coronavirus pandemic

Yesterday, Prague celebrated both the end of the pandemic and the arrival of the longed-for summer holidays. The organizer, Ondřej Kobza, highlighted the importance of socializing and connecting with others. He chose the Karlsbrücke (Charles Bridge) particularly because, unlike walls, bridges are an allegory for connection: connection between people, cultures… »

Paha Sapa is the traditional name the Lakota people give the sacred center of their universe. The region is also known as The Black Hills, in South Dakota, home of Mount Rushmore, itself named after a gold rush lawyer and speculator. The Mount Rushmore Monument features the sculpted heads of… »

More than 500 political, civil leaders, Nobel Laureates and pro-democracy institutions have signed an open letter to defend democracy, warning that the freedoms we cherish are under threat from governments that are using the crisis to tighten their grip on power. The coronavirus pandemic poses serious threats to democracy. Many… »

Global confirmed coronavirus cases have topped 9.2 million, with nearly half a million deaths from COVID-19. Latin America’s regional death toll officially surpassed 100,000 Tuesday. In Brazil, a judge has ordered far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a mask in public, or he’ll face a fine of nearly $400 per… »

The humans and the viruses are two forms of life with parallel but different adaptive strategies. According to the abbreviated story I am offering you, our pre-hominid ancestors crossed the line separating non-human from human and became homo sapiens when they became the cultural animals. It culminated a long process. »

The weight of history is bearing down on the United States, as mass protests confront the enduring impact of systemic racism. Millions have been moved to action by the police murders of African Americans George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, Tony McDade in Tallahassee, Rayshard Brooks in… »

Data from around the world on how nations are handling Coronavirus makes clear that, as in most things (this claim is documented below), the United States is exceptionally awful. Among wealthy countries, only Sweden, which has chosen to intentionally allow the disease to spread, has done worse. A handful of countries… »

By Marc Norton More people have now died during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States than American soldiers died on the battlefields of World War I.  The acknowledged death toll of U.S. soldiers in the “Great War” is 116,516.  As of this writing, … »

By Vijay Prashad A few weeks ago, I was talking to Noam Chomsky about the state of the world. At one point, Noam smiled and said that he is not aware of any German doctors in Italy, even though both countries are in the European Union; instead, Cuban and Chinese doctors… »

SHORT STORY Oh great, just when there’s a hair dye shortage my grey starts to show! As if getting fatter from sitting all day at the computer wasn’t enough. I should have stock piled hair dye. But, how would I have known there would be a shortage? Well, at… »