Monthly Archives: June 2020

2020-06-14: News Headlines

Umer Beigh (2020-06-14). Health workers left in the lurch as pandemic spreads in Bangladesh. peoplesdispatch.org Bangladesh continues to see a high number of COVID-19 cases even two weeks after restrictions were eased. The first case was reported on March and restrictions were in place til May 31. Activist groups had raised concerns that the restrictions were eased without adequate preparations being put in place. Peoples Dispatch spoke to Manisha Chakraborty, International Secretary of the Socialist Student Front, shortly after the restrictions were eased to understand the situation. | Peoples Dispatch (PD): What is the situation in Bangladesh after the government declared the lifting of the nationwide restrictons? | Mani…

South Front (2020-06-14). Video: The Hypersonic Strike Systems of the United States. globalresearch.ca Even two years ago, hypersonic weapons were barely an item of discussion among the US national security establishment. Today these weapons are all the rage. What accounts for that sudden emergence of US interest in this category of weapons, …

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-14). The Statues of White Supremacists. Why Were They Erected in the First Place? Take Them Down? Preserve the History of Their Ugly Past. globalresearch.ca The only thing controversial about taking down statues of white supremacist US and other Western figures is why they were erected in the first place, and why it took so long for a campaign to remove them. | In Britain, over …

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-14). No End to US Hostility Toward Nonbelligerent North Korea. globalresearch.ca US hostility toward North Korea has nothing to do with national security. | North Korea never posed a threat to the US or any other country since the peninsula was divided post-WW II — just an invented one throughout this period….

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-14). Donald Trump Peacenik? "The American Warrior, Noble and Righteous" globalresearch.ca From day one in office to now, Trump breached virtually all his positive pledges to the American people. | No "transferring power from Washington, DC, and giving it back to you, the people" occurred. | No governance serving all Americans equitably, "starting …

Stephen Lendman (2020-06-14). Keeping the World Safe from Iran's Legitimate Nuclear Program? globalresearch.ca The above headlined Pompeo's hostile May 27 remarks on Iran. | Perpetuating the myth about an Iranian nuclear threat ignores what the whole world knows. | Throughout its existence since the 1950s, Iran's legitimate nuclear program had and still has no military …

Pepe Escobar (2020-06-14). Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime. The Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) i. globalresearch.ca The marriage of post-Lockdown and George Floyd protests has nurtured a rough beast that is still immune to any form of civilized debate in the U.S.: the Seattle Commune. | So what really is the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone cum …

Jessica Corbett (2020-06-14). Atlanta Police Shoot and Kill Rayshard Brooks as Protests Continue Worldwide. theantimedia.com "This is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping."

Unicorn Riot (2020-06-14). Philadelphia Police Threaten Unicorn Riot Reporter After Vigilante Assault. unicornriot.ninja Philadelphia, PA — On Saturday evening dozens of armed vigilantes gathered in Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia near a Christopher Columbus statue, ostensibly to "protect it" from vandalism. Several of the men assaulted our reporter on the scene and slashed his bike tires. Philadelphia police…

Unicorn Riot (2020-06-14). George Floyd Uprising in Minneapolis—Saint Paul — The First Two Weeks. unicornriot.ninja Minneapolis, MN — Waves of rage tore through the Twin Cities community after a video of Minneapolis police officers mercilessly killing George Floyd went viral. Fires were lit across the world as a new movement spread rapidly with the goal of dismantling the police and…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-14). Who should get COVID-19 testing? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a clinical microbiologist at Mayo Clinic, acknowledges that there seems to be a lot of confusion with the general public when it comes to COVID-19 testing. Terms like viral, molecular, serology and antibodies, and convalescent plasma have sprung up in everyday language when talking about COVID-19 — but do you really need …

Eleanor Bader (2020-06-14). Students and Staff Oppose COVID-Inspired Disaster Capitalism on US Campuses. zcomm.org 345 colleges consider themselves at risk of closing due to anticipated under-enrollment for the 2020-21 academic year.

Subodh Varma (2020-06-14). Big 5 of COVID: Guess what is common to these top affected countries. peoplesdispatch.org The US, Brazil, Russia, India and the United Kingdom have larger than life leaders, but the pandemic has exposed their flaws, at great cost…

Elizabeth Woodworth (2020-06-14). Leaked: "Deadly" Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to treat Covid 19: How the World's Top Medical Journals, The Lancet and NEJM, Were Cynically Exploited by Big Pharma. globalresearch.ca Abstract and Background | A publishing scandal recently erupted around the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to treat Covid 19. It is also known as quinine and chloroquine, and is on the WHO list of essential medicines.[i] | The bark …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-14). Mayo Clinic launches neutralizing antibody test to advance COVID-19 therapies. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic has launched a new SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody test in support of the national Expanded Access Program for Convalescent Plasma and other critical research efforts to establish effective therapies and vaccines for COVID-19. The test will be available through Mayo Clinic Laboratories to select labs, blood banks, and biopharma clients in …

Sà∂ren Amelang (2020-06-14). How the Coronavirus could be a Climate Game Changer. zcomm.org "Nobody wants life to stay the way it was during the pandemic. But some new routines we should maintain, because they serve the environment and quality of life."

Toni Gilpin (2020-06-14). Corporations Now Love 'Black Lives'—But What About Their Own Black Workers? zcomm.org Never underestimate the American business community's capacity for hypocrisy…

_____ (2020-06-14). Take a good hard look at the new Britain we all now live in. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica Editor: It's all desperately sad to watch, isn't it? At TruePublica we have consistently warned since David Cameron's 2015 electoral win that Britain was in grave danger. We warned that Cameron, little more than an over-privileged corporate public relations agent would usher in the decline of Britain leading to a proud nation circling …

Matthew Ehret-Kump (2020-06-14). Collapse of the British Empire, The Round Table Movement, Canada's Untold History. globalresearch.ca This article was originally published by Matthew Ehret on The Canadian Patriot in November 2018. | Canada's struggle for existence as a sovereign nation has been caught between two opposing views of mankind represented by the British and American System of …

Giulietto Chiesa (2020-06-14). Video: Ciao Giuletto: Giulietto Chiesa Intervista. La Voce Interiore della Siria. globalresearch.ca

Prabhat Patnaik (2020-06-14). Opening India's food economy to demands of imperialism. peoplesdispatch.org Every step in the direction of opening agriculture to global trade — as announced in the three ordinances by the Modi government — is a step towards reducing domestic food availability.

yenisafak (2020-06-14). 'EU may recognize Palestinian state if Israel annexes W.Bank'. yenisafak.com The European Union's recognition of Palestine as a state would become "inevitable" if Israel moves forward with its controversial plan to annex the West Bank, Luxembourg's foreign minister has said. | Speaking to German weekly Der Spiegel, Jean Asselborn called for a tougher EU stance against the Israeli government's plan to annex significant parts of the West Bank. | "To simply write reproachful letters would be a humiliation for the EU and would significantly weaken its credibility," Asselborn stressed, suggesting stronger measures like economic sanctions or the recognition of Palestine as a state if Israel doe…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Man arrested for urinating on memorial during London protest. yenisafak.com A 28-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of urinating on the memorial of a murdered policeman during far-right protests in central London on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.The man is in custody in Essex, east of London, after presenting himself at a police station, the police said.Far-right protesters clashed in London on Saturday with anti-racist demonstrators and with police trying to keep the two sides apart.Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the violence, saying "racist thuggery has no place on our streets".The Westminster memorial honours PC Keith Palmer who was murdered while on duty at…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Iran records 107 new deaths from coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iran on Sunday confirmed 107 more fatalities from the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 8,837. | A further 2,472 people tested positive for COVID-19, raising the overall count to 187,427, Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said. | A total of 148,674 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals so far, he said. | Some 1.244 million tests have been done in the country to date, Lari said. | Iran's daily number of COVID-19 cases dropped to around 800 in early May, but since authorities eased restrictions, daily figures have shown an upward trend, especi…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). World Blood Donor Day observed during pandemic. yenisafak.com World Blood Donor Day this year once again will be held on June 14, but in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.It was established in 2004 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood, and to thank donors for their life-saving gift.The event provides a valuable opportunity to donors to celebrate and commemorate the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, a biologist and doctor who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the ABO blood group system.About 118.4 million blood donations are collected worldwide every year. Forty percent are collected in high-income countries — home to 16% of the world's population.About 13,300…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Delhi to use 500 railway coaches as hospital facilities to fight coronavirus. yenisafak.com The coaches will increase Delhi's capacity by 8,000 beds, home minister Amit Shah said on Twitter after a meeting with the capital's chief minister.The government will also ramp up testing in the city, especially in containment zones, conduct a door-to-door health survey of residents and provide sufficient supplies of oxygen cylinders and ventilators, he said.India is the fourth-worst affected country in the world, with cases steadily increasing. It reported a record single-day jump in cases on Sunday, adding nearly 12,000 confirmed infections and taking the total to more than 320,000, according to health ministr…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Top Russian officials' visit to Turkey postponed. yenisafak.com A planned Sunday visit to Turkey by Russia's foreign and defense ministers has been postponed, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov decided to hold contacts and negotiations between their deputy ministers in the days to come, said a ministry statement.Ministerial talks will also take place at a later date, it said.Russia's foreign and defense ministers were expected in Turkey for dialogue on regional issues.Moscow and Ankara frequently consult on the situation in Syria and Libya, and the two issues, particularly the lat…

yenisafak (2020-06-14). Turkey: Agricultural, animal production hub beyond region. yenisafak.com Turkey is an agricultural and animal production hub in the region and even for countries beyond, with its high production capacity and food security standards, according to university agriculturalist Orhan Ozcatalbas.The country has the largest agricultural revenue in Europe and is second on a global scale, the professor at Akdeniz University's Agricultural Policy and Extension Department told Anadolu Agency.He said the pandemic increased the importance of food and supply security and the world started to discuss agricultural production's efficiency and capacity.Food security and safety topics will remain on the…

Norman Solomon (2020-06-14). Corporate Media Are Focusing on Race — and Dodging Class. indybay.org Economic exploitation, hidden in plain sight…

Andrey Areshev (2020-06-14). U.S. Police: Why Nothing Will Change. strategic-culture.org With America in turmoil following the murder of George Floyd, the talk is all about police reform — defunding them, abolishing them, or subjecting them to greater federal oversight. It brings to mind the nineteenth-century British member of parliament who supposedly cried out in despair, "Reform! Reform! My God, aren't things bad enough as they are?" | But not to worry: short of revolution, nothing will happen. Once the shouting dies down and protesters go home, reform will be forgotten and the status quo will return in full force. Cops will tread more carefully, but only for a while. Eventually, they'll re…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-14). COVID-19 has no effect on Armed forces' missions: Maj. Gen. Bagheri. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 14 (MNA) — Chief of General Staff of Iranian Armed Force, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri said that the Armed Forces have resumed their regular activities since mid-April after a short pause.

en.mehrnews (2020-06-14). Austria felicitates Ghalibaf on election as Iran's Parl. speaker. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 14 (MNA) — President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka has sent a message to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over his election as Parliament Speaker.

Khubaka, Michael Harris (2020-06-14). U.S. President Trump sparks renewed interest in Juneteenth Celebrations Globally. indybay.org "In 1535, the first enslaved Pan African were recorded in California. Spanish conquistadors brought enslaved Pan Africans for conquest and who were later breed with indigenous population (Afro-Latino) throughout "New Spain" and much, much later evolved into today's Republic of Mexico. Authentic Alta California History remains cloaked in slavery and secrecy that remains off limits for any principled dialogue as the California State Legislature prepares for a 2020 Juneteenth State Budget due next week.

CSPTES (2020-06-14). ILWU Work Action On W.C. Ports On Juneteenth STOP Police Terror & Systemic Racism. indybay.org The ILWU on the West Coast will shut down all ports on Juneteenth June 19, 2020 to stop police terror and systemic racism.

CSPTES (2020-06-14). Friday 6/19: ILWU Shutting Down W.C. Ports On Juneteenth STOP Police Terror & Systemic Racism. indybay.org SSA Terminals 1717 Middle Harbor Road at the Port of Oakland to Oscar Grant Plaza…

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (2020-06-14). Friday 6/19: JUNETEENTH: West Coast Port Shutdown. indybay.org Meet at 1717 Middle Harbor Road and caravan to Oscar Grant Plaza…

_____ (2020-06-13). Wikipedia Formally Censors The Grayzone. popularresistance.org Internet encyclopedia giant Wikipedia is censoring independent news websites by adding them to an official blacklist of taboo "deprecated" media outlets. | The Grayzone is among the news websites targeted by the censorship campaign. Others include leftist and anti-imperialist outlets like MintPress News and the Latin American news broadcaster Telesur, along with several prominent right-wing political sites, including the Daily Caller. | The campaign to blacklist The Grayzone was initiated by Wikipedia editors who identify as Venezuelans and openly support the country's right-wing, US-backed opposition. These user…

Betsey Piette (2020-06-13). Growing revolt by Black journalists. workers.org In an historic week that has witnessed demonstrations, too numerous to count, against police brutality in the aftermath of the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, another anti-racist movement is growing. As reports surface of police intentionally targeting journalists across the U.S, especially Black and . . . |

Manuel Raposo (2020-06-13). A view of the USA from Portugal: 'Not a riot — rebellion! workers.org The author is a Portuguese left communist and editor of jornalmudardevida.net. This article was translated by WW Managing Editor John Catalinotto. Hundreds of demonstrators in Brazil gathered outside the office of Rio de Janeiro's governor on May 31, protesting the deaths of Black and favela youth at the hands of . . . |

John Catalinotto (2020-06-13). Antiracist protests for George Floyd circle the globe. workers.org The massive popular and antiracist reaction to the cop murder of George Floyd in the epicenter of world imperialism has inspired an equally massive reaction worldwide. Hundreds of thousands have marched, not only in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, but also against local manifestations . . . |

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-06-13). Massive protests against gender-based violence in Nigeria force government to take measures. peoplesdispatch.org The cabinet has called on all state governments to implement Violence against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPPA), 2015, a key demand of protesters. The parliament's upper house also pushed legislation for protection of victims from stigma.

Eliza Egret (2020-06-13). Black Lives Matter protesters face violence from 'the British KKK'. thecanary.co Hundreds of racists turned up in London on 13 June to counter-protest a Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstration. As they became violent towards anti-racist protesters and police, one person called them "the British KKK". | The BLM march was officially Does an…

Glen Black (2020-06-13). Churchill's grandson says the war leader wasn't a racist. But the excuses are wearing thin. thecanary.co Winston Churchill's grandson and former top Tory Nicholas Soames The old 'man of his time' excuse: | Soames' defence of Churchill rests on…

Eds. (2020-06-13). "Indian racism towards Black people is almost worse than white peoples' racism" An Interview with Arundhati Roy. mronline.org We ourselves live in a pretty sick society that seems incapable of feelings of sisterhood, brotherhood, solidarity.

Aleris Villegas and Lyn Neeley (2020-06-13). Stop exploiting J-1 cultural workers. workers.org Each year about 300,000 cultural exchange workers — students, scholars and professors sponsored by U.S. employers — enter the country as J-1 workers. The J-1 Visa program promises job training for students, a way to share their culture, improve their English and explore life in the U.S. Last year, however, . . . |

John Catalinotto (2020-06-13). øLas tropas USA contra lxs manifestantes estadounidenses? workers.org Traducción: redroja.net 5 de junio — Hace cuatro días, la Casa Blanca pidió al ejército estadounidense que se desplegara por las ciudades norteamericanas para "dominar" las calles. A lo largo de los tres días siguientes, dos antiguos integrantes de la Junta de Jefes del Estado Mayor conjunto de los ejércitos . . . |

Ted Kelly (2020-06-13). The govt, the Klan, cops and prisons. workers.org The following talk was given by Ted Kelly of Philadelphia during a May 16 webinar sponsored by the Prisoner Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. I'll begin by quoting two different passages. The first is from Workers World Party founder Sam Marcy's book, "The Klan and the Government: Foes or . . . |

Anand Naidoo (2020-06-13). The Heat: U.S. Race Relations & COVID-19. america.cgtn.com As protests against police brutality and racism sweep across the country, the focus is now shifting to police reform.

RT (2020-06-13). Boris Johnson gives stern warning about attacking police, says protests 'subverted by violence'. rt.com Following protesters clashing with police in London, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a warning to anyone targeting police and said demonstrations have been "subverted by violence." | "Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law," Johnson tweeted on Saturday. | The prime minister followed that by saying current protests over police brutality and racial inequality "breach current guidelines." | "These marches & protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines. Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to…

RT (2020-06-13). 'Don't make me come down there,' Cuomo warns New Yorkers in streets, but gets scolded for Covid-19 handling. rt.com Responding to a video of New Yorkers flooding the streets despite the Covid-19 lockdown, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted a warning only to be chastised for his own handling of the pandemic, especially in nursing homes. | "Don't make me come down there," Cuomo tweeted along with a video of New York's St. Mark's being inundated with citizens, most clearly ignoring social distancing and protective mask requirements the city has put in place to battle the spread of coronavirus. | Cuomo's warning landed with a bit of a thud on social media, mainly thanks to his controversial and now infamous decision to force nursing…

2020-06-13: News Headlines

Betsey Piette (2020-06-13). Growing revolt by Black journalists. workers.org In an historic week that has witnessed demonstrations, too numerous to count, against police brutality in the aftermath of the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, another anti-racist movement is growing. As reports surface of police intentionally targeting journalists across the U.S, especially Black and . . . |

Manuel Raposo (2020-06-13). A view of the USA from Portugal: 'Not a riot — rebellion! workers.org The author is a Portuguese left communist and editor of jornalmudardevida.net. This article was translated by WW Managing Editor John Catalinotto. Hundreds of demonstrators in Brazil gathered outside the office of Rio de Janeiro's governor on May 31, protesting the deaths of Black and favela youth at the hands of . . . |

John Catalinotto (2020-06-13). Antiracist protests for George Floyd circle the globe. workers.org The massive popular and antiracist reaction to the cop murder of George Floyd in the epicenter of world imperialism has inspired an equally massive reaction worldwide. Hundreds of thousands have marched, not only in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, but also against local manifestations . . . |

Pavan Kulkarni (2020-06-13). Massive protests against gender-based violence in Nigeria force government to take measures. peoplesdispatch.org The cabinet has called on all state governments to implement Violence against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPPA), 2015, a key demand of protesters. The parliament's upper house also pushed legislation for protection of victims from stigma.

Eds. (2020-06-13). "Indian racism towards Black people is almost worse than white peoples' racism" An Interview with Arundhati Roy. mronline.org We ourselves live in a pretty sick society that seems incapable of feelings of sisterhood, brotherhood, solidarity.

A Guest Author (2020-06-13). Stop exploiting J-1 cultural workers. workers.org By Aleris Villegas and Lyn Neeley Each year about 300,000 cultural exchange workers — students, scholars and professors sponsored by U.S. employers — enter the country as J-1 workers. The J-1 Visa program promises job training for students, a way to share their culture, improve their English and explore life . . . |

Ted Kelly (2020-06-13). The govt, the Klan, cops and prisons. workers.org The following talk was given by Ted Kelly of Philadelphia during a May 16 webinar sponsored by the Prisoner Solidarity Committee of Workers World Party. I'll begin by quoting two different passages. The first is from Workers World Party founder Sam Marcy's book, "The Klan and the Government: Foes or . . . |

John Catalinotto (2020-06-13). øLas tropas USA contra lxs manifestantes estadounidenses? workers.org Traducción: redroja.net 5 de junio — Hace cuatro días, la Casa Blanca pidió al ejército estadounidense que se desplegara por las ciudades norteamericanas para "dominar" las calles. A lo largo de los tres días siguientes, dos antiguos integrantes de la Junta de Jefes del Estado Mayor conjunto de los ejércitos . . . |

Newsclick (2020-06-13). International Criminal Court vs US exceptionalism. peoplesdispatch.org Newsclick's Prabir Purkayastha analyses the decision by the Donald Trump administration to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court. The ICC is conducting a probe into war crimes by the US in Afghanistan.

The Lancet (2020-06-13). [Editorial] Medicine and medical science: Black lives must matter more. thelancet.com Emblematic of the profound sense of outrage at the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement, hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets in the USA and across the globe. They set aside the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, judging that what they were marching for was more immediately urgent. Marches have been held to draw attention to the continued murder by police of Black people and to the persistent, pervasive racism that exists across societies.

Fight Back (2020-06-13). Minnesota Workers United labor contingent joins justice for George Floyd protest. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, June 11, 3200 protesters gathered at the Hennepin County Government Center demanding justice for George Floyd and real change. Protests had been going on daily, sometimes several per day, for 18 days since the police murder of George Floyd. | While a battle rages over the role of police 'unions,' members of at least seven unions organized and turned out to the protest as part of a labor contingent organized by Minnesota Workers United. The labor contingent also sent several speakers up to the stage to speak and demand justice for George Floyd and to make it clear that police have n…

Ann Danaiya Usher (2020-06-13). [World Report] COVID-19 vaccines for all? thelancet.com If an effective COVID-19 vaccine is developed, how will it get to everyone in need? Ann Danaiya Usher reports on the initiatives being planned to ensure equitable access, and their shortcomings.

Richard Horton (2020-06-13). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19—what we can expect to come. thelancet.com The verdicts are now coming in. In Mark Honigsbaum's updated edition of The Pandemic Century, he has included a new chapter on COVID-19. As a historian of epidemics, he offers his judgments about how countries have responded to what he calls "China's Chernobyl moment". His critique is sharp. For decades, we have known that the world is intrinsically and increasingly vulnerable to pandemics—and yet, "we failed to heed the warnings about Covid-19 and act when our actions could have prevented the outbreak from spinning out of control".

Andrew Green (2020-06-13). [Obituary] Jacob Plange-Rhule. thelancet.com Physician, academic, and researcher who served as the Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. Born on July 27, 1957, in Winneba, Ghana, he died from complications of COVID-19 in Accra, Ghana, on April 10, 2020, aged 62 years.

Hailong Luo, Yuan Zhao (2020-06-13). [Correspondence] Increasing tobacco sales under the anti-smoking policy in China. thelancet.com China joined the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005, but tobacco control in China is still worrying.1 In the past decade, the Chinese Government has strengthened the publicity of anti-smoking campains in the media and increased the management of anti-smoking through policies. Nevertheless, paradoxically, tobacco sales have been rising.

Robert Glynne-Jones, Mark Harrison, Drostan Cheetham (2020-06-13). [Correspondence] NICE guideline for rectal cancer: already out of date. thelancet.com As members of a colorectal multidisciplinary team, some of whom have contributed to previous National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance1 and European Society of Medical Oncology guidelines in rectal cancer,2 we disagree with the current recommendations in the update to NICE guidance that was published in 2020: "offer preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy to people with rectal cancer that is cT1-T2, cN1-N2, M0, or cT3-T4, any cN, M0."3…

Leonard Rubenstein (2020-06-13). [Perspectives] Accountability for medical participation in torture. thelancet.com After revelations of the participation of US health professionals in torture of detainees in military or CIA custody in the wake of 9/11, citizens filed complaints to disciplinary and licensing boards in seven states against psychologists who had been publicly identified as having been part of the torture apparatus. All of the complaints were eventually dismissed, only one with an explanation. In light of the disciplinary bodies' resistance to investigate participation in torture, much less impose sanctions, colleagues and I, then representing Physicians for Human Rights, helped a New York legislator, Richard Got…

R Todd Stravitz, William M Lee (2020-06-13). [Correspondence] Acute liver failure — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We appreciate the additional insights provided by Sandro Vento and Francesca Cainelli regarding the incidence and diagnosis of acute liver failure in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Beyond the differences in known causal factors (viruses, drugs) between high-income countries and LMICs, the predominance of the indeterminate group in these regions is of concern to all. In our study,1 only 5% of patients remained indeterminate after thorough serological testing and review of history and available liver histology.

Mohammed N Meah, Martin A Denvir, Nicholas L Mills, John Norrie, David E Newby (2020-06-13). [Viewpoint] Clinical endpoint adjudication. thelancet.com In pivotal clinical effectiveness trials, the primary endpoint needs to be precisely defined and quantified because any misclassification could introduce noise and possible bias, potentially leading to incorrect trial conclusions. This misclassification is commonly addressed by having an independent clinical endpoint adjudication committee where all relevant clinical information is provided and a panel of clinical experts categorises the primary endpoint, blind to treatment allocation. This strategy has been established as a basic cornerstone of modern robust trial methodology.

Jonathan Cook (2020-06-13). Parallels between Minneapolis and Jerusalem are More than Skin Deep. dissidentvoice.org It is hard to ignore the striking parallels between the recent scenes of police brutality in cities across the United States and decades of violence from Israel's security forces against Palestinians. A video that went viral late last month of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, killing a black man, George Floyd, by pressing a …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-13). Who should get COVID-19 testing? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a clinical microbiologist at Mayo Clinic, acknowledges that there seems to be a lot of confusion with the general public when it comes to COVID-19 testing. Terms like viral, molecular, serology and antibodies, and convalescent plasma have sprung up in everyday language when talking about COVID-19

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-13). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Across the world, one of the biggest changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic is in the field of education. Programs from kindergarten through postsecondary have rapidly moved to a distance learning model. Online and remote instruction has its own unique challenges, and has required students and educators to be creative to stay connected. On the …

news.un (2020-06-13). FROM THE FIELD: COVID-19 restrictions leave migrant workers stranded. news.un.org In countries across the world, tens of thousands of migrant workers are finding themselves stranded through travel restrictions, in the hope of curbing the spread of COVID-19.

_____ (2020-06-13). Wikipedia Formally Censors The Grayzone. popularresistance.org Internet encyclopedia giant Wikipedia is censoring independent news websites by adding them to an official blacklist of taboo "deprecated" media outlets. | The Grayzone is among the news websites targeted by the censorship campaign. Others include leftist and anti-imperialist outlets like MintPress News and the Latin American news broadcaster Telesur, along with several prominent right-wing political sites, including the Daily Caller. | The campaign to blacklist The Grayzone was initiated by Wikipedia editors who identify as Venezuelans and openly support the country's right-wing, US-backed opposition. These user…

_____ (2020-06-13). Seattle: The Demands Of Collective Black Voices At The CHAZ. popularresistance.org In credit to the people who freed Capitol Hill, this list of demands is neither brief nor simplistic. This is no simple request to end police brutality. We demand that the City Council and the Mayor, whoever that may be, implement these policy changes for the cultural and historic advancement of the City of Seattle, and to ease the struggles of its people. This document is to represent the black voices who spoke in victory at the top of 12th & Pine after 9 days of peaceful protest while under constant nightly attack from the Seattle Police Department. These are words from that night, June 8th, 2020. | For ea…

Nikolaos Arkoulis, Niall Martin (2020-06-13). [Correspondence] Major burns: debt recovery or ethics? thelancet.com As one of the UK's largest tertiary burns centres, St Andrew's Burns Service has an ethical obligation to raise awareness about issues that compromise the care of patients. In 2017, new regulations placed a legal requirement on Health Authorities to establish patients' eligibility for free National Health Service treatment.1 An increasing number of patients ineligible for free care have been admitted to the St Andrew's Burns Service and subsequently presented with large invoices as soon as they recover.

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Right-wing and anti-racism protesters scuffle in Britain. yenisafak.com Anti-racism protesters rallied again around Britain on Saturday, with scuffles breaking out in London as counter-demonstrators also came out to protect monuments targeted for their links to colonial history.Statues of historical figures including Winston Churchill – Britain's World War Two leader whom protesters call a xenophobe – were boarded up to try and minimize trouble.In Trafalgar Square, police separated two groups of about 100 people each, one chanting "Black Lives Matter", the other racial slurs. Some groups jostled, tossed bottles and cans, and set off fireworks, as riot police with dogs and horses line…

The Canary (2020-06-13). Right-wing violence escalates and white man urinates next to police memorial. thecanary.co A man urinated next to a memorial dedicated to the police officer killed in the Westminster terror attack amid violent clashes between far-right protesters and police in central London.Several hundred demonstrators, mostly white men, attended the protest organised by far-right groups, including Britain First, which claimed they wanted to protect statues such as Winston Churchill from vandalism. Meanwhile, anti-racist Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations were peaceful.But fights erupted in areas near the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square, as demonstrators repeatedly assailed officers with foul-mouthed c…

ahtribune (2020-06-13). The Scourge of Islamophobia in Canada. ahtribune.com Muslims in Canada deserve to feel what non-Muslims feel when they hear of a vicious crime or a foiled plot committed by someone who looks like them: abhorred by the crime but knowing the crime reflects the perpetrator alone. Any other thought process should never occur. | — Graeme Truelove, Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North (Nightwood Editions, 2020): location 35% | The police murder of George Floyd set off the powder keg filled by centuries of oppression of Black peoples in the United States. The United States has been beset by countrywide protests, some marred by violence of protestors and po…

Marcus Weisgerber (2020-06-13). Pentagon Starts Bailing Out Defense Firms. anti-empire.com The Pentagon has begun to bail out U.S. companies that have seen large parts of their business dry up amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a bid to make sure they can still build weapons. | On Wednesday, officials announced that five mid-tier defense companies had received a total of $135 million to "help sustain defense-critical workforce capabilities in body armor, aircraft manufacturing, and shipbuilding," according to a Defense Department

Walden Bello (2020-06-13). How Thailand Contained COVID-19. zcomm.org In politically turbulent Thailand, a public health system with popular support — not decrees from above — made all the difference…

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-06-13). Mayo Clinic launches neutralizing antibody test to advance COVID-19 therapies. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn.

Journeyman Pictures (2020-06-13). Video: Covid Nurse Exposes New York Hospital. People Have Been Lied To. It's Destroying Life. The Numbers are a Lie. globalresearch.ca Registered nurse, Erin Olszewski, spent a month at the epicenter of the epicenter, Elmhurst Hospital in NY. | After witnessing the same malpractice matching testimonies of other outspoken nurses in the U.S., she decided to wear a hidden camera to …

_____ (2020-06-13). UK businesses dramatically scaled back or shelved investment plans. truepublica.org.uk Businesses have dramatically scaled back investment plans for the rest of the year in response to the uncertainty surrounding the future of the UK economy, according to a leading business survey. The Institute of Directors (IoD) said its confidence tracker revealed the Covid-19 crisis had driven down investment intentions among its members for the next 12 months by 11 …

_____ (2020-06-13). Will there be another stock market crash in 2020? truepublica.org.uk The coronavirus restrictions have led to an unprecedented drop in economic activity. Because the UK's economy relies heavily on the services sector, it has suffered more than many European countries. However, the contraction is certainly global. Furthermore, the second Covid-19 wave has started too. For example, the US is seeing a rise in coronavirus hospitalisations, in …

_____ (2020-06-13). Long Read: The slow exodus of Palestinian Christians. truepublica.org.uk By Jonathan Cook (25-minute read): Israel has exploited the steady decline in the numbers of Palestinian Christians to advance its claim that they are being hounded from the region by Muslim extremists. But the real blame lies with Israel and the foreign Churches. It was inevitable that when the coronavirus pandemic reached the occupied …

_____ (2020-06-13). Coronavirus exposes Britain's bogus self-employment problem. truepublica.org.uk Millions of Britain's self-employed workers can now apply for financial aid to help them through the coronavirus crisis. The government has announced support of 80% of their average monthly earnings up to a cap of £7,500. It comes as a relief for many — there are 5.2 million registered self-employed people in the UK. But a …

_____ (2020-06-13). Johnson ponders introducing a law to prevent foreign takeovers of UK firms. truepublica.org.uk Business groups have warned that introducing a law to prevent foreign takeovers that threaten national security could have a "chilling" effect on investment in the UK. The government is said to be considering new rules that would mean directors could be jailed or companies could be fined hundreds of thousands of pounds for failing to …

_____ (2020-06-13). The Right To Refuse Unsafe Work Is More Important Than Ever. popularresistance.org The COVID-19 pandemic is taking a heavy toll on workers. Reports of job hazards grow increasingly dire as several governors and President Trump push past CDC guidelines to "reopen" the economy while forecasts predict soaring infections and deaths. | Some states at the direction of the Labor Department threaten termination of unemployment benefits for workers fearing return to dangerous jobs. A disturbing June 5 New York Times' report reveals how far those machinations have gone. The result: workers fired without pay or benefits or trapped in a deadly vice between poverty and disease. | In short, the news is terri…

_____ (2020-06-13). Group Behind Confederate Monuments Also Built A Memorial To The Klan. popularresistance.org It was a Saturday. The mailman never comes to my door, but there was his knock. A couple days earlier I had ordered a book on Amazon that I had seen before only in a library. "Sorry to bother you," he said, "but I had to have you sign for this one." The return address on the padded manila envelope was a post office box in Charlotte, North Carolina. No name. | I cut the shipping tape and carefully pulled out the contents, wrapped inside a grocery bag. The worn 1941 first edition of Mrs. S.L. Smith's "North Carolina's Confederate Monuments and Memorials" — one of the only compilations by the United Daughters…

_____ (2020-06-13). International Lawyers Oppose Philippines Anti-Terrorism Bill. popularresistance.org Over 100 international lawyers and lawyers' associations issued an open letter to President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, and members of the Congress of the Philippines. The urgent open letter was issued to express high levels of concern about the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill in the Philippines, which has been harshly criticized for its violations of human rights norms. | As the letter notes, "The international community is alarmed by the apparent abuses of power and civil unrest that the law will bring about. It will suppress and criminalize free speech and dissent, labe…

_____ (2020-06-13). New Study: US Empire Is Falling But Will Not Fall Quietly. popularresistance.org Where will the next war occur? Who will fight in it? Why will it occur? How will it be fought? This brief summarizes a series of reports that sought to answer these questions—looking out from now until 2030. The reports took the approach of examining these questions through the lenses of several trends—geopolitical, economic, environmental, legal, informational, and military—that will shape the contours of conflict. | Military history is littered with mistaken predictions about the future of warfare that have left forecasters militarily unprepared—sometimes disastrously so—for the co…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Popular blood pressure medicines do not put patients at greater COVID-19 risk: study. yenisafak.com New research offers reassuring evidence to hundreds of millions of people with high blood pressure that popular anti-hypertension drugs do not put them at greater risk from COVID-19 as some experts had feared.Two blood pressure-lowering drug classes, called ACE inhibitors and ARBs, came under scrutiny after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in April that 72% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients 65 or older had hypertension.ACE inhibitors and ARBs are thought to trigger activity along the same biological pathways used by the COVID-19 novel coronavirus to attack the lungs.Researchers at Oxfo…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Pakistan: 2nd ex-premier tests positive for coronavirus. yenisafak.com Pakistan's former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has tested positive for COVID-19, his son confirmed on Saturday.Gilani, the country's second ex-premier after Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to test positive in less than a week, joins a long and growing list of Pakistani politicians and parliamentarians infected by the coronavirus.His son, Ali Kasim Gilani, told reporters that his father had to appear before anti-corruption authorities a few days ago, despite the ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.He said the former premier was now in self-isolation."Thank you [Prime Minister] Imran Khan's govt and Natio…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). COVID-19: Afghan Health Ministry reaches limit of tests. yenisafak.com Speaking at a gathering in the capital Kabul, Ahmad Jawad Osmani said from now on, any people with symptoms of COVID-19 would ultimately be considered as a positive case of the novel coronavirus infection."At present, we have laboratories in 11 provinces of Afghanistan and we plan to increase the number of services in all 34 provinces, but it takes time which is out of the control of the ministry," he said.Latest figures issued by the Health Ministry revealed that 556 cases proved positive after 1,045 samples were collected in the past 24 hours. The latest figures brought the tally of cases to 24,101 with 4,201 p…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Virus cases in Africa top 225,000. yenisafak.com As Africa grapples with the fast-spreading coronavirus, the number of cases spiked to 224,105, according to a Saturday update by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.The virus took 100 days to infect 100,000 people in Africa since the first case was detected in mid-February, but then just 23 days to double to 200,000, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), in a pace that is accelerating.The update has it that 6,040 patients have died across 54 African countries.The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the continent has reached 102,846, according to the update.Southern A…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). COVID-19: New cases reported in China, South Korea. yenisafak.com China confirmed 11 new novel coronavirus cases while South Korea reported 48, authorities said on Saturday.China's National Health Commission said in a statement that five of the cases were locally transmitted, all based in the capital Beijing, while the six others were from travelers overseas.The commission reported no deaths due to the virus in the last 24 hours.A total of 83,075 cases have been reported in the country so far, according to the statement.The epidemic has claimed the lives of 4,634 people while 78,367 others have recovered from the virus.Meanwhile, South Korea reported 48 more cases of the virus…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). COVID-19 death toll rises in Oman, Bahrain, Libya. yenisafak.com Health authorities in Oman, Bahrain and Libya confirmed new fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Saturday, while Morocco reported fresh infections. | The Omani Health Ministry said three patients had died from COVID-19, while 1,006 new cases were reported over the past 24 hours. | The country's confirmed cases now stand at 22,077, including 99 deaths, and 7,530 recoveries. | In Bahrain, the Health Ministry said the country's death toll rose to 37 after two people had died from the disease, while a further 444 new cases were registered, taking the figure to 17,713. | Libya's National Center for Disease Contr…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Italy's PM says virus crisis should be opportunity to reform country. yenisafak.com Italy cannot afford to return to normality after the coronavirus emergency but should turn the crisis into an opportunity to reform the country, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday."This is the time to work on a clear project to come out of the crisis," Conte said in the opening speech of a nine-day policy consultation in Rome."We must take advantage (of the situation) to turn the crisis into an opportunity, and remove all the obstacles that have slowed (Italy) down," he added.Conte said his coalition government was preparing a plan of reforms to simplify bureaucracy, push digital investments and green…

yenisafak (2020-06-13). Iran to re-impose virus restrictions if rules violated. yenisafak.com Iran has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases since the authorities relaxed a lockdown in mid-April. | "If we do not want to see the spike of the disease in the country [Iran] again, we must observe health instructions and avoid unnecessary travel," Rouhani said in a televised speech. | The Iranian president said his government has relaxed the restrictions on condition of abiding by the health rules to combat the virus. | He warned that if the people are in danger, the authorities will have to re-impose the restrictions again. | Iran's Health Ministry confirmed 71 fatalities and 2,410 cases due to t…