2020-10-08: News Headlines

Media Lens (2020-10-08). 'None of It Reported': How Corporate Media Buried the Assange Trial. globalresearch.ca One of the most imposing features of state-corporate propaganda is its incessant, repetitive nature. Over and over again, the 'mainstream' media have to convince the public that 'our' government prioritises the health, welfare and livelihoods of the general population, rather …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-10-08). What is Covid-19, SARS-2. How is it Tested? How is It Measured? The Fear Campaign Has No Scientific Basis. globalresearch.ca The data and concepts have been manipulated with a view to sustaining the fear campaign. The estimates are meaningless. The figures have been hyped to justify the closure of the national economy. Covid-19 is a public health concern but it is NOT a dangerous virus.

Staff (2020-10-08). Headlines for October 8, 2020. democracynow.org Kamala Harris and Mike Pence Face Off in VP Debate Separated by Plexiglass Barriers, Contagious with COVID-19, President Trump Returns to Oval Office, Trump Calls COVID-19 Diagnosis a "Blessing from God", Top Security Official "Gravely Ill" with COVID-19 as White House Coronavirus Cluster Grows to 34, White House Quietly Told Gold Star Families They May Have Been Exposed to Coronavirus, Wisconsin Restricts Indoor Gatherings Amid Record Spike in Coronavirus Cases, New England Journal of Medicine Calls on Voters to Vote Against Trump in First-Ever Endorsement, Ex-CDC Director Calls on Robert Redfield to Expose "Col…

Whitney Webb (2020-10-08). Secretive HHS AI Platform to Predict US Covid-19 Outbreaks Weeks in Advance. thealtworld.com A new AI-powered module known as HHS Vision has been added to the controversial and secretive HHS Protect system for amassing data related to Covid-19. By year's end, this opaque, yet increasingly influential, system is set to predict Covid-19 outbreaks without traditional testing. | Two weeks ago, on September 24, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Bianca Valle (2020-10-08). 'Poder Popular' builds power with Queens, NY, working class. liberationnews.org PSL members safely provide free direct services to the people of Queens, including: dance and self- defense classes, healthy food, bags of school supplies, personal protective equipment, and also connect participants to political struggles such as the recent fight against unsafe school reopenings.

Labor Video Project (2020-10-08). SEIU1021 AHS Highland Hospital Workers Strike for PPE/To Stop Contracting Out & Privatization. indybay.org Over 3500 workers from SEIU 1021 and CNA struck the Alameda Heath System on October 7, 2020. This agency set up by the Alameda Board Of Supervisors has been attacking health and safety conditions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, contracting out and union busting. Workers discussed the destruction of the healthcare system and demanded that this company be removed from management of public health in Alameda County.

WSWS (2020-10-08). Australian inquiry hears Victorian quarantine hotel program plagued by "disorganisation, lack of appropriate staffing" wsws.org Health workers reveal the "shambolic" conditions that have contributed to as many as 768 deaths and 18,000 infections in the state.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-10-07). COVID-19 Coronavirus: The Crisis. "You Simulate and Then You Go Live" globalresearch.ca On January 30th 2020, the WHO Director General declared a Public Health Emergency (PHEIC) in relation to China's novel coronavirus. This far-reaching decision was taken without the support of expert opinion. There were 150 confirmed cases outside China, when the decision was taken. 6 in the US, 3 in Canada, 2 in the UK, etc.

Roberta Wood (2020-10-07). Trump recibe el mejor tratamiento médico; trabajadores indocumentados pagan impuestos y reciben nada. peoplesworld.org La semana pasada, mientras yo miraba la vuelta de noticias sobre el billonario y magnate de hoteles Donald Trump llevado en helicóptero personal de su residencia al Centro Médico Walter Reed para recibir tratamiento médico, y más adelante en el fin de semana llevado en coche por un diversión por el hospital, no podría parar …

Laura Nadine (2020-10-07). SEIU Local 73, Illinois Nurses Association reach deals with University of Illinois. liberationnews.org On Oct. 1, INA co-chief steward at UI Health Paul Pater announced that a supermajority of nurses voted to approve the contract, which guarantees safe patient limits.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-10-07). AFL-CIO: Deregulation, lack of health enforcement worsened coronavirus pandemic. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The GOP Trump administration's massive job safety and health deregulation and its lack of enforcement have worsened the toll of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., the AFL-CIO says. In a Zoom press conference on Death On The Job, the Federation's 29th annual report on job safety and health, federation President Richard Trumka blamed GOP …

MEE and agencies (2020-10-07). Coronavirus: Iran reports record high death numbers as it grapples with third wave. middleeasteye.net Coronavirus: Iran reports record high death numbers as it grapples with third wave | Health minister says whole country on Covid-19 red alert as cases soar | Wed, 10/07/2020 – 15: 25 | Hospital admissions have reached record levels as entire country struggles with a rise in coronavirus infections (Reuters) | Iran on Wednesday reported 239 Covid-19 deaths, a record number over 24 hours, as…

RT (2020-10-07). Russia's 'Sputnik V' Covid-19 vaccine will cost $13 a pop, officials hope price will quickly go down once production accelerates. rt.com Russia's Covid-19 vaccine, the first in the world, will cost less than 1,000 rubles, or $13, per dose, says the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Despite a low price by Western standards, FAS believes the current price is steep. | "We understand that the price is quite high," said Igor Artemyev, the head of FAS. "[The vaccine is] produced in relatively small batches, and they need capital to expand production." | According to Artemyev, the cost of a dose will reduce as production increases and the vaccine becomes more readily available. The country will also revisit the price when other countries produce the…

RT (2020-10-07). Wisconsin opens field hospital outside Milwaukee to handle Covid-19 hospitalization spike. rt.com After hospitalizations for Covid-19 nearly tripled over the past month, straining Wisconsin's healthcare system, Governor Tony Evers has announced the state will open a field hospital outside Milwaukee to handle the surge. | Speaking alongside health officials on Wednesday, Evers announced the field hospital would open next week on the state fairgrounds outside Milwaukee. Built months ago, in anticipation of an expected surge in infection, the facility had sat disused until now. | According to the state Department of Health Services, just 16 percent of Wisconsin's hospital beds were available as of Tuesday aft…

RT (2020-10-07). France records all-time daily high in new Covid-19 cases of almost 19,000, as authorities eye new restrictions. rt.com A total of 18,746 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in France over the latest 24-hour recording period, an all-time daily high for the country, the nation's health authorities announced on Wednesday. | The amount of new cases almost doubled compared to Tuesday when 10,489 infections were registered. The overall number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic has now reached 653,509. | An additional 80 people had succumbed to the disease during the previous day, according to Wednesday's update, putting the cumulative death toll at 32,445. | Meanwhile the number of Covid-19 patients bein…

WSWS (2020-10-07). Nurses and health care workers at three California hospitals begin 5-day strike. wsws.org Health care workers in the East Bay confront chronic understaffing, lack of PPE and attacks on wages while serving on the front line against the pandemic.

Granma (2020-10-07). Cuba Says: Doctors, Not Bombs. globalresearch.ca In a letter sent to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the World Peace Council formally registered the candidacy of Cuba's Henry Reeve International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics for the Nobel Peace Prize. | Emphasizing the great …

Michael T. Hertz (2020-10-07). How the COVID-19 crisis can help fight climate change. nationofchange.org "Just as we need a vaccine for COVID-19, climate change requires urgent solutions that can't wait a generation. But people are moved to modify behavior based on emotion, not on research."

news.un (2020-10-07). UN chief urges greater investment in universal health coverage, starting now. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong public health systems and emergency preparedness for communities and economies globally, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, calling for greater investments in universal health coverage.

Joshua J. McElwee (2020-10-07). Pope's Post-COVID Encyclical Envisions a Less Populist, Less Capitalist World. zcomm.org "Once this health crisis passes, our worst response would be to plunge even more deeply into feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation"

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-07). Watershed moment to tackle widening health inequalities as a result of COVID-19. imperial.ac.uk The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that there is limited time to address fundamental health inequalities in the UK, said an Imperial expert.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-07). Lockdown not 'a trade-off between health and the economy' says Imperial academic. imperial.ac.uk Consumer concerns over the rise in the UK infection rate is likely to hit social spending regardless of whether a lockdown is put in place.

sputniknews (2020-10-07). Eleven Caribbean Nations Join US, Brazil as 'Intense' COVID-19 Spreaders, Health Agency Says. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Eleven countries and territories in the Caribbean have moved in the past two months from moderate to intense sources of novel coronavirus cases in the Americas, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne said in a press release on Wednesday.

Staff (2020-10-07). "Super-Spreader" Trump Returns to Oval Office Despite Being Contagious. truthout.org At every turn, Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers have opted to hide information around COVID-19 diagnoses rather than disclose it, despite the enormous health risks this creates for everyone around them. In his latest selfish act of endangerment, Trump, still infected with coronavirus, left isolation Wednesday afternoon and

Staff (2020-10-07). Former CDC Chief Urges Current Director to Denounce Trump's Handling of COVID-19. truthout.org In a

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-10-07). Laying 'Tens of Thousands of Preventable Deaths' at the Foot of Trump Failures, Top US Health Official Resigns in Protest. commondreams.org "Nine months into the pandemic, the United States continues to grapple with failed White House leadership," writes whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright in public resignation letter. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-07). If Trump 'Still Has Covid, We Shouldn't Have a Debate,' Biden Says of Next Week's Town Hall Event. commondreams.org Out of concern for the health of voters planning to attend the next presidential debate on Oct. 15 as well as his own and that of his campaign staff, Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday evening said the event should not go forward as long as President Donald Trump still has Covid-19. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-10-06). 'Incapable of Rendering Equal Justice': 150 Groups Demand Senators Reject Coney Barrett for Supreme Court. commondreams.org "Judge Barrett has demonstrated that she will march in lock step with President Trump's cruel agenda to deprive millions of people of their access to healthcare." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Staff (2020-10-06). Activist Who Lost Father to COVID Says Trump's White House Photo Op Was Like "Sci-Fi Horror Film" democracynow.org As the highest-profile coronavirus patient in the world returns to the White House while still infectious and a danger to others, we speak with activist Kristin Urquiza, whose father died from COVID-19 earlier this year. She says President Trump's minimizing of the disease is a slap in the face to families who have lost loved ones. "I was appalled," says Urquiza. "Every single person out there who's lost a loved one to COVID, who has seen up close and personal what this virus can do, felt the same way." Urquiza, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August about her father, is co-founder of Marked by…

Staff (2020-10-06). Meet the College Senior Who Built a COVID Tracker After CDC Blocked from Tracing Trump's Contacts. democracynow.org As the number of people in President Trump's orbit who test positive for COVID-19 continues to grow, we meet a student journalist who is doing what the White House doesn't want the CDC to do: tracing the contacts of people who may have infected or been infected by President Trump. Benjy Renton, a Middlebury College senior, helped develop a real-time tracking tool to monitor the growing number of people in President Trump's circle who were exposed or infected with COVID-19. The site is called COVID-19 at the White House and lists over 270 contacts and 25 positive cases, so far. It uses "publicly available informat…

Dean Baker (2020-10-06). Why Trump's Approach to the Coronavirus Vaccine May Leave America Behind. counterpunch.org As with everything else, Donald Trump likes to boast about how quickly we are moving toward developing a coronavirus vaccine. By historic standards, he has a case. We may have a vaccine through the final Phase 3 tests and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the end of the year. However, this

Staff (2020-10-05). A still-contagious, mask-less Trump returns to the White House to lie about COVID-19. therealnews.com After receiving cutting-edge treatment, Trump downplays COVID-19 danger and compares it to the flu, after privately admitting in February that it's far more deadly.

Nathaniel Chase (2020-10-06). Trump, COVID and poetic justice. workers.org Donald Trump, who sat by while so many died, undercut health professionals' recommendations for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, mocked wearing a mask, placed capitalist profits over the lives of thousands and put forward no serious plan to address the pandemic, is now sick himself. The chickens have come home to . . . |

Roberta Wood (2020-10-06). Tax-cheat Trump receives best medical treatment; taxpaying undocumented workers get nothing. peoplesworld.org Last week, as I watched the news video loop of billionaire hotel magnate Donald Trump being ferried by personal helicopter from his home to Walter Reed Medical Center to receive medical treatment, and then being chauffeured on a joy ride around the hospital later in the weekend, I couldn't help but think of my friend, …

A Guest Author (2020-10-06). California nurses declare: 'Patients over profits!'. workers.org This statement was released Oct. 5 by the Organizing Committee of the Workers Assembly. Over 1,000 nurses in California will begin a five-day strike on Oct. 7 to protest hospital management's failure to protect nurses and patients in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. California nurses within the Alameda Health . . . |

RT (2020-10-06). Round up the 'anti-vaxxers'? Enlist religious leaders? Bill Gates warns US needs to brainstorm ways to reduce 'vaccine hesitancy'. rt.com Billionaire software tycoon Bill Gates has urged the US to prepare for a Covid-19 vaccine rollout by deputizing trusted community leaders to "reduce vaccine hesitancy," bemoaning the rapid spread of "conspiracy theories" online. | The Microsoft founder-turned-vaccine-evangelist painted a mostly rosy picture of a vaccine rollout getting "rich countries" back to normal by the end of 2021 in an interview during the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council on Tuesday. | However, with less than half of Americans saying they'd get a Covid jab — even if paid $100 for it — in a recent survey, Gates then focused his…

RT (2020-10-06). 'She's 15. You are adults': Kellyanne Conway slams 'sick' social media speculators after daughter tweets Trump 'not better'. rt.com Kellyanne Conway has slammed online speculation over President Donald Trump's health, the latest of which arose after her outspoken 15-year-old daughter Claudia posted on TikTok that he was "doing badly" with Covid-19. | "Like all of you, [Claudia] speculates on social media," Conway tweeted on Tuesday, after her child's name began trending, following several controversial TikTok posts. | "She's 15. You are adults," said Trump's 2016 campaign manager. "We have Covid, but it's clear who's really sick," she added. | My daughter, Claudia, is beautiful & brilliant. She has access to top doctors & health care & liv…

RT (2020-10-06). No long-distance travel till 2022 for Australians — and that's IF POPULATION-WIDE vaccine is rolled out next year, budget predicts. rt.com Australians weary of restrictions are out of luck, as the country's new budget predicts social distancing will continue for two years and long-distance travel is to remain off-limits until everyone is able to get a Covid-19 jab. | Widespread adoption of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus will be a prerequisite for Australians being able to travel long distances again, according to the country's new budget that was unveiled on Tuesday. Until that vaccine is rolled out, they can expect social distancing, intermittent lockdowns and a stagnant economy. | "It is assumed that over the forecast period material local…

Lily Galili (2020-10-06). Netanyahu's aggressive missteps are handing his rivals the initiative. middleeasteye.net Netanyahu's aggressive missteps are handing his rivals the initiative | Failing to quash protests through lockdown restrictions, the prime minister has encouraged security forces to look to Palestine for inspiration | Tue, 10/06/2020 – 14: 30 | Police officers detain a person as Israelis protest against legislation banning them from holding demonstrations more than 1 km from their homes (Reuters) | Israe…

Peter Koenig (2020-10-06). COVID-19: President Trump Tested Positive — A Reelection Campaign Bonanza? globalresearch.ca May President Trump and his wife recover fast, fully and for good from their nasty corona disease. After being airlifted four days ago to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and after receiving high-quality professional medical care, both were …

Stephen Lendman (2020-10-06). Mixed Messages on Trump's Health Condition: Covid, Influenza or Common Cold? globalresearch.ca On Monday, after three days of hospitalization for reported Covid illness, Trump was discharged. | He returned to his White House residence away from staff to continue recovering. | Is he ill from Covid infection, seasonal flu/influenza, or something else? | Diagnostic PCR …

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-10-06). Successful GOP Repeal of ACA Would Strip Health Coverage From Millions and Give Top 0.1% a Massive Tax Cut—During a Pandemic. commondreams.org "If Trump gets the Supreme Court to strike down ACA, the richest 0.1% would get a tax cut of $198,000 a year, and Big Pharma would get a tax cut of $2.8 billion. But millions of seniors would pay billions more for prescription drugs, and 20 million would lose their health insurance." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-10-06). WATCH: Tlaib and Rouda Call for National Moratorium on Water Shutoffs During Pandemic. commondreams.org The Democrats are pressuring the head of the CDC to use his authority to help Americans retain "essential" access to running water. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Manuela Solé (2020-10-06). Venezuela to Begin Clinical Trials of Russian Covid-19 Vaccine. venezuelanalysis.com The first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine was delivered by the Russian Investment Fund to the South American nation.

Hampton T. (2020-10-06). Insight on Sex-Based Immunity Differences, With COVID-19 Implications. jamanetwork.com Women and men have striking differences in their autoimmune disease risk, their predisposition to and prognosis with various cancers, and their ability to respond to some infections—including the novel coronavirus. New research offers a potential explanation for these distinctions: sex-based differences in neutrophils, humans' most common circulating immune cells.

Voelker R. (2020-10-06). Therapy Approved for Rare Neurological Autoimmune Disorder. jamanetwork.com Another treatment for certain patients with the rare autoimmune disease neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has received FDA approval.

Keith Preston (2020-10-06). Cuba: A Model for Healthcare Reform from a Surprising Place. globalresearch.ca The issue of healthcare reform is one that is consistently identified by opinion polls as being among the most important to Americans. The United States continues to be the only fully industrialized nation that lacks a public healthcare system, a …

Brady A, Brink J, Slavotinek J. (2020-10-06). Radiology and Value-Based Health Care. jamanetwork.com This Viewpoint discusses the importance of transitioning radiology from a volume-based to a value-based practice and specialty, starting from within with an effort by radiologists to help define and create that value for referring clinicians and the patients and health care systems they serve.

WSWS (2020-10-06). Third wave of COVID-19 expected to sweep across the United States. wsws.org Health officials reviewing the case reports from across the country are concerned that the trends indicate another wave is on the horizon, bringing with it rising hospitalization rates and an increase in the number of deaths.

John C. A. Manley (2020-10-06). Medical Doctor Warns that "Bacterial Pneumonias Are on the Rise" from Mask Wearing. globalresearch.ca "A group is suing Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Bruce Dart, saying the city's mask mandate is harmful to healthy people," reports