Daily Archives: April 25, 2020

2020-04-25: News Headlines

Kurt Nimmo (2020-04-25). Death Panel Ezekiel: "No Choice" but Mass Poverty and Death. globalresearch.ca If several weeks of state-imposed house arrest and unemployment have maxed out your stress level, wait until you hear what the experts have in mind to "mitigate" a bad seasonal influenza. | Here is

WSWS (2020-04-25). US elderly care devastated by the profit system. wsws.org The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the failure of the American health care system, and the inability of the wealthiest country on Earth to take care of its elderly and infirm.

The Commonwealth Club SF (2020-04-25). Asian American Voices on Anti-Asian Violence During COVID-19 (Online). indybay.org Online via livestream…

Bruce Bostick (2020-04-24). Is it time to think about Unemployed Councils? peoplesworld.org Editor's Note: There were periods in U.S. history when workers responded to high jobless rates by forming "unemployed councils." In this article, a labor activist who was involved in the 1980s in setting up such a council describes his experiences. Some are asking whether similar movements might help in these times of high unemployment. We …

Pam Martens, Russ Martens (2020-04-24). Ten Things You Can Do Now to Curb Wall Street's Wealth Transfer System. counterpunch.org This article has been updated from one that originally ran in 2012. Please consider emailing it to friends and family members who have given up hope on their ability to create change in America. The late 1920s and the early 2000s had two things in common. There was an unprecedented level of wealth and income

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-04-24). California sets disaster relief, local officials urge protection for undocumented. peoplesworld.org Among those feeling the sharpest impact from COVID-19 are undocumented immigrant workers facing partial or total unemployment because of the pandemic. Their plight is causing special concern among California elected officials at every level, from school board and city council members through Gov. Gavin Newsom. These workers, who make up some 10% of California's workforce …

splcenter (2020-04-24). Florida voting rights trial to be argued online. splcenter.org When the Southern Poverty Law Center goes to trial next week over a law undercutting the biggest expansion of suffrage since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the judge will not be on the bench, but in a remote location, staring at his computer screen.

teleSUR (2020-04-24). Italy: COVID-19 Plunged One Million People Into Poverty. telesurenglish.net The National Confederation of Direct Farmers (Coldiretti) reported that one million Italians have fallen into poverty and need urgent food aid due to the pandemic's consequences. | RELATED: | People who require food aid include those who lost their jobs, those who cannot work from home, people who do not have access to public aid or personal savings, people who do temporary jobs, small merchants, and artisans. | To make these es…

Frank Joyce (2020-04-24). The Settler Colonialism Project. counterpunch.org I had this fantasy that the New York Times would follow up its 1619 Project look at slavery with a comparable examination of Settler Colonialism. Instead, they made a pivot from slavery to what they are calling the "Inequality Project. Apparently the Times is OK with that whole settler colonialism thing. Well, not just OK.

Susan Rosenthal (2020-04-24). We Cannot Expect Capitalists to Manage a Pandemic. dissidentvoice.org It is unrealistic to expect capitalists to manage any social crisis. Their goal is to accumulate capital, which they do exceptionally well, as evidenced by their enormous wealth in a world where billions struggle to survive. Capitalists are highly skilled at sustaining their rule. They prioritize military spending in order to defend and expand their …

Fight Back (2020-04-24). Largest economic decline since the Great Depression. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – More than 4 million more Americans filed for Unemployment Insurance, or UI, benefits last week according to the latest Labor Department report on Thursday, April 23. This brings the total number of new claims over the last five weeks to 27 million. | While the number of new claims did drop by a million new claims from the week before, it was still the highest number on record aside from the previous two weeks. Adding last week's jobless workers to the unemployment rate brings it to more than 20%, closing in on the Great Depression record of 25% unemployment. There are still many laid-off workers w…

Dr. Leon Tressell (2020-04-24). Immense Economic Damage of Pandemic: Worldwide Economic Collapse Reveals Failure of "Global Capitalism" globalresearch.ca As each day passes by data pours in revealing the immense economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Most politicians and economic pundits will put the blame for up the economic hurricane, blasting tens of millions into unemployment, on coronavirus …

Angelica Salas (2020-04-24). New Stimulus Must Include Benefits for Immigrant Essential Workers. counterpunch.org As soon as it passed, Congressional lawmakers realized the $2.2 trillion CARES stimulus package to help the country through the COVID-19 pandemic would not suffice. Yes, U.S.-born workers would eventually get $1,200 checks and significantly expanded unemployment insurance. But some essential workers have been left out in the cold. The Trump administration's refusal to put

teleSUR (2020-04-23). US Unemployment Applications Reach 26.4 Million Amid Pandemic. telesurenglish.net Unemployment claims in the United States hit roughly 26.5 million since mid-March as a direct result of the new coronavirus pandemic, the federal government announced Thursday. | RELATED: | The figure means one in six workers; more than 15 percent of the workforce in the country, lost their job since the beginning of the outbreak. | As economists have warned, the world is experiencing its sharpest slow…

Staff (2020-04-22). Chileans Who Took to Streets Against Inequality & Climate Crisis Say Virus Lockdowns Won't Stop Them. democracynow.org Months ago, the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities were alive with a vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even led the U.N. climate summit to be relocated to Madrid, Spain, last December. Now the public spaces of Santiago are largely empty as citizens shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the protest movement against austerity and right-wing President Sebastián Piñera lives on as activists find new ways to organize online. We go to Santiago, Chile, to speak with Angela Valenzuela, a 350.org organizer who has been active both in the country's uprising and in…

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2020-04-22). 2020 Election Year Is an Opportunity for Transformational Change If We Embrace Our Power. dissidentvoice.org Although we do not tie our organizing to the election cycle, the 2020 election is an opportunity for the people to set the agenda for the 2020s. We need to show that whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden are elected, the people will rule from below. We need to build our power to demand the transformational …

Staff (2020-04-21). NYC Immigrant Communities Fight Hunger, Exploitation & Invisibility Through Mutual Aid. democracynow.org We look at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting undocumented people here in New York City, where the coronavirus has hit immigrant communities the hardest, even as the numbers of daily deaths statewide has declined in recent days. As reports of widespread poverty and hunger continue in the immigrant communities, people are also organizing and helping each other through mutual aid despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are joined by Juan Carlos Ruiz, Lutheran pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Brooklyn and co-founder of the national New Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Coalition here in Ne…

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.

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.

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2020-04-24). As Allegations of Mistreatment and Unsafe Conditions Mount, Amnesty International Declares It Stands With Amazon Workers. commondreams.org "Amazon is one of the world's wealthiest companies and its profits are surging as a result of this crisis. It is repugnant that the company's workforce feel their safety is not being taken seriously." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/amazon_coronavirus_0_1.jpg

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-04-24). Highest Levels Since Great Depression, 'Sobering' CBO Analysis Projects 16% Unemployment in US This Year. commondreams.org New analysis by the Congressional Budget Office offered what one observer called an "incredibly sobering" projection for unemployment levels for the coming two years as the U.S. recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1220244720_1.jpg

2020-04-25: 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.)

Death Panel Ezekiel: "No Choice" but Mass Poverty and Death
Kurt Nimmo | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-25
If several weeks of state-imposed house arrest and unemployment have maxed out your stress level, wait until you hear what the experts have in mind to "mitigate" a bad seasonal influenza. | Here is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm, …
globalresearch.ca/death-panel-ezekiel-no-choice-mass-poverty-death/5710627

Italy Remembers the Day of Liberation From Nazi Occupation
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-25
Italy celebrates today the 75th anniversary of the liberation of fascism in 1945 amid a pandemic that has left 25,969 dead in the country until Saturday morning. | RELATED: | Italy: COVID-19 Plunged One Million People Into Poverty | On April 25 Italians celebrate their Liberation Day, a national holiday that used to be enjoyed with concerts, events, and exhibitions to remember how popular resistance forces controlled the northern cities and drive out Nazi troops on their withdrawal to…
telesurenglish.net/news/Italy-Remembers-the-Day-of-Liberation-From-Nazi-Occupation-20200425-0002.html

US elderly care devastated by the profit system
wsws.org | 2020-04-25
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the failure of the American health care system, and the inability of the wealthiest country on Earth to take care of its elderly and infirm.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/25/nurs-a25.html

Asian American Voices on Anti-Asian Violence During COVID-19 (Online)
The Commonwealth Club SF | indybay.org | 2020-04-25
Online via livestream…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/24/18832613.php

Is it time to think about Unemployed Councils?
Bruce Bostick | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-24
Editor's Note: There were periods in U.S. history when workers responded to high jobless rates by forming "unemployed councils." In this article, a labor activist who was involved in the 1980s in setting up such a council describes his experiences. Some are asking whether similar movements might help in these times of high unemployment. We …
peoplesworld.org/article/is-it-time-to-think-about-unemployed-councils/

Bachelet Denounces Violence Against Journalists During Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-24
Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed April 24, her concern about journalists and mass media censorship during the Covid-19. Bachelet also stated several governments exert pressure over communication professionals. | RELATED: | Italy: COVID-19 Plunged One Million People Into Poverty | "Some states have used the outbreak of the new coronavirus as a pretext to restrict information and stifle criticism," the UN representative said. According to Bachelet, rel…
telesurenglish.net/news/bachelet-denounces-violence-against-journalists-during-pandemic-20200424-0007.html

Florida voting rights trial to be argued online
splcenter.org | 2020-04-24
When the Southern Poverty Law Center goes to trial next week over a law undercutting the biggest expansion of suffrage since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the judge will not be on the bench, but in a remote location, staring at his computer screen.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/25/florida-voting-rights-trial-be-argued-online

Italy: COVID-19 Plunged One Million People Into Poverty
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-24
The National Confederation of Direct Farmers (Coldiretti) reported that one million Italians have fallen into poverty and need urgent food aid due to the pandemic's consequences. | RELATED: | Europe COVID-19 Updates: Italy, Spain, UK, Germany | People who require food aid include those who lost their jobs, those who cannot work from home, people who do not have access to public aid or personal savings, people who do temporary jobs, small merchants, and artisans. | To make these es…
telesurenglish.net/news/Italy-COVID-19-Plunged-One-Million-People-Into-Poverty-20200424-0004.html

Covid By The Numbers
Laura Flanders | commondreams.org | 2020-04-24
Want to pay the WHO to fight pandemics and poverty around the world for a decade? One man called Jeff could do it today and still be worth $114.5 billion as he was at the end of last year. (Photo by Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bezos_1.jpg
commondreams.org/views/2020/04/24/covid-numbers?cd-origin=rss

We Cannot Expect Capitalists to Manage a Pandemic
Susan Rosenthal | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-24
It is unrealistic to expect capitalists to manage any social crisis. Their goal is to accumulate capital, which they do exceptionally well, as evidenced by their enormous wealth in a world where billions struggle to survive. Capitalists are highly skilled at sustaining their rule. They prioritize military spending in order to defend and expand their …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/we-cannot-expect-capitalists-to-manage-a-pandemic/

Ten Things You Can Do Now to Curb Wall Street's Wealth Transfer System
Pam Martens, Russ Martens | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-24
This article has been updated from one that originally ran in 2012. Please consider emailing it to friends and family members who have given up hope on their ability to create change in America. The late 1920s and the early 2000s had two things in common. There was an unprecedented level of wealth and income…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/24/ten-things-you-can-do-now-to-curb-wall-streets-wealth-transfer-system/

Immense Economic Damage of Pandemic: Worldwide Economic Collapse Reveals Failure of "Global Capitalism"
Dr. Leon Tressell | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-24
As each day passes by data pours in revealing the immense economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Most politicians and economic pundits will put the blame for up the economic hurricane, blasting tens of millions into unemployment, on coronavirus …
globalresearch.ca/global-economic-collapse-reveals-complete-failure-capitalism/5710689

Largest economic decline since the Great Depression
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-24
San José, CA – More than 4 million more Americans filed for Unemployment Insurance, or UI, benefits last week according to the latest Labor Department report on Thursday, April 23. This brings the total number of new claims over the last five weeks to 27 million. | While the number of new claims did drop by a million new claims from the week before, it was still the highest number on record aside from the previous two weeks. Adding last week's jobless workers to the unemployment rate brings it to more than 20%, closing in on the Great Depression record of 25% unemployment. There are still many laid-off workers w…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/4/24/largest-economic-decline-great-depression

New Stimulus Must Include Benefits for Immigrant Essential Workers
Angelica Salas | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-24
As soon as it passed, Congressional lawmakers realized the $2.2 trillion CARES stimulus package to help the country through the COVID-19 pandemic would not suffice. Yes, U.S.-born workers would eventually get $1,200 checks and significantly expanded unemployment insurance. But some essential workers have been left out in the cold. The Trump administration's refusal to put…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/24/new-stimulus-must-include-benefits-for-immigrant-essential-workers/

California sets disaster relief, local officials urge protection for undocumented
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-24
Among those feeling the sharpest impact from COVID-19 are undocumented immigrant workers facing partial or total unemployment because of the pandemic. Their plight is causing special concern among California elected officials at every level, from school board and city council members through Gov. Gavin Newsom. These workers, who make up some 10% of California's workforce …
peoplesworld.org/article/california-sets-disaster-relief-local-officials-urge-protection-for-undocumented/

US Unemployment Applications Reach 26.4 Million Amid Pandemic
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-23
Unemployment claims in the United States hit roughly 26.5 million since mid-March as a direct result of the new coronavirus pandemic, the federal government announced Thursday. | RELATED: | 16.8 Million Out of Work in US, 'Uncharted Territory' Economists Warn | The figure means one in six workers; more than 15 percent of the workforce in the country, lost their job since the beginning of the outbreak. | As economists have warned, the world is experiencing its sharpest slow…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Unemployment-Applications-Reach-26.4-Million-Amid-Pandemic-20200423-0011.html

US House Approves New COVID-19 Stimulus Bill
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-23
New federal legislation known as COVID 3.5, aimed at providing economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic was passed Thursday by the United States House of Representatives after the Senate approved it Tuesday. | RELATED: | US Unemployment Applications Reach 26.4 Million Amid Pandemic | The US$484 billion relief bill is the fourth passed to address the crisis, pushing the total spending response to around an unprecedented US$3 trillion. U.S. President Donald Trump said he wi…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-House-Approves-New-COVID-19-Stimulus-Bill-20200423-0015.html

Chileans Who Took to Streets Against Inequality & Climate Crisis Say Virus Lockdowns Won't Stop Them
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-22
Months ago, the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities were alive with a vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even led the U.N. climate summit to be relocated to Madrid, Spain, last December. Now the public spaces of Santiago are largely empty as citizens shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the protest movement against austerity and right-wing President Sebastián Piñera lives on as activists find new ways to organize online. We go to Santiago, Chile, to speak with Angela Valenzuela, a 350.org organizer who has been active both in the country's uprising and in…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/22/angela_valenzuela_chile

Chileans Who Took to Streets Against Inequality & Climate Crisis Say Virus Lockdowns Won't Stop Them
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-22
Months ago, the streets of Santiago and other Chilean cities were alive with a vibrant mass protest movement that drew hundreds of thousands and even led the U.N. climate summit to be relocated to Madrid, Spain, last December. Now the public spaces of Santiago are largely empty as citizens shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the protest movement against austerity and right-wing President Sebastián Piñera lives on as activists find new ways to organize online. We go to Santiago, Chile, to speak with Angela Valenzuela, a 350.org organizer who has been active both in the country's uprising and in…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/22/angela_valenzuela_chile

NYC Immigrant Communities Fight Hunger, Exploitation & Invisibility Through Mutual Aid
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-21
We look at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting undocumented people here in New York City, where the coronavirus has hit immigrant communities the hardest, even as the numbers of daily deaths statewide has declined in recent days. As reports of widespread poverty and hunger continue in the immigrant communities, people are also organizing and helping each other through mutual aid despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances. We are joined by Juan Carlos Ruiz, Lutheran pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Brooklyn and co-founder of the national New Sanctuary Movement and the New Sanctuary Coalition here in Ne…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/21/migrants_in_queens

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

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

As Allegations of Mistreatment and Unsafe Conditions Mount, Amnesty International Declares It Stands With Amazon Workers
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-04-24
"Amazon is one of the world's wealthiest companies and its profits are surging as a result of this crisis. It is repugnant that the company's workforce feel their safety is not being taken seriously." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/amazon_coronavirus_0_1.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/24/allegations-mistreatment-and-unsafe-conditions-mount-amnesty-international-declares?cd-origin=rss

Highest Levels Since Great Depression, 'Sobering' CBO Analysis Projects 16% Unemployment in US This Year
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-04-24
New analysis by the Congressional Budget Office offered what one observer called an "incredibly sobering" projection for unemployment levels for the coming two years as the U.S. recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1220244720_1.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/04/24/highest-levels-great-depression-sobering-cbo-analysis-projects-16-unemployment-us?cd-origin=rss