Epidemics

(Al-Shabaka.org) – The first measures taken against COVID-19 in the West Bank occurred in early March after the confirmation of seven cases in Bethlehem that were linked to a Greek tourist group. The Palestinian Authority (PA) declared a state of emergency and imposed a lockdown on the city, banning all entry and exit as well […]

Corruption

Could Trump end up in Court over his Disastrous Mishandling of Coronavirus?

John Feffer

(Foreign Policy in Focus and Hankyoreh) – Donald Trump said that he would make America number one again. And now the United States leads the world in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths. It is a dubious achievement. How could this have happened? The United States is supposed to have one of the best medical systems […]

Epidemics

This isn’t the first global pandemic, and it won’t be the last. Here’s what we’ve learned from 4 others throughout history

The Conversation

By David Griffin and Justin Denholm | – The course of human history has been shaped by infectious diseases, and the current crisis certainly won’t be the last time. However, we can capitalise on the knowledge gained from past experiences, and reflect on how we’re better off this time around. 1. The Plague, or ‘Black […]

Epidemics

Medicare for All: Covid-19 shows when it Comes to Health, the Government is your friend, the Private Sector sees you as an ATM

F. Douglas Stephenson

Gainesville, Fl. (Special to Informed Comment) – To protect and enhance high profits by opposing improved Medicare for All, the private health insurance industry has used scare and fear tactics ever since ‘Obamacare’, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was enacted in March, 2010. The U.S. health insurance industry lobbied Congress hard at that time to […]

Epidemics

Unprotected Nurses of the World, Unite; You have nothing to Lose but your Corporate Chains

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Many pundits have correctly recognized Covis19’s role in exposing extreme class, race, and gender inequalities in this society and the vulnerabilities they foster. This virus also exposes the grave injustices that characterize many American workplaces, where many Americans spend nearly a third of the prime years of […]

Democratic Socialism

The Rich wanted to Strangle a Tiny Gov’t in a Bathtub to avoid Taxes; Now it Turns out We need a Competent State

Jim Hightower

( Otherwords.org) – Amazingly, America has become a nation of socialists, asking in dismay: “Where’s the government?” These are not born-again Bernie Sanders activists, but people of all political stripes (including previously apolitical multitudes) who are now clamoring for big government intervention in their lives. Nothing like a spreading coronavirus pandemic to bring home the […]

Climate Crisis

After Trillions invested in Security after 9/11, Coronavirus Shows we’re not Up to Security Threat of Climate Emergency

The Conversation

By Kate Guy | – How might a single threat, even one deemed unlikely, spiral into an evolving global crisis which challenges the foundations of global security, economic stability and democratic governance, all in the matter of a few weeks? My research on threats to national security, governance and geopolitics has focused on exactly this […]

Colonialism

1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords’ indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement

The Conversation

By Maura Chhun | – In India, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, a staggering 12 to 13 million people died, the vast majority between the months of September and December. According to an eyewitness, “There was none to remove the dead bodies and the jackals made a feast.” At the time of the pandemic, India […]

Donald Trump

With Trump gross Incompetence, Bookstores moving Post-Apocalyptic Fiction into Current Events Section

John Feffer

(Tomdispatch.com) – In retrospect, it’s no surprise that, after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, dystopian fiction enjoyed a spike in popularity. However, novels like George Orwell’s 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which soared on Amazon, would prove more horror stories than roadmaps. Like so many ominous sounds from a dark basement, […]