Monthly Archives: July 2020

2020-07-11: News Headlines

Dennis Kosuth (2020-07-11). Chicago Unions Demand to Defund Police and Fund Health Care for All. zcomm.org Many of the organizations and individuals who came together and produced the June 27 action have been part of ongoing collaborations among labor, community s, social justice fighters, and advocates of abolishing the police…

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.

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.

Helga Weisz, Peter-Paul Pichler, Ulli Weisz, Ingram Jaccard (2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation. thelancet.com The health-care sector is increasingly recognised as a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. We thus welcome the 2019 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, in which Nick Watts and colleagues1 provide a new global comparison of greenhouse gas emissions from health care (indicator 3.6).

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...

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…

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).

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.

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-07-11). Be Outwardly Collectivist And Inwardly Individualist. thealtworld.com No, we live in a world where every single person is born helpless and somebody needs to take good care of them to help turn them into physically and psychologically healthy adults, where people get sick and become disabled, where most of us go through a prolonged period of steadily increasing weakness and convalescence before death. A world with a fragile ecosystem and finite resources. | Individualism has no real answers for the mass-scale implementation of its value system in such a world. The only way to believe it does is with a lot of compartmentalizing away from reality and refusing to look at the tremendou…

The Canary (2020-07-11). Institutional racism 'led to data breach over migrant workers' in Ireland. thecanary.co Levels of "institutional racism and discrimination" in the health service reportedly led to a serious data breach in Ireland. It occurred when employers were told of coronavirus (Covid-19) test results before meat factory workers who were tested.Edel McGinley, director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), described the practice as a "gross and serious breach of confidentiality". She told the Special Oireachtas Covid-19 committee that comments made by a senior health official about the scandal were "deeply worrying".(PA Graphics)"Institutional racism and discrimination that led to this very serious dat…

RT (2020-07-11). 'Anti-science saga'? NBC contributor who documented harrowing battle with Covid-19 NEVER had the virus. rt.com The dramatic televised saga of a doctor's struggle to overcome coronavirus has ended in embarrassment after the NBC News contributor quietly admitted that there's no evidence he ever had the virus. Is this the zenith of fake news? | Dr Joseph Fair appeared at least 10 times on NBC and MSNBC over the last two months to share his fight against Covid-19 with the networks' viewers. His television appearances — including an interview from his hospital bed — fueled panic about the illness. Describing himself as a fit and healthy 42-year-old, Fair claimed in May that he had absorbed the virus through his ey…

Ali Salam (2020-07-11). Israeli Forces Shoot, Injure Palestinian following Slain Man's Funeral in Salfit. imemc.org Israeli forces shot a Palestinian young man during confrontations at the entrance of Kifl Hares town, near the northern West Bank city of Salfit, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. The Ministry of Health confirmed that a 24-year-old Palestinian young man, unidentified at the time of this report, was shot …

yenisafak (2020-07-11). Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 378 to 198,556. yenisafak.com The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 378 to 198,556, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.The reported death toll rose by six to 9,060, the tally showed.

The Canary (2020-07-11). Britain won't join EU coronavirus vaccine purchase scheme, says Hancock. thecanary.co Britain will not join an EU programme to procure a coronavirus vaccine if one is successfully developed, health secretary Matt Hancock has said. | Hancock said ministers had taken the decision after Brussels confirmed that the UK would have to abandon its own procurement efforts — which were reportedly at a more advanced stage — in order to take part. He told Times Radio: | We have chosen not to join the EU scheme on vaccine purchase. The reason is that it wouldn't have allowed us to have a say in the vaccines that were procured, the price, the quantity, or the delivery schedule… | We are further ah…

ACLU (2020-07-10). How Reproductive Justice is Part of an Anti-Racist Agenda. aclu.org The calls of s have forced a national reckoning with the legacy of white supremacy in our country. That reckoning has led us to examine the systems that exert control over and oppress Black lives, from policing to reproductive health care. , , There is a long history of the ways that reproductive freedom has been denied to Black women. There is also an important history of the ways that people of color, led by Black women, have built movements to liberate themselves and reclaim their bodily autonomy. Joining us on At Liberty this week to discuss this often overlooked but vital movement is Renee Bracey…

_____ (2020-07-10). Scheer Intelligence: The Price Of Ignoring The Ferguson Uprising. popularresistance.org August 9 will mark six years since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by policeman Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, Wilson has walked free and the systemic issues that have plagued this nation throughout its history have gone unaddressed. That changed with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which so thoroughly shocked Americans and established that the lessons from Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement that rose from it never had been absorbed. | Now, at a moment of heightened awareness about racism, Black Lives Matter leaders and Black s and artists such as t…

_____ (2020-07-10). 'I Could Live With That': How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. strategic-culture.org Jeffrey ST. CLAIR | "I decided I could live with that." | — Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter's CIA director, on the extreme level of civilian casualties in the CIA's covert war in Afghanistan. | The first indelible image of the war in Afghanistan for many Americans was probably that of CBS anchorman Dan Rather, wrapped in the voluminous drapery of a mujahedin fighter, looking like a healthy relative of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with hair that seemed freshly blow-dried, as some viewers were quick to point out). From his secret mountainside "somewhere in the Hindu Kush," Rather unloaded on his audience a barr…

Rachel Rebouché (2020-07-10). The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights. thenation.com The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights…

Alan Macleod (2020-07-10). Latin America's Neoliberal Leaders Are Making the Coronavirus Pandemic Far Worse. mintpressnews.com Much of Latin America is in meltdown with coronavirus cases soaring, bodies piling up, and anger mounting as a new wave of neoliberal leaders who openly reject individualism amid collective public health crisis pour fuel on the fire.

CounterSpin (2020-07-10). Brenda Choresi Carter on the Power of Sheriffs, Gordon Mosser on Medicare for All & Covid-19. fair.org Media…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-10). House Labor-Health-Education bill could set off social issue uproars. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The mammoth, and often controversial, House money bill for federal labor, health and education spending adds billions of dollars for schools and health programs, but could also set off several social issue uproars when it hits the House floor later this month. The measure doles out and increases funds for the departments of Labor, Health …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-10). Teachers on re-opening schools: "Not without protecting kids" peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—When the issue comes down to reopening the nation's schools as the coronavirus plague continues, GOP President Donald Trump says "yes," but leaders of teachers unions say "no"—or at any rate, not until you can truly protect the kids. The uproar started with a Trump dog-and-pony show with his Education Secretary, Elizabeth "Betsy" DeVos, and …

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-10). COVID-19 pandemic sweeps California prisons, San Quentin hit hardest. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif.—One of COVID-19's most dramatic consequences in California has been its impact on the state's prison population. As of July 8, nearly 2,300 of the 115,000 people incarcerated in the state's historically overcrowded prison system had tested positive for the disease, and at least 31 had died. Over 600 prison workers have also tested …

RT (2020-07-10). Phoenix, Arizona hospital runs out of morgue space, requests REFRIGERATOR TRUCKS as Covid-19 fatalities mount. rt.com One hospital in Phoenix, Arizona has reportedly requested refrigerated trucks to augment its morgue capacity, amid a spike in both temperatures and coronavirus deaths in that southwest US state. | Maricopa County "just announced they are going to be getting refrigerated trucks because the Abrazo health care system has run out of morgue beds," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told MSNBC on Friday. | Gallego, a Democrat, demanded a statewide mask mandate from Republican Governor Doug Ducey. | Phoenix Mayor Gallego says Maricopa Co. has requested refrigerated trucks because one health system in the region has run out o…

The Canary (2020-07-10). World Health Organisation experts visit China to discuss coronavirus probe. thecanary.co Two World Health Organisation (WHO) experts will spend 11-12 July in Beijing to lay the groundwork for a larger mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.One animal health expert and one epidemiologist will work to fix the "scope and terms of reference" for the future mission. It will be aimed at learning how the virus jumped from animals to humans, WHO's statement said on 10 July.Origins: Scientists believe the virus may have originated in bats. It was then transmitted through another mammal such as a civet cat or pangolin before being passed on to people at a fresh food ma…

Staff (2020-07-10). Brazilian Epidemiologist Slams Bolsonaro's COVID Response as Far-Right President Tests Positive. democracynow.org As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.

Melinda Moulton (2020-07-10). Reproductive Justice Is Economic Justice. commondreams.org Reproductive justice is economic justice, and reproductive freedom requires full and unlimited access to healthcare. (Photo: Mikasi/cc/flickr) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

news.un (2020-07-10). COVID-19 cases worldwide hit 12 million. news.un.org COVID-19 cases globally have more than doubled in the past six weeks, reaching 12 million on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported.

WSWS (2020-07-10). An Illinois nurse speaks out against corporate control of health care systems. wsws.org The nurse spoke to the WSWS after being furloughed for speaking out against a hospital's corporate policies that discriminated against low-income patients during the pandemic.

teleSUR (2020-07-10). WHO Experts Arrived In China To Find Out COVID-19 Origins. telesurenglish.net The World Health Organization (WHO) Friday reported two scientists arrived in China to be part of a study to identify the origins of COVID-19. | RELATED: | WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said the experts are specialists in animal health and epidemiology and will work along with Chinese scientists. | The two scientists will establish the groundwork and will define the scope and itinerary of the investigation. | "One of the main…

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Chile: Court Declares Admissible Lawsuit Against Piñera. telesurenglish.net Chile's judicial system Thursday admitted a lawsuit against President Sebastian Piñera for allegedly not having supervised the measures that his Health Ministry took to deal with the pandemic. | RELATED: | The complaint was filed by this South American nation's Human Rights Commission, the National Association of Fiscal Employees (ANEF), and the Democratic Federation of University Health Professionals (Fedeprus), and it was ruled…

Bill Sardi (2020-07-10). Forced Vaccination Plan Unveiled. globalresearch.ca Stanford University Legal & Medical Authorities Join Forces To Fashion An Indiscriminate Mandated Mass-Vaccination Plan That Would Frighten The Public, Disregard Lawful Protections Of Informed Consent And Result In Needless Deaths. | *** | Our health overlords propose a dangerous infectious disease …

Kollibri terre Sonnenblume (2020-07-10). COVID-19 Denialism is Rooted in the Settler Colonial Mindset. counterpunch.org COVID denialism in the US is problematic to say the least. The nation is facing a public health crisis that's far worse than it needs to be, as shown by the examples of countless other nations around the world that have largely suppressed the first wave. In fact, the US is one of the most

news.un (2020-07-10). Wildlife crime putting environment and health at risk: UN report. news.un.org The COVID-19 pandemic shows how wildlife crime is a threat not only to the environment but to human health, according to a new UN report issued on Friday.

teleSUR (2020-07-10). Chile: Indigenous People Face Discrimination Amidst Pandemic. telesurenglish.net Chile's head of indigenous health issues at Chile's Medical Union, Dr. Nelson Vergara, stated the government's pandemic-management strategy discriminates aboriginal people. | RELATED: | "The government said it was well prepared for the pandemic, but these preparations were designed for Euro-descendant urban populations," said Dr. Vergara. | Since the beginning of the pandemic, indigenous patients' data collection has not bee…

news.un (2020-07-10). Waiting to declare famine 'will be too late for Yemenis on brink of starvation'. news.un.org In Yemen, fears of famine have resurfaced as UN humanitarians also warned on Friday that 360,000 severely malnourished children could die unless they continue to get treatment and aid is stepped up. In an urgent appeal for funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it needs $200 million per month to maintain assistance in the war-torn country.

WSWS (2020-07-10). The campaign to smear novelist Charles Dickens as a racist. wsws.org Dickens was one of the greatest novelists of the 19th century and a world-historical literary and cultural figure. In the English language, he is perhaps second only to William Shakespeare in enduring significance and popularity.

Raul Diego (2020-07-10). Africa to Become Testing Ground for "Trust Stamp" Vaccine Record and Payment System. mintpressnews.com A new biometric identity platform partnered with the Gates-funded GAVI vaccine alliance and Mastercard will launch in West Africa and combine COVID-19 vaccinations, cashless payments, and potential law enforcement applications.

Fight Back (2020-07-10). Total number of people getting unemployment benefits continues to climb. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Thursday, July 9, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the broadest measure of people on unemployment continued to climb. In the week ending June 20, the total number was 32.9 million, up by 1.4 million from a week earlier. This number includes those who are receiving the regular state unemployment insurance benefits, the growing number getting the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA, the Federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation or PEUC, and other smaller programs. | The latest report on new applications for state unemployment benefits for the week ending July 4 did…

commondreams (2020-07-10). Court Blocks Trump Administration Rule That Threatened Insurance Coverage for Abortion. commondreams.org ______________________________…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Venice tests long-delayed flood barrier months after waters swamped city. yenisafak.com Venice tested its long-delayed flood barriers on Friday, in a public demonstration of the strength of the defences months after rising tidal waters swamped its historic canals, squares and palaces.The multi-billion-euro Mose scheme – designed in 1984 but still incomplete a decade after it was due to come into service – has been plagued by corruption and cost overruns.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended the test and started the computerised system that sent all 78 giant yellow sluice gates rising simultaneously above the water for the first time."We are here for a test, not a parade," Conte said, as crowds prot…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Fujifilm's Avigan inconclusive in COVID-19 patients in Japan trial. yenisafak.com A clinical trial of Fujifilm Holdings Corp's Avigan drug yielded inconclusive results as a treatment of COVID-19, Japanese researchers said on Friday.Although patients given the drug early in the trial showed more improvement than those who got delayed doses, the results did not reach statistical significance, Fujita Health University researcher Yohei Doi said.The results, announced at a news conference on Friday, followed the completion of a clinical trial conducted between March and May on 89 patients across Japan.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he hoped the drug would be approved as a COVID-19 trea…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Pakistan: 2 provinces bearing brunt of pandemic. yenisafak.com Pakistan's two most populous provinces account for more than 75% of the country's COVID-19 cases and over 72% of its virus-related fatalities, according to official data released on Friday.The South Asian country's overall case count increased to 243,599, with 2,751 infections recorded over the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 75 to reach 5,058, the Health Ministry reported.With 100,900 confirmed infections, the southern Sindh province leads in the number of cases, followed by northeastern Punjab, the most populous province, with 85,261 cases.Together they make up over 76% of Pakistan's nationwide case…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Mexico posts record 7,280 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Mexico on Thursday posted a fresh record for new coronavirus cases reported on a single day, with 7,280 cases, bringing its overall tally of infections to 282,283, health ministry data showed.The country also recorded 730 additional fatalities, bringing its overall death toll to 33,526.Mexico's previous one-day record was posted a day earlier on Wednesday, when 6,995 new cases were registered.

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Iran reports 142 more deaths due to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 142 more fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 12,447.A further of 2,262 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.A total of 215,176 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 3,319 patients remain in critical condition, the official said.Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 555,500 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.Nearly 12.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil,…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). China reports 4 new coronavirus cases in mainland. yenisafak.com China reported four new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 9, down from nine a day earlier, the health authority said on Friday.All four of the new infections were imported cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.China also reported three new asymptomatic patients, compared with six such cases a day earlier.

sputniknews (2020-07-10). 'Novel Disease' May be Behind Hundreds of Elephant Deaths in Botswana. sputniknews.com Botswana officials have warned that a new pathogen may be to blame for the deaths of hundreds of elephants in the country.

Staff (2020-07-10). Epidemiologist Slams Brazil's COVID Policy as Bolsonaro Tests Positive. truthout.org As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.

Laborfest (2020-07-10). Wednesday 7/15: LaborFest 2020: US Public Health System, COVID, Racism & Capitalism. indybay.org This is a free Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to view and participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-07-10). Despite Trump Claim, Research Shows US Covid-19 Testing Rate Just 39% of Level Needed. commondreams.org The "short answer" to the New York Times' headline, "Is Your State Doing Enough Coronavirus Testing?" is that most states are not, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute said Friday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

2020-07-10: News Headlines

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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).

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…

_____ (2020-07-10). Scheer Intelligence: The Price Of Ignoring The Ferguson Uprising. popularresistance.org August 9 will mark six years since 18-year-old Michael Brown was murdered by policeman Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, Wilson has walked free and the systemic issues that have plagued this nation throughout its history have gone unaddressed. That changed with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which so thoroughly shocked Americans and established that the lessons from Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement that rose from it never had been absorbed. | Now, at a moment of heightened awareness about racism, Black Lives Matter leaders and Black activists and artists such as t…

Alan Macleod (2020-07-10). Latin America's Neoliberal Leaders Are Making the Coronavirus Pandemic Far Worse. mintpressnews.com Much of Latin America is in meltdown with coronavirus cases soaring, bodies piling up, and anger mounting as a new wave of neoliberal leaders who openly reject individualism amid collective public health crisis pour fuel on the fire.

CounterSpin (2020-07-10). Brenda Choresi Carter on the Power of Sheriffs, Gordon Mosser on Medicare for All & Covid-19. fair.org Media…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-10). House Labor-Health-Education bill could set off social issue uproars. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—The mammoth, and often controversial, House money bill for federal labor, health and education spending adds billions of dollars for schools and health programs, but could also set off several social issue uproars when it hits the House floor later this month. The measure doles out and increases funds for the departments of Labor, Health …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-10). Teachers on re-opening schools: "Not without protecting kids" peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—When the issue comes down to reopening the nation's schools as the coronavirus plague continues, GOP President Donald Trump says "yes," but leaders of teachers unions say "no"—or at any rate, not until you can truly protect the kids. The uproar started with a Trump dog-and-pony show with his Education Secretary, Elizabeth "Betsy" DeVos, and …

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-10). COVID-19 pandemic sweeps California prisons, San Quentin hit hardest. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif.—One of COVID-19's most dramatic consequences in California has been its impact on the state's prison population. As of July 8, nearly 2,300 of the 115,000 people incarcerated in the state's historically overcrowded prison system had tested positive for the disease, and at least 31 had died. Over 600 prison workers have also tested …

RT (2020-07-10). Phoenix, Arizona hospital runs out of morgue space, requests REFRIGERATOR TRUCKS as Covid-19 fatalities mount. rt.com One hospital in Phoenix, Arizona has reportedly requested refrigerated trucks to augment its morgue capacity, amid a spike in both temperatures and coronavirus deaths in that southwest US state. | Maricopa County "just announced they are going to be getting refrigerated trucks because the Abrazo health care system has run out of morgue beds," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told MSNBC on Friday. | Gallego, a Democrat, demanded a statewide mask mandate from Republican Governor Doug Ducey. | | Phoenix Mayor Gallego says Maricopa Co. has requested re…

The Canary (2020-07-10). World Health Organisation experts visit China to discuss coronavirus probe. thecanary.co Two World Health Organisation (WHO) experts will spend 11-12 July in Beijing to lay the groundwork for a larger mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.One animal health expert and one epidemiologist will work to fix the "scope and terms of reference" for the future mission. It will be aimed at learning how the virus jumped from animals to humans, WHO's statement said on 10 July.Origins: Scientists believe the virus may have originated in bats. It was then transmitted through another mammal such as a civet cat or pangolin before being passed on to people at a fresh food ma…

Staff (2020-07-10). Brazilian Epidemiologist Slams Bolsonaro's COVID Response as Far-Right President Tests Positive. democracynow.org As Brazil faces the world's second-worst COVID-19 outbreak after the United States, Trump ally and far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive, after months of downplaying the severity of the pandemic. Brazil has gone almost two months with no health minister. "Bad political leadership is a major risk factor for the spread of the pandemic," says leading Brazilian epidemiologist Cesar Victora, who coordinates the International Center for Equity in Health at the Federal University of Pelotas.

Rachel Rebouché (2020-07-10). The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights. thenation.com The Supreme Court's Public-Health Approach to Abortion Rights…

_____ (2020-07-10). 'I Could Live With That': How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. strategic-culture.org Jeffrey ST. CLAIR | "I decided I could live with that." | — Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter's CIA director, on the extreme level of civilian casualties in the CIA's covert war in Afghanistan. | The first indelible image of the war in Afghanistan for many Americans was probably that of CBS anchorman Dan Rather, wrapped in the voluminous drapery of a mujahedin fighter, looking like a healthy relative of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with hair that seemed freshly blow-dried, as some viewers were quick to point out). From his secret mountainside "somewhere in the Hindu Kush," Rather unloaded on his audience a barr…

Bill Sardi (2020-07-10). Forced Vaccination Plan Unveiled. globalresearch.ca Stanford University Legal & Medical Authorities Join Forces To Fashion An Indiscriminate Mandated Mass-Vaccination Plan That Would Frighten The Public, Disregard Lawful Protections Of Informed Consent And Result In Needless Deaths. | *** | Our health overlords propose a dangerous infectious disease …

news.un (2020-07-10). Waiting to declare famine 'will be too late for Yemenis on brink of starvation'. news.un.org In Yemen, fears of famine have resurfaced as UN humanitarians also warned on Friday that 360,000 severely malnourished children could die unless they continue to get treatment and aid is stepped up. In an urgent appeal for funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it needs $200 million per month to maintain assistance in the war-torn country.

Raul Diego (2020-07-10). Africa to Become Testing Ground for "Trust Stamp" Vaccine Record and Payment System. mintpressnews.com A new biometric identity platform partnered with the Gates-funded GAVI vaccine alliance and Mastercard will launch in West Africa and combine COVID-19 vaccinations, cashless payments, and potential law enforcement applications.

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Venice tests long-delayed flood barrier months after waters swamped city. yenisafak.com Venice tested its long-delayed flood barriers on Friday, in a public demonstration of the strength of the defences months after rising tidal waters swamped its historic canals, squares and palaces.The multi-billion-euro Mose scheme – designed in 1984 but still incomplete a decade after it was due to come into service – has been plagued by corruption and cost overruns.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attended the test and started the computerised system that sent all 78 giant yellow sluice gates rising simultaneously above the water for the first time."We are here for a test, not a parade," Conte said, as crowds prot…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Pakistan: 2 provinces bearing brunt of pandemic. yenisafak.com Pakistan's two most populous provinces account for more than 75% of the country's COVID-19 cases and over 72% of its virus-related fatalities, according to official data released on Friday.The South Asian country's overall case count increased to 243,599, with 2,751 infections recorded over the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 75 to reach 5,058, the Health Ministry reported.With 100,900 confirmed infections, the southern Sindh province leads in the number of cases, followed by northeastern Punjab, the most populous province, with 85,261 cases.Together they make up over 76% of Pakistan's nationwide case…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). China reports 4 new coronavirus cases in mainland. yenisafak.com China reported four new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 9, down from nine a day earlier, the health authority said on Friday.All four of the new infections were imported cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.China also reported three new asymptomatic patients, compared with six such cases a day earlier.

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Mexico posts record 7,280 new coronavirus cases. yenisafak.com Mexico on Thursday posted a fresh record for new coronavirus cases reported on a single day, with 7,280 cases, bringing its overall tally of infections to 282,283, health ministry data showed.The country also recorded 730 additional fatalities, bringing its overall death toll to 33,526.Mexico's previous one-day record was posted a day earlier on Wednesday, when 6,995 new cases were registered.

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Iran reports 142 more deaths due to coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Friday confirmed 142 more fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 12,447.A further of 2,262 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 252,720, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.A total of 215,176 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, while 3,319 patients remain in critical condition, the official said.Across the world, COVID-19 has claimed over 555,500 lives in 188 countries and regions since emerging in China last December.Nearly 12.3 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the US, Brazil,…

yenisafak (2020-07-10). Fujifilm's Avigan inconclusive in COVID-19 patients in Japan trial. yenisafak.com A clinical trial of Fujifilm Holdings Corp's Avigan drug yielded inconclusive results as a treatment of COVID-19, Japanese researchers said on Friday.Although patients given the drug early in the trial showed more improvement than those who got delayed doses, the results did not reach statistical significance, Fujita Health University researcher Yohei Doi said.The results, announced at a news conference on Friday, followed the completion of a clinical trial conducted between March and May on 89 patients across Japan.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he hoped the drug would be approved as a COVID-19 trea…

Laborfest (2020-07-10). Wednesday 7/15: LaborFest 2020: US Public Health System, COVID, Racism & Capitalism. indybay.org This is a free Zoom based event. You can be anywhere to view and participant. Please visit the LaborFest 2020 website URL to register and to receive a Zoom invitation to the event.

teleSUR (2020-07-09). WHO Sets Independent Panel to Review Its Fight Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Thursday announced the creation of an independent commission to review the performance of his institution in the current pandemic. | RELATED: | The panel will be chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. | "It is time to reflect on what we have done and look for…

Michele Greenstein (2020-07-09). Why the Bill Gates global health empire promises more empire and less public health. thegrayzone.com Behind a veil of corporate media PR, the Gates Foundation has served as a vehicle for Western capital while exploiting…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-07-09). Bolsonaro Will Politicize His "Alleged" Coronavirus Infection to Regain Lost Popularity. globalresearch.ca It is only natural for many people to think Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro testing positive for COVID-19 is a karma for his insistence on minimizing the risks of the disease and a near non-existent management of the pandemic that has …

Staff (2020-07-09). Looming Eviction Crisis Will Endanger Public Health And Economic Recovery. therealnews.com Last week, Baltimore housing advocates held a "Truth Commission" in front of Baltimore City Hall, declaring that elected officials had failed to protect residents from a housing crisis worsened by COVID-19. The group, which included members of Fair Development Roundtable, Housing Our Neighbors, and United Workers, warned of a looming eviction catastrophe if a city moratorium on evictions is allowed to expire on July 25 as currently planned. | Community members said they were putting the housing system on trial, and highlighting how official policy had failed to protect renters and the homeless. | "We're going to…

Raul Diego (2020-07-09). Firm Linked to HHS' Robert Kadlec Poised to Become Exclusive Manufacture of COVID-19 Vaccines. mintpressnews.com A pharmaceutical firm with a dark history and questionable ties to serving ASPR Robert Kadlec is poised to become the exclusive manufacturer of the COVID-19 vaccines now being funded through Trump's Operation Warp Speed.

RT (2020-07-09). 'Much higher' death rate than Covid-19: Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan warns of dangerous local pneumonia. rt.com The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan has warned its citizens in the Central Asian country to exercise caution amid a large outbreak of viral pneumonia, which appears to be deadlier than the new coronavirus. | Between Covid-19 and the pneumonia outbreak, the diplomats described the health situation in Kazakhstan as "very grim." Since the start of the year, 1,772 people have died of pneumonia in the country. In June alone, there were 628 fatalities, including Chinese citizens, a statement on the embassy's website reads. | "The mortality rate of the disease is much higher than that of the new coronavirus pneumonia,"

RT (2020-07-09). 'Liberating 5th Avenue': New York mayor paints BLACK LIVES MATTER outside Trump Tower. rt.com Signaling where his priorities lie amid an epidemic of coronavirus and violence, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered a stretch of 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower to be painted with the words 'Black Lives Matter'. | City workers closed off the street on Thursday morning and began painting the mural, as De Blasio boasted about "liberating 5th Avenue" and finally giving credit to African-Americans for building New York and the US. | | "We are not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue." | New York City Mayor Bill de Blasi…

RT (2020-07-09). Lab worker killed by brain-destroying disease 7 YEARS after accidental jab. rt.com A new study has shed light on why a woman developed a fatal brain disease linked to mad cow disease several years after piercing her skin with contaminated laboratory equipment. | A woman in France who developed a rare and fatal brain disease did so via accidental lab exposure to the proteins that cause mad cow disease, a new study has The initial exposure happened in May 2010, as the then-24-year-old technician "handled frozen sections of brain of transgenic mice that overexpressed the human prion pro…

The Canary (2020-07-09). South African province prepares graves as coronavirus hits 'full speed'. thecanary.co The coronavirus pandemic in Africa is reaching "full speed" and it is good to prepare for the worst-case scenario, the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention has said.It comes after a South African official said a single province is preparing 1.5m graves.The number of confirmed virus cases across Africa surpassed the half-million milestone on 8 July, with more than 12,000 deaths.With testing levels low, the real numbers are unknown.South Africa has the most confirmed cases with more than 224,000. | For the first time, Gauteng province — home to Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — h…

The Canary (2020-07-09). India records almost 25,000 new coronavirus cases. thecanary.co India has reported nearly 25,000 new coronavirus infections as the disease continues to spread through the nation of nearly 1.4 billion people.The virus is showing no signs of slowing in the worst-affected countries — the United States, Brazil and India.The three nations account for more than 60% of new cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University.The US reported nearly 59,000 new daily cases, just short of the record 60,000 cases set a day earlier, as president Donald Trump insisted that schools reopen in the autumn.President Donald Trump said schools should reopen in the autumn (Evan Vu…

Staff (2020-07-09). How to Stop the Next Pandemic: U.N. Report Links Outbreaks to Climate Crisis & Industrial Farming. democracynow.org As the unprecedented global health emergency continues to unfold, a new United Nations report says humans must lower stress on the natural environment to prevent the next pandemic. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has a zoonotic origin, meaning it jumped from animals to humans, and the U.N. report finds that such diseases are spreading with greater frequency due to human activity, including industrial farming and the climate crisis. "Rather than focusing on the symptoms, we were looking at the causes," says Delia Grace, lead author of the report, veterinary epidemiologist at the Internationa…

Staff (2020-07-09). Viagra? Yes. Birth Control? No. SCOTUS Sides with Trump & Limits Free Contraception Under Obamacare. democracynow.org The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to reproductive rights when it sided with the Trump administration in letting employers deny people access to free birth control based on religious or moral grounds, hollowing out a mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most private health insurance plans to provide cost-free birth control. "It's a really deeply disappointing ruling," says Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "These individuals are effectively on their own to find and pay for their contraception."

Staff (2020-07-09). Headlines for July 9, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Posts Another Record Daily High in New Coronavirus Cases, Anthony Fauci Absent from Coronavirus Task Force Briefing After Drawing Criticism from Trump, Trump Attacks CDC Guidance on School Reopenings During Pandemic, Hundreds Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona For-Profit Immigration Jail, Tulsa, OK Health Official Links Explosion of Coronavirus Cases to Trump Rally, HHS Secretary Claims Medical Workers "Don't Get Infected" After 95,000 Test Positive for Coronavirus, COVID-19 Cases Spike in Africa, While Melbourne, Australia, Is Placed Back on Lockdown, Bolivians Buried in Mass Graves as Hospitals "Collaps…

teleSUR (2020-07-09). South Africa: Health Minister Warns on COVID-19 Cases Increase. telesurenglish.net South Africa's Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warned about a hospital occupancy increase despite the optimistic outlook on COVID-19 development. | RELATED: | South Africa's government enforced a strict lockdown and virus outbreak tracing through extensive screening as precautionary measures. Nevertheless, tests and supplies scarcity limits cases detention. | With a 58 million population, then daily new cases average went from 1,0…

WSWS (2020-07-09). What is behind the New Zealand health minister's resignation? wsws.org The resignation of David Clark just months before an election, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, points to political instability in the Labour Party-led government.

WSWS (2020-07-09). Global COVID-19 pandemic takes a new upward leap. wsws.org Airborne transmission would have broad implications for workers who have been forced back to their jobs facing inadequate measures to protect their health and life.

teleSUR (2020-07-09). Bolivia: Interim President àÅñez Tests Positive for COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's de facto president Jeanine àÅñez Thursday announced via her Twitter account that she had tested positive to COVID-19 while other members of her team are infected as well. | RELATED: | "I feel well, I feel strong, I am going to keep working remotely from my isolation, and I want to thank all the Bolivians who are working to help us in this health crisis," àÅñez said as COVID-19 cases have spiked in the…

IMEMC News (2020-07-09). Israeli Soldiers Kill A Palestinian, Injure Another, Near Salfit. imemc.org The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed, on Thursday at night, the death of a Palestinian man who was shot by Israeli soldiers near the main intersection of Kifl Hares town, north of Salfit in central West Bank, and added that the soldiers injured Palestinian teen. The Ministry stated that the …

Dean Baker (2020-07-09). Is it Impossible to Envision a World Without Patent Monopolies? counterpunch.org Apparently, at the New York Times, the answer is no. Elisabeth Rosenthal, who is a very insightful writer on health care issues, had a column this morning warning that we may face very high prices for a coronavirus vaccine. She points out that this is in spite of the fact that the government is paying

teleSUR (2020-07-09). Italy Bans 13 Countries From Entry, 5 in Latin America. telesurenglish.net Italy is banning the arrival of citizens from 13 countries that it considers potentially dangerous of COVID-19 infections the Ministry of Health announced Thursday. | RELATED: | "In the world, the pandemic is in its most acute phase. We cannot nullify the sacrifices made by Italians in these months. This is why we have chosen the line of utmost prudence," said Minister of Health Roberto Speranza in a statement after signing the or…

Cesar Chelala (2020-07-09). The Dangers of Persecuting Doctors. counterpunch.org The detention in Egypt of nine doctors and paramedical personnel is only the latest attack on doctors dealing with the corona virus pandemic. The doctors were denouncing the deaths of front-line health care workers, as the country is struggling to control the pandemic and energize the economy with limited resources. The doctors were also critical

West Resendes (2020-07-09). Police in Schools Continue to Target Black, Brown, and Indigenous Students with Disabilities. The Trump Administration Has Data That's Likely to Prove It. aclu.org Across the country, communities are pushing their schools to divest funding from police and reinvest those funds in student mental health care and other supportive services. But in making their case to their respective school boards, these parents, students, and advocates have run into one significant barrier — outdated data on policing in schools. , , Every other year, the Department of Education collects and eventually releases to the public data that shows the number of student referrals and arrests made by police (including school resource officers (SROs)) in public schools, and which students are m…