Daily Archives: May 27, 2020

2020-05-27: News Headlines

Kevin Zeese (2020-05-27). Smithfield Sued For Misleading Consumers With False Claims Of Superior Safety. popularresistance.org The Organic Consumers Association announced that it has sued Smithfield Foods for falsely advertising Smithfield pork products as the "safest" U.S. pork products. In the complaint, OCA alleges that on numerous occasions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture testing of Smithfield pork has detected pathogens that are "commonly associated with human illness" and resistant to antibiotics. This makes the products far less than the "safest possible" in the U.S., according to OCA. | The suit also alleges that many disease strains detected in Smithfield products have been found to be resistant to antibiotics that are desig…

Shaniqua Pippen (2020-05-27). NYC schools and COVID-19: A failed response and a looming crisis. liberationnews.org The burden was put on teachers to make sure over 1.1 million students were fed and had a place to go during the pandemic at the expense of our own health.

Joshua Hanks (2020-05-27). New York Times misses mark on Kerala's COVID-19 success. workers.org It is almost five months since China first alerted the World Health Organization about cases of what is now called COVID-19. The ensuing pandemic has revealed stark differences in the responses of governments around the world. As Workers World has reported, communist-led governments in countries like Cuba, Vietnam, China and . . . |

Sam Pizzigati (2020-05-27). The Inefficient and Incredibly Lucrative Coronavirus Vaccine Race. counterpunch.org Centuries ago, back in the Middle Ages, battles against plagues seldom went well. Medieval public health warriors had little scientific knowledge about their viral assailants. And what little knowledge they did gain, they couldn't easily share. Kingdoms had no vehicles for rapid and reliable communicating. We don't have that problem today as we do viral

Ralph Underhill (2020-05-27). Public health messaging by Dominic Cummings. thecanary.co By

Bruce Bostick (2020-05-27). Irish repay debt from famine to Native American Choctaws. peoplesworld.org Our nation is suffering through the coronavirus pandemic, without leadership and with a death toll in six figures. Especially hard hit are people of color. "First Nations" people, Native Americans, are suffering horribly, with our national administration making this situation worse. The national administration has not been helpful and has cut off badly needed U.S. …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-05-27). Harassment of healthcare professionals triggers protests in Kashmir. peoplesdispatch.org The Doctors Association in Kashmir staged a protest against the rising harassment of healthcare workers on May 26. There have been a number of instances of senior medical professionals being assaulted or prevented from doing their duty by the police…

Russell Weaver (2020-05-27). Can the COVID War Become a Fight for Health Care Democracy? commondreams.org The seemingly unbreakable bonds between employment and health care mean that COVID-19 might have already cost 16.2 million newly unemployed American "warriors"—and their families—access to medical services and treatment. (Photo: © Greg Nash) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

commondreams (2020-05-27). End Date Approaches for Seven Health Insurers' Offers of Free Coronavirus Care. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Julia Kaye (2020-05-27). The FDA is Making Needless COVID-19 Risks a Condition of Abortion and Miscarriage Care. We're Suing. aclu.org The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe and upended normal life. In the four months since the first U.S. case was reported, more than 1.5 million people have been infected and 100,000 people have died in the United States. To mitigate risk, public health authorities tell us to get our

graham (2020-05-27). The founder of 'Conservative Home' says it all. truepublica.org.uk By Rob Woodward — TruePublica: Boris Johnson is now fighting the COVID-19 public health crisis, the economic crisis, a public relations crisis and a crisis within his own party. It demonstrates the inadequacy of his leadership and his ability to lead the country in a national emergency. Churchill, he is not. What Britain needs right …

Sam Pizzigati (2020-05-27). The Inefficient and Incredibly Lucrative Chase for a Coronavirus Vaccine. zcomm.org Our hottest biotech firm hasn't yet manufactured an antidote to Covid-19. The company has manufactured three billionaires…

Staff (2020-05-27). Headlines for May 27, 2020. democracynow.org Four Minneapolis Cops Fired After Shocking Video Shows Killing of George Floyd, Federal Food Program Fails to Reach Millions Even as Child Hunger Surges in U.S., NY Governor Cuomo Shielded Nursing Homes from Liability After Big Campaign Donation, GOP Governors Vie for Republican National Convention as NC Won't Commit to Packed Arena, Yemen's Health System Has "Collapsed" Amid Explosion of Coronavirus Cases, India Resumes Domestic Air Travel Even as COVID-19 Cases Surge, China Completing Plans to Test 11 Million Wuhan Residents for Coronavirus, South Korea Reports 40 New Coronavirus Infections, Highest Level in 7…

Staff (2020-05-27). COVID Racial Data Tracker: Ibram X. Kendi on How Better Data Reveals the True Toll of the Pandemic. democracynow.org Ibram X. Kendi says early media coverage of COVID-19 as "the great equalizer" missed the racial impact of the disease. But it soon became clear "that it was Latino Americans and African Americans and Native Americans in particular who were disproportionately being infected and dying." The award-winning author and founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University joins us to discuss why he started the COVID Racial Data Tracker.

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-27). One Good Thing About the Lockdown. strategic-culture.org Ron PAUL | One of the few good things to come out of the government-mandated shutdown is that many parents have started homeschooling their children. Many of these parents are likely to continue homeschooling after the government schools reopen. | Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did its part to encourage homeschooling when it unveiled "guidelines" for schools to follow when they reopen. Among the CDC's guidelines are that schools put tape on the hallways, directing children which direction to walk and how much distance to keep between themselves and their classmates. The CDC also r…

Ruth Robertson (2020-05-27). Memorial Day Peace Caravan/Demonstrators Drive to Donate to Homeless in San Jose. indybay.org On May 25, a Peace Caravan of activists drove in decorated cars through the streets of San Jose to demand human rights to health, housing, education, a living wage and all the components of a dignified life. The colorful caravan of about a dozen cars ended their protest at a homeless encampment where they made a donation and received thanks from Scott Wagers who serves and ministers to the city's unhoused.

Staff (2020-05-27). Trump Demanded Meat Plants Stay Open, COVID Cases Have Now Tripled. truthout.org President Donald Trump issued an executive order in late April requiring all meat processing plants in the U.S. to remain open, despite reports of coronavirus infections and related deaths being prevalent at a number of the plants. | Since that order was issued, the number of COVID-19 cases that have been identified at meat plants across the country has likely tripled, according to estimates from a nonprofit watchdog group. | At the time of Trump's executive order, the Centers for Disease Control and Pr…

imperial.ac.uk (2020-05-27). Genetic database provides rare disease clues and Parkinson's hope. imperial.ac.uk Scientists have created the world's largest publicly available database of genetic variants — changes in DNA that can sometimes lead to disease.

RT (2020-05-27). Australia-New Zealand 'travel bubble is possible' as coronavirus cases fall. rt.com Falling numbers of active coronavirus cases in Australia and New Zealand are paving the way for an easing of travel restrictions between the two countries, according to health officials. | In Australia, active Covid-19 cases have dropped below 500 people, while New Zealand's last coronavirus patient was discharged from hospital on Wednesday. | "The trans-Tasman bubble is certainly a possibility," Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said. "If we look at the countries that are doing extremely well in controlling this Covid-19 problem, New Zealand is if anything a bit better than us. They have ver…

RT (2020-05-27). Cuomo blames nursing homes for following his Covid-19 order that KILLED PATIENTS – after removing it from website. rt.com New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has stealthily attempted to rewrite history, deleting his controversial order requiring nursing homes to admit Covid-19 patients from the state health website and blaming facilities for obeying it. | After being lambasted in the press for the March 25 executive order that forced New York elder care facilities to accept patients infected with the highly contagious virus, Cuomo attempted to blame the nursing homes for not disobeying his orders during a Wednesday press conference. | pic.twitter.com/W2YBdwhvXi— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) RT (2020-05-27). California homeless deaths multiply as Covid-19 lockdowns cut off access to medical care, food & sanitation. rt.com Deaths of homeless people have spiked amid the Covid-19 pandemic — but not because of the virus. Lockdowns have deprived them of everything from medical care, to begging income, to soap and water, while shelter remains elusive. | San Francisco saw 48 deaths among its homeless population over the last two months, more than triple the fatalities seen during the same period last year, according to the city's Department of Public Health Street Medicine Team, which shared the grim statistics with the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday. An average of six homeless people have died every week since the city's lo…

RT (2020-05-27). Italy and Belgium join France in rejecting hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 treatment. rt.com Italy and Belgium have joined France in‚Äã moving to ‚Äã‚Äãban the‚Äã use of the controversial hydroxychloroquine‚Äã to treat Covid-19 patients as questions continue to mount over its safety. | On Wednesday, France revoked its decree authorizing the prescription of the anti-malarial drug for the novel coronavirus following a decision from the government's health advisory agency. | Now Belgium's health body has warned against using the drug outside of ongoing registered clinical trials. | Italy's health authorities also co…

RT (2020-05-27). HALF of positive coronavirus antibody tests could be wrong & give false sense of security — top US health agency. rt.com Antibody tests used to confirm whether someone has ever had the coronavirus could be wrong half of the time, driving bad policy decisions, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. | The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a top federal health agency, said in a

RT (2020-05-27). Russian capital to see quarantine rules relaxed as govt outlines anti-coronavirus plan until 2021. rt.com Starting next Monday the strict quarantine in Moscow will be lifted as the biggest hotspot of the Covid-19 epidemic in Russia eases restrictions. But many rules are here to stay, at least until the end of the year. | Moscow accounts for roughly half of all Covid-19 cases in Russia, but now the outbreak seems to be subsiding, so more quarantine measures will be lifted starting next week. Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on Wednesday outlined his plan to steer the city further out of the lockdown. | Arguably the most welcome change will be the relaxation of the stay-at-home order, under which Muscovites lived for almost tw…

RT (2020-05-27). Riot cops fire tear gas & rubber bullets as HUGE crowds march in Minnesota after police-involved chokehold death (VIDEOS). rt.com A massive crowd of demonstrators descended upon a police headquarters in Minneapolis to protest a recent killing of an unarmed man. They were met with an arsenal of riot control weapons, including stun grenades and rubber bullets. | Thousands of marchers could be seen around the 3rd police precinct headquarters in Minneapolis on Tuesday, demanding answers after a local man, George Floyd, was killed by an officer's chokehold, despite repeatedly stating that he couldn't breathe. | Hours after the firing of the four cops involved, this is the south Minneapolis intersection near where George Floyd was killed on Me…

RT (2020-05-27). We're going to see stocks take another dive once market realizes coronavirus vaccine won't be ready soon — RT's Boom Bust. rt.com Stock markets are rallying on optimism of global economies reopening and hopes of a potential Covid-19 vaccine, with the US S&P 500 and the Dow Jones climbing to levels not seen since early March. | Boom Bust talks to editor of the Logical Investor Sean Hyman about the stock market sentiment and if its positivity is sustainable. | Hyman cites the CEO of the global biopharmaceutical company Merck, who said that even the 18-month time frame was "way too aggressive." | "You're probably looking at two or three years at best," Hyman says, explaining that the average vaccine could take up to several years to actu…

RT (2020-05-27). Chinese social media platform bans account claiming US is 'processing DEAD BODIES into hamburgers' — report. rt.com Beijing has reportedly shut down a widely popular anti-US account on its social media platform, WeChat, after the profile took up a bizarre theory positing that American Covid-19 victims are being ground up into lunch meat. | The social media account in question — Zhidao Xuegong (the Scholar Forum for Ultimate Truth) — had millions of followers under its belt prior to its ban, but apparently crossed the line with a controversial post alleging that "The US has been processing dead bodies from Covid-19 diseases into hamburgers." It was shut down on Sunday for "fabricating facts, stoking xenophobia and…

Anand Naidoo (2020-05-27). The Heat: COVID-19: US and South Africa. america.cgtn.com The World Health Organization warns about a second wave of the coronavirus, voicing concerns about countries reopening too quickly.

en.mehrnews (2020-05-27). Iran COVID-19 update: 2,080 new cases, 56 deaths in past 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 27 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected 2,080 people and claimed 56 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, a senior health official said.

sputniknews (2020-05-27). 'Cardi B is All of Us on Quarantine' as Singer Shares Clip Showing Her Rounded-Up Belly. sputniknews.com The co-author of the pandemic anthem "Coronavirus Remix" has never tried too hard to hide her true emotions about the ongoing health crisis and this time the singer went as far as to share with the audience her body's reaction to the continuing lockdown measures.

sputniknews (2020-05-27). Australian LNG Exports to Chinese Market at Crossroads as Trade Tensions Intensify. sputniknews.com A healthy bilateral relationship will be important to Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to China, which will be the only meaningful market in the coming decade but one that is undergoing a structural change, Chinese industry insiders said on Tuesday.

yenisafak (2020-05-27). Iran records 56 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours. yenisafak.com Iran on Wednesday confirmed 56 additional fatalities from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 7,564.A further 2,080 people have tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 141,591, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said.He added that 111,176 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 2,551 patients remain in critical condition.In Iran, one of the countries in the Middle East hardest-hit by the disease, COVID-19 was first detected in the city of Qom on Feb. 19 and then spread throughout the country.The pandemic has claime…

yenisafak (2020-05-27). Don't abandon us, we don't transmit coronavirus, say Cairo dogs and cats. yenisafak.com The doggies and kitties of a Cairo veterinary clinic have an important message, and they are taking it to the internet.Don't abandon us. We don't spread the coronavirus."We started this campaign after noticing that there were many people leaving dogs and cats outside our clinic," explained veterinarian Corolos Majdi at the Animalia clinic in the Egyptian capital.Pets looked after at home are highly unlikely to spread any disease, but dogs or cats abandoned on the street can be dangerous, he said.Doctors at the clinic decided to let the pets spread the message. They began photographing dogs and cats wearing signs…

graham (2020-05-27). The Governments' 50,000 NHS nurse plan disintegrates. truepublica.org.uk The first year of the government's plan to significantly boost the NHS workforce has been hit by a significant fall in international recruitment caused by the coronavirus pandemic reports the Health Service journal. According to senior sources very close to NHS workforce plans, the challenging nature of the international recruitment market during the pandemic will …

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts (2020-05-27). The Campaign Against Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). Clearing the Way for A Big Pharma Vaccine. globalresearch.ca The Covid-19 pandemic has brought out many disturbing features of our society. Misinformation, or perhaps more accurately, disinformation, abounds in the service of agendas ranging from those who interpret the virus as a useful ploy for the construction of a …

Kevin Zeese (2020-05-26). Frontline Healthcare Workers Are Becoming Socialists. popularresistance.org As the current Covid-19 pandemic spread throughout the country, healthcare workers again witnessed how the for-profit healthcare system, along with the capitalist economic system, was unable to respond. Frontline workers, already putting their lives at risk, were being more exposed due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies that should never be in shortage, especially in a country that allows an individual with a net worth of over $100 billion to exist. Hospitals, already short-staffed due to years of "cost-saving" measures, were near collapse from the influx of patients. This helped to…

Kevin Zeese (2020-05-26). Colombian Social Leaders Protest For Access To Health Care And Food. popularresistance.org The difficult situation Colombia is facing due to the pandemic prompted the 48 leaders of Sierra Nevada, in the Santa Marta District, to protest to demand decent health services and food aid. | In the middle of the road that communicates with the territory of La Guajira, the demonstrators placed a coffin and performed the dance of the African morticians that have been virtualized in the social networks in recent months. | With this representation, the social leaders denounced the abandonment by the District and Departmental Government. | Those who become ill for the COVID-19 has a high risk of dying, they denounc…

Kevin Zeese (2020-05-26). Tenants Buy Properties From Negligent Landlord Who Tried To Evict Them. popularresistance.org Thirty-eight families in south Minneapolis will gain ownership of their five apartment buildings after spending years battling with their landlord, Stephen Frenz, who had been trying to evict them. | "This is an amazing victory. I am so happy," Chloe Jackson said in a statement Monday. She is a resident of one of the properties and board president of the tenant's rights group Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (United Renters for Justice). Eviction seemed certain once the pandemic hit since the families — most of whom are immigrants and don't have health care or access to government benefits — had collect…

Staff (2020-05-26). Stay Home, Stay Safe, Be Kind: What New Zealand Can Teach the World About Eliminating COVID-19. democracynow.org New Zealand implemented one of the earliest lockdowns and has largely succeeded in eliminating the coronavirus under the leadership of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Some of the country's success has been attributed to her leadership, trust in science, and clear communication during the crisis. We get an update from Michael Baker, professor of public health at the University of Otago in Wellington, New Zealand. He is an epidemiologist and a member of the New Zealand Ministry of Health's Technical Advisory Group. Baker has been advising the government on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their slogan is "Stay…

Víctor Castillo (2020-05-26). Facing the ecosocial crisis: Is a socialist planning of the economy feasible? mronline.org The current ecological and social crisis, a crisis which has seen its effects increased by a public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is a crisis which raises serious concerns over environmental sustainability and social polarization and which has a fundamental cause: the blind logic pursued by our economy system, where everything is secondary …

Marc Brodine (2020-05-26). Wildcat strikes spreading in Yakima, Wash. over unsafe working conditions. peoplesworld.org YAKIMA, Wash.—On May 7, over 100 workers at Allen Brothers Fruit in Naches, Wash., near Yakima, went on strike, protesting unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. This took place at their packing and shipping facility. The workers are demanding safer working conditions and $2-an-hour hazardous duty pay. Dozens of workers have left work due to contracting …

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2020-05-26). Victory: Ohio's plan to deny workers their unemployment insurance is shelved. mronline.org In early May, Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine began reopening the state economy. And to support business and slash state expenses, both at worker expense, he had a "COVID-19 Fraud" form put up on the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services website where employers could confidentially report employees "who quit or refuse work when …

Andrey Areshev (2020-05-26). 7 Ways the DNC Will Use Contact Tracers for Biden's Campaign to Oust Trump. strategic-culture.org The Democrat Party's GOTV (Get Out the Vote) program relies on labor unions and the NGO sector. Those who organized these directly as this writer has, or those who have been on the receiving end of it, will understand how this zeal, backed by the force of law under the auspices of Contact Tracers/Compliance Officers, will change the electoral outcome. | Contact Tracers are Compliance Officers Backed by Police and Operating under Governor's Orders | Contact Tracers are based on public sector workers in the area of public health, or NGO's that rely on funding from DNC backed philanthropy and state budgets. They all…

Medical Express (2020-05-26). Spain Cuts Virus Death Toll by 2,000. anti-empire.com Spain's government on Monday revised downward the country's death toll from the coronavirus by nearly 2,000, bringing the total number of deaths recorded to 26,834. | A new system of gathering data had allowed them to identify cases that were counted twice and exclude deaths wrongly attributed to the virus, said Fernando Simon, the health ministry's emergencies coordinator. | "A variation of 1,900, that's a lot," he added. "We are trying to check that it's correct, but these are the figures that we have at the moment." | The

Charles Hugh Smith (2020-05-26). An Economy That Cannot Allow Stocks to Decline Is Too Fragile to Survive. anti-empire.com Feast your eyes on the chart below of the Nasdaq 100 stock market Index, which is dominated by the six FAAMNG (rhymes with "famine") stocks: Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix and Google which now account for over 20% of the entire U.S. stock market's capitalization. | Notice that despite the global economy sliding into a debt-bust depression, the NDX is within kissing distance of new all-time highs. You're joking, right? Sales and profits won't slide as the depression steps on the neck of hundreds of millions of households? | As you've probably heard by now, sales don't matter, profits don't matter, cos…

anti-empire (2020-05-26). Pointless Damage: Robert Koch's Own Calculation Shows Germany's Lockdown Was Unnecessary and Ineffective. anti-empire.com In an interview with Citing data from Robert Koch Institute (RKI) : | In the interview, the prominent professor, once an adviser to former chancellor Gerhard Schrà∂der, cited a chart from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) that was issued on April 15th: |

Nicky Harley (2020-05-26). UK Vaccine Team: Vaccine Is Now in a "Race Against Virus Disappearing" anti-empire.com Leading UK scientists racing to develop a Covid-19 vaccine are concerned that as the virus diminishes in Britain their tests may not be effective. | Researchers at the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group are warning that their initial hope of an 80 per cent success rate for the vaccine has now dropped to 50 per cent. | "It is a race, yes. But it's not a race against the other guys. It's a race against the virus disappearing, and against time," Professor Adrian Hill told the Telegraph newspaper. | "We said earlier this year that there was an 80 per cent chance of developing an effe…

The Canary (2020-05-26). WHO executive warns first wave of coronavirus is not yet over. thecanary.co A health expert has warned that the world is still in the midst of the "first wave" of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.World Health Organisation (WHO) executive director Dr Mike Ryan warned that the risks of reigniting coronavirus outbreaks are complicating efforts to fend off further misery for the many millions who have lost their jobs.Dr Ryan said: "Right now, we're not in the second wave. We're right in the middle of the first wave globally.(PA Graphics)"We're still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up."Dr Ryan pointed to South America, South Asia and other areas where the numb…

RT (2020-05-26). Trump teases 'very interesting & powerful' action after China calls US sanctions 'bluff' over Hong Kong. rt.com US President Donald Trump said he was planning to do something about Beijing's moves to limit the political autonomy of Hong Kong, but would not say what. Chinese media, meanwhile, called US threats a 'nothingburger' bluff. | "We're doing something now. I think you'll find it very interesting. But I won't be talking about it today," Trump told reporters at a White House event about healthcare on Tuesday. "It's something you're going to be hearing about … before the end of the week — very powerfully I think." | White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said earlier that Trump was "displeased" about Ch…

RT (2020-05-26). CDC quietly DOWNGRADED Covid-19 death rate and media IGNORED good news. Elon Musk wonders why. rt.com The latest estimates show that Covid-19 is nowhere near as lethal as early models claimed, yet the mainstream media have been mum on the subject, prompting some prominent lockdown critics to ask why that might be the case. | According to the "current best estimate" scenario