Five Things That Are Revealed By Democrats’ Rehabilitation Of Bush
Caitlin Johnstone | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-04
George W Bush is in the news again today, and once again it’s not for the only legitimate reason that he should ever be in the news, namely a war crimes tribunal. No, it’s because his voice was used in a cutesy feel-good video about unity during the Covid-19 pandemic. | “Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat,” Bush is heard saying. “We are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful…
thealtworld.com/caitlin_johnston/five-th…

The South China Sea: Beyond the Smoke ‘n Mirrors
Thomas Hon Wing Polin | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
As the American Empire continues to intensify its many-fronted aggression against China, the South China Sea has become a potential flashpoint. The latest “freedom-of-navigation” (translation: freedom-of-provocation) sail-past by a US Navy destroyer was “expelled” by PLA forces, Chinese media reported. More confrontations are expected in that strategic maritime stretch. Despite the importance of the South…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/the-south-ch…

Cancel Rent and Stop Playing the Landlord’s Game
Christopher Ketcham | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
Years ago, I took an interest in the origins of the boardgame Monopoly, which was originally known as the Landlord’s Game. Its history is germane, I think

Anatomy of a fake news campaign: Media spreads lie from US govt-funded Korean outlet that Kim Jong-un died
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-05-04
Corporate media outlets spread fake news claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had died. The lie originated with a Seoul-based…
thegrayzone.com/2020/05/04/fake-news-ned…

America’s Super-Rich See Their Wealth Rise by $282 Billion in Three Weeks of Pandemic
Alan MacLeod | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies found that, while tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, America’s ultra-wealthy elite have seen their net worth surge by $282 billion in just 23 …
globalresearch.ca/america-super-rich-wea…

US Government Fears China will Give Away COVID-19 Vaccine for Free
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-04
“The coronavirus pandemic is a clear instance in which the whole world shares a common interest in developing and distributing a vaccine.”

Juan Guaidó Is Trying to Overthrow the Venezuelan Government Again. Calls on Military to Support Him
Alan MacLeod | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Exactly one year since his audacious coup attempt failed spectacularly, self-declared Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó is once again trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro. “Today I speak to the patriotic soldiers of our Armed Forces who rebelled …
globalresearch.ca/juan-guaido-trying-ove…

New Details Emerge Linking US to Latest Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-04
The government of Venezuela is celebrating after thwarting another foreign-backed coup attempt Sunday, just two days after self-declared another coup attempt by “Interim President” Juan Guaidó ended in total failure. A flotilla of small speed boats, led by retired Major Cliver Alcala and filled with up to 300 paramilitary units, sailed from their training ground in Colombia heading for a port near the country’s capital Caracas, fro…
mintpressnews.com/new-details-latest-us-…

New Details Emerge Linking US to Latest Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-05-04
The government of Venezuela is celebrating after thwarting another foreign-backed coup attempt Sunday, just two days after self-declared another coup attempt by “Interim President” Juan Guaidó ended in total failure. A flotilla of small speed boats filled with up to 300 paramilitary units, sailed from their training ground in Colombia heading for a port near the country’s capital Caracas, from where they were aiming to kickstart an…
mintpressnews.com/new-details-latest-us-…

Trump Must Choose Between a Global Ceasefire and America’s Long Lost Wars
Medea Benjamin | zcomm.org | 2020-05-04
Trump has so far spurned this chance to make good on his promise to bring U.S. troops home, even as his lost wars and ill-defined global military occupation expose thousands of troops to the Covid-19 virus…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trump-must-choose-…

A Hillary/Obama Ticket to Challenge Trump?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Despite polls showing Biden favored to defeat Trump, the notion surfaced of resurrecting two-time loser Hillary with Obama as her VP running mate to replace the presumptive Dem nominee. | He’s challenged by years of disturbing political baggage as US senator …
globalresearch.ca/hillary-obama-challeng…

Trump’s Virtual Town Hall: A Vehicle for Deception, Finger-Pointing and Threats
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
On Sunday, Trump appeared on a Fox News televised virtual town hall session, using the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop. | The event was part of his reelection campaign, notably an attempt to boost his low public approval rating in key …
globalresearch.ca/trump-virtual-town-hal…

Russia-China entente deepens in the shadow of the pandemic
M.K. Bhadrakumar | mronline.org | 2020-05-04
The Russian-Chinese entente emerged as one of the most significant templates of international politics in the recent period since the hugely consequential developments in Ukraine in 2014 that led to western sanctions against Moscow, which in turn galvanised the latter’s ‘pivot to Asia’.
mronline.org/2020/05/04/russia-china-ent…

If We Want to Return to Normal, We Have to Fix the Policy
Mike Whitney | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Most of the United States is still under lockdown, but why? What is the purpose of the policy? | We’ve had the “flatten the curve” meme pounded into our brains for so long, that most people think it’s the objective of …
globalresearch.ca/if-we-want-return-norm…

No, the US Isn’t Going to Dump India over Its Atrocious Treatment of Minorities
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
There’s been a lot of speculation that the US might be preparing to dump India over its atrocious treatment of minorities after the official White House Twitter account stopped following several Indian government ones including Prime Minister Modi’s and the …
globalresearch.ca/us-isnt-going-dump-ind…

As Workers Get Sick & Die from COVID-19, McConnell Demands Corporate Immunity in New Stimulus Bill
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-04
As the Senate reconvenes today, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding that Congress use the next stimulus bill to protect corporations from liability for workers. “He wants to protect their right to engage in egregious misconduct,” says Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/4/rob_weissm…

US Supreme Court Breaks Precedent By Allowing Public Broadcast of Oral Arguments
sputniknews.com | 2020-05-04
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – For years, Justices had rejected proposals to broadcast oral arguments live. Tuesday’s hearing took place by audio conference call, with the court building closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
sputniknews.com/us/202005041079194802-us…

French care home where staff locked themselves in with residents defies Covid-19
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-05-04
A care home in France which took a novel approach to warding off coronavirus (Covid-19) has emerged with a clean bill of health.As coronavirus cut a deadly path through care homes across the country, Valerie Martin vowed that the story would be different in the home she runs.To keep Covid-19 at bay and stop it from infecting and killing the vulnerable older adults in her care, Martin and her staff locked themselves in with the 106 residents.Residents at the Vilanova care home in Corbas, central France (Valerie Martin via AP)For 47 days and nights, staff and residents of the Vilanova care home on the outskirts of…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/05/0…

Netanyahu pushed US towards war with Iran
Gareth Porter | zcomm.org | 2020-05-04
An investigation of supposed Iranian nuclear documents presented in a dramatically staged Netanyahu press conference indicates they were an Israeli fabrication designed to trigger US military conflict with Iran…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/netanyahu-pushed-u…

Small Devices Can Detect Oxygen Deprivation Earlier From COVID-19
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-04
We speak with Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician based in Littleton, New Hampshire, who volunteered at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for 10 days at the height of the COVID-19 surge in April. Based on what he saw, he argues patients should be going to hospitals sooner and that medical professionals could use a small device you clip on your fingertip, called a pulse oximeter, to help detect the virus earlier by revealing oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates. “A pulse oximeter is just a mea…
truthout.org/video/small-devices-can-det…

Activists Demand Worker Safety Plans as COVID-19 Surges in Meat Plants
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-05-04
At least 20 workers at meat processing plants have died from COVID-19, and around 5,000 have tested positive, but President Trump invoked an executive order to bar local governments from closing meat plants. We hear from meat plant workers and organizers about conditions during the pandemic and speak with Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is supporting the workers with a virtual town hall on food worker safety with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate…
truthout.org/video/activists-demand-work…

Trump Must Choose Between a Global Ceasefire and America’s Long Lost Wars
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies | commondreams.org | 2020-05-04
As of May 1, there were 7,145 cases of COVID-19 in the US military, with more falling sick every day. (Photo: Military Times/DoD) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/04/trump-…

Right-Wing “Reopen” Fanatics Would Kill Nearly as Many Americans as Died in All US Wars
Juan Cole | commondreams.org | 2020-05-04
Protestors try to enter the Michigan House of Representative chamber and are being kept out by the Michigan State Police. (Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/04/right-…

ER Doctor: Pulse Oximeters Detect Oxygen Deprivation Earlier from COVID-19, Help Avoid Ventilators
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-04
We speak with Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician based in Littleton, New Hampshire, who volunteered at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for 10 days at the height of the COVID-19 surge in April. Based on what he saw, he argues patients should be going to hospitals sooner and that medical professionals could use a small device you clip on your fingertip, called a pulse oximeter, to help detect the virus earlier by revealing oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates. “A pulse oximeter is just a measure of identifying how well the lungs are working, and, I believe, can be basically an early warning system…
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/4/dr_richard…

Portugal Leads the Way: How European Countries Fared in Their Treatment of Refugees
Ramzy Baroud, Romana Rubeo | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading its tentacles throughout China and eventually to the rest of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO), along with other international groups, sounded the alarm that refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable to the deadly disease.
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/portugal-lea…

WHO should debunk ‘conspiracy theorist’ Pompeo with independent Covid-19 probe, says German politician
rt.com | 2020-05-04
Leading member of Germany’s Green Party Jàºrgen Trittin called on the World Health Organization to investigate the origins of the coronavirus so as to counter ‘conspiracy theorists’ such as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. | Trittin reacted on Monday to claims by the top US diplomat that there was “enormous evidence” the Covid-19 pathogen originated in a Chinese laboratory, calling Pompeo a “conspiracy theorist” and demanding a WHO-led independent probe to clear the air. | Verschwà∂rungstheoretikern wie @SecPompeo und seinen Unters…
rt.com/news/487752-german-pompeo-conspir…

Lenin on Democracy and Dictatorship & its relevance for our time
Eugene E Ruyle | indybay.org | 2020-05-04
Online ZOOM Meeting. | LOG-IN INFORMATION AT OUR WEBSITE | ICSSMARX.ORG | OR EMAIL CUYLERUYLE@MAC.COM…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/01/1883273…

Former top officials in Bernie Sanders campaign form super PAC to back Joe Biden
WSWS Repost | indybay.org | 2020-05-04
With the Democratic Party uniting to promote Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders holds his nose to let his supporters build a super PAC.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/02/1883277…

“It’s Very Scary”: COVID Surges in Meat Plants as Activists Demand Worker Safety & Meatless Mondays
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-05-04
At least 20 workers at meat processing plants have died from COVID-19, and around 5,000 have tested positive, but President Trump invoked an executive order to bar local governments from closing meat plants. We hear from meat plant workers and organizers about conditions during the pandemic and speak with Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is supporting the workers with a virtual town hall on food worker safety with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and calling for Meatless May Mondays.
www.democracynow.org/2020/5/4/covid_19_m…

Selected Articles: If We Want to Return to Normal, We Have to Fix the Policy
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Trump’s Virtual Town Hall: A Vehicle for Deception, Finger-Pointing and Threats | By Stephen Lendman, May 04 2020 | On Sunday, Trump was his usual congenital lying self, falsely boasting to viewers that he’s…
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-if-w…

Al-Nujaba distributed Subsistence packages in Palestine
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-05-04
TEHRAN, May 04 (MNA)

‘She is a Disaster’: Trump Backs Ilhan Omar’s Opponent in US House of Representatives’ Elections
sputniknews.com | 2020-05-04
The US president claimed that Ilhan Omar is looking to increase taxes and that she hates the US military and veterans, as he delivered his endorsement via social media.
sputniknews.com/us/202005041079194834-sh…

This is what anti-imperialism looks like: Call for posters
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-04
Art and anti-imperialism | In the small French commune of Vallauris sits a 14th century chapel. On its walls, Spanish socialist painter Pablo Picasso created one of his largest murals

Global audience for WSWS International Online 2020 May Day Rally
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
Speakers from 11 countries advanced a socialist program in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/rall…

What Should Socialists Do in November?
Bhaskar Sunkara | thenation.com | 2020-05-04
What Should Socialists Do in November?
thenation.com/article/politics/socialist…

On the Brink of Starvation: COVID-19 and the Global Food Chain with Raj Patel
www.speakoutsocialists | indybay.org | 2020-05-04

This is an online townhall. For links and information on how to join the Zoom call visit here: | speakoutsocialists.org/townhall-05-09-20……
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/04/1883281…

‘Belongs in the Hague’: Online Disgust Follows Glowing Praise for George W. Bush’s Covid-19 Message
Andrea Germanos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
George W. Bush’s record in office became the subject of numerous tweets after a video message released Saturday from the former president elicited praise from some Democrats. | . | . | . | Good morning. George W Bush belongs in The Hague. |

This week in history: May 4-10
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
25 years ago: 104 killed in South African mine disasterOn May 10, 1994, 104 miners were killed in the Vaal Reefs gold mine in Orkney, one of South Africa’s largest gold mines. The elevator bringing the miners to the surface of the mile-deep mine was crushed by an underground train which had fallen down the shaft. The two-story elevator at Vaal Reefs was compressed into one by the force of the collision. The majority of the miners killed were immigrants from Mozambique, Lesotho and Botswana.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/twih…

Tamil detainee speaks out from Christmas Island
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-05-04
Refugees & migrants Chris SleeIssue 1264 Australia Chrismas islandMay 4, 2020Priya, a Tamil refugee detained on Christmas Island, was the featured speaker at a Zoom “digital rally” organised by the Tamil Refugee Council on May 2. | Until 26 months ago, Priya live…
greenleft.org.au/content/tamil-detainee-…

Why Julian Assange Must Urgently be Freed: Stella Morris
Stella Moris | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Julian and I have two little boys. Since becoming a mother, I have been …
globalresearch.ca/why-julian-assange-mus…

Julian Assange’s Dad Says ‘We Won Today’ as Judge Agrees Extradition Hearings Begin in September
sputniknews.com | 2020-05-04
John Shipton, Julian Assange’s 74-year-old father, has expressed his relief over the fact that his son’s substantive extradition hearings will restart in September 2020 after previous options were deemed to be untenable by both the prosecution and the defence.
sputniknews.com/news/202005041079192034-…

Protesters block HS2 building sites amid ongoing coronavirus lockdown
Peadar O’Cearnaigh | thecanary.co | 2020-05-04
Activists protesting the continued construction of the HS2 high-speed railway have blocked access to building sites in London and Warwickshire. A group called HS2 Rebellion is protesting construction work continuing amid the coronavirus crisis. It’s also protesting the environmental damage this project is doing to “our ancient woodlands”. The group claims this work is non-essential and it’s putting the lives of workers and their families at risk.Furthermore it believes the money spent on this project would be better spent on…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/05/04/proteste…

Uruguay: May First Feminist Manifesto
Women’s and Feminist Collectives of Uruguay | zcomm.org | 2020-05-04
The exit from this crisis must be feminist, migrant, plurinational, anti-patriarchal, anti-racist, anti-prison, anti-capitalist, anti-extractivist and anti-fascist…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/uruguay-may-first-…

Venezuelan Armed Forces Neutralize Colombian Paramilitary Incursion on Coast of La Guaira
Alberto Lovera | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
At dawn this Sunday, the Venezuelan state security forces neutralized a paramilitary incursion from Colombia on the coast of La Guaira, reported the Minister of People’s Power for Interior, Justice and Peace, Nestor Reverol. | “They tried to carry out | …
globalresearch.ca/paramilitary-incursion…

Four Dead in Ohio
Frank Joyce | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
If you are old enough, you will recognize that snippet from a song by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. If not, I am here to tell you that on May 4, 1970, four students were shot to death by members of the Ohio National Guard on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Nine others were wounded. | The students weren’t doing anything wrong. Actually, they were doing something right. They were peacefully assembled to protest the U.S. war on Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. They were part of an eruption of nationwide campus protests that followed President Nixon’s announcement that the United States had launched a bom…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/four-dead-in…

Governor Unveils Innovative 37-Step Plan to Reopen State Over the Next 10 Years
The Babylon Bee | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-04
With many Americans eager to get back to work, state governors across the country are responding with their plans for giving everyone permission to be normal human beings again. One state governor is enjoying universal acclaim after unveiling his own innovative plan for getting his state reopened. | The new plan is called ‘Our Vision for Health, Safety, Virtue, and Eternal Peace’ and is a 37-step, 10-year plan for slowly opening up sections of the state economy. It reads as follows: | Form an exploratory committee to consult various experts on reopening things | Set date to hear recommendations from the explor…
anti-empire.com/governor-unveils-innovat…

The COVID-19 Crisis Profoundly Exposes African Americans to the Scourge of Poverty and Racism
Azhar Azam | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
They live below the poverty level. They are prison inmates in large numbers. They are most likely to be killed by the police, a longstanding grievance that originated the Black Lives Matter (BTM) movement to protest against police killing and | …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-profoundly-ex…

Fifty years since the massacre of students at Kent State
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The killing of four students by National Guard soldiers touched off an unprecedented national wave of antiwar protests involving millions of youth.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/kent…

Protesters in London Take Part in Group Hug in Defiance of Lockdown. The Po-Po Gets on Their Case
LoadHelp | anti-empire.com | 2020-05-04
The crowd outside New Scotland Yard, close to the Houses of Parliament, were seen hugging each other as others held signs reading: “My body, my choice.” | Another at the protest in central London on Saturday afternoon held a sign saying: “No more lockdown.” | Around 20 people appeared to be in the crowd, which included young children. | Police told the protesters to go home before arresting a man who did not comply. Gatherings of any sort are banned under the UK’s rules to slow the sp…
anti-empire.com/protesters-in-london-tak…

Fifty Years Later, the Gunfire at Kent State Still Echoes through America
Michael Winship | commondreams.org | 2020-05-04
Today’s pandemic alters our tradition of protest and dissent.
commondreams.org/views/2020/05/04/fifty-…

Top engineer quits Amazon in protest over firings of Covid-19 whistleblower employees
rt.com | 2020-05-04
Vice-president and top engineer at Amazon Web Services Tim Bray has resigned in protest over the firings of workers, mainly from minorities, who complained over conditions at the company’s warehouses during the Covid-19 pandemic. | “I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19,” Bray wrote in an open letter titled ‘Bye, Amazon’ which he posted on his personal blog. His last day at the company was May 1. | Bray admitted working with…
rt.com/usa/487734-amazon-vp-quits-corona…

Ignorance Is Brewing a Second Wave of Covid-19
Paul Craig Roberts | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-04
A number of Americans are discrediting freedom by the irresponsible way they are acting in its name. I have in mind those attending in closely packed crowds “freedom rallies” in protest against social distancing, closedowns, and whatever else authorities are doing in the effort to lower the infection rate in order that steps can be taken toward reopening. I have in mind also those in dense crowds protesting closure of California beaches. If there are infected persons among these protesters, the consequence of the protesters will be to spread the virus and delay any reopening of economy and beaches. | Those who ar…
thealtworld.com/paul_craig_roberts/ignor…

Knock, Knock. We’re From the Government, and We Want Your Family’s Blood
Adam Dick | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Talk about creepy. The Georgia Department of Public Health has announced that it, the United Sates Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and county health boards are together sending teams of government agents to randomly selected homes in two …
globalresearch.ca/knock-knock-were-from-…

Spy Plane Resumes Flights Over Baltimore Amid COVID-19
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-05-04
The expensive aerial surveillance program won’t help heavily disinvested Baltimore, say Ceasefire co-founder Erricka Bridgeford and author Brandon Soderberg.
therealnews.com/stories/spy-plane-aerial…

Devastating fire in South Korea kills at least 38 workers
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The government and big business will do nothing to address safety and the working conditions that led to this latest disaster.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/skor…

David vs. Goliath: How Poorer Nations Can Fight for Their Interests
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-04
I thought I was winning, landing punch after punch, but then I was hit by a surprise left hook, and hit the canvas… intellectually speaking. In a debate segment a little while back I was arguing with a gent who was sure that the only way for smaller countries like Iran, North Korea and Pakistan to stand up to U.S. pressure was to use international “justice”. For him this was something to the effect of going to the UN and trying to punish Washington with lawyers, courts and bureaucracy for its international bullying. The natural response to such flagrant naivete were my arguments like… | “Just who put together…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/04/da…

The COVID-19 pandemic: A trigger event in world history
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
We are publishing here the text of the opening report to the 2020 International Online May Day Rally delivered by David North.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/dave…

Does Weaponizing a Pandemic and Blaming China “Make America Great Again”?
Kim Petersen | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
United States president Donald Trump is proud of the US effort against COVID-19. In his 1 May remarks on protecting America’s seniors, he said, | Through aggressive actions and the devotion of our doctors and nurses, however, we have held our | …
globalresearch.ca/does-weaponizing-pande…

Will the pandemic hasten the demise of capitalism?
Albert Bender | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-04
The U.S. economy is collapsing by leaps and bounds. By the latest figures, over 30 million workers have applied for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks. Many economists are predicting a depression that will far surpass the Great Depression of the 1930s. The lines of cars at food banks stretching for miles are surreal enough …
peoplesworld.org/article/will-the-pandem…

Rural America Needs a Real COVID-19 Response
Gloria Oladipo | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, many rural communities are in a uniquely difficult position. According to Kaiser Health News, nearly 80 percent of rural America is categorized as a “medical desert,” meaning the nearest hospital is more than 60 minutes away. These hospitals are also much harder pressed to come up with ventilators and personal…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/rural-americ…

Tourism collapse threatens Pacific islands with deepening poverty
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
In preparation for social unrest as their economies collapse, many Pacific island governments are using the COVID-19 pandemic to impose authoritarian measures.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/paci…

Austria lifts most measures to counter coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
Despite the continuing spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe, the government has adopted a pioneering “easing policy,” posing a deadly risk for hundreds of thousands of people.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/aust…

Colombia’s ELN rebels have ‘no offensive plans,’ during coronavirus crisis
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-04
Colombia’s ELN rebels will adopt a defensive strategy during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the guerrilla group’s leadership, which urged a bilateral ceasefire. In an interview with Caracol Radio, former…
colombiareports.com/colombias-eln-rebels…

None of us is safe until we all are, says UN chief at EU push to end COVID-19 pandemic
news.un.org | 2020-05-04
The “most massive public health effort in history” is needed to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said on Monday, addressing a European Union pledging conference in Brussels.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/05/1…

Modi government punishes officials for urging increased taxation of rich to fight coronavirus
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
Even as India’s workers and toilers face the COVID-19 pandemic and mass hunger, the Modi government is opposed to imposing even one additional rupee of tax upon the capitalist elite.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/intx…

America is Exceptional…In Some of the Worst Ways
Sonali Kolhatkar | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
“America First,” has been a pronouncement of pride for President Donald Trump and millions of his supporters. Today they have gotten their wish as the United States leads the world ≠ during a global deadly pandemic, racing well past other nations in the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths. It may not be the “first place”
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/america-is-e…

Beware the Pentagon’s Pandemic Profiteers
Mandy Smithberger | zcomm.org | 2020-05-04
Hasn’t the Military-Industrial Complex Taken Enough of Our Money?>…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/beware-the-pentago…

Millions of Americans cannot pay their rent
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
On May 1, millions of Americans were not able to pay their rent due to the dire social crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, opening up a housing crisis in which many working class families face a future of debt, eviction and homelessness.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/rent…

Beware the Pentagon’s pandemic profiteers
Mandy Smithberger | nationofchange.org | 2020-05-04
Hasn’t the military-industrial complex taken enough of our money?>…
nationofchange.org/2020/05/04/beware-the…

Furloughed workers face hunger in New Jersey, America’s second-wealthiest state
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The shuttering of workplaces in New Jersey, an epicenter of the pandemic, has forced workers with little savings to join mile-long lines for food assistance.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/newj…

ILO: Nearly half of all world’s workers may lose their jobs due to COVID-19 pandemic
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-05-04
In the absence of strong support measures by governments across the world, the estimated loss of mostly informal jobs would result in rising poverty, starvation and inequality, an ILO report says.
mronline.org/2020/05/04/ilo-nearly-half-…

30 million jobs lost so far, but many workers can’t access unemployment benefits
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-04
WASHINGTON–Another 3.84 million people filed for jobless benefits nationwide in the prior week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on April 30. That shoots the actual number of jobless due to closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic to over 30 million. The Economic Policy Institute warns that 30 million total may actually be an undercount. …
peoplesworld.org/article/30-million-jobs…

Young Communists lead jobs drive in Vietnam for the unemployed
Morning Star | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-04
More than 10,000 people have found work in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi thanks to a Communist-led initiative for students and young people whose jobs are most vulnerable due to the coronavirus pandemic. Led by the Hanoi section of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), working alongside the Hanoi Students’ Association and the Hanoi Youth …
peoplesworld.org/article/young-communist…

US-UK trade deal negotiations start today when government stretched to limit
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-05-04
UK ministers are to start trade deal talks with the United States today, with Britain issuing the order to start formal negotiation despite the coronavirus pandemic that is stretching every government department to the limits. The first round of the talks will be held between UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and U.S. Trade Representative …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/us-uk-trade-deal-negotiations-start-today-when-government-stretched-to-limit/

America’s Long War… Family Stories from Ground Zero, by a New Generation of Filmmakers
Barbara Nimri Aziz | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
For two decades now, following U.S. invasions of Afghanistan, then Iraq, and as we approach ten years of upheaval in Syria and five in Yemen, interpretation of these wars has been the domain of western observers– journalists, occupying soldiers, and …
globalresearch.ca/family-stories-from-gr…

Why Foreign Interventionism?
Jacob G. Hornberger | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
What is the point of U.S. foreign interventionism? | Why are U.S. troops killing and dying in faraway countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia? | Why does the U.S. government have 165,000 troops stationed in more than 150 foreign countries? | Why …
globalresearch.ca/why-foreign-interventi…

ASOS warehouse workers: Lives versus corporate profit in the UK
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The struggle by ASOS workers has demonstrated that they cannot rely on the local authority, state bodies or the unions for protection.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/asos…

You Can’t Make Me
Matthew Cable | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
You can’t make me vote for Biden Four years after Trump’s infamous comments about grabbing women “by the pussy,” Democratic voters have been put in a strange position. After making hay of this comment for years, particularly after the numerous allegations of sexual assault against the president, our party leadership

US Push for “Low-yield Nukes” Makes Nuclear War More Likely as Russia Will Retaliate with Full Force, Moscow Says
Nebojsa Malic | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
The US State Department’s case for tactical nuclear weapons is a case study in psychological projection not seen since the darkest days of the Cold War and its ever-present threat of world-ending atomic holocaust. | Back in February, the Pentagon announced | …
globalresearch.ca/us-push-low-yield-nuke…

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Civil Actions as a Social Movement
Prof. Paul Jobin | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Like the many industrial disasters that have marked the history of modern and contemporary Japan, the nuclear disaster of March 2011 resulted in much litigation. By the ninth anniversary of the catastrophe in 2020, nearly four hundred individual civil actions, …
globalresearch.ca/fukushima-nuclear-disa…

Hybrid War flashback: the Deeper Roots of Chinese Demonizatio
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-04
Hegel saw history moving east to west

Cults and Bioterrorism: A Toxic Duo
Wayne Madsen | thealtworld.com | 2020-05-04
Although there is no recent history of nation-states propagating biological warfare attacks, there is a history of dangerous religious cults being involved in preparing for or carrying out them. | Far right-wingers in the United States and other countries are pushing the propaganda line that China was somehow involved in the creation or spread of the Covid-19 virus, formally known as SARS [Severe acute respiratory syndrome]-CoV-2, to the rest of the world either deliberately or from an accidental release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Although nation-states have, over the decades, conducted research on and…
thealtworld.com/wayne_madsen/cults-and-b…

Cults and Bioterrorism: A Toxic Duo
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-05-04
Far right-wingers in the United States and other countries are pushing the propaganda line that China was somehow involved in the creation or spread of the Covid-19 virus, formally known as SARS [Severe acute respiratory syndrome]-CoV-2, to the rest of the world either deliberately or from an accidental release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Although nation-states have, over the decades, conducted research on and produced biological warfare weapons, there is no recent documented proof of a government being engaged in the widespread release of a biological warfare agent to cause maximum deaths. The 1972 Con…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/05/04/cu…

COVID-19: US Blames China to Cover Up Its Own Failures
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-05-04
Newsclick’s Prabir Purkayastha explains why China and other Asian countries were more equipped to handle the crisis and the role they played in the development of testing kits. He also analyses the blame game by the US and punctures claims US authorities have been making about China.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/05/04/covid-19-…

Scuttling New START: Trump’s China Distraction
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
“If we want to preserve strategic stability using arms control as a counterpart of that, as a tool in that toolkit, then China should be in as well.”

Trump and Pompeo’s “big lie”
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
Knowing that its policy will lead to a rapid growth in fatalities, the White House is preparing a narrative to argue that whatever happens, it is China’s fault.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/pers…

China Calls for Closing All U.S. Deep-State Bioweapons Laboratories in Former USSR Countries
Joaquin Flores | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
As countries have openly begun to utilize their military structures in fighting the coronavirus in programs intended to guard against biological warfare, Chinese authorities have come out in support the official position of Russia and considers it dangerous that there …
globalresearch.ca/china-calls-closing-al…

The Deeper Historical Roots of Chinese Demonization
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Fasten your seat belts: the US hybrid war against China is bound to go on frenetic overdrive, as economic reports are already identifying Covid-19 as the tipping point when the Asian

Crushing the States, Saving the Banks: the Fed’s Generous New Rules
Ellen Brown | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
Congress seems to be at war with the states. Only $150 billion of its nearly $3 trillion coronavirus relief package

An Ethical Imperative: the Visionary “Impossible” in the Northern Rockies
Joseph Scalia III | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
We are rapidly dismantling the biological and aesthetic integrity of the entire planet, and can’t pretend any longer that small and compromised efforts can fix our threatened condition. Yet pretending is exactly what the widespread and celebrated “collaboration and compromise” model of resolving conservation disputes does. That model’s practitioners dismiss those who speak up for…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/an-ethical-i…

A Lawless President Confronts an Untrustworthy Intelligence Community
Jefferson Morley | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
“There is no ‘deep state’–not in the conspiratorial way that Donald Trump uses the term,” writes David Rohde, a Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent, in his new book, In Deep: The FBI, the CIA and the Truth about America’s “Deep State.”
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/a-lawless-pr…

Lingg’s Autobiography: An Overlooked Haymarket Confession?
Timothy Messer-Kruse | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
While Lingg hid out on the southwest side of the city after the Haymarket bombing, police forced the door to his room and in a steamer trunk engraved with the initials “L.L.” found a stack of letters, pamphlets, and newspapers, a loaded Remington rifle, a coil of fuse, and a round lead bomb, about the size of a softball, stuffed into an old grey sock. A bucket under Lingg’s bed contained greasy sawdust that was later taken out to the lakefront, lit, and from the ensuing blast determined to be dynamite. Next to the dynamite bucket was a tin lunch pail filled with four pipe bombs, two loaded. In a washstand were a…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/linggs-autob…

Landscape Amnesia and the Deschutes River
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
I took a run along the Deschutes River in Bend’s Riverbend Park the other day. The one thing I noticed is that the river is nearly opaque. You can see down maybe 2 feet, but no more. Why? Because the river was being flooded by water releases from an upstream reservoir to serve downstream irrigated…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/landscape-am…

Not Trusting that Department of Ed: Looking to Higher Ed Relief via States
Greg Moses | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
Reeling from last week’s attacks on Harvard and Stanford that bullied those schools and others into refusing federal relief allocated to their most needy students, the Young Invincibles this week released an open letter asking the schools to reconsider. The “Open Letter to College and University Leaders” argues that all schools…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/not-trusting…

Only the Poor Starve: Hunger in the Time of Covid-19
Graham Peebles | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
In addition to the global health crisis and the coming worldwide economic collapse, Covid-19 is fuelling a humanitarian crisis. The World Food Program (WFP) warns that, “millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the spectre of famine a very real and dangerous possibility.”
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/only-the-poo…

A Death Sentence for Meatpackers
Jill Richardson | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
Meat processing plants are high risk for spreading COVID-19, and many are shutting down. Animals due for processing have nowhere to go, and they are being culled. Workers there aren’t treated a great deal better. I’ve interviewed one meatpacker who worked at a pork plant, years ago. He told me he was recruited with promises…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/a-death-sent…

Shed No Tears for CEOs with Sinking Share Prices
Sam Pizzigati | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
Sometimes calendars can be cruel. A regularly reoccurring event can suddenly reoccur at a most inopportune moment. Just ask Ronald Rittenmeyer, the chief executive of Tenet Healthcare, a for-profit colossus that runs 65 hospitals and over 500 smaller care centers across the country. Every spring about this time, the Dallas-based Tenet files its required annual…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/shed-no-tear…

The Anatomy of a Failing University
David Schultz | counterpunch.org | 2020-05-04
American universities are failing. They are private or public schools. They could be religiously-affiliated or not. They could be in the east, west, north, or south of the United States. They traditionally emphasized liberal arts. They are facing an enrollment and budget crunch for several years, seeing that the declining number of eighteen-year-olds in the coming years poses an existential threat. It has a modest endowment. It is not an elite school. It is a school like the one that many professors teach at. It was failing before Covid-19. It may not be around in five years. Wirth COVID-19, it may be around even…
counterpunch.org/2020/05/04/the-anatomy-…

Coronavirus and Saudi Arabia’s “Soft Power”. Will This Year’s Hajj be Cancelled? “Pilgrims bring in Billions of Dollars…”
Mohammad Reza Mohammadi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Today, the tourism industry is considered as one of the important sources of the soft power of countries in promoting and disseminating its material and spiritual attractions to attract other nations of the world. Saudi Arabia is known as a …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-consequenc…

‘The Industry Chose to Protect Billions of Dollars a Year in Its Own Profit’ – CounterSpin interview with Sriram Madhusoodanan on fossil fuel accountability
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-05-04
The April 24, 2020, episode of CounterSpin included an archived interview with Sriram Madhusoodanan about fossil fuel accountability, which originally aired August 2, 2019. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/the-industry-chose-to-prot…

Crushing the States, Saving the Banks: The Fed’s Generous New Rules
Ellen Brown | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-05-04
Congress seems to be at war with the states. Only $150 billion of its nearly $3 trillion coronavirus relief package

IMF agrees to lend Colombia $10.8B to combat coronavirus crisis
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-04
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to extend a $10.8 billion flexible credit line (FCL) to Colombia’s central bank to bolster its reserves while coping with the economic impact of…
colombiareports.com/imf-agrees-to-lend-c…

Crushing the States, Saving the Banks: The Fed’s Generous New Rules
Ellen Brown | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Congress seems to be at war with the states. Only $150 billion of its nearly $3 trillion coronavirus relief package

Video: The Coronavirus Crisis: A Plea to Pause and Ponder
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
A Sharing by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President, International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) | Recorded on May 1, 2020 | . | * | Note to readers: please click the share …
globalresearch.ca/video-coronavirus-cris…

Faced with coronavirus, the most effective health system is one focused on prevention
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-05-04
“You really are the men and women who do everything eh, you people!” That was the reaction of an 88-year-old patient when she received a phone call from one of our Medicine for the People (MPLP) volunteer workers or staff in mid-March.
mronline.org/2020/05/04/faced-with-coron…

The Impact of COVID-19 on Africa. The Case of Somalia
Dr. Bischara A. Egal | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
“We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy the economy”.

The Politics of the coronavirus conjuncture in Ireland
John Reynolds | mronline.org | 2020-05-04
The election in Ireland in early February marked a clear acceleration of the country’s ongoing left turn over recent years. Then came the virus.
mronline.org/2020/05/04/the-politics-of-…

Trump White House steps up return to work drive
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths heralds even greater suffering by the population as states continue to reopen.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/covi…

Think tank sees coronavirus crisis as “opportunity” for German militarism
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The German Council on Foreign Relations calls for a “comprehensive conflict strategy” in order to emerge “even stronger” from the crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/mili…

Trump says “safe to re-open” as infection and death rates soar
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-04
President Trump on Sunday told Americans it is safe for states to re-open even as the number of infected and dead continues to rise rapidly across the country. When the president made his remarks, the death toll from the coronavirus had passed 67,000 and the total number of infections approached 1.2 million. The CDC itself …
peoplesworld.org/article/trump-says-safe…

UK Nightingale field hospitals to be “mothballed” as coronavirus death toll reaches 28,446
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The new Nightingale facilities were meant to provide overflow capacity to overwhelmed hospitals, but patients have been turned away due to a lack of suitable equipment or staff.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/nigh…

Unreliable COVID-19 “Estimates”in Virginia: Increase in “Testing Numbers” Attributable to Change in “Counting Methodology”: Health Officials
Kate Masters | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
Officials with the Virginia Department of Health abruptly announced Friday that they were changing their methodology for reporting the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Virginia. | The announcement came after data on the state’s coronavirus surveillance page appeared to show …
globalresearch.ca/increase-virginia-test…

Inmates at Michigan prisons exposed to COVID-19 in unsanitary conditions
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
As of May 2, almost 2,000 inmates have tested positive with 41 prisoners succumbing to the coronavirus.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/mich…

An Examination of Britain’s Coronavirus Strategy and its Corresponding Propaganda
Felix Collins | zcomm.org | 2020-05-04
It is somewhat reassuring to see the ineffectiveness of some elements of Britain’s propaganda campaigns, but its scope, reality and consequences are disturbing…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/an-examination-of-…

West Australian principal stood down for warning of coronavirus dangers in schools
wsws.org | 2020-05-04
The victimisation of Bronwyn White is a warning that the reopening of schools is being accompanied by the suppression of opposition.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/04/west…

Restarting Colombia’s economy take 2: regional reactivation
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-04
President Ivan Duque is planning a second push to restart Colombia’s economy, this time allowing the reactivation of normal economic activity in regions where the virus hasn’t spread. A first…
colombiareports.com/restarting-colombias…

Hunger stalks the land: Parents skipping meals to feed their kids
Ellen Knickmeyer, Jacquelyn Martin | peoplesworld.org | 2020-05-04
WASHINGTON (AP)–When all this started–when the coronavirus began stalking humanity like an animal hunting prey, when she and her husband lost their restaurant jobs overnight as the world shut down to hide, when she feared not being able to feed her family–Janeth went outside with a red kitchen towel. It was Passover. Her pastor had …
peoplesworld.org/article/hunger-stalks-t…

The narco history of Colombia’s security forces | Part 1: Santa Marta
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-05-04
Colombia’s security forces been involved in the drug trade since the beginning. On the Caribbean coast, cops began extorting marijuana traders in the 1960s and ended up being their enforcers….
colombiareports.com/the-narco-history-of…

Hezbollah and The Government of Lebanon
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2020-05-04
The current government in Lebanon is challenging its politicians with the accusation of having supported the corrupt political and financial system for at least three decades. These politicians accuse Hezbollah, claiming that it is responsible for this corruption. And indeed, …
globalresearch.ca/hezbollah-great-satan/…

Colorado Bans Cruel Wildlife-killing Contests