Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

In the Oxfam language and tone MENA billionaires’ wealth increased by $10 billion

Pandemic Economics

Escalating Plunder

As evictions, both legal and illegal, ramp up in the United States they are likely to disproportionately impact a population that has already been devastated by the coronavirus - African Americans. Before the pandemic, research showed that of the 2.3 million evictions that take place each year (about four per minute), they disproportionately impacted black families, particularly low-income, black women. In 17 states, black women are twice as likely to be evicted as white renters, according to statistics from the American Civil Liberties Union. Why the country is expecting an 'avalanche' of evictions

Bruno Latour  What we need is not only to modify the system of production but to get out of it altogether. We should remember that this idea of framing everything in terms of the economy is a new thing in human history. The pandemic has shown us the economy is a very narrow and limited way of organising life and deciding who is important and who is not important. If I could change one thing, it would be to get out of the system of production and instead build a political ecology.   However, "the bad guys are better organised and clearer in knowing what they want. The war we are engaged in is a difficult one. It is not that we are powerless; it is that many of us don’t know how to react.           

A revolt must be against class and race oppression, not just race. A Call to Revolt

Covid Trials at an International Court? Seriously? Bush and Blair destroyed a whole country with hundereds of thousands of people killed a consequence of sanctions, war and civil war aince 1990... and we did not see any trial. Trump will stand trial for mismanagement? I don't think so. Americans will wait for the next election, the big ritual, as a solution. In Yemen the Saudi monarchy, a Western friend, has played a significant role in the biggest humanitarian crisis propably since the Korean war. Will we see Mohamed Bin Salman and Co. at international court? After the lockdown, we need a reckoning

When billionaires talk about 'revolution', they mean how to prevent threats to the system Talking about revolution, but proposing reform

Nesrine Malik : The pandemic exposed our failing healthcare systems; the disparity between the  perception of immigrants as a drain  and the reality of them as pillars of our communities; the gulf between races and classes; the incompetence of our politicians; the fatal consequences of diminishing public services. There is a naivety in the hope that once ideas are discussed and made popular, they will permeate policymaking and bring about change. History shows us that, during a period of economic upheaval, this is unlikely. The 2008 financial crisis is the clearest cautionary tale. If the loss of life is at a level deemed acceptable by big business and government, the focus will shift to moving on while minimising the need for change. The old order – that some are already writing eulogies for – will surge back rather than retreating. History shows us that whatever horrors a crisis exposes, they can be covered up in the shattered aftermath."

The Philosophers' Epidemic

Fear, bigotry and misinformation

The article was written on 24 of March. A couple of figures are not up-to-date. Covid-19 Pandemic will change everything—for better or worse

"The unique situation of a global pandemic reinforces the need to advocate for and amplify the voices of the marginalized and disenfranchised.  American-led wars and disastrous foreign policies have decimated health systems, through  war in Iraq  and  Yemen ,  sanctions in Iran  and beyond.  Millions of  refugees live in camps  and unsafe housing  without proper medical care and without the ability to stop the rapid spread of the virus.  Migrant workers in Gulf countries  without legal rights  are under lockdown in crowded facilities.   Vast inequality  decreases many people’s ability to access adequate medical care.  For these reasons, our mission is more vital than ever." —MERIP (Middle East Research and Information Project), 26 March 2020

Comrade Britney Spears?

"The United States, the organizers realized, did not have the means to quickly manufacture more essential medical equipment, supplies or medicines, including antiviral medications, needles, syringes, N95 respirators and ventilators, the agency concluded." But the U.S. and other countries found the money and resources to wage wars, increase inequality, fund the IMF, build hundreds of miliatry bases around the world and in the meantime decrease investments in infrastructure and public services. In the U.S. a ruling class and its representaives in government even left tens of millions of American without health insurance. American capitalism has had other priorities. The article blames more Trump and co., but ignores that the problem is structural .  The pandemic is but the catalyst/the trigger/the accelerator for current financial troubles, not the cause. As was warned in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, etc., the Obama Administration’s bailouts were to make rich people