(2020-06-27). [Editorial] Generation coronavirus? thelancet.com The catastrophic elements that have perpetuated the COVID-19 pandemic—global interconnectedness, climate change due to human activity, vast economic inequality, and deep veins of antiscience—have resulted in more than 9 million infections and almost 500‚Äà000 deaths worldwide. Although children might be less susceptible to infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and generally have better outcomes than adults, COVID-19 as a phenomenon weighs heavily on their health and wellbeing.
(2020-06-27). Economic crisis deepens as pandemic surges. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – For the second week in a row, new applications for state unemployment insurance or UI did not drop by much, despite economists' expectations. New claims for the week ending June 20 were 1.48 million, down only 28,000 from last week's initial estimate. New applications for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, fell by 42,000 to 728,000 last week. Together the PUA and state unemployment insurance applications topped 2.2 million, only slightly lower than the 2.27 million total for the week before. | Continuing claims for state unemployment insurance, PUA, the Federal Pandemic Emergency…
(2020-06-26). Fireworks Crackdown Is Same Policing That Got Us Here in the First Place. zcomm.org When a politician invokes "quality of life" as a grounds for a policing initiative, he calls upon the violent "broken windows" strategies that have informed the brutal criminalization of poverty and Blackness.
(2020-06-26). As COVID-19 cases triple in a month, Latin American elites press ahead with back-to-work campaign. wsws.org The ruling classes in the most unequal region of the world have based their response to the pandemic and the economic crisis it spurred on protecting their wealth and privileges at all costs.
(2020-06-26). Another 1.5 million US workers file for jobless benefits. wsws.org The US Labor Department recorded a record fourteenth week in a row in which the number applying for unemployment aid topped one million.
(2020-06-26). Colonized Loyalty: Asian American Anti-Blackness and Complicity. truthout.org "Capitalism requires inequality and racism enshrines it." — In the United States, racism against Asian Americans, whether in a public rally, in the public space or in the classroom, has become routine. | In March 2020 Donald Trump called the coronavirus "Chinese Virus." On June 20, 2020, at an anemically attended rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trump named the deadly coronavirus "Kung Flu…
(2020-06-25). Repair & Revive: Rev. William Barber on Fighting Racism, Poverty, Climate Change, War & Nationalism. democracynow.org 
The Poor People's Campaign offered a counterpoint to President Trump's sparsely attended Tulsa campaign rally with a mass digital gathering that unveiled a policy platform to spur "transformative action" on five key issues of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and the threat of religious nationalism. "We have to repair and revive," says Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. "That has to be a part of if we're truly going to ever be the democracy we claim to be on paper."
(2020-06-25). Hundreds of thousands of Illinois workers forced to risk health for profits under "Phase 4" of economic reopening. wsws.org A real answer to mass unemployment does not require putting hundreds of thousands of more workers' lives at risk.
(2020-06-25). Rebuilding After Recession: A Plan For Jobs. popularresistance.org Government investment in green technology and infrastructure is needed to create thousands of jobs and prevent a recession. | Working with unions and employers, the government has put in place the Job Retention Scheme and self-employed income support schemes, protecting the jobs and incomes of millions of workers during the coronavirus crisis. | But more is needed, and fast. Without further bold action from the government, we risk huge losses of jobs and livelihoods and possibly the deepest recession since the 1930s. The OECD estimates that unemployment could hit 11 per cent this year. But this is not inevitable,…
(2020-06-25). Global drug use soars 30% in 10 years: UN. yenisafak.com Around 269 million people used drugs worldwide in 2018, 30% more than in 2009, while over 35 million people suffer from drug use disorders, a UN report said on Thursday.The report released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna also analyses the impact of COVID-19 on the drugs markets.While the pandemic effects are not yet fully known, the report said that border and other restrictions linked to the pandemic have already caused shortages of drugs on the street, leading to increased prices and reduced purity.The report noted that rising unemployment and reduced opportunities caused by the pandemic a…
(2020-06-25). Norway Paves Way for Big Expansion of Arctic Oil Exploration Amid 'Challenging' Developments. sputniknews.com Norway is western Europe's biggest oil producer and has built the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund worth over $1 trillion on the back of its oil wealth. In the words of Norwegian Energy Minister Tina Bru new discoveries are needed to uphold employment and value creation.
(2020-06-24). Trump Sanctions the International Criminal Court. counterpunch.org On June 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency. Is the emergency the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 450,000 people worldwide, including 110,000 in the US? Is it racist cops killing Black Americans? Is it the nation's sky-high unemployment and the threat of a second Great Depression? No, no, and no. It's the International Criminal Court's investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan.
(2020-06-24). Serial TV and the global drug pandemic. peoplesworld.org 
Three new series deal variously with the drug pandemic, that byproduct of the despair that follows in the neoliberal wake. As opportunities shrink because of a global upward redistribution of wealth away from both the working and middle classes and the socially responsible agencies of the state, more people turn to the powerful opioid fentanyl—it's …
(2020-06-24). Pandemic intensifies unemployment and poverty among Turkish workers. wsws.org Millions of workers are losing their jobs, left unable to meet basic needs as billions go to cheap loans in the interests of the ruling class in Turkey.
(2020-06-24). Antigone from Canada recounts the struggle of an immigrant youth to defend her brother against state violence. wsws.org Unlike insipid mainstream Canadian cinema, Antigone deals honestly with critical issues such as the oppression of immigrants, police violence, a mounting youth revolt and, to some extent, social inequality.
(2020-06-24). Boris Johnson reinforces imperialist agenda of Britain's overseas aid. wsws.org The Department for International Development, which disperses Britain's £15.2 billion aid budget, is to be subsumed under the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
(2020-06-24). Trump's Ban on Temporary Work Visas Is an Attempt to Scapegoat Immigrants During an Economic Collapse. commondreams.org The new proclamation looks to be mostly symbolic and is likely a political tactic to blame immigrants for high unemployment, despite that fact that they had nothing to do with causing it. (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/weareallimmigrants.jpg …
(2020-06-24). Privatization And The Pandemic. popularresistance.org Unlike other epidemics or pandemics — such as tuberculosis, SARS, MERS or HIV/AIDS — COVID-19 has hit hardest at the world's wealthiest countries. As of early June 2020, the 37 industrialized countries of the OECD accounted for 59% of all cases and 78% of deaths, even though they constitute less than 18% of the total population affected. | Looking at the pandemic's effects in another way — using cases and deaths per million population — paints an even starker picture. OECD countries have a prevalence ratio of 2,890 cases per million and a mortality rate of 225 per million, compared with 86…
(2020-06-24). 'Pandemic threatens future of 600M kids in South Asia'. yenisafak.com The coronavirus pandemic is profoundly impacting the future of 600 million children in South Asia, UNICEF warned in a report.The UN agency called on governments to take immediate action to protect millions of children and families in the region."The COVID-19 pandemic is unraveling decades of health, education and other advances for children across South Asia, and governments must take urgent action to prevent millions of families from slipping back into poverty," said the report.It said immunization, nutrition, and other vital health services have been severely disrupted, potentially threatening the lives of up t…
(2020-06-24). Norway plans big expansion of Arctic oil exploration. yenisafak.com Norway is planning a major expansion of oil exploration in the Arctic, despite commitments to tackling global warming and opposition from environmental groups.Minister of petroleum and energy Tina Bru said on Wednesday the expansion was needed to protect jobs and generate wealth.The government will auction up to 136 new oil exploration blocks in a major licensing round, with 125 of those in the Arctic Barents Sea, a relatively unspoiled corner of the planet."We need new discoveries to uphold employment and value creation," Bru said in a statement.Norway is western Europe's biggest oil producer and has built the w…