USA in Dire Straits: Coronavirus pandemic, dire economy and social unrest upend US presidential race, despite Trump's positive outlook

 Three concurrent crises scarring the United States - a deadly health pandemic, economic despair and widespread social unrest - have reframed this year's presidential contest and prompted national reflection over racial inequality in America.

Is the country on the cusp of a transformation, or will systemic inequalities exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis persist, allowing alienation and marginalisation to fester?

In weeks, the unprecedented strain has become the focal point of the ferocious White House campaign between US President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, two politicians approaching the disasters with very different strategies.

Read more: Coronavirus pandemic, dire economy and social unrest upend US presidential race, United States News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Italy grinds to a halt as unions unite in opposition to Renzi’s reforms

Police clashed with protesters dressed as Santa Claus in Milan as Italian workers staged a general strike.

It is the first ever national strike by two of Italy’s biggest trade union confederations. It has brought basic services to a halt, and seen marches in some 50 cities.

Unions are angry at Prime MInister Renzi’s reform plans, which they say will erode their rights.
In Rome demonstrators ran along streets chanting and beating drums.

“The latest choices of this government have been dramatic, and instead of building a future, as they declare, what we actually fear is that this future is becoming more and more like a black hole,” said one elderly woman.

“The state doesn’t want us to think freely, but wants us to be like little soldiers who say ‘yes sir’ to the government laws, and I am fed up of being quiet,” said a student.

Renzi is leading a centre-left government, traditionally close to the unions., but they have been angered by his recipe of spending and tax cuts, and his Jobs Bill they claim is anything but. The unions have been bolstered by student organisations. Public transport in particular has been badly affected, hitting Italians and stranded tourists alike.

 Read more: Italy grinds to a halt as unions unite in opposition to Renzi’s reforms | euronews, world news

Turkey 'Looks Vulnerable' as Unrest Flares Up Again

More clashes between protesters and police have put Turkey's social unrest back in the spotlight, following unprecedented steps by the country's central bank to shore up its weakening currency.

Turkish police on Monday fired teargas and water cannons at protesters who tried to enter Gezi Park in Istanbul to protest again at the park's redevelopment– the original source of discontent that led thousands of Turkish people to demand a change of government last month.

But economists warned that further social unrest and unresolved political tensions would not help Turkey's unstable economy and cautious investor landscape.

"Further protests would undoubtedly damage the economy further," Nigel Rendell, senior economic policy adviser at Medley Global Advisors, told CNBC on Tuesday. "I don't think these current protests will get the same ground swell of support as before - the police will take a hard line in response to further protests - but they could certainly damage the economy."

Read More: Turkey 'Looks Vulnerable' as Unrest Flares Again

Netherlands - Social unrest and protests against Rutte Government rising as austerity programs are implemented

Amsterdam demonstration  - Foto HFV

It was reported in local Dutch newspapers that the Rutte Government will abolish its plans to scrap the basic education grant for University students ( bachelor level) and replace it by a student loan program. The program was to go into effect on January 1, 2014. Grants for students following Masters and PHD studies, however, will be replaced by a student loan program on January 1, 2014.

But, nevertheless, social unrest and unemployment is increasing in the Netherlands as austerity measures are put into effect by the government.

Student demonstrations have been called for this week in the university cities of Delft (today), Utrecht (on Tuesday) and in Amsterdam on (Wednesday).

This weeks protest meetings follow a major demonstration held on Saturday by social workers in Amsterdam. They protested against budget cuts for elderly care and social well-fare patients.

The labor Union Abvakavo FNV expects that as a result of these government cutbacks approximately 170.000 elderly will not get help at home anymore and eventually will end up in hospitals, which they say will cost the government even more. The government cuts will also mean that approximately 100.000 social workers will be losing their jobs. 

Protestors are calling for cutting unnecessary military programs, have the wealthy pay their equal share of the tax burden and want the Government to go after the tax avoiding multi-national corporations based in the Netherlands

EU-Digest

Credit Rating Company Moody's fears social unrest as AAA states implement austerity plans - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

 The world's five biggest AAA-rated states are all at risk of soaring debt costs and will have to implement austerity plans that threaten "social cohnesion", according to a report on sovereign debt by Moody's.

The US rating agency said the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain are walking a tightrope as they try to bring public finances under control without nipping recovery in the bud. It warned of "substantial execution risk" in withdrawal of stimulus.

"Growth alone will not resolve an increasingly complicated debt equation. Preserving debt affordability at levels consistent with AAA ratings will invariably require fiscal adjustments of a magnitude that, in some cases, will test social cohesion," said Pierre Cailleteau, the chief author.

For more: Moody's fears social unrest as AAA states implement austerity plans - Telegraph

Truthdig - Bad News From America’s Top Spy - by Chris Hedges

For the complete report from Truthdig click on this link

Bad News From America’s Top Spy - by Chris Hedges

Thursday when Washington’s new director of national intelligence, retired Adm. Dennis Blair, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He warned that the deepening economic crisis posed perhaps our gravest threat to stability and national security. It could trigger, he said, a return to the “violent extremism” of the 1920s and 1930s. The United Nations’ International Labor Organization estimates that some 50 million workers will lose their jobs worldwide this year. The collapse has already seen 3.6 million lost jobs in the United States. The International Monetary Fund’s prediction for global economic growth in 2009 is 0.5 percent—the worst since World War II. Denis Blair said, “The primary near-term security concern of the United States is the global economic crisis and its geopolitical implications,” Blair told the Senate. “The crisis has been ongoing for over a year, and economists are divided over whether and when we could hit bottom. Some even fear that the recession could further deepen and reach the level of the Great Depression. Of course, all of us recall the dramatic political consequences wrought by the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 1930s in Europe, the instability, and high levels of violent extremism.” Adm. Blair also warned the Senate that “roughly a quarter of the countries in the world have already experienced low-level instability such as government changes because of the current slowdown.” He noted that the “bulk of anti-state demonstrations” internationally have been seen in Europe and the former Soviet Union, but this did not mean they could not spread to the United States.