Daily Archives: April 9, 2020

2020-04-09: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these ‘POSTEES’ on social media!

US reports nearly 1,800 coronavirus fatalities in 24 hours, as death rate slows after 2 days of back-to-back records
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Nearly 1,800 people died in the US after contracting the coronavirus on Thursday, a tally by John Hopkins University suggests. The overall US death toll stands at just over 16,500 as it continues to lead the world in cases. | The US, which according to various projections is nearing the peak of its outbreak, registered 1,783 deaths from the virus in a single day, according to data aggregated by the university. | While some models

US reports nearly 1,800 coronavirus fatalities in 24 hours, as death rate slows after 2 days of back-to-back records
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Nearly 1,800 people died in the US after contracting the coronavirus on Thursday, a tally by John Hopkins University suggests. The overall US death toll stands at just over 16,500 as it continues to lead the world in cases. | The US, which according to various projections is nearing the peak of its outbreak, registered 1,783 deaths from the virus in a single day, according to data aggregated by the university. | While some models

Covid-19 to plunge half a billion people into poverty
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-09
New research published by UNU-WIDER today warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990. The authors of the UNU-WIDER study

Haiti faces a coronavirus catastrophe
G. Dunkel | workers.org | 2020-04-09
The predictions are grim, and the figures are totally misleading: As of April 5, 6 p.m., Haiti reported only 21 COVID-19 cases and one death. The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, reported 1,745 cases and 52 deaths. (worldometers.info/coronavirus/) Haiti has only 130 ICU beds. Dr. . . . | Continue reading Haiti faces a coronavirus catastrophe at Workers.org
workers.org/2020/04/47582/?utm_source=rs…

U.S. activates new phase of violence against Venezuela
| workers.org | 2020-04-09
The U.S accuses Venezuelan President Maduro of “narcoterrorism” but the people defend him. The Platform of Venezuelan Social Movements Against the Blockade issued the following statement on March 26. To the People of the World and Friends of the Bolivarian Revolution In the midst of the most recent attacks of . . . | Continue reading U.S. activates new phase of violence against Venezuela at Workers.org
workers.org/2020/04/47585/?utm_source=rs…

Why We Need a New Progressive Party and How We Can Create It
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
There is no room for progressives in the Democratic Party. No matter how many votes he or she gets, no progressive will be permitted to be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Progressives who try to work inside of, contribute to and support the Democratic Party have no real chance of moving its candidates…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/why-we-need-…

Why We Need a New Progressive Party and How We Can Create It
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
There is no room for progressives in the Democratic Party. No matter how many votes he or she gets, no progressive will be permitted to be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Progressives who try to work inside of, contribute to and support the Democratic Party have no real chance of moving its candidates…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/why-we-need-…

When Incarceration Becomes a Death Sentence
Marcia Brown | progressive.org | 2020-04-09
A look at how the COVID-19 outbreak is causing havoc at an Ohio federal prison.
progressive.org/dispatches/incarceration…

Colonialism & coronavirus: 800,000 Haitians may die of COVID-19
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-09
Gutted by US-allied, neoliberal governments which have controlled the country since 2004, Haiti’s healthcare sector braces for a potential catastrophe….
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/09/colonialism-c…

Beyond Words. Assange’s COVID-19 Bail Related Application
Craig Murray | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
Yesterday Mark Sommers QC, the extremely erudite and bookish second counsel for Julian Assange in his extradition hearing, trembled with anger in court. Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser had just made a ruling that the names of Julian Assange’s partner and young …
globalresearch.ca/beyond-words-assange-c…

Gaza Running out of Coronavirus Tests: Health Minister
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The Gaza Strip has no coronavirus testing kits left, Palestinian health authorities said Wednesday, raising the alarm that the enclave, which is facing severe shortages of equipment, may rapidly be overwhelmed by the outbreak. | RELATED: | High Population Density Challenge for Gazans to Fight COVID-19 | “Testing at our central laboratory has stopped, after coronavirus test kits completely ran out,” Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. | The Palestinian territo…
telesurenglish.net/news/Gaza-Running-out…

Egypt’s Secret War in Northern Sinai
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-09
Reports are now coming in from a bombing and counter-bombing in northern Sinai by extremist Islamists and the Egyptian armed forces that happened in late March. The explosions were recorded by journalists in the nearby Gaza Strip.
therealnews.com/stories/egypts-secret-wa…

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Fiddles While Brazil Burns
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-09
Brazil’s COVID-19 cases and deaths are higher than neighboring countries, yet the president takes no action. Indigenous people and the poorest Brazilians are in grave danger.
therealnews.com/stories/brazil-president…

Latin America: 14 Million People Lost Their Jobs to COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Fourteen million full-time workers lost their jobs in Latin America because of the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region, the International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed in a report. | RELATED: | Ecuador Indigenous Ask IACHR to Investigate State Over COVID-19 Crisis | In the last month, when COVID-19 began to expand rapidly in the region, there has been a huge drop in the number of jobs. The virus has had a catastrophic effect on the working class, the I…
telesurenglish.net/news/latin-america-14…

Trump Regime COVID-19 Blame Game
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
The US needs enemies to pursue its imperial agenda. None exist so they’re invented. | Most often they’re sovereign independent nations the US doesn’t control, making them a prime targets for regime change

Sanders Quits Race, Endorsement of Corporatist/Warmonger Biden to Follow
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
When revolutionary change is most needed, it’s nowhere to be found in the US land of the free and home of the brave in name only

Sanders “Broke the Spell” of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes COVID-19 Capitalism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
We talk to journalist and activist Naomi Klein about Bernie Sanders’s historic presidential campaign as he suspends his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, and about coronavirus capitalism

Sanders “Broke the Spell” of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes COVID-19 Capitalism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
We talk to journalist and activist Naomi Klein about Bernie Sanders’s historic presidential campaign as he suspends his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, and about coronavirus capitalism

Martin Khor: the Making of a Global Activist
Walden Bello | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
When future students of North-South relations look back to the history of the last 35 years or so, among the key figures they will most likely mark as one of the most decisive in shaping the course of events is one who did not owe his power to a position in government or business. Martin…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/martin-khor-…

Senior journalist goes missing in Bangladesh
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
Activists groups fear that Shafiqul Islam Kajol, a photojournalist who went missing a day after a police complaint was filed against him, has been subjected to enforced disappearance. He was accused of publishing false news by a member of parliament…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/senior-jo…

COVID-19: New Battle in Capitalism’s War on the Black Working Class
Black Alliance for Peace | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
“No Retreat, No Compromise: Defeat the War Against the African/Black Working Class,” announced the campaign of the Black Alliance for Peace before coronavirus, before the collapse of the global economy, before the lockdowns and calls for militarization of our communities, …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-new-battle-in…

Trinidad & Tobago Rejects Possible US Intervention on Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Besides stressing that his country’s stance on Venezuela has not changed, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley stated that the Caribbean must remain a peace zone and rejected a possible U.S.-led military intervention in the South American country. | RELATED: | Intellectuals, Artists Issue Letter in Defense of Venezuela | “Our position remains the same. Trin…
telesurenglish.net/news/Trinidad–Tobago…

Police in Pakistan beat and arrest health care workers protesting over Coronavirus safety concerns, lack of PPE
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Police brutally attacked several hundred medical staff after they marched to the house of the Balochistan Chief Minister in Quetta to protest the lack of personal protective equipment or PPE.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/quet…

Alberta doctors protest UCP government’s funding cuts amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
More than 800 doctors signed an angry open letter to the hard-right United Conservative Party government protesting cuts to doctors’ fees that will result in reduced services at hundreds of rural clinics across the province.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/albe…

Police in Pakistan beat and arrest health care workers protesting over Coronavirus safety concerns, lack of PPE
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Police brutally attacked several hundred medical staff after they marched to the house of the Balochistan Chief Minister in Quetta to protest the lack of personal protective equipment or PPE.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/quet…

Alberta doctors protest UCP government’s funding cuts amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
More than 800 doctors signed an angry open letter to the hard-right United Conservative Party government protesting cuts to doctors’ fees that will result in reduced services at hundreds of rural clinics across the province.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/albe…

OPEC to Decide Historic Oil Production Cut Due to COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) just started an emergency meeting this Thursday to agree on a historic cut in fuel production after COVID-19 crushed global demand. | RELATED: | Maduro Announces Measures to Defend Venezuela’s Oil Industry | The meeting agreed upon by OPEC and non-OPEC partners, known as OPEC+, takes place at 4 P.M. Vienna time, Austria, and will be conducted via video conference. | The G-20 presidency said the meeting will foster dialogue…
telesurenglish.net/news/opec-to-decide-h…

What we all need to learn now that Bernie Sanders’s presidential bid is over
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the Democratic Party primary. This has prompted a fierce debate about what went wrong. While he clearly faced unfair disadvantages from the start, progressives must also accept that he made some unnecessary mistakes. And if we’re going to win victories in the future, we must learn from them. | Unfair fr…
thecanary.co/us/us-analysis/2020/04/09/w…

Noam Chomsky: The Sanders Campaign Energized Millions, and Shifted US Politics
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
In a new interview, world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky reflects on the significance of the Bernie Sanders campaign, calling it “an extraordiernary success” that “completely shifted the arena of debate and discussion” in the United States. | TRANSCRIPT: | AMY GOODMAN: Before we go to break, on Wednesday, just before Bernie Sanders announced, but it did look like he was about to pull out of the presidential race, I asked political dissident, linguist and…
truthout.org/video/noam-chomsky-the-sand…

Sanders Suspends: What Happened? What Now?
Sam Husseini | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk commented just as Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign:…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/sanders-susp…

Bernie Sanders Suspends His Campaign: What Happened and What Now?
Sam Husseini | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-09
Once again, disenfranchised American voters are left without a candidate that represents their values, but instead of staying home or voting against those values, there is another option, writes Sam Husseini.
mintpressnews.com/bernie-sanders-suspend…

Bachelet Fears Repressive Extension of Measures by COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner, expressed Thursday her concern about some governments maintaining restrictive measures after COVID-19 global crisis as repressive policies. | RELATED: | Arab League Welcomes Yemen Ceasefire | “I am deeply concerned about the adoption by some countries of unlimited emergency powers, not subject to review,” she said, adding that in some cases “the epidemic is being used to justify repressive changes to conventional legislation, which will remain in place long aft…
telesurenglish.net/news/bachelet-fears-r…

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns attacks on Asian Americans
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-09
FRSO Joint Nationalities Commission chair Masao Suzuki condemned the thousands of attacks on Asian Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Thousands of incidents of harassment, physical attacks and even attempted murder have been aimed at Asian Americans,” said Suzuki. “This is unacceptable and another way the United States has turned the pandemic into a human made disaster.” | The JNC chair laid the blame at the feet of the Trump administration, saying ,”Trump’s attempts to label the COVID-19 as a ‘Chinese virus’ has tried to cover over his administration’s cuts to pandemic prevention programs and refus…
fightbacknews.org/2020/4/8/freedom-road-…

Coronavirus Devastates Italy: Is It the Result of Globalism and Free Trade?
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
The devastating impact of the coronavirus on Italy has sparked considerable speculation as to why the country appears to have suffered so disproportionately from the disease. Some initial theories suggested that the deaths might be due to lower standards and …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-devastates…

NATO Still Seeks Expansion in Ukraine and Georgia Despite Coronavirus Pandemic
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
While NATO countries are mostly being devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, a statement by the Alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about deepening partnerships with Ukraine and Georgia demonstrates that pressure on Russia will continue unabated and remains a priority. Despite …
globalresearch.ca/nato-still-seeks-expan…

Coronavirus: Europe Can Go “the Italian Way”?
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
As coronavirus began spreading across China and devastating the once prosperous city of Wuhan, Western countries should have immediately begun preparing to deal with what would later be announced as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). | The results …
globalresearch.ca/europe-can-go-the-ital…

Pence Won’t Let COVID Task Force Appear on CNN Unless It Airs Trump’s Briefings
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Vice President Mike Pence’s office is giving an ultimatum to at least one cable news channel that President Donald Trump has frequently belittled as “fake news”

The Pandemic Has Accelerated the Global Economic “Slowbalization”
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
COVID-19 has now reached dozens of countries including in the Middle East and Africa, and over 1 million global citizens have been infected. The global pandemic continues to impact United States domestic and foreign policy at every level of government while creating new norms in both social a…
truthout.org/articles/the-pandemic-has-a…

Doctor Refutes Trump’s Claim That Zinc Can Treat COVID-19 During Briefing
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Dr. Vin Gupta, a critical care physician and lung health expert, said Wednesday night that he has seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s assertion that zinc

CDC Deletes Hydroxychloroquine Guidance as Study Hyped by Trump Is Questioned
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday quietly removed bizarre guidelines for using the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus. The unproven treatment has been repeatedly hyped by President Donald Trump in spite of the warnings of Dr. Anthony Fauci. | The CDC published “highly unusual” dosing guidance based on “unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science” last month amid pressure on federal health officials from Trump,…
truthout.org/articles/cdc-deletes-hydrox…

People With Disabilities Face Greater Risk of Economic Devastation From COVID-19
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis is wreaking havoc on the health and economic lives of billions of people across the world. In the U.S., massive layoffs and unemployment levels eclipsing the Great Depression are expected. As workers lose jobs, unemployment filings are going through the roof. As of April 7, about 10 million workers have filed for unemploy…
truthout.org/articles/people-with-disabi…

Prison Guards Are Receiving Hand Sanitizer. My Incarcerated Son Is Not
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Thirty years ago, my son Gerald Reed survived torture at the hands of the Chicago police. He was another victim of police detectives working for the…
truthout.org/articles/prison-guards-are-…

Prison Guards Are Receiving Hand Sanitizer. My Incarcerated Son Is Not
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Thirty years ago, my son Gerald Reed survived torture at the hands of the Chicago police. He was another victim of police detectives working for the…
truthout.org/articles/prison-guards-are-…

Trump May Push for New Task Force to Reopen Economy, Against Americans’ Wishes
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Jobless claims across the country have jumped by 6.6 million over the past week, amounting to more than 16 million Americans who have now filed unemployment claims in the past three weeks, due to the economic impact of the coronavirus on the nation. | In total, the unemployment rate has reportedly increased by 10 percent since the pandemic first started to have negative effects on the U.S. economy. Some experts be…
truthout.org/articles/trump-may-push-for…

UN Seeks $130 Million To Prevent Hunger Catastrophe in Zimbabwe
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it needed US$130 million to fund emergency operations in Zimbabwe until August and prevent a catastrophe in the southern African nation, as climate- and recession-induced food shortages deepened. | RELATED: | Uganda: Unqualified Woman Ran Health Center, 105 Children Died | The WFP added 7.7 million Zimbabweans, half the population, need food aid after a devastating drought and cyclone last year. A lack of predictable…
telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Seeks-130-Mil…

Rafael Correa is the latest victim of ‘anti-corruption’ cases
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
On April 7, former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa was sentenced to eight years in prison on corruption charge. Correa has termed the sentence a bid to stop him and his allies from contesting in the presidential elections scheduled in 2021.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/rafael-co…

Rafael Correa terms prison sentence an act of political persecution
Tanya Wadhwa | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
Rafael Correa was sentenced to eight years in prison on bribery and corruption charges. The former president condemned the verdict and called it a measure to prevent him from running in the 2021 presidential elections…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/former-ec…

Puebla Group Rejects Sentencing of Former President Correa
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The Puebla Group on Wednesday demanded an end to the judicial persecution of political leaders in Latin America after Ecuadorian courts imposed a prison sentence on former President Rafael Correa. | RELATED: | Trial of Ecuador’s Ex-President Rafael Correa is Under Way | The Latin American leader was sentenced to eight years in prison on alleged corruption charges. The decision includes the withdrawal of his political rights for 25 years. | “Ecuador’s reactionary political sectors have incre…
telesurenglish.net/news/puebla-group-rej…

A note from Michael D. Yates
Michael D. Yates | mronline.org | 2020-04-09
Killers rule us. Trump, Pence, Kushner, and all the others. What can we call them but murderers? If actions speak louder than words, then they are screaming at us, “Die, we don’t care.”
mronline.org/2020/04/09/a-note-from-mich…

COVID-19 Reportedly Fast Spreading Among Saudi Royal Family
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
At least 150 members of the ruling Saudi royal family contracted the COVID-19 disease in recent weeks, The New York Times reported Wednesday citing hospital communications, doctors in the kingdom and sources familiar with the family. | RELATED: | Saudi Arabia MBS Aims at the Throne Before Nov. G20 Summit | The governor of the capital Riyadh who is in his 70s, Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is in intensive care after being infected by the virus. | King Salman…
telesurenglish.net/news/Coronavirus-Repo…

Two-week ceasefire in Yemen takes effect
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
On April 9, Thursday, the unilateral ceasefire called by the Saudi-led alliance in Yemen took effect. The ceasefire was announced on Wednesday by the coalition which intervened in Yemen in 2015. The two-week ceasefire was announced following repeated pleas by the United Nations (UN) in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. | Al Jazeera reported that the ceasefire may also be extended beyond two weeks, conditional on the UN-brokered talks between the rebel Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition backing the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, along with Western powers. | The Saudi coalition’s decision is in li…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/two-week-…

Arab League Welcomes Yemen Ceasefire
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit welcomed on Thursday the Saudi-led coalition’s two-week cease-fire in Yemen. | RELATED: | Saudi-UAE Coalition Declares 2-Week Unilateral Ceasefire in Yemen | He urged the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen to respond to the Saudi initiative that constitutes “a rare opportunity for stopping the bloodshed in the war-torn country.” | He stressed “the Yemeni people is the first winner of that important initiative that mirro…
telesurenglish.net/news/Arab-League-Welc…

Wisconsin’s pandemic election: A public health disaster
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The decision to hold an election in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak which has already killed tens of thousands of people is a criminal act by both parties which will guarantee more infections and deaths in the US.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/wisc…

Remove the Boomer Virus and What Virus Remains?
John O’Kane | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
In a recent eruption of internet chatter the Gen Z’s and millennials called Covid-19 the “Boomer Remover” virus (“Gen Z, Millennials Wallow in Self-Pity as They Mock Potential Deadly Hit on Elderly,” Vivek Saxena, BizPac Review, 3/13/20). This species of youth surely doesn’t want the geriatric set to pass, but this is symptomatic of a…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/remove-the-b…

Is coronavirus the end of everything or the start of something new?
John Ranson | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is really horrible. It’s frightening, disorientating, confusing and, yes, unprecedented in recent history. None of us would wish to go through this if we had any choice in the matter. But in the words of Gandalf: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”. | In the past, pandemics and other crises have caused people to look afresh at the world and to question the way things are. Right now, we may be too preoccupied with getting through the week to think of such things but, if we’re able, it’s not wrong to pon…
thecanary.co/opinion/2020/04/09/is-coron…

No Fennel in the Sausage, No $600 for the Jobless
Sam Pizzigati | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Last week, in one of his daily coronavirus briefings, President Trump shared that some of his business friends had been advising him to “don’t do anything, just ride it out and think of it as the flu.” America’s corporate chiefs

UK social care system faces collapse amid spike in coronavirus deaths
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Mass deaths and runaway infections have begun to rip through UK residential and nursing home facilities, bringing adult social care services to the brink of collapse.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/care…

Colombia seeking $11B loan with IMF as coronavirus destroys budget
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-09
Colombia’s Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla said Tuesday he had requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend a $11 billion loan to confront the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came days…
colombiareports.com/colombia-seeking-11b…

Adolf Trump goes for Venezuela: A jump into nothingness?
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-04-09
In the midst of a desolate scenario, when the United States has become the country with the highest number of those infected by the Coronavirus, President Donald Trump and his team of serial criminals like Elliott Abrams, Cuban-American Mauricio Claver-Carone, Marco Rubio and others, announced that their country and 22 other nations would launch a …
mronline.org/2020/04/09/adolf-trump-goes…

Why GE Workers Walked Out in Lynn
Jeff Crosby | zcomm.org | 2020-04-09
As employers use the coronavirus crisis to consolidate power and wealth, we need to build activism and organization…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/why-ge-workers-wal…

The Great Divide: The Filthy Rich and the Rest of Us in Times of Calamity
Gary Brumback | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-09
Now that the corona virus is making its rounds it seems a good time to illustrate the great divide between calamities’ effects on the filthy rich (aka the power elite) and the rest of humanity. With perhaps one exception to be identified near the end of this piece, the difference has endured down through history …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/the-great-div…

Detroit nurses battling to save patients and themselves from COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Nurses throughout the Detroit metropolitan area are fighting to protect themselves from the coronavirus under conditions of shortages of equipment and staff while the number of patients continues to climb dramatically.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/detr…

The UK government could face legal action over its coronavirus daily briefings
Steve Topple | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
The Conservative government could be facing legal action over its coronavirus (Covid-19) daily briefings. This is because campaigners say that over 80,000 people are being unlawfully discriminated against during these public addresses. | The Tories’ coronavirus briefings: several problems: | Every day, the government gives a coronavirus briefing. Currently, various members of the cabinet are holding these. It’s because…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/04/09/the-…

Uganda on Alert, Fight Locusts Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Desert locusts swarm into Uganda from neighboring Kenya, threatening food security and livelihoods, while the country also faces another problem, the new coronavirus, COVID-19. | RELATED: | UN Warns Desert Locusts Spreading in East Africa | Farmers in Uganda are bracing for a fresh onslaught of desert locusts after two swarms entered the country from neighboring Kenya last week, threatening to destroy crops and intensify hunger amid the struggle to contain the COVID-19 pande…
telesurenglish.net/news/Uganda-on-Alert-…

Colombia’s great coronavirus heist: Part 1 | Let the robbing begin
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-09
Colombia’s comptroller general said Wednesday that watchdog entities found evidence that $20 million (COP80 billion) meant to confront the coronavirus pandemic have been embezzled. In an interview with RCN Radio,…
colombiareports.com/colombias-great-coro…

We Are Living (And Dying) in Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”
Charles Pierson | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Edgar Allan Poe’s 1842 tale “The Masque of the Red Death” is a story about class. Poe’s tale contrasts the fates of rich and poor during a plague even more lethal than the coronavirus. Poe’s characters–a thousand members of the aristocracy and their hangers-on–repair to one of the “crenellated abbeys” of the wealthy Prince Prospero.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/we-are-livin…

Brazilian workers clash with unions over coronavirus crisis
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
A new provisional measure approved by Bolsonaro on April 1 allows companies to suspend contracts, reducing working hours and cutting wages by up to 70 percent.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/braz…

Banal Terrors: Pandemics and the Ordinary Business of War
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
The twaddle of framing the confrontation of the coronavirus as a “war” has proven to be a cheapening, misguided exercise. France’s president Emmanuel Macron has deemed COVID-19 the “invisible, elusive enemy”, making it sound like an adept guerrilla specialising in sneak attacks. China’s Xi Jinping has gone for the language of the “people’s war”, suggesting…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/banal-terror…

I made a fortune predicting the last crisis. I fear for what’s about to unfold
Gary Stevenson | zcomm.org | 2020-04-09
We must urgently start discussing who we want to shoulder the cost of the coronavirus crisis, or the future could be very bleak…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/i-made-a-fortune-p…

Hundreds of thousands of UK jobs threatened as coronavirus spreads
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The loss of thousands of jobs only confirms that the government’s £370 billion emergency bailout fund to big business is doing next to nothing to protect the working class from the loss of their livelihoods.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/hund…

Vietnam Records Zero Deaths From COVID in the Last 24 Hours
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Vietnam has not reported any deaths from the COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, a new report has revealed. According to the Vietnamese government’s official website, the sanitary authorities reported 251 cases, but 126 do not show SARS-Cov-2 symptoms and two other patients were discharged. They will continue to be medically monitored at home for the next 14 days. | RELATED: | France’s Coronavirus Daily Hospital Death Toll Slows | Even though Vietnam registered more than 200 cases, the recove…
telesurenglish.net/news/vietnam-records-…

Germany: Weighing economic interests vs. human life in the coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The German media are again openly discussing how much a human life is worth and how many lives should be sacrificed to the interests of the economy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/germ…

Banal Terrors: Pandemics and the Ordinary Business of War
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
The twaddle of framing the confrontation of the coronavirus as a “war” has proven to be a cheapening, misguided exercise. France’s president Emmanuel Macron has deemed COVID-19 the “invisible, elusive enemy”, making it sound like an adept guerrilla specialising in sneak attacks. China’s Xi Jinping has gone for the language of the “people’s war”, suggesting…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/banal-terror…

Peruvians fight the COVID-19 outbreak amid water crisis and neoliberalism
Tanya Wadhwa | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
The government led by President Martín Vizcarra has taken measures that heed social distancing, but has completely disregarded the water criss in the country, which is fundamental in avoiding contagion of the novel coronavirus…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/peruvians…

COVID-19 ‘Shock Doctrine’ has Begun
Basav Sen | progressive.org | 2020-04-09
We need a collective response to the coronavirus crisis to bring out the best of humanity.
progressive.org/op-eds/covid-19-shock-do…

Remove the Boomer Virus and What Virus Remains?
John O’Kane | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
In a recent eruption of internet chatter the Gen Z’s and millennials called Covid-19 the “Boomer Remover” virus (“Gen Z, Millennials Wallow in Self-Pity as They Mock Potential Deadly Hit on Elderly,” Vivek Saxena, BizPac Review, 3/13/20). This species of youth surely doesn’t want the geriatric set to pass, but this is symptomatic of a…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/remove-the-b…

Adolf Trump goes for Venezuela: A jump into nothingness?
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-04-09
In the midst of a desolate scenario, when the United States has become the country with the highest number of those infected by the Coronavirus, President Donald Trump and his team of serial criminals like Elliott Abrams, Cuban-American Mauricio Claver-Carone, Marco Rubio and others, announced that their country and 22 other nations would launch a …
mronline.org/2020/04/09/adolf-trump-goes…

Germany: Weighing economic interests vs. human life in the coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The German media are again openly discussing how much a human life is worth and how many lives should be sacrificed to the interests of the economy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/germ…

The eye-watering amount of coronavirus cash available to MPs proves we’re not ‘all in this together’
Emily Apple | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
The government likes to tell us ‘we’re all in this together’. Whether it’s David Cameron’s fated words about austerity or the current coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it’s a common theme. | But while millions of workers are suffering as a r…
thecanary.co/trending/2020/04/09/the-eye…

Let’s Nuke the Virus
George Monbiot | zcomm.org | 2020-04-09
The UK dismissed early warnings about coronavirus

Brazilian workers clash with unions over coronavirus crisis
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
A new provisional measure approved by Bolsonaro on April 1 allows companies to suspend contracts, reducing working hours and cutting wages by up to 70 percent.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/braz…

New York Lives Its Deadliest Day With 799 Deaths by COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo informed that 799 COVID-19 patients died over the last 24 hours, although his state saw a reduction in the number of new hospitalizations. | RELATED: | US Becomes First Country to Report 200,000 Coronavirus Cases | The total death toll in New York now exceeds 7,000, forcing authorities to bring additional funeral home employ…
telesurenglish.net/news/New-York-Lives-I…

Congressional Black Caucus tackles outsized coronavirus impact on African Americans
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-09
CHICAGO–One of every seven Illinoisans is an African-American. One of every three Chicagoans is an African-American. And 72% of the deaths in the Windy City from the coronavirus pandemic are of African-Americans. It’s horrifying contrasts like that, duplicated–though not to such an extreme–in cities from New York to Milwaukee to Detroit to D.C., that have …
peoplesworld.org/article/congressional-b…

COVID-19 Could Plunge Half a Billion People Into Poverty: Oxfam
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the world, with over 1.5 million reported cases and over 95,000 deaths, the international organization Oxfam warned Thursday that the economic fallout could push around half a billion people into poverty. | RELATED: | 16.8 Million Out of Work in US, ‘Uncharted Territory’ Economists Warn | “The estimates show that, regardless of the scenario, global poverty could increase for the first time since 1990,” a recent report said, ad…
telesurenglish.net/news/COVID-19-Could-P…

Hundreds of thousands of UK jobs threatened as coronavirus spreads
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The loss of thousands of jobs only confirms that the government’s £370 billion emergency bailout fund to big business is doing next to nothing to protect the working class from the loss of their livelihoods.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/hund…

Modi signals India’s calamitous 21-day lockdown to be extended, as coronavirus cases surge
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
India is especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic because of endemic mass poverty, poor to non-existent sanitation, the high density of its population, and the lack of public health facilities and personnel.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/coin…

Unlike the international community, Colombia has a plan for Venezuela’s refugees
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-09
Without much support from the international community, Colombia’s migration authority has begun taking care of refugees from Venezuela who have been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis. How Migration is…
colombiareports.com/unlike-the-internati…

Politics and Corruption at Grand Canyon
George Wuerthner | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
The Trump Administration is on the warpath. Not to end the Coronavirus, which the President generally believes does not require much federal government intervention, but a war on the environment. From increased oil and gas leasing on our public lands to decreasing national clean air standards for automobiles, elimination of environmental law enforcement, to attacks…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/politics-and…

UK social care system faces collapse amid spike in coronavirus deaths
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Mass deaths and runaway infections have begun to rip through UK residential and nursing home facilities, bringing adult social care services to the brink of collapse.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/care…

Analysis of Britain’s different coronavirus counting measures shows far higher deaths
Tom Coburg | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
The number of deaths caused by coronavirus (Covid-19) is far greater than is being given out in the daily briefings, recent analysis shows. Many of these additional deaths are of older citizens.How the coronavirus deaths figures are made available: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces figures that are for England and Wales only. It says they are “released every Tuesday at 9: 30am and relate to the week that ended 11 days prior”. The Department of Health and Social Care…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/04/09/anal…

UK SME Businesses Struggling to Access Government Promised Cash
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-09
The government appear to be doing their best given the circumstances they find themselves in. The ‘temporary support for business package’ put together is extensive and includes: a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme deferring VAT and Self-Assessment payments a Self-employment Income Support Scheme a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) a …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/uk-sme-businesses-struggling-to-access-government-promised-cash/

Stay safe, stay well; Protect democracy, vote by mail
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-09
If Wisconsin’s primary election on Tuesday taught us anything, it’s this: The ability to thwart the democratic process and suppress the votes of Black, Latino, and other minority communities is even easier when crisis strikes. Ignore the federal medical advice to prevent the spread of coronavirus, close hundreds of polling places, and you’re sure to …
peoplesworld.org/article/stay-safe-stay-…

New Zealand government says unemployment will hit “double digits”
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The coronavirus-induced crisis is having a devastating effect on jobs, with unemployment expected to reach levels unseen since the Great Depression.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/nzjo…

New Zealand government says unemployment will hit “double digits”
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The coronavirus-induced crisis is having a devastating effect on jobs, with unemployment expected to reach levels unseen since the Great Depression.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/nzjo…

COVID-19: Perfect Cover for Mandatory Biometric ID
Kurt Nimmo | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
Now that the state and its media have falsely characterized the coronavirus as a pandemic closing in on the 1918 flu pandemic (falsely attributed to Spain), it is time for the global elite and their technocrats to force not only …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-perfect-cover…

Wisconsin’s pandemic election: A public health disaster
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The decision to hold an election in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak which has already killed tens of thousands of people is a criminal act by both parties which will guarantee more infections and deaths in the US.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/wisc…

15,000 Professionals Join Fight Against COVID-19 in Argentina
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Argentina’s Health Ministry confirmed that over 15,000 professionals will join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through a telemedicine system. | RELATED: | Scientists Unveil Coronavirus Genome That Arrived in Argentina | Health Ministry Human Talent director Pedro Silberman explained that those professionals are being trained to complement and accompany the health units that are currently working. | The Argentine authorities reported that 3,000 resident doctors will rece…
telesurenglish.net/news/15000-Profession…

Decline in COVID-19 testing casts doubt on claims Australia is “flattening the curve”
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The narrow focus of testing conceals the true scope of the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/auct…

EU talks on COVID-19 pandemic response collapse
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
With over 700,000 sick and nearly 60,000 dead of COVID-19 across Europe, EU governments clashed bitterly over how to bail out the continent’s banks.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/euro…

Who Profits from the Pandemic?
Pepe Escobar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
You don’t need to read Michel Foucault’s work on biopolitics to understand that neoliberalism

Beware Government Secrecy in Times of Pandemic
Brian Horejsi | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Every British Columbian should be nervous, and irritated, by the never-ending secrecy demonstrated by health officials. We are talking about COVID-19, where it is, and how we should be dealing with it. The withholding of information is characteristic of governments, B.C. being no exception. It is a widespread, long standing practice for government to keep…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/beware-gover…

Social crisis looms in Pakistan as COVID-19 pandemic surges
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Pakistan’s health authorities expect the outbreak in the country will increase rapidly this month to hit 50,000 cases by April 25.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/paco…

Brazilian Military Plan to Overthrow Bolsonaro
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
The political situation in Brazil worsens day after day. The irresponsible way in which President Jair Bolsonaro is managing the effects of the pandemic has been causing concern and fury in all sectors of Brazilian society. All the bases that …
globalresearch.ca/brazilian-military-pla…

UK social worker speaks out on unsafe conditions sanctioned by management and unions
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The WSWS spoke to a children’s social worker in a Local Authority in northern England about the conditions she and her clients face amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/soci…

Lost in the Pandemic: the Forever Wars
Eugene Schulman | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Locked down in my fifth floor apartment in Geneva, Switzerland with a view across the French border dominated by the snow-capped Monte Blanc, I began to wonder whatever happened to the forever wars we used to hear and read about every day in the main stream media. For weeks, now, our newspapers and TV seem…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/lost-in-the-…

Musicians speak out on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The deepening crisis has left musicians and DJs across the United States, most of whom are part of the gig economy, reeling.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/musi…

Beware Government Secrecy in Times of Pandemic
Brian Horejsi | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Every British Columbian should be nervous, and irritated, by the never-ending secrecy demonstrated by health officials. We are talking about COVID-19, where it is, and how we should be dealing with it. The withholding of information is characteristic of governments, B.C. being no exception. It is a widespread, long standing practice for government to keep…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/beware-gover…

American Exceptionalism in the Face of Covid-19
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Food takes a special place in times of universal distress. Amid this Covid-19 pandemic, food insecurity and hunger are growing exponentially. Here in the US, the richest society on Earth where the forces of wealth and greed are aligned against poverty, there has been a run on food pantries and food banks. (…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/american-exc…

Social crisis looms in Pakistan as COVID-19 pandemic surges
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Pakistan’s health authorities expect the outbreak in the country will increase rapidly this month to hit 50,000 cases by April 25.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/paco…

16.8m Out of Work in US, ‘Uncharted Territory’ Experts Warn
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The United States Department of Labor announced Thursday that 6.6 million more people filed unemployment claims last week, bringing the three-week total to roughly 16.8 million, meaning about 10 percent of the nation’s workforce has become jobless during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | US Unemployment Rate Could Soon Reach 32%: Fed Economists Warn | “Unprecedented. Unheard of. Uncharted territory. These are phrases I use all the time now but they are deeply inadequate…
telesurenglish.net/news/16.8-Million-Out…

Decline in COVID-19 testing casts doubt on claims Australia is “flattening the curve”
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The narrow focus of testing conceals the true scope of the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/auct…

IMF Says Global Growth Will Turn “Sharply Negative” in 2020
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Thursday said the global growth will turn sharply negative in 2020, noting that “we anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression.” | RELATED: 16.8 Million Out of Work in US, ‘Uncharted Territory’ Economists Warn | Countries around the world have taken fiscal actions amounting to about 8 trillion U.S. dollars in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Georgieva, who noted that ther…
telesurenglish.net/news/IMF-Says-Global-…

Workers oppose rush back to work as death toll rises among grocery, transit and autoworkers
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Strikes and job actions continue as workers demand protections from the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/work…

Rapid growth of COVID-19 in eastern Pennsylvania
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
The owners of low-wage production and transportation facilities refuse to curtail production during the pandemic, causing the disease to spread.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/paco…

Amid mounting COVID-19 death toll, White House demands businesses “open with a big bang”
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Even as the pandemic death toll soars, the Trump administration is demanding that workers–including those exposed to COVID-19–get back to work.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/pers…

9/11 Truth: Under Lockdown for Nearly Two Decades
Max Parry | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary”

5 reasons the world needs WHO, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic
news.un.org | 2020-04-09
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s health agency, has played a crucial role in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, ever since the first cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. At a press conference on Wednesday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, outlined five ways the agency is leading the global response.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1…

Bolsonaro Is Good President Only for 33 Percent of Brazilians
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Amid debates about what needs to be done to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, Datafolha published an opinion poll according to which 80 percent of the population says they suspect President Jair Bolsonaro’s statements. | RELATED: | Sao Paulo Extends Lockdown, Bolsonaro Defies Health Advice | The investigation was carried out between April 5 and Ap…
telesurenglish.net/news/Bolsonaro-Is-Goo…

Detroit on the Frontline in Battle to End COVID-19 Pandemic
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
More than 2,000 people working in the healthcare industry have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 in the Detroit metropolitan area sending further tremors through the already heavily-shaken region which has been identified as a major “hotspot” in the pandemic. | A …
globalresearch.ca/detroit-on-the-frontli…

COVID-19 and the Lessons of Life in Exile
Ariel Dorfman | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Everything is unsettled. Whatever you thought was steady and predictable has now turned out to be alien and dangerous. You can no longer interact with your family or friends or other members of your community face to face

U2 Donates Over 10 Million to Ireland’s Healthcare Workers
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The rock band U2 donated US$10.9 million to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies to fight COVID-19 in Ireland. | RELATED: | Kendrick Lamar Opened Grammy With Revolutionary-Themed Set | Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, and Adam Clayton thus joined a fundraising project led by the plane rental company Avolon, which works with other public and private companies to import medical supplies from China. | On Tuesday, the first shipment with these supplies arriv…
telesurenglish.net/news/U2-Donates-Over-…

What Does Wuhan Tell Us?
CGTN | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-09
CGTN’s Zou Yue, a Wuhan native, believes the experiences that came with paying a high price fighting COVID-19 in Hubei Province, could

Ghebreyesus: ‘Africa Will Not Be Testing Ground for Any Vaccine’
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization leader, condemned the suggestion of testing an anti-COVID vaccine on the African population. These statements, qualified as racism, were made by two doctors who were live on French television. | RELATED: New York Lives Its Deadliest Day With 799 Deaths by COVID-19 | The main argument for the hypothetical vaccine testing is Africa does not have the defense and preventive resources as other regions. Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Loc…
telesurenglish.net/news/-ghebreyesus-afr…

Health Care Workers are Joining Veterans in Carrying Moral Injuries
James Jeffrey | progressive.org | 2020-04-09
Veterans have historically dominated the trauma discussion, but now invisible wounds are afflicting health care workers on the front lines of COVID-19.
progressive.org/covid-19/health-care-wor…

Second COVID-19 death in Zimbabwe reveals extent of government unpreparedness
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
The 79-year-old victim died on April 4 but the cause of death was determined to be COVID-19 only on April 7. The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights has demanded the government clarify the true state of preparedness…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/second-co…

Pennsylvania nursing home says all 800 patients and staff have COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
After being unable to do the testing required, one of the largest nursing homes in western Pennsylvania is operating under the assumption that all of the facility’s nearly 800 patients and staff have been infected with COVID-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/penn…

UN, WHO call for unity in the face of COVID-19
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
“We will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave,” the WHO director-general said in response to Donald Trump’s threats to withdraw funding to the organization. Trump had also alleged that the WHO was China-centric…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/un-who-ca…

Unions demand enhanced safety measures for transport workers in London
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
Trade unions including Unite the Union, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), among others, have raised concerns about the rising number of deaths of transport workers due to COVID-19. 14 transport workers have died in London alone as of April 8…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/unions-de…

Nearly 17 million have lost their jobs, overwhelming state unemployment agencies
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-09
WASHINGTON–Total unemployment claims since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic have now topped 16.8 million. For the week ending April 4, an additional 6.6 million new claims were filed. New information in March exceeded 15 million, total, the federal government’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on April 9. The only reason the number did not …
peoplesworld.org/article/nearly-17-milli…

‘The Gig Economy Is Really Just Pushing People Into Precarious Work’ – CounterSpin interview with Bama Athreya on the gig economy and Covid-19
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-04-09
Janine Jackson interviewed Open Society’s Bama Athreya about the gig economy and Covid-19 for the April 3, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/the-gig-economy-is-really-…

Bolivia: Añez Replaces Health Minister
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Bolivian de facto President Jeanine Añez announced on Wednesday the Health Minister replacement amid the sanitary crisis in the Andean nation due to COVID-19. | RELATED: | Bolivia: Military Represses Citizens at the Border | Former Bolivian Health Minister Aníbal Cruz alleged “personal reasons” for his resignation. In a formal letter addressed to Añez, Cruz affirmed “it was an honor to serve the country and work under the leadership of President àÅñez” and added that “as you know, ha…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-anez-rep…

A note from Michael D. Yates
Michael D. Yates | mronline.org | 2020-04-09
I am worried, shocked, sad, angry. At 74 and with a pre-existing condition, Covid-19 certainly could mean death.
mronline.org/2020/04/09/a-note-from-mich…

As Russia Sends Aid, US and NATO Sneer and Smear
Ulson Gunnar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
When Russian military planes and trucks arrived in Italy to provide relief for communities hit by the Covid-19 outbreak, the Italian government, elected into power by the Italian people, was thankful for the assistance offered by Moscow. | Named officials within …
globalresearch.ca/as-russia-sends-aid-us…

Students’ Struggle Front in Greece demands direct rent allowance for students
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in Greece, the Students Struggle Front (MAS) has asked the government to provide a direct housing allowance of 800 euros (USD 868.63) to all student families who pay rent for the months of March and April…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/students-…

Libya War Was Based on Lies, Bogus Intelligence, NATO Supported and Armed the Rebels. British Parliamentary Report
Washington’s Blog | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
Originally published in September 2016: | Parliamentary Report Confirms What the Alternative Media Has Been Saying for Years: | The UK Parliament just confirmed what the alternative media has been saying for years. | Specifically, a new report from the bipartisan House …
globalresearch.ca/libya-war-was-based-on…

Trump Signs Executive Order to Support Moon Mining, Tap Asteroid Resources
Mike Wall | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
The water ice and other lunar resources that will help the United States establish a long-term human presence on the moon are there for the taking, the White House believes. | President Donald Trump signed an executive order today (April 6) …
globalresearch.ca/trump-signs-executive-…

John Lennon in Quarantine: a Letter From Havana
Merriam Ansara | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
John Lennon is in quarantine. He, or at least his bronze sculpture, sits on a bench in the leafy park at 17th & 6th Street in Vedado, as though inviting visitors to sit next to him and have a chat. At the foot of the bench is the inscription in Spanish: You may say I’m…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/john-lennon-…

The Dishonest Mr. Daines
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
There must be something in Washington, D.C.’s water that makes politicians think they can do one thing and get away with telling their constituents something else. Certainly the current occupant of the Oval Office will live in infamy for never being able to tell the truth. But now Montana’s junior senator and Donald Trump sycophant,…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/the-dishones…

Love in a Dangerous Time
Mike Ferner | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
A profusion of anonymous axioms and memes floods social media these days but one remains my very favorite: “It’s like we’ve all been sent to our room to think about what we did.” My friends, if there ever was a nation that needed a “time out” for that purpose, it’s ours. With nearly every minute…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/love-in-a-da…

Basic Economics for Economic Columnists: a Depression is a Process, Not an Event
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
With the economy going into a shutdown mode for at least month, and possibly quite a bit longer, we’re again hearing the cries from elite economics columnists about a Second Great Depression. These are pernicious, not only because they are wrongheaded, but they can be used to justify bad things, like giving hundreds of billions…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/basic-econom…

Basic Economics for Economic Columnists: a Depression is a Process, Not an Event
Dean Baker | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
With the economy going into a shutdown mode for at least month, and possibly quite a bit longer, we’re again hearing the cries from elite economics columnists about a Second Great Depression. These are pernicious, not only because they are wrongheaded, but they can be used to justify bad things, like giving hundreds of billions…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/basic-econom…

The New Normal: Cascading and Multilayered Crises
Vincent Emanuele | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
As empires decline, so does the quality of their leaders. The U.S. might wish to run away from reality, but Uncle Sam can’t run away from history. History has finally caught up with the U.S. Indeed, Donald Trump is the result of forty-plus years of hyper-individuality, ‘greed is good’ culture, superficial materialism, and a politics based not on substance or principles, but looks, marketability, and adherence to Neoliberal fundamentalist ideologies.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/the-new-norm…

Psychotherapy with Colombia Reports | Part 1
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-09
Colombia Reports did a virtual psychotherapy session with Medellin psychologist David Galeano to find out how to deal with extended isolation and the sudden uncertainty about the future. Galeano stressed…
colombiareports.com/on-psychotherapy-wit…

Colombia’s VP breaks down in interview over business ties to narco
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-09
Colombia’s vice-president broke down in tears on Wednesday during an interview over her businesses ties to a drug trafficker. In an interview with W Radio, VP Marta Lucia Ramirez (Conservative…
colombiareports.com/colombias-vp-breaks-…

Bailout of US corporations expands while workers see little relief
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
While billions have already flowed to the corporations and banks, the limited provisions of the bailout law touted as a boon to working people have yet to kick in, and for millions they likely never will.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/bail…

North and South Poles attract marine life avoiding rising heat
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-09
In a warming ocean, some species will swim, others sink. But all agree: the poles attract marine life without exception. It’s the same the whole world over: everywhere in the oceans of this warming planet, the poles attract marine life. Molluscs are on the move, haddock are feeling the heat, and penguins are shifting further …
truepublica.org.uk/global/north-and-south-poles-attract-marine-life-avoiding-rising-heat/

Martin Khor: Undaunted Fighter for the Poor and Underprivileged
Yilmaz Akyàºz | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
We are greatly saddened by the passing of Martin Khor, a long-time friend and colleague, an undaunted fighter for the poor and underprivileged, a passionate believer in a more balanced and inclusive multilateralism, a rare intellectual and eloquent orator, …
globalresearch.ca/martin-khor-undaunted-…

The Smearing of Film Director Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn Is the Face of Our New Toxic Politics
Jonathan Cook | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
Ken Loach, one of Britain’s most acclaimed film directors, has spent more than a half a century dramatising the plight of the poor and the vulnerable. His films have often depicted the casual indifference or active hostility of the state …
globalresearch.ca/the-smearing-of-film-d…

Iran releases ‘political prisoners’ amid Covid-19 outbreak, while virus-stricken UK keeps Assange behind bars
rt.com | 2020-04-09
Tehran has released an Iranian national seen as a political prisoner in the UK as it fights the coronavirus. British activists and media rushed to say Iran’s move was not enough

Australian MPs call for release of Julian Assange to home detention as Covid-19 ‘rapidly spreads’ in UK prisons
rt.com | 2020-04-09
There are new calls from Australia to release Julian Assange from prison over Covid-19 fears. Two MPs, supported on Twitter by the whistleblower’s mother, sent letters to UK authorities calling for his release to home detention. | Australian MPs Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen, co-chairs of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, wrote to UK Commons Justice Committee Chair Bob Neill MP and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland MP calling for “urgent” consideration of Assange’s case in light of the fact that Covid-19 is “rapidly spreading” in British prisons. | COVID-19 is in the UK’s p…
rt.com/uk/485387-assange-covid19-belmars…