H-PAD Notes 5/4/20: Kent State anniversary; links to recent articles of interest

Filed under:
Note: Today is the 50th anniversary of the killing of four students at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard. A commemoration that would otherwise have been held on the Kent State campus has been changed to a virtual observance that should be available for at least the next week at www.kent.edu/may4kentstate50. Thanks to Tom Grace, author of a book on the Kent State killings and their background, for this information.

Links to Recent Articles of Interest

“Four Students Were Killed in Ohio. America Was Never the Same”
By Richard M. Perloff, New York Times, posted May 4
Posted on the 50th anniversary of the National Guard killing of four students at Kent State University.
The author teaches communication and political science at Cleveland State University.


“Trump's Attacks on the WHO Evoke Nostalgia for George W. Bush”
By Jeffrey J. Matthews, History News Network, posted May 3
The “nostalgia” in the title refers, not to the “unnecessary and catastrophic” war in Iraq but with Bush's actions in support of international public health, which the article details. The author teaches history and leadership at the University of Puget Sound has written the book Colin Powell: Imperfect Patriot (2019).

“Cholera and Coronavirus: Why We Must Not Repeat the Same Mistakes”
By Neil Singh, The Guardian, posted May 1
This somewhat lengthy article draws lessons from the long (and continuing) history of cholera, which still kills an estimated 100,000 people a year in poor countries.The author is a primary care physician and a senior teaching fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

“A History of Inconvenient Allies and Convenient Enemies”
By Alexander Aviña, NCLA Newsletter, posted April 30
With the Justice Department's “narco-terrorism” charges against Venezuela government officials in the background, this article sketches a long history of US agencies' collusion with drug trafficking by forces allied with the American empire. The author teaches Latin American history at Arizona State University.


By Juan Cole, Informed Comment blog, posted April 30
The author teaches history at the University of Michigan.

“The Dangerous New Consensus: Blame China”
By Stephen Kinzer. Boston Globe, posted April 29
Why has the presidential campaign turned into a debate over which candidate is more virulently opposed to Beijing?” The author is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

“Prominent Scholars Threaten to Boycott Colleges That Don't Support Contingent Faculty During Pandemic”
By Megan Zahneis, Chronicle of Higher Education, posted April 28
The statement, with 70 initial signatures from tenured faculty members, promises to boycott invitations for speaking engagements, conferences, etc. from institutions that fail to “include non-tenure-track faculty and graduate workers in extensions of fixed-term contracts.”

“The World Leadership Trophy: The Winner's Prize in the Virus-Killer Race”
By Dilip Hiro, TomDispatch.com, posted April 26
This is a detailed, chronologically organized comparison of how China and the US, respectively, responded to the coronavirus. China comes off looking infinitely better. The author has written 34 books including After Empire: The Birth of a Multipolar World (2009).

“Fifty Years Ago This Spring: Millions of Students Struck to End the War in Vietnam”
By Steve Early, Jacobin, posted April 24
The author is a longtime labor activist who was a participant in the May 1970 national student strike against the Vietnam War.

Thanks to Tom Grace and an anonymous reader for flagging articles included in the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.