12 March 2020 — theplanningmotivedotcom
What left reformists and right populists have in common, their only commonality, is their profound failure to understand capitalist political economy. The Chancellor’s “Blue Sky” budget based on a “Strong and Resilient economy” facing a “temporary medical emergency” is an exercise in delusion. By the Autumn statement it will be history.
12 March 2020 — Tricontinental
Mohammed Issiakhem, Femme et Mur (Woman and Wall), 1970.
Dear Friends,
Greetings from the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
These are miserable times. The statistics of deprivation and death are gruesome. Far too many people struggle with hunger; roughly nine million of them dying each year from complications due to malnutrition (a child dies somewhere in the world around every ten seconds because of this).
12 March 2020 — True Publica
On the last quarter of last year, nearly 90,000 full-time jobs for NHS were advertised. Hospital beds are now half what they were 30 years ago. The government is stating it will give to the NHS ‘whatever it takes’ to cope with the impending virus and yet even the very lowest of expected numbers mean the NHS will be totally submerged in serious CoVid-19 virus cases within about 6 to 8 weeks.
11 March 2020 — Climate & Capitalism
Covid-19 appears as round yellow objects in this electron microscope image.
A socialist biologist explains the tight links between new viruses, industrial food production, and the profitability of multinational corporations.
The new coronavirus is keeping the world in a state of shock. But instead of fighting the structural causes of the pandemic, the government is focusing on emergency measures.
Yaak Pabst for the German socialist magazine Marx21 spoke to evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace, author of Big Farms Make Big Flu (Monthly Review Press, 2016) about the dangers of Covid-19, the responsibility of agribusiness and sustainable solutions to combat infectious diseases. Marx21 released the interview in advance of its scheduled March 30 publication date.
4 March 2020 — Zero Hedge
by Tyler DurdenSummary
11 March 2020 — Asia Times
Two black swans swim in a lake of a park in Shenyang. Photo: AFP
Is the planet under the spell of a pair of black swans – a Wall Street meltdown, caused by an alleged oil war between Russia and the House of Saud, plus the uncontrolled spread of Covid-19 – leading to an all-out “cross-asset pandemonium” as billed by Nomura?
The New Dark Age 