Category Archives: Pandemic

If the Federal Government Won’t Fund the States’ Emergency Needs, There Is Another Solution

Some ways aroung the Federal government’s present refusal to do much for state and localities.

Food Security: Prince Charles Calls for Furloughed Workers to Pick Berries; My Thoughts as a Former Tomato Picker

Some thoughts from a former tomato picker – moi – on the call from Prince Charles for furloughed workers to help with the food harvest in Britain.

Bernie Sanders Says It Is ‘Nauseating’ to See Corporations Praise Frontline Workers as ‘Heroes’ While Refusing to Pay Them More

Whatever you may think of Bernie Sanders suspending his presidential campaign, his criticism of corporations who laud workers as heroes while refusing to pay them is spot on.

Wolf Richter: Week 9 of the Collapse of the U.S. Labor Market: Still Getting Worse at a Gut-Wrenching Pace

Thursday’s unemployment numbers show that the U.S. unemployment numbers have not yet bottomed out – and that instead, the problem is worsening at a gut-wrenching pace.

Yanis Varoufakis: Have Merkel & Macron Just Announced a Eurobond-Funded Godsend for the EU?

There’s not a lot of there there in a proposed EU rescue scheme.

Climate Change: Hurricanes Getting Stronger; Cyclone Amphan Pummels Bengal

Study: climate change is worsening tropical storms. Cyclone Amphan is battering an India and Bangladesh locked down to slow COVID-19.

Why We Need the Human Touch in Contact Tracing for Coronavirus

Contact tracing with the human touch works better than the highly-touted app panaceas du jour – and without raising the same civil liberties concerns.

Exclusive: Countries To Face a ‘Wave’ of Corporate Lawsuits Challenging Emergency COVID-19 Measures

Will Covid-19 trigger reprehensible investor-state dispute settlement suits?

The Lockdown Protestors Are Not Working Class

Contesting the messaging about lockdown protests.

U.S. COVID-19 Contact Tracing Programs Designed for Failure, Despite Bloomberg Money; Why Can’t the U.S. Copy the Lessons of Hong Kong’s Success?

The US has turned to contact tracing as the latest panacea for slowing the spread of COVID-19. Major flaws in the design of these programs will limit their success.

Storks Hatch in UK for First Time in 600 Years – Why That’s Great News for British Wildlife

In this time of worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, stork chicks hatch in the United Kingdom for the first time in 600 years.

Trump CFPB Appointees Use COVID-19 Crisis as Rationale to Weaken Consumer Protection

Trump appointees use the COVID-19 crisis to rollback consumer protections against financial predation put in place by the CFPB.

Big Oil Taking $1.9 Billion in CARES Act Tax Breaks Aimed at Helping Small Businesses in ‘Stealth Bailout’: Report

$1.9 billion in CARES Act tax breaks intended to allow small businesses to keep people employed are instead being funnelled to fossil fuel executives.