(2020-05-30). Capitalism = Death: U.S. government response to COVID-19 mirrors ineptitude and malfeasance of response to HIV epidemic. liberationnews.org 
To compare the early years of the HIV epidemic to the COVID-19 pandemic is to relive a nightmare…
(2020-05-30). The Monster Enters: COVID-19, Avian Flu and the Plagues of Capitalism — book review. mronline.org 
Mike Davis' The Monster Enters updates his earlier book on capitalism and pandemic disease to reflect on the current failure of the neoliberal state, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh…
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Cost-effectiveness of transitional US plans for universal health care. thelancet.com The USA stands alone as the only high-income country not to provide health care as a human right, leaving almost 80 million of its citizens without adequate insurance.1—3 In a 2020 study, we found that securing quality health care for the entire country would save 68‚Äà000 lives and 1 ∑73 million life-years annually.4…
(2020-05-30). [Editorial] COVID-19 in Africa: no room for complacency. thelancet.com Despite over 100‚Äà000 confirmed cases and infections in every country, the passage of COVID-19 through the African continent remains somewhat enigmatic. High numbers of deaths were expected in the region due to fragile health systems, lack of access to preventive measures, barriers to testing, and potentially vulnerable populations. But, according to WHO, Africa is the least affected region globally, with 1 ∑5% of the world's reported COVID-19 cases and 0 ∑1% of the world's deaths. Although comparisons are inaccurate, mortality rates have been lower compared with outbreaks of similar si…
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] The health-related determinants of politics. thelancet.com I was pleased to read Richard Horton's Comment about populist politics.1 However, the problem of political populism and solution that he charts out seem somewhat non-sequitur.
(2020-05-30). [World Report] Fears of "highly catastrophic" COVID-19 spread in Yemen. thelancet.com Yemen's health system has been devastated by years of conflict and COVID-19 deaths are reported to be surging in Aden. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2020-05-30). [World Report] COVID-19 strains remote regions of Peru. thelancet.com The health system in Iquitos is stretched and the true number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is unclear. Barbara Fraser reports from Lima.
(2020-05-30). [Comment] Justice and health: The Lancet—Health Equity and Policy Lab Commission. thelancet.com Justice forms the foundation for what we owe each other and what fairness among human beings and institutions involves. Globally, there are large inequalities in health outcomes and opportunities for health. Not only is the global burden of disease distributed unevenly but capabilities to prevent and treat disease are also asymmetrical; those in greatest need often have the least access to human, physical, and financial resources for health. Global health justice provides an account of what justice across our planet embodies, offers solutions to global health problems, and identifies who has responsibilities and…
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Time for global health diplomacy. thelancet.com 2019 was The Lancet's Year for Nutrition. Highlights included reports from the EAT-Lancet Commission1 and The Global Syndemic Commission,2 both emphasising that global trade systems must be transformed to ensure healthy and sustainable diets. But what developments can be expected following these reports? We might get an indication by considering what has happened since The Lancet's 2009 Trade and Health Series. This Series criticised the trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for being detrimental to global health, among other things, by facilitating unhealthy diets.
(2020-05-30). [Correspondence] Towards more balanced representation in Lancet Commissions. thelancet.com Enthusiastically, Richard Horton1 reports on the foundation of the Italian Institute of Planetary Health at a time when youth strikes, an emerging pandemic of a new coronavirus, and burning forests remind us of our planet being in jeopardy. We agree that something must change so that the undoubtable advances in science and medicine that were made since the time of Lucretius translate into a better life for all humans, no matter who they are, where they were born, and where they live and work.1 Yet, the lamented crisis of trust in science and medicine cannot be overcome by concepts of global health or planetary he…
(2020-05-30). [Comment] Offline: After COVID-19—is an "alternate society" possible? thelancet.com How do we make sense of this pandemic? The first interpretations are now appearing. Slavoj ≈Ωi≈æek is a prolific philosopher and cultural theorist. He is the first to produce a volume of reflections—Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World (Polity, 2020). ≈Ωi≈æek doubts the epidemic will make us wiser: he insists that "we should resist the temptation to treat the ongoing epidemic as something that has a deeper meaning". Despite these cautions, we still have an important question to answer: "What is wrong with our system that we were caught unprepared by the catastr…
(2020-05-30). [Clinical Picture] Drusen in dense deposit disease: not just age-related macular degeneration. thelancet.com A 40-year-old woman was referred to our clinic by her optometrist because she had lesions on her retina suggestive of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). She was otherwise well: with no systemic or visual symptoms.
(2020-05-30). [Perspectives] A call for food system change. thelancet.com In shutting down entire societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fundamental inequities and inadequacies of market-driven economies that prioritise profits over human welfare. Inequities show up in businesses that furlough employees while paying high salaries and bonuses to executives. They are also revealed by the dependence of food systems on poorly paid workers and cheap global supply chains. The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates how current food systems fail to protect populations from hunger and diet-influenced non-communicable diseases and why the poor, disenfranchised, discriminated against, and chronic…
(2020-05-30). Corporate Lawsuits Could Devastate Poor Countries Grappling with Covid-19. zcomm.org Wealthy corporations may use trade courts to keep public health measures from cutting into their profits…
(2020-05-30). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Health and Human Services plays key role in supporting Americans amid COVID-19 crisis. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The COVID-19 pandemic has been a unique situation that has required work across federal and state agencies to support communities and frontline workers during this challenging time. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has played a key role by providing effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health …
(2020-05-30). Trinity Health to terminate psychiatric beds in Massachusetts in midst of pandemic. wsws.org If approved by the state, the closure will eliminate 74 beds for adults, the elderly, and children, along with 202 jobs.
(2020-05-30). Coronavirus cases surpass six million globally. wsws.org New epicenters in Eastern Europe, South America, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent are rapidly causing massive public health crises.
(2020-05-29). What's NATO Up to These Days? Provoking Russia, Draining Healthcare Budgets and Protecting Its Own from COVID. counterpunch.org 
In November 2019, as experts warned that a novel coronavirus was likely to develop in the near-future, NATO boasted that its European Allies, including the UK, as well as Canada, were boosting their military budgets by an average of 4.6 percent, or an additional $130bn since 2016. The implication is that this increase in military spending is at the expense of healthcare, which is being privatized worldwide.
(2020-05-29). Bethune's socialized medicine and the public health crisis today. mronline.org 
We are at war! The heads of states throughout the globe are posing as chieftains in this quixotic war against an enemy who no one understands.
(2020-05-30). Warren holds fundraiser for Biden, drops "MedicareFor All" indybay.org Elizabeth Warren's populist pretensions were nothing more than a marketing tool, to be discarded as soon as they become inconvenient.
(2020-05-30). May 30 4pm Online Townhall: Justice for George Floyd – Speak Out Now. indybay.org The people of Minneapolis and other cities are right to take to the streets. George Floyd's murder can not be forgotten. We can not remain silent or continue with business as usual. Their whole system of capitalism is guilty! We have to stand up against racist violence and organize and fight to protect the health and lives of of us all! Join us for an online town hall.
(2020-05-30). Iran's battle against COVID-19 successful global model: Namaki. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 31 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki said on Saturday that the world considers Iran's approach in the fight against Coronavirus as a successful model.
(2020-05-30). Iran records 2,282 new COVID-19 on Saturday. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 30 (MNA) — The Iranian Health Ministry announced 2,282 new cases of infection with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, putting the total number of cases in the country at 148,950.
(2020-05-30). Yemen criticizes UN's lack of action against COVID-19 crisis. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 30 (MNA) — Yemen has criticized the United Nations' lack of actions amid the pandemic, saying international organization's actions do not reach to the level of the crisis faced by the health sector in the country.
(2020-05-30). Russian Health Ministry Approves First Domestic Drug for COVID-19. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Health Ministry has approved the first domestic drug, called Avifavir, for treating coronavirus patients, according to a new entry to the national drug registry.
(2020-05-30). Chinese Scientist '99%' Sure That COVID-19 Vaccine Will Prove Successful – Report. sputniknews.com Global powers are jockeying to develop a desperately needed vaccine to COVID-19. The UK's Oxford University previously expressed confidence that it would be the first to create one, but now, a Chinese biotech company may be taking the lead.
(2020-05-30). Rwandan medical workers deploy robots to minimise coronavirus risk. yenisafak.com At the Kanyinya COVID-19 treatment facility a short distance from Rwanda's capital Kigali, Akazuba, Ikizere and Ngabo report for duty, but these are no ordinary health care workers.In a bid to minimise contact between patients infected with the coronavirus and doctors and nurses, the country has deployed the three robots to carry out simple tasks like taking temperatures and monitoring patients.The sleek white robots, with big bright blue eyes and a rather human appearance, were donated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and are helping frontline workers tackle the coronavirus crisis in the East A…
(2020-05-30). Turkey condemns attack on aid workers in Somalia. yenisafak.com Turkey on Saturday denounced an attack on aid workers in Somalia, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday.The ministry in a statement on its website expressed the country's condolences over the attack, in which eight aid workers of a health facility in Gololey Village were abducted and executed."We are deeply saddened by the news of the abduction and the brutally execution of eight aid workers working in a health facility in Gololey Village located in the Hirshabelle region by a group of unidentified gunmen."We strongly condemn this heinous terrorist attack. We extend our condolences to the brotherly people…
(2020-05-30). Fortress On A Hill: Interview With Gareth Porter. popularresistance.org Gareth Porter has long been one of my favorite foreign policy writers and investigative journalists. | Do check out his recent columns at the GrayZone! | He stopped by the podcast to discuss his long standing work on the Vietnam war, his thoughts on COVID-19 via the USS Theodore Roosevelt along with his previous work on the 1919 flu epidemic, the terrifying connections between Mike Pompeo and Bibi Netanyahu, and Israel's secret long standing nuclear stockpile. | Gareth Porter is an independent investigative journalist who has covered national security policy for decades, really, and was the recipient of the 2012…
(2020-05-30). Health Care Workers Call On Labor Movement To Take Action. popularresistance.org As health care workers, we condemn the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers as an act of racist violence. We condemn the murder of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police officers as an act of racist violence. We condemn the murder of Tony McDade by Tallahassee police officers as an act of racist violence. Their killings are just a handful of countless examples of police brutality responsible for the early deaths of many Black people in the United States. Black people are three times more likely than white people to die by police violence. As health care workers, we witness first-hand how widespread…
(2020-05-29). A Growing Wave of Bankruptcies Threatens U.S. Recovery. counterpunch.org 
The bankruptcy epidemic in the U.S. started last year, long before any COVID-19 pandemic had touched down. U.S. retailers ranked among the greatest casualties of 2019 with a total of 17 bankruptcies. Big names among the retail bankruptcies in 2019 included Gymboree on January 16; Charlotte Russe on February 3; Things Remembered on February 6;
(2020-05-29). The blue plague and black death. mronline.org 
George Floyd's death by Blue Plague in Minneapolis was widely condemned by the same parties that have encouraged and funded the spread of the fatal contagion.
(2020-05-29). Millions jobless, benefits hard to get — We need a federal unemployment system. peoplesworld.org 
The current federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) system in the United States was a disaster waiting to happen. And when COVID-19 forced large parts of the economy to shut down in recent months, the disaster proved to be even worse than feared. With the number of newly unemployed people now officially passing 40 million (with millions more uncounted), …
(2020-05-29). Argentinians hold a virtual mobilization to demand abortion rights. peoplesdispatch.org 
On May 28, on the International Day of Action for Women's Health, the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion in Argentina celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. On the occasion, the movement that has been at the forefront of the struggle for abortion rights in the country, called on the citizens to mobilize virtually, demanding legalization of this integral human right. | Tens of thousands of women, queer and non-binary people took part in the virtual pañuelazo or a march with green scarves, which represents the feminist struggle for legal abortion. They shared their messages and photos w…
(2020-05-29). Rep. Katie Porter Accuses UnitedHealth of 'Putting Profits Before Patients and Providers' in Midst of Pandemic. commondreams.org "It's flat out wrong for the world's largest insurance company to pass costs on to families in the middle of a pandemic—I want answers." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-29). U.S. Declares a Vaccine War on the World. counterpunch.org Donald Trump launched a new vaccine war in May, but not against the virus. It was against the world. The United States and the UK were the only two holdouts in the World Health Assembly from the declaration that vaccines and medicines for COVID-19 should be available as public goods, and not under exclusive patent
(2020-05-29). Coronavirus and the Telecom Crisis. counterpunch.org The current Corvis-19 pandemic provides a unique vantage point to assess key social institutions of American life. Sadly, none has failed so gravely as the nation's health care system, especially as underwritten by the private insurance model. The crisis of the U.S. healthcare system raises the deeper, more fundamental, question as to whether health care
(2020-05-29). Maine's ISP Privacy Law Does Not Violate the First Amendment, Much as ISPs Would Like for It To. aclu.org Without many of us even realizing it, our use of the Internet reveals deeply private information about us, ranging from the contents of our communications to details about our finances, health, and exact location. This information — especially when aggregated — provides an intimate window into our personal lives and can reveal a great deal of personal, private information about us, like our health care needs and personal or political beliefs., , For each of us, there's at least one entity that can see perfectly through that window: our "broadband information access service" provider, more commonly…
(2020-05-29). The Fear Is Real, Not Orchestrated. thealtworld.com For years I have been watching what little intelligence the human race ever had slowly evaporate before my eyes as governments built up arsenals of thermonuclear and biowarfare weapons that they cannot use without destroying us all. So many important social needs are forsaken, such as a national health service, in order to acquire useless weapons of mass destruction. My opinion of human intelligence is currently being reinforced by the hysteria over the attempts, however inadequate, to protect us from the consequences of a virus about which little is known. | The precautions of social distancing, masks, and close…
(2020-05-29). Bill Gates' Web of Dark Money and Influence — Part 3: Health Surveillance, Event 201 and the Rockefeller Connection. thelastamericanvagabond.com Lockdowns, Contact Tracing, Digital Certificates, and Vaccines Over the last four months Bill Gates has made dozens of media appearances where he has called for several controversial "solutions" to COVID-19. Gates says these proposals must be implemented before society can go back to "normal." From calling for extended lock downs, health surveillance (aka contact tracing) …
(2020-05-29). Nine in 10 smokers start before they are 18 years old, warns WHO. news.un.org Tobacco products continue to kill eight million people a year who get hooked via a $9 billion a year marketing strategy. That's the warning from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, which has said that even during a global pandemic, the tobacco and nicotine industry has continued to promote products that limit people's ability to fight new coronavirus and recover from the disease.
(2020-05-29). The Gates / Fauci Vaccine Developed by Moderna. Video Featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Andrew Kaufman. globalresearch.ca This is a four-minute video featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Andrew Kaufman that explains exactly what is in the Gates/Fauci covid19 vaccine currently being developed by Fauci's own vaccine company, Moderna. | Most of the vaccines currently under process …
(2020-05-29). "Mass Sterilization": Kenyan Doctors Find Anti-fertility Agent in UN Tetanus Vaccine. globalresearch.ca This article is of relevance to the ongoing debate on vaccines. | It was first published in February 2015 | According to
(2020-05-29). Unemployment Insurance Is a Vital Part of Economic Freedom. thenation.com Unemployment Insurance Is a Vital Part of Economic Freedom…
(2020-05-29). 2.1 million new claims for unemployment insurance bring total to 40 million. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, May 28, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that there were 2.1 million new claims for state unemployment insurance in the previous week ending May 23. This was down from 2.4 million new claims the week before, showing that the wave of layoffs from the pandemic and efforts to control it is going down. At the same time this is still more than ten times the pre-recession level and brings the total number of new applications to 40 million in the last ten weeks. | The total number of people receiving benefits through both the regular state unemployment and the Federal Pandemic Unemployme…
(2020-05-29). I've Signed Death Certificates During COVID-19. Here's Why You Can't Trust Any of the Statistics on the Number of Victims. globalresearch.ca As an NHS doctor, I've seen people die and be listed as a victim of coronavirus without ever being tested for it. But unless we have accurate data, we won't know which has killed more: the disease or the lockdown?…
(2020-05-29). With COP 26 Pushed to Late 2021 Due to Pandemic, World Leaders Urged Not to Delay Climate Action. commondreams.org Organizers of the United Nations COP 26 climate change conference that has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic announced Thursday that the summit will now be held during the first two weeks of November 2021 in Glasgow—prompting a new wave of calls for world leaders to pursue a green and just recovery to the ongoing public health crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-29). Amid Global Pandemic—With Nearly 363,000 Dead—Trump Terminates US Ties With the World Health Organization. commondreams.org "When every single country in the world is able to work with the WHO, except for one whose president advocates treating coronavirus with bleach and UV light, who do you think is at fault?" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-05-29). California Sheriff Refuses to Release People From Jail as COVID Outbreak Rages. truthout.org California Sheriff Chad Bianco recently made a splash in the conservative media after he told Riverside County officials that his department would not enforce local public health orders meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A viral video of his statement earned Bianco an Bianco did not mention that the five…
(2020-05-29). Imperial develops coronavirus outbreak simulation tools for 137 countries. imperial.ac.uk Imperial have developed coronavirus outbreak simulation tools for 137 countries to help healthcare services plan their response to the pandemic.