Daily Archives: September 11, 2020

2020-09-11: News Headlines

Richard Horton (2020-09-12). [Comment] Offline: The crisis of political language. thelancet.com George Orwell, in his 1945 essay Politics and the English Language, wrote that "to think clearly is a necessary first step towards political regeneration". The Moscow press briefing held last week on the Russian COVID-19 vaccine quickly turned into a platform for national rivalry. The research, led by scientists at the N F Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, found encouraging evidence of an immune response using their prime boost strategy of a two-component, human recombinant adenovirus vector-based vaccine.

Martina Merten (2020-09-12). [World Report] Tackling online child sexual abuse in the Philippines. thelancet.com The Philippines has high rates of online sexual abuse of children, causing many psychological harms. Martina Merten reports on the first support and therapy programmes on the island of Cebu.

M Teresa Galán-Puchades (2020-09-12). [Correspondence] Human diphyllobothriasis. thelancet.com Hiroki Kitamoto and colleagues1 diagnosed a 23-year-old woman with Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense in Japan. If the investigators did not have the available sophisticated and expensive diagnostic methods, a simple visual examination of the expelled white strings (probably small pieces of the tapeworm strobila) under a stereomicroscope, even without staining, could have been sufficient.

Alan Macleod (2020-09-11). Oregon Can't Fight Wildfires Because Its Helicopters Were Sent To Afghanistan. mintpressnews.com Many of Oregon's largest firefighting aircraft are not available because the Department of Defense has sent them to Afghanistan to fight in the 20-year-old war.

Staff (2020-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2020. democracynow.org 500,000 Evacuated Across Oregon as Record-Shattering Fires Rage in Western States, AstraZeneca CEO Warned Investors of Vaccine Recipient Who Became Ill, Trump Admin Fines Pork Processor $13,500 for Lapses at Plant Where 1,300 Contracted Coronavirus, India Records Another Record Daily Coronavirus Toll, Senate Coronavirus Relief Bill Fails as Another 857,000 File New Unemployment Claims, Amazon Accused of Price Gouging After Raising Prices Up to 1,000% During Lockdown, Philadelphia Activists Defy City Order to Vacate Encampment for Unhoused Residents, Joe Biden Says He May Further Increase Military Spending If Elec…

Staff (2020-09-11). Costs of War: After 9/11 Attacks, U.S. Wars Displaced at Least 37 Million People Around the World. democracynow.org As the United States marks 19 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a new report finds at least 37 million people in eight countries have been displaced since the start of the so-called global war on terrorism since 2001. The Costs of War Project at Brown University also found more than 800,000 people have been killed since U.S. forces began fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen, at a cost of $6.4 trillion to U.S. taxpayers. "The U.S. has played a disproportionate role in waging war, in launching war and in perpetuating war over the last 19 years," says…

Staff (2020-09-11). What Went Wrong with AstraZeneca's Vaccine Trial? CEO Only Shares Details with Investors. democracynow.org As the world races to find a COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most promising vaccine trials has hit a major roadblock. AstraZeneca paused its Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial after a woman in the trial developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, or inflammation of the spinal cord. Details were only revealed during a CEO call with investors, and "everyone was left to guess what went wrong," writes Ed Silverman, senior writer at the health news site STAT, which broke the story. Silverman says the halting of the U.K. trial raises several issues, including whether pharmaceutical companies ar…

Martha Grevatt (2020-09-11). Outrage over death of Black trans woman in Cleveland jail. workers.org Cleveland Anger over the tragic death of 28-year-old Lea Rayshon Daye in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County Jail came out forcefully in a virtual press conference held Sept. 4. Daye's was the second jail death here in less than two months and the 11th in two years. Found unresponsive in her cell . . . |

Andrew Bacevich (2020-09-11). Patton and Westy Meet in a Bar: a Play of Many Parts in One Act. counterpunch.org It's only mid-afternoon and Army Lieutenant General Victor Constant has already had a bad day.1 Soon after he arrived at the office at 0700, the Chief2had called. "Come see me. We need to talk." The call was not unexpected. Any day now, POTUS3 will announce the next four-star to command the war effort in Afghanistan

Eric Zuesse (2020-09-11). The South China Sea: What's Really at Issue. dissidentvoice.org The South China Sea is basically China's export waterway to Africa and to Europe (among other markets), but in order for China's enemy (aspiring conqueror), America, to harm and weaken China maximally, and to use the United Nations assisting in that aggression, America and its allies have cast this vital trade-waterway as being instead basically …

Vijay Prashad (2020-09-11). Not just an orchard, not merely a field, we demand the whole World. mronline.org When news of the revolution in the Tsar's empire filtered into British-dominated India in 1917-1918, the reception was universal: if they could overthrow the Tsar, then we can overthrow the British Raj.

Stephen Lendman (2020-09-11). Distinct False Flag Aroma About Navalny Incident. globalresearch.ca During a Thursday Security Council session on Syria, Alexey Navalny's alleged novichok nerve agent poisoning was discussed. | So far, Germany failed to present evidence that supports its claim about his condition. | Is it because there is none? Did Russophobic …

yenisafak (2020-09-11). Qatar set to host Afghan government-Taliban talks again. yenisafak.com Qatar is set to host another round of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on Saturday to end the ongoing war in the country.In a statement, the Afghan Presidency said negotiations with the Taliban would begin in Qatar's capital Doha.The Afghan delegation, headed by former chief of the intelligence service Masoom Stanikzai, includes 21 members from various political parties and groups.President of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, acting Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar, Minister of State for Peace Affairs Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi and the president's Special Represent…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-09-11). Israeli prison authorities confiscate fans of Palestinian prisoners for protests. peoplesdispatch.org Israeli forces stormed the cells of the approximately 850 prisoners who were part of the protest against the death of Daud Al-Khatib. They confiscated fans and electrical devices…

Eric Sommer (2020-09-11). Washington Regime Ban on China's TikTok App: A Dumb Move. globalresearch.ca The Washington regimes' demand that the Chinese firm ByteDance sell the U.S. presence of its video sharing app TikTok to a U.S. tech company is not a smart move. This follows related demands that the Chinese mobile app WeChat cease …

Kenn Orphan (2020-09-11). Fascism and the Quickening of History. counterpunch.org Over the last few months I have been revisiting research I did a long time ago on fascism. Pinochet's Chile, Sukarno's Indonesia, Montt's Guatemala, Hitler's Germany and beyond. I've spent time poring over the accounts of the survivors, the details of the crimes, the descriptions of the torture, of the camps, the ghettos, the dehumanization,

Staff (2020-09-11). Universities Should Learn Lessons of 9/11 and Transform in the Face of Pandemic. truthout.org Nineteen years ago, I (Sepehr Vakil) was wrapping up my last summer before college visiting my dad in South Carolina. I was getting ready to enter the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a freshman to study engineering. I was the stereotype, the "American dream" realized, the successful culmination of an Iranian family's journey to the United States. We had immigrated from Iran when I was a small child, in the midst of the deadly Iraq-Iran War. | The summer of 2001 was an excit…

Staff (2020-09-11). US Wars Displaced at Least 37 Million People Since 9/11 Attacks. truthout.org As the United States marks 19 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, a new report finds at least 37 million people in eight countries have been displaced since the start of the so-called global war on terrorism since 2001. The Costs of War Project at Brown University also found more than 800,000 people have been killed since U.S. forces began fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen, at a cost of $6.4 trillion to U.S. taxpayers. "The U.S. has played a…

yenisafak (2020-09-11). Germany to take in 150 refugee children from Greece. yenisafak.com German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and EU Commission's Vice President Margaritis Schinas held an online news conference to discuss the latest situation in the Moria Camp.Seehofer said that France and Germany will take in most of the 400 unaccompanied children that were relocated to the city of Thessaloniki.Germany did not give an exact number as the negotiations are still continuing, Seehofer stated.Germany aims to bring the children to the country until the end of this year, he said.Finland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Croatia, Portugal, Switzerland and Belgium are among the countries that accept…

yenisafak (2020-09-11). China, India agree to disengage troops on contested border. yenisafak.com China and India said they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore "peace and tranquillity" following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow.Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met in Moscow on Thursday and reached a five-point consensus, including agreements the current border situation is not in their interests and that troops from both sides should quickly disengage and ease tensions, the two countries said in a joint statement.The consensus, struck on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation m…

yenisafak (2020-09-11). India, China agree to 'quickly disengage, ease tensions' at border. yenisafak.com India and China agreed to quickly disengage their troops at the disputed border amid months-long ongoing faceoff, a joint statement said early Friday.Top diplomats of New Delhi and Beijing agreed at a meeting in the Russian capital Moscow on Thursday that the border troops of both sides "should continue their dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions," said the statement released by the Indian Foreign Ministry.The Asian giants are witnessing a heightened faceoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a de facto border near the Himalayan region of Ladakh in the disputed Jammu and Kas…

yenisafak (2020-09-11). US to cut Iraq troops to about 2,000 in 'very short' time, says Trump. yenisafak.com U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that U.S. troop numbers in Iraq would be down to about 2,000 in a very short period of time.At a White House news conference, Trump went further than a U.S. official speaking last month, who said the United States would go down to about 3,500 troops in Iraq in the next two to three months."Iraq will be down to about 2,000 soldiers in a very short period of time," Trump said.

yenisafak (2020-09-11). Pakistan, Uzbekistan eye regional links, trade boost. yenisafak.com Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Friday held discussions on establishing a trade corridor and providing Central Asian countries access to Pakistani seaports.Special terminals for Central Asian goods and a dedicated shipping fleet to handle exports from these countries were among the proposals discussed in a meeting between Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan's deputy prime minister for investment and foreign trade, and Ali Haider Zaidi, minister for Pakistan's maritime affairs.Pakistan's ports are the "cheapest route" for Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries to send exports to Gulf countries, Southeast Asia, Europe, a…

yenisafak (2020-09-11). Turkey's current account balance sees $1.8B gap in July. yenisafak.com Turkey's current account balance registered a deficit of $1.8 billion in July, the Turkish Central Bank said on Friday.The figure deteriorated from $1.9 billion surplus in July 2019 and down from $2.9 billion this June, the bank said. Bringing 12-month rolling deficit to $14.9 billion as of this July, current account deficit mainly stemmed from outflow in services.An Anadolu Agency survey on Thursday showed that economists had forecast a deficit of $1.9 billion.Projections of a group of 24 economists ranged from $800 million to $2.8 billion for the month.The survey also showed the end-2020 current account balance…

Nauman Sadiq (2020-09-11). Bob Woodward: Trump Saved Saudi Crown Prince after Khashoggi Murder. dissidentvoice.org Besides the admission that Trump knew coronavirus was deadly yet he deliberately downplayed the outbreak, Bob Woodward has made several other startling revelations in his book Rage set to be released on September 15. President Donald Trump boasted that he protected Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from congressional scrutiny after the brutal assassination …

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-09-11). The 19th Anniversary of the Deep State Attack On America. thealtworld.com Most anniversaries of September 11, 2001, I have written an article presenting yet again the enormous evidence that the official story of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are so obviously false as to be unbelievable. Yet Americans believed the transparent lie. | The military/security complex was desperate for enemies. In 2001 Russia was under the US thumb. China's rise was predicted to be 50 years away. Where were the enemies to keep the military/security budget and power growing? | The neoconservitives who dominated the Cheney/Bush government identified the Arab Middle East as the enemy and…

Dave Zirin, Jules Boykoff (2020-09-11). The 'Disposable Populations' of Sports. thenation.com The 'Disposable Populations' of Sports…

Kelly Candaele, Peter Dreier (2020-09-11). Tom Seaver's Major League Protest. thenation.com Tom Seaver's Major League Protest…

WSWS (2020-09-10). Assange targeted for political views in "terrifying threat to First Amendment," expert witnesses tell hearing. wsws.org WikiLeaks' exposure of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan had played "possibly the most important role" in catalysing public opposition to both wars.

CounterPunch News Service (2020-09-10). CODEPINK Responds to Trump Troop Withdrawal: Bring ALL US Troops Home from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. counterpunch.org We welcome the Trump administration announcement that US troops in Iraq will be reduced from 5,200 to 3,000. Anytime US troops are brought home from ill-conceived overseas adventures is a step in the right direction. But the American people want AN END to these endless wars, not a reduction. The same goes for the Iraqi

Staff (2020-09-10). Headlines for September 10, 2020. democracynow.org Wildfires Destroy Oregon Towns, Bringing "Apocalyptic" Orange Skies to West Coast, Human Activity Blamed for 68% Drop in Animal Population Since 1970, President Donald Trump Acknowledges Downplaying COVID-19 Threat to U.S. Public, Biden Blasts Trump's "Life-and-Death Betrayal of the American People" on COVID-19, Bob Woodward Blasted for Withholding Trump's Comments on COVID-19 for Months, NIH Director Says Politics Shouldn't Trump Science in Vaccine Development, UW-Madison Halts In-Person Classes After 1,000+ Students Test Positive for Coronavirus, India Reports Record Daily Coronavirus Infections as Global Death…

Staff (2020-09-10). "Democratic Public Health": Big Pharma Relies on Developing World While Limiting Access to Treatment. democracynow.org We look at the history of clinical vaccine trials and exploitation of vulnerable people in the U.S. and India, which recently surpassed Brazil as the country with the second most infections worldwide. Kaushik Sunder Rajan, an anthropologist at the University of Chicago, says there is a documented history of "ethical lapses" and lack of accountability in vaccine studies in India. "The critical issue here is not whether vaccines are good or bad, but … even more, I would suggest what is at stake is a democratic public health," he notes.

Roger Harris (2020-09-10). The Current Impasse in Belarus and the Peace Alternative. counterpunch.org Back in the 1970s, the left and even many liberals were clear that Nixon's dropping napalm on Vietnamese villages was an abomination. By the 1990s, some thought Bill Clinton's bombing of Yugoslavia was, perhaps, humanitarian. Fast forward to the present, there is sentiment that the US has a global "responsibility to protect" the less enlightened

_____ (2020-09-10). Lee Camp: Liberal Media Attacks Me And A Tribute To Kevin Zeese. popularresistance.org A liberal media criticism outlet recently published an article where they used one of my jokes as evidence of a grand Russian plan to subvert the 2020 US elections. Also, my memories of a great man, lawyer, & activist — Kevin Zeese. Rest in power.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida (2020-09-10). NATO Begins Military Maneuvers in the Barents Sea. globalresearch.ca NATO has stepped up its activities in the neutral waters of the Barents Sea, raising tensions in the Arctic region. In just one day, Russian pilots escorted three military planes, one Norwegian and two British. One of the British planes …

WSWS (2020-09-10). Collapse in oil prices threatens social and political unrest in Middle East and North Africa. wsws.org The first and hardest hit have been the Gulf's 30 million migrant workers from South Asia, the Philippines and the MENA region, who outnumber citizens in four of the six Gulf states.

Jane Green (2020-09-10). The 'trampling of humanity' continues in Iran. peoplesworld.org

Marshall Auerback (2020-09-10). Why Herd Immunity is a Distraction. counterpunch.org There has been a spectrum of actions taken by governments to address near-term prevention of the spread of COVID-19. The extremes have ranged from total lockdowns (e.g., Italy, Belgium and Spain); to legal enforcement of quarantines and contact tracing (e.g., Canada and Germany); to much lighter forms of restriction (e.g., Denmark and Norway); to even more minimal restrictions, but with extensive testing and tracing (e.g., Taiwan and South Korea). There have also been some clearly incompetent policies, notably in the United States, where the country's public health infrastructure has been eviscerated not just by…

Walter Smolarek (2020-09-10). In latest US move vs. China, Pompeo stirs up division in Southeast Asia. liberationnews.org Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used his platform at the annual foreign ministers' summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on September 10 to bash China and stir up trouble in a region 8,000 miles away from his office in Washington, D.C.

RT (2020-09-10). US sanctions Ukrainian lawmaker who published Biden-Poroshenko tapes for 'Russian influence' in presidential election. rt.com Ukrainian parliamentarian Andrii Derkach has been sanctioned by the US, and his publication of alleged phone calls between the Ukrainian president and the US vice president declared 'Russian interference' in the US election. | Derkach "has been an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services," the US Treasury Department

RT (2020-09-10). MASSIVE explosion shakes outskirts of Jordanian capital (VIDEO). rt.com A series of explosions have lit up the night sky outside the city of Zarqa, northeast of Amman, the capital of Jordan, at a military ammunition depot in Ghabawi. | The explosion took place at a warehouse of "unusable mortar bombs" in the Ghabawi area east of Zarqa and was caused by an electrical short, Petra reported citing Jordan's minister of media affairs Amjad Adaileh. | A massive explosion has reportedly taken place in the city of Zarqa in Locals filming the video can be heard comparing it to the Beirut port blast, sa…

RT (2020-09-10). 'Not even a crisis, an abyss': Since the 2014 'Euromaidan' & subsequent war, Ukraine's birthrate has plummeted by around 40%. rt.com Here's a stark measure of the effect 'Euromaidan,' and the subsequent conflict had on Ukraine. Births in the country have dropped by 40% since 2014, according to new figures published by the country's Ministry of Social Policy. | The drastic drop also coincides with a reduction in marriages and an increase in divorces, in the five years since the Maidan. The violent transfer of power led to a civil war, which has also served as a proxy conflict for foreign powers, with Russia backing the self-declared Eastern republics and the US supporting Kiev. | Ukrainians have less regularly opted to have children, with th…

RT (2020-09-10). Espionage gone wrong or tragic accident? Italy investigates Russian Playboy model's mysterious death near NATO base. rt.com Italian police have interrogated a British photographer in connection with the drowning of a Russian glamor model in Sardinia last weekend. Galina Fedorova had been posing for shots near a major NATO base on the Italian island. | Snapper Yev Taranovs had reportedly been swimming with 35-year-old Fedorova when their rented inflatable dinghy lost its anchor, leaving the pair stranded in the water behind a strong current. Fedorova had apparently wanted to cool off after their photo session. | According to Taranovs, they tried to swim to the vessel, but the distance was too great and after a while he lost sight…

RT (2020-09-10). OPCW should not be a 'geopolitical tool,' Russian envoy tells UN Security Council as Germany seeks to involve it in Navalny case. rt.com Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya slammed on Thursday Germany for withholding information about the health of activist Alexey Navalny and condemned Western attempts to politicize chemical weapons watchdog, the OPCW. | "Russia is deeply concerned by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons becoming an instrument in the geopolitical struggle," Nebenzya said at the United Nations Security Council session on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. | He

RT (2020-09-10). Billboards in space? Russian tech means futuristic advertisements could soon light up the night sky in a city near you. rt.com Commercials, the final frontier? A block of lasers that can display advertisements in the sky has been tested in the stratosphere, according to a Russian company. While some may be excited at the prospect, it will offend many. | Avant Space says that its "constellation of satellites" will eventually be the "brightest star in the night sky, comparable to the brightness of Venus." Launched 30km above the ground, the technology underwent testing of its light level, which was completed successfully. | Once the lasers are operational, they will function as advertising space in the sky, allowing companies to illumin…

RT (2020-09-10). Ankara warns EU to stay out of its Mediterranean dispute with Greece. rt.com The EU has no jurisdiction over maritime boundaries and should remain unbiased in Turkey's dispute with Greece in the Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned the European Parliament. | Ankara and Athens have competing claims to continental shelves in the east Mediterranean, believed to be rich in energy resources. Turkey says its shelf should be measured from the mainland, while Greece determines its claim based on the location of its many islands, some of which are situated close to Turkish shores. | The disagreement has seen the two neighbors and NATO members mobilizing their wars…

RT (2020-09-10). Lebanese president promises to punish perpetrators of new Beirut fire, whether 'sabotage or negligence' started it. rt.com With Beirut once again blanketed in black smoke, Lebanese President Michel Aoun suggested that the latest fire in the city may have been the result of sabotage, and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. | "Today's fire may be an intentional act of sabotage, or the result of a technical error, ignorance, or negligence," Aoun tweeted on Thursday. "In all cases, the cause must be known as soon as possible and the perpetrators held accountable." | ÿߟÑÿ±ÿ¶Ÿäÿ≥ ÿπŸàŸÜ: ÿ≠ÿ±ŸäŸ&Ccedi…

RT (2020-09-10). 'Racial discrimination': Beijing blasts Washington for revoking visas of 1,000 Chinese students. rt.com Chinese students whose visas were revoked by the US were persecuted for political reasons, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said, adding that Beijing reserves the right to respond to the move. | The visa move by Washington amounts to "outright political persecution and racial discrimination" of Chinese students and a violation of their human rights, the ministry's spokesman, Zhao Lijian, The revocation of visas and other anti-Chinese steps by the US "run counter to its self-proclaimed openne…

yenisafak (2020-09-10). Arab League slammed for not condemning UAE-Israel deal. yenisafak.com The Arab League faced fierce criticism on social media platforms after it dropped a Palestinian draft resolution condemning the UAE-Israel normalization deal. | On Wednesday, an Arab League meeting at the level of foreign ministers was held via video conference after days of ambiguity and division over Palestine's request for an emergency meeting to reject Emirati normalization with Israel. | According to the Arab media outlets, the Palestinian request was met with objection by the tiny kingdom of Bahrain. | In a move that sparked outrage on the social media platforms, the final statement of the Arab ministerial…

yenisafak (2020-09-10). 'Abandoned Palestine should leave Arab League'. yenisafak.com Palestine must withdraw from the Arab League after the forum refuses to condemn the controversial UAE-Israel normalization deal, Palestinian group Islamic Jihad said on Thursday. "We call on the Palestinian Authority to withdraw from the Arab League because this body includes countries that abandoned Palestine and embrace Israel and reject condemning the normalization [with Israel]," said Mohammed al-Hindi, member of the Islamic Jihad's political bureau.He said these Arab regimes do not represent "their people who are always sincere to Palestine."After a video conference of foreign ministers of Arab League membe…