Daily Archives: April 15, 2020

2020-04-15: News Headlines

Staff (2020-04-15). Trump Cuts Funds for World Health Org as Oxfam Warns Pandemic Could Push Half a Billion into Poverty. democracynow.org As the confirmed cases of coronavirus surpass 2 million around the world, President Donald Trump says he will cut U.S. support for the World Health Organization. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, called it a "crime against humanity." Oxfam America said the cuts slash "any hopes for the responsible international cooperation and solidarity that is critical to save lives and restore the global economy." This comes as a new Oxfam report estimates the pandemic's economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty. We get response from Paul O'Brien, vice president…

Alan Macleod (2020-04-15). GOP Tax Cuts in Coronavirus Relief Bill Give 82% of Benefits to Millionaires and Billionaires. mintpressnews.com A new report suggests that a tax cut quietly inserted into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will add almost $170 billion to the deficit over the next ten years and overwhelmingly benefit the ultra-wealthy.

graham (2020-04-15). The Great Depression, The Great Recession and the Great Lockdown. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica Editor: They say, don't they, that the coronavirus is a great leveller — that it treats us all the same. This is nonsense. COVID-19 has graphically demonstrated that it fully exacerbates preexisting conditions of inequality wherever it turns up — it kills those in more significant quantities who are economically or medically disadvantaged. …

Douglas Medina (2020-04-15). Working-Class Students Doing Double Duty During Coronavirus. commondreams.org A medical worker walks near a coronavirus intake tent at the University Hospital of Brooklyn on April 14, 2020 in New York City, United States. New York has been the hardest hit city in the nation from the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuny_inequality_coronavirus.jpg

The Commonwealth Club (2020-04-15). COVID-19 and Climate: Economic Impacts (livestream). indybay.org Online via livestream…

Alex Snowdon (2020-04-15). Labour's Explosive Report Shows How Right-wing Officials Sabotaged the Party. globalresearch.ca A leaked 850-page report provides a wealth of information about how senior officials undermined Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party. Titled 'The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014-2019', it particularly documents …

yenisafak (2020-04-15). Turkish Red Crescent to aid 10M in Ramadan, head says. yenisafak.com The Turkish Red Crescent aims to reach 10 million people both in Turkey and across the globe during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the novel coronavirus continues its grip worldwide.In a video conference on aid to be distributed during Ramadan, Kerem Kinik, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told reporters: "This year, we allocated a large part of our operations for needy in Turkey" due to the coronavirus pandemic, unlike previous years.However, the aid body will also reach lots of areas suffering from poverty, war and natural natural disasters around the world, he added.The Turkish Red Crescent will deli…

sputniknews (2020-04-15). Getting Richer During Pandemic: Amazon's Bezos Earns $6.4 Bln in One Day After Firm's Shares Jump. sputniknews.com The development comes as the number of unemployment claims in the United State has exceeded 16 million. Some economists say that fears of the US jobless rate surging to more than 20 percent are now realistic.

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-04-15). 'Biggest Coronavirus Stimulus of All': Richest Man in the World Jeff Bezos Now $24 Billion Richer Amid Pandemic. commondreams.org Amplifying fresh critiques of wealthy inequality that have mounted throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—the world's richest man—has added nearly $24 billion to his already massive fortune in 2020 as virus-related lockdowns across the globe have forced people to stay inside and fueled increased e-commerce demand. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/jeff_bezos_0.jpg

Staff (2020-04-14). Essential or Expendable? Farmworkers Condemn Lack of Protection and Economic Help During Pandemic. democracynow.org As the coronavirus sweeps through the United States, the country's 2.5 million farmworkers are continuing to go to work every day, often facing crowded and unsanitary conditions without personal protective equipment, for poverty wages. We speak with Gerardo Reyes Chávez, a farmworker leader with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who describes the conditions farmworkers in Florida are facing and how they are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to protect farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis, and with Mónica Ramírez, president and founder of Justice for Migrant Women and co-founder of the National Farmwork…

splcenter (2020-04-11). SPLC condemns attack on Alabama synagogue. splcenter.org The Southern Poverty Law Center condemns the antisemitic attacks that took place during Passover at the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Huntsville, Alabama.

Laura Flanders (2020-04-10). Thank you, Bernie. Screw You, New York Times. fair.org | It is the essence of American liberalism to trash radical dreams and then dance on them. And that's just what the New York Times did the day after Bernie Sanders bowed out of the Democratic race for the nomination. On that day, in a special editorial ( 4/9/20), the editors of the very same paper that disparaged his every move opined that America is divided and our democracy corrupt, and launched a series promising to report on just the sort of transformative policies Sanders advocated. The New York Times (

Staff (2020-04-10). Headlines for April 10, 2020. democracynow.org COVID-19 Patients Dying Every Minute in the United States, Epicenter of the Pandemic, 17 Million U.S. Workers File Unemployment Claims in Just Three Weeks, New York City Workers Dig Mass Graves Amid Surge of COVID-19 Deaths, President Trump Pushes to Reopen U.S. Economy Despite Severe Shortage of Tests, California Nursing Home with COVID-19 Cases Evacuated After Workers' No-Show, Kansas Governor Sues to Halt Church Congregations Ahead of Easter, Chicago Prisoners Post Signs in Jail Windows: "Help, No Supply" and "We're Dying", NYC Cathedral Won't Partner with Christian Fundamentalist Field Hospital Group over LGB…

Staff (2020-04-09). "Exposing U.S. Racism in a Stark New Way": COVID-19 Kills Disproportionate Number of Black Americans. democracynow.org We speak with family physician and epidemiologist Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones about how the coronavirus is taking a devastating toll on black Americans, who are disproportionately dying from the virus across the country as a result of entrenched racial inequality. Black Americans are more likely to have chronic health problems and less likely to have insurance. They also make up significant numbers of frontline workers that are still going to work amid the pandemic. Jones is the former president of the American Public Health Association. Her recent piece for Newsweek magazine is headlined "Coronavirus Disease Discri…

Staff (2020-04-09). Headlines for April 9, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Pandemic Could Push 600 Million More People into Poverty, New York Reports Record 779 Coronavirus Deaths in Just 24 Hours, General Motors to Deliver 30,000 Ventilators, with Most Arriving Long After Projected COVID-19 Peak, Kansas to Allow Crowded Church Services as L.A. Expands Order on Face Coverings, California Fast-Food Workers Strike, Demanding Hazard Pay and Protections Against COVID-19, Trump Touts Unproven Treatments of Hydroxychloroquine and Zinc for COVID-19, World Health Organization Head: "Please Don't Politicize This Virus", Researchers Find Coronavirus Arrived in New York from Europe in…

splcenter (2020-04-08). Why is Alliance Defending Freedom a Hate Group? splcenter.org The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) first listed Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) as an anti-LGBTQ hate group in 2016.

Staff (2020-04-07). Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic. democracynow.org As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."

splcenter (2020-03-30). The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan. splcenter.org The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.

2020-04-15: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media! (Copy the text of the postee below, then paste it on social media and the story images will also appear.)

Trump Cuts Funds for World Health Org as Oxfam Warns Pandemic Could Push Half a Billion into Poverty
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-15
As the confirmed cases of coronavirus surpass 2 million around the world, President Donald Trump says he will cut U.S. support for the World Health Organization. Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet medical journal, called it a "crime against humanity." Oxfam America said the cuts slash "any hopes for the responsible international cooperation and solidarity that is critical to save lives and restore the global economy." This comes as a new Oxfam report estimates the pandemic's economic fallout could push more than half a billion more people into poverty. We get response from Paul O'Brien, vice president…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/15/oxfam_coronavirus

GOP Tax Cuts in Coronavirus Relief Bill Give 82% of Benefits to Millionaires and Billionaires
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-15
A new report suggests that a tax cut quietly inserted into the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will add almost $170 billion to the deficit over the next ten years and overwhelmingly benefit the ultra-wealthy.
mintpressnews.com/82-percent-benefits-coronavirus-relief-fund-go-to-millionaires-billionaires/266674/

The Great Depression, The Great Recession and the Great Lockdown
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-04-15
By TruePublica Editor: They say, don't they, that the coronavirus is a great leveller

Working-Class Students Doing Double Duty During Coronavirus
Douglas Medina | commondreams.org | 2020-04-15
A medical worker walks near a coronavirus intake tent at the University Hospital of Brooklyn on April 14, 2020 in New York City, United States. New York has been the hardest hit city in the nation from the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cuny_inequality_coronavirus.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/04/15/working-class-students-doing-double-duty-during-coronavirus?cd-origin=rss

COVID-19 and Climate: Economic Impacts (livestream)
The Commonwealth Club | indybay.org | 2020-04-15
Online via livestream…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/14/18832362.php

Portent of Pandemic
Kenn Orphan | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-15
Just months ago, few would have thought it possible that a submicroscopic ball of genetic coding could bring the world's wealthiest powers to their knees. But it has. In the space of a few months the Covid-19 virus projected its spiky arms not only into the delicate cells of the human lung, but into the…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/15/portent-of-pandemic/

Portent of Pandemic
Kenn Orphan | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-15
Just months ago, few would have thought it possible that a submicroscopic ball of genetic coding could bring the world's wealthiest powers to their knees. But it has. In the space of a few months the Covid-19 virus projected its spiky arms not only into the delicate cells of the human lung, but into the…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/15/portent-of-pandemic/

Labour's Explosive Report Shows How Right-wing Officials Sabotaged the Party
Alex Snowdon | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-15
A leaked 850-page report provides a wealth of information about how senior officials undermined Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party. Titled 'The work of the Labour Party's Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014-2019', it particularly documents …
globalresearch.ca/labour-explosive-report-shows-how-right-wing-officials-sabotaged-party/5709704

Turkish Red Crescent to aid 10M in Ramadan, head says
yenisafak.com | 2020-04-15
The Turkish Red Crescent aims to reach 10 million people both in Turkey and across the globe during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the novel coronavirus continues its grip worldwide.In a video conference on aid to be distributed during Ramadan, Kerem Kinik, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told reporters: "This year, we allocated a large part of our operations for needy in Turkey" due to the coronavirus pandemic, unlike previous years.However, the aid body will also reach lots of areas suffering from poverty, war and natural natural disasters around the world, he added.The Turkish Red Crescent will deli…
yenisafak.com/en/news/turkish-red-crescent-to-aid-10m-in-ramadan-head-says-3517001

Getting Richer During Pandemic: Amazon's Bezos Earns $6.4 Bln in One Day After Firm's Shares Jump
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-15
The development comes as the number of unemployment claims in the United State has exceeded 16 million. Some economists say that fears of the US jobless rate surging to more than 20 percent are now realistic.
sputniknews.com/world/202004151078960407-getting-richer-during-pandemic-amazons-bezos-earns-64-bln-in-one-day-after-firms-shares-jump-/

'Biggest Coronavirus Stimulus of All': Richest Man in the World Jeff Bezos Now $24 Billion Richer Amid Pandemic
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-04-15
Amplifying fresh critiques of wealthy inequality that have mounted throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—the world's richest man—has added nearly $24 billion to his already massive fortune in 2020 as virus-related lockdowns across the globe have forced people to stay inside and fueled increased e-commerce demand. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/jeff_bezos_0.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/15/biggest-coronavirus-stimulus-all-richest-man-world-jeff-bezos-now-24-billion-richer?cd-origin=rss

Essential or Expendable? Farmworkers Condemn Lack of Protection and Economic Help During Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-14
As the coronavirus sweeps through the United States, the country's 2.5 million farmworkers are continuing to go to work every day, often facing crowded and unsanitary conditions without personal protective equipment, for poverty wages. We speak with Gerardo Reyes Chávez, a farmworker leader with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who describes the conditions farmworkers in Florida are facing and how they are calling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to protect farmworkers during the COVID-19 crisis, and with Mónica Ramírez, president and founder of Justice for Migrant Women and co-founder of the National Farmwork…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/14/us_farmworkers_coronavirus

Mega-Rich Hedge Funds Swoop Down to Grab COVID-19 Small Business Relief Funds
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-14
As small business owners struggle to obtain desperately needed money from a first-come-first-served federal coronavirus relief program, some wealthy hedge fund managers are attempting snag a share of the $350 billion taxpayer fund with the help of high-powered legal firms that know how to quickly navigate the confusing application process.
truthout.org/articles/trumps-hedge-fund-friends-want-coronavirus-relief-money-intended-for-small-businesses/

SPLC condemns attack on Alabama synagogue
splcenter.org | 2020-04-11
The Southern Poverty Law Center condemns the antisemitic attacks that took place during Passover at the Etz Chayim Synagogue in Huntsville, Alabama.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/10/splc-condemns-attack-alabama-synagogue

"Exposing U.S. Racism in a Stark New Way": COVID-19 Kills Disproportionate Number of Black Americans
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-09
We speak with family physician and epidemiologist Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones about how the coronavirus is taking a devastating toll on black Americans, who are disproportionately dying from the virus across the country as a result of entrenched racial inequality. Black Americans are more likely to have chronic health problems and less likely to have insurance. They also make up significant numbers of frontline workers that are still going to work amid the pandemic. Jones is the former president of the American Public Health Association. Her recent piece for Newsweek magazine is headlined "Coronavirus Disease Discri…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/9/camara_phyllis_jones_coronavirus_race_disparities

Why is Alliance Defending Freedom a Hate Group?
splcenter.org | 2020-04-08
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) first listed Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) as an anti-LGBTQ hate group in 2016.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/10/why-alliance-defending-freedom-hate-group

Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-07
As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/7/aoc_coronavirus_queens_bronx

No more unconditional corporate bailouts
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-06
Economy Abigail BoydIssue 1260 Australia undefinedApril 6, 2020Working on the frontline of the response to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in Europe in 2008, I had a front-row seat watching the wealthy and powerful being bailed out at the expense of the poorest and most vulner…
greenleft.org.au/content/no-more-unconditional-corporate-bailouts

The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan
splcenter.org | 2020-03-30
The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/30/rev-dr-joseph-e-lowery-played-key-role-launching-splcs-legal-battle-against-ku-klux-klan