(2020-07-11). [Comment] Offline: Restoring trust in WHO. thelancet.com Belgium has the sad distinction of leading the world league table of deaths from COVID-19. At 843 deaths per million, Belgium is ahead of the UK (650 per million), Italy (576 per million), Sweden (537 per million), and France (458 per million). COVID-19 was first reported in Belgium on Feb 4, 2020, in a 54-year-old man who had been repatriated from Wuhan, China. Community transmission was confirmed in early March after holiday makers returned from school vacation breaks in northern Italy. The national sense of failure and anger is spurring a serious effort to initiate an international inquiry into the global resp…
(2020-07-11). Biden promotes economic nationalism and anti-China militarism. wsws.org Biden offered no opposition to Trump's "back-to-work" drive, mass job destruction during the pandemic or the looming unemployment benefit cutoff.
(2020-07-11). Debunking Myths on China "Forcing Uyghur Birth Control" dissidentvoice.org So-called overseas reps of China's Uyghur ethnic group filed evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to spark an investigation on alleged human rights violations. But are the reports founded on strong evidence? (story starts at 2: 00)…
(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.
(2020-07-11). Calling out NYT "unprofessional" reporting on 'Bountygate'. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with investigative journalist Gareth Porter about his latest report "How the Pentagon failed to…
(2020-07-11). Remembering the Venezuelan National Assembly vote lost by Guaidó in January 2019. zcomm.org The view of the US government and the pro-Guaidó faction of the opposition was summed up by a New York Times headline and subhead that on January 5 that said Venezuela's Maduro Claims Control of National Assembly, Tightening Grip on Power It was the last political institution in opposition hands. Now President Nicolás Maduro's has
(2020-07-11). Abby Martin Explains Afghanistan. thealtworld.com Highly recommended — | Nothing can be done, because the United States has no possibility of political leadership. The establishment controls both parties and selects leaders who serve the establishment. Even in rare cases when a leader opposed by the establishent gets into office, the establishment turns on him and prevents his leadership by demonizing him. Trump's first term has been smothered in lies intended to prevent his reelection. | The US media lost what remained of its independence when President Clinton signed off on its concentration in a few establishment hands. The US has had no print or TV…
(2020-07-11). Bill Gates and the Depopulation Agenda. Robert F. Kennedy Junior Calls for an Investigation. globalresearch.ca Robert F Kennedy Jr, an avid Defender of Children's Rights and anti-vaccination , has launched a petition sent to the White House, calling for "Investigations into the 'Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation' for Medical Malpractice & Crimes Against Humanity"
(2020-07-11). Instead of Focusing on Bounties, Why Doesn't the U.S. End the Afghan War? zcomm.org Lawmakers are outraged over a recent story alleging that Vladimir Putin may be paying off Taliban soldiers to kill U.S. troops. But why are those troops still in Afghanistan?>
(2020-07-11). How the Pentagon failed to sell Afghan government's bunk 'Bountygate'. zcomm.org Another New York Times Russiagate bombshell turns out to be a dud, as dodgy stories spun out by Afghan intelligence and exploited by the Pentagon ultimately failed to convince US intelligence agencies…
(2020-07-11). The Tremendous but "Secret" Success of Socialist Vietnam. dissidentvoice.org 
Hue — full of public spaces Some twenty years ago, when I moved to Hanoi, the city was bleak, grey, covered by smog. The war had ended, but terrible scars remained. I brought my 4WD from Chile, and insisted on driving it myself. It was one of the first SUVs in the city. Each time …
(2020-07-11). The hunger pandemic in Colombia. mronline.org 
The unchecked growth of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America is tearing apart the socio-economic fabric of the countrieslocated in that continent. One manifestation of this socio-economic rupture is the emergence of what David Beasley, the Executive Director of UN World Food Programme (WFP), has called a "hunger pandemic". According to WFP, "The socio-economic impact …
(2020-07-11). Why is Surrogacy Illegal in Most of the World? dissidentvoice.org 
The longing, desire and biological drive of many human beings to fulfill the imperative to be fruitful, to procreate and to become parents, is real and painful when unachievable. This has led to an increase of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and surrogacy, despite ethical and legal concerns. Preface The infertility and surrogacy multi-billion-dollar industries, those …
(2020-07-11). Climate Crisis: Fracking Pioneer Goes Bankrupt, Pipelines Get Big Legal Win. therealnews.com 
Fracking pioneer Chesapeake Energy goes bankrupt with industry-wide reverberations, and a trio of pipelines take legal hits as the industry scores a huge legal win.
(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…
(2020-07-11). "Most Important Indian Law Case in Half a Century" zcomm.org Supreme Court Upholds Tribal Sovereignty in OK…
(2020-07-11). The US And UK Are A Wrecking Ball Crew Against The Pillars Of Internationalism. popularresistance.org Over the past few decades, Western countries—such as the United Kingdom, but more so the United States of America—have flouted international laws and failed to even try to uphold the high-minded principles of the charter. Most recently, the United States has attempted to muzzle the International Criminal Court (ICC) as it has pursued a perfectly reasonable investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan; and the United Kingdom has denied Venezuela its sovereign right to gold held in the Bank of England. In both cases, the United States and the UK have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated i…
(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…
(2020-07-11). US warns citizens of heightened detention risks in China. yenisafak.com "U.S. citizens may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," the State Department said in a security alert issued to its citizens in China, adding that U.S. citizens may face "prolonged interrogations and extended detention" for reasons related to state security."Security personnel may detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the Chinese government," it added, without citing specific examples. The state department also did not say what prompted the security alert.The security alert comes as bilateral tensions inten…
(2020-07-11). China's southern Jiangxi declares highest flood alert. yenisafak.com Jiangxi province in southern China issued its highest flood warning on Saturday, predicting a big overflow from a lake on the Yangtze River as torrential rain continues to batter much of the country, state media said.The Jiangxi government raised its flood-control response level to I from II, the People's Daily said, the top level on China's four-tier scale, signalling disasters such as dam collapses or extraordinary floods simultaneously in several rivers.Provincial authorities expect severe regional flooding in Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake which connects to the Yangtze, state television said.The wate…
(2020-07-11). 'Another phony hit job': Trump slams NYT for 'made up' story about alleged Russian bounties in Afghanistan. rt.com 
A sensational New York Times report which alleged that Russia paid the Taliban to target US forces in Afghanistan was pure fabrication, Donald Trump has claimed after the Pentagon and intel agencies dismissed the story. | The claim that Moscow had placed bounties on US and coalition troops operating in Afghanistan, first reported by the Times last month, has been widely discredited by senior military and intelligence officials. Defense Secretary Mark Esper testified earlier this week that "all the defense intelligence agencies have been unable to corroborate that report." | Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gener…
(2020-07-11). Mail-in voter fur-raud? CAT who DIED 12 years ago receives voter registration application in Atlanta. rt.com 
An Atlanta family was surprised to receive a voter registration application in the mail for their long-dead pet cat — and the state government is wondering what other kind of fraud "out-of-town s" are up to in Georgia. | Cody Tims, a beloved pet cat who was a venerable 18 years old when he died 12 years ago, received an application to register for mail-in voting earlier this week, according to his owners, Ron and Carol Tims — providing serious ammunition to opponents of mail-in voting for November's presidential election. | There's a big push to get people to register to vote, but cats? One…
(2020-07-11). Trump wants Christopher Steele, UK spy behind 'Russiagate' dossier 'tried and thrown into jail'. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump has called for the extradition, trial and imprisonment of disgraced British spy Christopher Steele, whose scandalous allegations against the president helped kickstart the 'Russiagate' investigation. | "This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail," Trump said of Steele on Saturday, calling the British snoop a "sick lier [sic] who was paid by Crooked Hillary & the DNC!" | This man should be extradited, tried, and thrown into jail. A sick lier who was paid by Crooked Hillary & the DNC!
(2020-07-11). Anti-Trump camp in meltdown over VIDEO of dancing Roger Stone after his prison term's commuted. rt.com 
Political huckster Roger Stone celebrated the commutation of his prison sentence in typically flamboyant style: by gyrating to music in a video that went viral and hit a raw nerve with his opponents and those of President Trump. | Ensnared by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 'Russiagate' probe, Stone was sentenced in February to three years in prison for interfering with the investigation and tampering with witnesses — charges the long-time Republican maintained were baseless. Trump commuted his sentence on Friday — a move that doesn't overturn his conviction, but spares him a stint behind bars. | Fa…
(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…
(2020-07-11). 'Heinous and unprovoked' stabbing spree on New York subway caught on VIDEO. rt.com 
Passengers on board a New York subway carriage were subjected to a brutal and unprovoked knife assault in broad daylight. The shocking incident was caught on video, and comes amid a crime surge in the Big Apple. | In the grisly footage, the suspect viciously attacked two men, knocking both to the floor of the carriage and slashing as they tried to fight back. One victim managed to get to his feet and drive the attacker away, but had a knife thrust into his torso in the scuffle. | WARNING: DISTURBING VIDEO | pic.twitter.com/wMdEDtUt4R— Andrea Catsimatidis (@AJ_Cats_) (2020-07-11). Survivors mark 25th anniversary of Srebrenica massacre. thecanary.co 
Bosnia is marking the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, the only crime in Europe since the Second World War that has formally been declared a genocide.The brutal execution in July 1995 of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys is being commemorated in a series of events. These include the reburial of recently identified remains of nine victims in a memorial cemetery just outside Srebrenica.A woman prays in Potocari, near Srebrenica (Kemal Softic/AP)Bodies still being identified 25 years later: The Srebrenica massacre is the only episode of Bosnia's 1992-95 war to be formally recognised as g…
(2020-07-11). Saturday 7/11: Why There Should be a Pivot to , Not War with China. indybay.org Online via livestream…
(2020-07-11). Sunday 7/12: Covid-19 and the crisis of neoliberalism. indybay.org Zoom Meeting LOG-IN INFORMATION | Posted at: icssmarx.org – OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE…
(2020-07-11). As Long as Mass Media Propaganda Exists, Democracy Is a Sham. strategic-culture.org Caitlin JOHNSTONE | "A majority of Americans believe that Russia paid the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan last year amid negotiations to end the war, and more than half want to respond with new economic sanctions against Moscow, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday," "Overall, 60% of Americans said they found reports of Russian bounties on American soldiers to be 'very' or 'somewhat' believable, while 21% said they were not credible and the rest were unsure,"
(2020-07-11). [World Report] US Supreme Court upholds abortion rights, for now. thelancet.com The court's decision means that Louisiana's three abortion clinics will remain open. Susan Jaffe reports.
(2020-07-11). In one month, 75 workers were killed in workplace accidents in India. peoplesdispatch.org More than 75 workers lost their lives and over 100 others were critically wounded in a series of accidents across India between May and June. At least 30 industrial-related accidents have occurred in the span of just one month, as per groups have highlighted a pattern of systemic failures — industries halted without proper shutdown processes and…
(2020-07-11). Colombian social leaders walked 15 days and 600 km to demand the right to life. peoplesdispatch.org A group of social s and human rights defenders have been marching from the southwestern Colombia for the past 15 days to demand respect for the life, territory and human rights of minority groups in the country…
(2020-07-11). Workers and community supporters racist practices. fightbacknews.org Oshkosh, WI – 30 community members came out, July 8, to the leadership of the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh. Community s, artists, teachers, parents and children gathered fully on a corner armed with chalk, chants and messages of anti-racism and solidarity with the pro-Black Lives Matter workers. | When s erupted around the country in late May over the police killings of George Floyd and countless others, the Boys & Girls Club released a statement of solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement on their social media accounts in early June. The workers, who have been impacted by these…
(2020-07-11). Nicaragua: How Phony Human Rights Groups Slandered A US-Targeted Nation. popularresistance.org During the Nicaraguan coup attempt and ever since it failed, the North American and European human rights industry has falsely accused the Nicaraguan authorities of having brutally repressed ful opposition s with disproportionate lethal violence. In doing so, reports by human rights organizations have systematically ignored numerous very serious crimes and even massacres by Nicaragua's US-supported right-wing opposition and their allies. Between April 18th and July 17th, 2018, 23 police officers were killed by opposition s and 400 officers suffered gunshot wounds inflicted by opposition gunmen…
(2020-07-11). Pakistan remembers 1995 Srebrenica genocide victims. yenisafak.com Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the world community to "learn a lesson" from 1995 Srebrenica genocide, and "not let such massacre happen again.""Today, we are observing the 25th memorial anniversary of the genocide that took place in Srebrenica. I still remember the day very well along with most people who have humanity in their hearts. I remember when it happened. we were shocked. We were appalled how in a what was a safe haven of United Nations keeping forces, this massive massacre was allowed to happen."I still feel the shock how such a thing could have been allowed by the world com…
(2020-07-11). Algeria opposes Libya's division. yenisafak.com The Algerian foreign minister has expressed his country's keenness on resolving the Libyan crisis through dialogue and maintaining the integrity of the country's territory. | This came in an interview conducted by Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum with Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of a meeting with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Rome on Thursday. | Boukadoum said Algeria expects the "return of and stability as soon as possible to Libya with respect to the territorial integrity and legality as well as the free choices of the Libyans. This is what we expect and what we are working for." | Since Ap…
(2020-07-11). #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives Wants Racial Justice In Medicine. popularresistance.org In the weeks since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there have been daily sustained s across the country advocating for the equality and liberation of vulnerable and marginalized communities, particularly that of Black people. One such came from the medical community. If you search the hashtag White Coats For Black Lives, what you'll find is a smattering of media, ranging from videos to photos, to outright statements acknowledging and yet decrying racism that exists within the medical field with statements and pledges to do better and help to alleviate this issue. Joining us today to disc…
(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.
(2020-07-11). [Clinical Picture] A rare cause of left-sided weakness in an elderly woman: amoebic encephalitis. thelancet.com An 85-year-old Gujarati woman with a 1-day history of confusion, left-sided weakness, and slurred speech attended our hospital. She had a history of headaches, which had been extensively investigated for 2 years from 2013. She also had hypertension. She had no history of recent travel.
(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.
(2020-07-11). [Editorial] COVID-19: the worst may be yet to come. thelancet.com As much of western Europe begins to ease countrywide lockdowns, globally the pandemic may still be in its infancy, with more than 160‚Äà000 new cases reported each day since June 25. Individual countries count cases differently, so direct comparisons are difficult, but the numbers illustrate a worrying pattern. At a subnational level the picture is nuanced, with local hotspots, but at a country level the picture is clear—the world is facing a worsening multipolar pandemic.
(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…
(2020-07-11). [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).
(2020-07-11). [Comment] First step in a new era for treatment of patients with vitiligo. thelancet.com Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentation of the skin, which affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide. The condition can profoundly affect the wellbeing and the social, sexual, and professional lives of affected individuals and thus induces a strong therapeutic demand.1 Actual treatments rely on the use of topical steroids or topical calcineurin inhibitors, and are better combined with sun exposure or phototherapy.1,2 The best results are achieved on the face, while some areas such as bony prominences and hands and feet show a very poor repigmentation rate.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Predicting erenumab adverse events with single-cell genomics. thelancet.com Erenumab is a CGRP receptor monoclonal antibody for the preventive treatment of migraine. It has been widely prescribed in the USA after receiving US Food and Drug Administration approval in May, 2018. An estimated 7000 prescriptions are written per week,1 which, along with postmarketing reporting, have resulted in the rapid detection of serious adverse events that were not seen during clinical trials. As a result, the product label was revised on Oct 4, 2019, to include constipation with serious complications, including cases requiring hospitalisation and surgery, with most cases reported after a single dose of…
(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).
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Differential effect of ticagrelor on irreversible harms in diabetes — Authors' reply. thelancet.com Gerald Chi and Jolanta Marszalek raise questions about subgroup analysis and interaction terms in the THEMIS trial. Interaction terms are generally underpowered. At the same time, when several subgroups are compared, interaction terms might be positive by chance because of multiplicity of testing. These are two opposing forces in the interpretation of interaction terms that have long been appreciated in clinical trials. With respect to our work, the THEMIS trial was a positive trial in which we found significant efficacy benefit of ticagrelor in the overall population of patients with stable coronary artery disea…
(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...
(2020-07-11). [Articles] Ruxolitinib cream for treatment of vitiligo: a randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial. thelancet.com Treatment with ruxolitinib cream was associated with substantial repigmentation of vitiligo lesions up to 52 weeks of treatment, and all doses were well tolerated. These data suggest that ruxolitinib cream might be an effective treatment option for patients with vitiligo.