Commentary: The continuing politics of the Coronavirus.

April 6th, 2020

On SoundCloud:

Audio File:

https://bit.ly/COVID19Politics

 

Description (57 mins):

Phil continues his ongoing commentary about the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is already a revisionist history underfoot, in which the United States is trying to blame China for not acting quickly enough to stem the Coronavirus, and for allegedly concealing information. Yet China reacted more quickly and thoroughly to the outbreak than did the United States, a fact recognized by many Western medical professionals.

Phil reads the response of a Chinese Foreign Ministry press representative to a Bloomberg reporter, on how politicians and media figures in a country with a very questionable record of fighting the Coronavirus are promoting misinformation about China’s disaster response.

Incidentally, the U.S. government suppressed its own physicians from testing, reporting on and recording data about COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Phil also discusses how the U.S. is taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to put additional pressure on Venezuela, and describes a curious incident involving the ramming of a Venezuelan coast guard vessel. He reads a statement by President Maduro about the need for international solidarity instead of sabotage during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., 30 members of Congress including Bernie Sanders have issued a statement calling on the Trump administration to lift its sanctions against Iran.

Boris Johnson has been hospitalized for Coronavirus. Phil discusses the exit of Corbyn’s leadership from the Labour Party, referencing a recent article by George Galloway on why Corbyn’s agenda was defeated.