Author Archives: admin

2020-04-09: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

[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

Last Process: 50 Postees: 2020-04-10 03:08 GMT (23:08 EST)

2020-04-08: News Headlines

The Canary (2020-04-08). Still too early to ease Covid-19 lockdown, warn ministers. thecanary.co Ministers have cautioned it is still too soon to begin lifting the coronavirus lockdown, after Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care undergoing treatment for the disease.The prime minister's condition remains "stable", according to the latest bulletin from Downing Street issued on Tuesday evening.He is undergoing "close monitoring" at St Thomas' Hospital in London after his condition worsened on Monday.Johnson had been due to oversee a three-week review of the lockdown rules — brought in last month to curb the spread of the disease.However with the number of cases continuing to rise, health mi…

RT (2020-04-08). Italy closes 'unsafe ports' to migrant ships over coronavirus. rt.com Italian ports cannot be considered safe because of the coronavirus epidemic, the government said, adding that it will not let charity migrant boats dock. | The decision was taken late on Tuesday after a ship operated by the German non-governmental group Sea-Eye picked up some 150 people off Libya and headed towards Italy, Reuters reports. | "For the entire duration of the national health emergency caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Italian ports cannot guarantee the requisites needed to be classified and defined as a place of safety," the decree said. | The national emergency is set to expire on July…

Staff (2020-04-08). 'We're Not Treated Like We're Essential. We're Treated Like We're Disposable.'. therealnews.com Amazon is using COVID-19 rules to control their employees, not to protect them, says an Amazon worker who took part in the fourth strike at a Chicago facility.

Sue Davis (2020-04-08). Texas ban seeks to overturn legal abortion. workers.org April 7 — The overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. are doing everything in their power to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, which is both a public health crisis and an economic disaster of worldwide proportions. But women of childbearing age, 15 to 44, in six conservative states led by . . . |

RT (2020-04-08). Sweden using ice rinks and shipping containers as morgues overflow due to Covid-19 deaths. rt.com Swedish authorities are resorting to refrigerated shipping containers, ice rinks and canteen fridges to store the nation's dead as the Covid-19 death toll rises and burials are postponed across the country. | Long weekends such as the Easter Holidays can cause a backlog but this has been exacerbated by the coronavirus epidemic and ensuing deaths and backlog at cemeteries, many of which are closed as a precautionary measure. | In both Gothenburg and Stockholm, hospitals have resorted to renting out ice rinks and refrigerated containers for use as temporary cold storage for the deceased, while Karolinska Univers…

RT (2020-04-08). Stocks drop as eurozone fails to agree new coronavirus stimulus. rt.com European stock markets traded lower on Wednesday after eurozone finance ministers failed to reach a deal on additional stimulus to weather the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. | The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by more than one percent after Mario Centeno, who chairs the 19-member grouping, said that discussions would resume on Thursday. | "After 16h of discussions we came close to a deal but we are not there yet," Centeno wrote in a tweet. | London's FTSE 100 declined 1.6 percent, while Germany's DAX slid 1.1 percent. France's CAC 40 has dropped almost two percent. | The euro-area group had been…

RT (2020-04-08). Covid-19 drags French economy into deep recession the likes of which it has not seen since 1945. rt.com The Bank of France said on Wednesday that the country's economy shrank around six percent in the first quarter of this year, its worst performance since the end of WWII. | According to official figures, the economy dropped 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2019 as the coronavirus pandemic decimated business activity. With two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the country is now technically in recession. | Economic activity plunged 32 percent in the last two weeks of March as the crisis deepened, said the French regulator. It has listed construction, transport, restaurants and lodging among the wor…

RT (2020-04-08). Iran's Rouhani urges IMF to provide $5bn loan to his corona-ravaged country in defiance of US pressure. rt.com The president of Iran has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide the Islamic Republic with a much-needed loan. The US has been opposing Iran's request in what Tehran sees as an act of 'medical terrorism.' | Iran applied for IMF money in mid-March as the Covid-19 pandemic was overwhelming its national healthcare system. Tehran hadn't asked for IMF assistance since the early 1960s and said it needed the money urgently to fight the coronavirus. The international organization, however, was not forthcoming as the US openly objected to providing any funds to Iran. | "I urge international organiza…

Ted Kelly (2020-04-08). Interview: Amazon worker battles billionaire Bezos. workers.org Chris Smalls is a former Amazon worker who was fired for organizing a March 30 walkout at the JFK8 Amazon facility in Staten Island, N.Y. Bosses refused to close the facility despite confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the workers. In the aftermath of Smalls' wrongful termination, a leaked memo from . . . |

RT (2020-04-08). French Navy flagship & its ONLY carrier 'Charles de Gaulle' cuts Middle East op as DOZENS of sailors get Covid-19 symptoms. rt.com France's sole aircraft carrier 'Charles de Gaulle' had to suspend its Mediterranean Sea mission and turn back to port shortly after around 40 of its crewmembers were placed under medical observation with suspected Covid-19. | All symptomatic sailors have been "isolated" from the rest of the crew and are being constantly monitored by medical staff, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. | They have symptoms consistent with a possible Covid-19 infection. These first symptoms have appeared recently. | The illness struck the crew when the nuclear-powered ship was making its way to the Mediterranean Sea to partici…

RT (2020-04-08). US smashes daily Covid-19 death record AGAIN with nearly 2,000 fatalities in 24 hours, as outbreaks accelerate beyond New York. rt.com The United States has set a new record for its daily mortality count, reporting just shy of 2,000 new deaths in the span of a single day, as fatalities in New York — the country's top hotspot — and beyond continue to mount.

RT (2020-04-08). Even Germans fall for multi-million-dollar scam over masks… as WHO says they DON'T save healthy users from Covid-19. rt.com Local authorities in Germany have been left red-faced after unknown fraudsters 'sold' them a nonexistent batch of face masks. The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, says the item is mostly useless against Covid-19. | Face masks have become a precious commodity amid the global health crisis, with countries snatching shipments from under each other's noses, prices skyrocketing and many opting for homemade variants. Loath to miss an opportunity for profit, however, criminal minds have found ways to dip into the burgeoning market of face protection gear as well. | North Rhine-Westphalia, the most densely-…

RT (2020-04-08). UN suspends deployment and rotation of peacekeeping troops worldwide due to coronavirus pandemic. rt.com The United Nations has ordered its military and police forces across the globe to suspend rotation in an effort to mitigate the spread of the deadly coronavirus. | The suspension will stay in effect until June 30, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters on Tuesday. | "There is no movement of troops, coming in or out… A few, limited exceptions may be considered," Dujarric told CBS News. | The spokesperson explained that the order applies not only to formed military and police units, but to individual officers as well. | The UN currently has 13 active peacekeeping missi…

RT (2020-04-08). 'We have found more idiots': Piers Morgan slams Jose Mourinho as Spurs boss breaks isolation rules to train with players (PHOTOS). rt.com UK television host Piers Morgan has condemned Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho after he flouted coronavirus lockdown procedures to lead several Spurs players through a training session in a public park on Tuesday. | Mourinho was photographed with three of his players — Davinson Sanchez, Ryan Sessegnon and Tanguy Ndombele — as he conducted the impromptu session at Monken Hadley Common in Barnet in defiance of strict governmental social distancing rules designed to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus. | A video clip posted to social media shows Mourinho, who is wearing his Tottenham training gear, wa…

RT (2020-04-08). Number of coronavirus cases across 81 Russian regions rises by record 1,175 to 8,672. rt.com The number of novel coronavirus cases in Russia has risen by 1,175 over the past day — a record daily rise — reaching 8,672 in 81 regions, according to the crisis center. | Over the past day, 86 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering, the center said on Wednesday, adding that five patients had died. A total of 580 people have recovered in Russia to date. The total death toll in Russia is 63, officials said. | Separately, Russia's Consul-General in Harbin Vladimir Oschepkov told TASS on Wednesday that China's authorities would temporarily close the last operating passenger checkpo…

Eds. (2020-04-08). The Coronavirus is stirring the impulse to communism. mronline.org The Coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the most acute problems of our collective life, its main contradictions.

RT (2020-04-08). Lockdown in France should be extended for weeks, chief medical adviser says. rt.com France should extend its lockdown period for several weeks in order to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the chief of the medical council advising the government said on Wednesday. | Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government about how to handle the epidemic, also said on France Info radio that as many as 17 million French people are seriously at risk from coronavirus. | The country went into lockdown on March 17, and the measure has already been extended once to April 15. On April 2, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the lockdown would probably h…

Martin Hart-Landsberg (2020-04-08). The Green New Deal and the State: Lessons from World War II—Part I. mronline.org There is growing interest in a Green New Deal, but far too little discussion among supporters about the challenging nature of the required economic transformation, the necessary role of public planning and ownership in shaping it, or the strategies necessary to institutionalize a strong worker-community voice in the process and final outcome.

The Tricontinental (2020-04-08). Dossier 27: Popular agrarian reform and the struggle for land in Brazil. mronline.org The land question is central to understanding political life and society in Brazil. The country has enormous landed estates, known as latifundios, which have their roots in the beginning of the Portuguese occupation of this part of South America at the start of the 16th century. The Portuguese seizure of this land and its conversion …

Deirdre Griswold (2020-04-08). Rosemary Neidenberg: a long and valued life. workers.org Rosemary Neidenberg had reached the age of 99 before she died on March 29. But losing her then was still too soon and too sad for all her comrades, family and friends. Rosie was a treasure, a loving hug, an encyclopedia of past memories. She was beautiful in every way, . . . |

Karen J. Greenberg (2020-04-08). 6 Ways Trump Is Exploiting This Pandemic For Political Gain. thenation.com 6 Ways Trump Is Exploiting This Pandemic For Political Gain…

Be A Hero Fund, MoveOn (2020-04-08). Be A Hero: COVID-19 w/ Ady Barka, Rep. A. Ocasio-Cortez, & Rahna Epting of MoveOn. indybay.org Online via Zoom…

Mirinda Crissman (2020-04-08). Migrants in detention in Texas face COVID-19. workers.org Austin, Texas Migrants being held in detention in Texas have been facing abhorrent sanitary conditions in the detention facilities long before the coronavirus pandemic began. Now that the virus is here, and threatens to infect such a vulnerable and captive population at higher rates than the general population, many migrants . . . |

repost (2020-04-08). San Diego "Honk for Justice" Calls for the Release of people in ICE Detention. indybay.org 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.

Quiver Watts, Street Sheet (2020-04-08). San Francisco: Mayor Breed Opts for Mass Indoor Camps. indybay.org 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.

Stephen Lendman (2020-04-08). Prisons: Breeding Grounds for Disease. Julian Assange's Life in Danger. globalresearch.ca The US gulag prison system is the world's largest by far, the largely unreported in the mainstream shame of the nation. | Official numbers significantly understate the true number of incarcerated inmates annually. | According to a Prison Policy Initiative analysis, nearly …

WSWS (2020-04-08). Vindictive court rulings prove British state wants Assange dead. wsws.org Judge Vanessa Baraitser has decreed that Assange will remain behind bars and that his extradition show-trial will proceed in May, even as the coronavirus pandemic spreads rapidly in British prisons.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2020-04-08). Julian Assange and Lockdown Injustice. globalresearch.ca Scribes covering the Julian Assange case must surely gawk with a sense of horrified wonder at each proceeding unfolding at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Assange is in a battle that can only be described as titanic, seeking to …

Binoy Kampmark (2020-04-08). Julian Assange and Lockdown Injustice. dissidentvoice.org Scribes of the Julian Assange case must surely gawk with a sense of horrified wonder at each proceeding unfolding at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Assange is in a battle that can only be described as titanic, seeking to avoid the clutches of the US Justice Department, not to mention its legal system, and …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-04-08). 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.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-04-08). After the Lockdown: A Global Coronavirus Vaccination Program… globalresearch.ca The tendency is towards a Worldwide lockdown spearheaded by fear and media disinformation. Currently, hundreds of millions of people Worldwide are under lockdown. | What is the next step in the evolution of the COV-19 Crisis? A multibillion dollar coronavirus vaccination program to be implemented in the wake of the Lockdown.

Norman Solomon (2020-04-08). The Pandemic Makes the Bernie 2020 Campaign More Vital Than Ever. indybay.org Reasons to stay in the race are ample and solid…

Robert Norse & Keith McHenry (2020-04-08). Correcting the Sentinel's Latest Errors. indybay.org 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 .

Robert Norse (2020-04-08). Updates from Santa Cruz's Struggling Benchlands Meal & Santa Barbara's Peter Marin. indybay.org Santa Barbara activist Peter Marin blasts Santa Barbara's "Let 'Em Die: " Lack of Services. Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs activist Keith McHenry Calls for More Volunteers, Warns Local Authorities Violate CDC Safeguards for Those Outside…

Walden Bello (2020-04-08). Martin Khor: The Making of a Global Activist. zcomm.org The late Martin Khor united activists, officials, and thought leaders against trade and climate policies that plundered the Global South. Here's how his comrades remember him…

Alliance for Global Justice (2020-04-08). Open Letter to Condemn Trump Administration's Hypocritical Indictment on Drug Charges of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and High-Ranking Venezuelan Officials. globalresearch.ca We, the undersigned organizations and prominent individuals, condemn the false claims of criminal charges by the US government against the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other high-ranking officials with the pretext of their alleged involvement in international …

repost (2020-04-08). Venezuela Pres Maduro's Message to American people. indybay.org 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…

Stephen Lendman (2020-04-08). Corporate Buybacks Artificially Inflated Stock Prices to Bubble Levels. globalresearch.ca For many years on Wall Street, stock prices and true valuations diverged sharply — according to a Sanford Bernstein report. | When companies spend billions of dollars on earlier issued stock, their valuations are artificially inflated. | It's one of the performance …

Rick Baum (2020-04-08). When "Moderate" Democrats Lead the Ticket and Win, Down-Ballot Candidates Soon Suffer Losses. counterpunch.org Many mainstream Democrats claim if "democratic socialist" Sanders were their party's presidential nominee, many party candidates running in down-ballot races would lose in races they should win. They warn that a Sanders' led ticket could result in the Democrats not regaining control of the Senate and even losing their majority in the House along with

Lawrence Wittner (2020-04-08). The Coronavirus Pandemic, Like Other Global Catastrophes, Reveals the Limitations of Nationalism. dissidentvoice.org We live with a profound paradox. Our lives are powerfully affected by worldwide economic, communications, transportation, food supply, and entertainment systems. Yet we continue an outdated faith in the nation-state, with all the divisiveness, competition, and helplessness that faith produces when dealing with planetary problems. As we have seen in recent weeks, the coronavirus, like …

Steve Kelly (2020-04-08). Montana Ballot Access Decision Suppresses Green Party Voters. counterpunch.org In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court held that unequal distribution requirements for statewide petitions violate the Fourteenth Amendment. Again in 1970, citing the 1969 Illinois case, the SCOTUS struck down New York's distribution requirements. Distribution requirements give voters in some geographical areas more power than voters residing in other areas in blatant disregard for a

Bill Lueders (2020-04-08). The Cruel Truth Behind Wisconsin's Uncancelled Election. progressive.org State Republicans exploited the coronavirus crisis in an effort to elect a state Supreme Court candidate who objects to the idea of government helping people in need.

Dr. Jean-Claude Maswana (2020-04-08). COVID-19 in Democratic Republic of the Congo (CRC): Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst. globalresearch.ca This week I spoke to Congolese native Jean-Claude Maswana, economics professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, about COVID-19 in DRC. | ANN GARRISON: Jean-Claude, reporting on your homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is always daunting. It's not …

WSWS (2020-04-08). US deal with Taliban breaks down while coronavirus spreads in Afghanistan. wsws.org The Taliban has withdrawn from talks with the crisis-ridden Kabul regime over its failure to act on a prisoner release agreement brokered by Washington.

South Front (2020-04-08). Video: US Confirms Deployment of Patriot Missiles in Iraq. Iran Prepares for Conflict in Strait of Hormuz. globalresearch.ca On April 5, a series of large explosions rocked the village of al-Kastan in southwestern Idlib injuring 8 people, including 3 members of the so-called White Helmets. According to local sources, an ammunition depot located in the civilian area inside …

South Front (2020-04-08). Video: Infighting Among Turkish Proxies Erupts in Syria. Rocket Strike Hits US-operated Oil Facility in Iraq. globalresearch.ca Infighting among Turkish-backed groups has erupted near the town of Ras al-Ayn. According to local sources, conflicts over the captured houses and looted properties became the main reason of the conflict between members of the Sultan Murad armed group which …

Michael K. Smith (2020-04-08). Billionaire "Job Creators" and the Keyboard Revolutionaries Who Enable Their Candidates. dissidentvoice.org Capitalism's "invisible hand" gives us the middle finger with ever more contempt these days. With the national unemployment rate soaring to Depression-era levels and beyond, the self-proclaimed "job creators" of our glorious free-market paradise are now drowning in gluttonous excess from sucking the tit of the "Nanny State" they allegedly abhor. While workers are prohibited …

Gareth Porter (2020-04-08). As Washington Privatized Pandemic Preparation, the National Security State Left Americans Defenseless Against Coronavirus. globalresearch.ca Responsibility for pandemic preparation was privatized under the Obama and Trump administrations. It's time to face down the national security state that wasted trillions on imperial wars and abandoned Americans to fight coronavirus alone. | *** | Donald Trump's failure to …

Robert Fisk (2020-04-08). Biden Says He 'Doesn't Have Enough Information' on Iran to Have a View. zcomm.org How Odd, He Negotiated the Nuclear Deal…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-08). Mehran border to remain closed by Apr. 19: IRICA. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 07 (MNA) — Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Rouhollah Latifi announced on Wednesday that Iran-Iraq Mehran joint border will not resume operation until April 19, due to the request of the Iraqi side.

Last Process: 50 Citations: 2020-04-08 14:26 GMT (10:26 EST)