The US renamed its War Department as the "Department of Defense," but in substance it is still the Department of War. Looking at the real threats that the US faces, what would a real Department of Defense do?

*The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Exposing the Plague of Neoliberalism.*

Neoliberalism is the economistic ideology that goes with plutocracy. It denies that there is a place in society for any relationships except the market. Neoliberalism inflicts suffering globally, all the time, and hollows out society's resilience so that medical and political harm can easily spread. And when it intersects with acute plagues, such as Covid-19, the combination produce special, acute harm.

But there is a worse alternative: China's authoritarian capitalism. China's system is not dysfunctional; it doesn't tie the state in knots. When that state wants to put a million people in prison, it lies even more shamelessly than the bullshitter does, and entirely silences dissenting voices.

Since Covid-19 reached the West Bank, attacks by Israeli fanatics against Palestinians have almost doubled.

Their slow but steady taking of Palestinians' lands is speeding up.

Some right-wing Israeli fanatics fought against imposed quarantine, left their quarantine site, then found three Arabs having a picnic. They threw stones at the Arabs, then burned their cars.

The fanatics will be prosecuted for trashing the bus that was taking them to quarantine. Burning Palestinians' cars is perhaps not considered worth prosecuting.

Gaza has run out of coronavirus tests. It can't get more because of the siege imposed by Israel.

Petroleum-based fields of industry, including plastic, are lobbying for what will be an unending system of bailouts, as well as changes in the laws meant to protect us from the harm their operations do.

After they have got a series of handouts, they will use the "sunk costs" fallacy to argue that "You can't stop now".

We have to aim for a large but orderly reduction in these fields, not for keeping them going as before.

USAA, a bank and insurance company for members and veterans of the US military, has reversed course on seizing government aid payments for debt.

However, the US government has still done nothing to prevent this practice.

Mnuchin and the bully value the rich and powerful, while dehumanising everyone else. The idea of agreeing to aid human beings, then diverting the aid to banks and rich creditors, must have them laughing at the suffering they cause.