Monopoly Capitalism in Action: Amazon's Acquisition of Whole Foods

[t]   Friday, July 7, 2017 [t r u t h o u t] [View Recent Newsletters]( [Tell a friend about Truthout!]( [Donate Today!](   Truthout is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are tax deductible. BuzzFlash Betsy DeVos Protects Predatory For-Profit Colleges From Lawsuits for Fraud Mark Karlin, BuzzFlash at Truthout: Betsy DeVos is a hindrance to defending the rights of defrauded students. [Read the BuzzFlash Commentary]( These Three Lawyers Are Quietly Purging Voter Rolls Across the Country [Read the Article at Mother Jones]( Jim Hightower: New Jobs? Sure! Better Pay? Nope [Read the Article at BuzzFlash]( It Just Got Harder for the GOP to Pass a Health Care Bill [Read the Article at Axios]( Justice League: Meet the Veteran Prosecutors Powering the Russia Probe [Read the Article at Talking Points Memo]( Scientists Are Starting to Clear Up One of the Biggest Controversies in Climate Science [Read the Article at The Washington Post]( Illinois Lawmakers Override GOP Governor's Budget Veto, Ending Two-Year Stalemate [Read the Article at The New York Times]( Rick Perry Hilariously Misunderstands Supply and Demand Theory in Attempted Defense of Coal Industry [Read the Article at Newsweek]( [Monopoly Capitalism in Action: How Amazon's Acquisition of Whole Foods Could Affect Us All]( Alison Rose Levy, Truthout: Amazon has a track record of mowing down not only its foes but also its own suppliers. With the behemoth corporation's acquisition of Whole Foods and its entry into the organic foods market, Amazon now has the industry standing to degrade organic commitments and water down hard-won standards, if it should so choose. [Read the Article]( [Cutting Medicaid Threatens the Lives and Liberty of Disabled Americans]( Sarah Jaffe, Truthout: There's no asterisk in the Constitution that denies disabled Americans their basic right to life and liberty, which is what cutting Medicaid would do, points out Bruce Darling, an organizer with the disability rights group ADAPT. Through a series of strategic actions in DC and around the country, the group is sending Congress the message that the community of people with disabilities is both politically active and strong. [Read the Interview and Listen to the Audio]( [Dystopian Nightmare: Eyewitness Decries Police Repression at G20 Summit as 100,000 Take to Streets]( Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: Mass demonstrations have erupted across Hamburg, Germany, as world leaders gather for the G20 summit. Protesters have been met with water cannons, pepper spray and stun grenades. Philosopher Srećko Horvat, who is taking part in the counter mobilization known as the Global Solidarity Summit, discusses the global violence and inequality that world leaders fail to recognize. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript]( [Election Experts See Flaws in Trump Voter Commission's Plan to Smoke Out Fraud]( Jessica Huseman, ProPublica: The White House intends to run information from the state voter rolls it has requested against federal databases to check for potential fraudulent registration. Experts say the plan is certain to produce thousands of false positives that could distort the public's understanding of the potential for fraud, especially given the limited data that states have agreed to turn over. [Read the Article]( [Ethics Watchdog Resigns Amid Contentious Relationship With Trump Administration]( Sam Sacks, The District Sentinel: Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub Jr. announced on Thursday he would be stepping down from his post later this month. Shaub, who was entrusted with patrolling conflicts of interest within the executive branch, found his oversight efforts often stymied by President Trump, who resisted a full divestiture from his business holdings before taking office. [Read the Article]( [Banks Have Cut Funding for Fossil Fuels Projects 22 Percent]( Colby Devitt, YES! Magazine: A new report from a consortium of environmental groups shows that big banks are reducing their investments in fossil fuel projects. This is welcome news to the divestment movement, but even with this reduction, banks are still funding fossil fuels at an alarming rate. [Read the Article]( [Does the Militarization of Police Lead to More People Killed? Research Says Yes]( Celisa Calacal, AlterNet: Scenes of heavily armed police forces have become increasingly common across the country due to a law passed in 1996 that allows the Department of Defense to foist its excess military equipment off on local police agencies. New research finds that twice as many people are likely to die at the hands of police in counties where police departments receive an influx of military equipment. [Read the Article]( [The Struggle Isn't Over: Lessons From South Africa's Student Movement]( Janet Cherry, Waging Nonviolence: First South African activists rallied around the slogan "Rhodes Must Fall," calling for the removal of colonial symbols, such as the statue of Cecil John Rhodes at the University of Cape Town. Next student activists won a halt to fee increases after mobilizing around the cry "Fees Must Fall!" Now "Zuma Must Fall!" -- a call for President Jacob Zuma to step down -- is sparking huge protests. [Read the Article]( [June Jobs Report Signals There Is More Room for Growth]( David Rosnick, Center for Economic and Policy Research: The unemployment rate rose very slightly to 4.4 percent in June, as the estimated size of the labor force expanded at its fastest rate (361,000) since last July (406,000). Average hourly wages also ticked up by 4 cents in June, and by 2.5 percent over the last twelve months. [Read the Article]( [Economic Update: Addiction, Capitalism and 12-Step Programs]( Richard D. Wolff, Truthout: This week's episode discusses car loans, sales showing the falsity of economic "recovery" claims, airline profits vs. services, the G20 Summit and the misleading debate over whether raising the minimum wage leads to job losses. The episode also includes an interview with Dr. Harriet Fraad on the connections between capitalism, isolation and addiction. [Listen to the Audio]( [Support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation]( Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047 [Subscribe]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy]( [The Newspaper Guild]