April 4 COVID News

The following COVID-19 resources may be useful to many of you; if you know of similar resources not on this list, send me an email and let me know.

i will be sending out regular newsletters updating this list and containing links to new information and perspectives that i find useful. When and if things calm down and i return to my activities as humble bookseller, this list will go back to being about that. Don’t hold your breath. To subscribe:

(Select “Kersplebedeb Newsletter” for news of interest to everyone everywhere, and “Montreal List”, “Halifax” or “Ottawa” if you want to also receive news about events happening in those cities.)

Struggle and Fightback

• Migrants detained in the CBSA’s Laval Immigration Holding Centre suspended their hunger strike as several hunger strikers were released. Around 20 detainees remain in the main part of the centre, along with more held in the Rivière-des-Prairies jail in Montreal. For more information about how to continue to pressure the government for the immediate release of all detainees: https://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/release-remaining-detainees
• Join the Struggle at Amazon!, Cosmonaut April 3, https://cosmonaut.blog/2020/04/03/join-the-struggle-at-amazon/
• CALL TO ACTION: Hunger Strikers Released as CBSA Resists Demands to Release Remaining Detainees (Laval, Canada), https://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/release-remaining-detainees
• A Call to Action: Towards a General Strike to End the COVID-19 Crisis and Create a New World, Cooperation Jackson March 31, https://cooperationjackson.org/announcementsblog/towardsageneralstrike

 

Open Letters to Sign

• Global Sign-on: Civil Society Statement on COVID-19 and People who use Drugs, Deadline April 6, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJBv0uNHkTUVFlfLiEUY8ge2ZhFAMOMKtwO280LIJRmn_jGQ/viewform

 

Analysis & Commentary

• The coronavirus crisis shows it’s time to abolish the family: What does the pandemic tell us about the nuclear family and private household?, by Sophie Lewis, Open Democracy 24 March, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/coronavirus-crisis-shows-its-time-abolish-family/
• Will coronavirus signal the end of capitalism? by Paul Mason, Al Jazeera 3 April, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/coronavirus-signal-capitalism-200330092216678.html
• Coronavirus Economics with Grace Blakeley, The Dig https://www.thedigradio.com/podcast/coronavirus-economics-with-grace-blakeley
• On Social Reproduction and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Seven Theses, The Marxist Feminist Collective, Spectre April 3, https://spectrejournal.com/seven-theses-on-social-reproduction-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/
• Luxury resorts face coronavirus crisis as the 1% flee cities for holiday hideaways, by Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian 4 April, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/04/rural-resort-towns-coronavirus-covid-19-holiday
• Slavoj Zizek on Coronavirus — the end of capitalism as we know it?, The Radical Revolution April 3, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLd7gpuQR30
• Coronavirus, The Crisis of Global Capitalism & The Future With UCSB Professor William Robinson, Laborvideo April 4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da7N-9tu_nk
• Four Points Of Orientation In The Current Crisis, Maoist Communist Group April 4, https://maoistcommunistgroup.com/2020/04/04/four-points-of-orientation-in-the-current-crisis/

 

Ableism

• I’m disabled and need a ventilator to live. Am I expendable during this pandemic? As medical rationing becomes a reality, “quality of life” measures threaten disabled people like me, by Alice Wong, Vox April 4, https://www.vox.com/first-person/2020/4/4/21204261/coronavirus-covid-19-disabled-people-disabilities-triage
• NWT says if you react like this, people with Covid-19 won’t come forward, by Ollie Williams, April 4 Cabinradio.ca, https://cabinradio.ca/34003/news/health/coronavirus/nwt-says-if-you-react-like-this-people-with-covid-19-wont-come-forward

 

Gender

• Les futures mamans devront accoucher sans leur proche à l’Hôpital général juif, by Julien McEvoy, Radio Canada April 3, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1690988/accouchements-les-accompagnateurs-interdits-a-lhopital-general-juif
• On Social Reproduction and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Seven Theses, The Marxist Feminist Collective, Spectre April 3, https://spectrejournal.com/seven-theses-on-social-reproduction-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/
• African Feminist and Anti-Capitalist Responses to COVID-19: Labor, Health and Ecological Questions, African EcoFeminisms April 2, https://anchor.fm/african-ecofeminisms/episodes/African-Feminist-and-Anti-Capitalist-Responses-to-COVID-19-Labor–Health-and-Ecological-Questions-eca7o6

 

Racism

• 2 top French doctors said on live TV that coronavirus vaccines should be tested on poor Africans, leaving viewers horrified, by Julian Kossoff, Business Insider April 3, https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccines-france-doctors-say-test-poor-africans-outrage-2020-4
• ‘Africa is not a laboratory’ – Drogba joins Eto’o in denouncing ‘racist’ remarks by French doctors, MSN April 3, https://www.msn.com/en-za/sports/football/africa-is-not-a-laboratory-drogba-joins-eto-o-in-denouncing-racist-remarks-by-french-doctors/ar-BB127fKN
• Victoria Park arrest was example of increased surveillance of Black people during COVID-19, says Dal prof, by Yvette D’Entremont, Halifax Examiner April 4, https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/featured/victoria-park-arrest-was-example-of-increased-surveillance-of-black-people-during-covid-19-says-dal-prof/

 

Far Right

• The rightwing Christian preachers in deep denial over Covid-19’s danger, by Jason Wilson, The Guardian April 4, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/america-rightwing-christian-preachers-virus-hoax
• UK phone masts attacked amid 5G-coronavirus conspiracy theory: Police investigate possible arson attacks as officials and experts reject rumours that 5G causes Covid-19, by Nazia Parveen and Jim Waterson, 4 April,

 

Work News (see also COVID-19: News from the world’s trade unions, LabourStart, https://www.labourstart.org/covid-19.php)

• COVID-19 : la production laitière frappée de plein fouet par la crise, by France Beaudoin, April 3, https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1690995/producteurs-jeter-lait-coronavirus-prix
• 13,000 Carpenters to Strike in Massachusetts, by Mike Elk, April 3, https://paydayreport.com/13000-carpenters-to-strike-in-massachusettes/

 

Work In-Depth

• What Happens if America’s 2.5 Million Farmworkers Get Sick?, by Greg Asbed, New York Times April 3, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/opinion/coronavirus-farm-workers.html

 

Scrambling for Supplies

• US Leads Global Wave of Nations Stealing, Seizing and Diverting Coronavirus Equipment, by Alan Macleod, https://www.mintpressnews.com/united-states-leads-nations-stealing-coronavirus-equipment/266360

 

The Clampdown

• La crise du coronavirus fait craindre des dérives policières à Montréal, April 3 Metro, https://journalmetro.com/actualites/montreal/2435686/la-crise-du-coronavirus-fait-craindre-des-derives-policieres-a-montreal
• Montréal achète des vestes pare-balles et des masques pour affronter la crise, by Jeanne Corriveau, Le Devoir April 3, https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/montreal/576398/montreal-achete-des-vestes-pare-balles-et-des-masques-pour-affronter-la-crise-du-coronavirus
• Refugee, Human Rights, and Legal Organizations Call for Border to be Reopened to Refugees in Lead Up to Refugee Rights Day, BCCLA April 2, https://bccla.org/news/2020/04/refugee-human-rights-and-legal-organizations-call-for-border-to-be-reopened-to-refugees-in-lead-up-to-refugee-rights-day/
• Récalcitrants: au moins une personne infectée retrouvée par géolocalisation : Le Service de police de la Ville de Québec confirme avoir retrouvé la position d’une personne infectée qui refusait de se mettre en confinement grâce à la géolocalisation de son téléphone cellulaire, by Tristan Péloquin & Tommy Chouinard, April 3 La Presse, https://www.lapresse.ca/covid-19/202004/03/01-5267844-recalcitrants-au-moins-une-personne-infectee-retrouvee-par-geolocalisation.php
• I’m a medic on a rescue ship in Italy – right now, authorities are using coronavirus as an excuse to let migrants die, by Valeria Alice Colombo, The Independent March 31, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-pandemic-migrant-crisis-italy-malta-mediterranean-rescue-a9437536.html
• Interactive map tracking charges & violations related to COVID-19, Policing the Pandemic: Tracking the policing of COVID-19 across Canada, https://www.policingthepandemic.ca/

 

Confined in the Age of COVID-19

• ‘We’re gonna die’: migrants in US jail beg for deportation due to Covid-19 exposure: Ice detainees isolated after one had Covid-19 symptoms tell the Guardian that cries for help and protection have gone ignored, Sam Levin, 4 April, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/04/us-jail-immigrants-coronavirus-deportation
• What Is Holding Back the Formation of a Global Prison Abolitionist Movement to Fight COVID-19 and Capitalism? A Statement From The Alliance of MENA Socialists, by Frieda Afary And Lara Al-Kateb, April 3, https://spectrejournal.com/what-is-holding-back-the-formation-of-a-global-prison-abolitionist-movement-to-fight-covid-19-and-capitalism

 

Quebec

• La crise du coronavirus fait craindre des dérives policières à Montréal, April 3 Metro, https://journalmetro.com/actualites/montreal/2435686/la-crise-du-coronavirus-fait-craindre-des-derives-policieres-a-montreal
• Montréal achète des vestes pare-balles et des masques pour affronter la crise, by Jeanne Corriveau, Le Devoir April 3, https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/montreal/576398/montreal-achete-des-vestes-pare-balles-et-des-masques-pour-affronter-la-crise-du-coronavirus
• Récalcitrants: au moins une personne infectée retrouvée par géolocalisation : Le Service de police de la Ville de Québec confirme avoir retrouvé la position d’une personne infectée qui refusait de se mettre en confinement grâce à la géolocalisation de son téléphone cellulaire, by Tristan Péloquin & Tommy Chouinard, April 3 La Presse, https://www.lapresse.ca/covid-19/202004/03/01-5267844-recalcitrants-au-moins-une-personne-infectee-retrouvee-par-geolocalisation.php

 

Canada

• COVID-19: Virus could ‘spread like wildfire’ in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, by Lori Culbert,Vancouver Sun April 3, https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/covid-19-virus-could-spread-like-wildfire-in-vancouvers-downtown-eastside
• Critic, workers’ group ‘disappointed’ Trudeau chose Amazon to distribute PPE, Canadian Press April 3, https://www.cp24.com/news/critic-workers-group-disappointed-trudeau-chose-amazon-to-distribute-ppe-1.4881569
• Refugee, Human Rights, and Legal Organizations Call for Border to be Reopened to Refugees in Lead Up to Refugee Rights Day, BCCLA April 2, https://bccla.org/news/2020/04/refugee-human-rights-and-legal-organizations-call-for-border-to-be-reopened-to-refugees-in-lead-up-to-refugee-rights-day/
• COVID-19: A third of unemployed Canadians will receive nothing from either EI or new CERB, CCPA April 2, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/covid-19-third-unemployed-canadians-will-receive-nothing-either-ei-or-new
• Interactive map tracking charges & violations related to COVID-19, Policing the Pandemic: Tracking the policing of COVID-19 across Canada, https://www.policingthepandemic.ca/

 

Indigenous North America

• Historic Injustices Against Native People Put Them at Greater Risk of COVID-19, by Jen Deerinwater, Truthout April 3, https://truthout.org/articles/historic-injustices-against-native-people-put-them-at-greater-risk-of-covid-19/
• ‘We could get wiped out’: American Indians have the highest rates of diseases that make covid-19 more lethal, by Gregory Scruggs, Washington Post April 4, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/04/04/native-american-coronavirus

 

International

• I’m a medic on a rescue ship in Italy – right now, authorities are using coronavirus as an excuse to let migrants die, by Valeria Alice Colombo, The Independent March 31, https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-pandemic-migrant-crisis-italy-malta-mediterranean-rescue-a9437536.html
• Serious Tensions in Southern Italy: First Looting in Supermarkets and Calls for Rebellion, Orinoco Tribune March 31, https://orinocotribune.com/serious-tensions-in-southern-italy-first-looting-in-supermarkets-and-calls-for-rebellion/
• Ashrawi: Israel deliberately undermining Palestinian efforts to combat COVID19 pandemic, PLO April 3, http://www.dci.plo.ps/en/article/14879/Dr-Ashrawi-Israel-deliberately-undermining-Palestinian-efforts-to-combat-COVID19-pandemic
• ‘They’re leaving us to die’: Ecuadorians’ plead for help as virus blazes deadly trail: Dead bodies kept in homes or dumped on roadsides as authorities and hospitals are overwhelmed by Covid-19 in Andean nation’s second city, by Tom Phillips and Blanca Moncada, April 3 The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/theyre-leaving-us-to-die-ecuadorians-plead-for-help-as-virus-blazes-deadly-trail
• France’s pandemic disaster was decades in the making, by Darren Roso, The Left Berlin April 3, https://www.theleftberlin.com/post/france-s-pandemic-disaster-was-decades-in-the-making
• What Is Holding Back the Formation of a Global Prison Abolitionist Movement to Fight COVID-19 and Capitalism? A Statement From The Alliance of MENA Socialists, By Frieda Afary And Lara Al-Kateb, April 3, https://spectrejournal.com/what-is-holding-back-the-formation-of-a-global-prison-abolitionist-movement-to-fight-covid-19-and-capitalism
• En cuarentena maquilas no quieren pagar salarios, denuncian trabajadoras, by Norma Ramírez, March 31, https://arpas.org.sv/2020/03/en-cuarentena-maquilas-no-quieren-pagar-salarios-denuncian-trabajadoras
• African Feminist and Anti-Capitalist Responses to COVID-19: Labor, Health and Ecological Questions, African EcoFeminisms April 2, https://anchor.fm/african-ecofeminisms/episodes/African-Feminist-and-Anti-Capitalist-Responses-to-COVID-19-Labor–Health-and-Ecological-Questions-eca7o6

 

U.S.

• As U.S. Reels from COVID-19, Trump Backs Gilead’s Exclusive Patent on Treatment & Suspends EPA Rules, Democracy Now April 2, https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/2/robert_weissman_public_citizen_economy_coronavirus
• Veterans Denounce ‘Unforgivable’ Decision To Remove U.S. Navy Captain Brett Crozier, Who Asked For Help With Ship’s Covid-19 Outbreak, By Ewan Palmer, April 3, https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-navy-ship-captain-brett-crozier-1495923
• Sailors on aircraft carrier give their fired captain a rousing sendoff: Capt. Brett Crozier advocated for stronger measures to protect his crew, by Luis Martinez, ABC April 3, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sailors-aircraft-carrier-give-fired-captain-rousing-sendoff/story

 

Event

Racial Justice Has No Borders – Militarization in a time of Pandemic

April 6th, 3 pm EDT | 2 pm CDT | 1 pm MDT | 12 pm PDT

Español abajo

 

~ Closed Captioning Available ~

 

Racial Justice Has No Borders is a new, broad anti-war coalition that seeks to recenter the conversation about U.S. wars and militarization on the needs and leadership of those most impacted.

 

https://abolishtheaumf.typeform.com/to/PGiFuP