2020-10-30: News Headlines

Virginia Rodino (2020-10-30). Why I'm Voting Green in 2020. globalresearch.ca Author's note: Kevin and I worked on this article together right before his untimely passing on September 6. I met Kevin during Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign. Throughout the years since, I appreciated seeing his anti-imperialist and eco-socialist arguments strengthen …

Serge Halimi (2020-10-30). France: No Change for Thirty Years. counterpunch.org France, which is already facing health, environmental, economic and social woes, has also endured a series of blows in the form of terrorist attacks. Thus the calls to mobilise for war. Again. But destroying an enemy that is often very hard to find always requires more powerful weapons than last time. Not artillery and tanks

news.un (2020-10-30). Long-term symptoms of COVID-19 'really concerning', says WHO chief. news.un.org With some COVID-19 patients reporting long-term symptoms, including damage to major organs, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged Governments to ensure they receive necessary care.

Ariel Dorfman (2020-10-30). A New Constitution: What the United States Can Learn From Chile. zcomm.org Do the problems that beset us, so similar to those that plague our Chilean brothers and sisters, not cry out for a radical reimagining of who we are?>

imperial.ac.uk (2020-10-30). Carbon-releasing 'zombie fires' in peatlands could be dampened by new findings. imperial.ac.uk New simulations have provided clues on reducing peat fires, which hide underground and are notoriously bad for human health and the environment.

Clare Dyer (2020-10-30). COVID-19: Government Poised to Amend Regulations to Allow Use of Unlicensed Vaccine. globalresearch.ca The UK government has set out plans to amend drug regulations in case it decides that covid-19 vaccines should be used before they are licensed, in a bid to roll them out more quickly.1 | In a consultation on the proposals …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-10-30). Kenyan federal government health workers begin national strike demanding promotions. peoplesdispatch.org The previous two nation-wide strike actions, notified in May and August against non-implementation of promotions, were called off after assurances from the government. Seeing no progress, workers have vowed to not resume work till demands are met…

Staff (2020-10-30). Uninsured COVID Patients Aren't Being Told Their Hospital Bills Are Covered. truthout.org When Darius Settles died from COVID-19 on the Fourth of July, his family and the city of Nashville, Tennessee, were shocked. Even the mayor noted the passing of a 30-year-old without any underlying conditions — one of the city's youngest fatalities at that point. | Settles was also uninsured and had just been sent home from an emergency room for the second time, and he was worried about medical bills. An investigation into his death found that, like many uninsured COVID-19 patients, he ha…

WSWS (2020-10-30). Labor's health cut plan a warning on eve of Australian state election. wsws.org By demanding $1 billion in "savings" by Queensland Health, the Labor Party has pointed to a pandemic-accelerated assault on social spending.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-29). 'Seismic Shift' in World's Approach to Land Use, Wildlife, and Climate Action Needed to Avoid New 'Era of Pandemics,' Study Says. commondreams.org A U.N.-backed report released Thursday emphasized that the ability to avoid more public health crises like the coronavirus is entirely within the human populations' control. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2020-10-29). Russia's regional Covid crisis: Health Ministry investigates after two patients with serious lung damage left without hospital bed. rt.com Healthcare in the Siberian city of Omsk is under the microscope after ambulances carrying seriously ill patients were turned away by hospitals due to a lack of beds. The Russian Health Ministry has launched an investigation. | On Tuesday evening, two ambulances with elderly patients were driven around the city of Omsk for several hours, as multiple hospitals told them that no beds were available. The patients, aged 70 and 85, had suspected cases of Covid-19. After a few hours, the ventilation machines in the ambulances began to run out of oxygen, and the lives of the two patients were threatened. After that, t…

Steve Champion (2020-10-29). My San Quentin Death Row Coronavirus Experience. counterpunch.org In late January 2020, President Donald Trump was fully aware of the potential danger and present threat of Coronavirus, even as it would take the WHO until March 11 to declare a pandemic. In that same month, San Quentin prisoners received an administrative notification that one of the guards tested positive. At the time, I was not overly concerned because I was healthy and in good shape, but of course viruses, pathogens with the sole aim of wreaking havoc on healthy cells, don't care about that.

Mehr News Agency (2020-10-29). COVID-19 infections soaring in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 29 (MNA) — The daily coronavirus infections broke previous records on Thursday, with Iran reporting 8,293 new infections, the Health Ministry announced.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-10-29). 'It's Not Just That You're a Crook': Watch Jon Ossoff Eviscerate Sen. Perdue Over Insider Trading, Covid Lies, and Healthcare Attacks. commondreams.org "You're attacking the health of the people that you represent," the Democratic challenger said to Georgia's incumbent GOP senator. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Martha Rosenberg (2020-10-29). Is Pharma Our Covid Savior? zcomm.org Pharma has already eceived $1 billion of our hard earned tax dollars to develop Covid vaccines…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-10-29). Health Workers Sue Trump Labor Secretary, OSHA Over 'Unconscionable Delay' of Protections Against Infectious Disease. commondreams.org The Trump administration has refused to resume work on new federal regulations—tabled in 2017—despite the coronavirus pandemic. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

news.un (2020-10-29). Reduce risk to avert 'era of pandemics', experts warn in new report. news.un.org Unless there is a "seismic shift" in how countries collectively deal with infectious diseases, future pandemics will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, cause greater damage to the global economy and kill more people than COVID-19, international experts warned in a UN-backed report published on Thursday.

Marwa Osman (2020-10-29). Hariri is Back in the Game—MES EP.78. thealtworld.com Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri who was toppled in a popular uprising nearly one year ago, has been tasked with forming the crisis-plagued country's next government. Hariri's dramatic return was enabled by the votes of 65 MPs from across the country's political spectrum. Hariri now faces the grueling task of forming a cabinet in a country still reeling from the aftermath of a massive explosion that ripped through the capital in August. The country is mired in a financial meltdown, political infighting and widespread anger at Beirut's ruling elite. | To discuss this issue with us from Beirut is Dr. Dani…

_____ (2020-10-29). Why Marylanders Must Test The Water Near Military Bases. popularresistance.org Last month, independent testing of oysters in the St. Mary's River and St. Inigoes Creek was performed on behalf of the St. Mary's River Watershed Association and financially supported by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER. | Oysters in the St. Mary's River and in St. Inigoes Creek were found to contain more than 1,000 parts per trillion (ppt) of the highly toxic chemicals. Oysters were analyzed by Eurofins, a world leader in PFAS testing. | The Harvard School of Public Health and leading scientific institutions around the world tell us not to consume more than 1 ppt of these substances daily…

sputniknews (2020-10-29). 'Folks Are Not Showing Up': US COVID-19 Spikes Deterring Families From Routine Health Screenings. sputniknews.com COVID-19 is deterring people from obtaining preventative treatment, which is likely to reverberate through the US public health and insurance systems, Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, told Radio Sputnik's Political Misfits Thursday.

WSWS (2020-10-29). Nearly 10,000 eviction actions filed across the US since September despite CDC moratorium. wsws.org According to a recent clarification issued by the CDC, landlords can proceed with the legal procedures required for an eviction as long as tenants are not forced out before the end of the year.

WSWS (2020-10-29). Health systems in the United States are facing growing strains with the surge in COVID-19 cases. wsws.org The number of US COVID-19 cases surpassed nine million yesterday, with 500,000 of these cases added to the ledger just in the last week.

Ian Cobain (2020-10-28). UK bill shielding soldiers from prosecution slammed by parliamentary committee. middleeasteye.net UK bill shielding soldiers from prosecution slammed by parliamentary committee | Law to stop prosecutions over torture, murder and war crimes would damage Britain's reputation, human rights body warns | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 17: 15 | UK Houses of Parliament. There are fears that the Conservative government's large majority could allow it to press ahead with controversial new law (Reuters) | A proposed new law t…

MEE and agencies (2020-10-28). UK declares solidarity with France amid row with Turkey in wake of teacher's murder. middleeasteye.net UK declares solidarity with France amid row with Turkey in wake of teacher's murder | UK's foreign secretary calls on Nato allies to 'stand shoulder to shoulder' and 'never give terrorists the gift of dividing us' | Wed, 10/28/2020 – 08: 30 | Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab declared his country's support for France on Wednesday amid calls for an economic boycott triggered by anti-…

RT (2020-10-28). Germany set for new partial lockdown as cases surge amid second wave of Covid-19. rt.com Restaurants, gyms and theaters will be shut for a month from November 2 as part of new measures aimed at preventing spiking coronavirus cases from overwhelming German hospitals, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. | The situation in Germany, which registered 14,964 new infections and 85 deaths from the disease over the last 24 hours, is "very serious," Merkel said on Wednesday. "We need to take action now." | "Our health system can still cope with this challenge today, but at this speed of infections it will reach the limits of its capacity within weeks," she added, explaining the need for the tough measures.

RT (2020-10-28). Russia's Covid-19 vaccines will NOT be given to tourists & won't be offered for sale until domestic demand is met: Health ministry. rt.com Russia's coronavirus vaccines will not be offered commercially and won't be given to tourists, the health ministry pledged on Wednesday after reports emerged in foreign media that "vaccination tours" are now on sale abroad. | Speaking to TASS, Alexey Kuznetsov, an assistant to the country's health minister, explained that any foreign visits being organised to Russia for vaccination against Covid-19 are entirely fraudulent. According to Kuznetsov, Russia's domestically produced vaccines won't be commercially available for quite some time. | "Vaccination is already underway, and it is free for citizens. Russians…

_____ (2020-10-28). Philadelphia Victim's Family Sought Ambulance, Not Police. popularresistance.org Philadelphia – The family of a Black man killed by Philadelphia police officers in a shooting caught on video had called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental health crisis, not for police intervention, their lawyer said. | Police said Walter Wallace Jr., 27, was wielding a knife and ignored orders to drop the weapon before officers fired shots Monday afternoon. But his parents said Tuesday night that officers knew their son was in a mental health crisis because they had been to the family's house three times on Monday. | Cathy Wallace, his mother, said one of the times, "they stood there and laughed at…

Helen Buyniski (2020-10-28). VIDEO: The "Lock Step" Simulation Scenario: "A Coronavirus-like Pandemic that Becomes Trigger for Police State Controls" globalresearch.ca First published on February 5, 2020. In-depth analysis of the Simulation of a pandemic conducted in 2010 under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation. | By now, those following the novel coronavirus epidemic are familiar with Event 201, the pandemic

teleSUR (2020-10-28). Peru: First Diphtheria Case Amid Vaccination Deficit. telesurenglish.net Peru's Health Ministry confirmed on Wednesday the first diphtheria case in 20 years, as local media outlets report that in 2020 the children's vaccination program only covered 40 percent of minors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | According to the World Health Organization, diphtheria is an infectious disease that primarily infects the throat and upper airways and produces toxins affecting other…

Staff (2020-10-28). The Case for Abolition After Philadelphia Police Kill Walter Wallace Jr. truthout.org Protesters in Philadelphia mark a second night of calling for the abolition of police after two Philadelphia police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man, while he was having a mental health crisis. The shooting reflects decades of defunding of social services, including for mental health, while police departments have continued to grow, says author and activist Marc Lamont Hill, who argues, "If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail." Lamont Hill is prof…

teleSUR (2020-10-28). Colombia: Ex-President Samper Criticizes Right-Wing Governments. telesurenglish.net Colombia's former President Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) Tuesday criticized the policies applied by Latin American right-wing governments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. | RELATED: | He pointed out that Colombia and Brazil implemented authoritarian measures, restricted mobility, and even restarted the economy without worrying about the citizens's health. | Instead of applying policies to develop his country's public…

WSWS (2020-10-28). Eighteen-year-old University of Dayton freshman, Michael Lang, dies of COVID-19. wsws.org Lang, a healthy first-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences at the university in western Ohio, died Thursday after weeks of battling the virus.

_____ (2020-10-28). Deception 2020: Our SickCare System. popularresistance.org In this third installment of the Deception 2020 Series, we dig into our so-called healthcare system — what would more appropriately be called our sickcare system. Yeah, the US has the ability to offer top notch care and medical support — but out of some 330 million people, how many have access to it? | Then, we're joined by Dr. Margaret Flowers for some more insight into this grossly unequal system, where the candidates stand and who those candidates even get to be!

teleSUR (2020-10-28). France Back to Nationwide Lockdown as Second COVID Wave Hits. telesurenglish.net "We need everyone's sense of responsibility. Stay at home as much as possible. Respect the rules. Success depends on the good citizenship of each and every one of us. Every hour counts," stressed President Emmanuel Macron. | France will go into national lockdown starting from Friday to stem the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday evening. | RELATED: | "The virus is circulati…

Leonardo Flores (2020-10-28). Healthcare, Police Brutality, Racism to Shape the Latinx Vote. telesurenglish.net This year, 32 million people of Latin American descent are eligible to vote, representing 13 percent of the electorate and surpassing the number of Black voters for the first time. That represents just over half of the 60 million Latinx people in the United States. | RELATED: | In 2016, voter turnout in the Latinx community was less than 50 percent; Clinton won the vote by 66 to 28 percent. | Nationally, Latinx voters a…

Dr. Rudolf Hà§nsel (2020-10-28). The Davos Reset 2021 Agenda of the World Economic Forum. A New Phase of Economic and Social Destruction? globalresearch.ca On June 3, 2020, as a consequence of the "global health crisis", the World Economic Forum WEF in Geneva announced a "unique twin summit" for January 2021 in Davos, Switzerland.(1) The theme should be "The Great Reset". The WEF defines …

Staff (2020-10-27). Headlines for October 27, 2020. democracynow.org Amy Coney Barrett Sworn In, Giving SCOTUS Heavy Conservative Majority Ahead of Pivotal Cases, SCOTUS Rules Wisconsin Cannot Count Ballots Received After Election Day, Surging COVID-19 Cases Trigger Curfews; Doctors Say 800,000 Children Have Been Infected, China Testing 5 Million People After One Asymptomatic Case in Xinjiang, New Lockdowns in Germany, Mask Orders in Russia as COVID-19 Cases Surge, Oxford Vaccine Shows Promising Results as New Data Suggests Antibodies in Recovered Cases Don't Last, U.S. Imposes Harsh New Sanctions on Iranian Oil, Airstrikes Kill Dozens at Training Camp in Idlib, Syria, Explosion a…

Ralph Nader (2020-10-27). Don't Rush to Declare Victory: Implementing a Two-Week Grace Period After November 3rd So All Voters Can Be Counted. commondreams.org With such large stakes for our fragile democracy, we cannot afford to bypass such a course of action that will assure a peaceful transition in accord with the rule of law. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2020-10-27). 'Europe is united': French minister urges EU leaders to adopt measures against Turkey at next summit. rt.com France's trade minister has called on the EU to adopt formal measures against Ankara at its next summit, after the Turkish leader questioned the French president's mental health and called for a boycott of the country's exports. | "France is united and Europe is united," Trade Minister Franck Riester told French lawmakers on Tuesday. "At the next European Council, Europe will have to take decisions that will allow it to strengthen the power balance with Turkey to better defend its interests and European values," he added. He did not specify as to what measures could be taken. | Turkey's President Recep Tayyip…

Jack Rasmus (2020-10-27). Barrett Confirmed, Post-Election Chaos Will Ensue. counterpunch.org Yesterday Mitch McConnell's Republican Senate confirmed its third ultra conservative Supreme Court nominee, Amy Barrett, as Supreme Court Justice. Coming in the midst of America's current dual crisis—economic and Covid health—both now worsening, the Barrett appointment ensures the emergence of historic political instability in the USA. The dual crisis is about to become a triple

RT (2020-10-27). Schools & clubs closing in Bulgaria amid record Covid-19 surge as health minister warns of 'severe winter months'. rt.com Bulgaria will close its clubs and order high school and university students to study remotely for two weeks as of October 29 in a bid to curb rising coronavirus infection rates, the country's health minister said on Tuesday. | "We have to defuse Covid-19 spread…and if we continue to neglect the [preventative] measures, at some point it may be too late," Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said in a Facebook "We are facing severe winter months — we are entering the flu season and the risk that th…

Staff (2020-10-27). Barrett's confirmation threatens fair election, healthcare, and women's rights. therealnews.com Hundreds at the White House celebrated the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court—just one month after her nomination became a COVID-19 superspreader event that infected the president and at least three dozen others.

Princess Harmony (2020-10-27). Purdue Pharma guilty in opioid deaths. workers.org A contributing cause to the opioid epidemic — overprescription of painkillers like OxyContin — has been identified by both individuals and the state. Since the start of the opioid crisis, overdoses have continued to rise, with COVID-19-based isolation pushing even more people toward the abuse of prescription and illicit opioids. . . . |

MEE and agencies (2020-10-27). Child malnutrition reaches new highs in parts of Yemen: UN survey. middleeasteye.net Child malnutrition reaches new highs in parts of Yemen: UN survey | Programmes keeping millions from starvation and disease are gradually closing amid an acute funding shortage | Tue, 10/27/2020 – 07: 54 | The UN said it needs $50m urgently to boost nutrition programmes (AFP) | Parts of Yemen are seeing their highest levels of acute malnutrition in children, heightening warnings that the c…

Dr. Jack Rasmus (2020-10-27). Barrett Confirmed by US Senate: Post-Election Chaos Now Inevitable. globalresearch.ca Today Mitch McConnell's Republican Senate confirmed its third ultra conservative Supreme Court nominee, Amy Barrett, as Supreme Court Justice. Coming in the midst of America's current dual crisis—economic and Covid health—both now worsening, the Barrett appointment ensures the emergence …

jamanetwork (2020-10-27). The Physician's Responsibility. jamanetwork.com The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Nebraska, abstracted in the Medicolegal department of The Journal last week, is of importance and interest to practicing physicians, and especially to health officers…. The plaintiff, while stopping at a small hotel, consulted a local physician, the defendant, regarding some sores that had appeared on his body. After an examination, the physician told the plaintiff—his patient—that he believed the disease to be syphilis, but that it was impossible to make a positive diagnosis without a Wassermann test, for which he had no equipment. The defendant physician…

Applegate WB, Williamson JD, Berlowitz D. (2020-10-27). Deprescribing Antihypertensive Medication in Elderly Adults. jamanetwork.com To the Editor Deprescribing medications in frail older adults may result in improvements in overall health status. However, deprescribing should be based on a full consideration of scientific evidence. A clinical trial of antihypertensive medication reduction in persons aged 80 years or older with a systolic blood pressure of less than 150 mm Hg (mean, 130 mm Hg) reported that after 12 weeks of follow-up, the intervention group, which underwent removal of 1 medication, was noninferior with regard to systolic blood pressure control compared with the control group, in which there was no change.

Kuehn BM. (2020-10-27). Health Care Worker SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is Flying Under the Radar. jamanetwork.com A high percentage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections among health care workers appear to go undetected, often because they have mild or no symptoms and workplace testing isn't sufficient, investigators from a multistate hospital network reported.

Slomski A. (2020-10-27). No Mortality Differences Among Localized Prostate Cancer Treatments. jamanetwork.com Compared with active monitoring, radical treatment of localized prostate cancer does not improve disease-specific or overall survival at 10 years, a multicenter UK trial in Health Technology Assessment found.

Staff (2020-10-27). Protests Rise in Philly After Police Murder Black Man Amid Mental Health Crisis. truthout.org Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—West Philly saw a quickly escalating situation develop on 4 p.m. Monday afternoon and dragging into the evening and overnight. In a graphic and disturbing video circulating on social media, two white Philadelphia Police (PPD) officers are seen repeatedly shooting a Black man in front of his mother from several feet away as he walked while holding a knife. Neither of the two officers in the video seemed to attempt to use their taser, and they appeared to hav…