(2020-06-27). [Perspectives] Aletha Maybank: AMA's Chief Health Equity Officer. thelancet.com The world has changed in the year since the American Medical Association (AMA) named Aletha Maybank as its first Chief Health Equity Officer and founder of the AMA's Center for Health Equity, dedicated to eliminating the barriers to optimal health for all patients. COVID-19 has exposed health inequities that have always existed, Maybank said. But when US Government data omitted the disease's impact on Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities, she advocated for a change. "You can't fix something that you don't measure", she said.
(2020-06-27). [Editorial] Generation coronavirus? thelancet.com The catastrophic elements that have perpetuated the COVID-19 pandemic—global interconnectedness, climate change due to human activity, vast economic inequality, and deep veins of antiscience—have resulted in more than 9 million infections and almost 500‚Äà000 deaths worldwide. Although children might be less susceptible to infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and generally have better outcomes than adults, COVID-19 as a phenomenon weighs heavily on their health and wellbeing.
(2020-06-27). [Comment] Offline: The second wave. thelancet.com The spectre of a second wave of COVID-19 hangs over us. Some infectious disease specialists believe that SARS-CoV-2 might be losing virulence. Most are less sanguine. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, reported last week that "the pandemic is accelerating"—across the Americas, south Asia, and the Middle East. "The world is in a new and dangerous phase", he said. "The virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly, and most people are still susceptible." The shadow of the 1918 influenza pandemic darkens our perspective.
(2020-06-27). [Clinical Picture] Myocarditis in a 16-year-old boy positive for SARS-CoV-2. thelancet.com A 16-year-old boy was admitted to our emergency department, in Lombardy, complaining of intense pain in his chest—radiating to his left arm—which had started 1 h earlier. The day before he had a fever of 38 ∑3 ∞C that decreased after 100 mg of nimesulide. He reported no other symptoms, no medical history, and no contact with anyone with confirmed COVID-19.
(2020-06-27). [Perspectives] Nature and nowness under lockdown. thelancet.com "Death", wrote Saul Bellow in his acclaimed novel Humboldt's Gift, "is the dark backing a mirror needs if we are to see anything". 45 years have elapsed since he wrote these words, but they have surely never carried more weight. As we reel, stunned and awestruck, through the COVID-19 pandemic, the menace of death has inspired a profound attentiveness to—and gratitude for—the simplest moments of life. Amid the soaring death tolls, it has felt at times as though nothing—not least the natural world on our doorstep—will ever be taken for granted again.
(2020-06-27). [World Report] Access to health care under threat in Afghanistan. thelancet.com Attacks on hospitals and high numbers of COVID-19 cases among health workers could hamper access to health care. Sharmila Devi reports.
(2020-06-27). [Correspondence] Primaquine for Plasmodium vivax malaria treatment — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We agree with Harin Karunajeewa and Robert James that radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria needs to be deployed more widely. The question is, how do we achieve this? Shortening the treatment course and thereby improving adherence is an important step in the right direction.1 Primaquine regimens are usually extended over 14 days to reduce the daily dose and thereby improve tolerability and safety. The main adverse event risk is haemolysis in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency.
(2020-06-27). [Seminar] Pancreatic cancer. thelancet.com Pancreatic cancer is a highly fatal disease with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 10% in the USA, and it is becoming an increasingly common cause of cancer mortality. Risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer include family history, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tobacco use. Patients typically present with advanced disease due to lack of or vague symptoms when the cancer is still localised. High quality computed tomography with intravenous contrast using a dual phase pancreatic protocol is typically the best method to detect a pancreatic tumour and to determine surgical resectability.
(2020-06-27). [Articles] Clinical and biomarker changes of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome: a cross-sectional study. thelancet.com Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down syndrome has a long preclinical phase in which biomarkers follow a predictable order of changes over more than two decades. The similarities with sporadic and autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease and the prevalence of Down syndrome make this population a suitable target for Alzheimer's disease preventive treatments.
(2020-06-27). [Comment] Biomarkers in Down syndrome can help us understand Alzheimer's disease. thelancet.com Down syndrome is associated with increased risk of developing early-onset Alzheimer's disease, primarily because of the overexpression of the APP gene on chromosome 21. People with Down syndrome, as a form of genetically determined Alzheimer's disease, represent one of the largest cohorts at risk of early-onset Alzheimer's disease because virtually all adults with Down syndrome will develop Alzheimer's disease by age 40 years.1 However, the age range for the onset of cognitive decline is wide (from <50 years to >70 years).
(2020-06-26). America's War against the People of Korea: The Historical Record of US War Crimes. globalresearch.ca "the population north of the imposed 38th Parallel lost nearly a third its population during the 37-month long "hot" war, 1950-1953, an unprecedented percentage of mortality suffered by one nation due to the belligerence of another." (War Veteran Brian Willson)…
(2020-06-26). War Crimes: US Destruction of North Korea Must Not be Forgotten. globalresearch.ca For a brief moment in the summer of 1945 there was joy in Korea. | Koreans, who had suffered 35 years of of brutal Japanese colonial occupation prior to Tokyo's defeat in World War II, celebrated what they believed was their …
(2020-06-26). The Responsibility to Protect? Bipartisan Crimes Against Humanity in the U.S. counterpunch.org 
Hundreds of people are unnecessarily dying every day with African Americans representing a disproportionate number of those deaths. 80 million people are now without health coverage, millions are unemployed, over the next two months evictions will resume with an expected explosion of homelessness. And what is the response from the state that is tasked with
(2020-06-26). Eastern Partnership of Post-Soviet States Gives Members False Illusions of Joining the EU. globalresearch.ca The
(2020-06-26). Is America a Failed State? Trump's COVID Response Has Many Saying "Yes" mintpressnews.com Evident by its response to COVID-19, its brutal crackdown on racial-justice protesters, and its inability to hold free and fair elections, experts are in agreement: the United States is a nation in decline.
(2020-06-26). Activists Urge US Dept of Agriculutre to Deny Deadly New Monsanto GMO-Herbicide Combo. mintpressnews.com The US is considering approving the product even as Monsanto juggles multiple multi-million dollar lawsuits from cancer patients over its deadly Roundup herbicide.
(2020-06-26). Joe Biden Should Not Try to Out-Hawk Trump on Venezuela. commondreams.org Thousands gather in Caracas to protest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. April 2019 (Photo: Helena1 / Shutterstock.com) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2020-06-26_at_11.10.04_am.png …
(2020-06-26). U.N. Human Rights Council condemns racist violence. workers.org 
In the wake of international uprisings due to the lynching of George Floyd, the U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency hearing on June 19. The council unanimously passed a resolution condemning systemic racism and racist police brutality against people of African descent in all countries, but particularly in the . . . |
(2020-06-26). Colombia's Other Pandemic: Unchecked State Violence in the Time of COVID-19. counterpunch.org 
The human rights group Indepaz reports that 800 activists have been killed in the past three and a half years in Colombia, since November 24, 2016, the date the government signed "the Peace Accord" with the FARC.[1] Taking advantage of society's fear and distraction, and the demobilization caused by the novel coronavirus, state and paramilitary
(2020-06-26). In South Africa, mining workers have double the infection rate for COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org 
The rate of infection of the novel coronavirus among mining workers in South Africa is 330 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the average registered for the rest of the country's population — 160 per 100,000. From the 1474 positive cases confirmed within South African mines, 907 are still active, 563 patients recovered and four have died. | The information was released Monday (22nd) by the
(2020-06-26). COVID-19 death march: India's migrant workers head home, heralding virus surge. peoplesworld.org 
DELHI—The thin emaciated woman lay on her back by the side of the highway that leads away from Delhi towards Kolkata. Her arms akimbo, her knees folded together and drawn up, her body barely covered in a torn-to-strips cloth that had once been a red saree. Her eyes drew attention because they were wide open—death …
(2020-06-26). Scheer Intelligence: For Many Young People, Socialism Is As American As Apple Pie. popularresistance.org In the devastating aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, many young Americans who felt betrayed by capitalism were introduced to socialism by Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns. Meagan Day, a staff writer for the popular left-wing magazine Jacobin and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), serves as an example of how the Vermont senator radicalized a generation with a platform that called for policies like Medicare for All and tuition-free college. Day credits Sanders with her decision to choose socialism when she felt the time came to "pick a side" in American politics and has since been w…
(2020-06-27). [Correspondence] Primaquine for Plasmodium vivax malaria treatment. thelancet.com The main reason conventional primaquine regimens last 14 days is because this was the time taken to repatriate US military personnel by ship following active service in the Korean War.1 We therefore congratulate Walter Taylor and colleagues2 for finally upending an absurdly impractical 60-year-old legacy and setting a new standard of care. However, convincing policy makers and practitioners to implement this new standard of care presents challenges relating to how risk is perceived and managed.
(2020-06-26). Belgian parliament urges sanctions against Israel. yenisafak.com The Belgian federal parliament adopted a resolution on Friday urging the government to prepare a list of countermeasures against Israel in case it annexes the occupied Palestinian territories.The resolution was proposed by the Green party, and passed with 101 votes in favor and 39 abstentions.The text calls the government to "play a leading role at European and multilateral level in order to set up a list of effective countermeasures to respond proportionately to any Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory."The resolution acknowledges the fact that some states might veto EU sanctions. So it sugge…
(2020-06-26). Saturday 7/4: 4th of July SF Car Caravan: "Defund Police, Defund Pentagon, Fund Life!" indybay.org Meet up 2pm at SF City Hall, Polk St. between Grove & McAllister; Caravan to Stop 1: Defund Police, Black Lives Matter street painting, Fulton & Webster; Caravan to Stop 2: Defund Pentagon, Nancy Pelosi's House, Broadway @ Divisadero; Caravan to Stop 3: Fund Life!, Bayview Hunters Point.
(2020-06-26). Headlines for June 26, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Sets Another Daily COVID-19 Record as Infections Surge in 31 States, Supreme Court Ruling Will Deny Asylum Seekers Their Day in Court, Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS to Annul Obamacare Even as Millions Lose Health Coverage, India Nears 500,000 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases as Pandemic Worsens Globally, WHO Declares End to Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, House Democrats Pass Sweeping Police Reform Bill That Trump Promised to Veto, Activists Demanding $1B Cut to NYPD Budget Occupy City Hall for Third Straight Night, NC Police Dept. Fires Officers Caught on Tape Discussing "Slaughtering" Black Reside…
(2020-06-26). The End of Asylum? Supreme Court Sides with Trump Administration on Fast-Tracking Deportations. democracynow.org 
The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory Thursday when it ruled the government can fast-track deportations of asylum seekers without first allowing them to fight for their cases in front of a judge. The ACLU's Lee Gelernt argued the case in court on behalf of Tamil asylum seeker Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam. "It's a very serious decision and will adversely affect many, many asylum seekers," says Gelernt. "We're likely to see more people fail their hearings, and now they don't have a backstop in the federal courts."
(2020-06-26). In Racial Justice Victory, Johnson & Johnson to Pay $2B to Women in Asbestos-Laced Baby Powder Suit. democracynow.org 
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $2.1 billion to a group of women who developed ovarian cancer after using talcum powder contaminated with asbestos. Johnson & Johnson heavily marketed the powder to African American women despite warnings that the products could cause cancer. Six of the plaintiffs in the Johnson & Johnson case died before the trial started. Five more of the women have died since 2018. We get response from M. Isabelle Chaudry, senior policy manager at the National Women's Health Network, who says the company must ban the products globally and do more to address the harm it has caused, part…
(2020-06-26). One Bad Algorithm? Advocates Say Facial Recognition Reveals Systemic Racism in AI Technology. democracynow.org 
The controversy over police use of facial recognition technology has accelerated after a Black man in Michigan revealed he was wrongfully arrested because of the technology. Detroit police handcuffed Robert Williams in front of his wife and daughters after facial recognition software falsely identified him as a suspect in a robbery. Researchers say facial recognition software is up to 100 times more likely to misidentify people of color than white people. This week, Boston voted to end its use in the city, and Democratic lawmakers introduced a similar measure for federal law enforcement. "This is not an example o…
(2020-06-27). [World Report] LGBTQ discrimination in US health care under scrutiny. thelancet.com A US Supreme Court ruling could undermine the Trump administration's plan to roll back some protections against sex discrimination. Susan Jaffe reports.
(2020-06-26). Mass-Tracking COVI-PASS Immunity Passports Slated to Roll Out in 15 Countries. mintpressnews.com 
COVI-PASS will determine whether you can go to a restaurant, if you need a medical test, or are due for a talking-to by authorities in a post-COVID world. Consent is voluntary, but enforcement will be compulsory.
(2020-06-26). COVID-19 Is Amplifying Racial Inequities, Educators Say. therealnews.com 
Baltimore Teachers Union President Diamonté Brown discusses a recent lawsuit over unpaid instructional days, global protests against racism, the movement to defund the police, and calls to remove officers from schools.
(2020-06-26). Jim Naureckas on Covid's Preventable Nightmare, Clare Garvie on Police Facial Recognition. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-06-26). As COVID-19 rages, America's meatpacking workers battle for their lives. peoplesworld.org 
As new COVID-19 infections surge to their highest levels since April, the deadly virus continues to ravage meatpacking plants across the nation. Companies are not implementing CDC guidelines for safe working conditions, so workers, their children, and union are finding ways to resist and demand action. The gruesome work of killing, cleaning, and deboning beef, …
(2020-06-26). Will Covid Start a Trade War Over U.S. Meat Exports? counterpunch.org 
On June 21, the official China website posted that products from Tyson Foods' Springdale, Arkansas plant "that have arrived or are about to arrive in Hong Kong will be temporarily suspended by the customs department." Two days earlier, 455 Tyson Foods workers living in Benton and Washington counties in which Springdale is located were found
(2020-06-26). UN Warns Many Will "Starve to Death" in Yemen as Saudi Fuel Blockade Hinders COVID-19 Battle. mintpressnews.com 
According to the Yemen Oil Company, at least 15 tankers carrying over 419,789 tons of fuel have been trapped at sea for over a month despite being checked and issued permits by both the Saudi-led Coalition and the UN, plunging Yemen into an unprecedented fuel shortage.
(2020-06-26). How Is Biden Different From Trump When It Comes To Palestine? therealnews.com 
Biden pledges to keep the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, boasts of "unstinting support" for Israel, promises to fight the BDS movement and send military aid, and spins it as a way to somehow fight anti-Semitism in the U.S.
(2020-06-26). UFCW: Tyson rivals Smithfield in its disregard for workers. peoplesworld.org 
LOGANSPORT, Ind.—The now-infamous Smithfield pork production plant in South Dakota apparently has a "rival" of sorts among food processing factories that have become coronavirus pandemic hotspots. Welcome to the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Logansport, Ind., which had to shut for two weeks, from April 23-May 7, for complete cleaning and other measures after …
(2020-06-26). CDC chief Redfield: 24 million may have coronavirus. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—The head of the federal Centers for Disease Control now estimates that 24 million people in the U.S., ten times the actual numbers recorded, may be ill from the coronavirus. CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield provided that estimate in a June 25 conference call with other reporters, the same day his agency expanded the list …
(2020-06-26). Coronavirus is an SOS: Mend our broken relationship with nature, says UN and WHO. mronline.org 
Pandemics such as coronavirus are the result of humanity's destruction of nature, according to leaders at the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International—and the world has been ignoring this stark reality for decades.
(2020-06-26). Infiltrating Black Lives Matter: Cops, Feds, and White Supremacists. counterpunch.org 
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a major step forward in the ongoing struggle for Civil Rights in the United States and around the world. BLM was founded in 2013, following the acquittal over what organizers describe as 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's murderer, the gated community watchman, George Zimmerman. The organization came to international attention in July
(2020-06-26). Racism and the Neoliberal Consensus. counterpunch.org 
In the midst of protests and the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement, race is once again being put forward as the social axis most in need of rectification. From the perspective of 'racial capital,' the ills of capitalism can't be meaningfully addressed until white supremacy has been defeated. From a left perspective grounded in Marx and history, race is a product of capitalism, not its cause. The economic relationships of indentured servitude and slavery both preceded the concept of race. And the iterative view begins with economic relationships to claim that at some point race became a causal factor in it…
(2020-06-26). U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman's Ouster: the Untold Story. counterpunch.org 
A stake in the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan was purchased with money looted from 1MDB According to the U.S. Justice Department (Photo Source: DOJ) There's something unsettling about the top law enforcement officer in the United States telling a brazen lie to the American people late on a Friday night when most folks have
(2020-06-26). Lawlessness in Trump's Fascist State: Bill Barr and the Ghost of Fascism. counterpunch.org 
Barr places the President above the law, defining him as a kind of unitary sovereign. In addition, he appears to relish in his role as a craven defender of Trump, all the while justifying a notion of blind executive authority in the face of Trump's endless lies, racist policies, and lawlessness that echo the dark era of the 1920s and 30s.
(2020-06-26). How Racism is an Essential Tool for Maintaining the Capitalist Order. counterpunch.org 
U.S. capitalism survived because it found a solution to the basic problem of its instability, its business cycles. Since capitalism never could end cyclical downturns and their awful effects, its survival required making those effects somehow socially tolerable. Systemic racism survived in…
(2020-06-26). Truth is Our Weapon and Shield — An Interview with Black Panther Party Veteran Billy X Jennings. counterpunch.org 
Truth and reconciliation commissions attempt to heal divided nations after the injustice has ceased. They rely on a process of education in which a reckoning with hard truths of systemic oppression lead to national accountability, reparations for victims, healing and potential unity. However, truth and reconciliation commissions, such as the one in South Africa, are
(2020-06-26). From "How Could He…" to "How Am I…": A Confession. counterpunch.org 
The writer Robert Penn Warren once described the "national rhythm" on race matters to be one that swayed between "complacency and panic." There is a great deal of truth in this observation — especially among elites — and unless we can break that rhythm we seem doomed to remain trapped in what Ibram X. Kendi
(2020-06-26). The Struggle for No Police in the Los Angeles Schools: a Great Leap Forward and Victory is in Sight. counterpunch.org 
On Tuesday, June 23, in Los Angeles, the decade's long struggle for No Police in the Schools had a major breakthrough. Los Angeles School Board member Monica Garcia introduced the most structural and hopeful motion to make "defund the police" a reality. Her motion, expressing gratitude to the national Black uprising, called for cutting the
(2020-06-26). The Killing of Ahmad Erekat by Israeli Police Puts Western Media Bias on Full Display. mintpressnews.com 
At a time when the world is crying out for justice, it behooves Israel to reverse its destructive policies toward Palestinians — and responsible journalism to ignore the bullies and tell the truth.
(2020-06-26). How Atlanta community organized after police murdered Rayshard Brooks. liberationnews.org 
By Monica Johnson The following is based upon a talk given by Monica Johnson, a Party for Socialism and Liberation activist in Atlanta, on a PSL national webinar June 18. She addressed community response to the police murder of Rayshard Brooks. This 27-year-old African-American man was shot twice in the back and killed by police …