(2020-07-04). COVID-19 Coronavirus "Fake" Pandemic: Timeline and Analysis. globalresearch.ca On January 30, a far-reaching decision was taken by the WHO without the support of expert opinion at a time when the coronavirus outbreak was limited to Mainland China. 150 confirmed cases outside China, when the decision was taken, 6 in the US, 3 in Canada, 2 in the UK, etc. In early March, 430 cases in the US.
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Time for WHO to declare climate breakdown a PHEIC? thelancet.com At the opening plenary of the World Health Assembly in May, 2019, Richard Horton urged member states and the Secretariat of WHO to recognise climate change as a planetary emergency. A few days later, during a side event on air pollution, climate change, oceans, and health sponsored by the Government of Sweden, the Minister of Health for the Seychelles Jean Paul Adam argued that climate change has to be recognised as a public health emergency at the international level. Johan Giesecke1 once stressed that as public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) evolve into more complex forms, it becomes neces…
(2020-07-04). Economically, US is a declining power, China is a rising power. peoplesdispatch.org In this episode of Signs of Our Time, Marxist intellectual Aijaz Ahmad and Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research talk about the state of US-China relations and rising tensions in East Asia. Prof. Ahmad analyses the decline in US economic and strategic power and talks about the implications of the China-Russia partnership…
(2020-07-04). Thousands march for Elijah McClain, massive community blockade of police station ensues in Aurora, CO. liberationnews.org 
Elijah McClain's case has recently garnered national and international attention, ten months after his death, as the movement against police murder and racism grows around the country and the world.
(2020-07-04). NYC Mayor's promise to defund NYPD falls short of the people's demands. fightbacknews.org New York, NY — The New York City Council voted Tuesday, June 30 in favor of a new budget proposal that will supposedly cut NYPD funding by $1 billion from the police department's current annual budget of $6 billion. This comes in response to recent protests demanding that the city defund the NYPD. While Mayor Bill DeBlasio claims that the budget plan answers protesters' calls, the proposed 'cuts' in funding are in truth no more than an illusion. | Mayor DeBlasio claims that several hundred million dollars cut from the NYPD will go to funding for education. However, the reality is that the money currently us…
(2020-07-04). Chile: Police Shoots Dead Young Man During Protest in Santiago. telesurenglish.net A 21-year-old man Saturday was shot dead in Santiago de Chile by the police during a demonstration against President Sebastian Piñera's administration. | RELATED: | The Haitian-descendent man was shot during a manifestation in Melipilla municipality when the residents were carrying out a protest against the social and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. | The victim was taken to San Jose Hospital, where he died a…
(2020-07-04). Trump gives fascistic rant at Mount Rushmore event held in defiance of health experts. wsws.org Trump sought to use recent attacks on monuments to leaders of the American Revolution and Civil War to brand protesters against police killings as "far-left fascists," while hailing the police and right-wing militia groups and pledging to crack down on opponents of his authoritarian and pro-corporate policies.
(2020-07-04). Fifteen Palestinians Shot, Injured at Kufur Qaddoum Weekly Protest. imemc.org Fifteen Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers, Friday, at the weekly protest in the northern West Bank village of Kufur Qaddoum, the Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. Locals in Kufur Qaddoum village, in the Qalqilia governorate, have been organizing protests every Friday for several years, to express their …
(2020-07-04). [Comment] The Wakley—Wu Lien Teh Prize Essay 2020: Chinese health workers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com "I feel deeply the burden of the honour placed upon me in being chairman of this Medical Conference, which is unique in our history, powerful in its representation, and which gives China a strong position amongst nations seeking the welfare of the people", wrote Wu Lien Teh in his first publication in The Lancet,1 on his inaugural address delivered at the International Plague Conference in Shenyang, China, in 1911. Wu was elected as the chair of the conference for his work in controlling the pneumonic plague epidemic outbreak in 1910—11 in northeastern China, which ultimately claimed about 60‚Ä&a…
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Offline: It's time to convene nations to end this pandemic. thelancet.com A historic and calamitous milestone was reached this week. WHO reported more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 and over 500‚Äà000 COVID-19 deaths. The world's political leaders have been tested and they have been found wanting. It's hard to recall a more lamentable response to a global emergency. Even the climate crisis had its Kyoto and Paris agreements. But despite the urgency of this continuing human catastrophe, despite the immediacy of the economic collapse we are witnessing, there has still been no moment when nations have been convened to reflect on lessons to be learned, to coordinate ac…
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China — Author's reply. thelancet.com The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 provides comprehensive assessment of population health for 195 countries and territories and subnational units for selected countries, including all province-level administrative units in China. It is important to point out that, as the GBD uses a hierarchical analytical framework, data input from all GBD 2017 analytical units, national or subnational, are integrated into a single modelling process to provide a set of estimates for all locations that are internally consistent and comparable across locations and over time.
(2020-07-04). The University Community As A Microcosm Of The National Economy. popularresistance.org In sum, MMT suggests that the printing of money can be calibrated to the fulfillment of short and long term needs. Money could and should be provided for health care for all, support for education (K through university), structural renovation, transitioning away from fossil fuels, the creation of jobs for all and universal basic income programs, and support for a Green New Deal. These programs were vitally needed before the pandemic and are even more essential since its onset. Of course, cutting military spending, pork-barrel legislation, and creating a progressive tax system helps. But the human needs articulate…
(2020-07-04). Seattle Activists Share Their Vision For Black Trans Pride. popularresistance.org In recent years, trans issues have broken into the mainstream. It didn't happen overnight; it's been a long time coming. Trans activists have been at the center of the fight for LGBTQ rights since before Stonewall, decrying discrimination and violence against their peers for decades. | Now, between Pride Month and protests centering on Black lives, these issues are in the spotlight again. Black trans activists have taken to social media and the streets, bringing attention in particular to the growing number of murdered Black trans women within their community. | For many who've criticized the commodification of P…
(2020-07-04). Danny Sjursen: Fourth Of July Musings. popularresistance.org Once again, this Fourth of July, Americans will celebrate — to the unwitting militarist racist tune that is the "Star Spangled Banner" — more than just the nation's Independence Day. Though most folks will, if at a reasonable social distance, focus more on the backyard beer and brats, U.S. jingoism and exceptionalism will invariably be on the menu. | That last sentiment, particularly amidst the COVID- and mass protest-exposing era of forever war at home and abroad, deserves a closer and critical look. For exceptionalism is truly a national disease that ravages American bodies and democratic institutio…
(2020-07-04). Antifa, YPG/PKK ties threaten national peace in West. yenisafak.com Many Western countries support the idea of backing the YPG/PKK in Syria but Turkish officials reject aiding a terror group to beat another, ISIS/Daesh. A recent report released by the Turkish National Police Academy warned that countries of origin might face serious security challenges once foreign fighters in Syria return home.The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group that has the blood of tens of thousands of Turkish citizens on its hands. But warnings by Ankara have fallen on deaf ears and the YPG continues to recruit more and more foreign fighters. The report written by academics Murat Tinas and…
(2020-07-04). The Heat: Iran arms embargo. america.cgtn.com 
The United States threatens Iran with military force to stop the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons.
(2020-07-04). Clinton says she could beat Trump in 2020, would have handled Covid-19 pandemic better. rt.com 
Despite losing to Donald Trump in 2016, Hillary Clinton maintains she could defeat him if she were standing in 2020, and would have done a better job handling the Covid-19 pandemic, setting off a ripple of mockery on social media. | Asked by the 'Awards Chatter' podcast about the possibility of a rematch against Trump in November and if she could theoretically win it, Clinton responded with a definitive "yes." | "You know, when he ran before, people who knew him mostly knew him from reality TV. He'd been in their living rooms, and he was a businessman, and he looked like a billionaire, and he rode around in hi…
(2020-07-04). 'Anybody need any ventilators?' Trump says huge US Covid numbers are due to testing but FAKE NEWS media won't tell the story. rt.com 
President Donald Trump has tweeted that the high number of Covid-19 cases in the US is actually a good thing as it is due to expanded testing, but the "fake news media" refuses to cover the shrinking mortality rate. | "Cases, Cases, Cases! If we didn't test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases. If you test 40,000,000 people, you are going to have many cases that, without the testing (like other countries), would not show up every night on the Fake Evening News," the president tweeted on Saturday. | He continued, "In a certain way, our tremendous Testing success gives the Fake News Media al…
(2020-07-04). LA mayor warns citizens to cancel Fourth of July plans to 'save lives,' but supports Black Lives Matter protests. rt.com 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is warning citizens to avoid Fourth of July celebrations during the Covid-19 pandemic, yet is fully in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and was even pictured at one not wearing a mask. | "We're going to have to celebrate differently this year. Everyone should cancel plans with others for the 4th of July. You shouldn't gather with anyone who doesn't live in your household," Garcetti He followed up on the actual holiday with multiple tweets doubling dow…
(2020-07-04). 'Grossly unconstitutional': California ban on singing at religious ceremonies stokes outcry as protests continue to draw thousands. rt.com 
The California state government has issued a directive barring singing and chanting at religious services, citing dangers posed by Covid-19. The order has been condemned as blatantly discriminatory, some even deeming it illegal. | The new
(2020-07-04). Donald Trump Jr's girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle tests positive for Covid-19 after flying for president's Mt Rushmore event. rt.com 
Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of US President Donald Trump's eldest son, has been infected with coronavirus and is self-isolating. She attended numerous campaign events, including the president's Tulsa rally. | Guilfoyle, a former Fox News talk show host, has been "immediately isolated to limit any exposure," Sergio Gor, a chief of staff for the Trump Victory Finance Committee, which Guilfoyle leads, said in a statement. | She's doing well, and will be retested to ensure the diagnosis is correct since she's asymptomatic but as a precaution will cancel all upcoming events. | CNN reported that Guilfoyle tes…
(2020-07-04). Bone-chilling video shows speeding car hit 2 BLM protesters on freeway in Seattle. rt.com 
A speeding car, which drove around vehicles blocking a road in Seattle in an area where a Black Lives Matter protest was taking place, has hit and seriously injured two women. The terrifying moment was caught on camera. | The two victims of the hit-and-run were taken to the Harborview medical center, one of them with life-threatening injuries, Washington State Patrol spokesperson Trooper Rick Johnson The graphic video shows a white car maneuvering around a couple of vehicles blocking the road…
(2020-07-04). Wacky Hollywood: Tim Robbins blasts ICE as 'SS' in charge of 'ethnic cleansing'. rt.com 
'Shawshank Redemption' star Tim Robbins has compared US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Nazis, and claimed the agency's goal is to target people of color and give America an "ethnic cleansing." | "ICE are massively funded, militarized police whose function is to deport people of color. Ethnic cleansing in America," tweeted the actor in reaction to a story about President Donald Trump designating ICE a "security agency" in an effort to protect the identities of its employees. | "Now they are a massively funded, militarized SECRET police (SS) that don't have to identify themselves or answer to anyon…
(2020-07-04). Cal Democrats Not Paying Unemployment Claims; Pro-War Feinstein. indybay.org From the home front, with the California Supermajority Democratic Legislature & Governor contracting out to process millions of unemployment claims, many unpaid for months, to California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein voting to continue the blood for oil illegal occupation and war in Afghanistan, the Democratic Party insists with every move it is the same as the Republican Party.
(2020-07-04). Panic and the Pandemic 'Down Under': The Ultimate Unseen Enemy. ahtribune.com 
In the southeastern corner of Australia a State of Emergency has replaced what was known until recently only as the State of Victoria. The unseen enemy has been a fact of modern life since the 1950s but at least the red under the bed could be seen if found. COVID-19 is the ultimate unseen enemy, because it literally cannot be seen except through a microscope and noone knows where it is and when it will strike. | The panic generated by the spread of the virus is completely disproportionate to the risk of dying from it. Between late January and July 1, 2020, 2,505, 923 people were tested for COVID-19 in Australi…
(2020-07-04). Ioannidis: 150-300 Million Already Had the Virus, Infection Fatality Rate for People Under 45 "Almost 0%" anti-empire.com 
Leading epidemiologist Dr. John Ioannidis of Stanford University estimates that about 150-300 million or more people have already been infected by COVID-19 around the world, far more than the 10 million documented cases. | In an interview with Greek Reporter, the Greek American scientist warns, however, that the draconian lockdowns imposed in many countries may have the opposite effect of what was intended. "Globally, the lockdown measures have increased the number of people at risk of starvation to 1.1 billion, and they are putting at risk millions of lives," he says. | It was just three months ago, soon after t…
(2020-07-04). More Evidence That Most Coronavirus Cases Are Now Weaker Than the Flu. anti-empire.com 
Evidence continues to mount that the new infections throughout much of the country are extremely mild, with the exception of some D…
(2020-07-04). Society Is Infinitely Smarter Than Any One Individual but Lockdowns Kneecapped It. anti-empire.com 
We've lived through the most bizarre experience of human folly in my lifetime, and perhaps in generations. Among the strangest aspects of this has been the near universal failure on the part of regular people, and even the appointed "experts" (the ones the government employs, in any case), to have internalized anything about the basics of viruses that my mother understands, thanks to her mother before who had a solid education in the subject after World War II. | Thus, for example, are all governments ready to impose new lockdowns should the infection data turn in the other direction. Under what theory, precisely…
(2020-07-04). 2010: Why the WHO Faked a Pandemic. anti-empire.com 
The World Health Organization has suddenly gone from crying "The sky is falling!" like a cackling Chicken Little to squealing like a stuck pig. The reason: charges that the agency deliberately fomented swine flu hysteria. "The world is going through a real pandemic. The description of it as a fake is wrong and irresponsible," the
(2020-07-04). The International Dimensions of 1776 and How an Age of Reason Was Subverted. strategic-culture.org 
This July 4th, a larger-than-usual shadow is cast upon America which has come face-to-face with some serious historic reckonings. While the existence of an oligarchy and international "deep state" should not be ignored as a political force of history- arranging wars, assassinations and promoting economic enslavement of people and nations throughout the centuries, the guilt cannot entirely be placed on this apparatus. As Shakespeare's Cassius once said to Brutus "our fate… is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." | The mob which Shakespeare mocked as a mindless instrument of tyrants in his…
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China. thelancet.com We found the Article by Maigeng Zhou and colleagues1 intriguing. However, we have some concerns. Our major concern arises from mixing data from mainland China and Taiwan. These two regions have distinct health-care and social welfare systems; they also have different time trends of how socioeconomic conditions evolved during the past half century. Therefore, mixing the data from these two regions might lead to biased estimates, especially for the health outcomes shaped by health policies (eg, vaccination programmes as a prevention strategy).
(2020-07-04). [Comment] A Lancet Commission on women and cancer. thelancet.com Over the past decade, the global health community has begun to acknowledge that cancer is an increasingly important public health and economic challenge in all countries.1 What is not acknowledged is the disproportionate impact of cancer on the lives and livelihoods of women, and the downstream impacts this creates for societies. In 104 countries, breast cancer has the highest age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in both sexes combined; in 23 countries, it is cervical cancer.2 Of the 938‚Äà044 deaths from these two cancers in 2018, most were premature and preventable and occurred in a…
(2020-07-04). [Clinical Picture] Coarctation of the aorta: a rare cause of severe hypertension in pregnancy. thelancet.com A 24-week pregnant 18-year-old woman was seen at her local health-care centre where she was found to have a respiratory rate of 38 breaths per min, a blood pressure of 250/90 mm Hg, and a heart rate of 39 beats per min. She collapsed and required intubation and ventilation. A chest x-ray showed bilateral infiltrates—pulmonary oedema—and she was treated with furosemide and nitroglycerin and transferred to our intensive care unit.
(2020-07-04). [Perspectives] Salome Maswime: dynamic leader in global surgery. thelancet.com As Associate Professor and Head of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, Salome Maswime is aware of the scale of the job in front of her. "For me the big problem is the disconnect between health systems and clinical care in low and middle income countries, especially concerning surgical care. Outcomes are often poor, there being not enough focus on the quality of surgery, and how it relates to integrated health care and overarching health systems performance", she explains.
(2020-07-04). [Articles] Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: an open-label, randomised controlled trial. thelancet.com Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax significantly reduced the duration of hospitalisation including re-admissions in the first 30 days, but at the expense of increased adverse events. This data suggests that primary spontaneous pneumothorax can be managed for outpatients, using ambulatory devices in those who require intervention.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: when less is more. thelancet.com Spontaneous pneumothorax is a pneumothorax that occurs in the absence of trauma or iatrogenic injury, and occurs in about 20‚Äà000 people per year in the USA.1 Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is typically defined as a pneumothorax that occurs in patients without evidence of underlying lung disease, and is estimated to affect about 3000 people per year in the UK,2 whereas secondary pneumothorax occurs in patients with known lung disease such as emphysema, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.
(2020-07-04). [Correspondence] US Global Gag Rule increases unsafe abortion. thelancet.com The Trump administration issued the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy in 2017. This policy is an expansion of the Global Gag Rule that blocks US global health assistance to foreign non-governmental organisations that provide, counsel on, refer to, or advocate for abortion services; even if they do so with their own funding and in countries where abortion is legal. Following an additional policy expansion in 2019, foreign organisations that comply with the policy must now attach it to all subgrants that they give to other foreign organisations, including those that do not involve US global health…
(2020-07-04). [Articles] Thulium laser transurethral vaporesection of the prostate versus transurethral resection of the prostate for men with lower urinary tract symptoms or urinary retention (UNBLOCS): a randomised controlled trial. thelancet.com TURP and ThuVARP were equivalent for urinary symptom improvement (IPSS) 12-months post-surgery, and TURP was superior for Qmax. Anticipated laser benefits for ThuVARP of reduced hospital stay and complications were not observed.
(2020-07-04). [World Report] Collaborating on kidneys: Haiti's transplantation ambitions. thelancet.com Haiti lacks health programmes and facilities for kidney disease. Jane Regan reports on an ambitious collaboration between Haitian and US doctors to make kidney transplantation widely available.
(2020-07-04). [Editorial] Zoonoses: beyond the human—animal—environment interface. thelancet.com World Zoonoses Day on July 6 marks the day, in 1885, when a young boy received the first vaccine against rabies—a zoonosis, a disease caused by a pathogen transmitted from animals to humans. Rarely is a World Zoonoses Day so relevant to consider these diseases and their disruption of societies.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Investing in surgery: a value proposition for African leaders. thelancet.com Globally, poor access to high-quality surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care remains a main contributor to global disease burden accounting for about a third of deaths worldwide.1 The need for strengthening surgical care systems is especially urgent in sub-Saharan Africa, where access is strikingly limited, leading to the highest mortality and morbidity from surgically preventable and treatable conditions in the world.2,3 Approximately 93% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical care, compared with less than 10% in high-income countries.
(2020-07-04). [Comment] Surgery for benign prostatic obstruction. thelancet.com Almost all men have some form of benign prostatic hyperplasia as they age, often resulting in lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic obstruction. Most patients with bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms are treated with drugs (eg, Œ± blockers or 5Œ±-reductase inhibitors) and surgery is usually reserved for patients who do not respond to drug treatment. Both the safety issues of medication and surgery-related morbidity must be weighed against the efficacy of these treatments. The main reasons for discontinuation of drug treatment are serious adverse effects, such as postur…
(2020-07-04). [Perspectives] Maps and guides. thelancet.com Like many people, I use satnav when I'm driving to an unfamiliar address. I know that if I follow the instructions as they come up, I'll almost certainly get to my destination. But there are times when you need a broader sense of the territory you'll be passing through. If you're plotting a route from one part of the country to another in the car, a small-scale road atlas works well. If you're planning a cross-country hike, however, you'll need a map that shows the landscape in detail—contours, footpaths, points of reference.
(2020-07-04). Naming new French prime minister, Macron coordinates austerity with unions. wsws.org Jean Castex is being brought in to coordinate with the unions the draconian austerity policies that Macron and the banks will impose amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2020-07-04). This Independence Day, Generation Z Celebrates its Moment of Radical Hope. commondreams.org Generation Z isn't afraid to admit we are uncertain of the specifics of what this new culture will look like or even exactly how we're going to get there. But we know that next Independence Day, we will be the same people on the same soil, but we hope to celebrate a different president, a different government, and a different culture—one that uplifts us all. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/radical_hope-955px.jpg …
(2020-07-04). Beware of Anti-Trump Republicans Who Endorse Joe Biden. zcomm.org I am forced to wonder, however, what the real intent is behind this sudden solidarity after three long years of near-silence from the deeply compromised "Never Trump" crew…
(2020-07-04). Pandemic spirals out of control in South Africa, India, Brazil. wsws.org The official tallies in each country of daily confirmed coronavirus cases have become exponential, indicating that whatever containment measures were implemented to halt the spread of the virus have essentially collapsed.
(2020-07-04). Thousands of delivery workers strike across Brazil and other Latin American countries. wsws.org Thousands of delivery workers engaged in a strike on Wednesday to demand better working conditions in more than 10 Brazilian capitals, as well as in cities in Argentina and Mexico.
(2020-07-04). With New Infections Soaring, The Trumps Host a July 4th Pandemic Party at the White House. commondreams.org The White House is preparing to change its messaging on the coronavirus, to tell Americans it simply has to be lived with. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/rushmore-trump-fireworks.jpg …
(2020-07-04). Trump holds Mount Rushmore event in defiance of health experts. wsws.org This criminally reckless action, virtually certain to result in a new eruption of infections and deaths, was carried out in defiance of warnings from members of Trump's coronavirus task force.