Trump’s Virtual Town Hall: A Vehicle for Deception, Finger-Pointing and Threats
By Stephen Lendman, May 04 2020
On
Sunday, Trump was his usual congenital lying self, falsely boasting to
viewers that he’s “done more than any other president in the history of
our country.” At a time when the nation faces a public health
crisis and economic collapse, he falsely claimed things are “all working
out. You know, the numbers are heading in the right direction.”
If We Want to Return to Normal, We Have to Fix the Policy
By Mike Whitney, May 04 2020
Most
of the United States is still under lockdown, but why? What is the
purpose of the policy?We’ve had the “flatten the curve” meme pounded
into our brains for so long, that most people think it’s the objective
of the policy, but is it? Flattening the curve is a worthy goal, but
preventing the health care system from being overwhelmed should not be
our highest priority. True, it is critical, I don’t dispute that, I just
think there are other goals that are more important. But what would
those be?
The Deeper Historical Roots of Chinese Demonization
By Pepe Escobar, May 04 2020
The
new normal tactic of non-stop China demonization is deployed not only
by crude
functionaries of the industrial-military-surveillance-media
complex. We need to dig much deeper to discover how these attitudes are
deeply embedded in Western thinking – and later migrated to the “end of
history” United States. The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Civil Actions as a Social Movement
By Prof. Paul Jobin, May 04 2020
Like
the many industrial disasters that have marked the history of modern
and contemporary Japan, the nuclear disaster of March 2011 resulted in
much litigation. By the ninth anniversary of the catastrophe in 2020,
nearly four hundred individual civil actions, and at least thirty known
cases of collective civil actions, along with two collective
administrative lawsuits, have been launched across the country. The
total number of plaintiffs exceeds twelve thousand. Thirteen district
courts have already handed down judgments, a large majority of them in
favor of the plaintiffs against the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco)
and the Japanese state. The cases are now pending in appeal.
Crushing the States, Saving the Banks: The Fed’s Generous New Rules
By Ellen Brown, May 04 2020
Congress
seems to be at war with the states. Only $150 billion of its nearly $3
trillion coronavirus relief package – a mere 5% – has been allocated to
the 50 states; and they are not allowed to use it where they need it
most, to plug the holes in their budgets caused by the mandatory
shutdown. On April 22, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he
was opposed to additional federal aid to the states, and that his
preference was to allow states to go bankrupt. No such threat looms over
the banks, which have made out extremely well in this crisis.
No, the US Isn’t Going to Dump India over Its Atrocious Treatment of Minorities
By Andrew Korybko, May 04 2020
There’s
been a lot of speculation that the US might be preparing to dump India
over its atrocious treatment of minorities after the official White
House Twitter account stopped following several Indian government ones
including Prime Minister Modi’s and the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom recommended blacklisting the South Asian
state, but that scenario is extremely unlikely since America envisages
its new junior partner functioning as a long-term counterweight to China
in both the military and economic domains, which certainly takes
strategic precedence over punishing the country for its human rights
abuses.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Africa. The Case of Somalia
By Dr. Bischara A. Egal, May 04 2020
Since
early April, Somalia has been on lockdown. Daily life has come to a
halt. Movement is restricted. Public gatherings are suspended. All but a
small number of essential businesses are closed. Every one of the
country’s 19 million people has been affected by these restrictions, but
– as ever – the most vulnerable have been hit the hardest. In Somalia,
only a small minority are formally employed. Everyone else who earns a
living works in the informal economy with no employer-provided benefits,
few alternative livelihood options, and only the most meagre social
safety net to fall back on.
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