2020-11-27: News Headlines

John Pilger (2020-11-27). Britain's Class War on Children. globalresearch.ca In this abridged article published by the London Daily Mirror & based on his 1975 film, Smashing Kids, John Pilger describes class as Britain's most virulent disease, causing record levels of child poverty. | *** | When I first reported on child …

Stephen Lendman (2020-11-27). No Thanks on Thanksgiving During US-Engineered Economic Collapse. globalresearch.ca On Thanksgiving day, throughout the year, with likely worsening times ahead, ordinary Americans are suffering through the hardest of hard times in US history. | For 36 straight weeks since March, over one million Americans sought unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. | It's …

John Pilger (2020-11-27). Britain's Class War on Children. counterpunch.org When I first reported on child poverty in Britain, I was struck by the faces of children I spoke to, especially the eyes. They were different: watchful, fearful. In Hackney, in 1975, I filmed Irene Brunsden's family. Irene told me she gave her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes. "She doesn't tell me she's hungry, she

news.un (2020-11-27). COVID-19: Testing still vital even as vaccines roll out. news.un.org Testing will still be a critical tool against COVID-19, even as vaccines are deployed against the disease, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday during his regular briefing on the crisis.

imperial.ac.uk (2020-11-27). Imperial engineer to develop AI clinician to help frontline health workers. imperial.ac.uk Professor Aldo Faisal has won a Turing AI Fellowship to develop AI that will help doctors make complex decisions.

WSWS (2020-11-27). US CDC plans to reduce quarantine time after potential COVID-19 exposure. wsws.org The purpose of reducing the isolation period to as little as seven days is to ensure workers will be back on the job faster, even though the CDC admits this will increase the transmission of the virus.

news.un (2020-11-27). African nations 'far from ready' for COVID-19 vaccination drive, says UN health agency. news.un.org As efforts to find safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 are showing increasing promise, the African continent is "far from ready" to roll out what will be its largest ever immunization drive, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

_____ (2020-11-27). COVID-19 Economy: A Deliberate Disaster. popularresistance.org With nearly 12 million cases and a quarter million deaths in the US so far (over 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths world-wide), the COVID 19 pandemic is ravaging civilization. The disease is on track to be the deadliest epidemic since 1918. | The economic fallout for the working class has been severe. In the US, unemployment has skyrocketed, with 45.4 million new unemployment claims since March 14. At least 1/6 of those with jobs before the pandemic are now out of work. According to The New York Times, "The economic downturn is shaping up to be particularly devastating for renters, who are more likely to be…

Julia Conley, Common Dreams (2020-11-27). Atlas Welcomes Killing Loved Ones With Covid as This May Be 'Their Final Thanksgiving'. indybay.org Dr. Scott Atlas, a top White House coronavirus adviser, said that Americans should flout public health guidance and gather as normal for the holidays as this may be "the final Thanksgiving" for many. | Photo of Hoover Tower under Creative Commons via flicker. Scott Atlas is on leave from Stanford University's Hoover Institute while he serves under Trump.

WSWS (2020-11-27). Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa. wsws.org Youth and workers shut state-run phosphate plant in Tunisia demanding jobs; four-hour national public sector strike in Italy in protest at pandemic social and health catastrophe; months-long strike of nurses in Zimbabwe sold out by unions; community health workers continue stoppages and protests for pay rise and improved conditions…

RT (2020-11-26). Don't hug grandma this Christmas: UK public health chief's grim Covid advice as Britain readies for festive season. rt.com The UK is heading for a bleak winter as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief scientific adviser on Thursday warned Britons not to hug and kiss their elderly relatives at Christmas, in a bid to protect them from Covid-19. | "Would I encourage someone to hug and kiss their elderly relatives? No I would not," Professor Chris Whitty said, during a Downing Street coronavirus briefing and days after the PM had outlined He stressed that, while hugging grandparents is technically not "again…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-26). Greek working class unites, strikes for health, safety and rights amid COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org Workers, teachers, doctors, students and youth groups in Greece observed a nationwide general strike on November 26, putting forward a set of urgent demands in sectors including health care, education, public transport, and other areas of employment…

RT (2020-11-26). Efficacy vs safety? AstraZeneca vaccine is 'busted flush' IF it cannot help elderly — but US jabs may be worse, UK doctor tells RT. rt.com AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine could be a lost cause if it turns out that it cannot protect the elderly against the disease, Malcolm Kendrick, an NHS GP, told RT. He warned that on the other hand, US vaccines could be dangerous. | "Realistically, it has got to work for the elderly, otherwise it is a busted flush," the Scottish doctor said, commenting on the recent media reports about the jab's potential efficacy. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish drug manufacturer might be much less effective for the elderly population than it is for younger people. | The reports…

Mehr News Agency (2020-11-26). Iran COVID-19 update: 482 deaths, 13,961 cases in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Nov. 26 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry has confirmed 13,961 COVID-19 infections and 482 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours.

Jeremy Loffredo (2020-11-26). COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Widespread, Even Among Medical Professionals. globalresearch.ca Public health groups, including the World Health Organization, are making a concerted effort to reduce COVID vaccine hesitancy, as many medical professionals and minority groups remain doubtful about safety and efficacy. | *** | As details on the latest

Amanda Mills (2020-11-26). "It's going to be a billionaire Thanksgiving." Wealth of US richest just hit $1 trillion since the start of the pandemic. nationofchange.org "The increases in billionaire wealth continue to defy gravity in the real economy where millions have lost their jobs, health, and livelihoods."

sputniknews (2020-11-26). Whitty Says Judgement About AstraZeneca Vaccine Should Be 'In the Hands' of Drug Regulator. sputniknews.com Controversy is surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, with critics expressing concerns that it could be based on "shaky science".

sputniknews (2020-11-26). Trump Says COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery to Begin Next Week. sputniknews.com The US president previously said that the vaccine would be available before the 3 November presidential election, prompting criticism from Democrats who believed he was rushing its development.

Howard Mansfield (2020-11-26). The Covid-19 Pandemic Helps Tell the True Story of Thanksgiving. commondreams.org At the time the Pilgrims landed, the Wampanoags and their neighbors had been tested by the years they called the Great Dying. An epidemic from 1616 to 1619—which may have been smallpox (there are other theories)—had killed as many as 9 out of 10 coastal Indians. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-11-26). Amid Public Health and Employment Crises, New Survey Shows Poor Americans Agree on Policy Solutions. commondreams.org With over 262,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, millions jobless and at risk of soon losing unemployment aid, and families and friends warned against spending Thanksgiving together because of the dangers of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, new polling results revealed Thursday that people with low incomes agree upon a range of policy solutions to poverty and hunger. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

teleSUR (2020-11-26). Panama: President Cortizo Calls for a National Dialogue. telesurenglish.net Panama's President Laurentino Cortizo is set to announce Thursday the Bicentennial Pact "Closing Gaps" which seeks to establish a national dialogue to promote economic, educational, social, and health development. | RELATED: | Representatives of private enterprises, political parties, workers unions, and civil society have been called upon to participate in the national dialogue. | Cortizo insisted that the process is diff…

Dr. Gilbert Berdine (2020-11-26). What the COVID Vaccine Hype Fails to Mention. globalresearch.ca Pfizer recently announced that its covid vaccine was

Chris Walker (2020-11-26). 4 in 10 Americans Plan to Defy CDC Guidelines on Thanksgiving. zcomm.org As of Tuesday, more than 12.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with close to 260,000 having died from the virus so far…

Sam Pizzigati (2020-11-26). The Rain on Our Yes-We-Now-Have-a-Vaccine! Parade. zcomm.org What could be better than a drug that can stop Covid? A society that doesn't let some make billions off a drug millions can't access…

WSWS (2020-11-26). Greece's hospitals face collapse in the second coronavirus wave. wsws.org With death and infection figures skyrocketing, doctors and nurses are sounding the alarm over the crisis in Greece's health care system.

Peter Boyle (2020-11-26). Galilee Blockade targets Allianz. greenleft.org.au Coral Wynter reports on a campaign to pressure insurance company Allianz to withdraw all support for the controversial Adani-owned Carmichael coal mine.

Fight Back (2020-11-26). Chicago area nursing home workers' strike. fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – 700 nursing home workers who are members SEIU Health Care Illinois/Indiana (HCII) began a second #StrikeForOurLives on November 23. Strikers walked out at 11 Infinity nursing homes across the state of Illinois. Members of SEIU have been denied adequate staffing, PPE and hazard pay.

RT (2020-11-25). Puzzling higher AstraZeneca vaccine efficacy for smaller dosage explained: It was reportedly tested on people only under 56. rt.com A seemingly strange phenomenon of a smaller dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine being more effective than a bigger one is reportedly explained by it first being tested on a younger group. | On Monday, the pharmacological company

Staff (2020-11-25). Thanksgiving is going to kill a lot of people, again. therealnews.com Amid a terrifying surge in COVID-19 cases, millions are defying public health warnings and traveling for Thanksgiving—a grimly fitting situation, given the central role of contagious diseases in the genocide of this continent's Native people.

RT (2020-11-25). Brussels to permit launch of Sputnik V? EU will consider recommending Russian Covid-19 vaccine, application for approval filed. rt.com The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Wednesday that it has begun negotiations with the manufacturers of Russia's pioneering Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. | According to an official from the EU body, which licenses medicines and vaccines within the bloc, "the developer has contacted EMA and they are in early discussions now." Regulators will assess data on Sputnik V before publishing a recommendation on whether it can be used by healthcare systems within EU member states. | According to Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which bankrolled the development of the formula,…

Chauncey K. Robinson, Matt Bernico (2020-11-25). PW Podcast: U.S. imperialism hinders Cuban COVID-19 vaccine. peoplesworld.org Beyond the Page is a companion podcast to the award-winning publication People's World. With every episode, we'll take you deeper into the topics covered at PeoplesWorld.org. Our program brings you in-depth interviews with journalists and activists on the most pressing stories in progressive politics, labor, and the struggle for socialism in the United States. The …

Bruce Lesnick (2020-11-25). COVID Economy: A Deliberate Disaster. counterpunch.org With nearly 12 million cases and a quarter million deaths in the US so far (over 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths world-wide), the COVID 19 pandemic is ravaging civilization. The disease is on track to be the deadliest epidemic since 1918. The economic fallout for the working class has been severe. In the

RT (2020-11-25). 'Average' effectiveness & unexplained side effects: 7 QUESTIONS that AstraZeneca needs to answer about its Covid-19 vaccine. rt.com The drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said on Monday it would seek emergency authorization for its coronavirus vaccine with various regulators. However, it might first have to answer a number of serious questions about its jab. | The British-Swedish company, which has developed its candidate vaccine together with the University of Oxford, "will begin the submission of the clinical data to regulators around the world that have a framework in place for emergency use or conditional approval," its spokesman said on Monday, adding that the list of the regulators that will receive the application particularly includes t…

MEE and agencies (2020-11-25). Covid-19: Turkey announces figures for asymptomatic cases for first time since July. middleeasteye.net Covid-19: Turkey announces figures for asymptomatic cases for first time since July | Country shatters previous record-high numbers as inclusion of asymptomatic cases reveal scale of outbreak | Wed, 11/25/2020 – 19: 43 | Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says 80 percent who test positive are either asymptomatic or show slight symptoms (AFP/File photo) | Turkey has recorded 28,351 new…

Sameena Rahman (2020-11-25). COVID explodes inside prisons, but only guards to get first doses of vaccine. liberationnews.org Over the past week, 14,697 new cases of Coronavirus infection were reported inside of state and federal prisons — the highest level since the pandemic began.

Princess Harmony (2020-11-25). Living with addiction and COVID-19 — a WW commentary. workers.org In the countrywide COVID-19 epidemic, it is easy to forget that the most vulnerable among us include those with opioid addictions who use the medications methadone (Diskets, Methadose) and buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex, Sublocade, Zubsolv, Bunavail). These people, who are reliant on constant and steady dosing of their medicines to stave . . . |

Staff (2020-11-25). Headlines for November 25, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Sees Deadliest Day in Pandemic in Over 6 Months as Hospitalizations Reach Record High, U.S. to Begin Pfizer Vaccine Distribution by Mid-December, France Readies to Ease Restrictions as Italy and Spain Record Highest Death Tolls of Second Wave, Russia Says Sputnik Vaccine Over 95% Effective, Biden National Security Appointments Focus on Multilateralism, International Cooperation, Trump Takes Credit for Historic Dow Jones Surge, Plans Election Hearing with Giuliani at Gettysburg, Donors Pledge $12 Billion in Afghan Aid as 14 Killed in Bamiyan in Latest Act of Violence, Ethiopia Warns of Imminent Attack in Tigr…

Dr. Birsen Filip (2020-11-25). Cuba Successfully Halts Its COVID-19 Outbreak: A Reflection of the Socialist Revolution and the Legacy of Fidel Castro's Vision of Health Care. globalresearch.ca 'Private medicine grants privileges to those who have money to the detriment of those who do not have it and nothing could be more inhumane than that. It is unbelievable that rich societies that apply this and many other similar …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-25). Health workers in Kenya set to embark on strike on December 7. peoplesdispatch.org Doctors, nurses, and clinical officers in Kenya are all set to down tools on December 7 on a range of demands from the government, including provision of health insurance, quality PPEs, isolation and treatment centers for health workers…

_____ (2020-11-25). Why Are Millions Of People In The US Traveling For Thanksgiving? popularresistance.org The coronavirus pandemic is breaking records every day in the United States, filling up intensive care units, overwhelming hospital systems and exhausting health care workers. | A record 203,000 Americans tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, and the seven-day average is above 170,000. Despite significant advances in treating the disease, more than 1,500 people are dying every day, the highest level since May. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that the US will record 300,000 deaths by the middle of December, and there could be as many as 21,000 new coronavirus hospitalizations each d…

_____ (2020-11-25). Bad News For Chesapeake Bay Seafood Lovers. popularresistance.org Testing done in October 2020 showed rockfish containing 23,100 parts per trillion (ppt) of a variety of per-and-poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) , crabs containing 6,650 ppt, and oysters having 2,070 ppt of the toxins. See the results here. The rockfish was caught in Cornfield Harbor in the Potomac River and the oyster and crab were collected from St. Inigoes Creek in Saint Mary's County. Public health officials say people should not be consuming more than 1 part per trillion of these toxins per day. | The seafood was taken from waters that are close to the Webster Outlying Field of the Patuxent River Naval Air…

Dean Baker (2020-11-25). Why are the Free Traders All Protectionists? Vaccines and Sharing Knowledge (Fun for Thanksgiving). cepr.net After having Donald Trump in the White House for four years, we have gotten used to being lied to by people in high positions. Trump and his top staff have no qualms about telling us night is day, black is white, and two plus two equals five. But we expect better from Team Reality: you …

Yogesh Jain (2020-11-25). How the privatization of medicine in India is accelerating its COVID-19 death toll. peoplesdispatch.org The COVID-19 crisis was an opportunity for the public systems to recapture their rightful position as the predominant health care providers in the country. But the public systems were unprepared for the task…

_____ (2020-11-25). Moral Panic Over Palestinian Content In Ontario schools. popularresistance.org Digital technology has been a fixture in the Ontario classroom setting for some years now, but with COVID it has become a particularly dominant instrument of secondary school pedagogy. Online teaching and e-learning have increased exponentially with the pandemic. And while such educative options have been a necessary shield against aerosol contamination, they have not been without significant shortcomings. | The electronic medium has brought with it the plague of misinformation, the perils of unchecked public scrutiny, and the troubling consequences of unofficial surveillance…

WSWS (2020-11-25). As virus surges in North Dakota, Fargo food distribution workers strike over lack of COVID-19 protections. wsws.org Workers at the Cash-Wa food distribution operation in Fargo, North Dakota are on strike over health and safety in an area that is experiencing the highest COVID-19 death rate in the world.

Kester Kenn Klomegah (2020-11-25). Putin Talks Global Stability and Coronavirus Vaccine with Ambassadors. globalresearch.ca While receiving newly arrived Ambassadors accredited to the Russian Federation from different foreign countries including Rwanda, Gambia and Central African Republic, President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of coordinating global efforts to ensure stability and halt the spread of coronavirus …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-11-25). Greece gears up for a massive national strike against government's handling of COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org Workers, teachers and youth groups in Greece have called for a general strike on November 26 and have put forward a series of demands in sectors such as health care, education and other areas of employment…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-11-25). Most children experience mild COVID-19 or show no symptoms, study finds. imperial.ac.uk Most children experience mild COVID-19 disease or do not show any symptoms, according to the latest report from the Imperial College London.

Thomas Klikauer — Nadine Campbell (2020-11-25). How a Turkish-German Couple Invented a Coronavirus Vaccine. counterpunch.org By now it is largely known that a Turkish-German husband and wife team are the frontrunners in the race to market a vaccine against the coronavirus. This is an extraordinary achievement for the Turkish-born Ugur Sahin who is the CEO of a German biotech firm called BioNTech. He co-founded the company with his wife and

imperial.ac.uk (2020-11-25). Podcast: Statin side effects, vaccine latest and pandemic politics. imperial.ac.uk In this edition: The nocebo effect of statins, the latest on Imperial's COVID-19 vaccine and a former PM talks pandemic.