House Committee Adopts Amendment to Rehire Troops Fired for Refusing COVID Vaccine; 17,000 Company-Strong Study of COVID Greedflation Shows Most U.K. Firms Profited from Historic Cost-of-Living Crisis, and other C-Virus related stories

By admin On May 30, 2024

House committee adopts amendment to rehire troops fired for refusing COVID vaccine:

The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would push the Department of Defense to rehire U.S. service members who were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

The measure, which would require the Pentagon to create a robust plan for rehiring those service members, was adopted by voice vote as the committee considered a round of amendments for a markup of the 2025 national defense authorization act (NDAA).

The measure, however, faces an uncertain future later this year, when the committee will meet with the Democratic-led Senate Armed Services Committee to reconcile differences in the NDAA before full passage in Congress.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who offered the amendment, said the measure would correct the wrongful firing of 8,400 service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine when it was made mandatory for the U.S. military.

“The Department has so far failed to recruit a significant number of service members separated under the COVID mandate. This is unacceptable,” she said. “These individuals possess valuable skills, and many already have training that our military desperately needs.”

In the 2024 NDAA, Congress included a measure that directed the Pentagon to consider the reinstatement of service members fired over the vaccine at the request of the veterans. Those veterans, however, must have submitted a request for a religious, administrative or medical exemption for the vaccine. —>READ MORE HERE

17,000 company-strong study of COVID greedflation shows most U.K. firms profited from historic cost-of-living crisis

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic came with many “new normals,” not least hybrid working and rising prices. Suggestions are growing that the latter may not have been entirely the result of extraneous factors.

A study of 17,000 British firms by the country’s Unite Union found that on average they increased their profit margins by 30% in the post-COVID period compared with 2018-2019.

The alleged price-gouging was rampant across industries, from supermarkets to energy firms and even private equity-backed veterinary chains. In total, 60%, or 9,651 of the companies analyzed increased their profit margins in the post-COVID period.

It occurred at a time when real wages fell for workers, who were dealing with historic cost of living pressures, particularly for essential items like food and heating.

The study, which Unite says is the largest analysis of company profits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, alleges that profiteering has become systemic among British firms.

“Over the last two years, Unite has consistently called out the profiteers driving the cost-of-living crisis,” the union wrote. “While workers have been hit with the biggest fall in real wages and living standards in generations, corporations have racked up hundreds of billions in profits.”