The Week’s Links, May 2-8, 2020

Does it feel like it’s all-coronavirus-all-the-time these days? This week we highlight material that uses the C19 pandemic as a lens, rather than merely the focus.

A global health crisis? No, something far worse
by Richard Horton, The Lancet, VOL 395 ISSUE 10234, May 2, 2020
Read here.

Lewis Gordon: on engaging with Fanon
Organizing in the time of Coronavirus Podcast, with Firoze Manji
Daraja Press, May 4, 2020
Available here.

COVID-19 and the critical shortage in critical care
A call for systematic changes to build up global critical care capacity.  
by Xiya Ma & Dominique Vervoort, Global Health NOW,  May 4, 2020
Read here.

Lockdown Nostalgia
Prepare for the bittersweet longing for the lockdown.
THR Blog, The Hedgehog Review, April 22, 2020
Read here.

Three potential futures for Covid-19: recurring small outbreaks, a monster wave, or a persistent crisis
by Sharon Begley, STAT, May 1, 2020
Read here.

Infect volunteers with Covid-19 in the name of research? A proposal lays bare a minefield of issues
by Helen Branswell, STAT, May 1, 2020
Read here.

Why weren’t we ready for the coronavirus?
The U.S. has fared worse than other countries not because it lacked information or funding but because it failed to learn the lessons of the last outbreaks.
by David Quammen, The New Yorker, May 4, 2020
Read here.

Two medical systems, two pandemic responses
A health economist who has taught on both sides of the border examines the difference between Canada and the United States.
by Ian Austen, The New York Times, May 1 2020
Read here.

Amid coronavirus distress, wealthy hospitals hoard millions
by Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News, April 28, 2020
Read here.

Trump and his infallible advisers
Beware men who never admit having been wrong.
by Paul Krugman, The New York Times, May 4, 2020
Read here.

82% of Canada’s COVID-19 deaths have been in long-term care
Widespread calls for radical reform in wake of catastrophe

by Tonda MacCharles, The Star, May 7, 2020
Read here.

C19 and private care homes: the logic of profit is not the same as the logic of care
by Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen, May 7, 2020
Read here.

Five Eyes Intelligence Network contradicts theory Covid-19 leaked from lab
No evidence to suggest coronavirus leaked from Wuhan research lab, intelligence agencies say
by Dan Sabbagh, The Guardian, May 4, 2020
Read here.

Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab
by Nsikan Akpan & Victoria Jaggard, National Geographic, May 4, 2020
Read here.

Dr. Fauci dismisses Wuhan lab as source of coronavirus, contradicting Trump and Pompeo
by Daniel Villarreal, Newsweek, May 5, 2020
Read here.

Trump’s Major Strasser moment
On rampant retail propaganda in the age of Trump
by Lisa Van Dusen, Policy Magazine, May 4, 2020
Read here.

Have Americans gone crazy?
The United States has descended into a surreal state of madness (and satire) where reality and fiction have blended into a crazy mélange
by Bruce Livesey, National Observer, May 5th 2020
Read here.

The fascist politics of the pandemic
There is nothing like a pandemic to bring out the fascist ideology in countries under far-right rule. In the world’s three largest democracies—Brazil, India, and the United States— national leaders are using the COVID-19 crisis to wage war on immigrants and minorities while testing the limits of common sense.
by Federico Finchelstein & Jason Stanley, Project Syndicate, May 4, 2020
Read here.

Trump’s nationalism advances on a predictable trajectory to violence. His supporters will kill when they’re told to.
Those of us who witnessed the nationalist undoing in the Balkans at the end of the last millennium have found the subsequent rise of Trumpism frighteningly familiar
by Aleksandar Hemon, The Intercept, May 2 2020
Read here.

Crisis and resistance at the periphery: Bosnian responses to Covid-19
by Marina Veličković, 6 May 2020
Read here.

Deciphering Trump’s political attacks on China
Trump clearly hopes that China-bashing will get him re-elected in November
by MK Bhadrakumar, Asia Times, May 6, 2020
Read here.

Debunking Trump’s China Nonsense
Trump botched his COVID-19 response disastrously so now he’s giving anti-China conspiracy theories the full weight of the U.S. government
by John Feffer, IPS/FPIF (Washington), May 6, 2020
Read here.

China has oil and gas trump card on US
China will likely withhold promised big new energy purchases if US ramps up new trade tensions
by Tim Daiss, Asia Times, May 6, 2020
Read here.

And finally, a few on-line compilations worth visiting:

Focus on the Global South Bulletin, Issue 02, May 7, 2020
As many countries start easing the COVID-19 economic lockdowns
major challenges remain. This
Bulletin contains a series of contributions discussing how progressive groups can ensure that the crisis helps in rebuilding a more just economy and society to deal with the challenges of the coming decades.
Access here.

Daraja Press: Organizing in the time of Coronavirus
This week’s interviews included : Phyllis Bennis; Kin Chi Lau and Sit Tsui Jade Margaret; Ashish Kothari; Kavita Krishnan; Ozlem Goner; and Lewis Gordon.  
Interviews stream here.  

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