Monthly Archives: July 2020

2020-07-13: News Headlines

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-07-13). LancetGate: "Scientific Corona Lies" and Big Pharma Corruption. Hydroxychloroquine versus Gilead's Remdesivir. globalresearch.ca The campaign against HCQ is carried out through slanderous political statements, media smears, not to mention an authoritative peer reviewed "evaluation" published on May 22nd by The Lancet, which was based on fake figures and test trials.

Marco Vinceti, Tommaso Filippini, Kenneth J. Rothman, Fabrizio Ferrari, Alessia Goffi, Giuseppe Maffeis, Nicola Orsini (2020-07-13). [Research Paper] Lockdown timing and efficacy in controlling COVID-19 using mobile phone tracking. thelancet.com It appears that the less rigid lockdown led to an insufficient decrease in mobility to reverse an outbreak such as COVID-19. With a tighter lockdown, mobility decreased enough to bring down transmission promptly below the level needed to sustain the epidemic.

Mitch Jones (2020-07-13). Better-Than-Before Climate Plans Still Aren't Good Enough. commondreams.org Sunrise Movement campaigners call on Democratic House members to back a Green New Deal. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Fight Back (2020-07-13). On the growing economic crisis, unemployment and Marxist political economy. fightbacknews.org Fight Back! interviews Masao Suzuki, professor of economics and a leading member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. | Fight Back!: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham once said that extending the extra $600 a week in unemployment insurance would happen "over my dead body." Why are Republicans so opposed to helping out the millions of workers who lost their jobs during the current crisis? | Masao Suzuki: A common view is that the Republican party leadership is cruel and uncaring – and of course this is true. But underlying this inhumanity is the logic of capitalism, which needs what Marx called a "reserve a…

Mike Whitney (2020-07-13). Children's Rights: Stop Fu**ing Around and Open the G**Damn Schools! globalresearch.ca Countries around the world are ignoring the media's fearmongering and starting to reopen their schools. This is a positive development which shows that the Coronavirus's psychic-grip on the population is gradually loosening. Once again, people are asserting control over their …

Victor Grossman (2020-07-13). Has Germany finally had enough of U.S. bullying and militarism? peoplesworld.org BERLIN — Despite concern here about the continuing coronavirus danger, some still have an eye or an ear for new dangers on the international relations front. If they look and listen hard they are hearing an unusual tearing sound. It could be emanating from a recent development, the yet inconclusive but undeniable ripping apart of …

W. T. Whitney (2020-07-13). Oil Comes First in Peru, Not Coronavirus Danger, Not Indigenous Rights. counterpunch.org As of July 7, 10,772 people had died of COVID 19 infection in Peru, which is the 8th most severely affected country in the world. The actual toll is probably far greater, especially in Peru's Amazonian region. Indigenous inhabitants there, isolated from medical care, suffer from the pandemic and from an environment poisoned by oil extraction. Canadian oil company Frontera

Raghav Kaushik — Arun Gupta (2020-07-13). On Coronavirus and the Anti-Police-Brutality Uprising. counterpunch.org An investigative reporter, Arun Gupta has been consistently ahead of the news. In September 2011, he founded The Occupy Wall Street Journal with the help of the Yes Men to help build support for the fledgling occupation in Zuccotti Park. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he warned that if elected Trump would carry out "the

Staff (2020-07-13). What's Behind Brazil's COVID-19 Disaster? therealnews.com Indigenous, poor, and working-class communities in Brazil are all under threat from COVID-19. One man is largely to blame for the country's pandemic disaster: President Jair Bolsonaro, who has just tested positive for the virus.

Dave Kolpack (2020-07-13). Judge orders Dakota Access pipeline to be shut down for review. peoplesworld.org FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A judge last week ordered the Dakota Access pipeline shut down for additional environmental review more than three years after it began pumping oil — handing a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and delivering a blow to President Donald Trump's efforts to weaken public health and environmental protections his …

Colleen M. Farrell (2020-07-13). Witnessing the Pandemic From the Front Lines at New York City's Oldest Public Hospital. thenation.com Witnessing the Pandemic From the Front Lines at New York City's Oldest Public Hospital…

WSWS (2020-07-13). French trade unions agree to attacks on healthcare system amid coronavirus pandemic. wsws.org As far as the capitalist class is concerned, if more workers die, particularly elderly workers no longer able to produce profits for employers, this can be a positive good.

Binoy Kampmark (2020-07-13). The Coronavirus Seal: Victoria's Borders Close. counterpunch.org The state of Victoria is being sealed off from the rest of Australia. On Tuesday, at 11.59pm, the border with New South Wales will be shut with publicised resoluteness. It is happening at the insistence of politicians across the country with a panicked urge. On the way are reminders about the miracle that was federation

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-13). Why has coronavirus exploded in Brazil and seems controlled in Argentina? peoplesdispatch.org While in Bolsonaro's Brazil, the death toll is counted in the thousands, in Argentina Fernández's administration took drastic, timely measures and seems to have controlled the cases. Prioritizing economy or health, two political approaches that lead to very different outcomes.

Israel Shamir (2020-07-13). Popular Uprising against Covid Lockdown. Belgrade Liberated! The Government Surrenders. globalresearch.ca The relentless advance of coronavirus terror has been broken. Recalcitrant Serbs rebelled against their President when he ordered them back under house arrest. After two days of street battles with dozens of policemen hospitalised, the sturdy ers won; the

Chris Hartmann (2020-07-13). Mistrust Compels Anti-Authoritarian Epidemiology in the Time of COVID-19. commondreams.org Epidemiology, or the study of the causes and the distribution of health effects like diseases in a population, plays an integral role in understanding the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: CDC) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Puerto Rico declares emergency as drought leaves nearly 150,000 residents without water. wsws.org A lack of consistent running water will make it more difficult for frequent handwashing to limit the spread of the coronavirus which has already infected thousands on the island.

WSWS (2020-07-13). Bereaved family members march on Downing Street to demand UK COVID-19 inquiry. wsws.org Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK have set up a petition calling for an "immediate inquiry" that has been signed by over 154,000 people.

commondreams (2020-07-13). 60 Groups to NRC: Suspend ISP/WCS High-Level Radioactive Waste CIS Dump Proceeding, Till Covid-19 Emergency Ends. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-07-13). Federal Court Blocks FDA Restriction That Unnecessarily Imposes COVID-19 Risks on Patients Seeking Abortion Care. commondreams.org ______________________________…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Public forum: COVID-19 and the escalating assault on educators and students. wsws.org The Committee for Public Education and International Youth and Students for Social Equality in Australia are holding on online forum on July 18 to discuss the critical issues posed by government demands that schools reopen.

Staff (2020-07-13). As COVID Infections Soar, Trump Attacks Dr. Fauci, CDC & Pushes Schools to Reopen at All Costs. democracynow.org As the world and the United States shatter the daily records of COVID-19 infections, President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos continue to push for public schools to reopen in the fall without a plan to adhere to CDC guidelines. "We need to be doing this safely," responds emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen. "We've already seen what happens when we use shortcuts." Meanwhile, the White House continues to attack the nation's top infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Wen says, "I fear that at this point we are not even seeing the peak of this epidemic."

Staff (2020-07-13). Headlines for July 13, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. & World Mark Record Number of New COVID-19 Cases, Trump Accuses CDC of Lying & Attacks Dr. Anthony Fauci , COVID-19 Death Toll at San Quentin State Prison Reaches Nine, JBS Meat Processing Workers Stage Wildcat Strike, 300 Workers Infected, 4 Die at Los Angeles Apparel Factory, Mexico's COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 35,000, Surpassing Italy as World's Fourth Highest, India, Hong Kong, Colombia Reimpose Lockdowns Amid New Surges, Trump & DeVos Threaten to Cut Funding If Schools Stay Closed During Pandemic, Trump Commutes Sentence of Friend & Adviser Roger Stone, Washington Rdskns to Change Name; Will the Chiefs Be…

Staff (2020-07-13). Disability Rights s Take On Twin Pandemics of Racist Police Brutality & COVID-19. democracynow.org Two months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked an international uprising, we look at the underreported but devastating impact police violence has on people with disabilities, especially Black disabled people. According to at least one study, up to one-half of people killed by law enforcement in the U.S. have a disability. "People with disabilities have always been attacked by police. And people with disabilities and poor people have our own answers," says Leroy Moore, a Black disabled and artist, POOR Magazine co-founder and founder of the Krip-Hop Nation. "Our own answer is t…

pip.hinman (2020-07-13). Guard tests COVID-19 positive at refugee detention hotel. greenleft.org.au

Freedom Socialist Party (2020-07-13). Sunday 7/19: s of Color Speak Out on Systemic Racism in the Era of COVID-19. indybay.org Online. To register: http: //bit.ly/Demand-New-Normal…

RT (2020-07-13). 'You should be ashamed': Obama's ex-adviser slammed for celebrating NYC triumph over Covid 'from the epicenter to zero deaths!'. rt.com A former adviser to Barack Obama is being slammed for a "ghoulish" tweet celebrating the "short term sacrifices" New York City made to go from the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic to having a day with no new recorded deaths. | "From the epicenter to zero deaths. Short term sacrifice saves lives!!!" Valerie Jarrett tweeted on Saturday evening, in reaction to a story declaring the fact that the previous day included no new coronavirus deaths in New York City. | From the epicenter to zero deaths. Short term sacrifice saves lives!!!

RT (2020-07-13). 'Everyone is lying': Outrage after Trump retweets TV host who said there's a Covid-19 conspiracy to make him lose election. rt.com TV personality Chuck Woolery ignited uproar after claiming there was a conspiracy afoot to distort the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in order to make Donald Trump lose November's election, a tweet the president then reposted. | "The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19," the game-show host tweeted on Sunday, adding that "everyone is lying" about the pandemic. | According to Woolery, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Democratic Party, the media and "most" doctors are all in on the anti-Trump conspiracy. By exaggerating the direness of the pandemic, they are trying to "keep…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-07-13). "No Return to the 'Old Normal' for Foreseeable Future," Warns WHO Chief. commondreams.org "If the basics aren't followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go. It's going to get worse and worse and worse." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

yenisafak (2020-07-13). Indian court declines to restrict Hindu pilgrimage in Kashmir. yenisafak.com Amid the surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, the Indian Supreme court on Monday declined to restrict Hindu pilgrimage in Indian-administered Kashmir."Whether pilgrimage is held should be left with the local administration to decide and not for the court. Undoubtedly any decision arrived must be based on law and all relevant statutory provisions," ruled a three-member bench of the apex court.The plea seeking restrictions on the entry of devotees in view of the current pandemic situation was filed by Shri Amarnath Barfani Langars Organization, a non-profit association engaged in providing various services during…

Andy Rowell (2020-07-13). Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Are "Dominating Climate Policy Battles During COVID-19" commondreams.org We cannot go back to the dirty past, otherwise we will have no collective future. (Photo: Extinction Rebellion) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Melbourne public housing residents still outraged by Australian police lockdown. wsws.org The brutal state Labor government operation failed to curb the spread of COVID-19 throughout the public housing estates.

WSWS (2020-07-13). Florida sees one-day high of 15,300 COVID-19 cases as pandemic inundates health care infrastructure. wsws.org The world has passed 13 million new cases of COVID-19, taking less than five days for an additional million cases.

WSWS (2020-07-13). US ruling class demands deadly reopening of schools. wsws.org The escalating campaign to reopen US schools in the fall, under conditions of an explosive spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a key element of a conscious, bipartisan policy that will lead to countless preventable deaths.

WSWS (2020-07-13). Thousands Israeli government's lack of COVID-19 economic aid. wsws.org Unemployment has risen to 21 percent and more layoffs are expected in the wake of new restrictions imposed since a dramatic rise in infections.

Elin Mart√≠nez (2020-07-13). Covid-19 Reveals Global Need to Improve Education Systems. commondreams.org School closures have created some of the most trying ordeals for families in this pandemic. (Photo: carl_hfser/flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Canada's government accelerating drive to cut off support for workers made jobless by pandemic. wsws.org The Liberal government is scheming with big business to curtail the meager makeshift benefits for the millions of workers who have lost their jobs in the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Buell (2020-07-13). Unless We Take Urgent Action, Covid-19 Won't Be the Last Virus That Jumps From Animals to Humans. commondreams.org With tens of billions of nonhuman animals either hunted or farmed in the world's current world system of food production, future pandemics are all but certain. (Photo: Tim Geers/Flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Limited lockdowns fail to halt Australia's COVID-19 surge. wsws.org As is happening globally, the government and business "reopening" is causing a disaster.

Makia Freeman (2020-07-13). Busted: 11 COVID Assumptions Based on Fear Not Fact. globalresearch.ca COVID assumptions — the assumptions people make about COVID, how dangerous it is, how it spreads and what we need to do to stop it — are running rampant, running far more wildly than the supposed virus SARS-CoV2 itself. The …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-13). Palestinian Authority imposes fresh restrictions to curb COVID-19 spread. peoplesdispatch.org The measures include a complete ban on movement of people between all the 9 governorates of the West Bank for two weeks, as well as restrictions on businesses and social activity…

WSWS (2020-07-13). Ford workers in Louisville denounce unsafe conditions as opposition grows to COVID-19 spread in auto plants. wsws.org Ford Louisville Assembly workers denounced the blatant disregard of health and safety by both management and the United Auto Workers.

WSWS (2020-07-13). This week in history: July 13-19. wsws.org 25 years ago: Detroit newspaper workers go on strike On July 13, 1995, 2,500 Detroit Free Press and Detroit News workers went on strike, facing the most concentrated union-busting attack in the city in decades. Gannett Corporation and Knight-Ridder, owners of the two papers and at the time the two largest publishing chains in the country, were determined to destroy hundreds of jobs, slash health care benefits, and impose brutal working conditions.

Allen Baker (2020-07-13). Trump's Stance on Foreign College Students Digs US Economic Hole Even Deeper. counterpunch.org President Donald Trump's belligerence toward China and his administration's heartless and ill-thought-out Executive order to throw out foreign college students whose colleges, for health reasons, opt for another semester of on-line classes, could cast another wrench into the already clanking engine of the US economy. US colleges enroll around 1.1 million foreign students, who spend

Newsclick (2020-07-13). Indian poet and Varavara Rao shifted from prison to hospital due to deteriorating health. peoplesdispatch.org The health of the 79-year-old poet has deteriorated alarmingly over the past few weeks. He has been in prison since late 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case which critics say is aimed at silencing dissent in India…

commondreams (2020-07-13). Global: Health Workers Silenced, Exposed and Attacked. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Badri Raina (2020-07-13). Republican Values, Or Things That Students Need Not Learn. zcomm.org The CBSE's syllabus diktat seems to announce a clampdown on learning that may raise questions of macro-historical distress and discrimination that continue to plague the republic…

Robert Mackey (2020-07-13). Trump Manages to Wear a Mask and Undercut Mask-Wearing at the Same Time. zcomm.org In many states run by Democratic governors, Trump supporters, including anti-vaccine s, have staged angry s against mask orders.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-13). Health defenders new warriors. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 13 (MNA) — The contagion of the new coronavirus has appeared as an unexpected war with doctors, nurses, and hospital personnel as the new warriors on the front lines demanding the sacrifice of the health experts.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-13). Special coronavirus ward in Golestan province. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 13 (MNA) — Nurses and doctors at hospitals of Gonbad Kavus and Aliabad-e-Katool, in the northern Golestan province are offering high-quality medical services to Covid-19 patients round-the-clock.

2020-07-12: News Headlines

Mitch Jones (2020-07-12). Better-Than-Before Climate Plans Still Aren't Good Enough. commondreams.org Sunrise Movement campaigners call on Democratic House members to back a Green New Deal. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-07-12). Humanity is an Endangered Species. zcomm.org Have you noticed recently that things are collapsing? Sure, the rightwing, nationalist rulers of many countries never stop telling us that they have made their nations "great" again. But we would have to be dislocated from reality not to notice that something is wrong―very wrong. After all, the world is currently engulfed in a coronavirus

Mike Whitney (2020-07-12). Looks Like Sweden Was Right After All. globalresearch.ca Why is the media so fixated on Sweden's coronavirus policy? What difference does it make? | Sweden settled on a policy that they thought was both sustainable and would save as many lives as possible. They weren't trying to 'show anyone …

RT (2020-07-12). 'Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader'? Trump wears mask in public for 1st time, providing meme fodder for critics. rt.com US President Donald made his first public appearance wearing a mask (dressed up with a presidential seal), during a visit to a military hospital where he met wounded soldiers and healthcare workers. | On his way to Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington, the US leader explained why he finally decided to don a face covering, arguing that he's "never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place." | So there's this video of trump finally wearing a mask, and I just had to add this song to it

RT (2020-07-12). Jake Tapper says Trump would have 'saved lives' if he'd worn mask earlier, is shown 'no need for masks' clip from his own show. rt.com CNN's Jake Tapper was confronted with coverage from his own show claiming masks were "not needed" during the Covid-19 pandemic, after he tweeted Donald Trump may have saved lives if he'd worn them in public months ago. | "Some day someone will do a study on how many lives might have been saved if this happened in February or March," Tapper tweeted, reacting to the president being pictured for the first time wearing a mask. | Shaming citizens for refusing to wear masks in public — despite many states and businesses requiring them — has become commonplace on social media, but in "February or March," he…

RT (2020-07-12). In biggest daily increase among ALL states since start of Covid-19 epidemic, Florida confirms over 15,000 new infections. rt.com The US state of Florida reported a record spike in coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, officials announced on Sunday, as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms a record rise in global cases as well. | The US reported a massive 66,500 new cases in 24 hours, and, in Florida, 15,299 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday. | Florida's record figure, the highest among all states reported since the start of the epidemic, would rank it fourth in the world after the US, Brazil and India, if it were a country. | The state's daily new cases have also passed the highest recorded daily rate…

teleSUR (2020-07-12). Russia Successfully Completes COVID-19 Vaccine Trial. telesurenglish.net Russia's health authorities Sunday announced that the country has successfully concluded the clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19 in a group of volunteers, becoming the first country to successfully complete this fase. | RELATED: | "At this stage, the safety of the vaccine was demonstrated. It corresponds to the safety of vaccines that are currently on the market, " First Moscow State Medical University Sechenov's Institute o…

Nathalia Santos Ocasio (2020-07-12). Chilean Arpilleras Sustain Political Momentum During Lockdown. zcomm.org As Covid-19 interrupts months of mass mobilizations in Chile, women continue creating political tapestries to resist state violence and systemic inequalities.

Julie Hollar (2020-07-12). Corporate Media Team With Trump to Disparage Public Health Experts. commondreams.org As public health experts tirelessly work to unravel the mysteries of the Covid pandemic (and are increasingly burning out), the president of our country has constantly attacked and undermined them—and, lately, so have corporate media.

news.un (2020-07-12). A taxing problem: how to ensure the poor and vulnerable don't shoulder the cost of the COVID-19 crisis. news.un.org In the wake of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, tax systems should be reformed, and tax avoidance and evasion reduced, to ensure an economic recovery in which everyone pays their share, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Colin Todhunter (2020-07-12). Covid-19, Hunger and Starvation in India. Globalist Takeover of India's Public Health Policy. globalresearch.ca Some might ask why India is in complete lockstep with global lockdown despite the very low COVID19-related

Tamika C.B. Zapolski, Ukamaka M. Oruche (2020-07-12). Racism in the U.S. Healthcare System Is Costing Black Lives. commondreams.org As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., the virus hit African Americans disproportionately hard. African Americans are still contracting the illness—and dying from it—at rates twice as high as would be expected based on their share of the population.

Newsclick (2020-07-12). US quitting WHO will hit global responses to pandemics, vaccine development. peoplesdispatch.org Newsclick's Prabir Purkayastha talks about the US decision to leave the World Health Organization. He points out that this is yet another instance of US exceptionalism and describes how the country iis one of the largest beneficiaries of WHO's vaccine program.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-12). Iran confirms 2,186 infections,194 deaths in 24 hours. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 12 (MNA) — The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has infected 2,186 people and claimed 194 lives in Iran in the past 24 hours, a senior health official said.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-12). Tehran-Dubai tourist flights resumed amid outbreak. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 13 (MNA) — The tourist flights of Tehran and Dubai have been resumed since July 09 during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, by observing health protocols.

Mehr News Agency (2020-07-12). Air Force opens new hospital in Tehran for COVID-19 patients. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jul. 12 (MNA) — Deputy Coordinator of the Iranian Army Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari cut the ribbon on a new hospital in Tehran on Sunday, which has been established by tIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Lynda Carson (2020-07-12). Paycheck Protection Program loans to local nonprofit housing organizations. indybay.org PPP Loans During The Coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic:…

Eren Duzgan (2020-07-12). Capitalism, Coronavirus and the Road to Extinction. indybay.org The only way to 're-embed' our economies and save our lives from ecological collapse is by intervening in the very heart of the beast: land and human beings need to be taken out of the market. The beast is not tameable; it needs to be killed.

_____ (2020-07-12). US Blockade Over Cuba Grows During The COVID-19 Pandemic. popularresistance.org Havana, Cuba – The US does not skimp on means to stop Cuba's development by imposing unilateral measures of extraterritorial blockade, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) denounced. | So far the year, a period marked by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as a strengthening of calls to end the US economic and commercial blockade against Cuba, Washington applied another eleven regulations, noted Johana Tablada, deputy director for the United States at MINREX. | With those restrictions, the White House obstructed banking operations and limited the arrival in this country of medical supplies, fuel, donation…

_____ (2020-07-12). COVID19 Corruption: Wealthy And Well Connected Get Rich While People Suffer. popularresistance.org While corrupt elected officials and elites feed at the public trough, the economic collapse is hitting people in the United States hard. According to the newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics figures 47.2 percent of working-age people are without work and businesses are finding it impossible to pay their rent or keep their employees. The basic ability to feed children is in crisis, as nearly 14 million children in the United States went hungry in June, an increase of 10 million since 2018, and nearly three times the number of children who went hungry during the Great Recession, according to an analysis of Cen…

_____ (2020-07-12). Seattle: Get Police Out Of Handling Homeless. popularresistance.org The National Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness wrote to the mayor of Seattle this week demanding the removal of the Seattle police department from a team handling homelessness. | It recommended that the $2.6 million that goes to police to address the issue instead go to organizations that specialize in serving Indigenous people experiencing homelessness. | Coalition partners Chief Seattle Club, Mother Nation, Seattle Indian Health Board and United Indians of All Tribes Foundations signed the Wednesday letter. | "Police officers are not the best-suited to respond to our homeless community's needs," Mi…

_____ (2020-07-12). Unlikability: a Trait That Plagues Right-Wing Leaders. strategic-culture.org Likability is a trait that politicians across the political spectrum seek to achieve during their careers. Achieving popularity among the masses requires empathy and rationality, two elements that politicians of the right-wing, many of whom believe they are "populists," lack. With the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, an overwhelming majority of those political leaders who have seen their popularity rise are those who cared more for the health and safety of their constituents than in the value of stock market shares. | The linkage between political likability and possessing empathy for others is routinely see…

Staff (2020-07-12). COVID Crisis Highlights Urgency of Canceling All Student Debt. truthout.org 44 million Americans hold over 1.6 trillion dollars of student debt and the cost of higher education continues to skyrocket. And it's the poor, people of color and women who are most severely impacted. The COVID-19 crisis highlights the vulnerability of debt when people are unable to find jobs or pay off loans. We look at two urgent solutions to the debt crisis. First, reporter Kathryn Styer Martinez takes a look at a free school called Berea College in Kentucky. Then, we discuss the politics of debt and how t…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Senior military officer dies of coronavirus in Iraq. yenisafak.com A senior Iraqi military officer has succumbed to coronavirus, the army said on Sunday.A military statement said Maj.-Gen Murad al-Rabi'e, commander of the infantry corps of the Iraqi army, died from COVID-19.The statement did not give any further details.Al-Rabi'e is the highest-ranking military officer to have died of the virus in Iraq since the outbreak hit the country in March.Iraq has so far recorded 75,194 infections, including 3,055 deaths and 43,079 recoveries, according to its Health Ministry.Authorities have imposed a partial curfew, banned gatherings and made the wearing of masks mandatory in an effort…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Lebanon records new coronavirus infection high with more than 100 cases. yenisafak.com Lebanon has recorded more than 100 new coronavirus infections in the last day, its highest daily increase yet, with most of the cases among workers of a cleaning company, the health minister said on Sunday."To reassure people, the source is known," health minister Hamad Hassan told broadcaster LBC. He added that up to 75% of the cases were linked to what he described as a big cleaning company, were symptom-free and non-Lebanese.Hassan said 800 workers from the cleaning company in question needed to be tested, along with another 1,000 workers from two other companies with whom they were connected."The number will…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Hungary imposes border checks, quarantine to prevent spread of virus. yenisafak.com Hungary has imposed new restrictions on cross-border travel as of next Wednesday in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a surge in new cases in several countries, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Sunday.Under the new rules, Hungarian nationals returning from high risk countries listed as "yellow" and "red" will have to go through health checks at the border and will have to go into quarantine. The same applies to foreigners coming from "yellow" countries, but their entry will be banned from "red" countries.Countries in the Balkans and neighbouring Ukraine belong to the red cat…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Iran reports 194 more fatalities from coronavirus. yenisafak.com A further 2,186 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.She added that a total of 219,993 people have so far recovered and been discharged from hospitals, adding that 3,359 patients remain in critical condition.Iran's Khuzestan, Razavi Khorasan, West Azerbaijan and Mazandaran provinces are in the red zone, the most serious indicator. The capital Tehran, Fars, Kerman, Alborz, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Golestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan and East Azerbaijan provinces are among the high-risk regions.Since originating in China last Decembe…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Bangladesh: Over half of virus patients have recovered. yenisafak.com The number of coronavirus infections and death toll is climbing in Bangladesh — but so is its recovery rate. More than 50% of all patients have regained health since the virus was first reported in the country earlier this year, authorities said on Sunday. | The number of recoveries stand at 93,614 with 5,580 additions in the past 24 hours, latest figures by the Health Ministry show. | As many as 2,666 more people tested positive, while 47 succumbed to the virus, taking the caseload to 183,795 including 2,352 deaths. | Some 11,059 samples were tested in 77 labs across the country in the said period, bringin…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). COVID-19 sickens Palestinian detainee in Israel. yenisafak.com A Palestinian detainee in Israel has contracted coronavirus, according to the Commission of Palestinian Affairs on Sunday.In a statement, the commission said Kamal Abu Wa'er, 46, was diagnosed with the virus, blaming the Israeli policy of "medical negligence" for his illness.The Israeli "policy of deliberate and systematic medical negligence has made [Palestinian] detainees vulnerable to the coronavirus and other epidemics and diseases which threaten their lives," the commission said.According to the statement, Abu Wa'er, from the town of Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, suffers from a throat cancer and is now…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Trump's push to reopen schools part of bid to boost suburban standing. yenisafak.com President Donald Trump's demand for U.S. schools to fully reopen this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic is central to an emerging re-election strategy that seeks to resuscitate his flagging support in the nation's critical suburbs.Trump in recent weeks has taken stances on hot-button issues his campaign hopes will appeal to suburban voters, particularly women, who have soured on the Republican president since his 2016 election and continue to move away as the virus rages across the country and the economy sputters.Along with aggressively pushing for students to return to classrooms – "Schools must be open in the…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Education Secretary wants US schools open, offers no safety plan. yenisafak.com Education Secretary Betsy DeVos kept up the administration's push to reopen U.S. schools in the fall on Sunday, but failed to embrace any blueprint – including federal health guidelines – for how that could be done safely."We know that children get the virus at a far lower rate than any other part of the population. There is nothing in the data that would suggest that kids being back in school is dangerous to them," DeVos told CNN's "State of the Union."She did not offer any details on how her department would advise or help school districts and states with their reopenings amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases…

yenisafak (2020-07-12). Foreign doctors' hopes for fast-track pandemic licenses in Canada fading. yenisafak.com Canada's effort to fast-track careers of foreign-trained doctors to meet growing patient numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in only about two dozen licenses approved in Ontario and none in British Columbia, according to medical colleges in both provinces.As Canada faced the prospect of the pandemic swamping the country's healthcare system, British Columbia created a new class of license that would allow overseas-trained doctors to practice under the supervision of a fully licensed doctor, similar to licenses that exist in other provinces, such as Alberta.In Ontario, the medical college activated a…

Deepak L Bhatt, Philippe Gabriel Steg (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes — Authors' reply. thelancet.com Gerald Chi and Jolanta Marszalek raise questions about subgroup analysis and interaction terms in the THEMIS trial. Interaction terms are generally underpowered. At the same time, when several subgroups are compared, interaction terms might be positive by chance because of multiplicity of testing. These are two opposing forces in the interpretation of interaction terms that have long been appreciated in clinical trials. With respect to our work, the THEMIS trial was a positive trial in which we found significant efficacy benefit of ticagrelor in the overall population of patients with stable coronary artery disea…

Gerald Chi, Jolanta Marszalek (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes. thelancet.com We read with interest the Article by Deepak L Bhatt and colleagues1 on the incremental effect of ticagrelor to aspirin for patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease. The THEMIS trial suggested a reduction in ischaemic events but not irreversible harms in the overall population.2 The trial also hypothesised that patients with a history of previous percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) would show a favourable efficacy—safety tradeoff. The authors found a favourable net clinical benefit in patients with previous PCI but not in those without previous PCI (appendix).

Richard Horton (2020-07-11). [Comment] Offline: Restoring trust in WHO. thelancet.com Belgium has the sad distinction of leading the world league table of deaths from COVID-19. At 843 deaths per million, Belgium is ahead of the UK (650 per million), Italy (576 per million), Sweden (537 per million), and France (458 per million). COVID-19 was first reported in Belgium on Feb 4, 2020, in a 54-year-old man who had been repatriated from Wuhan, China. Community transmission was confirmed in early March after holiday makers returned from school vacation breaks in northern Italy. The national sense of failure and anger is spurring a serious effort to initiate an international inquiry into the global resp…

The Lancet (2020-07-11). [Editorial] COVID-19: the worst may be yet to come. thelancet.com As much of western Europe begins to ease countrywide lockdowns, globally the pandemic may still be in its infancy, with more than 160‚Äà000 new cases reported each day since June 25. Individual countries count cases differently, so direct comparisons are difficult, but the numbers illustrate a worrying pattern. At a subnational level the picture is nuanced, with local hotspots, but at a country level the picture is clear—the world is facing a worsening multipolar pandemic.

Sarah Ditum (2020-07-11). [Perspectives] The art of survival. thelancet.com An artist can turn bad luck into good fortune. Texas-born author Katherine Anne Porter caught and nearly died from influenza in the 1918—19 pandemic, but the experience gave her the material for Pale Horse, Pale Rider—the title piece of this selection from Penguin Modern Classics—and not only the finest of her very fine short stories, but also the greatest literary account of the "Spanish" influenza. Very few writers besides Porter addressed the disease, effectively making her the laureate of a tragedy that no one much cared to remember until the parallels with COVID-19 recalled it to collective…

Daniel Pan, Leslie R Bridges, John du Parcq, Ula Mahadeva, Shantanu Roy, Ibne K M Ali, Catherine A Cosgrove, Peter L Chiodini, Liqun Zhang (2020-07-11). [Clinical Picture] A rare cause of left-sided weakness in an elderly woman: amoebic encephalitis. thelancet.com An 85-year-old Gujarati woman with a 1-day history of confusion, left-sided weakness, and slurred speech attended our hospital. She had a history of headaches, which had been extensively investigated for 2 years from 2013. She also had hypertension. She had no history of recent travel.

Till J Bugaj, Anna Cranz, Christoph Nikendei (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation. thelancet.com Nick Watts and colleagues' 2019 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change1 leaves no doubt that global warming will heavily affect every child born today. Young people—the generation that will have to live through the consequences of a warming world for the longest—are actively taking part in raising awareness for climate change. Inspired by the Fridays for Future movement, thousands of young people have been doing everything possible to bring about social change towards a sustainable ecological lifestyle.

Matthew Eckelman, Marina Romanello, Jodi Sherman, Nicholas Watts (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Till Bugaj and colleagues and Helga Weisz and colleagues for their comments.

Thierry Passeron (2020-07-11). [Comment] First step in a new era for treatment of patients with vitiligo. thelancet.com Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentation of the skin, which affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide. The condition can profoundly affect the wellbeing and the social, sexual, and professional lives of affected individuals and thus induces a strong therapeutic demand.1 Actual treatments rely on the use of topical steroids or topical calcineurin inhibitors, and are better combined with sun exposure or phototherapy.1,2 The best results are achieved on the face, while some areas such as bony prominences and hands and feet show a very poor repigmentation rate.

Angeliki Vgontzas, William Renthal (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Predicting erenumab adverse events with single-cell genomics. thelancet.com Erenumab is a CGRP receptor monoclonal antibody for the preventive treatment of migraine. It has been widely prescribed in the USA after receiving US Food and Drug Administration approval in May, 2018. An estimated 7000 prescriptions are written per week,1 which, along with postmarketing reporting, have resulted in the rapid detection of serious adverse events that were not seen during clinical trials. As a result, the product label was revised on Oct 4, 2019, to include constipation with serious complications, including cases requiring hospitalisation and surgery, with most cases reported after a single dose of…

Susan Jaffe (2020-07-11). [World Report] US Supreme Court upholds abortion rights, for now. thelancet.com The court's decision means that Louisiana's three abortion clinics will remain open. Susan Jaffe reports.

Andrew Green (2020-07-11). [Obituary] Tomisaku Kawasaki. thelancet.com Paediatrician who identified what became known as Kawasaki disease. Born on Feb 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Japan, he died on June 5, 2020, in Tokyo, aged 95 years.

David Rosmarin, Amit G Pandya, Mark Lebwohl, Pearl Grimes, Iltefat Hamzavi, Alice B Gottlieb, Kathleen Butler, Fiona Kuo, Kang Sun, Tao Ji, Michael D Howell, John E Harris (2020-07-11). [Articles] Ruxolitinib cream for treatment of vitiligo: a randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial. thelancet.com Treatment with ruxolitinib cream was associated with substantial repigmentation of vitiligo lesions up to 52 weeks of treatment, and all doses were well tolerated. These data suggest that ruxolitinib cream might be an effective treatment option for patients with vitiligo.

Marco Antonio Bessa, Ronaldo Laranjeira, David Martin (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Organised crime: the missing link in drug policies. thelancet.com Illegal drugs and their effect on public health were discussed in a 2019 Lancet Series.1 However, the Series authors did not report how a global criminal enterprise, the drug—abuse industrial complex,2 is the origin of the problem. This global network of organised crime, corrupt politicians, money laundering, and distribution systems perpetuates this public health crisis. We have reason to believe the drug trade is now expanding under the guise of legal cannabis and cannabidiol, especially in North America, with outreach to other markets in South America, Europe, and Asia.

Sheila M Bird, J Roy Robertson (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Older-age opioid-related deaths in the UK. thelancet.com The Lancet Series on drug use1 began with a paper on global patterns of opioid dependence but insufficiently emphasised that the sequelae of these epidemics persist over decades. The risk of drug-related death increases with age in people who are opioid-dependent, and the advantage that young women users (<35 years) have of lower drug-related mortality risk diminishes as they get older.2...

teleSUR (2020-07-11). Venezuela Extends the State of Alarm to Prevent COVID-19 Spread. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Vicepresident Delcy Rodriguez Saturday announced the State of Constitutional Alert's extension for another 30 days to prevent the COVID-19 spread in the country. | RELATED: | "As Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro requested, we are extending the quarantine for another month, as we make a special call to the Caracas' citizens to stay at home and comply with all the precautionary measures," Rodriguez…

Eugene E Ruyle (2020-07-11). Sunday 7/12: Covid-19 and the crisis of neoliberalism. indybay.org Zoom Meeting LOG-IN INFORMATION | Posted at: icssmarx.org – OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE…

Yanis Iqbal (2020-07-11). The hunger pandemic in Colombia. mronline.org The unchecked growth of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America is tearing apart the socio-economic fabric of the countrieslocated in that continent. One manifestation of this socio-economic rupture is the emergence of what David Beasley, the Executive Director of UN World Food Programme (WFP), has called a "hunger pandemic". According to WFP, "The socio-economic impact …