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COVID-19 exposes moral and ethical bankruptcy of US and the West
Apr 28, 2020 03:17By late January the first instances of the international spread of COVID-19 appeared. It was not widespread and the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that precautions be taken so as not to allow the disease to reach pandemic proportions.
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Online schooling is highlighting the inequality in US classrooms (2)
Apr 27, 2020 11:51According to Time Magazine approximately 15 percent of U.S. households with school-aged children do not have high-speed internet. Microsoft estimates that the number is even higher — by their account, 163 million people live without access to a fast, reliable connection. And even in districts where schools have scrambled to acquire computers, tablets and hotspots for students, many live too far from a cellular wireless signal for this to make much difference.
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Spotlighting need for response 'at the scale of this catastrophe,' US unemployment claims hit 26.5 million
Apr 27, 2020 11:47The US federal government announced on Thursday that roughly 26.5 million people nationwide have filed jobless claims since mid-March—a revelation that sparked yet another wave of demands for the Trump administration and Congress to respond to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic in ways that actually serve the needs of people hardest hit by the crisis.
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Online schooling is highlighting the inequality in US classrooms (1)
Apr 26, 2020 15:41According to Time Magazine approximately 15 percent of U.S. households with school-aged children do not have high-speed internet. Microsoft estimates that the number is even higher — by their account, 163 million people live without access to a fast, reliable connection. And even in districts where schools have scrambled to acquire computers, tablets and hotspots for students, many live too far from a cellular wireless signal for this to make much difference.
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US 'obsession with incarceration' could lead to 100,000 more deaths than projected
Apr 26, 2020 15:38A new report on Wednesday shows US President Donald Trump's estimate that the U.S. could see "substantially under" 100,000 coronavirus deaths may be a massive underestimate because of the nation's huge incarcerated population. Adding in the conditions of the U.S. jail system means the death toll—even with highly effective social distancing measures—could be 200,000.
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Cutting WHO’s funding is reckless and deadly
Apr 26, 2020 15:07By halting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), US President Donald Trump is deliberately endangering the lives of millions of people around the world, particularly those most at risk during this historic pandemic in war-torn regions. A global health emergency demands a global response, not politics. The World Health Organization provides vital international assistance and coordination.
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Trump admits litany of US stupidity in West Asia, then acts stupidly himself
Apr 26, 2020 04:52Now, because of President Donald Trump’s ineptitude in handling the coronavirus pandemic, the US economy is imploding with an estimated unemployment rate of 20 percent, higher than during the global financial crisis of 2008. But rather than take responsibility for mishandling the coronavirus crisis, he has chosen to blame China, repeatedly referring to the SARS COV-2, the pathogen responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak, as the “Chinese” virus.
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The US’s failed response to the pandemic is rooted in anti-blackness
Apr 24, 2020 11:38Anti-Blackness — the dehumanization, subjugation and lack of concern for Black people — exists in the makings of the US neoliberal economy and almost every facet of U.S. politics. While most would concede that anti-Blackness existed in US history, many cannot see the continuation of anti-Blackness today.
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Armed groups in U.S. protest coronavirus shutdown
Apr 24, 2020 11:34Given the paucity of specific information on when the stay-at-home orders might be lifted, and if their former jobs will even exist in the post-coronavirus pandemic U.S., some Americans have taken to the streets in protest.
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Summer heat will worsen the coronavirus pandemic for US poor communities
Apr 24, 2020 05:30Amid the spread of coronavirus in the US, utility insecurity is felt by low-wealth Americans, rural and tribal communities and people of color. Newly unemployed Americans are facing disconnection because of loss of income. These are the communities that need congressional protections the most.