Save America, Throw the Landlords Under the Bus
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
We can save the economy. We have to throw the landlords under the bus to do it. At this writing, 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs to the national lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Added to those who were unemployed before the coronavirus crisis, we will soon face jobless numbers equivalent to or greater than to…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/save-america…

Save America, Throw the Landlords Under the Bus
Ted Rall | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
We can save the economy. We have to throw the landlords under the bus to do it. At this writing, 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs to the national lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Added to those who were unemployed before the coronavirus crisis, we will soon face jobless numbers equivalent to or greater than to…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/save-america…

Aid group warns of 3.2 million COVID-19 deaths, 1 billion infections in war-torn countries
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The threat of massive fatalities is the legacy of decades of US imperialist wars that have ravaged entire societies, from Afghanistan, to Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/ircr…

COVID-19 devastates Indigenous communities
ENO | workers.org | 2020-04-30
From Indian Country Today: “”My feet hurt,” says Denise Begaye, an X-ray technician with the Monument Valley Health Center, as she sits on a curb and takes a break from COVID-19 testing outside of the center in Oljato-Monument Valley, San Juan County on Thursday, April 16, 2020.” This article is . . . | Continue reading COVID-19 devastates Indigenous communities at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/48032/?utm_source=rs…

45 Years Ago, End of Vietnam War: Neoliberalism and “The Vietnam Model”. Who Won the Vietnam War?
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
April 1975 marks the official end of the Vietnam War. Yet today, Vietnam is an impoverished countries. The Hanoi government is a US proxy regime. Vietnam has become a new cheap labor frontier of the global economy. Neoliberalism prevails.
globalresearch.ca/who-won-the-vietnam-wa…

Herd Immunity Is a Naive Bet, German Scientists Say
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the competent center for epidemiology in Germany, warned against betting on “herd immunity” and reiterated that the health authorities’ goal should be to keep the rate of infection flat until a vaccine against COVID-19 is found. | RELATED: | COVID-19 Deaths in US Top 60,000

The jobless crisis and im/migrants
Kathy Durkin | workers.org | 2020-04-30
Farmworker wearing bandana during pandemic. It’s not just COVID-19 that’s racing like wildfire across the U.S. It’s unemployment. The number of newly jobless workers has climbed to an astounding 26 million. That is due to coronavirus-related layoffs or furloughs caused by business closures or contractions. Added to the number of . . . | Continue reading The jobless crisis and im/migrants at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/48029/?utm_source=rs…

How to turn Colombia’s prisons into coronavirus death camps and stay positive
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-30
It took months of inaction, but Colombia’s government finally turned Villavicencio’s prison into the perfect coronavirus petri dish from where its prison chief infected at least three more prisons. The…
colombiareports.com/how-to-turn-colombia…

Bolsonaro & COVID-19 push Brazil towards military dictatorship
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-30
Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Brazilian journalist and researcher, Aline Piva, after Brazil’s Justice Minister, Sergio Moro, caught…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/30/bolsonaro-cov…

Video: How the US Makes Countries Pay for Its Wars: Economics of American Imperialism with Michael Hudson
Prof Michael Hudson | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Economist Michael Hudson explains how American imperialism has created a global free lunch, where the US makes foreign countries pay for its wars, and even their own military occupation. | Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the economics of Washington’s empire, …
globalresearch.ca/video-how-us-makes-cou…

Joe Biden Needs an Intervention
Norman Solomon | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
An Open Letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/joe-biden-needs-an…

Seeking justice during COVID-19: Black man killed while jogging in Georgia
Chauncey K. Robinson | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-30
A 25-year-old Black man was shot and killed while jogging after being pursued by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia. Over two months have passed since the incident, and still no one has been charged for his murder. Friends, family, and activists are looking for answers in Ahmaud Arbery’s death, but they are afraid the …
peoplesworld.org/article/seeking-justice…

Et tu? Progressive Boomers Are Now Preaching Pro-Biden Lesser-Evilism
Roger D. Harris | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-30
At a time when an independent progressive movement is needed more than ever, the sheepdogs of a bygone era are trying to herd a new generation of activists into the Democratic Party.
mintpressnews.com/et-tu-progressive-boom…

On Mumia’s birthday, global event honors political prisoners
| workers.org | 2020-04-30
By Mirinda Crissman and Judy Greenspan From behind prison walls nearly 39 years, Mumia Abu Jamal continues to educate, energize and unite prison abolitionists, former and current political prisoners, and the global activist community. On April 24, his 66th birthday, Abu-Jamal’s story and legacy brought together a virtual gathering “U.S. . . . | Continue reading On Mumia’s birthday, global event honors political prisoners at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/48035/?utm_source=rs…

A Letter From Viet Nam on the Occasion of the 45th Anniversary of the End of the War
Mark Ashwill | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
Dear Fellow Citizens, I am reaching out to you as current official friends and former enemies of Vietnam because I want you to know the truth about what could have been, an alternative and viable path of history that both countries could have trod together for mutual benefit and a more peaceful world. One milestone…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/a-letter-fro…

COVID-19 Has Exposed the US Under Trump as a “Failed State”
Noam Chomsky | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
Interview on what’s behind Trump’s encouragement of the “anti-lockdown” protests, discusses the right-wing determination to destroy the U.S. Postal Service, and lays out his views on the electoral “lesser of two evils” principle…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/covid-19-has-expos…

The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the “Violence of Social Inequality”‘
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book,…
truthout.org/video/the-coronavirus-pande…

Trump’s Immigration Suspension Doesn’t Prevent Unemployment or COVID-19 Spread
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
Late on the evening of April 20, President Trump tweeted that he was temporarily suspending immigration to the United States. For justification he cited what he called “the attack from the Invisible Enemy”

Trump’s Immigration Suspension Doesn’t Prevent Unemployment or COVID-19 Spread
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
Late on the evening of April 20, President Trump tweeted that he was temporarily suspending immigration to the United States. For justification he cited what he called “the attack from the Invisible Enemy”

Onto the next ‘child-rights crisis’? Greta Thunberg launches fundraiser to battle Covid-19 pandemic
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Apparently not content to rescue mankind from only one doomsday scenario, teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg has sprung into action again, launching a fundraising campaign to help the children of the world survive Covid-19. | The project will see the young activist partner with Denmark’s Human Act Foundation to pledge $100,000 each to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), which brings humanitarian aid to children around the globe. | Though the Covid-19 outbreak has largely spared the young, Thunberg nonetheless branded the pandemic a “child-rights crisis” in a statement announcin…
rt.com/news/487304-greta-next-apocalypse…

‘No need to generate undue alarm’: Doctors call for calm amid media hype over Covid-19-linked inflammatory syndrome in children
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The Western media has been flooded with stories about a “mysterious disease” affecting children in the UK and the US that is supposedly linked to Covid-19. RT has asked a number of pediatricians if there is cause for concern. | On Monday, the UK’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS) sent a memo to British doctors warning them about a rise in cases of a “multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care” that had been exhibited in “children of all ages” in several regions across the UK, including London. It further noted that the symptoms of the condition were “consistent with severe Covid-19,” and…
rt.com/news/487344-covid-19-kawasaki-syn…

US unemployment set to soar to 30 MILLION as coronavirus pandemic wrecks economy
rt.com | 2020-04-30
With the US Labor Department set to release weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday, economists project that another 3.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending April 25. | That will add to the 4.427 million initial jobless claims in the previous week, bringing the total number to at least 30 million during the six-week period of the forced lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. | Economists expect the number of unemployed Americans in April to shatter…
rt.com/business/487313-us-jobless-claims…

Joe Biden Needs an Intervention: An Open Letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
“It takes two wings to fly.”
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883270…

Greta Thunberg Donates $100,000 Prize to UNICEF to Protect Children From COVID-19 Outbreak
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-30
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 prize awarded by the Danish non-governmental organisation Human Act to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to help the organisation protect children from COVID-19, according to a UNICEF statement on Thursday.
sputniknews.com/society/2020043010791455…

Economist Thomas Piketty: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Exposed the “Violence of Social Inequality”
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-30
As nearly 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just six weeks and millions worldwide face hunger and poverty, we look at the global economic catastrophe triggered by the pandemic and its impact on the most vulnerable. As the World Food Programme warns of a massive spike in global hunger and more than 100 million people in cities worldwide could fall into poverty, can this crisis be a catalyst for change? We ask French economist Thomas Piketty. His 2014 internationally best-selling book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” looked at economic inequality and the necessity of wealth taxes. His new b…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/30/thomas_pi…

With apparently fabricated nuclear documents, Netanyahu pushed the US towards war with Iran
Gareth Porter | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-30
An investigation of supposed Iranian nuclear documents presented in a dramatically staged Netanyahu press conference indicates they were an Israeli…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/29/fabricated-nu…

With apparently fabricated nuclear documents, Netanyahu pushed the US towards war with Iran
Gareth Porter | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-30
An investigation of supposed Iranian nuclear documents presented in a dramatically staged Netanyahu press conference indicates they were an Israeli…
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/29/fabricated-nu…

Ryan Grim: Dems’ Coronavirus Response Repeats Past Blunders
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-30
Sanders is out of the race, but the fight over the future of the Democratic part continues, says Ryan Grim, author of We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.
therealnews.com/stories/ryan-grim-dems-c…

How Long Will It Take Until There’s a Vaccine?
Gregg Gonsalves | thenation.com | 2020-04-30
How Long Will It Take Until There’s a Vaccine?
thenation.com/article/society/cornonavir…

Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 news briefing with Dr. Greg Poland
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org | 2020-04-30
On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group, covers the latest news on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Poland discusses current outbreak numbers, why there may be a second wave of infections, and research on a vaccine. Click the player below: Mayo Clinic Q&A is …
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ma…

ELN ends coronavirus ceasefire weeks ahead of expected peak in infections
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-30
Despite calls for an extension, Colombia’s ELN rebels end their unilateral ceasefire on Thursday, claiming that military offensives demonstrated President Ivan Duque is not interested in peace or in combating…
colombiareports.com/eln-ends-coronavirus…

How to maintain peace in Persian Gulf region
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-30
TEHRAN, May. 01 (MNA)

Family members protest amid six more deaths at Australian aged care home
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The outbreak underscores the danger of a new wave of COVID-19 infections as governments and business chiefs step up their drive for a premature return to work.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/aged…

Colombia: Hunger Protests Continue Amid Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Colombian protests continued due to the food crisis and lack of governmental help during COVID-19 outbreak across the South American country. | RELATED: | Colombia: Gunmen Kill Social Leader and Family Members in Cauca | In Ibague, several families demonstrated demanding humanitarian aid from Tolima’s Mayor Office, despite social isolation measures to prevent the virus from spreading. Furthermore, the Las Ferias neighborhood residents blocked a street entrance and burned tires…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-hunger-…

Carnivals of the damned: the U.S. far-right fights the lockdown
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-04-30
The wave of far-right anti-lockdown protests show how capitalist politics can create monsters. Worse might be on the way.
mronline.org/2020/04/30/carnivals-of-the…

Democrats fume as armed protesters descend on Michigan Capitol to protest lockdown
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Crowds of protesters, some carrying weapons, descended on the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, as legislators considered extending Covid-19 lockdown measures. Democrats blamed President Donald Trump. | Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order late last month, as the coronavirus epidemic took hold in her state. When the governor

Democrats fume as armed protesters descend on Michigan Capitol to protest lockdown
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Crowds of protesters, some carrying weapons, descended on the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, as legislators considered extending Covid-19 lockdown measures. Democrats blamed President Donald Trump. | Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order late last month, as the coronavirus epidemic took hold in her state. When the governor

MoveOn Protest: Twitter Rally to Demand #RealReliefNow during COVID-19
MoveOn | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Protest online via Twitter…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883270…

Millions of Pakistani laborers struggle amid COVID-19 lockdown
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-30
Hundreds of charged laborers, including women, gathered outside a garment factory in the eastern district of Pakistan’s commercial capital Karachi to protest against their forced layoff only a week before the International Labor Day.They, in fact, came to receive their salaries but they were verbally informed that the factory no longer required their services due to the financial losses caused by a lingering lockdown imposed by the government to curb the raging coronavirus outbreak in the country.A few kilometers away, another demonstration was held outside a famous textile company, which also laid off hundreds o…
yenisafak.com/en/world/millions-of-pakis…

New COVID-19 Antiviral Drug Remdesivir Offers ‘No Significant’ Benefit, More Research Needed-Study
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-30
The first randomised trial for a promising new antiviral drug, lauded by many as a positive treatment for SARS-CoV-2 patients, suggested that there were no significant clinical benefits, with researchers urging further trials, a study released on late Wednesday revealed.
sputniknews.com/science/2020043010791429…

US to Mobilize Military Reservists in ‘Anti-Drug’ Operation Against Venezuela
Ricardo Vaz and Lucas Koerner | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-04-30
The Trump administration is also targeting oil-for-food deals involving the Venezuelan government and Mexican companies.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14857

The Daily Mail humiliates itself in a staggeringly moronic attempt to have the Tories’ back
Tracy Keeling | thecanary.co | 2020-04-30
The Daily Mail has criticised the BBC for its Panorama programme on the government’s response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. More specifically, the tabloid has utterly humiliated itself by making a staggeringly moronic attempt to call the programme into doubt. | Panorama: | The Panorama programme was titled Has the Government Failed the NHS?. It sought to investigate “the delays…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/04/30/the-…

America’s super-rich see their wealth rise by $282 Billion in three weeks of pandemic
Alan MacLeod | mronline.org | 2020-04-30
America’s billionaires have accrued more wealth in the past three weeks alone than they made in total prior to 1980.
mronline.org/2020/04/30/americas-super-r…

Cold War of Trump/Navarro vs China
Andre Vltchek | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
It is getting ugly, extremely ugly. | It is increasingly looking like a war

Collapse of Air Travel: Boeing Burns Through a Record $4.7 Billion in Cash as Revenue Crashes 26%, Will Fire 10% of Workers
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
The hits just keep on coming for Boeing which last quarter was slammed with the continued grounding of the 737 MAX and now had to contend with the collapse in airline travel due to the coronavirus. As a result, moments …
globalresearch.ca/boeing-burns-through-r…

How Biden Clipped Sanders on Race
Seth Adler | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
After the South Carolina loss to Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders’ opponents effectively used the African American vote against him. The political moves that clipped his chances of winning, revolved around the following opportunistic argument: because Sanders ran a campaign with a racial justice and anti-racist approach that lost to huge African American majorities, how could…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/how-biden-cl…

New York state cancels Democratic presidential primary
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The action is an effort to block the election of a sizeable delegation pledged to Bernie Sanders.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/nyca…

Is Kim Dead? Your Guess Is as Good as Western Media’s
Julianne Tveten | fair.org | 2020-04-30
“Monitoring intelligence” is journalese for “aware of rumors” (CNN, 4/20/20). | If CNN is to be believed, Kim Jong-un is in critical condition–or he isn’t. | Recently, the network published an article ( 4/20/20) whose headline stated that the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known in the West as North Korea, was in “grave danger” following cardiovascular surgery and an absence at an April 15 even…
fair.org/home/is-kim-dead-your-guess-is-…

Indian Muslims to sue for debris of Babri mosque
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-30
“The petition in the supreme court will be filed after the lockdown ends in India,” said Zafaryab Jilani, senior lawyer and convener of the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee, which had fought the legal battle for 27 years for ownership of Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya. The Babri Mosque had been torn down by a Hindu mob at the site in 1992.”Our motive is quite clear that mosque debris also has sanctity like a mosque. So it should be handed over to us. It is of no use for them [Hindus] and if they throw it here and there it will hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community,” Jilani told Anadolu Agency,…
yenisafak.com/en/world/indian-muslims-to…

The Czech Republic’s Russian Assassin Scandal Reeks of the Skripal Conspiracy
Andrew Korybko | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
A Czech magazine’s scandalous claim that two of the capital’s politicians are being guarded by police in order to protect them from a reportedly imminent assassination attempt by a Russian spy reeks of the Skripal conspiracy when Moscow were accused …
globalresearch.ca/czech-republic-russian…

COVID-19 y hechos básicos de la economía marxista
Deirdre Griswold | workers.org | 2020-04-30
El mercado de valores se desplomó en marzo, pero se recuperó en parte después de que el Banco de la Reserva Federal bajó la tasa de interés para los préstamos. Luego se estrelló de nuevo. Las empresas se están yendo a la quiebra. El precio del petróleo ha caído a . . . | Continue reading COVID-19 y hechos básicos de la economía marxista at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/48023/?utm_source=rs…

Turkey’s “Mask Diplomacy” Mends Bad Relations with U.S
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
A letter from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to U.S. President Donald Trump accompanied medical supplies sent to the U.S. from Turkey. There is little hiding that the U.S. is the most affected country from the coronavirus pandemic with over …
globalresearch.ca/turkey-mask-diplomacy-…

Taliban set free 40 captives amid escalating violence
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-30
The Taliban in Afghanistan set free at least 40 captive security forces personnel amid escalating violence in the war-ravaged country, the group said on Thursday.Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s Qatar office spokesman, announced on Twitter the captives were released in the afternoon in northern Kunduz province bordering Tajikistan.”The Islamic Emirate [Taliban] is trying to speed up prisoners’ release process in order to save lives of the prisoners from the risk of the coronavirus desease,” Shaheen tweeted.This comes as the Afghan government and the Taliban exchange allegations over the surge in violence.Javed Faisa…
yenisafak.com/en/world/taliban-set-free-…

US-China Relations on the Rocks?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Both right wings of the US war party are hostile toward sovereign independent states that are free from its imperial control. | It’s notably true for nations with enormous hydrocarbon resources like Iran and Venezuela

Millions More US Jobless than Reported. Real U.S. Unemployment Rate at 38%
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Based on how it was calculated pre-1990s, Shadowstats economist John Williams has the real US unemployment rate at around 38%, heading higher. | According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), “millions” of jobless US workers aren’t getting benefits because applications they …
globalresearch.ca/millions-more-us-joble…

45 Years Ago Today. End of the Vietnam War
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
US history since WW II is pockmarked with endless wars of aggression against invented enemies

Diabolical Chinagate, the New Russiagate
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
While Russiagate still simmers, Chinagate is coming to a boil

WHO Adviser on Meat Plants: If We’re at War, the Weapons We Need Are Tests and PPE, Not Pork
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-30
As President Trump invokes the Defense Production Act to bar local governments from closing meatpacking plants around the United States, we get response from a longtime adviser to the World Health Organization. “When Congress passed that act, it certainly did not have in mind that the president has the power or the right to put workers’ lives and health at risk,” says Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Center on National and Global Health Law. Gostin also discusses why he joined 40 leading center directors in a declaration this we…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/30/lawrence_…

Bolivia’s socialist presidential candidate Luis Arce speaks about elections, COVID-19 and fascist oppression
Oliver Vargas | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-30
The presidential candidate of the Movement for Socialism in Bolivia, Luis Arce Catacora, talks about COVID-19 being used as a pretext to postpone elections, the economic policies of the coup government, and the approach his party plans to take…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/30/bolivias-…

Malaysian socialist: COVID-19 means ‘we cannot go back to business as normal’
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-30
Jeyakumar DeverajIssue 1263 Malaysia Kuala LumpurApril 30, 2020Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, also known as the “Red Doctor”, is a medical doctor by profession and is the chairperson of Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM). | He served in the Parliament of Malaysia as Member of Parliament for the Sungai Siput constituency in Perak for two term…
greenleft.org.au/content/malaysian-socia…

Controversies About Covid-19, Biotech Safety & US China Rivalry with Sam Husseini
Labor Video Project | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
ournalist Sam Husseini with The Institute of Public Accuracy discusses the growing controversies about where Covid-19 came from, what it is and the issue of bio-tech safety and biological warfare.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/28/1883267…

Controversies About Covid-19, Biotech Safety & US China Rivalry with Sam Husseini
Labor Video Project | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
ournalist Sam Husseini with The Institute of Public Accuracy discusses the growing controversies about where Covid-19 came from, what it is and the issue of bio-tech safety and biological warfare.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/28/1883267…

Mistaken ID Case Unveils COVID-19 Crisis Management in Ecuador
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
The teleSUR correspondent in Ecuador Dennise Herrera reported on a strange case showing the multiple difficulties that President Lenin Moreno has in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic amid growing citizen distrust of what his administration does or says. | RELATED: | Ecuador: Indigenous Communities Extend Individual Quarantine | “Alba Maruri was admitte…
telesurenglish.net/news/Mistaken-ID-Case…

Video: COVID-19 Admissions and Death Certificates. Money for the Hospitals. New Interview with Senator Scott Jensen
Sen. Scott Jensen | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
“Right now Medicare is determining that if you have a COVID-19 admission to the hospital you get $13,000. | If that COVID-19 patient goes on a ventilator you get $39,000, three times as much. | Nobody can tell me after 35 years …
globalresearch.ca/video-covid-19-admissi…

Snooping on Citizen Behavior: Community Anger Shuts Down Connecticut City’s Plan to Use Drones for Coronavirus Monitoring
Scott Shackford | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
It took all of two days for a Connecticut city’s plan to use drone tech to snoop on citizen behavior to make sure they’re complying with coronavirus rules for an angry public to shut it down. | On Tuesday, the Westport …
globalresearch.ca/community-anger-shuts-…

Global Research PDF Collection: 6 PDF Books for 1 Price
Global Research | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Purchase six e-books from Global Research Publisher’s PDF collection at a discounted price. Download your order as a zipped folder straight to your computer and avoid shipping and handling costs. | Special Offer: Global Research PDF Collection

Drone Warfare: “Gods of the Sky” … From A Surveillance Screen
Philip A Farruggio | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
An interesting film to watch is Gavin Hood’s 2015 Eye in the Sky. It captures the tremendous tension of a joint US/UK drone missile ‘Kill’ mission in Kenya. The movie had to make the targeed terrorist cell look extremely dangerous. …
globalresearch.ca/drone-warfare-gods-of-…

Neurotechnology Overview: Wiring Human Brains Directly to Computers
Filippa Lentzos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Elon Musk’s newest venture, Neuralink, is attempting to wire brains directly to computers. The start-up’s vision is to insert thousands of tiny threads into the neurons of your brain. The other ends of the threads are attached to chips, embedded …
globalresearch.ca/neurotechnology-overvi…

Big Banks Profit Amid Pandemic
Lucas Leiroz de Almeida | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
It is no secret the global new coronavirus pandemic is causing an unprecedented economic crisis, but this crisis does not seem to have the same effects for everyone. Undoubtedly, there are those who are profiting from the global crisis and …
globalresearch.ca/big-banks-profit-amid-…

Cuba Continues African Solidarity in COVID-19 Battle
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
High-ranking governmental and military leaders in the Republic of South Africa greeted a Cuban medical mission which arrived on April 27. | The 217 Cuban healthcare workers are in the country to assist in efforts to contain and eradicate the COVID-19 …
globalresearch.ca/cuba-continues-african…

What Makes a Difference on COVID-19 Death Rate? Lessons Beyond Math
Chen Siwu | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
While governments worldwide are still racing against the clock to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) within their own countries, U.S. President Donald Trump took comfort in his accusations over death toll numbers in different countries. | The U.S. president said …
globalresearch.ca/what-makes-difference-…

Seniors, Prisoners and the Plight of the Detroit Majority
Abayomi Azikiwe | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Statistical indicators from the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan reveal that the rate of infections and deaths resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are on the decline. | During the early weeks of April the state of Michigan was …
globalresearch.ca/seniors-prisoners-plig…

Morrison’s Adventurism Could Damage China-Australia Relations Beyond Repair
Chen Hong | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-30
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a series of phone calls last week to several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, appealing for their support of Australia’s “independent” …
globalresearch.ca/morrison-adventurism-c…

Germany Bans All Hezbollah Activities
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Thursday that the country has banned Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement from operating in the country, calling it a terrorist organization. | RELATED: | US Sanctions Hezbollah-Linked Lebanese Companies | In the early hours of Thursday morning, German police searched premises and private residences linked to Hezbollah in the country to prevent relevant evidence being destroyed, according to Germany’s interior ministry. | “Police measures are unde…
telesurenglish.net/news/Germany-Bans-All…

Cuba is Ready to Aid the U.S. in its Fight Against COVID-19
Pablo Vivanco | progressive.org | 2020-04-30
Despite Trump’s sanctions, Cuba advocates international solidarity as the only way to overcome this pandemic.
progressive.org/dispatches/cuba-ready-ai…

Peru: Government Plans Economic Recovery Amid the Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced on April 29 an economic plan to help his country’s population amid the COVID-19 outbreak. | RELATED: | Peru: Authorities Report Increase in Femincides Amid Quarantine | Vizcarra stated that the resumption of production is mandatory, mainly after the Peruvian economy was reduced to 50% due to the coronavirus outbreak in the South American nation. A multidisciplinary commission will determine the economic restoration plan. It will be…
telesurenglish.net/news/peru-government-…

How Workers Can Win in the Age of COVID-19
Sarah Jaffe | progressive.org | 2020-04-30
With thirty million people filing for unemployment, a new project helps organizers fight for the common good.
progressive.org/dispatches/how-workers-c…

Citing COVID-19 crisis, Ontario teacher unions impose concession-filled contracts
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The unions have sabotaged a months-long struggle by education workers that had the potential to spearhead a working-class upsurge against the hated Ford government.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/teac…

The Ongoing Drama of COVID-19 in Britain
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-30
truepublica.org.uk/video-news/the-ongoing-drama-of-covid-19-in-britain/

Russia Refutes Western Attempts To Blame China For COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday criticized the statements of the governments of the United States and some European countries that seek to hold China responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | Putin Extends National Paid Leave to May 11 | He also condemned the lawsuits filed by several countries that claim to demand billions of dollars from Beijing…
telesurenglish.net/news/Russia-Refutes-W…

It’s No Coincidence That COVID-19 First Popped Up in Wuhan, But Not in the Way You Think
Marko Marjanović | anti-empire.com | 2020-04-30
The American/Western conspiracy theory is that COVID-19 is an “escaped bio-weapon” which found its way out Wuhan’s biosafety level 4 laboratory which is only one of two such institutions in China. | The corresponding Chinese conspiracy theory is that COVID-19 is an American “bio-weapon” spread by the US delegation to the 2019 Wuhan Military Games. | Why someone would use a virus that is as good as spreading as the common cold, and equally unlikely to make a healthy person significantly ill as a “weapon” is unknown. | And yet it’s not a coincidence that the virus seemingly first popped up in Wuhan as a German d…
anti-empire.com/its-no-coincidence-that-…

A Pandemic Is Not a War
Robin Andersen | fair.org | 2020-04-30
Bloomberg (3/20/20) | Though many public officials and media outlets seem increasingly convinced that we are fighting a war against Covid-19, framing the pandemic in military terms obscures what we need to know and how we can cope with this virus. | At a press conference on Wednesday, March 18, President Donald Trump offered this grammatical hash: “I view it–in a sense as a wartime president.” Translating the mangled discourse into a coherent statement, CNN ( 3/18/20) reported, “Trump said that he sees…
fair.org/home/a-pandemic-is-not-a-war/?u…

Spain ends confinement, moving to “new normal” as COVID-19 cases rise
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
On Tuesday evening, Sánchez outlined his government’s plan under the name ” Transition Plan to a New Normal.”
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/spai…

“Native people live under a constant threat of settler-colonialism”
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-30
Melanie Yazzie from The Red Nation spoke to us about the how the current COVID-19 crisis in Navajo Nation has been exacerbated by the settler-colonialist conditions under which the people live.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/30/native-pe…

Globalisation and the pandemic
Prabhat Patnaik | mronline.org | 2020-04-30
SSER-IDEAS Online Lecture Series

How can schools open up again safely? The UN has some new guidelines
news.un.org | 2020-04-30
As countries grapple with severe disruptions to education caused by COVID-19, several UN agencies

China calls for cooperation rather than blame on COVID-19
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-30
A leaked secret GOP memo to its 2020 Senatorial candidates exposes Donald Trump’s “blame China for the virus” strategy as the core of the party’s re-election campaign for November. The memo was leaked this week just after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made two false accusations against China, one that the Chinese were guilty of …
peoplesworld.org/article/china-calls-for…

Poor health outcomes from COVID-19 more probable among black patients
imperial.ac.uk | 2020-04-30
Black patients may be at increased risk of poorer health outcomes from COVID-19, according to an analysis of patients hospitalised in London.
imperial.ac.uk/news/197235/poor-health-outcomes-from-covid-19-

COVID 19: Think Science and the People
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
The people need science. The teaching is a legacy of pathologist Rudolph Virchow who was at the barricades in Berlin in 1848. A journal entry in that year of revolutions reads, “Medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine on a grand scale.” The pioneering Virchow first pronounced upon the biological importance of cells in health and disease. He was the “chief founder of modern scientific medicine.” (William H. Welch, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 1902),…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/covid-19-thi…

Mathilda Cuomo vs. Peter Singer: Sympathy for the Old or Utilitarian Rational Decisions
Daniel Warner | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented several ethical dilemmas. Which country, state or city should have first access to made-in-China masks? Stories abound that the United States paid cash three times the going price for masks ordered by France. If countries incrementally reopen, which stores or businesses should have priority? Children and schools? Which factories? And…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/mathilda-cuo…

COVID-19 to Cause Record Emissions Fall in 2020: IEA
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
COVID-19 is expected to cause global energy emissions to fall a record eight percent this year due to an unprecedented drop in demand for coal, oil and gas, the International Energy Agency said Thursday. | RELATED: | Yes, Carbon Emissions Are Falling, But It Won’t Save the Planet | The IEA’s Global Energy Review was based on an analysis of electricity demand over more than 100 days, during which much of the world has entered lockdown in a bid to control the pandemic. | It predict…
telesurenglish.net/news/COVID-19-to-Caus…

Navajo Nation responds to COVID-19 with mutual aid
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-30
We talk to Brandon Benallie from the Red Nation, a movement dedicated to the liberation of Native peoples from capitalism and colonialism. Brandon talks about the situation in Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the struggles being faced by the people, and the principle of kinship which is an integral part of their response to this crisis.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/30/navajo-na…

“Progressive” Tennessee Democratic mayor uses COVID-19 crisis to push budget cuts
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
In early April, Lee Harris, Democratic mayor of Shelby County, released a budget resolution that would slash essential services.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/harr…

UN prepares for potentially devastating COVID-19 outbreak in conflict-ravaged northeast Nigeria
news.un.org | 2020-04-30
In northeast Nigeria, where armed conflict has forced millions from their homes, the UN’s migration agency, IOM, is supporting the construction of quarantine shelters, as the region braces for an outbreak of COVID-19 which, it warns, would have ‘devastating consequences’ for those who have been displaced.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1…

Covid-19: Cases Rise in Brazilian City After Commercial Reopen
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Two weeks after the Brazilian city of Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina, reopened its shops by decision of the municipal government, the cases of COVID-19 have multiplied. | RELATED: | Brazil Admits Country Is Getting Worse Due to COVID-19 | The local media reported that out of 68 cases registered on April 13, the number now stands at 194, an increase of 185 percent. | The numbers increased despite the fact that workers and citizens use their face masks. | Blumenau officials ack…
telesurenglish.net/news/covid19-cases-ri…

Coronavirus deaths go unrecorded in Indonesia
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
A review of the data from 16 Indonesian provinces shows more than 2,200 people died with symptoms of COVID-19, but were not counted in the official death toll.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/indo…

Big Pharma Beware: Dr. Montagnier Shines New Light on COVID-19 and The Future of Medicine
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-04-30
This April 16th, Dr. Luc Montagnier became a household name around the world. This occurred as the controversial virologist decided to publicly state his support for the theory that Covid-19 is indeed a laboratory-generated creation and not a naturally occurring effect of viral evolution. | Referring to a study published at the Kusama School of Biology in New Dehli on January 31st, Montagnier (the 2008 Nobel Prize winner for his 1983 discovery of the HIV virus) made the po…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/30/bi…

COVID 19: Think Science and the People
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
The people need science. The teaching is a legacy of pathologist Rudolph Virchow who was at the barricades in Berlin in 1848. A journal entry in that year of revolutions reads, “Medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine on a grand scale.” The pioneering Virchow first pronounced upon the biological importance of cells in health and disease. He was the “chief founder of modern scientific medicine.” (William H. Welch, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine 1902),…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/covid-19-thi…

Surviving COVID-19 in Vietnam, the ‘safest place in the world’
Amiad Horowitz | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-30
HANOI–Helicopters hovering over rice paddies, burning villages, and the sound of gunfire are the images many older Americans conjure when they hear the word Vietnam. Hollywood provides grist for our imagination about this country. For younger people, if they think of Vietnam at all, their images are those of a poor, developing country or elderly …
peoplesworld.org/article/surviving-covid…

As economy crumbles, nearly 40 per cent of firms say they will lay off staff
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-30
On February 28th 2020, the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer showed that economic optimism was at 23%, its highest level for seventeen months and firms were more upbeat about the expected impact of the UK leaving the EU. The same day the first official documented case of COVID-19 in the UK was recorded. Within two days, …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/as-economy-crumbles-nearly-40-per-cent-of-firms-say-they-will-lay-off-staff/

German students oppose reopening of schools
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Under the slogan “average grade 2020,” students are demanding the suspension of final exams and the closing of schools so long as the lives of students, teachers and their relatives are at risk from COVID-19.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/schu…

Biden and Trump compete to produce most misleading, racist anti-China ad
Leela Anand | liberationnews.org | 2020-04-30
Both political parties in the U.S. seek to make a national enemy out of China. But the U.S. working class has more to gain from friendship, solidarity and exchange of knowledge with China and the Chinese people.
liberationnews.org/biden-and-trump-compe…

Cuba’s Embassy in the US Under Firearm Attack: No Victims
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Cuba’s Embassy in the United States was attacked in the early hours on Thursday, after an unknown individual opened fire on the facade of the building. | RELATED: | Cuba and Venezuela Reject Mike Pompeo’s Threats | Cuban diplomats in the country were not injured, and are safe and protected. | Material damage was reported after the projectiles hit the facade, the official website of the Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained in a statement. | The aggressor was arrested by the local auth…
telesurenglish.net/news/cubas-embassy-in…

By ‘as Successful as Most Other Nations,’ NYT Means Sweden Is 10th Worst in the World
Jim Naureckas | fair.org | 2020-04-30
The relaxed attitude of Swedes towards the spread of the coronavirus “does not seem to have hurt them,” reports the New York Times ( 4/28/20)–except for the ones who have died, of course. | “In Sweden…the government defied conventional wisdom and refused to order a wholesale lockdown to ‘flatten the curve’ of the coronavirus epidemic,” the New York Times ( 4/28/20) reported. “And, to a large extent, Sweden do…
fair.org/home/by-as-successful-as-most-o…

Lockdowns-Boosting WHO Now Lauds Sweden as a ‘Model’ for Other Countries to Copy Going Forward
Jackie Salo | anti-empire.com | 2020-04-30
The World Health Organization lauded Sweden as a “model” for battling the coronavirus as countries lift lockdowns

Italy to Speedily Abandon Mind Virus Lockdown, Bend the Knee to Sweden’s Open Model
Marko Marjanović | anti-empire.com | 2020-04-30

Fighting “the invisible enemy”

| Conte has announced a gradual reopening of Italy starting next Monday. However, reading the schedule it becomes apparent it’s not very gradual at all, instead it is quite quick: | Italy has outlined plans to ease the restrictions it imposed seven weeks ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus. | Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the measures would be relaxed from 4 May, with people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers. | People will be allowed to move around their own regions – but not between different regions | Funerals are set to resume,…
anti-empire.com/italy-to-speedily-abando…

Prime Minister Philippe announces premature end of the lockdown in France
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The decision puts hundreds of thousands of lives at risk that have been saved by the insistence of the working class on measures to contain the disease.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/phil…

Almost 40 per cent of UK firms to cut staff
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-30
Roughly 40 per cent of UK firms expect to lay off staff over the next 12 months, a survey has shown, raising the prospect of many more job cuts in the UK economy. UK unemployment has already surged as coronavirus lockdown measures cause businesses to close or cut costs significantly. Close to a third of …
truepublica.org.uk/newsbits/almost-40-per-cent-of-uk-firms-to-cut-staff/

Colombia: Gunmen Kill Social Leader and Family Members in Cauca
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Community leader Alvaro Narvaez and three members of his family were killed on Wednesday by armed men in Cauca department, Colombia. | RELATED: | Colombia: Over 70 Indigenous Families Displaced in Urrao | The death of Narvaez, his wife, son and granddaughter, are part of the violence unleashed in the country against social leaders. | Narvaez was the president of the Community Action Board of the rural area of El Vado, in the municipality of Mojarras, in the south of Cauca. It was th…
telesurenglish.net/news/colombia-gunmen-…

Bolivia: Deputies Agree on Date for General Elections
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Bolivia’s Chamber of Deputies approved onApril 29 a bill to set the general elections date. The 2020 General Election postponement regulates the special circumstances for the polling process due to the virus. | RELATED: | “A Little Piece of Heaven in Bolivia” | The senate chamber stated that there will be a 90 day term prior to the election date, May 3. The date concurs with the enforcing period for the election bill. According to this norm, the next general toll should be held on August 2n…
telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-deputies…

Cuba Willing to Help Investigate Attack on Its US Headquarters
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, today expressed the will of his Government to assist in the investigation of the attack against the diplomatic headquarters of the Caribbean island in Washington. | RELATED: | Cuba’s Embassy in the US Under Firearm Attack: No Victims | In statements to the press, the Foreign Minister emphasized the seriousness of the attack, which could have endangered the life and safety of the embassy staff and their families, he said. | During a meeting wit…
telesurenglish.net/news/Cuba-Willing-to-…

May Day = Worker Power
Editor | workers.org | 2020-04-30
Today, in 66 countries around the world, May Day

The Fatal Folly of a Premature “Grand Opening”
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
Politicians across the nation are pushing the premature removal of social restrictions that have produced solid results in flattening the upward curve of coronavirus infections and deaths across the nation. Goaded by the greedy moguls of Wall Street, these so-called “leaders” are moving to “re-open the economy” while leading medical professionals warn it is folly…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/the-fatal-fo…

“Back to work” campaign extends to 21 US states as working-class opposition grows
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Democratic and Republican governors across the country are moving forward with back-to-work initiatives regardless of the deadly dangers to workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/barr…

Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland announce plans for reopening region
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Political leaders announced their plans to end stay-at-home orders and business closures despite warnings from health experts that the pandemic has not peaked yet.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/wash…

European classical music in the U.S. and its foreign policy impact
Eric A. Gordon | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-30
Scholar Jonathan Rosenberg’s new book Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music in America from the Great War through the Cold War has a misleading title. He focuses on controversies during three major episodes in global history–the Great War (World War I), World War II, and the Cold War of the 1940s-1960s (he only sketchily carries the story …
peoplesworld.org/article/european-classi…

British Airways announces 12,000 redundancies amid global airline jobs massacre
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The job losses will devastate tens of thousands and are a warning to workers of the economic “reconstruction” being prepared by the ruling elite in the wake of the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/bajo…

America’s Pact with the Devil
Kary Love | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
You know you are in a dark place when you must cite Adolf Hitler to support your side of the argument. Say what you will about Mr. Hitler, he fought in World War I, in the front lines, and was awarded the Iron Cross for his “service.” Despite the infamy of his later career, he…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/americas-pac…

Majority of US veterans back full withdrawal from Afghanistan, other overseas conflicts
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
A new poll reveals that more than half of US military veterans believe that the US government should be less engaged in foreign wars.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/poll…

Postal Workers’ Dimondstein: USPS collapse would disenfranchise tens of millions
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-30
WASHINGTON–The financial collapse of the U.S. Postal Service, which could happen any time between late summer and Sept. 30 without federal aid, “would disenfranchise tens of millions” of voters in the November election, Postal Workers President Mark Dimondstein warns. And that threat was one reason Dimondstein joined two Secretaries of State

Stock markets surge as Fed pledges to continue corporate handouts
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Despite figures showing the deepest economic contraction since the 2008 financial crisis, the Dow closed up by over 500 points.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/econ…

Corporate planning in the coronavirus economy
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-04-30
In this blog post, I want to connect what we’re currently seeing in the retail sector during this pandemic to deep-seated narratives about the nature of economic exchange, in particular to the notion of “the market”.
mronline.org/2020/04/30/corporate-planni…

Michael Moore’s Gift to the Fossil Fuel Industry
Ted Glick | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
Jeff Gibbs’ and Michael Moore’s movie, Planet of the Humans, must have “made my day” for the executives in the board rooms of Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP and all the other fossil fuel corporations…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/michael-moores-gif…

The Autocratic Son-in-Law and His Madness
Mats Svensson | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
For a long time, the movement was slow. Small steps. Limited change, as if we had all the time in the world. The movement was clear to everyone affected, as well as the outside world, but the outside world kept its eyes closed. The outside world consists, among others, of short term workers. Often diplomats.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/the-autocrat…

A “Wild” Tale of Two Nations
Subhankar Banerjee | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/a-wild-tale-…

Organized Indigenous Communities and Indigenous Knowledge Can Prevent the Spread of Covid19
Irma A. Velásquez Nimatuj | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin American countries, indigenous peoples and communities face the challenges that this disease brings, the contagion of which has proven to be highly rapid and aggressive. Faced with government neglect, the absence of social investment in their regions and the lack of access to regional or national…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/organized-in…

The Autocratic Son-in-Law and His Madness
Mats Svensson | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
For a long time, the movement was slow. Small steps. Limited change, as if we had all the time in the world. The movement was clear to everyone affected, as well as the outside world, but the outside world kept its eyes closed. The outside world consists, among others, of short term workers. Often diplomats.
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/the-autocrat…

The Power and Plight of Science
Evaggelos Vallianatos | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
The Greeks used the word episteme for science. Episteme means knowledge, techne (craftsmanship), understanding, and experience. Episteme / science was primarily knowledge from the observation of nature and natural phenomena, which slowly eclipsed the role of the divine and superstition in the organization and understanding of life and the cosmos. In the fifth century BCE,…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/the-power-an…

The Beginning of the End for Oil? Energy in a Post-Pandemic World
Michael T. Klare | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-30
Energy analysts have long assumed that, given time, growing international concern over climate change would result in a vast restructuring of the global energy enterprise. The result: a greener, less climate-degrading system. In this future, fossil fuels would be overtaken by renewables, while oil, gas, and coal would be relegated to an increasingly marginal role…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/the-beginnin…

A return to normal is not good enough
Marty Hart-Landsberg | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
Rarely mentioned is the fact that our economy was heading into a recession before the coronavirus hit. Or that living and working conditions for the majority of Americans were declining even during the past years of expansion…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/a-return-to-normal…

Meat Processing Plants Have Become Incubators for Coronavirus
Nicole Nirea | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
Trump will reportedly invoke the Defense Production Act to declare the meat-packing plants “critical infrastructure”
zcomm.org/znetarticle/meat-processing-pl…

Unions Are Saving Our Lives Every Day
Liza Featherstone | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
The coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that as long as they’re making profits, capitalists don’t care if we live or die. But unions, at their best, fight for everyone…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/unions-are-saving-…

Profits before human life: German parliament president Schà§uble wins broad support in the establishment
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The German ruling class is marking the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s suicide in the Fàºhrer bunker by discussing how many human lives should be sacrificed in the coronavirus crisis.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/scha…

Ruby Princess cruise ship forced out of Australian waters with coronavirus stricken staff on board
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Around 500 workers are on the ship as it heads for the Philippines.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/ruby…

The coronavirus pandemic fuels the class struggle
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The response of the ruling class and capitalist governments to the coronavirus pandemic is producing a growing wave of walkouts, sick-outs, demonstrations and other forms of social unrest.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/pers…

America the Victim: Are Enemies Lining Up for Revenge in the Wake of the Coronavirus?
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-04-30
When in trouble politically, governments have traditionally conjured up a foreign enemy to explain why things are going wrong. Whatever one chooses to believe about the coronavirus, the fact is that it has resulted in considerable political backlash against a number of governments whose behavior has been perceived as either too extreme or too dilatory. Donald Trump’s White House has taken shots from both directions and the response to the disease has also been pilloried due to repeated gaffes by the president himself. The latest mis-spoke, now being framed by Trump’s press secretary as sarcasm, involved a preside…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/30/am…

UK coronavirus death toll passes 26,000 as government admits to 4,000 fatalities outside hospitals
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
The UK is fast becoming the centre of the pandemic in Europe and is set to surpass the 27,682 deaths already recorded in Italy.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/couk…

Sweden forced to admit significant under-counting of coronavirus deaths
wsws.org | 2020-04-30
Sweden did not impose a lock-down and even delayed issuing social distancing guidelines, leading to more deaths and pushing the health system to the limit.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/30/swed…

Duque’s approval rating surges to 52%, opponents see support skyrocket
Adriaan Alsema | colombiareports.com | 2020-04-30
The approval rating of Colombia’s President Ivan Duque surged to a record 52% in April after reaching an all-time low of 23% in February, according to pollster Invamer / Gallup….
colombiareports.com/duques-approval-rati…

Trump Embraces the Role of Killer-in-Chief
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
“Be assured of one thing: whichever candidate you choose at the polls in November, you aren’t just electing a president of the United States; you are also electing an assassin-in-chief.” So I wrote back in June 2012, with a presidential election approaching. | I was referring then to the war on terror’s CIA and military drone assassination programs, which first revved up in parts of the Greater Middle East…
truthout.org/articles/trump-embraces-the…

Trump Embraces the Role of Killer-in-Chief
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
“Be assured of one thing: whichever candidate you choose at the polls in November, you aren’t just electing a president of the United States; you are also electing an assassin-in-chief.” So I wrote back in June 2012, with a presidential election approaching. | I was referring then to the war on terror’s CIA and military drone assassination programs, which first revved up in parts of the Greater Middle East…
truthout.org/articles/trump-embraces-the…

Judith Butler: Mourning Is a Political Act Amid the Pandemic and Its Disparities
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
As corpses pile up and makeshift morgues struggle under the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions of vulnerability and mourning have become ever more acute. How do we mourn mass death amid a pandemic, and how is our mourning political? | Theorist Judith Butler

Trump Reportedly Lashed Out at His Campaign Manager Over Grim Reelection Polls
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
President Donald Trump is denying reports that he erupted last week at his own campaign manager over numbers that showed he was down in the polls in a head-to-head general election matchup against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. | Trump, during a phone conversation with campaign manager Brad Parscale on Friday, reportedly ran the gamut of emotions when confronted with the data, berati…
truthout.org/articles/trump-reportedly-l…

If We’re at War, the Weapons We Need Are Tests and PPE, Not Pork
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
As President Trump invokes the Defense Production Act to bar local governments from closing meatpacking plants around the United States, we get response from a longtime adviser to the World Health Organization. “When Congress passed that act, it certainly did not have in mind that the president has the power or the right to put workers’ lives and health at risk,” says Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Center on National and Gl…
truthout.org/video/if-were-at-war-the-we…

If We’re at War, the Weapons We Need Are Tests and PPE, Not Pork
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
As President Trump invokes the Defense Production Act to bar local governments from closing meatpacking plants around the United States, we get response from a longtime adviser to the World Health Organization. “When Congress passed that act, it certainly did not have in mind that the president has the power or the right to put workers’ lives and health at risk,” says Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the World Health Organization Center on National and Gl…
truthout.org/video/if-were-at-war-the-we…

California City Was Accused of Police Brutality Weeks Before Cop Beat Black Teen
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
A federal lawsuit alleging that the California city of Rancho Cordova “fostered a culture of violence” among local police was filed just weeks before videos showing a white Rancho Cordova police officer pummeling a Black teenager sparked national outrage on Monday. Local law enforcement officials are investigating the latest incident, which reportedly began when the officer stopped a 14-year-old boy for buying a cigar. The encounter escalated, and now-infamous videos circulating widely on…
truthout.org/articles/california-city-wa…

California City Was Accused of Police Brutality Weeks Before Cop Beat Black Teen
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-30
A federal lawsuit alleging that the California city of Rancho Cordova “fostered a culture of violence” among local police was filed just weeks before videos showing a white Rancho Cordova police officer pummeling a Black teenager sparked national outrage on Monday. Local law enforcement officials are investigating the latest incident, which reportedly began when the officer stopped a 14-year-old boy for buying a cigar. The encounter escalated, and now-infamous videos circulating widely on…
truthout.org/articles/california-city-wa…

Remdesivir is getting everybody’s hopes up, but is it too early to fall prey to the hype?
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Remdesivir is Big Pharma’s new bet against Covid-19, and it’s being promoted just as vigorously as the Trump-touted hydroxychloroquine was ‘debunked.’ It’s currently unproven too, but it’s already getting hopes

China declares ‘no interest’ in meddling in US elections after Trump says Beijing is doing ‘anything it can’ to oust him from WH
rt.com | 2020-04-30
China has rejected any allegations it planned to meddle in the US election in November after the US president accused the Chinese of favouring his rival, Joe Biden, given Trump’s rhetoric over Covid-19 origins and trade relations. | Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily briefing that “the US presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,” adding “we hope the people of the US will not drag China into its election politics.” | In an interview on Wednesday, President Trump claimed Beijing wanted his opponent, Joe Biden, to take the White House t…
rt.com/usa/487346-trump-china-covid-blam…

Russian Prime Minister Mishustin tests positive for coronavirus as national total tops 100,000 cases
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been diagnosed with Covid-19. The news was announced on Thursday evening, live on national television, during a video link with President Vladimir Putin. | First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov will step in as interim head of government during Mishustin’s recovery. | It appears Mishustin – who replaced Dmitry Medvedev as Prime Minister in January – received the result of his test while at work. Earlier in the day, he headed a governmental session, conducted remotely. His diagnosis makes him the second major world leader known to have contracted the infection -…
rt.com/news/487462-russian-pm-tests-posi…

Boris Johnson says UK ‘past the peak’ of Covid-19 outbreak at first briefing after his recovery (VIDEO)
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Recovering from his own bout with the coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain is “past the peak” in its battle with the virus. The PM added that he will set out a plan to ease lockdown measures next week. | …
rt.com/uk/487459-boris-johnson-uk-past-p…

US intelligence says Covid-19 ‘not man-made’ but will still investigate Wuhan lab-origins theory
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The US intelligence community has said the Covid-19 virus was “not man-made or genetically modified,” as reports suggest Donald Trump is warring with spy agencies and pushing the theory that the virus came from a Chinese lab. | In a rare statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said Thursday that the US intelligence community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus” that the novel coronavirus was “not man-made or genetic…
rt.com/usa/487460-us-intelligence-covid1…

Trump says he has ‘high confidence’ Covid-19 originated in Wuhan lab
rt.com | 2020-04-30
US President Donald Trump told reporters he believed the novel coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, declining to elaborate why, after US intelligence said it believes the virus was natural in origin. | Asked on Thursday if he had a “high degree of confidence” that the coronavirus originated at the laboratory, Trump replied “Yes, I have.” | “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that,” was his response to reporters who asked on what basis he was making that judgment. | President Trump is asked about the origins of the Coronavirus. | Q: “Have you seen anything at this…
rt.com/usa/487479-trump-wuhan-high-confi…

‘I can do a lot’: Trump blames China for Covid-19 & seeking to ‘undermine’ his re-election
rt.com | 2020-04-30
US President Donald Trump believes China “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid, pointing to Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 60,000 Americans already. | Taking aim at Beijing, Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that the country would prefer to see his Democratic rival Joe Biden take the Oval Office in November, stating it would pull out all the stops to see him win

‘Stunning, brave’: Actress ‘goes gray for frontline workers’ in latest slacktivist Covid-19 attention grab
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Actress Hilarie Burton has joined the ranks of attention-starved celebrities desperately seeking to stay relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic with an ostentatious display that does nothing to help the situation. | The 37-year-old announced in an emotional Instagram post that she is ditching hair dye in a symbolic show of support for essential workers on the coalface of the public health crisis. | “The ‘silver lining’ is literally growing out of my skull,” she wrote. “For all of our frontline and essential workers who are too busy to fuss with things like hair color, I grow mine out in solidarity with you,” Bu…
rt.com/news/487458-celebrities-attention…

UK set to miss Covid-19 testing target as its death toll jumps to second in Europe
rt.com | 2020-04-30
A cabinet minister has admitted that the UK is on track to miss its target of carrying out 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April. It comes after the country jumped to second in Europe for fatalities from Covid-19. | …
rt.com/uk/487315-uk-miss-april-100000-te…

ONE IN SEVEN Americans would avoid Covid-19 treatment for fear of cost, even as pricey new pill shows promise against virus
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Some 14 percent of US adults would forgo medical care for Covid-19 symptoms because they couldn’t pay for it, a new poll has found

The state nose best: Swedish town dumps ton of chicken manure to stop crowds gathering for festival
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The Swedish town of Lund has taken the drastic step of dumping a ton of chicken manure in its central park in a bid to stink out an annual festival that officials fear could spark a massive outbreak of Covid-19. | Sweden has gained attention across the world for its softer approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, but the university town in the south of the country is taking no such chances. | Thursday is Walpurgis Night, an event which would usually see thousands of revelers gather in the town to celebrate the traditional northern European festival that heralds the arrival of better weather. | Also on rt…
rt.com/news/487362-swedish-town-chicken-…

We need your vote! RT projects nominated for ‘Internet Oscars’ Webby Awards 2020
rt.com | 2020-04-30
For the third year in a row, RT is among the nominees for the most prestigious online awards

WHO says Russia could start ‘gradually’ easing partial lockdown in 2 weeks, amid a record daily spike in Covid-19 cases
rt.com | 2020-04-30
A WHO representative suggested that Russia could start partially easing Covid-19 restrictions soon if the situation develops in the right way. However, new data in relation to infections adds more uncertainty to the situation. | One month on from Putin’s announcement of a Russian partial lockdown, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. | Speaking at a coronavirus-focused roundtable hosted by Russian news agency TASS, Dr. Melita Vujnovic, the World Health Organization Representative in Russia, stated that measures could soon be eased if the country sees a downward trend within the next two weeks. “I…
rt.com/russia/487365-who-russia-covid-lo…

China declares ‘no interest’ in meddling in US vote after Trump accuses Beijing of doing ‘anything’ to oust him
rt.com | 2020-04-30
China has rejected any allegations it planned to meddle in the US election in November after the US president accused the Chinese of favouring his rival, Joe Biden, given Trump’s rhetoric over Covid-19 origins and trade relations. | Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily briefing that “the US presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,” adding “we hope the people of the US will not drag China into its election politics.” | In an interview on Wednesday, President Trump claimed Beijing wanted his opponent, Joe Biden, to take the White House t…
rt.com/usa/487346-trump-china-covid-blam…

US intelligence says Covid-19 ‘not man-made’ but will still investigate Wuhan lab-origins theory
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The US intelligence community has said the Covid-19 virus was “not man-made or genetically modified,” as reports suggest Donald Trump is warring with spy agencies and pushing the theory that the virus came from a Chinese lab. | In a rare statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said Thursday that the US intelligence community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus” that the novel coronavirus was “not man-made or genetic…
rt.com/usa/487460-us-intelligence-covid1…

Russian Prime Minister Mishustin tests positive for coronavirus as national total tops 100,000 cases
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has been diagnosed with Covid-19. The news was announced on Thursday evening, live on national television, during a video link with President Vladimir Putin. | First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov will step in as interim head of the government during Mishustin’s recovery. | It appears Mishustin – who replaced Dmitry Medevedev as PM in January – received the result of his test while at work. Earlier in the day, he headed a session of the government, conducted remotely. | “It just became known that the tests that I’ve passed for coronavirus gave a positive result,”
rt.com/news/487462-russian-pm-tests-posi…

Google muscles into videoconferencing with ‘secure’ Zoom competitor as 3 out of 5 Americans don’t trust Big Tech with private data
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Google has released its videoconferencing app Meet for free, angling for a slice of the rapidly-expanding market even as a majority of Americans reveal they wouldn’t trust the company with their Covid-19 infection status. | Meet, which according to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is adding three million users daily, will be available to anyone with an email address and a Google account in the coming weeks, the tech behemoth revealed on Wednesday in a blog post. | The videoconferencing platform allows up to…
rt.com/usa/487296-google-meet-videoconfe…

‘I can do a lot’: Trump blames China for Covid-19 & seeking to ‘undermine’ his re-election
rt.com | 2020-04-30
US President Donald Trump believes China “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid, pointing to Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 60,000 Americans already. | Taking aim at Beijing, Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that the country would prefer to see his Democratic rival Joe Biden take the Oval Office in November, stating it would pull out all the stops to see him win

Trump says he has ‘high confidence’ Covid-19 originated in Wuhan lab
rt.com | 2020-04-30
US President Donald Trump told reporters he believed the novel coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, declining to elaborate why, after US intelligence said it believes the virus was natural in origin. | Asked on Thursday if he had a “high degree of confidence” that the coronavirus originated at the laboratory, Trump replied “Yes, I have.” | “I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that,” was his response to reporters who asked on what basis he was making that judgment. | President Trump is asked about the origins of the Coronavirus. | Q: “Have you seen anything at this…
rt.com/usa/487479-trump-wuhan-high-confi…

‘One way to pay for headlines’: Backlash after UK govt gifts newspapers £35m Covid-19 advertising bump
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The UK government is to hand newspapers an additional £35 million in ad revenue as part of its “Covid-19 communications campaign,” prompting accusations that Westminster is in the pocket of “tax-dodging billionaire” media owners. | The Treasury published details of the eyebrow-raising financial boost for Britain’s print newspaper industry on Thursday, revealing that the millions will be spent over “the next three months” to communicate coronavirus guidance and advice to the public. | The sizable injection of taxpayers’ money into the mainstream print media

‘Under control’: Denmark says coronavirus spread ‘hasn’t accelerated’ since reopening began
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Denmark said on Thursday the spread of Covid-19 has not accelerated since its gradual loosening of restrictions began in mid-April. The first country outside Asia to ease its coronavirus lockdown, Denmark began reopening day care centers and schools for children in first to fifth grades two weeks ago followed by hairdressers and other small businesses on April 20, after seeing the number of infections and deaths decline. | “There are no signs that the Covid-19 epidemic is accelerating,” said the State Serum Institute, which is responsible for preparedness against infectious diseases. The ‘R rate,’ which shows…
rt.com/newsline/487461-denmark-control-g…

Russia’s coronavirus cases surpass 100,000 following record daily rise
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Russia has recorded its highest daily increase in Covid-19 infections, with more than 7,000 new cases emerging on Thursday. The nationwide tally of coronavirus patients now stands at over 106,000. | In the past 24 hours, 7,099 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the government’s emergency response team revealed. Over half of these cases were located in Moscow and the surrounding region, while Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, appears third in the grim ranking. | The updates came after Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s presidential spokesman, suggested the country will reach a coronavirus p…
rt.com/russia/487314-russia-coronavirus-…

‘Immunity’ with benefits? Germans worried as govt mulls IDs ‘making life easier’ for Covid-19 survivors
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Berlin is reportedly considering issuing IDs confirming the bearer is immune to Covid-19 and may have more freedom than the as-yet uninfected. It adds to debate on whether recovery from the virus protects humans from reinfection. | Germany’s federal government has passed a bill that would allow for handing out “coronavirus immunity cards” to anyone who has recovered from

‘Joe Biden is Joe Biden’: Democratic establishment clashes with progressives over lockstep defense on Tara Reade allegations
rt.com | 2020-04-30
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “boys will be boys”-type defense of 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden has half the internet raging at the party’s “hypocrisy,” while the other half demand the heads of the candidate’s critics. | Pelosi delivered a tart rebuke on Thursday to a reporter’s query about how the party was (mis)handling former Senate staffer Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against Biden. | Speaker Pelosi: “I have complete respect for the whole #MeToo movement…there’s also due process…Joe Biden is Joe Biden…There…
rt.com/usa/487477-biden-democrats-reade-…

S. Korea reports no new domestic coronavirus cases for 1st time since February
rt.com | 2020-04-30
South Korea on Thursday reported no new domestic coronavirus cases for the first time since February, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). | It reported four new infections, all imported cases, taking the national tally to 10,765. The death toll rose by one to 247, while 9,059 have been discharged. Of the total, 1,065 were imported cases, while more than 90 percent were Koreans, a KCDC statement said. | The health authorities also said that no local transmissions occurred from a parliamentary election this month, where authorities took safety measures. | “Twenty-nine millio…
rt.com/newsline/487312-south-korea-domes…

Germany bans Hezbollah, conducts multiple anti-terrorist raids
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Berlin has banned the Lebanese militant organization and political party, Hezbollah, labeling the group a terrorist outfit as German police carry out raids on those suspected of being members. | “[Interior Minister Horst Seehofer] today banned the operation of the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah (Party of God) in Germany,” an Interior Ministry spokesperson tweeted on Thursday morning. | Police measures have been taking place in several federal states at the sam…
rt.com/news/487307-germany-bans-hezbolla…

Italy’s PM Conte to ease lockdown based on ‘differences in local contagion levels’
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday he would gradually relax Italy’s coronavirus lockdown taking into account differences in contagion levels in various parts of the country. | Conte told the lower house of parliament that a new stimulus package to support the economy, due to be presented in a few days, would include €15 billion ($16.3 billion) for companies and €25 billion directly for payroll workers and the self-employed. | The lockdown imposed on March 9 will be gradually rolled back from May 4 and agreed with local authorities “taking account of the regions where the epidemiological s…
rt.com/newsline/487328-italy-conte-local…

Serbia eases lockdown this weekend despite health warnings
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The Serbian government has decided to ease coronavirus lockdown measures this weekend despite warnings by doctors. The government reversed its decision to lock the entire country down during the coming May Day weekend and instead introduced a curfew from 6pm on Thursday until 5pm on Saturday despite calls by doctors not to relax restrictions. | Serbia’s chief epidemiologist, Predrag Kon, a member of the government’s crisis team, sees the decision as a compromise. He said a three-day lockdown would have been a better and safer decision to prevent the disease spreading. | Serbia has so far reported 8,724 coronav…
rt.com/newsline/487369-serbia-eases-lock…

Arab League condemns Israel’s plan to annex parts of West Bank
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The Arab League condemned Israel’s plan to de facto annex parts of the occupied West Bank as “a new war crime” against Palestinians, it said in statement after a video conference of Arab foreign ministers on Thursday. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in announcing a deal to form a unity government, has set July 1 as the date for the start of cabinet discussions on extending Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements in the West Bank and annexing outright the Jordan Valley, Reuters said. | Palestinians have expressed outrage at Israel’s plans to cement its hold on land it seized in the 1967 Six-Day War in th…
rt.com/newsline/487367-arab-league-israe…

Schools in Hungary to remain closed until end of May
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Hungarian schools will remain closed until the end of May and events with more than 500 participants cannot be held until August 15, PM Viktor Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said on Thursday. | Orban announced late on Wednesday that, outside Budapest, some restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus outbreak would be lifted starting next week. Shops and restaurant terraces will be allowed to reopen without time limits. However, existing strict measures in the capital will continue for now, as about 70 percent of registered infections were in Budapest. | Written graduation exams will be held nationwi…
rt.com/newsline/487325-schools-hungary-c…

Gold demand skyrockets 80% as pandemic fuels investor dash for safety
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Global investment demand for gold soared to a four-year high of 539.6 metric tons in the first quarter of the year, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid the coronavirus outbreak. | The World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report that the pandemic was the single biggest factor influencing gold demand. | According to the report, the inflows of 298 metric tons for gold-backed ETFs pushed global holdings in those products to a new record high of 3,185 metric tons for the quarter. Total gl…
rt.com/business/487320-gold-investment-d…

‘He doesn’t understand the point’: Kyrgios hammers Thiem over refusal to give up money for lower-ranked players
rt.com | 2020-04-30
Nick Kyrgios has fired back at Dominic Thiem after the Austrian world number three reacted with disdain to plans to provide a $5 million fund to help lower-ranked players mooted by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. | “He still doesn’t understand the point,” said Kyrgios on his Instagram account after Thiem dismissed the scheme due to his belief that even less successful pros don’t need financial assistance during the coronavirus pandemic. | “We at the top get paid far too much and there is not enough to go around…
rt.com/sport/487326-nick-kyrgios-slams-d…

Libya’s UN-recognized govt rejects rival Haftar’s offer of Ramadan truce
rt.com | 2020-04-30
The Tripoli-based government of Libya has rejected a truce offer from rival military commander Khalifa Haftar for the month of Ramadan, saying it “did not trust” the pledge made by its eastern-based adversary. | In a statement issued Thursday, the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) insisted it would continue “legitimate self-defense” and would attack “any threat.” It also apparently referenced Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), saying it would “put an end to outlaw groups.” | The LNA, which controls swathes of eastern and southern Libya, launched an offensive to seize the capital Tripoli in Ap…
rt.com/newsline/487466-libya-gna-rejects…

Arab League Defines West Bank Annexation as “War Crime”
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-30
Israel’s plan to annex the West Bank is a war crime and a flagrant violation of international law, Arab League foreign ministers said Thursday. | RELATED: | Israeli Forces Detain Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem | The Arab League’s statement followed a video conference between ministers of the organization on Thursday. | The decisions of the Palestinian State will be supported by the League, through its political, legal and financial resources. | The Israeli plan is simply a crime o…
telesurenglish.net/news/arab-league-defi…

Pandemic used as proxy to privatize USPS
Dave Welsh | workers.org | 2020-04-30
USPS worker delivers mail on Beacon Hill in Boston, April 8. U.S. Postal Service workers, like health care workers, go to work every day risking exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Over 900 USPS employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and over 35 have died. On Workers’ Memorial Day, April 28, . . . | Continue reading Pandemic used as proxy to privatize USPS at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/48026/?utm_source=rs…

Vice President Pence to visit Mayo Clinic in Rochester on April 28
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org | 2020-04-30
Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Rochester, Minnesota, on Tuesday, April 28. He will tour Mayo Clinic facilities that support COVID-19 research and treatment, and speak with staff. Later that evening, Vice President Pence will return to Washington, D.C. Additional details about the vice president’s trip are forthcoming. Members of the media can contact …
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/vi…

Army May Have Hosted Largest Gathering During Pandemic
Andrey Areshev | strategic-culture.org | 2020-04-30
The Pentagon “failed to adequately respond” to the COVID-19 pandemic, charged ten Democratic lawmakers in a letter sent to the Pentagon Monday. The lawmakers say “lack of clear guidance” from Defense Secretary Mark Esper has put service members at risk because there has not been a clear coronavirus policy across the Defense Department.
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/30/ar…

“Humans” are not the problem: Reflections on a “useless” documentary
Brian Tokar | zcomm.org | 2020-04-30
“Planet of the Humans” does a serious disservice to those seeking to bring a more systemic and forward-looking approach into the climate movement…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/humans-are-not-the…

Support Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles – Donate to Our GoFundMe So We Can Reopen Stronger
Uhuru Furniture and Collectibles | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
WEBINAR: Support Uhuru Furniture – Not the Banks and Wall Street! May 5, 3pm. Register: Zoom tinyurl.com/DefendUhuruFurniture. This pandemic is devastating our Black community! We are infected and dying of Covid-19 at disproportionately higher rates. UF has served the community for 31 years in Oakland, building an independent African economy. Donate GoFundMe uhurufurniture.org…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883268…

#PeoplesBailout May Day Actions & Livestream for COVID-19 Health & Economic Justice
People’s Bailout coalition | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Online and actions across USA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883268…

Housing Justice Organizers Across Nation Announce Mass Rent Strike Campaign
Posted by Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
“We Strike Together” to Launch in Response to Exacerbation of the Housing Crisis Fueled by COVID-19; Hundreds of Thousands from All 50 States Join in Solidarity to Demand Rent Relief…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883269…

Pandemic in Poor Country
Michelle Ann Stanton | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Affecting Small Businesses in the Restaurant Industry in Lake County, California,…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883269…

#PeoplesBailout May Day Actions & Livestream for COVID-19 Health & Economic Justice
People’s Bailout coalition | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Online and actions across USA…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883268…

Racial Disparities During COVID-19 (webniar)
The Commonwealth Club | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Online via livestream…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/28/1883267…

The Deterioration of the United States
Troy Prouty* | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
COVID-19 is just a Virus. Propaganda is the Disease.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883268…

Housing Justice Organizers Across Nation Announce Mass Rent Strike Campaign
Posted by Lynda Carson | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
“We Strike Together” to Launch in Response to Exacerbation of the Housing Crisis Fueled by COVID-19; Hundreds of Thousands from All 50 States Join in Solidarity to Demand Rent Relief…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883269…

RNs to Hold Vigil in Memory of El Paso RN Karla Dominguez Who Died of COVID-19
National Nurses United | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Registered nurses will hold a memorial Wednesday night in memory of Karla Dominguez, a pediatric intensive care nurse at Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus in El Paso who died of COVID-19.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/29/1883269…

Demanding Women: Quarintine Conversations About Gun Violence w/ Sen. Elizabeth Warren
MDAEFG | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Facebook livestream…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/28/1883267…

4/30/20: 45th Anniversary of Victory in Vietnam
repost | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
On April 30, 1975, the “little people in black pajamas” of Vietnam defeated the mightiest, most despicable war machine the world had seen since Nazi Germany, namely the US military, as they chased the US military and their local lackeys onto helicopters, boats and planes, causing celebrations around the world, including here in the Bay Area where we, who opposed the war machine and resisted the draft, danced in streets. Today, Vietnam has ZERO deaths from the coronavirus because it has SOCIALIZED medicine. For more, see www.counterpunch.org/2020/04/30/a-letter……
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883270…

Sacramento: May Day Car Caravan for Immigrant & Worker Rights
Graton Day Labor Center and others | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Car Caravan: Southside Park, Sacramento…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883271…

The Coronavirus Pandemic and a One World Government
Anthony Ravlich | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
The connection between the coronavirus pandemic, China, the United Nations and a One World Government.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883270…

Watsonville: International Workers’ Day Action
Regeneration-Pájaro Valley Climate Action | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Watsonville Plaza | 350 Main St, Watsonville…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883270…

Good Riddance Releases EP to Benefit Aid During Virus Pandemic
John Malkin | indybay.org | 2020-04-30
Santa Cruz punk band Good Riddance released a benefit EP on April 15 to benefit the World Food Programme, the food assistance branch of the United Nations. The four songs are previously unreleased tracks from the band’s “Thoughts and Prayers” recording sessions.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/30/1883271…