March 31-April 1 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

• COVID-19 Strike Document, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZV_AkDIPHW7iYqQouIdfpEZsZ9w9zD_lr3Q6YB9LkT8/edit
• Rent Strike 2020: https://www.rentstrike2020.org/
• Grève des loyers (Quebec): http://grevedesloyers.info/
• Solidarity with migrant detainees on hunger-strike in Laval (Quebec,Canada) https://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/solidarity-with-migrant-detainees-on-hunger-strike
• Coronakrise I Unangemeldeter Protest: 200 Menschen in Berlin auf der Straße, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIM_jLH6Qhg&feature=youtu.be

Analysis & Commentary

• Epidemics, Elites, and Public Health, Against the Grain with Graham Mooney, March 18, https://kpfa.org/episode/against-the-grain-march-18-2020/
• What It’s Like to Not Have Running Water During a Pandemic: Washing hands and staying hydrated isn’t easy for the 2 million Americans still without plumbing in 2020, by Alexander C. Kaufman, Mother Jones March 31, https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/03/what-its-like-to-not-have-running-water-during-a-pandemic/
• The Social-Distancing Culture War Has Begun: Across the country, social distancing is morphing from a public-health to political act. The consequences could be disastrous, by Mckay Coppins, The Atlantic March 30, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/social-distancing-culture/609019/
• This Is Not the Apocalypse You Were Looking For, by Laurie Penny, March 30 Wired, https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-apocalypse-myths/
• Las Vegas Hotels Are Empty:The Homeless Are in a “Socially Distant” Parking Lot, by Jimena Vergara, Left Voice March 30, https://www.leftvoice.org/while-las-vegas-hotels-sit-empty-the-homeless-are-in-a-socially-distant-parking-lot
• COVID-19 and the Capitalist Scourge – Cooperation Jackson dialogue with Rick Wolff, March 28, https://cooperationjackson.org/blog/2020/3/28/covid19andthescourgeofcapitalism
• ‘Chinese Virus,’ World Market: The movements of the novel coronavirus are mimicking the pathways of the 21st-century global market, by Andrew Liuon, March 31, https://lausan.hk/2020/chinese-virus-world-market/
• Corporate Media Ignores How Privatization of US Hospitals Explains Lack of Beds, Ventilators, by John Buell, Commondreams March 30, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/03/30/corporate-media-ignores-how-privatization-us-hospitals-explains-lack-beds
• Human life or *some* human life?, by Gabriel Kuhn, March 31, https://www.pmpress.org/blog/2020/03/31/human-life-or-some-human-life/

 

Gender

• Coronavirus: I’m in lockdown with my abuser, by Megha Mohan, BBC March 31, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52063755

 

Racism

• A plea to help defend our pagodas and communities: Pagodas are a place of peace for the dead but also a vibrant place for the living, by Kinh-Luyen Huynh, CBC March 29, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pagoda-vandalism-montreal-point-of-view-1.5504365
• American Racism in the Time of Plagues: The United States has a long history of blaming Asian immigrants for outbreaks of disease. Every time, democracy and public health suffer, by Andrew Lanham, Boston Review March 30, http://bostonreview.net/race/andrew-lanham-american-racism-time-plagues
• Israeli settlers spread coronavirus fear by spitting on Palestinian cars, The Palestine Project April 1, https://medium.com/@thepalestineproject/israeli-settlers-spread-coronavirus-fear-by-spitting-on-palestinian-cars-96d07ea54301

 

Far Right

• Group Behind Central Park Coronavirus Tent Hospital Asks Volunteers To Support Anti-Gay Agenda, by Jake Offenhartz, Gothamist March 30, https://gothamist.com/news/samaritans-purse-franklin-graham-anti-gay-evangelical-central-park
• How to Fight Fascism While Surviving a Plague, by Kelly Hayes, Truthout March 30, https://truthout.org/audio/how-to-fight-fascism-while-surviving-a-plague/
• Pandemias, Dios y dominación de los pueblos, Ollantayitzamna, March 21, https://ollantayitzamna.com/2020/03/21/pandemias-dios-y-dominacion-de-los-pueblos/
• Neo-Confederate Group Moves Ahead with Conference Amid Covid-19 Outbreak, SPLC March 30, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/03/30/neo-confederate-group-moves-ahead-conference-amid-covid-19-outbreak
• Watch out for this symptom of Corona virus: lazy ecofascism, March 20, by ketanjoshi85, https://ketanjoshi.co/2020/03/20/watch-out-for-this-symptom-of-corona-virus-lazy-ecofascism
• Coronavirus And The Militia-Sphere, by Devin Burghart, IREHR March 26, https://www.irehr.org/2020/03/26/coronavirus-militia-sphere

 

Work

• The Future Of Unions During Covid-19, by Cameron Mancini and Brendan Muckian-Bates, Hampton Institute March 29, https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/the-future-of-unions-during-covid-19
• SNC-Lavalin asking workers to take pay cut for next three months, by Nicolas Van Praet, Christine Dobby, March 30 Globe and Mail, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-snc-lavalin-asking-workers-to-take-pay-cut-for-next-three-months/
• Fruit and veg ‘will run out’ unless Britain charters planes to fly in farm workers from eastern Europe, by Jamie Doward, 28 March Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/28/fruit-and-veg-will-run-out-unless-britain-charters-planes-to-fly-in-farm-workers-from-eastern-europe
• Scots Royal Mail posties strike over junk mail delivery jobs and ‘unsafe conditions’, by James Moncur, March 31 Daily Record, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-royal-mail-posties-strike-21785452
• S. Amazon and Instacart workers strike to protest COVID-19 hazards on the job, March 31, https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/amazon-instacard-coronavirus-1.5515868
• Rest stops barring washroom access to truckers a ‘huge problem’ as COVID-19 spreads: Teamsters Canada says truckers are increasingly being denied warm meals, Canadian Press March 31, https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/rest-stops-barring-washroom-access-to-truckers-a-huge-problem-as-covid-19-spreads/

 

Housing

• The Coronavirus Spurs a Movement of People Reclaiming Vacant Homes, by Dana Goodyear, New Yorker March 28, https://www.newyorker.com/news/california-chronicles/the-coronavirus-spurs-a-movement-of-people-reclaiming-vacant-homes
• 40% of N.Y. Tenants May Not Pay Rent This Month. What Happens Then? Many unemployed tenants won’t be able to pay April rent. There will be a domino effect on landlords, real estate industry officials said, by Matthew Haag, March 31, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/nyregion/coronavirus-landlords-eviction-tenants.html
• Rent Strike 2020: https://www.rentstrike2020.org/
• Grève des loyers (Quebec): http://grevedesloyers.info/

 

The Clampdown

• States Quietly Pass Laws Criminalizing Fossil Fuel Protests Amid Coronavirus Chaos, by Alexander C. Kaufman, HuffPost US March 27, https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/pipeline-protest-laws-coronavirus_n_5e7e7570c5b6256a7a2aab41?ri18n=true
• CSIS quietly moves ahead with plan to collect, crunch data on Canadians: documents, by Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press March 30, https://globalnews.ca/news/6753878/csis-spy-documents-database-canada/

 

Confined in the Age of COVID-19

• COVID-19: Tensions rising in crowded B.C. jails, Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun March 30, https://vancouversun.com/news/covid-19-tensions-rising-in-crowded-b-c-jails/
• Women In Ice Detention, Fearing Coronavirus, Make Video To Protest Unsafe Conditions, by Debbie Nathan, March 30 The Intercept, https://theintercept.com/2020/03/30/coronavirus-ice-detention/
• How Ice Operations In New York Set The Stage For A Coronavirus Nightmare In Local Jails, by Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept March 27, https://theintercept.com/2020/03/27/immigrants-coronavirus-ice-detention-new-york/
• 134 Detainees at Cook County Jail Confirmed Positive for COVID-19, Chicago Sun-TimesMarch 31, https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/134-detainees-at-cook-county-jail-confirmed-positive-for-covid-19/2247668/
• COVID-19: Tensions rising in crowded B.C. jails, Vancouver Sun March 31, by Kim Bolan, https://vancouversun.com/news/covid-19-tensions-rising-in-crowded-b-c-jails/
• US jails will become death traps in the coronavirus pandemic, by Jean Casella and Katie Rose Quandt, Guardian March 30, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/30/jails-coronavirus-us-rikers-island
• Rikers Island Prisoners Being Offered Ppe And $6 An Hour To Dig Mass Graves, by Ryan Grim, The Intercept March 31, https://theintercept.com/2020/03/31/rikers-island-coronavirus-mass-graves/
• From Burnside to Laval: Solidarity! https://kersplebedeb.com/posts/from-burnside-to-laval-solidarity/
• ‘It’s going to spread’: Springhill inmate pleads for early release amid COVID-19, Elizabeth McMillan, CBC News April 1, https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5516664

 

Quebec

• MTL COVID-19 Mutual Aid Resource List // Mobilisation d’entraide liste des ressources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PgbUR1gT1PKIDPJFuWXhqieFLY7TAxxl4r_9dsaB05w/editand link to add info: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-XBgn1HXA-lPPtCPFQSUqr_H1tViUkHk8KpkCbV-MJ4h4RQ/viewform
• Quebec could run out of key medical supplies needed to fight COVID-19 in 3 to 7 days, premier warns, Basem Boshra, CTV News March 31, https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-could-run-out-of-key-medical-supplies-needed-to-fight-covid-19-in-3-to-7-days-premier-warns-1.4875986#_gus
• Legault prépare l’après-crise: les priorités vont changer au Québec : Le gouvernement Legault crée une escouade pour la relance économique qui filtrera les dépenses, Patrick Bellerose et Rémi Nadeau, Journal du Québec 31 mars, https://www.journaldequebec.com/2020/03/31/quebec-revoit-ses-priorites

 

Canada

• Ontario developing ‘last resort’ guidelines on which patients to prioritize if hospitals are overwhelmed by critical COVID-19 cases, by Jennifer Yang, March 29, https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/03/29/ontario-developing-last-resort-guidelines-on-which-patients-to-prioritize-if-hospitals-are-overwhelmed-by-critical-covid-19-cases.html
• The Pipeline and the Pandemic: ‘The Biggest Risk We’ve Got Right Now’: Union of BC Indian Chiefs calls for Coastal GasLink to halt work to reduce COVID-19 threat, by Amanda Follett Hosgood, Tyee March 31, https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/03/31/Pipeline-Vs-Pandemic/

 

India

• India racked by greatest exodus since partition due to coronavirus: Millions of workers flee cities as wages evaporate, with many walking hundreds of miles home, by Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Manoj Chaurasia, Guardian 30 March, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/india-wracked-by-greatest-exodus-since-partition-due-to-coronavirus
• Elite Housing Areas And Tablighi Jamaat Account For Majority Of Coronavirus Cases In Lahore, by Naya Daur Naya Daur March 30, https://nayadaur.tv/2020/03/elite-housing-areas-and-tablighi-jamaat-account-for-majority-of-coronavirus-cases-in-lahore/
• Indian doctors fight coronavirus with raincoats, helmets amid lack of equipment, by Aditya Kalra and Devjyot Ghoshal, https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/world/indian-doctors-fight-coronavirus-with-raincoats-helmets-amid-lack-of-equipment-431728/
• Doctors are fighting with Covid-19 as a suicide squad in Bihar, Ground Xero March 26, by Anish Ankur, https://www.groundxero.in/2020/03/26/doctors-are-fighting-with-covid-19-as-a-suicide-squad-in-bihar/
• Sanitation Workers Holding the Fort Against COVID-19 Have No Protective Equipment, by Nalini Ravichandran, The Wire March 30, https://thewire.in/rights/sanitation-workers-covid-19-working-conditions
• India’s Coronavirus Response is a Death Sentence for Millions, by Sou Mi, LeftVoice March 30, https://www.leftvoice.org/indias-coronavirus-response-is-a-death-sentence-for-millions

 

International

• Lockdown: They’re riding around the country hunting the poor and vulnerable, Elisha Kunene, Daily Maverick 31 March, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-03-31-lockdown-theyre-riding-around-the-country-hunting-the-poor-and-vulnerable/
• Amid coronavirus crisis, China demonstrates that an alternative to the US-led, neoliberal order is possible, by Ajit Singh, MROnline March 30, https://mronline.org/2020/03/30/amid-coronavirus-crisis-china-demonstrates-that-an-alternative-to-the-us-led-neoliberal-order-is-possible/
• A Perspective On Covid-19 From Kenya And The U.S., by All African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP), March 26 Hood Communist, http://hoodcommunist.org/2020/03/26/a-perspective-on-covid-19-from-kenya-and-the-us/
• Iran’s fight against the Coronavirus exposes Washington’s cruel nature, SITREP March 25, https://www.greanvillepost.com/2020/03/25/sitrep-irans-fight-against-the-coronavirus-exposes-washingtons-cruel-nature/
• When home does not exist, what does self-quarantine mean: street children in Tehran, by Shahram Khosravi, Compas March 31, https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/2020/when-home-does-not-exist-what-does-self-quarantine-mean-street-children-in-tehran
• Marreta: ‘Derrotar os ataques de Bolsonaro/generais e enfrentar a crise com luta classista’ (Brazil), A Nova Democracia 30 Março, https://anovademocracia.com.br/noticias/13187-marreta-derrotar-os-ataques-de-bolsonaro-generais-e-enfrentar-a-crise-com-luta-classista
• Africa – Threat of Corona-virus shows the criminal face of imperialism, New Epoch Media March 26, https://www.newepoch.media/single-post/2020/03/27/AFRICA-%E2%80%93-Threat-of-Corona-virus-shows-the-criminal-face-of-imperialism
• Hard times shape speedy Saudi and Kuwaiti coronavirus response, by Stephen Kalin and Ahmed Hagagy, National Post March 30, https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/hard-times-shape-speedy-saudi-and-kuwaiti-coronavirus-response
• IMF Conditions Emergency COVID-19 Loan to Venezuela on Regime Change, by Alan Macleod, Mint Press News March 30, https://www.mintpressnews.com/imf-conditions-emergency-coronavirus-loan-venezuela-regime-change/266185/
• ‘Health Care Kamikazes’: How Spain’s Workers Are Battling Coronavirus, Unprotected, by Ainara Tiefenthäler, March 30, https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000007051789/coronavirus-ppe-shortage-health-care-workers.html
• Lockdown broken in El Salvador as crowds gather for government aid, by Anastasia Moloney, Reuters March 30, https://www.compuserve.com/news/world/story/0002/20200330/L8N2BN8AA_1844078625
• Haiti on the precipice of Coronavirus, by Jeb Sprague and Nazaire St. Fort, Haiti Analysis March 31, http://haitianalysis.com/2020/03/31/haiti-on-the-precipice-of-coronavirus/
• COVID-19 in Iraq: the virus of social inequality: The coronavirus is above all a fight against the corrupt state and the social inequalities produced by it, by Maurizio Coppola, Open Democracy 1 April, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/covid-19-iraq-virus-social-inequality
• ‘Real human needs’: Moroccan Marxists’ demands against capital’s pandemic, by al-Mounail/ah Current, April 1, https://almuzaharat.com/2020/04/01/real-human-needs-moroccan-marxists-demands-against-capitals-pandemic/
• Poor and vulnerable hardest hit by pandemic in Spain: Rate of infection in and around working class near Barcelona is nearly seven times higher than upmarket areas, Stephen Burgen and Sam Jones, April 1, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/01/poor-and-vulnerable-hardest-hit-by-pandemic-in-spain

 

U.S.

• Hospitals tell doctors they’ll be fired if they speak out about lack of gear, by Olivia Carville, Emma Court, Kristen V. Brown, and Bloomberg, Fortune March 31, https://fortune.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-shortages-hospitals-doctors-fired-face-masks-ppe/
• Who Lives? Who Dies? NYC Hospitals Could Soon Be Forced to Triage Coronavirus Patients, by Kiki Intarasuwan, March 31, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/who-lives-who-dies-nyc-hospitals-could-soon-be-forced-to-triage-coronavirus-patients/2352258/
• New Mexico’s governor warns tribal nations could be ‘wiped out’ by coronavirus, by Katherine Faulders and Olivia Rubin, ABC News 30 March, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mexicos-governor-warns-tribal-nations-wiped-coronavirus/story?id=69884997

 

Environment

• New research suggests industrial livestock, not wet markets, might be origin of Covid-19, by GRAIN, March 30, https://www.grain.org/en/article/6437-new-research-suggests-industrial-livestock-not-wet-markets-might-be-origin-of-covid-19