Maryam Raafat, Al Monitor
Ferdinando Giugliano, Bloomberg View
Brendan O'Neill, Spectator
For some people, it isn’t enough that we have locked down our daily lives. They want us to lock down our brains, too. Raise so much as a peep of criticism about the shutdown of society in response to Covid-19 and you will be raged against. And the cry is always the same: ‘Are you an expert? No. So shut the hell up.’
Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs
U.S. Economic Supremacy Has Repeatedly Proved Declinists Wrong
Guardian
The world of 2020 is vastly different from 1918, the year Spanish flu began to spread around the world. By 1920, Spanish flu is thought to have claimed the lives of up to 100 million people. But, as science writer and journalist Laura Spinneynotes, many of the public health measures were similar to measures governments are taking today.
Reporters Without Borders
By banishing the word “coronavirus” from the Turkmen vocabulary in a radical move to suppress all information about the pandemic, Turkmenistan’s government is putting its citizens in danger, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says.
Stratfor Worldview
George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
Mattia Ferraresi, Foreign Policy
The populist Five Star Movement has become China's chief enabler as Beijing spreads disinformation about the origins of the coronavirus while sending aid shipments to EU countries where it seeks influence.
Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
You might have seen the gutless World Health Organization official who refused to answer a Taiwanese journalist’s question. The WHO is in China’s back pocket:
Padmanesan Narasimhan, East Asia Forum
Barndollar & Long, RCWorld
While the broader American economy grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, the energy sector is in freefall. Oil prices have plummeted nearly 60 percent in just a month. Benchmark prices now hover at just $22 per barrel, a level at which American energy companies will hemorrhage cash. But the virus alone is not responsible for the carnage in the energy markets. Much of the blame lies at the feet of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who recently... Читать дальше...
Selam Gebrekidan, NYT
Leaders around the world have passed emergency decrees and legislation expanding their reach during the pandemic. Will they ever relinquish them?
Lisa Jucca, Reuters
MILAN (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union is in danger of turning a health crisis into a prolonged economic disaster. EU leaders on Thursday failed to agree on a joint fiscal response to the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the continent. Despite bolder European Central Bank support, inaction by European governments will make it harder for Italy and other indebted euro zone nations to ramp up spending to support their stricken economies.
Meduza
There are only nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chechnya, but the local authorities have already closed the republic’s borders and reportedly started using violence against people who violate the government’s self-isolation orders. On March 30, the website Mediazonareviewed what measures Chechnya has taken to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Andrew Zwilling, WOTR
Disease ravaged the population. Thousands died and those who survived were forced to isolate themselves in their homes as medical officials attempted to purge the pestilence from the area. The economy, previously growing and sound, came to a standstill. Blame for the disaster was widespread, but it was an absence of leadership that bore the brunt of responsibility. The government officials charged with protecting the population were lax in preparation for a possible... Читать дальше...
Chris Uhlmann, Sydney MH
Social distancing is the defining phrase of 2020 but next year will bring a new one: self-reliance.
