(2023-06-23). Are We Living Through a De-Dollarization? By: Justin Podur. midwesternmarx.com 
De-dollarization is apparently here, "like it or not," as a May 2023 video by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a peace-oriented think tank based in Washington, D.C., states. Quincy is not alone in discussing de-dollarization: political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson outlined its mechanics across four shows between February and April 2023 in their fortnightly YouTube program, "Geopolitical Economy Hour." Economist Richard Wolff prov …
(2023-06-23). The World Economy Is Changing—the People Know, but Their Leaders Don't By: Richard D. Wolff. midwesternmarx.com 
The year 2020 marked parity between the total GDP of the G7 (the U.S. plus allies) and the total GDP of the BRICS group (China plus allies). Since then, the BRICS economies grew faster than the G7 economies. Now a third of total world output comes from the BRICS countries while the G7 accounts for below 30 percent. Beyond the obvious symbolism, this difference entails real political, cultural, and economic consequences. Bringing Ukraine's Zelenskyy to Hiroshima to address the G7 rec …
(2023-06-24). Thursday 6/22: Pride, Prejudice & Corporate P.R: Corporate Capitalism and Anti-LGBTQIA+ Hate. indybay.org Online via Zoom…
(2023-06-23). The idea of degrowth communism was Marx's last breakthrough—and perhaps most important. mronline.org 
Even if Japanese Marxist Kohei Saito had not written
(2023-06-24). Correspondence] Treatments for major depression. thelancet.com Here we raise several concerns regarding the Review by Steven Marwaha and colleagues.1 First, the concept of treatment-resistant depression does not have reliable criteria for research and is conceptually empty. The key question remains whether the disorder is resistant to treatment, or whether treatments are less effective. For example, an individual participant level of analysis of clinical trial data revealed small average differences between antidepressants and placebo.2…
(2023-06-24). Correspondence] Latent bipolar disorder. thelancet.com Anita Thapar and colleagues' Seminar1 raised a word of caution about suicidality and latent bipolar disorder.1,2 Of note, we recently showed that 4 years before the onset of the illness, various features can be predictive of manifest bipolar disorder, and suicidality is the main one (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0 ∑82, 95% CI 0 ∑75—0 ∑88).3 It is known that major depression is usually the first manifestation of bipolar disorder (appendix). When bipolar disorder is the underlying disorder, antidepressants might trigger full-fledged bipolar disorder and worsen the course…
(2023-06-24). Correspondence] Treatments for major depression — Authors' reply. thelancet.com Alain Braillon and colleagues outline several judgements about novel treatments for depression and argue that treatment-resistant depression does not have reliable research criteria. Although we are aware of the debate concerning multiple treatment-resistant depression1 definitions, their specificity, and precision, we used the widely accepted definition of not responding to at least two treatments that is consistent with approximately 50% of definitions that are used in the literature.2 We believe this was a pragmatic and reasonable choice, as the alternative is to not investigate therapy for people who have not…
(2023-06-24). New Zealand sinks into recession. wsws.org With international financial institutions paying close attention, the country's Labour-led government is carrying out a far-reaching assault on jobs and living standards.
(2023-06-24). Ukraine Attacks Russia's Kursk With Drones As Its Forces Struggle With Counteroffensive (Videos). southfront.org 
File image. | Ukraine launched an attack at the western Russian region of Kursk with two suicide drones on June 23 as its forces continue to struggle with their counteroffensive. | Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said in a statement that both drones were shot down by Russian air defenses. The governor added that there was no significant infrastructure damage."Last night, our air defenses shot down unmanned aerial vehicles in the sky over Kursk. The fragments that fell to a land plot of a gardeners' partnership in…
(2023-06-23). Four Civilians Killed In Drone Attacks On Hama, Lattakia In Western Syria (Photos). southfront.org 
File image. | Four civilians were killed in two separate attacks with armed drones that targeted towns in the western Syrian governorates of Hama and Lattakia. | The town of Salhab in the western Hama countryside was bombarded by a drone on June 22 afternoon. The attack claimed the lives of a woman and two children. At least two other civilians were wounded. Material losses were also reported. | On June 23 morning, a similar drone attack targeted al-Qardahah in the northern Lattakia countryside, the ho…
(2023-06-24). U.S. Military Shackled to China because of Rare Earth Minerals And Prigozhin Has a Psychotic Break. sonar21.com 
I want to touch on three issues. First, the dependence of the U.S. military industrial complex on rare earth minerals supplied by China and what that portends for war in…
(2023-06-23). "The Palestine Laboratory": Antony Loewenstein on How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation. democracynow.org 
We speak with journalist and author Antony Loewenstein about his new book, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World. Loewenstein explains that Israel's military-industrial complex has used the Occupied Palestinian Territories for decades as a testing ground for weaponry and surveillance technology that it then exports around the world for profit. "You find in over 130 countries across the globe in the last decades, Israel has sold … a range of tools of occupation and repression that have initially been tested in Palestine on Palestinians," Loew…
(2023-06-23). Israel Escalates Attacks on Palestinians, From Drone Strikes to Settler Attacks. truthout.org This week, Israel has launched several attacks on Palestinians with weapons used in the conflict for the first time in nearly 20 years, including deploying U.S.-made Apache helicopter gunships inside the West Bank and firing a targeted assassination aerial strike. Jewish settlers have also raided Palestinian villages in the West Bank, attacking residents and setting fire to homes and vehicles. |
(2023-06-23). Scott Ritter joins on Ukraine's failing offensive and NATO's End Game (we're back!). thealtworld.com The channel is BACK from vacation with special return guest and former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter to discuss the latest in the Ukraine conflict and geopolitics!
(2023-06-23). Biden's 'Warning' of Putin Using Nukes Is Perverse U.S. Projection. strategic-culture.org The only country that ever used atomic weapons — against civilians — has the audacity to warn the world about the "real risk" of Russia using nukes. | The United States — the only country that ever used atomic weapons in war, and that on a largely civilian population — has the staggering audacity to warn the world about the "real risk" of Russia using nukes. | The real risk to world peace stems from the crazy warmongering Western powers who are deceiving their own public about their criminal provocations. | U.S. President Joe Biden told a fundraising rally in California this week (June 19)…
(2023-06-23). Western Weapons Supplied To Ukraine Has Already Surfaced Near Israel's Border: Netanyahu. southfront.org 
Ukrainian soldiers use a launcher with U.S.-made Javelin missiles during military exercises in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on December 23, 2021. Photo: Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service. | Weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine have already surfaced near Israel's border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Jerusalem Post newspaper in an interview that was published on June 22. | Answering questions on his government stance with regard to providing military…
(2023-06-23). Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Latest News From Russia. globalresearch.ca
(2023-06-23). Myth-busting NATO's military superiority By: Shabbir Rizvi. midwesternmarx.com 
The long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive has arrived. The Zelensky administration has spent months securing financial and military support for what could be Ukraine's last chance to take back lost territory. In this war drive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have obtained German Leopard tanks, American Bradleys, Polish Krabs, and various armored personnel carriers and artillery systems. NATO's finest conventional weapons of war are now being employed daily by Ukrainian troops.H …
(2023-06-23). From Drone Strikes to Settler Attacks, Israel Intensifies Effort to "Completely Take Over Palestine" democracynow.org 
This week, Israel has launched several attacks on Palestinians with weapons used in the conflict for the first time in nearly 20 years, including deploying U.S.-made Apache helicopter gunships inside the West Bank and firing a targeted assassination aerial strike. Jewish settlers have also raided Palestinian villages in the West Bank, attacking residents and setting fire to homes and vehicles. Mariam Barghouti, senior Palestine correspondent for Mondoweiss, calls the attacks "an intensification to completely take over Palestine." She adds that the growing violence is reflective of the leadership of Is…