(2020-10-23). The 'Three-Legged Stool': a Folksy, but Deceptive, Rhetorical Attack on Social Security. counterpunch.org 
The "three-legged stool": That phrase may not be familiar to everyone, but most people who work in public policy or private-sector insurance have heard it used to describe the U.S. retirement system. It suggests that our system for retirement security was designed to stand on three "legs": Social Security, employer pensions, and individual savings. Subliminally,
(2020-10-23). The Scourge of Herd Immunity. counterpunch.org 
Covid-19 kills, and its kill rate is significantly higher than the flu. Some who recover develop insufficient immunity to prevent getting infected again. Some don't appear to recover. They are stuck with debilities that last months, maybe longer. And it's possible that this disease is chronic and lingers in some people, like herpes, a virus
(2020-10-23). Eight Black workers sue S.F. health department for racial discrimination. indybay.org Eight Black workers in the City and County of San Francisco filed suit against the city for systemic racism and bullying.
(2020-10-23). Over 1.3M coronavirus patients recover in Africa. yenisafak.com Africa continued to maintain a more than 80% recovery rate with 1,387,022 patients having recovered as of Friday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).At least 40,690 people have died of the virus across the continent, revealed the latest update by the Africa CDC. The number of confirmed cases has reached 1,685,589.Southern Africa is the hardest hit region with 785,600 cases and 20,300 deaths; however, it also has the most recoveries that currently stand at 702,500.North Africa recorded 454,100 cases, East Africa 199,800, West Africa 186,600 and Central Africa 59,500.Sou…
(2020-10-23). Swiss report 10 more coronavirus deaths, 6,634 new infections. yenisafak.com Coronavirus infections rose by 6,634 confirmed cases, Swiss health authorities said on Friday, as the nation considers tightening restrictions meant to slow the accelerating spread of COVID-19.The total confirmed cases in Switzerland and tiny neighbouring principality Liechtenstein topped 100,000, rising to 103,653, and the death toll rose by 10 to 1,877.The numbers come as Germany has put Switzerland on its risk list for coronavirus hot spots and as the government in Bern considers tightening restrictions on public life if case numbers keep rising.
(2020-10-23). German health minister expects COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021. yenisafak.com Germany's health minister expects a COVID-19 vaccine to be available early next year and believes a large proportion of Germans who want the shot could be vaccinated within six to seven months of enough doses being available.Jens Spahn was quoted as saying in Der Spiegel on Friday that a vaccine could be available in January, or maybe in February or March, or even later, but said there would be no compulsory vaccination."Of course, it would be best if a vaccine could prevent new infections. But it would also be a benefit if it makes the course of the disease milder," said Spahn, who tested positive for coronaviru…
(2020-10-23). Russia registers record number of daily COVID-19 cases. yenisafak.com Russia has registered a new record in the daily coronavirus cases on Friday — 17,340 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past day. The total number of people, who have been exposed to the infection, exceeded 1.48 million, meaning over 1% of the Russian population has already contracted the virus. According to Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, the active cases stand at 335,870 and the situation has a tendency to further deteriorate.The virus has already claimed 25,525 lives in Russia, including 283 over the last 24 hours.Recoveries increased by 11,263 since Thursday to reach 1.11 million.Since the beginn…
(2020-10-22). Leading Russian virologist says another Covid-19 lockdown may lead to RIOTS, economic fallout could be worse than pandemic itself. rt.com 
After a strict lockdown last spring, the introduction of a second coronavirus quarantine in Russia has the potential to result in severe economic hardship and psychological suffering, which could eventually lead to mass unrest. | That's according to Fyodor Lisitsyn, a senior specialist at Moscow's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, which was responsible for creating the world's first-registered Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. | Speaking to the TV channel Russia-24, the virologist explained that the knock-on effects of a strict lockdown, such as economic problems for millions of people,…
(2020-10-22). France expands curfews to cover 46 million people as Covid-19 cases set new daily record. rt.com 
Coronavirus curfews in France will be extended to include some two-thirds of the population, with the country reporting a record 41,622 new confirmed cases of the disease on Wednesday. | French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the curfews that were imposed in Paris and eight other major cities last week will be expanded to 38 more departments. That means 46 million out of the country's 67 million population will be barred from leaving their homes between 9pm and 6am. | The country has found itself in a "serious situation" due to the second wave of the coronavirus and that is continuing to "degrade," Castex said…
(2020-10-22). 11 arrested at anti-Covid-lockdown protest in Dublin, police violently clash with demonstrators (VIDEOS). rt.com 
More than 100 demonstrators protesting against ramped-up Covid-19 lockdown restrictions clashed with police in Dublin, with 11 being arrested and an investigation launched into the organizers of the event. | Nine of the people arrested have been charged with public order offenses, as the protest broke lockdown restrictions, which only allow citizens to leave their homes for essential trips. | Law enforcement attempted to block a crowd at Grafton Street and ordered the demonstrators to disperse as they were "in breach of public health regulations." | A small group managed to break through a wall of officers dep…
(2020-10-22). Selected Articles: American Militarism Marches On. globalresearch.ca 
By One of the more interesting stories carefully hidden by the smoke being generate by civil unrest, plague and …
(2020-10-22). Employers fail to control COVID, but Sri Lankan army rounds up workers instead. peoplesworld.org 
Garment workers in Sri Lanka were herded off into quarantine by the army in the middle of the night following a rapid increase of infections at their factory. Unions say that this could have been avoided by forming the recommended health committees. According to reports, on Oct. 19, the total number of COVID-19 cases in …
(2020-10-22). When Does Incompetence Become a Crime? zcomm.org Instead of relying on experienced public health experts with a successful record in finding, containing and isolating people infected with HIV and TB, the government handed the project over to the private sector…
(2020-10-22). Saying Quiet Part 'Really Loud,' Trump Admits He Hopes Supreme Court Kills ACA as Barrett Moves Closer to Confirmation. commondreams.org "Senate Republicans who claim this was never about gutting healthcare are lying to you and Donald Trump just proved it." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-22). Ten percent of US households face eviction by year's end. wsws.org As the CDC eviction moratorium order reaches its expiration date on January 1, the eviction and homelessness crisis in the US is heading toward an explosion of unprecedented proportions.
(2020-10-22). COVID-19 pandemic surges despite limited curfew measures across Europe. wsws.org With 700,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from the virus last week, health officials are warning mortality this winter could reach four to five times that in the spring of 2020.
(2020-10-22). Excess US deaths during COVID-19 pandemic top 300,000. wsws.org The estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is nearly 50 percent higher than the official coronavirus death toll of 220,000 in the United States.
(2020-10-22). U.S. Billionaires Wealth Surges $931 Billion since Beginning of Pandemic. zcomm.org An Unseemly Juxtaposition: 220,000 Dead and Millions Lose their Health, Wealth and Livelihoods…
(2020-10-22). OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma To Plead To Three Criminal Charges. popularresistance.org Washington – Drugmaker Purdue Pharma, the company behind the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. | The deal does not release any of the company's executives or owners — members of the wealthy Sackler family — from criminal liability, and a criminal investigation is ongoing. Family members said they acted "ethically and lawfully," but some state attorneys general said the agreement fails to hold the Sackle…
(2020-10-22). Linguistic markers predict onset of Alzheimer's disease. thelancet.com The results suggest that language performance in naturalistic probes expose subtle early sings of progression to AD in advance of clinical diagnosis of impairment.
(2020-10-22). The Government Should Pay Bars to Close for Several Months. truthout.org If we really want to stem the spread of the coronavirus as winter looms and we wait for a vaccine, here's an idea: The government should pay bars, many restaurants and event venues to close for some months. | That may sound radical, but it makes scientific sense and even has a political precedent. We
(2020-10-22). Justice for Eric Briceno, killed by ELA Sheriffs. fightbacknews.org Los Angeles, CA – Family, neighbors, supporters and Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) attended an October 16 press conference, rally and celebration of the life of Eric Briceno, who was killed by East LA Sheriffs in Maywood, California. Other families who have lost loved ones to police killings also joined the Briceno family. Well-known civil rights attorney Samuel Paz had asked Centro CSO to help the Briceno family. | Briceno was killed on March 16 after his parents called 911 for help with a mental health crisis. Briceno was beaten and tased to death in his bedroom, after he woke up to sheriffs shouti…
(2020-10-22). Top Belgian diplomat in intensive care with COVID-19. yenisafak.com Belgium's foreign minister has been hospitalized in intensive care for treatment of the coronavirus.A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday confirmed Sophie Wilmes had been in hospital since last night.Wilmes announced Saturday on Twitter that she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding: "An infection that probably occurred in the family circle, given the precautions I have taken outdoors." She was in self-quarantine since Friday.In the past few days, Belgium has recorded a steep rise in the infections. With the country's health minister warning of a "tsunami" of infections, the government has or…
(2020-10-22). Australian corporate elite demands lifting of all coronavirus safety restrictions. wsws.org A hysterical campaign is underway, insisting that any public health measures are an unacceptable impost on the wealth and profits of the financial aristocracy.
(2020-10-22). Blasting 'Deliberate Indifference' to Inmate Health, California Court Orders San Quentin Prison to Reduce Population by Half. commondreams.org The ruling called the Covid-19 outbreak at the notorious lockup "the worst epidemiological disaster in California correctional history." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-22). Citing 'Big Mistakes' Made in Covid-19 Fight, Khanna and Warren Lead 130+ Dems Calling for Congress to Prevent the Next Pandemic. commondreams.org "The current administration's response has exposed serious flaws in the country's ability to combat large scale public health challenges." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-21). DEA's "Project Safeguard" Latest Salvo in Failed US War on Drugs. commondreams.org "It is astonishing that in the midst of a pandemic and calls for police reform, the DEA is using the same old heavy-handed tactics to address a public health issue." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-10-21). Headlines for October 21, 2020. democracynow.org Nigerian Soldiers Open Fire on Protesters Opposing Police Brutality, As U.S. Faces Third Coronavirus Surge, CDC Reports 300,000 Excess Deaths in 2020, Pope Wears Mask at Public Event for First Time as EU Coronavirus Cases Surge, Justice Department and 11 States Sue Google in Biggest Antitrust Lawsuit in Decades, ACLU Can't Find Hundreds of Asylum-Seeking Parents Separated from Children by Trump Admin, L.A. Times: Just Three of 265 Reported Crimes at California ICE Jails Led to Prosecutions, Early Voting Opens for Pretrial Prisoners in Chicago's Cook County Jail , Armed Poll Watchers Deploy to Democratic Precincts…
(2020-10-21). Is it an accident that Iran and the US, two Theocracies, are Coronavirus Basket Cases? zcomm.org One clue to why the two countries are doing so badly with regard to basic public health strategy may lie in the importance of religion to both of these societies…
(2020-10-21). Trump Administration Is Paying Big Pharma Billions in Rush for Vaccine. globalresearch.ca Desperate to distract the national discourse from his criminal mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump is promising that a vaccine will be available before Election Day. His vaccine campaign is named "Operation Warp Speed" and there is a real …
(2020-10-21). 'Exhausted, angry and worried sick!': French health workers protest. mronline.org 
French health and social care workers stage mass protests for better staffing, pay and conditions as a second wave of COVID-19 engulfs the country, writes Susan Ram…
(2020-10-21). When will there be a COVID-19 vaccine? liberationnews.org 
A dramatic increase in COVID-19 infection rates across the country has confirmed a grim reality: the United States is entering a new resurgence of the pandemic.
(2020-10-21). Covid-19 patients FIVE TIMES more likely to die in hospital than those with flu, are at higher risk for 17 complications — CDC. rt.com 
The risk of dying from the coronavirus is five times higher than that of seasonal flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report, based on the records of 9,000 hospital patients. | "Compared with patients with influenza, those with COVID-19 had a more than five times higher risk for in-hospital death and approximately double the ICU admission risk and hospital length of stay, and were at higher risk for 17 acute respiratory, cardiovascular, hematologic, neurologic, renal and other complications," the CDC said in a new report released on Tuesday. | The study found that while 21 percent…
(2020-10-21). Spain tops 1 million Covid-19 cases & UK sets daily record for positive tests as second wave surge continues. rt.com 
Spain has become the first Western European nation to exceed 1 million coronavirus cases, while the UK reported 26,688 new infections on Wednesday – a record for the country. | With 16,973 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, the overall number of infected in Spain has reached 1,005,295 people, according to data from the country's health ministry. | The tally has doubled in just six weeks despite restrictions introduced by the government, including a two-week state of emergency in Madrid. | The death toll increased by 156, according to figures released on Wednesday, reaching 34,366 people in total to date. Th…
(2020-10-21). Spain tops 1 million Covid-19 cases & UK sets daily record for positive tests as second-wave surge continues. rt.com Spain has become the first Western European nation to exceed one million coronavirus cases, while the UK reported 26,688 new infections on Wednesday — a record for the country. | With 16,973 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, the overall number of infected in Spain has reached 1,005,295 people, according to data from the country's Health Ministry. | The tally has doubled in just six weeks despite restrictions introduced by the government, including a two-week state of emergency in Madrid. | The death toll increased by 156, according to figures released on Wednesday, reaching 34,366 people in total to…
(2020-10-21). Government-Granted Patent Monopolies Gave Purdue Pharma Incentives to Push Opiods. cepr.net Maybe this is too obvious a point, but I don't see it mentioned in news coverage of the company's settlement. If we could ever have a serious debate on the relative merits of government-granted patent monopolies compared with direct upfront funding, as we did with Moderna's research on a coronavirus vaccine, the incentive that patents …
(2020-10-21). Europe Faces a Second Wave of COVID-19 Cases. telesurenglish.net Europe is going through a new wave of COVID-19 cases, which health authorities will try to contain through measures that could include the return of curfews in some regions. | RELATED: | In the last 24 hours, Germany registered 7,595 new infections, the second-highest value since March. The cumulative number of cases is 380,762 with 9,875 fatalities so far. | In France, health authorities reported that the number of COVID-19 patients…
(2020-10-21). US suffered almost 300,000 excess deaths during coronavirus pandemic, CDC reports. nationofchange.org They found that excess deaths have occurred every week in the U.S. since March, peaking in the weeks ending April 11 and August 8.
(2020-10-21). Does this CDC Report Actually Show that Mask Wearers Are 17x More Likely to Get COVID-19? globalresearch.ca I'm afraid I'm going to be the fact-checking party, again. I must call foul on those claiming that a recent I hate face masks, but I …
(2020-10-21). Brazil Will Not Buy Chinese Vaccines, Bolsonaro Says. telesurenglish.net Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday said that his country will not buy the coronavirus vaccine developed by the Chinese company Sinovac. | RELATED: | This announcement was made after Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello mentioned that Brazil will allocate US$427 million for the purchase of 46 million doses of the "Coronavac" vaccine. On Tuesday, he met with different governors and signed a protocol of intentions to expand the s…
(2020-10-21). Masks Aren't Helpful in Beating COVID-19: Europe's Top Health Officials. globalresearch.ca This article was first crossposted in August. | Denmark boasts one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world. As of August 4, the Danes have suffered 616 COVID-19 deaths, That's less
(2020-10-21). Freedom of Expression Was Restricted in Ecuador, Report Shows. telesurenglish.net The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) published a report that highlights that freedom of expression was violated during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador, a country where 23 journalists have died from the coronavirus so far. | RELATED: | The Standing Committee for the Defense of Human Rights warned that, under the pretext of public security and health emergency, freedom of expression was viola…
(2020-10-21). Corona vaccine development – they prefer not to ask about risks and side effects. indybay.org Thousands or even millions could be vaccinated on the basis of "emergency approval." We will probably have to live with the virus. The current strategy of damaging measures until a vaccine is available is a bumpy path with incalculable risks, side effects and already visible collateral damage. Jens Berger and Tobias Riegel are German journalists who publish regularly on nachdenkseiten.de.
(2020-10-21). Coronavirus cases climb toward a new peak in Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) — The coronavirus outbreak has been worsening in Iran, as the number of infections, hospitalizations and fatalities due to the respiratory disease has been increasing in the past days.
(2020-10-21). Podcast: Pandemic mental health, hidden strengths and severe morning sickness. imperial.ac.uk In this edition: Exploring pandemic mental health, comparing spaceflight and frontline NHS work, and linking severe morning sickness with depression.
(2020-10-21). Imperial and TUM launch joint PhD programme in AI, robotics and healthcare. imperial.ac.uk Imperial and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have launched a joint PhD programme that will initially focus on AI, robotics and healthcare.
(2020-10-21). Facebook and Google Cash In on Misleading Ads for Nonexistent "Trumpcare" truthout.org "Trumpcare" insurance will "finally fix healthcare," said an advertisement on Facebook. | The problem is, there's no such thing as "Trumpcare." | Facebook and Google have promised to crack down on lies and misinformation about politics in the run-up to next month's presidential election, but they have run tens of thousands of ads in the past year containing false claims about health insurance reform and plans. | The "Trumpcare" ads don't appear to have a political aim and don't advocate for the re…
(2020-10-21). Medical staff struggle against coronavirus in Iran. yenisafak.com Healthcare workers in Iran are struggling against the novel coronavirus as the country has seen a rising trend in infections and deaths in October. | A total of 164 Iranian medical personnel have died due to COVID-19, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said in a statement on Aug.22. | Since late August, a large number of health workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, while many others lost their lives due to the pandemic. | In Iran, especially in the capital Tehran, hospitals allocated to COVID-19 patients have reached their maximum capacity. Therefore, newly diagnosed patients are treated at their ho…
(2020-10-21). Infection Fatality Rate of COVID-19 Inferred from Seroprevalence Data. globalresearch.ca Abstract | Objective: To estimate the infection fatality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from seroprevalence data. | Methods: I searched PubMed and preprint servers for COVID-19 seroprevalence studies with a sample size ‚â• 500 as of 9 September, 2020. I also …
(2020-10-21). The Pandemic Sent Americans' Health Care Coverage Into Free Fall. thenation.com The Pandemic Sent Americans' Health Care Coverage Into Free Fall…
