[Comment] Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response
Kelli Stidham Hall, Goleen Samari, Samantha Garbers, Sara E Casey, Dazon Dixon Diallo, Miriam Orcutt, Rachel T Moresky, Micaela Elvira Martinez, Terry McGovern | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Global responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are converging with pervasive, existing sexual and reproductive health and justice inequities to disproportionately impact the health, wellbeing, and economic stability of women, girls, and vulnerable populations. People whose human rights are least protected are likely to experience unique difficulties from COVID-19.1 Women, girls, and marginalised groups are likely to carry a heavier burden of what will be the devastating downstream economic and social consequences of this pandemic.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30801-1/fulltext?rss=yes
[Comment] Offline: COVID-19–bewilderment and candour
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
“This disease is unlike anything I have seen before. If you end up on ICU, you are potentially in real trouble. I have never seen anything like it before.” These words were written by one intensive care physician working at a London teaching hospital. As deaths accumulate, the early message that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes mostly a mild illness has been shown to be dangerously false. One in five patients develop complications and are at grave risk. A further misunderstanding concerns age.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30850-3/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Regulators split on antimalarials for COVID-19
Susan Jaffe | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
US and French authorities have authorised the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, but the EU regulator and WHO say the science doesn’t support the decision. Susan Jaffe reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30817-5/fulltext?rss=yes
[Editorial] Palliative care and the COVID-19 pandemic
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Palliative care services are under-resourced at the best of times. The 2017 Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief described the widespread lack of access to inexpensive and effective interventions as a travesty of justice. And these are not the best of times. As health systems become strained under COVID-19, providing safe and effective palliative care, including end-of-life care, becomes especially vital and especially difficult.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30822-9/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Virtual health care in the era of COVID-19
Paul Webster | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Patients are under lockdown and health workers are at risk of infection. Paul Webster reports on how telemedicine is being embraced like never before.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30818-7/fulltext?rss=yes
US trade talks must be put on hold to deal with Covid-19 pandemic, demand campaigners
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-11
A group of charities and campaigning groups has written to the government, calling on them to halt trade negotiations with the United States to focus instead on the health and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The letter was sent following comments made by the United States Trade Representative on Monday 23 March 2020 in which …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/us-trade-talks-must-be-put-on-hold-to-deal-with-covid-19-pandemic-demand-campaigners/
[Editorial] The gendered dimensions of COVID-19
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate, but without careful consideration, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic might. Demographic data from small studies are already informing political decisions and clinical research strategies. Women and men are affected by COVID-19, but biology and gender norms are shaping the disease burden. The success of the global response–the ability of both women and men to survive and recover from the pandemic’s effects–will depend on the quality of evidence informing the response and the extent to which data represent sex and gender differences.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30823-0/fulltext?rss=yes
First of its type in the world: Iran Rolls Out Ionized Protective Masks Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Sputnik News | iranian.com | 2020-04-11
The Islamic republic, considered one of the worst-hit countries in the world as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the worst in the Middle East, has been struggling to contain the rapidly spreading outbreak while under harsh unilateral US economic sanctions. Experts in the Iranian Defence Ministry have released protective face masks with ionized …
iranian.com/2020/04/10/first-of-its-type…
Freedom from Fear: John Pilger Discusses Coronavirus Propaganda, Imperialism, and Human Rights
T.J. Coles | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
John Pilger is the world-renowned journalist and filmmaker. The author of several books and maker of over 60 documentaries (the latest being The Coming War on China and The Dirty War on the NHS), Pilger has won dozens of prestigious awards and has been honoured by several universities. I asked him about the coronavirus in…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/freedom-from…
Capitalism, the State Religion
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
With Old Testament locusts and plagues re-emerging for the late capitalist era, one could be forgiven for imagining that an avenging God has been awakened. As the virus winds its way into the nooks and crannies of modernity, innocents are being sacrificed at the altar of ‘the economy’ while the lunatic circus in the New…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/capitalism-t…
Freedom from fear
John Pilger | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
Interview on coronavirus, Assange, propaganda and human rights…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/freedom-from-fear/
World coronavirus cases surge past 1.6 million
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published new guidelines that provide the justification to force tens of millions of workers back to work, even as the global death toll from COVID-19 approaches 100,000.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/coro…
Lakota People’s Law Project requests messages of solidarity
| workers.org | 2020-04-10
Send a message of solidarity to Standing Rock after the [Standing Rock Sioux] Tribe’s big court Dakota Access Pipeline win. Federal permits for DAPL have been revoked! Thank you for all you are doing to aid this struggle. The Tribe will now submit legal briefs in an effort to stop . . . | Continue reading Lakota People’s Law Project requests messages of solidarity at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47600/?utm_source=rs…
Pa. prisoner tells WW: “We’re on death row lockdown”
Ted Kelly | workers.org | 2020-04-10
Workers World reporter Ted Kelly interviewed Bryant Arroyo, a lifer at Pennsylvania State Correctional Institute Frackville in central Pennsylvania on April 1. Mumia Abu-Jamal has referred to him as “the world’s first jailhouse environmentalist.” Arroyo has been in prison for 27 years for a crime he did not commit. Ted . . . | Continue reading Pa. prisoner tells WW: “We’re on death row lockdown” at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47596/?utm_source=rs…
Capitalism kills as health workers lack protection
Richard Kossaly | workers.org | 2020-04-10
Over the last three months, the U.S. government has proven its inability to protect and incompetence at caring for the population. A basic step to promote public health in the face of an epidemic
Essential vs non-essential
Tony Murphy | workers.org | 2020-04-10
Continue reading Essential vs non-essential at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47604/?utm_source=rs…
The EPA Just Gave Polluters a License to Kill
Lois Gibbs | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Our government just told polluters they are free to pump deadly chemicals into our air and water. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended all enforcement indefinitely, until the COVID-19 crisis is over. This terrifies me. I know firsthand that giving polluters free rein will cost thousands, even millions, of lives. As a…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/the-epa-just…
The EPA Just Gave Polluters a License to Kill
Lois Gibbs | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Our government just told polluters they are free to pump deadly chemicals into our air and water. That’s because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended all enforcement indefinitely, until the COVID-19 crisis is over. This terrifies me. I know firsthand that giving polluters free rein will cost thousands, even millions, of lives. As a…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/the-epa-just…
Three Illinois prisoners die of COVID-19 as Chicago jail identified as a “hotspot”
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Protests have taken place against inhumane treatment, crowded conditions, inadequate sanitation and official inaction on the growing demands for inmate release.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/jail…
Australian MPs call for Assange’s release from UK prison
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
MPs who are part of a pro-Assange parliamentary group have called for his release from the Belmarsh prison in the UK over concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 in prisons…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/australia…
Greg Mortimer Cruise Passengers to Be Repatriated From Uruguay
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Uruguay will evacuate this Friday part of the passengers on board the Australian cruise ship Greg Mortimer, most of them infected by COVID-19. | RELATED: | British Cruise Ship With COVID-19 Cases Docks in Cuban Port | Authorities will deploy a humanitarian corridor to transport 112 passengers from the ship to the airport in Montevideo, according to the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. | The humanitarian plane is expected to arrive the airport at 5 a.m. However, the cruise sh…
telesurenglish.net/news/uruguay-to-repat…
Puebla Group to Analyze COVID-19 Crisis in Latin America
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
The Puebla Group Friday meet virtually to analyze proposals to face the economic and social crisis that Latin America is experiencing due to COVID-19. | RELATED: | Puebla Group Rejects Sentencing of Former President Correa | Several progressive leaders will analyze what the COVID-19 holds for the future of the region, how to get out of the humanitarian siege and what political rectifications should be made. | The meeting will be attended by Argentina’s President Alberto Fernan…
telesurenglish.net/news/puebla-group-to-…
Black, Indigenous Americans Hit Hard by COVID-19
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-10
Civil rights leader Ben Chavis joins us to talk about why this is happening, how we have to address this epidemic, and what it means for our future.
therealnews.com/stories/black-indigenous…
Low-paid migrant workers bear the worst of Singapore’s second COVID-19 wave
Eileen Ng | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)–After managing to keep on top of the first wave of coronavirus outbreaks, Singapore is grappling with an alarming rise in infections among migrant workers housed in crowded dormitories. Such cases now account for about a quarter of Singapore’s 1,910 infections. The government reported 287 new cases Thursday, its biggest daily jump. …
peoplesworld.org/article/low-paid-migran…
The COVID-19 crisis in New York City: Why Elmhurst has become a center of the crisis
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Elmhurst is the most heavily immigrant working class district in New York City.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/elmh…
Over 530 Bolivians Remain Stranded at the Border With Chile
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Over 530 Bolivian citizens remain stranded at the border between Bolivia and Chile. Given the precarious retention conditions, they are vulnerable to COVID-19 contagious. | RELATED: | Bolivia: Añez Replaces Health Minister | According to Colchane city Mayor Javier Garcia, Bolivia’s coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez has abandoned migrants during the sanitary emergency. This Chilean local authority her of being discriminatory with her citizens. | Those who entered Bolivian territory in airships were…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-crisis-c…
Communist Party USA demands immigrant safety and justice in current health crisis
Special to People’s World | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
In a statement released April 9, the Immigrant Rights Subcommittee of the Communist Party USA’s Political Action Commission calls for a “complete immigrant-friendly overhaul of our laws and policies regarding immigrants and refugees, including a fair and just method for workers to enter the U.S., the right to not be tied to one employer, and …
peoplesworld.org/article/communist-party…
The Week We Should Not Forget for Our Own Sake
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Much happened this week and we can’t afford to ignore any of it. The events of the last seven days provide significant opportunities for civic action. 1. Bernie Sanders suspended his peoples’ presidential campaign while staying on upcoming primary ballots to acquire more delegates to take to the Democratic convention. He concedes the nomination to…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/the-week-we-…
Trump to Reopen US Economy in May?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
Social distancing, sheltering in place, and lockdowns are unprecedented and painful for everyone. | The unemployed are harmed most, out of work and unable to freely seek new sources of income needed for essentials to life and welfare. | It’s unclear how …
globalresearch.ca/trump-to-reopen-us-eco…
Trump Regime Escalates War on China by Other Means
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
China is aggressively targeted by Washington because of its growing political, economic and military power on the world stage. | Pompeo falsely accused its ruling authorities of “repression…unfair competition…predatory economic practices, (and) a more aggressive military posture (sic).” | All of the …
globalresearch.ca/trump-regime-escalates…
Femicide does not respect the quarantine
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-04-10
Days, weeks, months, an indeterminate amount of time as the world seems paralysed by the journey of SARS-CoV-2. The lack of certainty increases the anxiety. This virus, as Arundhati Roy writes, ‘seeks proliferation, not profit, and has, therefore, inadvertently, to some extent, reversed the direction of the flow [of capital].
mronline.org/2020/04/10/femicide-does-no…
Video: COVID-19. The Unspoken Truth. The Most Serious Global Crisis in Modern History
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
This video featuring Prof. Michel Chossudovsky is part of a Global Research series on the corona virus crisis. | The unspoken truth is that the novel coronavirus provides a pretext to powerful financial interests and corrupt politicians to trigger the …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-the-unspoken-…
Haiti on the precipice as coronavirus and US-imposed leadership take their toll
The Grayzone | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
While Haiti’s widely despised, US-backed government officially promotes social distancing to suppress Covid-19, the stark reality is that most of the population is likely heading toward herd immunity, where many must get infected in the street rather than die by hunger at home.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/haiti-on-…
Organizing under lockdown: online activism, local solidarity
Bernd Bonfert | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
As the pandemic forces us into lockdown, activists across Europe demonstrate that there are still ways to organize and practice solidarity at a safe social distance…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/organizing-under-l…
Orange King COVID
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Listen to Paul Street on this week’s edition of CounterPunch Radio. One of the reasons to have joined Refuse Fascism and other activists in the streets demanding the end of the lethal Trump-Pence regime for the last three years and three months was the danger that the demented president and his white nationalist party in…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/orange-king-…
Under pressure, feds reverse decision to close coronavirus testing sites
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
PHILADELPHIA–Under pressure from Pennsylvania lawmakers and a report on National Public Radio, the GOP Trump government’s Health and Human Services Department abruptly reversed a ruling to cut off dollars to some 41 community coronavirus testing sites nationwide. Otherwise, at least two of the drive-through sites would have closed April 10. Trump’s HHS protested that state-funded …
peoplesworld.org/article/under-pressure-…
Israeli Forces Suppress Weekly Protest, Many Palestinians Suffer Inhalation Injuries
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-04-10
Palestinian media reports said that Palestinian residents in the central West Bank town of Kufur Qaddoum suffocated on tear-gas, fired by Israeli troops on Friday. Spokesperson for the Popular Committee for the Resistance of Israel’s Apartheid Wall in the Qalqilia city of the West Bank, Morad Eshteiwi, told media outlets …
imemc.org/article/israeli-forces-suppres…
Foreign Correspondent: Here Comes a Massive Recession
Reese Erlich | progressive.org | 2020-04-10
A recession was inevitable, but COVID-19 and the Trump Administration’s failures are making it worse.
progressive.org/dispatches/here-comes-a-…
Jared’s Coronavirus Task Force
Mark Fiore | progressive.org | 2020-04-10
How did someone with no medical or public health experience get in a position where he is coordinating the White House’s response to COVID-19?
progressive.org/covid-19/jared-coronavir…
Chomsky on Trump’s Disastrous COVID-19 Response, Sanders and What Gives Him Hope
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-10
How did the United States
The One Paragraph You Need to Read from the JFK Assassination Files that May Change Everything
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
This article was first published on Global Research on October 30, 2017. | ” | For clarity… | …the “Surgeon General’s Report” on the assassination stated that the first bullet entered the President’s throat below the adams apple, clearly showing that two persons | …
globalresearch.ca/the-one-paragraph-you-…
The “Secret Agenda” of the So-called Elite
Dr. Rudolf Hà§nsel | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
“The International” is the world-renowned battle song of the socialist labor movement. The English version of the originally French text reads: | “Wake up, damned of this earth, who are still forced to starve! (…) Army of slaves, wake up! (…) …
globalresearch.ca/reflections-secret-age…
COVID-19: US Politicians and Media Have Success Hyped the Public Into an Anti-China Frenzy
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-10
New polls show an overwhelming desire by Americans to see some kind of retaliation against China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
mintpressnews.com/poll-us-public-wants-r…
New Research Shows Anti-Coronavirus Drugs Could Be Produced for Pennies
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-10
Instead, those drugs are being sold for thousands of dollars each, proving once again that the private, for-profit pharmaceutical industry is ill-equipped to handle a global public health crisis like COVID-19.
mintpressnews.com/new-research-shows-cor…
Solidarity in the Age of Coronavirus: What the Arabs Must Do
Ramzy Baroud | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
Let COVID-19 be that opportunity that will allow all nations, especially in the Middle East, to take a stance against war, hunger and disease, to share their wealth and to extend the hand of solidarity to Africa and our historic allies throughout the world…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/solidarity-in-the-…
Faith, Humor and Dutch Candy: A Palestinian Guide to Surviving Quarantine
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-10
The coronavirus quarantine is no radical departure for many Palestinians, who have learned to live in a state of virtual ‘lockdown’ since the late 1940s.
mintpressnews.com/palestinian-guide-surv…
Solidarity in the Age of Coronavirus: What the Arabs Must Do
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
While the Coronavirus continues to ravage almost every nation on earth, Arab countries remain unable, or unwilling, to formulate a collective strategy to help the poorest and most vulnerable Arabs survive the deadly virus and its economic fallout. Worse, amid growing international solidarity, we are yet to see a pan-Arab initiative that aims to provide…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/solidarity-i…
Thank you, Bernie. Screw You, New York Times
Laura Flanders | fair.org | 2020-04-10
| It is the essence of American liberalism to trash radical dreams and then dance on them. And that’s just what the New York Times did the day after Bernie Sanders bowed out of the Democratic race for the nomination. On that day, in a special editorial ( 4/9/20), the editors of the very same paper that disparaged his every move opined that America is divided and our democracy corrupt, and launched a series promising to report on just the sort of transformative policies Sanders advocated. The New York Times (
fair.org/home/thank-you-bernie-screw-you…
Congress Must Lead The Way in This Unprecedented Crisis
Bernie Sanders | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
The American people deserve and require leadership from Washington amid this horrific pandemic and economic meltdown. In this unprecedented moment in American history, we need an unprecedented legislative response…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/congress-must-lead…
Another Sanders Betrayal
Laurie Dobson | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
As people come to grips with the announcement today that Bernie Sanders has suspended, i.e. dropped out of, his campaign, a myriad of collective feelings will have to run their inevitable course. My first reactions are that I feel profoundly let down. In the middle of Holy Week, for God’s sake! While the virus is…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/another-sand…
Don’t threaten Afghans–it will be counterproductive
M.K. Bhadrakumar | mronline.org | 2020-04-10
The principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) in the U.S. State Department, Alice Wells, dropped a bombshell on the Afghan government and the country’s political elites on April 4–and caught the international donors by surprise, too–by linking all aid to Afghanistan to the formation of an inclusive …
mronline.org/2020/04/10/dont-threaten-af…
Mike Elk on Frontline Worker Rights, Joe Emersberger on Pandemic Sanctions
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-04-10
Media…
fair.org/home/mike-elk-on-frontline-work…
Saudi Arabia Violates its Own Ceasefire As Yemen Announces First Cases of Coronavirus
Ahmed Abdulkareem | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-10
The Saudi regime has engaged in a number of questionable activities since the global outbreak of COVID-19, including moving masses of African refugees deported from areas with coronavirus to the Yemeni border.
mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabia-violates-…
Kansas Supreme Court rule in favor of renewable energy
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2020-04-10
“With today’s Supreme Court ruling, we make headway toward fairness and justice for solar and renewable energy users in Kansas.”
nationofchange.org/2020/04/10/kansas-sup…
Chomsky and Pollin: To Heal From COVID-19, We Must Imagine a Different World
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-10
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caught the world unprepared, and the economic, social and political consequences of the pandemic are expected to be dramatic, in spite of recent pledges by leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies to inject $5 trillion into the global economy in order to spur economic recovery. | But what lessons can we learn from this pandemic? Will the coronavirus crisis lead to a new way of organizing society
Russia’s workers sent back to factories as coronavirus continues to spread
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Industrial and manufacturing enterprises are reopening in Russia, even as thousands of new infections are reported daily.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/russ…
Reverse Shock Doctrine? Spain Moves Towards Permanent Basic Income
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-10
Even the business community has signaled support for the proposal as Spain’s economy craters during the coronavirus pandemic.
therealnews.com/stories/reverse-shock-do…
Information Warfare Behind Chloroquine
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
As the new coronavirus pandemic advances around the world, several side questions are raised. Many controversies have been discussed around the treatment of COVID-19, with countless speculations about the efficiency of experimental methods, and defenders and opponents of the application …
globalresearch.ca/information-warfare-be…
Canada: More than 5 million workers apply for government assistance amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
While millions of workers and their families are effectively being given rations, Canada’s banks and business elite are rolling in cash, courtesy of the more than $650 billion handed over to them by the Trudeau government.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/caco…
Colombia medical personnel walks out ahead of Duque’s impending coronavirus catastrophe
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-10
Colombia’s medical personnel are rebelling over life-threatening working conditions as the coronavirus pandemic puts the country’s healthcare system in the first stage of collapse. The healthcare system has begun falling…
colombiareports.com/sick-of-duque-colomb…
Will the EU Survive the Coronavirus?
John Feffer | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
Hungary’s authoritarianism, Portugal’s generosity, Italy’s call for solidarity, Germany’s tightfistedness: European responses to the crisis are all over the map…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/will-the-eu-surviv…
Netflix’s ‘How to Fix a Drug Scandal’ will anger you, and rightly so
Chauncey K. Robinson | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
The content streaming juggernaut Netflix has once again premiered a series that may help viewers forget about the current coronavirus troubles of the world while simultaneously reminding us of the systemic problems that helped deliver us to this moment in time. The docu-series How to Fix a Drug Scandal was added to the platform this …
peoplesworld.org/article/netflixs-how-to…
Social and economic catastrophe intensifies as 6.6 million Americans file for unemployment
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Emergency measures are necessary as the health crisis produced by the coronavirus pandemic develops into the greatest economic crisis in the United States since the 1930s.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/pers…
COVID-19 is Manufactured Chaos
Wim Laven | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
In late December of last year, the Chinese announced an epidemic in Wuhan. The autocratic Chinese government should have made that outbreak known at least three weeks earlier. Over here, the increasingly autocratic Trump dithered, misunderstood, failed to act, dismissed the threat as nothing, and let coronavirus win. This poor excuse for an official finally lets us know on…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/covid-19-is-…
Mideast: COVID-19 Cases in Israel Exceed 10,000; Yemen 1st Case
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
The number of novel coronavirus cases in Israel increased to 10,408 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government declared the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country. | RELATED: | New York Uses Mass Graves Due to Increase COVID-19 Deaths | The death toll of COVID-19 has reached 95 in Israel, with a daily increase of nine deaths on Friday. | The Israeli government has put emergency regulation restrictions to reduce the COVID-19 spread, as Israelis on Wednesday beg…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mideast-COVID-19…
Last Chance to Save the Euro?
Marshall Auerback | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
After a faulty start to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union members appear to be getting their act together, as they all appear to have abandoned ruinous slash-and-burn austerity policies (including budget cuts to health care, education and other social services) in order to cope with the onset of a global depression. At least that’s…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/last-chance-…
Wall Street’s Banks Could Profit by Millions on Coronavirus Deaths of Employees
Pam Martens, Russ Martens | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
If it sounds ghoulish, it’s because it is ghoulish. Some of the biggest banks on Wall Street have been intimidating their traders to come back to work despite an executive order from the Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, ordering people to remain at home during the coronavirus outbreak unless they work for essential…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/wall-streets…
As Coronavirus spread, financial services contractor told warehouse workers they aren’t allowed to get sick
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-04-10
M. WAS MIDWAY through her 12-hour shift in late March, sorting financial documents in a cavernous Long Island warehouse, when a supervisor stopped by and handed her a flyer. Several days earlier, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had signed an executive order shutting down most businesses, but M.’s warehouse had remained open because its purpose–mailing …
mronline.org/2020/04/10/as-coronavirus-s…
Consumer Price Index Falls 0.4 Percent, Driven by Plunging Gas, Hotel, and Airline Prices
Matt Sedlar | cepr.net | 2020-04-10
Medical care services prices rise sharply, even as overall prices tumble The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.4 percent in March, driven by sharp falls in prices in several sectors that were strongly affected by the coronavirus crisis. The most important of these was a drop in gasoline prices of 10.5 percent. This is …
cepr.net/prices-2020-04/
The Federal Reserve’s Coronavirus Crisis Actions, explained (Part 4)
Nathan Tankus | mronline.org | 2020-04-10
Ten days after the last central bank swap line announcement, the Federal Reserve followed up with an announcement of another facility meant to help a lower tier of central banks. In this facility the Federal Reserve would make a standing offer to temporarily purchase U.S. treasury securities from central banks (and supranational monetary institutions) and …
mronline.org/2020/04/10/the-federal-rese…
United States set to block IMF’s emergency loan to Iran
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
Iran had requested a USD 5 billion emergency loan from the IMF last month to help its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The US claims the money will be used to fund terrorism in the region…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/united-st…
Coronavirus threatens to spread ‘like wildfire’ through U.S. prisons
John Bachtell | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
“It’s fixin’ to be a mass grave site in these prisons,” said a terrified prisoner in an Alabama state prison. “Once (coronavirus) is in it will spread like wildfire,” said another. “It’s a death sentence,” said a third, for many older prisoners like himself. “We need help!” he cried. The prisoners, forced to live in …
peoplesworld.org/article/coronavirus-thr…
Venture Capitalist Stuns CNBC by Saying We Should Let Hedge Funds Fail
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-10
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya stunned CNBC anchor Scott Wapner and generated widespread applause on social media by declaring in a television interview Thursday that the U.S. government should let hedge funds and billionaire CEOs “get wiped out” by the coronavirus-induced economic collapse and instead focus its attention on rescuing Main Street. | When Wapner, seemingly incredulous at what he was hearing, asked Palihapitiya why he would support the collapse of large companies, the Social…
truthout.org/articles/venture-capitalist…
Auto companies plot out plan to restart production in North America despite coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Both the auto corporations and their lackeys in the auto unions are demanding that workers risk their lives to go back to work in the factories in order to satisfy capitalist profit interests.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/auto…
Colombia to pay small, medium-sized business personnel during coronavirus peak
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-10
Colombia’s government will assume personnel costs of all micro, small and medium-sided businesses during the height of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent mass layoffs and bankruptcies . In a television…
colombiareports.com/colombia-to-pay-smal…
Still without emergency assistance, unemployed women struggle against hunger
Brasil de Fato | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
“With what we had, we paid our bills for the month of March. Next month, we don’t know what we are going to eat,” explains the 48 year old saleswoman Beatriz Mendonàßa, about life in times of the coronavirus. | Mendonàßa is a resident of the Grajaú neighborhood, in the poor neighborhoods of Sà£o Paulo’s south side, and shares a rented house with her husband, who is a self employed mason worker, her 13 year old daughter and 4 year old granddaughter. She is an informal worker in the sales sector, and since the 19th of March, after stores and malls shuttered, has had her contracts and income suspen…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/still-wit…
As US Reels From COVID-19, the PFAS Pollution Crisis Is Quietly Growing
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-10
Rep. Chris Pappas has a pollution double whammy in his New Hampshire congressional district. A plastics manufacturer contaminated public water wells with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in the town of Merrimack. Residents of the town learned in 2016 that they had been drinking water laced with tasteless, odorless toxic chemicals for two decades. In another part of the district, firefighting foam used at an Air Force installation co…
truthout.org/articles/as-us-reels-from-c…
Minnesota: Doctors Receiving Instructions “to Report Covid19 as a Cause of Death, even if Patient was never Tested”
OffGuardian | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
Minnesota State Senator Scott Jensen appeared on a local news show to report that doctors were receiving instructions from the Minnesota Department of Health to report Covid19 as a cause of death, even if the patient was never tested. | Senator …
globalresearch.ca/minnesota-doctors-rece…
Covid19 Death Figures “A Substantial Over-Estimate”
Kit Knightly | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
A few weeks ago we reported that, according to the Italian Institute of Health (ISS), only 12% of Italy’s reported Covid19 deaths actually listed Covid19 as the cause of death. | Given that 99% of them had at least one | …
globalresearch.ca/covid19-death-figures-…
Armas Biológicas: Uma Visà£o Geral, àötil e Oportuna, Baseada em Factos. Parte 1/3
Larry Romanoff | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-10
O Governo dos EUA e as suas múltiplas agências e instituiàßàµes de ensino e saúde conduzem, há muitas décadas, pesquisas intensivas sobre a guerra biológica, em muitos casos fortemente focadas em agentes patogénicos para uma raàßa específica. | Num relatório para …
globalresearch.ca/armas-biologicas-uma-v…
Pharmacy Workers Coming Down With COVID-19 Can’t Afford to Stop Working
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-10
At his home in the Bronx, where he lies in bed with a fever, Jose Peralta keeps replaying the scene in his head. It was Monday, March 16, the start of an unusually hectic week at a Walgreens in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Peralta, a senior pharmacy technician, was on his way to take a break when he noticed a familiar customer waiting in line to pick up medication. | “I thought, Gee it would be nice to help this guy,” Peralta said. “We’ve all been trying to minimize exposure and make…
truthout.org/articles/pharmacy-workers-c…
Israeli Troops Abduct One Palestinian, Close Town East of Hebron
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-04-10
Israeli troops reportedly closed down the entrance to Bany Naeem town, on Friday, on the eastern edge of the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron. Local media sources and witnesses said that an Israeli army force surrounded the town, before it abducted a Palestinian youth, identified as Mahdi Abusnaina, …
imemc.org/article/israeli-troops-abduct-…
The U.S. Acts as a Pirate and Leaves Yemen Without Food or Fuel
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia Friday confiscated 17 ships loaded with food and fuel heading for Yemen, even though the vessels had the necessary permits to arrive in that country. | RELATED: | Arab League Welcomes Yemen Ceasefire | Although 14 ships carrying oil and three vessels carrying food had permits issued by the United Nations to enter Yemen, the coalition’s marine forces prevented them from doing so. | “We are facing a new case of piracy by Saudi Arabia and its allies,” Yemeni television station A…
telesurenglish.net/news/yemen-denounces-…
UK government ignored scientific advice and treated COVID-19 as a public order issue
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Behavioural scientists played an extraordinary and unwarranted part in determining government policy, compared with the input of medical professionals.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/orde…
As Trump attacks health experts, World Health Organization warns against early return to work
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
President Trump threatens cutting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) for their criticism of his policy of scaling back the response to the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/who-…
International Labour Organisation warns of massive job losses from COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
According to the International Labour Organisation, the COVID-19 crisis is expected to wipe out 6.7 percent of total working hours globally in the second quarter of this year–equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/ilor…
UN Ceasefire Defines War as a Non-Essential Activity
MBNJSD | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-10
It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives…. End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.
India: Post COVID-19 Period Will See Turnaround in Job Market
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Once the COVID-19 dust settles down, a new order will emerge in the job market in India, according to analysts. | RELATED: | 500M People Worldwide Struggle to Find Adequate Work: Study | According to Indian HR firms, gaming, over-the-top (OTT) services, work-from-home virtual teams, project management software, e-commerce, and edutech segments would see a steady increase in business. | “There will be hot jobs in these sectors,” Francis Padamadan, senior director, RPO & BPS Pra…
telesurenglish.net/news/Post-COVID-19-Pe…
Civil Liberties Never Sleep: The ACLU in the Pandemic
David Cole | aclu.org | 2020-04-10
The COVID-19 pandemic has closed down many businesses, but the work of preserving civil liberties and civil rights continues, as essential as ever. Reports of courts closing down can be misleading. While public trials that require jurors and in-person testimony have been suspended, most courts and lawyers can do their work remotely. The filing of legal briefs continues, and oral arguments and hearings are being held remotely. The work of securing justice continues., , At the ACLU, our most immediate focus has been on civil liberties and civil rights issues arising from the government’s response (or lack thereo…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/civil-libe…
A Failed Model: Why Adam Schiff Must Stand Down on a “9/11-Style” COVID-19 Commission
Jon Gold | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-10
Many members of the Trump administration deserve to be arrested and tried in a court of law. They should not, however, have the luxury of escaping truth and justice by way of a “9/11-style Commission.”
mintpressnews.com/failed-model-why-adam-…
Brazil: Judge Prohibits Bolsonaro From Lifting Quarantines
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) judge Alexandre De Moraes ordered President Jair Bolsonaro administration to not overturn decisions of regional or municipal governments that adopted “effective restrictive measures” to reduce the COVID-19 spread. | RELATED: | Bolsonaro Is Good President Only for 33 Percent of Brazilians | “It should be noted that the…
telesurenglish.net/news/Brazil-Judge-Pro…
Brazilian ruling class backs growing military control as COVID-19 pandemic grips country
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Barely 35 years after being ousted from power by mass strikes, the military is being welcomed back as caretakers amid the mounting COVID-19 crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/bols…
New York Homeless People Is Unprotected Against the Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
In New York City, the homeless population is facing the COVID-19 pandemic without governmental guarantees, no sanitary assistance, and no appropriate shelters. | RELATED: | New York Lives Its Deadliest Day With 799 Deaths by COVID-19 | In January 2020, there were 62,679 homeless people, including 14,682 families with 22,013 children, all of them depending on the NYC shelters to spend the night. ‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã&…
telesurenglish.net/news/new-york-homeles…
Interview with Italian communists on COVID-19 impact and the working class
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-10
Fight Back! interviews Guido Salza, the head of the International Relations Department of the Italian communist organization Fronte Popolare. | Fight Back!: How are the working people of Italy being impacted by the pandemic? | Guido Salza: A clear picture of the dynamics of the infection are not yet apparent. However, it is likely that the working class is paying the highest price. Similar to what happened in China, COVID has spread very fast in the most industrial areas of our country. The more concentrated the production and population are (as it is in Lombardia, Piemonte, Veneto and Emilia Romagna), the more t…
fightbacknews.org/2020/4/9/interview-ita…
‘Please Call Back Later’: Filing for Unemployment During a Pandemic
Gunar Olsen | progressive.org | 2020-04-10
After being laid off from a restaurant in NYC, I spent seven days on hold–but for the millions now out of work, waiting isn’t an option.
progressive.org/covid-19/filing-for-unem…
COVID-19 and tropical cyclone hit South Pacific Islands
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
As the COVID-19 pandemic escalates across the Pacific, the powerful cyclone has devastated nations in the region and caused 28 deaths.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/paci…
Cuban Medical Science in the Service of Humanity
Helen Yaffe | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
By 21 March, Cuba had sent healthcare professionals to 37 countries to collaborate in combating the pandemic. Italy received 53 Cuban medics who had previously worked in West Africa during the deadly Ebola outbreak of 2014. Cuba also stepped into the breach in mid-March when a cruise ship with over 600 mostly British passengers and…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/cuban-medica…
University of Minnesota freezes pay for non-union staff
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-10
Minneapolis, MN – The University of Minnesota held a special Board of Regents meeting on April 7 in which they discussed their plans to respond to budget impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Exact details were not laid out and some things remained uncertain as the exact impact of the pandemic is not fully known yet. The regents did announce some initial plans around where the impacts would land from their reduced revenue. | University President Joan Gabel announced a largely symbolic pay cut to her own salary. Gabel recently took over as U president and signed a five-year $3.2 million contract. Her current salary…
fightbacknews.org/2020/4/10/university-m…
OPEC Reaches Agreement Amid Health and Economic Crisis
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to reduce global oil production to 23 percent in an initial period of two months. | RELATED: | OPEC to Decide Historic Oil Production Cut Due to COVID-19 | For May and June, the OPEC agreed to a cut of 10 million barrels per day. While by the end of 2020, the reduction will be 8 million. | From the beginning of 2021 until the end of April, production will be cut to 6 million barrels…
telesurenglish.net/news/opec-reaches-agr…
The Pataphysics of Pandemic
Joseph Natoli | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Pataphysics: the science of imaginary solutions This illness doesn’t believe in American Exceptionalism or that reality is a fungible quotient. Donald Trump and his narcissistic mental illness is an entirely expected effect from this model. That idea that reality isn’t a firm thing and problems aren’t to be solved, but molded and managed to what…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/the-pataphys…
Cuban Development of Biomedical High Technology
Charles McKelvey | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
As the United States and the nations of Europe experience the sad tragedy of an uncontrolled pandemic, they for the most part have not noticed the well-organized and coherent plan of the Cuban government against Covid-19, being carried out with the determined and patriotic support of the people; nor the availability of a Cuban…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/cuban-develo…
Cuban Development of Biomedical High Technology
Charles McKelvey | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
As the United States and the nations of Europe experience the sad tragedy of an uncontrolled pandemic, they for the most part have not noticed the well-organized and coherent plan of the Cuban government against Covid-19, being carried out with the determined and patriotic support of the people; nor the availability of a Cuban created…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/cuban-develo…
No pandemic will stop mass killings of Colombia’s human rights defenders
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-10
The mass killing of Colombia’s human rights defenders continued unabated in the first quarter of 2020, according to the United Nations and social organizations. According to UN human rights chief…
colombiareports.com/no-pandemic-will-sto…
International Health Day: Challenges amid the global COVID-19 pandemic
Jaime Amorim | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
Jaime Amorim of the National Coordination of the MST and the International Committee of Via Campesina reflects on the primary challenges in public health generated by neoliberal capitalism…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/internati…
COVID-19 Reaches U.S. Slaughterhouses
Martha Rosenberg | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Meat giant JBS USA Holdings closed its Souderton, Pennsylvania slaughter operation. Tyson Foods closed its Columbus Junction, Iowa pork slaughterhouse. Pennsylvania-based Empire Kosher Poultry temporarily closed its doors and Sanderson Farms asked employees at its Moultrie, GA slaughter operation to stay home. COVID-19 has hit U.S. slaughterhouses big time. In addition to management-ruled closures, employees…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/covid-19-rea…
Will Covid-19 Spur a Peoples’ Bailout for the World’s Poorest?
Adam Parsons | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
The question is whether Covid-19 will awaken us to the stark inequalities of our world, or does it simply represent a new cause of impoverishment for the vast swathes of humanity who have long been disregarded by the public’s conscience? *** Since the beginning of 2020, we’ve entered an extraordinary new era. There is still…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/will-covid-1…
Covid-19 : The terrifying numbers of a global crisis slowly unravelling before us
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-10
TruePublica Editor: Leaving aside the devastating effects on the lives of people, the rapidly intensifying economic effects of COVID-19 on the world of economies and employment is already proving to be far worse than the 2008-9 financial crisis. And from a democratic point of view, more than two billion people live in countries where parliaments …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/covid-19-the-terrifying-numbers-of-a-global-crisis-slowly-unravelling-before-us/
Cuba: Government Implements New Measures to Prevent COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Cuba’s Transport Minister Eduardo Rodriguez decided to suspend public and private passenger transportation within urban and rural areas. However, institutions offering essential services must guarantee the mobility of their workers.. | RELATED: | Cuba has Reached Limited Local Transmission Stage of COVID-19 | Private carriers would have their operating license suspended and are free from tax payment until the restrictions cease. Means of transportation contracted by the Defense Councils fo…
telesurenglish.net/news/cuba-government-…
New York Uses Mass Graves Due to Increase COVID-19 Deaths
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Regarding the images of mass graves on Hart Island, which have been circulating on social media for the last few days, New York City (NYC) Mayor Bill de Blasio said those graves are temporary solutions until families can organize a private burial.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | New York Lives Its Deadliest Day With 799 Deaths by COVID-19 | “The pictures of our fellow New Yorkers being buried on Hart Island are deva…
telesurenglish.net/news/New-York-Uses-Ma…
New guidance to support innovators fighting COVID-19
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-04-10
Imperial researchers have set out key regulations innovators must comply with when designing and building technologies safely to tackle COVID-19.
imperial.ac.uk/news/196795/new-guidance-support-innovators-fighting-covid-19
Governmental failures at multiple levels are escalating COVID-19 crisis in US
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-10
We look at the status of the fight against COVID-19 in the US, especially New York, and the gaps in coordination at various levels that is affecting bids to combat the disease.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/10/governmen…
Are even the 2021 Olympic Games possible?
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-10
“I don’t think anyone would be able to say if it’s going to be possible to get it (COVID-19) under control by July or not.” And with a single sentence, Tokyo Olympic organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto has cast severe doubt over where the already rescheduled 2020 summer Olympic Games would be able to move …
peoplesworld.org/article/are-even-the-20…
“We are expendable”: Delta flight attendant speaks on corporate recklessness at US airlines
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
While the airlines, which were recently handed $58 billion in bailout money, have not released accurate data, recent reports indicate that hundreds of US airline workers have already been infected with COVID-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/airl…
Europe’s investors celebrate stock market rally as thousands die of COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
While over 4,100 people died of COVID-19 yesterday, stock markets finished the week with huge gains as the ruling elite’s plan to force workers back to work emerges.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/euro…
Deaths from COVID-19 mount in German elderly care homes
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
The large number of deaths stems from the failure to implement timely countermeasures or follow them, a shortage of staff, overworked personnel and the absence of personal protective equipment (PPE).
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/care…
UPS Worldport employee in Louisville, Kentucky dies from COVID-19
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
Relatives said the 55-year-old worker, Roml Ellis, had been infected with COVID-19, although UPS management has refused to confirm the cause of death citing “privacy.”
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/wrld…
Wet Markets and Wild Longings
Lee Hall | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
I went to a Red Cross site to give blood this week, but was told to leave without donating. Turns out I’m in a “deferral” category, having spent more than three months in Britain between 1980 and 1996. It’s related to mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. I might have eaten spinal cord or brain tissue from infected cattle. I became vegan in England, so this whole thing is richly ironic for me. If we were all vegan, mad cow disease wouldn’t be a thing. Nor, presumably, would COVID-19.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/wet-markets-…
California Hoardin’: Rules Make Masks Harder to Get Despite Stockpiles
Helen Christophi | progressive.org | 2020-04-10
Health care workers say the rationing of protective gear is as dangerous for their patients as it is for themselves.
progressive.org/covid-19/masks-harder-to…
After 14 London transport workers die: Unite union and Labour mayor insist “PPE is not required”
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
COVID-19 has claimed almost 2,000 lives in the capital and 8,000 across the UK, with bus drivers demanding urgent safety measures to prevent more deaths.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/lond…
Will COVID-19 Spur a Peoples’ Bailout for the World’s Poorest?
Adam Parsons | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
The question is whether COVID-19 will awaken us to the stark inequalities of our world, or does it simply represent a new cause of impoverishment for the vast swathes of humanity who have long been disregarded by the public’s conscience? *** Since the beginning of 2020, we’ve entered an extraordinary new era. There is still…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/will-covid-1…
Disturbing Facts About COVID-19 in Louisiana
Bill Quigley | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
One of the nation’s hotspots is suffering severely from the outbreak…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/disturbing-facts-a…
Australian government bails out private childcare industry
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
As with every other measure taken by the government, the sole concern is to get workers back on the job, regardless of the COVID-19 danger.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/chil…
Mexico Asks the U.S. to Facilitate Medical Supplies Purchases
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-10
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador asked President Donald Trump for help in getting 10,000 fans and 10,000 monitors.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã.‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã | RELATED: | OPEC Reaches Agreement Amid Health and Economic Crisis | “I told him we know about the difficult situation they are…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mexico-Asks-the-…
Democratic Money and the New Corona Virus Economy
Pat Ryan | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Here in the United States, we don’t like to talk about class. The dominant metaphor projected by the media is the great big competition that we are all participating in as individuals (the meritocracy or free market). Within the competition, there are winners and losers. As independent competitors, most people don’t belong to a class.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/democratic-m…
Democratic Money and the New Corona Virus Economy
Pat Ryan | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Here in the United States, we don’t like to talk about class. The dominant metaphor projected by the media is the great big competition that we are all participating in as individuals (the meritocracy or free market). Within the competition, there are winners and losers. As independent competitors, most people don’t belong to a class.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/democratic-m…
Women of Their Revolution
Ron Jacobs | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
After an uprising by the female staff, the February 6, 1970 issue of the New York underground newspaper Rat was completely written by women. The lead article was titled “Goodbye to All That” and harshly attacked individuals, groups and movements in the burgeoning counterculture and New Left. Some of its fiercest criticism was leveled at…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/women-of-the…
Is. This. It?
Missy Comley Beattie | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
One way to intro this piece is to mention the funeral home next door to my building. Another way to intro this piece is to remind you that I’ve been a germophobe for years. So much so that at one time my children discussed having me committed. Many of the health protocols now recommended I…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/is-this-it/
The Last Humans…Or Why ‘Revolutionaries’ Should Drop their Millenarianism and Support Survival International
Peter Harrison | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
There are two types of ‘human being’ on the planet, but only one type can truly call itself human. The ‘human beings’ who cannot truly call themselves human include myself and all the others who are products and functions
The American Funhouse
Thomas S. Harrington | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-10
Within the last few weeks, in conversations I have had with well-educated American friends about the progression and treatment of the Corona virus, I have heard more than one comment about how we needed to take into account the obviously dubious quality of the Italian Health care system when seeking to understand the matter, a sentiment…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/the-american…
Surviving and Going Beyond
Michael Albert | zcomm.org | 2020-04-10
Wise folks now realize The Virus is going to cause countries to wind up moving either hard right with fascistic racism, authoritarianism, lies, and manipulation in the saddle, or moving seriously left with militant, angry, honest, and anti corporate pro change leftism rising. Which will it be, and if the later, how far can it Read…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/surviving-and-goin…
Trump executive order asserts US property rights in outer space
wsws.org | 2020-04-10
The assertion of property rights follows the creation of the US “Space Force” branch of the military, as capitalism demands a return on investment in space.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/10/mine…
Belmarsh ‘barely functioning’: Assange tells friend Covid-19 is raging through British prison
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Julian Assange has revealed to a friend the harrowing details of his life in Belmarsh. WikiLeaks founder is still confined at the UK maximum security prison, despite it being stricken with the novel coronavirus. | Covid-19 has spread around Belmarsh to such an extent that the prison is “barely functioning” any more at all, British freelance video journalist Vaughan Smith has revealed in a Facebook post, after talking with Assange by phone. | As many as 150 prison staff member…
rt.com/news/485548-assange-belmarsh-pris…
Apple and Google debut Bluetooth-based contact-tracing platform to combat Covid-19…and end privacy?
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Apple and Google have unveiled an app
Italy extends lockdown to May 3, will allow some businesses to re-open sooner
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced an extension to current nationwide lockdown measures until early next month, as the country continues to struggle with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. | Conte also said that some businesses which closed as part of Italy’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 will be allowed to re-open from April 14
India increases Covid-19 daily tests to 16,000 people
rt.com | 2020-04-10
The Indian government said on Friday it ramped up coronavirus testing as confirmed cases there rose above 6,700 and topped 12,000 across South Asia, Reuters said. | The Health Ministry said on Friday it had increased daily tests for COVID-19 to more than 16,000 people
Beijing to impose more checks on mask exports to ensure quality control after complaints
rt.com | 2020-04-10
China tightened restrictions on exports of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) on Friday, calling for shipments of the items to be subjected to a mandatory customs inspection. Beijing is trying to balance the global demand for PPE to help treat cases of the new coronavirus, while ensuring that manufacturers and sellers do not flood the market with uncertified or shoddy products. | The regulations follow complaints from some governments and hospitals that they received PPE from China that they considered faulty. | In late March, Dutch officials recalled tens of thousands of masks delivered to th…
rt.com/newsline/485488-china-checks-mask…
India increases Covid-19 daily tests to 16,000 people
rt.com | 2020-04-10
The Indian government has ramped up coronavirus testing as confirmed cases there rose above 6,700 and topped 12,000 across South Asia, Reuters said. | The Health Ministry said on Friday it had increased daily tests for Covid-19 to more than 16,000 people
New DHS model predicts 200,000 Covid-19 deaths & surge in cases over summer if containment measures lifted after 30 days
rt.com | 2020-04-10
A new government model projects a steep spike in Covid-19 cases over the summer and 200,000 deaths if stay-at-home orders are lifted after 30 days, a gloomy forecast suggesting the US still hasn’t hit the peak of its outbreak. | The newest projection from the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services posits that the US could see hundreds of thousands of additional fatalities and 160 million coronavirus infections if state and city-level containment me…
rt.com/usa/485550-dhs-model-200000-death…
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 coronavirus on Thursday, a tally by Johns Hopkins University indicates. 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
Boeing may slash staff by 10% amid coronavirus crisis & 737 MAX fiasco
rt.com | 2020-04-10
American aviation giant Boeing could cut its more than 150,000-strong workforce by around 10 percent as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the global airline industry, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). | The plane maker could offer its workers early retirement as well as voluntary layoffs, the outlet said, citing sources, adding that the plan could also include buyouts. The company has not made the final decision yet. | Also on rt.com | | Boeing shuts down Washington state factories due to coronavirus threat…
rt.com/business/485450-boeing-may-slash-…
Philippines stops health workers going abroad to fight Covid-19 outbreak
rt.com | 2020-04-10
The Philippines has stopped doctors, nurses, medics and other healthcare workers from going abroad while it needs their skills to meet the threat of the coronavirus spreading at home, according to a foreign affairs official. | The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued the order on April 2, though it was only made public on Friday. The aim is “to prioritize human resource allocation for the national health care system,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay tweeted. | The ban will remain in place until the Philippines ends its state of emergency and countries that would hire the medical pe…
rt.com/newsline/485487-philippines-stops…
50 cases of Covid-19 aboard France’s ONLY aircraft carrier, Defense Ministry confirms
rt.com | 2020-04-10
The coronavirus outbreak on board France’s only aircraft carrier has infected 50 crew members, the French Defense Ministry has confirmed. The Navy flagship is on its way to Toulon after cutting short its Mediterranean mission. | A military medical team was dispatched to the Charles de Gaulle to assess the situation after the start of the outbreak. Of the 66 people tested after its arrival on Wednesday, 50 returned positive results, the ministry said on Friday. | Three infected sailors were evacuated from the Charles de Gaulle on Thursday by an NH90 military helicopter to Portugal before being airlifted to a mi…
rt.com/news/485486-french-carrier-corona…
China trade rebounds despite gloomy global outlook amid coronavirus lockdown
rt.com | 2020-04-10
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has reported that the country’s trade improved in March, following a dramatic collapse caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the first two months of the year. | “Imports and exports have shown a certain improvement in March, according to feedback from various regions and industries,” said commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng, adding: “But at the same time, the impact of the global epidemic on the world economy and international trade is gradually emerging.” | The World Trade Organization projects global trade to plunge by up to 32 percent this year as a result of the coronavirus o…
rt.com/business/485491-china-trade-impro…
‘Real test’ yet to come, Orban says as Hungary reports biggest daily increase in infections
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Restrictive steps have managed to slow the spread of coronavirus in Hungary but the “real test” is yet to come, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. Orban said that at the peak of the crisis, Hungary would need about 8,000 ventilators and intensive-care hospital beds, of which around 2,000 would be available in “normal times.” | The statement came as the government reported the single biggest daily increase in infections. Hungary’s confirmed coronavirus cases have increased by 210 to 1,190, government data showed on Friday. | On Thursday, a nationwide lockdown was prolonged indefinitely to slow the spre…
rt.com/newsline/485460-real-test-orban-h…
Walled-in world: RT documentary (remotely) visits people bringing optimism to those in lockdown
rt.com | 2020-04-10
A new RT documentary looks at the every-day side of the Covid-19 lockdown, by gauging the experience of those whose main contribution to the fight against the disease is staying home while trying to stay sane. | As the whole world stands still facing the deadly and frightening pandemic, stay-at-home heroes tirelessly seek out new and inventive ways to keep themselves (and those of us in our own homes) entertained through these truly bizarre times. | “I was getting sick and tired of seeing all these tragic shots on TV,” says Marina Kosareva, the RT correspondent behind the project. Marina, who had just taken ni…
rt.com/news/485494-coronavirus-isolation…
Covid-19 ‘mass graves’ on New York’s Hart Island spark frenzy of fake news amid grim reality
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Photos of a ‘mass grave’ for coronavirus casualties on New York City’s Hart Island sent the media into overdrive overnight, even launching calls to dig up President Trump’s properties instead. The truth, while grim, was different. | Drone imagery from the island showing a dozen undertakers
Papers, please! Covid-19 ‘immunity cards’ may be required of Americans, Fauci says
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Dr Anthony Fauci says US citizens may have to carry ‘cards’ proving they are immune from coronavirus
Battling Covid-19: Moscow to ‘gradually’ introduce pass system for movements around city amid partial lockdown
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has announced the city will begin implementing a pass system designed to tighten control over people’s movement in a bid to tackle the outbreak of coronavirus. | Russia’s capital has seen a surge in cases in recent days. The new procedure will begin rolling out next week and in the first stage the passes will be required for those who need to travel to work. The next step aims to deal with “other trips.” | Should it be necessary, authorities will also implement the pass system for movements “within the [city’s] districts.” | According to the statement from the mayor’s office, peopl…
rt.com/russia/485516-moscow-coronavirus-…
Tokyo asks businesses to close as ancient Japan’s capital Kyoto warns tourists away
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Metropolitan Tokyo asked some businesses to close and the ancient capital of Kyoto warned tourists to stay away as Japan battles an outbreak of the new coronavirus. | Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said she was targeting a range of businesses for shutdowns from Saturday during a month-long emergency through May 6, after resolving a feud with PM Shinzo Abe’s team over the extent of the closures, Reuters said. | The number of cases in Japan rose to 6,003 on Friday, with 112 deaths, according to NHK. Tokyo accounted for 1,708 cases, heightening concerns about sluggish action. | The governor of Aichi in Japan’s indus…
rt.com/newsline/485493-tokyo-japan-busin…
Do it for ‘big momma’ & ‘pop pop’: Surgeon general gets immediate backlash for giving Covid-19 advice to fellow minorities
rt.com | 2020-04-10
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams encouraged fellow Americans to avoid alcohol and drugs because they are at higher risk of the coronavirus, but the language he used quickly triggered some journalists. | “It’s alarming, but it’s not surprising that people of color have a greater burden,” Adams explained on Friday at the White House coronavirus briefing, when asked why minority communities have been struck harder by Covid-19 than others. | Expanding on his point, Adams pointed out that minority communities face harder social situations and can have less access to healthcare and less opportunity for social distanc…
rt.com/usa/485542-jerome-adams-pop-pop-o…