(2020-07-11). [Comment] Offline: Restoring trust in WHO. thelancet.com Belgium has the sad distinction of leading the world league table of deaths from COVID-19. At 843 deaths per million, Belgium is ahead of the UK (650 per million), Italy (576 per million), Sweden (537 per million), and France (458 per million). COVID-19 was first reported in Belgium on Feb 4, 2020, in a 54-year-old man who had been repatriated from Wuhan, China. Community transmission was confirmed in early March after holiday makers returned from school vacation breaks in northern Italy. The national sense of failure and anger is spurring a serious effort to initiate an international inquiry into the global resp…
(2020-07-11). [Obituary] Tomisaku Kawasaki. thelancet.com Paediatrician who identified what became known as Kawasaki disease. Born on Feb 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Japan, he died on June 5, 2020, in Tokyo, aged 95 years.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] Organised crime: the missing link in drug policies. thelancet.com Illegal drugs and their effect on public health were discussed in a 2019 Lancet Series.1 However, the Series authors did not report how a global criminal enterprise, the drug—abuse industrial complex,2 is the origin of the problem. This global network of organised crime, corrupt politicians, money laundering, and distribution systems perpetuates this public health crisis. We have reason to believe the drug trade is now expanding under the guise of legal cannabis and cannabidiol, especially in North America, with outreach to other markets in South America, Europe, and Asia.
(2020-07-11). [Clinical Picture] A rare cause of left-sided weakness in an elderly woman: amoebic encephalitis. thelancet.com An 85-year-old Gujarati woman with a 1-day history of confusion, left-sided weakness, and slurred speech attended our hospital. She had a history of headaches, which had been extensively investigated for 2 years from 2013. She also had hypertension. She had no history of recent travel.
(2020-07-11). [Correspondence] The health-care sector's role in climate stabilisation — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Till Bugaj and colleagues and Helga Weisz and colleagues for their comments.
(2020-07-10). China's Growing Influence in Central Asia and the Middle East Will Lead to Further US Decline. globalresearch.ca China's increasing presence on the international scene is an undeniable threat to the US-led world order. Critical to China's emergence as a major power this century, has been its widening influence in the Central Asian states. Central Asia, rich in …
(2020-07-10). Trump election strategy: Blame China for coronavirus, bad economy. peoplesworld.org 
With the latest opinion polls showing Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 53% to 42%, Trump needs desperate measures. A major part of his re-election strategy now is to up the ante against Beijing. Last weekend, he announced yet again that China had caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the …
(2020-07-10). A New Tonkin Gulf Incident In The Making? popularresistance.org While the American public, the media, and Congress have largely been focused on the Covid pandemic, demands for racial justice, and other domestic concerns in recent months, the US military has been mobilizing all of its capabilities for a massive show of force in waters abutting China. Every Pacific-based US submarine is now deployed in the area; two nuclear-powered carriers and their escort ships are conducting naval maneuvers there; the Air Force has sent B-1 bombers overhead; and the Army is practicing to seize Chinese-claimed islands. | In the most provocative of these efforts, the carriers Nimitz and Ronald…
(2020-07-10). India launches solar power plant to stop China imports. yenisafak.com Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a solar power plant with the aim to stop reliance on imports from neighbors China and PakistanThe 750-megawatt power plant in the central state of Madhya Pradesh is being dubbed as the largest in Asia by local media.The project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 million tons each year."Several steps are being taken to increase domestic manufacturing and it has been decided that government's departments and institutions will only buy domestically manufactured solar cells and modules," said Modi, in the wake of recent border tensions with Chi…
(2020-07-10). Torrential rains hit China, many killed. yenisafak.com Torrential rains have washed over several parts of China, resulting in deaths of many people and disrupting services to the affected regions, local media reported. At least 14 people were killed by landslides in the central Hubei province last Wednesday, with one person recovered by search and rescue operations that are still in progress, China's Xinhua news agency reported.The rains hit 44 counties in the province, affecting over 9 million people, with over 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of precipitation recorded since Wednesday.In the country's east Jiangxi province, armed police officers and soldiers were deploy…
(2020-07-10). China reports 4 new coronavirus cases in mainland. yenisafak.com China reported four new coronavirus cases in the mainland for July 9, down from nine a day earlier, the health authority said on Friday.All four of the new infections were imported cases, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.China also reported three new asymptomatic patients, compared with six such cases a day earlier.
(2020-07-10). Japan to buy $23B worth of F-35 fighter jets from US. yenisafak.com The US on Thursday approved a planned purchase by Japan of 105 F-35 joint strike fighters estimated to be worth $23 billion amid escalating tension in the South China Sea between China and US allies.The approved package includes 63 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing aircraft and 42 F-35 short takeoff and landing variants as part of a December 2018 decision by Japan to increase its procurement of F-35s from 42 to 147.Japan does not have a coast to the hotly-conflicted South China Sea, but views it as strategically important due to its role as a vital trading route.If the sale goes through from congress, it wil…
(2020-07-10). World Health Organisation experts visit China to discuss coronavirus probe. thecanary.co 
Two World Health Organisation (WHO) experts will spend 11-12 July in Beijing to lay the groundwork for a larger mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.One animal health expert and one epidemiologist will work to fix the "scope and terms of reference" for the future mission. It will be aimed at learning how the virus jumped from animals to humans, WHO's statement said on 10 July.Origins: Scientists believe the virus may have originated in bats. It was then transmitted through another mammal such as a civet cat or pangolin before being passed on to people at a fresh food ma…
(2020-07-10). China's Reasonable Proposal for Arms Control and Washington's Duplicity. strategic-culture.org China underscored this week that it is willing to engage in negotiations with the U.S. to reduce nuclear arsenals and to underpin strategic stability. However, the offer comes with the caveat that Washington must first reduce its arsenal to the level of China's before Beijing will engage in such talks. | That is an eminently reasonable and logical proposal. The starting point is to look at the existing balance of forces. While the U.S. and Russia each possess about 6,000 nuclear warheads, China's arsenal is
(2020-07-10). Fujifilm's Avigan inconclusive in COVID-19 patients in Japan trial. yenisafak.com A clinical trial of Fujifilm Holdings Corp's Avigan drug yielded inconclusive results as a treatment of COVID-19, Japanese researchers said on Friday.Although patients given the drug early in the trial showed more improvement than those who got delayed doses, the results did not reach statistical significance, Fujita Health University researcher Yohei Doi said.The results, announced at a news conference on Friday, followed the completion of a clinical trial conducted between March and May on 89 patients across Japan.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said he hoped the drug would be approved as a COVID-19 trea…
(2020-07-10). Private Prison Simulation Game Goes Viral on Apple App Store. thealtworld.com With over two million people locked up across a sprawling network of private and public prisons, the US has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world, significantly worse than brutal dictatorships in Africa, Latin America or Central Asia. | MPN— A new game called "Prison Empire Tycoon" is going viral. Released in late May, it has risen to become the current number one strategy game in Apple's
(2020-07-10). Retired Steelworker leader Jones backs Biden but wishes it was Bernie. peoplesworld.org 
INDIANAPOLIS—Chuck Jones, the retired Steelworkers Local 1999 president who became famous for debunking then-President-elect Donald Trump's lies about the Carrier plant closure outside Indianapolis almost four years ago, is going to vote for Joe Biden. But Jones really wishes he was voting for Sen. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., the last man standing against former veep Biden …
(2020-07-10). "Most Important Indian Law Case in Half a Century": Supreme Court Upholds Tribal Sovereignty in OK. democracynow.org 
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma, constituting nearly half the state, is Native American land, recognizing a 19th century U.S. treaty with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump nominee, joined the court's liberal wing in a narrow 5-4 ruling that found state authorities cannot criminally prosecute Indigenous peoples under state or local laws. The court's bombshell decision — which also impacts the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations — is a major victory for Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights. "It's a landmark case…
(2020-07-10). Headlines for July 10, 2020. democracynow.org Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Claim of Absolute Immunity, Court Says Much of Oklahoma Remains Indian Country in Landmark Indigenous Sovereignty Case, Hospitals Face Surge as U.S. Reports Record 65,000 New Coronavirus Cases, Surge in Cases Directly Tied to Early Reopenings in Florida, Arizona, Texas, Bolivia's Interim President Tests Positive; India, S. Africa & Mexico Report New Record Highs, 1.3 Million More File for Unemployment as GOP Rejects Extending Jobless Aid, Biden Unveils $700 Billion "Buy American" Economic Recovery Plan, St. Louis Police Break Up City Hall Protest Encampment, With Veto-Proof Majority,…
(2020-07-10). 'I Could Live With That': How the CIA Made Afghanistan Safe for the Opium Trade. strategic-culture.org Jeffrey ST. CLAIR | "I decided I could live with that." | — Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter's CIA director, on the extreme level of civilian casualties in the CIA's covert war in Afghanistan. | The first indelible image of the war in Afghanistan for many Americans was probably that of CBS anchorman Dan Rather, wrapped in the voluminous drapery of a mujahedin fighter, looking like a healthy relative of Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with hair that seemed freshly blow-dried, as some viewers were quick to point out). From his secret mountainside "somewhere in the Hindu Kush," Rather unloaded on his audience a barr…
(2020-07-10). Imperial Blind Spots and a Question for Obama. counterpunch.org 
The biggest of the many moral blind-spots that mar the politics of the Democratic Party is American imperialism. Biden Helped Lead the Charge into Iraq Look at the Inauthentic Opposition Party's[1] presumptive presidential nominee. Biden recently chided Donald Trump in not-so veiled terms for failing to overthrow the democratically elected socialist Maduro government of Venezuela?
(2020-07-10). The Heat: U.S.-Russia ties. america.cgtn.com 
The Russia factor. How will relations between United States and Russia fare in an all-important election year?>
(2020-07-10). The Tremendous But 'Secret' Success Of Socialist Vietnam. popularresistance.org Some twenty years ago, when I moved to Hanoi, the city was bleak, grey, covered by smog. The war had ended, but terrible scars remained. | I brought my 4WD from Chile, and insisted on driving it myself. It was one of the first SUVs in the city. Each time I drove it, it was hit by scooters, which flew like projectiles all over the wide avenues of the capital. | Hanoi was beautiful, melancholic, but clearly marked by war. There were stories, terrible stories of the past. In "my days", Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in Asia. | Many great heritage sites, including the My Son Sanctuary in Central Vietnam, we…
(2020-07-10). Still Fighting "Whatever" in Afghanistan. dissidentvoice.org This just in: Cable news presenter-hero Jake Tapper finds new spotlight at the Movies with the Millennium Media studio release of The Outpost, based on Tapper's 2012 book The Outpost: an Untold Story of American Valor. Tapper's tale tells the story of a locally massive attack by Taliban-types on a remote American forward operating base, …
(2020-07-10). Waiting to declare famine 'will be too late for Yemenis on brink of starvation'. news.un.org In Yemen, fears of famine have resurfaced as UN humanitarians also warned on Friday that 360,000 severely malnourished children could die unless they continue to get treatment and aid is stepped up. In an urgent appeal for funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it needs $200 million per month to maintain assistance in the war-torn country.
(2020-07-10). Pakistan: 2 provinces bearing brunt of pandemic. yenisafak.com Pakistan's two most populous provinces account for more than 75% of the country's COVID-19 cases and over 72% of its virus-related fatalities, according to official data released on Friday.The South Asian country's overall case count increased to 243,599, with 2,751 infections recorded over the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 75 to reach 5,058, the Health Ministry reported.With 100,900 confirmed infections, the southern Sindh province leads in the number of cases, followed by northeastern Punjab, the most populous province, with 85,261 cases.Together they make up over 76% of Pakistan's nationwide case…
(2020-07-10). Dutch government to file suit against Russia over downing of MH17. yenisafak.com The Dutch government on Friday said it would file a suit against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over the downing of Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine six years ago.The Netherlands, home to roughly two-thirds of the victims, holds Russia responsible for the crash on July 17, 2014. The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement.A letter to parliament said the Netherlands was filing the case at the European court to achieve "truth, justice and accountability" for all 298 victims.
(2020-07-10). Putin, Russian Security Council discuss Libyan crisis. yenisafak.com "The situation in Libya was discussed with an emphasis on the absence of alternative to a peaceful settlement in this country," the Kremlin said in a statement on its official website following the meeting.Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.Libya's new government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to the military offensive by warlord Khalifa Haftar's forces.The UN recognizes the Libyan government headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj as the country's legitimate authority.
(2020-07-10). Russia warns of growing nuclear war threat. yenisafak.com The risk of a nuclear war has risen significantly in recent years because of the US unwillingness to reaffirm its impossibility, the Russian foreign minister said on Friday."We are particularly concerned about the two-year-old refusal of the Americans to reassert the fundamental principle,…
(2020-07-10). Turkey, UK 'very close' to free trade deal. yenisafak.com Turkey and the UK are "very close" to signing a free trade agreement for…
(2020-07-10). Turkish police arrest 14 terrorist PKK suspects. yenisafak.com Turkish police arrested 14 suspects in raids in the southern Adana province for their alleged links to the terrorist group PKK, a judicial source said on Friday.Anti-terror police launched an investigation into the alleged members of the terrorist group, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.With 17 arrest warrants in total, police continue operations to capture the remaining three suspects.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU — has been responsible for the deaths o…
(2020-07-10). Turkish court repeals 1934 decree turning Hagia Sophia into museum. yenisafak.com A Turkish court said on Friday it annulled a 1934 government decree turning the iconic Hagia Sophia into a museum, ruling it was unlawful, paving the way for Istanbul's grandest structure to be used as a mosque after an 85-year hiatus.The ruling was made by the Council of State, Turkey's top administrative court.An hour after the court ruling, President Tayyip Erdogan declared Istanbul's Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship on Friday."The decision was taken to hand over the management of the Ayasofya Mosque…to the Religious Affairs Directorate and open it for worship," the decision signed by Erdogan said.An NGO…
(2020-07-10). Saturday 7/11: Indians of All Tribes & the Occupation of Alcatraz 1969-1971 (webinar). indybay.org Online…
(2020-07-10). VIDEO: Is Russia European? strategic-culture.org Is Russia a part of Europe? According to the map its origins definitely lay in Europe. But it sees itself unique | civilization with influence beyond its current constricted borders. Watch the video and read more in the
(2020-07-10). Bipartisan Torpedo Against the Agreement for Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca Hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, over 2,400 US soldiers killed (plus an unknown number of wounded), about 1,000 billion dollars spent: this is the budget summary of 19 years of US war in Afghanistan, to which the cost for …
(2020-07-09). US Policy Toward China Wrecking Bilateral Relations. globalresearch.ca Both right wings of the US one-party state are of a single mind in wanting China's economic, industrial, technological, and military advancement undermined. | Obama's near-decade ago prioritization of asserting Washington's Asia/Pacific presence was and remains key Dem and GOP policy….
(2020-07-09). Cold War with China and the Thucydides Trap: a Conversation with Richard Falk. counterpunch.org 
Should there be a Second Cold War an alleged US concern for human rights would indeed become another ongoing tool of propaganda. In this interview, International Relations scholar Richard Falk breaks down the grave dangers and prospects for a New Cold with China. Falk worries that tensions and rivalries both regionally and economically could result
(2020-07-09). China against full confrontation with US, says minister. yenisafak.com China does not want a full confrontation with the US and seeks a bilateral relationship based on mutual respect and cooperation, the country's top diplomat said on Thursday.Addressing the China-US Think Tanks Media Forum, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing and Washington's relations are "faced with the most severe challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties," state-run daily Global Times reported.He said certain quarters in the US were trying "to portray China as an adversary, and even an enemy.""I'd like to stress here again that China never intends to challenge or replace the US, or have full confro…
(2020-07-09). 'Much higher' death rate than Covid-19: Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan warns of dangerous local pneumonia. rt.com 
The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan has warned its citizens in the Central Asian country to exercise caution amid a large outbreak of viral pneumonia, which appears to be deadlier than the new coronavirus. | Between Covid-19 and the pneumonia outbreak, the diplomats described the health situation in Kazakhstan as "very grim." Since the start of the year, 1,772 people have died of pneumonia in the country. In June alone, there were 628 fatalities, including Chinese citizens, a statement on the embassy's website reads. | "The mortality rate of the disease is much higher than that of the new coronavirus pneumonia,"
(2020-07-09). MADE IN CHINA: Contractor indicted for defrauding US Navy about origin of armor & helmets. rt.com 
A grand jury indictment of a Virginia man whose company allegedly sold Chinese-made helmets and body armor to the government is challenging President Donald Trump's claim the Pentagon gets only the best American-made goods. | Surveillance Equipment Group Inc. (SEG) CEO Arthur Morgan was
(2020-07-09). Talks with North Korea figure prominently in US envoy's visit to Seoul. peoplesdispatch.org While the US has repeatedly attempted to downplay the significance of talks with North Korea, US envoy Stephen Biegun said on the day of his arrival to Seoul that the Trump administration is "open" to talks with the North…
(2020-07-09). Pompeo says US continuing to work to establish dialogue with North Korea. yenisafak.com U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that Washington is continuing to work to establish dialogue with North Korea and is very hopeful the conversation can continue, though he declined to comment on timing or specifics."We continue to work to establish dialogue and have substantive conversations about how we might deliver this really good outcome, this outcome of delivering peace and stability to the entire peninsula," Pompeo told reporters following U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun's three days of talks in Seoul.
(2020-07-09). "Pinning Down Putin" Biden, the Democrats and the Next War. counterpunch.org The latest Foreign Affairs features a piece by former Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, "Pinning Down Putin: How a Confidant America Should Deal With Russia." A protege of former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, she is a notorious "liberal interventionist," married to neocon pundit Robert Kagan. She is perhaps best known
(2020-07-09). SCOTUS decides 5-4 win for abortion rights. workers.org 
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Executive Director Monica Simpson speaking at reproductive justice rally in Georgia, June 28, 2019. On June 29, the Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, the first reproductive justice case since anti-abortion Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and . . . |
(2020-07-09). Neoliberal Psychological Romanticism: From the Primal Scream to the Collective Unconscious Part II. dissidentvoice.org 
Orientation In Part I of this article, I begin by grounding neoliberal psychology in the political and economic reality of neoliberalism between 1970 to 2020. First, we discussed the historical origins of neoliberalism, and then its economic exploitation, mystification and ideological use to control people. I briefly discussed the realities of the practice of neoliberal …
(2020-07-09). U.S. claims religious repression underway in Vietnam, but where's the evidence? peoplesworld.org 
Recently, the U.S. Department of State issued a report in which they claimed that religious freedom is being suppressed in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government is of course capable of speaking for itself and responding to this defamation. However, I think that Americans also have a responsibility to speak out against baseless claims made by our …
(2020-07-09). Toyota fires employees for making fun of George Floyd killing with 'that will keep them down' kneeling. rt.com 
Toyota has fired two high-level employees from a plant in Indiana, after they allegedly mocked the killing of George Floyd. Though their jokes got them the sack, Toyota itself has been in the spotlight for racism before. | In a video filmed by his colleagues, supervisor Patrick Talley knelt on a binder full of documents, exclaiming "that will keep them down." The onlooker who filmed the video told Yahoo News that Talley was referencing Floyd's murder, and "everyone who saw him do it was disgusted." | "It was a disgusting gesture Talley made to imply that kneeling on a black man's neck until he dies is a great…
(2020-07-09). Manhattan next? US Supreme Court opens Pandora's box with ruling that half of Oklahoma is 'Indian country'. rt.com 
While critics of US President Donald Trump gloated over the Supreme Court ruling in the matter of his taxes, another verdict returning much of Oklahoma to the Creek Nation has far bigger implications for the country down the line. | "On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise," Justice Neil Gorsuch — a Trump appointee presumed to be a conservative textualist — declared at the start of the majority opinion in
(2020-07-09). Joy Reid lands prime-time MSNBC slot, despite 'serially lying'. rt.com 
MSNBC's Joy Reid will become the network's first black prime time anchor. An unabashed progressive, Reid is a fierce critic of President Donald Trump. She's also been accused of lying through her teeth. | Reid's promotion to prime-time status seems like a tactical one for MSNBC, given the national nervous breakdown over race in recent weeks. Her show, 'The ReidOut', will offer standard Washington political punditry, but will also address race, class and policing, as well as other "cataclysmic social issues we need to reckon with," she told the New York Times on Wednesday. | "I am a Black mom, a Black woman, a…
(2020-07-09). Lab worker killed by brain-destroying disease 7 YEARS after accidental jab. rt.com 
A new study has shed light on why a woman developed a fatal brain disease linked to mad cow disease several years after piercing her skin with contaminated laboratory equipment. | A woman in France who developed a rare and fatal brain disease did so via accidental lab exposure to the proteins that cause mad cow disease, a new study has The initial exposure happened in May 2010, as the then-24-year-old technician "handled frozen sections of brain of transgenic mice that overexpressed the human prion pro…
