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These migrant workers did not suddenly fall from the sky
Madness engulfs the planet. Hundreds of millions of people are in lockdown in their homes, millions of people who work in essential jobs–or who cannot afford to stay home without state assistance–continue to go to work, thousands of people lie in intensive-care beds taken care of by tens of thousands of medical professionals and caregivers who face shortages of equipment and time.
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Chart of the day
Although claims are at record highs, many Americans across the United States have been unable to successfully apply for unemployment insurance because an unprecedented level of claims is overwhelming state labor department websites and jamming up phone lines.
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Brazil Supreme Court asks to suspend Bolsonaro for 180 days
Marco Aurélio Mello, a Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Court, sent the Attorney General’s Office a request to suspend President Jair Bolsonaro from his post for 180 days for committing various actions that have put the country at risk in the face of the covid-19 health emergency, according to a Telesur report.
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China and Cuba’s medical internationalism is a shining example of global solidarity
China sends medical equipment abroad, Cuba sends doctors and cutting-edge drugs, but the U.S. fails to provide its people, doctors and nurses with basic tools and protection.
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A Russian firewall for Venezuela against U.S. sanctions
The optics of the Russian oil leviathan Rosneft’s decision to sell its subsidiary Rosneft Trading SA and sell all its assets in Venezuela after the US Treasury sanctioned its trading arm two weeks ago as part of Washington’s regime change project to oust president Nicolás Maduro, may not look good to the uninformed outside observer.
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The Coronavirus depression requires a new approach to budgeting
Congress recently passed a 1.5-1.7 Trillion dollar stimulus bill (as I wrote about last week, the reported headline number is including a useless accounting gimmick which provides no additional support to the U.S. economy). Part of the reason we can report such an exact number is congress budgets in exacts.Take a look at these two sections of the CARES Act, picked at random.
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What is the ‘metabolic rift’?
The MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY takes a look at how Marxists can explore the relation between capitalism, socialism and the environment.
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Video of flour truck being looted goes viral; ‘no wrong was done,’ says truck owner
‘I believe that they have done no wrong because there is widespread hunger [amidst the lockdown] and people are helpless.’
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Nicaragua and the COVID-19 pandemic
While each country’s experience facing the COVID-19 pandemic is different, some common fundamental factors can make the difference between widespread catastrophe and relative stability. Nicaragua has so far been among the most successful countries in Latin America in protecting its population from the virus while also maintaining normal economic life. As of March 28th, Nicaragua has three confirmed cases with one fatality. Another 14 people who may have the virus are under observation but have so far tested negative.
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COVID-19 proves workers, not bosses, are essential
The Marxist argument that it’s the labour of workers, and not the supposed intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit of bosses, that keeps society running, has long been ridiculed by defenders of capitalism. In the conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the truth of Marx’s claim has been brought into sharp relief.
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Trump’s narcoterrorism indictment of Maduro already backfires
Among those indicted by the U.S. was Cliver Alcalá, a retired general who is considered the military leader of the pro-Juan Guaidó forces. Soon, Alcalá posted videos that threaten to cause further splits in the opposition and could result in the arrest of Guaidó.
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The Federal Reserve’s Coronavirus crisis actions, explained (Part 3)
The International Aspects
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Cuba sends doctors, nurses worldwide in COVID-19 fight
Cuba on March 28 sent a team of 39 doctors and nurses to Andorra, the thirteenth medical brigade the country has dispatched overseas to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A niggardly response to an extraordinary crisis
In a show of solidarity, some of India’s opposition leaders have declared the much-delayed relief package (titled Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana) announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the poor as a welcome “first step”.
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All the craziest things about America are being highlighted by this virus
“Corona is a black light and America is a cum-stained hotel room,” comedian Megan Amram colorfully tweeted a couple of weeks ago. Her observation has only grown more accurate since.
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‘For common benefit of all,’ Ireland nationalizes hospitals for duration of Coronavirus crisis, sparking demand for U.S. to follow suit
“How wonderful is this. A beautiful silver lining.”
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Unsanitized: Bailouts, a tradition unlike any other
The money the Federal Reserve will give to corporate giants, approximately.
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The Federal Reserve’s Coronavirus crisis actions, explained (Part 2)
Hear comes the corporate debt purchases.
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Democracy in Brazil would not be normal, Bolsonaro threatens
The far-right president hints that a regime more authoritarian than Chile’s Augusto Pinochet dictatorship could be the “price to pay” due to the “chaos” that the “small flu” triggers.
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We won’t go back to normal, because normal was the problem
It is hard to remember that just a few weeks ago, the planet was in motion. There were protests in Delhi (India) and Quito (Ecuador), eruptions against the old order that ranged from anger at the economic policies of austerity and neoliberalism to frustration with the cultural policies of misogyny and racism. Ingeniously, in Santiago (Chile), during its wave after wave of protests, someone projected a powerful slogan onto the side of a building: ‘we won’t go back to normal, because normal was the problem’.