(2020-05-05). Herd Immunity May Only Need 10-20 Percent to Be Infected. anti-empire.com 
Since mid-March there has been an assumption that herd immunity against Covid-19 would not be achieved until around 60 per cent of the population has been infected. It is a figure which gave rise to the now-famous paper by Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College, which claimed that a herd immunity policy (which the government denies ever following) would result in the deaths of 250,000 people in Britain. That figure has been challenged by scientists who have questioned some of the assumptions behind it — for example, it assumed a mortality rate of 0.9 per cent which Imperial College itself has since…
(2020-05-05). Omaha Beach Redux: Californians Liberate Venice Beach From the COVID Rouge. anti-empire.com 
This is some kamikaze-like courage here: | | They're throwing themselves at the occupiers threatening to arrest them like a Banzai charge. | Well, Americans have always been good at hitting beaches.
(2020-05-05). Slovenia's Official Antibodies Study Implies COVID Infection Fatality Rate Just 0.15%, Comparable to Seasonal Influenza. anti-empire.com 
The full findings of Slovenia's official covid antibodies study will be released later today (after which we'll update this article), but for now the country's Health Minister Toma≈æ Gantar has already Slovenia is a country of 2.08 million people and has recorded 97 covid-positive deaths. If between 2 and 4 percent of 2.08 million were infected that mean…
(2020-05-05). "Gradually Everyone Is Approaching the Swedish Model" — Rock Star of Epidemiology, Dr. Giesecke, Points Out the Obvious (VIDEO). anti-empire.com 
| Highlights: "I must say I have been inwardly laughing when I see all the other countries in Europe puttin…
(2020-05-05). Our Inevitable Collapse: We Can't Save a Fragile Economy With Bailouts That Increase Fragility. anti-empire.com 
That the global economy is fragile is painfully obvious to all. What is less obvious is the bailouts intended to "save" the fragile economy actively increase its fragility, setting up an inevitable collapse of the entire precarious system. | Systems that are highly centralized, i.e. dependent on a handful of nodes that are each points of failure–are intrinsically fragile and prone to collapse. Put another way, systems in which all the critical nodes are tightly bound are prone to domino-like cascades of failure as any one point of failure quickly disrupts every other critical node that is bound to it. | Ours…
(2020-05-05). Taser-Wielding NYPD Punk Cop Punches Bystander During 'Social-Distancing Bust'. anti-empire.com 
The NYPD's enforcement of social distancing over the weekend included a tense fracas in the East Village that ended with three arrests, an officer sidelined and an internal probe, officials said Sunday. | Cops were breaking up a group near the corner of East Ninth Street and Avenue D around 5: 30 p.m. Saturday, when Shakiem Brunsom and Ashley Serrano allegedly refused to move along and resisted cops' efforts to cuff them, according to police. | A small crowd of onlookers gathered a few feet away during the tussle, to the apparent ire of one cop in particular, identified by police sources as Officer Francisco Ga…
(2020-05-05). Tampa UPS Teamsters organize for hazard pay. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis putting workers at risk and UPS making huge profits, many rank-and-file Teamsters are demanding hazard pay. Teamsters in Tampa, Florida are organizing co-workers to fight for it. | Rank-and-file Teamsters activists distributed buttons and stickers to UPSers with the slogan "Hazard pay for UPS workers." | "We want to unite our co-workers around the demand for hazard pay. We're encouraging folks to wear the buttons at work," said Gage LaCharite, a UPS warehouse worker. "This is the first step in a national campaign to win hazard pay. UPS just announced they made $1 billi…
(2020-05-05). 50 Years of Bat-Shit Crazy Televised Presidential Warmongering. counterpunch.org Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon popped up on national television on a Thursday night to proudly announce that he invaded Cambodia. At that time, Nixon was selling himself as a peacemaker, promising to withdraw U.S. troops from the Vietnam War. But after the sixth time that Nixon watched the movie "Patton," he was overwhelmed
(2020-05-05). May Day Caravan in Santa Cruz. indybay.org #COLA4ALL activists in Santa Cruz organized a May Day Caravan to support those "striking and fighting for their right to live in this city". Beginning on the UC Santa Cruz campus to support the striking COLA graduate students, the caravan traveled downtown to the Santa Cruz Main Jail, and then on to support Food Not Bombs at Front and Laurel Streets. (Photos taken downtown by Keith McHenry of Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs.)…
(2020-05-04). "It's Very Scary": COVID Surges in Meat Plants as Activists Demand Worker Safety & Meatless Mondays. democracynow.org 
At least 20 workers at meat processing plants have died from COVID-19, and around 5,000 have tested positive, but President Trump invoked an executive order to bar local governments from closing meat plants. We hear from meat plant workers and organizers about conditions during the pandemic and speak with Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is supporting the workers with a virtual town hall on food worker safety with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and calling for Meatless May Mondays.
(2020-05-04). Protesters block HS2 building sites amid ongoing coronavirus lockdown. thecanary.co 
Activists protesting the continued construction of the HS2 high-speed railway have blocked access to building sites in London and Warwickshire. A group called
(2020-05-04). Lockdown-Weary California Doctors Purged by YouTube Return for a Follow Up Interview (VIDEO). anti-empire.com 
When Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Antin Massihi held a press conference on April 22nd about the results of testing they conducted at their urgent care facilities around Bakersfield, California, the video, uploaded by a local ABC news affiliate, went viral. | After reaching five million views, YouTube took it down on the grounds that it "violated community standards." | We followed up with the doctors to determine what was so dangerous about their message. | What we discovered were reasonable…
(2020-05-04). Belarus' Lukashenko: Surrendering Victory Day Parade to a Virus Is Out of the Question. anti-empire.com 
Editor's note: In explaining his decision Lukashenko pointed out two things. Firstly, it's voluntary. Nobody who doesn't want to go is forced to. Secondly, where would Belarus and Belarusians be today if their forefathers had similarly panicked in the face of some virus or disease? (For that matter typhus exacted a devastating toll on Belarusian partisans.) A historic victory is nice but you have to keep being worthy of it. Even if COVID was the plague, which it is not. Some things are sacred, and some things — like honoring those who sacrificed to preserve the existence of your people — take prece…
(2020-05-04). 79% of the COVID-19 Positive Deaths in Canada Have Been of Nursing Home Residents. anti-empire.com 
79% of the COVID-19 positive deaths in Canada have been of nursing home residents: Canadian seniors are suffering the most from COVID-19, with 79 per cent of all deaths in the country now connected to long-term care and seniors' homes. | Numbers released on Tuesday show a steep jump from two weeks ago, when almost half of all coronavirus deaths were linked to the homes. The numbers also show the death rate for the disease at 5.5 per cent, more than double the 2.2 per cent on April 9. | The numbers were released by Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam and her deputy, Dr. Howard Njoo, along with u…
(2020-05-04). Trump Must Choose Between a Global Ceasefire and America's Long Lost Wars. commondreams.org As of May 1, there were 7,145 cases of COVID-19 in the US military, with more falling sick every day. (Photo: Military Times/DoD) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-04). Boyle Heights celebrates May Day for the 6th consecutive year. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, May 1, a car protest of over 40 vehicles driven by workers, teachers and activists took to the streets for the sixth consecutive year to celebrate International Workers Day, May Day, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Organized by Centro CSO, this year's May Day protest focused on Trump's attacks on immigrants and called for free healthcare for COVID-19 patients, support for public education, jailing killer cops and community control over the police. | "The coronavirus pandemic has affected oppressed nationalities like African Americans, Chicanos and American Indians the most. Unsafe…
(2020-05-04). Facebook Is Go-To Platform For Organizing Protests Against Social Distancing. splcenter.org As COVID-19 continues to pose a lethal threat worldwide, fringe, right-wing activists are using Facebook to mobilize protests of stay-at-home orders in several states.
(2020-05-04). Activists Demand Worker Safety Plans as COVID-19 Surges in Meat Plants. truthout.org At least 20 workers at meat processing plants have died from COVID-19, and around 5,000 have tested positive, but President Trump invoked an executive order to bar local governments from closing meat plants. We hear from meat plant workers and organizers about conditions during the pandemic and speak with Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is supporting the workers with a virtual town hall on food worker safety with presumptive Democratic presidential candidate…
(2020-05-02). Philippines: CPP denounces arrest of 76 activists, volunteers on Labor Day. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines. | The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denounces the arrest of 76 activists and relief volunteers by police elements in Metro Manila and Iloilo on Labor Day. | "The Duterte regime marked Labor Day with mass arrests to stifle dissent and muffle criticism in its desperation to cover up its ineptness and failure to address the hunger and plight of the working class amid the Covid-19 pandemic," said CPP Chief Information Officer Marco L. Valbuena. | "Using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse, Duterte is…
(2020-05-01). Caravan for Life: Protesters in Puerto Rico Demand More Tests & Resources to Combat the Coronavirus. democracynow.org 
On Thursday in Puerto Rico, activists in dozens of cars held a "Caravan Por La Vida," or "Caravan for Life," through San Juan to demand the government provide more COVID-19 tests and sufficient resources for people to stay at home during the pandemic. At least 92 people have died from COVID-19 in Puerto Rico, and last week the island was reporting a testing rate lower than any U.S. state, at an abysmal average of 15 tests a day for every 100,000 people. No one in Puerto Rico has received $1,200 checks from the government, according to San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. Police stopped the caravan and said their sou…
(2020-04-30). May Day in MN – Twin Cities to celebrate online. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – Activists will gather virtually to celebrate May Day here, on Saturday, May 2. The 4 p.m. gathering is taking the place of the originally scheduled annual May Day dinner celebration, which the Twin Cities branch of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) has held for over 20 years. | Local fighters are video-recording presentations, which will be interspersed with photos and footage from the year's demonstrations. The video will be shared for a watch party on May 2. | This year's FRSO organizers state, "On May Day, we join with workers from around the world and celebrate the shared strug…
(2020-04-30). Et tu? Progressive Boomers Are Now Preaching Pro-Biden Lesser-Evilism. mintpressnews.com At a time when an independent progressive movement is needed more than ever, the sheepdogs of a bygone era are trying to herd a new generation of activists into the Democratic Party.
(2020-04-28). Stir Crazy! Episode #23: The Empire State. therealnews.com 
On today's show: TRNN Digital Director Charles Lenchner. We're also joined by founding member of the Chinatown Collective which hosts the Charm City Night Market Leandro Lagera and Democratic State Committeeman and activist from Manhattan's 66th Assembly District Ben Yee. Hosted by Kim Brown.
(2020-04-27). Headlines for April 27, 2020. democracynow.org Global Coronavirus Deaths Top 207,000 as Hard-Hit European Nations Start Relaxing Lockdowns, States Prepare to Reopen Economies as Cases Continue to Mount, Doctors See Rise in Strokes Caused by Coronavirus; CDC Expands List of Possible Symptoms, Oakland Police Tackle and Detain Unhoused Outreach Workers, Poison Control Center Calls Spike After President Trump Suggests Injections of Disinfectant, WHO Warns Against Issuing "Immunity Passports", Activists Hold "Cancel the Rent" Protests Around the Country, Coronavirus Outbreak Reported at Tyson Foods Meat Processing Plant, "Larry King Live" Tape from 1993 Supports T…
(2020-04-24). Wisconsin's Fight Against the F-35s. progressive.org Activists continue to push back against the Air Force's decision to locate fighter planes in Madison.
(2020-04-04). Saudi's Brave Women Pull Back the Curtain on Crown Prince MBS. zcomm.org The bogus trial against Loujain al-Hathloul should compel governments around the world to put more pressure on the Saudis and demand al-Hathloul's immediate and unconditional release…
(2020-04-29). Malaysian activists say 'let Rohingya boats land'. greenleft.org.au 