who felt betrayed by his leaving the party. He refunded about $850,000 to 900 donors as of February 2010, and later lost a primary battle to Rep. Joe Sestak.

The conservative Club for Growth contacted Specter’s donors and urged them to ask for refunds. The Federal Election Commission ruled that the group could legally make a one-time communication with those donors about asking for a refund. Van Drew has not said whether he will entertain refunds.

Amid news of Van Drew’s expected switch, a number of his senior aides resigned, writing in a scathing letter that Republicans “continue to aid and abet Trump as he shreds the Constitution and tears the country apart.”

Van Drew’s southern New Jersey district voted for Trump in 2016. And Van Drew was already unpopular with Democrats in his district, with one local party affiliate calling for him to vote for impeachment or face loss of party support. Democrats jumped on internal polling that found that 58 percent of Democratic primary voters in Van Drew’s district wanted to nominate a different candidate in 2020.

“What he’s reacting to is public polling that shows he can’t get renominated,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) told ABC on Sunday.

Several Democrats had been mulling a primary challenge but have not jumped in yet. It’s not clear whether Republicans would back Van Drew in 2020. Trump tweeted in support of his decision to switch parties, but Republicans who were aiming to unseat Drew aren’t stepping aside.

Top Dem Accused of Putting Private Equity Before Sick and Poor by Killing Effort to End 'Devastating' Surprise Medical Bills

One critic said Rep. Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is "actively helping private equity-owned doctor groups rip off and destroy the lives of people at their most vulnerable."

Jake Johnson, staff writer

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Common Dreams

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/17/top-dem-accused-putting-private-equity-sick-and-poor-killing-effort-end-devastating

Rep. Richard Neal, Democratic chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, teamed up with a Republican ally last week to effectively torpedo bipartisan legislation that aimed to curb surprise medical bills—a major source of financial pain for people who experience medical emergencies and other serious ailments.

Last Sunday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Health Committee announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation to shield the U.S. public from the "devastating financial toll of surprise medical bills."

The chairmen of the two committees, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), expressed hope that the legislation would be included in the must-pass spending legislation Congress is expected to approve by Friday.

But Neal, who has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from a private equity group opposed to the Pallone-Alexander measure, had other plans.

Three days after Pallone and Alexander announced their agreement, Neal and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), the top Republican on Ways and Means, countered with a more industry-friendly plan that would place billing decisions in the hands of a third-party arbiter, an idea favored by powerful hospital and doctor groups.

The Hill reported last Friday that surprise billing legislation will not be in the year-end spending measure, which does include big tax breaks for the healthcare industry.

"With the key committees in the House pushing competing ideas, leadership is waiting until next year" to act on surprise medical billing, The Hill noted.

Neal and Brady's announcement of competing legislation sparked outrage among members of Congress and outside progressives who said delaying action on surprise billing until 2020 could kill any hopes of a solution.

"Every day that goes by is another loss for America's families and another win for private equity," said Shawn Gremminger, senior director of federal affairs for consumer group Families USA. "The primary committees of jurisdiction have been negotiating a deal for months and now there is a bipartisan, bicameral bill on the table that has the support of the White House and can pass by Dec. 20."

Freelance journalist Jon Walker said that by thwarting the effort to curb surprise medical billing before the end of the year, Neal is "actively helping private equity-owned doctor groups rip off and destroy the lives of people at their most vulnerable."

"Let's be clear about what is happening," Walker tweeted. "Democrats pretend they want to improve healthcare and when they have a chance they take the side of wealthy for-profit companies with the most ghoulish business practices imaginable."

Surprise medical bills often come after a patient receives treatment from a doctor or hospital outside the network covered by their insurance plan.

Under the Pallone-Alexander agreement, the New York Times reported, "doctors who provide care that is out-of-network for a patient's insurance [would] automatically be paid the median price of in-network doctors in the area" instead of the exorbitant prices under the status quo.

Hospital and doctor groups backed by private equity have spent millions of dollars lobbying against congressional action to tackle surprise medical billing, worrying that legislation could cut into their profits.

Blackstone Group, a private equity firm that owns the physician staffing organization TeamHealth, donated $29,000 to Neal's 2020 reelection campaign this year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who worked on the Senate Health Committee proposal, told The Hill that it is "extremely disappointing that now, at the eleventh hour, turf wars in the House and corporate special interests appear to be standing in the way of passing these vital protections for patients into law."

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) expressed similar disappointment. "You wonder who made the call to stop our bill, but clearly the best interest of the patient is not at heart," Walden told The Hill.

Others said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shares a portion of the blame for failing to overrule Neal.

"Nancy Pelosi allowing Rep. Neal to kill surprise billing protection to pay back his big [private equity] donors is the most disgusting story in D.C. right now," said Walker.

The View's Meghan McCain Compares herself to Daenerys; gets owned by Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNDY2sy99cw&feature