Selected Articles — Rosa Schwartzburg

The US military is embedded in the gaming world. Its target: teen recruits

Amid a recruitment struggle, branches are using huge hits like Fortnite as marketing tools. Some veterans see the practice as unethical – especially given the age of the gaming audience. The Guardian.

In Belarus, Peaceful Student Protesters Are Languishing in Jail

A year since election fraud sparked Belarus’s biggest ever protests, Alexander Lukashenko’s regime speaks of a return to normality. But the country’s universities have seen a purge of dissidents, with hundreds of students arbitrarily expelled or even jailed. Jacobin.

Egypt’s Al-Sisi Regime Is Still “Disappearing” Researchers Who Oppose Its Crimes

For years, Egypt's military regime has refused to cooperate with the investigation — and in recent months it has continued to “disappear” researchers who defend workers’ and women’s rights. Jacobin.

“I’m Detained at Rikers Island and I’m Sick With Coronavirus”

New York’s jails have become a focus of COVID-19, with 103 inmates and 80 staff testing positive already. One Rikers Island detainee told Jacobin about the outbreak in the prison — and the inhumanity of trapping people in a hotbed of infection. By Jojo Goldman as told to Rosa Schwartzburg. Jacobin.

Freezing Jail Cells, Broken Showers, and Covid-19

More than a month into New York City’s coronavirus outbreak, life in one of the most notorious jails continues to deteriorate. The Nation.

“I'm in Prison in New York. Many Are Sick With Covid-19 – and I Fear for Our Safety”

“Everyone here at Rikers is sick, and we can’t get treatment. I want people to know that the conditions are terrible – we need help.” By James Johnson as told to Rosa Schwartzburg. The Guardian.

Viktor Orbán is Using the Coronavirus Emergency to Crush Minorities

Just in the last week, the Hungarian government has banned gender reassignment, legislated jail terms for fake news, and put government stooges in control of theaters. Viktor Orbán’s administration has done all this in the name of the response to coronavirus — exploiting its emergency powers to silence dissent and demonize minorities. Jacobin.

“The Only Plan the Prison Has Is to Leave Us to Die in Our Beds“

Families of loved ones imprisoned in New York’s notorious Tombs jail report that Covid-19 appears to be spreading in the facility — and there is no hand sanitizer. The Nation.

The Militarization of Quarantine

Eyal Weizman, director of the interdisciplinary research agency Forensic Architecture, discusses state responses to the Covid-19 crisis and how the “state of exception” might become the norm. Jewish Currents.

“My SS Uniform Is Just My Heritage”

Each February, Europe’s neo-Nazis converge in Budapest for the “Day of Honor,” a celebration of the SS’s record in Hungary. For years, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been erasing all traces of antifascism from the official national history — and now the uniformed marchers enjoy government endorsement. Jacobin.

No, There Isn’t a White Genocide

From Tucker Carlson to fascist terrorists, the far right claim that mass migration is an “invasion” designed to destroy and replace the “white race.” But the theories behind this meme are more than a century old — and they’ve always been about repressing the victims of slavery and colonialism. Jacobin.

The 'White Replacement Theory' Motivates Alt-right Killers the World Over

This conspiracy theory is influencing killers from Germany to New Zealand and now, it seems, El Paso. The Guardian.

When Orbán Was a Liberal

Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party began life as a liberal opposition to Hungary’s Soviet-backed regime. But far from waging a generic fight for freedom, Orbán and his crony capitalist allies turned Hungary into the laboratory for a new far right. Jacobin.