Category Archives: India

2020’s Plague of Locusts Spreads to Indian Subcontinent and South America

State of play for locust infestations in Nepal, Pakistan, India, Argentina, Brazil…. and the United States.

No, We Don’t Need to Place Our Faith in Downloading Some Untested, Privacy-Infringing App as the Only Possible COVID-19 Slayer; Why Don’t We Look to Places that Have Successfully Limited Disease Spread and Copy Their Policies?

Ars Technica clutches pearls at poll showing decline in those willing to download privacy-infringing app to stymie spread of COVID-19.

Food Security: UN Warns People Are Vulnerable to Shortages as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues

United Nations warns about food security, particularly for the world’s poorest, as the COVID-19 recession overwhelms the globe.

States Sue Drug Companies and Execs for Generic Price-Fixing; Is the Tide Turning on Willingness to Allow Big Pharma a Get Out of Jail Free Card for its Egregious Behavior?

State AGs sue drug companies and their executives for alleged price-fixing. Are we willing to rescind Big Pharma’s Get Out of Jail Free Card?

Scientists Around the World are Already Fighting the Next Pandemic

Scientists fight the next pandemic, driven by antibiotic resistance, where the technofix fairy won’t help, and the simplest solutions are the most sustainable.

How Africa is Coping With Coronavirus

Politics and the caliber of social programs have influenced how countries in Africa have tried to limit the economic damage of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 Impact on the Fashion Industry: Slow Down

The pace of the wasteful fashion industry will slow as we learn to cope with COVID-19. Will sustainability become more than a buzzword?

Public Health and Private Profits Under COVID-19 Pandemic

More discussion of how the private sector is undermining responses to Covid-19.

Coronavirus-Induced Food Supply Disruptions Hitting Farmers, Poor Consumers

Food scarcity is already starting to bite in the US and is likely to become a serious problem in much of the world.

India’s Poorest Now Have Access to Basic Bank Accounts, and Many Already Received their First Cash Stimulus Payment By Last Saturday; Meanwhile the IRS May Get You Your $1200 Check in Five Months

A tale of two stimuli: the Modi government has already made some direct deposits; some Americans will wait five months to receive checks.

Saving Citizens, Killing the Poor: India and COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s imposition of a 21-day lockdown in India to stem COVID-19 transmission triggered vast migration of the poor.

Informal Workers in the Time of Coronavirus

Not surprisingly, people who don’t have regular jobs will be very hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. And there are a lot of them.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Coronavirus and Food Security

UN warns about coronavirus and food shortages. Will the crisis revive policies to encourage regional and national food self-sufficiency?

Tim Cook and Apple Bet the Farm on China, But Then Coronavirus Hit

WSJ examines the consequences of the decision by Apple to become so dependent on China – what looks to be a catastrophic mistake in the age of coronavirus.