[Perspectives] Bills of Mortality: tracking disease in early modern London
Niall Boyce | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
In a plague year, the numbers are the narrative. "The Bill of Mortality, to all our griefs, is encreased 399 this week, and the encrease general through the whole city and suburbs, which makes us all sad", noted Londoner Samuel Pepys on Nov 9, 1665. Those who have been following the toll of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and deaths in the news and on social media will know how Pepys felt. But what was the Bill of Mortality?
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30725-X/fulltext?rss=yes
[Comment] Offline: COVID-19–bewilderment and candour
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
"This disease is unlike anything I have seen before. If you end up on ICU, you are potentially in real trouble. I have never seen anything like it before." These words were written by one intensive care physician working at a London teaching hospital. As deaths accumulate, the early message that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes mostly a mild illness has been shown to be dangerously false. One in five patients develop complications and are at grave risk. A further misunderstanding concerns age.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30850-3/fulltext?rss=yes
[Comment] Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response
Kelli Stidham Hall, Goleen Samari, Samantha Garbers, Sara E Casey, Dazon Dixon Diallo, Miriam Orcutt, Rachel T Moresky, Micaela Elvira Martinez, Terry McGovern | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Global responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are converging with pervasive, existing sexual and reproductive health and justice inequities to disproportionately impact the health, wellbeing, and economic stability of women, girls, and vulnerable populations. People whose human rights are least protected are likely to experience unique difficulties from COVID-19.1 Women, girls, and marginalised groups are likely to carry a heavier burden of what will be the devastating downstream economic and social consequences of this pandemic.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30801-1/fulltext?rss=yes
[Perspectives] Irene Higginson: progress towards a better ending
Geoff Watts | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Media coverage can drive change–so the note of exasperation in Irene Higginson's voice is understandable: "I wish there was as much attention paid to people who don't have proper access to palliative care as there has been to the assisted dying debate", she says. Higginson has a particular interest in the way we die; as Professor of Palliative Care and Policy at King's College London (KCL), London, UK, she is eager to advocate for her specialty. "UK hospices still rely for two-thirds of their funding on charitable donations", she explains.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30723-6/fulltext?rss=yes
[Editorial] Palliative care and the COVID-19 pandemic
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Palliative care services are under-resourced at the best of times. The 2017 Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief described the widespread lack of access to inexpensive and effective interventions as a travesty of justice. And these are not the best of times. As health systems become strained under COVID-19, providing safe and effective palliative care, including end-of-life care, becomes especially vital and especially difficult.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30822-9/fulltext?rss=yes
[Department of Error] Department of Error
thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Cluver L, Lachman JM, Sherr L, et al. Parenting in a time of COVID-19. Lancet 2020; 395: e64–In this Correspondence, Gretchen Bachman's affiliation should have been "Department of Orphans and Vulnerable Children, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC, USA". This correction has been made to the online version as of April 9, 2020.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30790-X/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Virtual health care in the era of COVID-19
Paul Webster | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Patients are under lockdown and health workers are at risk of infection. Paul Webster reports on how telemedicine is being embraced like never before.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30818-7/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Regulators split on antimalarials for COVID-19
Susan Jaffe | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
US and French authorities have authorised the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, but the EU regulator and WHO say the science doesn't support the decision. Susan Jaffe reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30817-5/fulltext?rss=yes
[World Report] Tsinghua University launches School of Public Health
Shawn Yuan | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
The new school will focus on infectious diseases and aims to strengthen public health policy in China. Shawn Yuan reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30819-9/fulltext?rss=yes
[Perspectives] Another hand on the scalpel
Roger Kneebone | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
As a medical student I first learned anatomy from textbooks and atlases. These showed the structures I needed to memorise. Someone else had decided what was important and what could be ignored or omitted. Then I encountered prosections, created by experts to show anatomy in three dimensions. There too, much had been removed. Whether it was the contents of the infratemporal fossa or the components of the brachial plexus, what I saw was what remained after "irrelevant" material had been taken away.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30722-4/fulltext?rss=yes
[Obituary] Elizabeth Wurtzel
Andrew Green | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
Author who wrote about mental health, and lawyer. Born July 31, 1967, in New York City, NY, USA, she died of metastatic breast cancer on Jan 7, 2020, in New York City, aged 52 years.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30726-1/fulltext?rss=yes
[Perspectives] Helen Boyle: pioneer of early mental health treatment
Georgina Ferry | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
In 1939, Helen Boyle gave her inaugural address as the first woman President of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association (later the Royal College of Psychiatrists). "Every general hospital is failing in its duty", she said, "if it does not have at least an outpatient department for nervous patients". When she began her career, psychiatric treatment for all but the wealthy was largely confined to public asylums. Boyle's had been one of the first voices raised in favour of early diagnosis and treatment for mental breakdown.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30724-8/fulltext?rss=yes
[Editorial] The gendered dimensions of COVID-19
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-04-11
SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate, but without careful consideration, the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic might. Demographic data from small studies are already informing political decisions and clinical research strategies. Women and men are affected by COVID-19, but biology and gender norms are shaping the disease burden. The success of the global response–the ability of both women and men to survive and recover from the pandemic's effects–will depend on the quality of evidence informing the response and the extent to which data represent sex and gender differences.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30823-0/fulltext?rss=yes
US reports nearly 1,800 coronavirus fatalities in 24 hours, as death rate slows after 2 days of back-to-back records
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Nearly 1,800 people died in the US after contracting the coronavirus on Thursday, a tally by John Hopkins University suggests. The overall US death toll stands at just over 16,500 as it continues to lead the world in cases. | The US, which according to various projections is nearing the peak of its outbreak, registered 1,783 deaths from the virus in a single day, according to data aggregated by the university. | While some models
US reports nearly 1,800 coronavirus fatalities in 24 hours, as death rate slows after 2 days of back-to-back records
rt.com | 2020-04-10
Nearly 1,800 people died in the US after contracting the coronavirus on Thursday, a tally by John Hopkins University suggests. The overall US death toll stands at just over 16,500 as it continues to lead the world in cases. | The US, which according to various projections is nearing the peak of its outbreak, registered 1,783 deaths from the virus in a single day, according to data aggregated by the university. | While some models
Be A Hero: COVID-19 w/ Ady Barka, Rep. A. Ocasio-Cortez, & Rahna Epting of MoveOn
Be A Hero Fund, MoveOn | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
Online via Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/07/18832151.php
San Diego "Honk for Justice" Calls for the Release of people in ICE Detention
repost | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
Author Pedro Rios serves as director of the AFSC's U.S./Mexico Border Program and has been on staff with AFSC since 2003. He is a steering committee member of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, which brings together over 60 organizations along the Southern border working to support migrants and border communities.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/05/18832119.php
San Francisco: Mayor Breed Opts for Mass Indoor Camps
Quiver Watts, Street Sheet | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
While hundreds of advocates have been desperately contacting Mayor London Breed imploring her to place homeless people in hotel rooms and vacant units, it seems she has her own plan for addressing poverty during the pandemic: opening indoor camps to further concentrate vulnerable people.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/05/18832122.php
Colonialism & coronavirus: 800,000 Haitians may die of COVID-19
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2020-04-09
Gutted by US-allied, neoliberal governments which have controlled the country since 2004, Haiti's healthcare sector braces for a potential catastrophe….
thegrayzone.com/2020/04/09/colonialism-coronavirus-haitians-covid/
Iran releases 'political prisoners' amid Covid-19 outbreak, while virus-stricken UK keeps Assange behind bars
rt.com | 2020-04-09
Tehran has released an Iranian national seen as a political prisoner in the UK as it fights the coronavirus. British activists and media rushed to say Iran's move was not enough
Beyond Words. Assange's COVID-19 Bail Related Application
Craig Murray | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
Yesterday Mark Sommers QC, the extremely erudite and bookish second counsel for Julian Assange in his extradition hearing, trembled with anger in court. Magistrate Vanessa Baraitser had just made a ruling that the names of Julian Assange's partner and young …
globalresearch.ca/beyond-words-assange-covid-19-bail-related-application/5709180
Australian MPs call for release of Julian Assange to home detention as Covid-19 'rapidly spreads' in UK prisons
rt.com | 2020-04-09
There are new calls from Australia to release Julian Assange from prison over Covid-19 fears. Two MPs, supported on Twitter by the whistleblower's mother, sent letters to UK authorities calling for his release to home detention. | Australian MPs Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen, co-chairs of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, wrote to UK Commons Justice Committee Chair Bob Neill MP and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland MP calling for "urgent" consideration of Assange's case in light of the fact that Covid-19 is "rapidly spreading" in British prisons. | COVID-19 is in the UK's p…
rt.com/uk/485387-assange-covid19-belmarsh-letters/
The Pandemic Makes the Bernie 2020 Campaign More Vital Than Ever
Norman Solomon | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
Reasons to stay in the race are ample and solid…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/06/18832133.php
Sanders "Broke the Spell" of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes COVID-19 Capitalism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
We talk to journalist and activist Naomi Klein about Bernie Sanders's historic presidential campaign as he suspends his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, and about coronavirus capitalism
Correcting the Sentinel's Latest Errors
Robert Norse & Keith McHenry | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
Food Not Bombs activist Keith McHenry corrects errors, omissions, and distoertions in Sentinel writer Jessica York's recent story "Santa Cruz County launches joint homelessness task force in coronavirus pandemic; Food Not Bombs expands food distribution" (4 PM, April 4th) at www.santacruzsentinel.com/2020/04/04/santa-cruz-county-launches-joint-homelessness-task-force-in-coronavirus-pandemic .
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/05/18832118.php
Sanders "Broke the Spell" of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes COVID-19 Capitalism
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
We talk to journalist and activist Naomi Klein about Bernie Sanders's historic presidential campaign as he suspends his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, and about coronavirus capitalism
Naomi Klein: Sanders "Broke the Spell" of Neoliberalism as Trump Pushes Coronavirus Capitalism
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-09
We talk to journalist and activist Naomi Klein about Bernie Sanders's historic presidential campaign as he suspends his bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination, and about coronavirus capitalism
Martin Khor: the Making of a Global Activist
Walden Bello | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
When future students of North-South relations look back to the history of the last 35 years or so, among the key figures they will most likely mark as one of the most decisive in shaping the course of events is one who did not owe his power to a position in government or business. Martin…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/martin-khor-the-making-of-a-global-activist/
Senior journalist goes missing in Bangladesh
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-09
Activists groups fear that Shafiqul Islam Kajol, a photojournalist who went missing a day after a police complaint was filed against him, has been subjected to enforced disappearance. He was accused of publishing false news by a member of parliament…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/09/senior-journalist-goes-missing-in-bangladesh/
COVID-19: New Battle in Capitalism's War on the Black Working Class
Black Alliance for Peace | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-09
"No Retreat, No Compromise: Defeat the War Against the African/Black Working Class," announced the campaign of the Black Alliance for Peace before coronavirus, before the collapse of the global economy, before the lockdowns and calls for militarization of our communities, …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-new-battle-in-capitalisms-war-on-the-black-working-class/5709152
Britain's Labour Party leader Starmer calls for coronavirus lockdown exit strategy
rt.com | 2020-04-09
Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, requested on Thursday that the government publish its exit strategy for the coronavirus lockdown, seen as the most stringent measures in the country's peacetime history. | "I'm calling on the government to publish its exit strategy," Reuters quoted Starmer as saying. "I'm not calling for precise timings, but the strategy. This is incredibly difficult on people and we need to know that plans are in place, and what they are." | Stephen Powis, medical director of the National Health Service, said on Wednesday that the number of coronavirus infections and…
rt.com/newsline/485359-britain-labour-lockdown-exit/
Saudi-led coalition begins Yemen ceasefire
rt.com | 2020-04-09
A nationwide ceasefire in response to the global coronavirus outbreak went into effect in Yemen on Thursday. | A Saudi-led coalition fighting against Yemen's Houthi movement announced overnight it would halt military operations from 0900 GMT for two weeks in support of United Nations efforts to end the conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people, Reuters said. | The Houthi leadership has yet to announce whether the movement, which controls the capital Sanaa and most major urban centers in Yemen, would follow suit in what would be the first major breakthrough in peace efforts since late 2018. | The coalit…
rt.com/newsline/485362-saudi-coalition-yemen-ceasefire/
Western democracy not giving peace to humanity
en.mehrnews.com | 2020-04-09
TEHRAN, Apr. 09 (MNA)
Trinidad & Tobago Rejects Possible US Intervention on Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
Besides stressing that his country's stance on Venezuela has not changed, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Keith Rowley stated that the Caribbean must remain a peace zone and rejected a possible U.S.-led military intervention in the South American country. | RELATED: | Intellectuals, Artists Issue Letter in Defense of Venezuela | "Our position remains the same. Trin…
telesurenglish.net/news/Trinidad–Tobago-Rejects-Possible-US-Intervention-on-Venezuela-20200409-0001.html
Police in Pakistan beat and arrest health care workers protesting over Coronavirus safety concerns, lack of PPE
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Police brutally attacked several hundred medical staff after they marched to the house of the Balochistan Chief Minister in Quetta to protest the lack of personal protective equipment or PPE.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/quet-a09.html
Police in Pakistan beat and arrest health care workers protesting over Coronavirus safety concerns, lack of PPE
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
Police brutally attacked several hundred medical staff after they marched to the house of the Balochistan Chief Minister in Quetta to protest the lack of personal protective equipment or PPE.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/quet-a09.html
Alberta doctors protest UCP government's funding cuts amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
More than 800 doctors signed an angry open letter to the hard-right United Conservative Party government protesting cuts to doctors' fees that will result in reduced services at hundreds of rural clinics across the province.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/albe-a09.html
Alberta doctors protest UCP government's funding cuts amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-04-09
More than 800 doctors signed an angry open letter to the hard-right United Conservative Party government protesting cuts to doctors' fees that will result in reduced services at hundreds of rural clinics across the province.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/09/albe-a09.html
Noisy "OUTNOW! Tuesday" in SF Bay Area
TRUMP | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
With the tag line "Trump is an American virus, it's time to break the silence," members of Refuse Fascism, Vigil for Democracy, and the Raging Grannies Action League protested while maintaining social distancing rules on Tuesday, April 7. They demand that the US government provide aid and protection for humanity globally, not just for Americans, based on international co-operation, not competition in this time of pandemic.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/08/18832161.php
Finnish govt extends coronavirus-related restrictions to May 13
rt.com | 2020-04-09
Finland on Thursday extended most of its restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus by one month to May 13, the government said. | It extended its ban on public meetings of more than 10 people, and the closure of public services such as libraries and schools for most students. The government had previously decided to close all restaurants until the end of May. | On Tuesday, the country's public health authority said it would start tracking the spread of the new coronavirus in the population with randomized antibody tests. The results will be used to help the government decide what meas…
rt.com/newsline/485369-finland-extends-restrictions-tests/
Sanders Suspends: What Happened? What Now?
Sam Husseini | counterpunch.org | 2020-04-09
Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk commented just as Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign:…
counterpunch.org/2020/04/09/sanders-suspends-what-happened-what-now/
Suspending the Campaign, Not the Movement: Sanders Pulls Out of 2020 Race But Will Stay on Ballot
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-09
Senator Bernie Sanders has suspended his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive nominee to face Donald Trump in November. Sanders says he will stay on the ballot in remaining primary races and continue to assemble delegates. We play highlights from Sanders's speech to supporters in a live stream on Wednesday. "Together, we have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become, and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and envir…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/9/bernie_sanders_drops_out_of_race
Noam Chomsky: Bernie Sanders Campaign Didn't Fail. It Energized Millions & Shifted U.S. Politics
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-09
In a new interview, world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky reflects on the significance of the Bernie Sanders campaign, calling it "an extraordinary success" that "completely shifted the arena of debate and discussion" in the United States.
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/9/noam_chomsky_bernie_sanders_campaign
The Sanders Campaign Is Suspended, But His Impact Lives On
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
Robert Kennedy was murdered three years before I was born, so my practical experience with transformative progressive presidential candidates is slim. There was Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich and a whole lot of rain. In point of fact, my personal timeline arcs in a long descent into neoconservative/neoliberal hell, dotted along the way with landmark disasters like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Donald Trump, the inverted apex of this slide into ignominy. | And then Bernie Sanders popped up, and popped off, an…
truthout.org/articles/sanders-impact-lives-on/
Noam Chomsky: The Sanders Campaign Energized Millions, and Shifted US Politics
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-09
In a new interview, world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky reflects on the significance of the Bernie Sanders campaign, calling it "an extraordiernary success" that "completely shifted the arena of debate and discussion" in the United States. | TRANSCRIPT: | AMY GOODMAN: Before we go to break, on Wednesday, just before Bernie Sanders announced, but it did look like he was about to pull out of the presidential race, I asked political dissident, linguist and…
truthout.org/video/noam-chomsky-the-sanders-campaign-energized-millions-and-shifted-u-s-politics/
Bernie Sanders Suspends His Campaign: What Happened and What Now?
Sam Husseini | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-09
Once again, disenfranchised American voters are left without a candidate that represents their values, but instead of staying home or voting against those values, there is another option, writes Sam Husseini.
mintpressnews.com/bernie-sanders-suspends-campaign-what-happened-what-now/266470/
What we all need to learn now that Bernie Sanders's presidential bid is over
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-04-09
Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the Democratic Party primary. This has prompted a fierce debate about what went wrong. While he clearly faced unfair disadvantages from the start, progressives must also accept that he made some unnecessary mistakes. And if we're going to win victories in the future, we must learn from them. | Unfair fr…
thecanary.co/us/us-analysis/2020/04/09/what-we-all-need-to-learn-now-that-bernie-sanderss-presidential-bid-is-over/
OPEC to Decide Historic Oil Production Cut Due to COVID-19
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-09
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) just started an emergency meeting this Thursday to agree on a historic cut in fuel production after COVID-19 crushed global demand. | RELATED: | Maduro Announces Measures to Defend Venezuela's Oil Industry | The meeting agreed upon by OPEC and non-OPEC partners, known as OPEC+, takes place at 4 P.M. Vienna time, Austria, and will be conducted via video conference. | The G-20 presidency said the meeting will foster dialogue…
telesurenglish.net/news/opec-to-decide-historic-oil-production-cut-due-to-covid19-20200409-0005.html
U.S. activates new phase of violence against Venezuela
| workers.org | 2020-04-09
The U.S accuses Venezuelan President Maduro of "narcoterrorism" but the people defend him. The Platform of Venezuelan Social Movements Against the Blockade issued the following statement on March 26. To the People of the World and Friends of the Bolivarian Revolution In the midst of the most recent attacks of . . . | Continue reading U.S. activates new phase of violence against Venezuela at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47585/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-s-activates-new-phase-of-violence-against-venezuela
Venezuela Pres Maduro's Message to American people
repost | indybay.org | 2020-04-09
Oil rich Venezuela is again threatened with invasion, by Nazi Trump, with no opposition from any Democrat, sending an armada to Venezuela's shores, in the middle of a pandemic, under the obviously false pretext of drug-pushing, which the world knows Venezuela does not do. The democratically elected government of Nicolas Maduro has sent an open letter to the American people. See www.globalresearch.ca/letter-president-maduro-people-united-states/5708882…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/07/18832148.php