Tuesday,  June 2nd, 2020

Nearly one-third of unemployment benefits owed to Americans haven’t been paid  Over the course of the last three months, the Treasury Department has disbursed $146 billion in unemployment benefits to Americans who have lost their jobs throughout the coronavirus pandemic. That’s more than in all of 2009, when unemployment peaked following the financial crisis, but it’s still reportedly only two-thirds of what’s actually owed. The total bill should have reached $214 billion by now, which means millions of Americans have yet to receive their benefits. Millions still haven’t had their jobless claims processed, and reported numbers are likely understated. A spokesperson for the Labor Department told Bloomberg that “states are struggling to keep up with demand and some have backlogs they are working through,” even as some have expanded call centers and brought in other government workers to help with the claims. Source: Bloomberg

India approves the use of remdesivir to treat emergency COVID-19 cases that require immediate attention. (The Jakarta Post)

Protests continue across U.S. despite Trump’s threats to deploy military  Protests against police brutality continued through Tuesday, one day after President Trump warned he would dispatch troops to restore order in states that don’t stamp out the demonstrations. A growing number of cities have enacted curfews, and several pushed the curfews to as early as 2 p.m., seeking to prevent further clashes between police and protesters. The protests are mostly peaceful, although some took a turn on Monday night after law enforcement officials used pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Trump on Monday told governors during a phone call that they should use force to “dominate” protesters. Demonstrations began after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis last week.  Source: NPR

 

 

The annual Tiananmen Square massacre vigil in Hong Kong is banned for the first time since 1990 citing health concerns due to COVID-19. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, who organize the vigil, say the ban signals the end of Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems”. (BBC)

The World Health Organization reports six new cases of ebola, and UNICEF reports five deaths, in a renewed outbreak of the disease in Mbandaka, Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (CNN)

An active duty military police battalion of 200 to 250 troops are deployed in the U.S. capital Washington, D.C. to provide security as protests continue. Defense officials say the troops are from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. (CNN)

 

The End

Monday, June 1st, 2020

Massachusetts

The COVID-19 contagion reached a peak in Massachusetts during the last two weeks in April with approximately 2,200 new infections being reported and 170 deaths on average per day.

Since then all the numbers have steadily declined to less than 500 new cases per day and less than 60 deaths per day on average.
Theoretically, at the pace at which these numbers are declining there should be very close to zero new infections and deaths by Friday, June 19th. Possibly sooner.

June 19th would be the 95th day of lockdown which started in Massachusetts on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, 2020.

-CB

 

Clusterfuck Nation –  James Howard Kunstler – June 1st, 2020

“All the previous incidents of white cops killing blacks were just too ambiguous to seal the deal. Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri (a murky business); Tamir Rice in Cleveland (waving the BB gun that looked like a .45 automatic); Trayvon Martin (his killer George Zimmerman was not a cop and was not “white”); Eric Garner, Staten Island (black policewoman sergeant on the scene didn’t stop it); Philandro Castile, Minneapolis, (the cop was Hispanic and the vic had a gun). Even the recent February killing of jogger Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, had some sketchy elements (did Arbery try to seize the shotgun?) — YouTube has scrubbed the video (?) — and then it took months for the two white suspects (not cops) to be arrested.

The George Floyd killing had none of those weaknesses. Plus, the video presented a pretty much universal image of oppression: a man with his knee on another man’s neck. Didn’t that say it all? You didn’t need a Bob Dylan song to explain it. The Minneapolis police dithered for four days before charging policeman Derek Chauvin with Murder 3 (unpremeditated, but with reckless disregard for human life). The three other cops on the scene who stupidly stood by doing nothing have yet to be charged. Cut it, print it, and cue the mobs.”

 

Wuhan’s Mass Testing May Have Eradicated the Coronavirus

 

The Coronavirus is Weakening in Italy

 

‘Dr. Doom’ economist Nouriel Roubini says he predicted US protests ‘months ago’

 

Trump urges governors to ‘dominate’ protesters  President Trump on Monday told a group of state governors over the phone they should use law enforcement to “dominate” protesters who are demonstrating against police brutality. After a weekend of nationwide protests, Trump urged governors to use force to take back the streets, saying they should not be “weak” with those who are gathering to demand justice for George Floyd and others who have faced systemic racism. “Most of you are weak,” he told governors, calling on them to step up police presence. “You have to dominate, if you don’t dominate you’re wasting your time. They’re going to run over you, you’re going to look like a bunch of jerks,” he reportedly said. Trump has publicly called protesters “anarchists,” “thugs,” and threatened to order the National Guard to begin “shooting.” Source: The Washington Post

Protests continue across U.S. amid demands to end police brutality  In major cities and small towns across the U.S., protesters gathered on Sunday to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man, died last week in Minneapolis after a white police officer placed his knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Most of the protests were peaceful during the day, but some descended into chaos later, with businesses looted in several cities, including Philadelphia and Santa Monica, California. Across from the White House, riot police began pushing thousands of protesters back after a fire was set and began burning uncontrollably. Curfews have been imposed in Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta, Seattle, and San Francisco, and the National Guard has activated more than 5,000 soldiers and airmen in 15 states and Washington, D.C. Source: The Associated Press

Officials warn demonstrations could result in coronavirus spike  Public officials across the country on Sunday warned that mass protests over police violence against African Americans could result in a spike in coronavirus infections. The protests in at least 75 cities have brought large crowds together, often shoulder to shoulder. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) warned that “thousands of people jammed in together in close proximity” could easily spread the virus. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) expressed the same concern. “I’m extremely concerned we are seeing mass gatherings,” she told CNN. “We’re going to see the other side of this in a couple of weeks.” As states gradually reopen their severely damaged economies, the number of infections nationwide has risen to nearly 1.8 million, with more than 104,000 deaths. Source: CNN

Obama: Protesters should make specific demands for criminal justice, police reform  Former President Barack Obama on Monday published a blog post titled “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change.” Obama said the ongoing nationwide protests against police brutality “represent a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system.” He condemned “the small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence,” and also called for voters to get involved in both national, state, and local elections. “If we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics,” he wrote. “We have to do both.” Obama said protesters should organize to identify specific demands for criminal justice and police reform, to avoid mere “lip service” in response to the demonstrations. Source: Medium

CBO: Coronavirus could cost U.S. $16 trillion in economic growth this decade  The Congressional Budget Office on Monday reported that it has altered its economic growth predictions for the next decade in response to the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the economy. If trends continue, the estimate for the level of nominal GDP in the second quarter of 2020 is now 14.2 percent lower than it was in January. Things improve slightly after that — the difference in the January and May estimates is 9.4 percent for the end of 2020 and 2.2 percent by the end of 2030 — but the cumulative nominal economic output over the next decade is nearly $15.7 trillion less than the agency had pegged in January. Adjusted for inflation, that figure comes in at 7.9 trillion. Top Democrats said the report showed a need for additional legislation to stimulate the economy.  Source: Fox News

 

 

 

Monday, June 1st, 2020

The number of worldwide cases of COVID-19 surpasses six million. The United States remains the global epicenter, accounting for approximately 29% of all reported and confirmed cases in the world. (CNN)

Brazil reports a record 33,274 new cases of COVID-19 and 956 more deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 498,440 and 28,834 deaths, the fourth highest in the world. (Reuters)

Many major cities around the United States implement curfews meant to prevent a second night of riots, including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Rochester, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. (NBC News)

The media was the target of violence and harassment at least 50 times on Friday and Saturday. (The Guardian)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docks with the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley joining the existing crew aboard the space station. (CNN)

Researchers announce a 2.5cm millipede fossil discovered on the island of Kerrera, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, is the world’s oldest-known land animal, which lived 425 million years ago in the Silurian period. (Reuters)

The End