Author Archives: admin

2020-03-27: Social Media Postees

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

[World Report] Venezuelan migrants "struggling to survive" amid COVID-19
Joe Parkin Daniels | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Humanitarian organisations are concerned that border closures and health-care shortages are amplifying the challenges posed by COVID-19. Joe Parkin Daniels reports from Bogotá.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30718-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Reduction in global alcohol-attributable harm unlikely after setback at WHO Executive Board
Sally Casswell, Jàºrgen Rehm | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
A decision emerged after many hours of informal consultation at the WHO Executive Board in February, 2020, on the next steps for global governance of harmful use of alcohol. Clear evidence of increased alcohol consumption and attributable harm in many low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs),1 and predictions of more harm to come if effective policy is not adopted,2 led a group of representatives from LMICs to propose a working group "to review and propose the feasibility of developing an international instrument for alcohol control".
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30476-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] PrEP finally approved on NHS in England
Tony Kirby | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
After years of wrangling, pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention will finally be available on the National Health Service in England. Tony Kirby reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30720-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] Building on the PrEP victory
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
On March 15, the UK Department of Health and Social Care announced funding to make pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication available on the National Health Service in England for HIV prevention. This decision will be met, finally, with a sense of achievement by HIV activists and care providers, who have fought long and hard to make tenofovir-based PrEP drugs widely accessible in the UK, 8 years after the US Food and Drug Administration approved them and more than 4 years after WHO recommended their use for people at high risk of acquiring HIV.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30688-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] WHO launches crowdfund for COVID-19 response
Ann Danaiya Usher | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
For the first time, WHO is asking the general public and private donors for support. The project is a test run for the WHO Foundation, to be launched later this year. Ann Danaiya Usher reports.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30719-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] Leadership bid
Aarathi Prasad | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
The Perfect Candidate, director Haifaa Al-Mansour's second film based in Saudi Arabia, opens with a scene of an old man on a stretcher, bloodied and groaning after a collision with a truck brings him to the only emergency room in the area. Once the under-resourced clinic staff have heaved him through the only route into the building–a mud-clogged and flooded road–he opens his eyes to what for him is an even greater horror: the face of the only doctor qualified to treat him. Through her niqab, a pair of determined eyes examine him, as Dr Maryam expertly turns the patient's body to palpate his spine.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30637-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] Leadership changes at USAID
Susan Jaffe | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Mark Green, the respected head of the US Agency for International Development, has resigned. Susan Jaffe reports from Washington.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30721-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] COVID-19 cacophony: is there any orchestra conductor?
Antoine Flahault | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
The first wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently invading the world, and several countries are now struggling to fight it or trying to delay its start to help smooth its peak size for the purpose of lowering morbidity and mortality, and thereby reduce the overall tension on their health-care system. China's first major outbreaks of COVID-19 happened in January, 2020. Then South Korea, Iran, and Italy entered into this Ravel's Bolero-like epidemic in late February and early March, 2020, and many other countries are preparing to play the same rhythmic pattern in the coming days and weeks.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30491-8/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Why WHO needs a feminist economic agenda
Asha Herten-Crabb, Sara E Davies | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
In September, 2019, Alan Donnelly and Ilona Kickbusch called for a chief economist at WHO.1 Such a position, they argued, would enable WHO to better advocate for greater recognition of, and thus action on, the interdependency of health and the economy. We support this proposal: recognition of the interdependence of health and the economy is vital for WHO to achieve its mandate: "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health…without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition".
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30110-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Offline: COVID-19 and the NHS–"a national scandal"
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
"When this is all over, the NHS England board should resign in their entirety." So wrote one National Health Service (NHS) health worker last weekend. The scale of anger and frustration is unprecedented, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the cause. The UK Government's Contain–Delay–Mitigate–Research strategy failed. It failed, in part, because ministers didn't follow WHO's advice to "test, test, test" every suspected case. They didn't isolate and quarantine. They didn't contact trace. These basic principles of public health and infectious disease control were ignored, for reasons that r…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30727-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] Despair, democracy, and the failures of American capitalism
Michael Marmot | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
A third of the children who used to ride the number 6 bus to school in Yamhill, OR, USA, in the 1970s died before their time, mostly by suicide or from drugs, alcohol, or reckless accidents. Nicholas Kristof, columnist for The New York Times, is one of the survivors. He recalls one family of five siblings, four of whom succumbed as adults: Farlan died of liver failure from drink and drugs; Rogena died of hepatitis linked to drug use; Zealan burned to death in a house fire while passed out drunk; and Nathan blew himself up cooking meth.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30640-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] COVID-19: learning from experience
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Over the past 2 weeks, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has marched relentlessly westward. On March 13, WHO said that Europe was now the centre of the pandemic. A few days later, deaths in Italy surpassed those in China. Iran and Spain had also reported over 1000 deaths as of March 23, and many other European countries and the USA reported increasing numbers of cases, heralding an imminent wave of fatalities. Following the sweep of COVID-19 is a series of dramatic containment measures that reflect the scale of the threat posed by the pandemic.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30686-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] The suffragette surgeons of Endell Street
Wendy Moore | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
When war swept through Europe in August, 1914, more than 1000 medical men were mobilised with the British Army to France and several hundred more male doctors signed up to support the Allied war effort. Dozens of British women doctors volunteered their services too. On Aug 14, 1914, just 10 days after Britain declared war on Germany, the UK's Association of Registered Medical Women compiled a list of more than 60 members who declared themselves "willing to serve". Yet their help was bluntly declined.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30641-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] Learning the lessons of Chernobyl: time is running out
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
Unit number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986, causing radiation injuries to hundreds of people within a couple of weeks. High levels of radiation affected clean-up workers (liquidators) involved in the emergency response, more than 500‚Äà000 liquidators involved in later decontamination and containment, and the general population in the surrounding Soviet states. 116‚Äà000 people were evacuated, 220‚Äà000 were permanently relocated, and a 30 km exclusion zone still exists around the plant.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30687-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] The suffragette surgeons of Endell Street
Wendy Moore | thelancet.com | 2020-03-28
When war swept through Europe in August, 1914, more than 1000 medical men were mobilised with the British Army to France and several hundred more male doctors signed up to support the Allied war effort. Dozens of British women doctors volunteered their services too. On Aug 14, 1914, just 10 days after Britain declared war on Germany, the UK's Association of Registered Medical Women compiled a list of more than 60 members who declared themselves "willing to serve". Yet their help was bluntly declined.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30641-3/fulltext?rss=yes

Trump's "Get back to work" demagogy aids the spread of the pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-28
Amidst an expanding pandemic, which is still in its early stages, the Trump administration is intensifying its efforts to force a return to work, which would endanger the lives of millions of workers.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/pers-m28.html

Rep. Omar Blasts Trump's "American Exceptionalism" as US Leads in COVID-19 Cases
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-27
As much of the United States is under lockdown, the House votes today on a $2 trillion emergency relief package to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It will generate payments to most Americans and includes protections for workers, but it is also a massive bailout for a number of industries and corporations, and the vote comes as a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. We speak with Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American electe…
truthout.org/video/rep-omar-blasts-trumps-american-exceptionalism-as-us-leads-in-covid-19-cases/

U.S. Is #1 in Pandemic: Rep. Omar Blasts Trump for "Wrong Kind of American Exceptionalism"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-27
As much of the United States is under lockdown, the House votes today on a $2 trillion emergency relief package to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It will generate payments to most Americans and includes protections for workers, but it is also a massive bailout for a number of industries and corporations, and the vote comes as a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. We speak with Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the first Muslim women in Congress, about the bill, Trump's response t…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/27/rep_ilhan_omar_coronavirus_relief_bill

Turkey evacuates hundreds of migrants from Greek border amid virus pandemic
rt.com | 2020-03-27
Ankara has sent some 6,000 migrants waiting at the Turkish-Greek border to cross into the European Union to cities inside the country, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the Interior Ministry. The move was part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. | Migrants waiting at the border crossing in Edirne province were transported in buses to state guest houses where they would be quarantined, Anadolu news agency reported. They would be moved to other regions in Turkey at the end of the quarantine, it added. | Thousands of migrants had massed at a border crossing with European Union-member Greece after T…
rt.com/newsline/484320-turkey-evacuates-migrants-border/

Migrants in California Are Unprotected Against Covid-19 Effects
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Friday denounced that migrants in California are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19 because they lack legal protections. | RELATED: | US Senate Passes $2 Trillion Bill to Front COVID-19 Crisis | A survey of 1,222 Latin Americans, which this NGO carried out between March 12 and 14, revealed that the Covid-19 has worsened the situation of immigrants. | For this reason, CHIRLA asked the Californian authorities to include immigran…
telesurenglish.net/news/us–immigrants-in-california-alone-facing-covid-19-20200327-0006.html

Migrants in Hawaii care for the elderly, the aloha way
news.un.org | 2020-03-27
Migrants are playing an increasingly important role in the provision of health care around the world. The number of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who move from developing countries to take up posts in developed countries is expected to rise as the global population of older persons and children continues to grow.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060152

DOJ Seeks to Exploit Coronavirus Emergency to Detain People Indefinitely
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-27
Throughout U.S. history, presidents have exploited national emergencies to exceed their constitutional powers. Abraham Lincoln illegally suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. Franklin D. Roosevelt confined people of Japanese descent in internment camps during World War II. And George W. Bush used his post-9/11 "war on terror" to launch two illegal wars, mount a program of torture, conduct extensive unlawful surveillance and illegally detain people. | In light of Donald Trump's national em…
truthout.org/articles/doj-seeks-to-exploit-coronavirus-emergency-to-detain-people-indefinitely/

Doctors "Strongly Condemn" UK Decision to Keep Assange Imprisoned During COVID-19 Pandemic
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-27
Assange's treatment in the UK's Belmarsh Prison has been so poor that convicted murderers and other high-security inmates had to stage a mass protest to secure his transfer to the hospital wing.
mintpressnews.com/doctors-condemn-uk-decision-keep-assange-imprisoned-during-coronavirus/266112/

COVID-19 Coronavirus: The Crisis
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Michel Chossudovsky discusses his new series of research articles on the "pandemic" including, " COVID-19 Coronavirus "Fake" Pandemic: Timeline and Analysis" and " Coronavirus COVID-19: "Made in China" or "Made in America"?, among others. A blockbuster show! | Now …
globalresearch.ca/covid-19-coronavirus-crisis/5706741

We won't go back to normal, because normal was the problem
Vijay Prashad | mronline.org | 2020-03-27
It is hard to remember that just a few weeks ago, the planet was in motion. There were protests in Delhi (India) and Quito (Ecuador), eruptions against the old order that ranged from anger at the economic policies of austerity and neoliberalism to frustration with the cultural policies of misogyny and racism. Ingeniously, in Santiago …
mronline.org/2020/03/27/we-wont-go-back-to-normal-because-normal-was-the-problem/

The Italian war-like measures to fight coronavirus spreading: Re-open closed hospitals now
Alessandro Miani, Ernesto Burgio, Prisco Piscitelli, Renato Lauro, Annamaria Colao | thelancet.com | 2020-03-27
As recently highlighted by The Lancet, the Covid-19 outbreak started in Northern Italy has shocked Europe, while it has been questioned if China benefits from an authoritarian advantage in disease response [1,2]. In Italy, after the shutdown of the educational system (schools and Universities will remain closed at least for one month) and the collapse of the touristic sector (90% of travels and reservations cancelled), the Government officially locked down residents of all the region of Milan (Lombardia) and other 11 provinces.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30064-X/fulltext?rss=yes

Tulsi Gabbard Falls on Her Sword: America's Leading Antiwar Voice Is Destroyed by Hillary
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
In American politics, it is not often that one sees an assassination carried out in public, but that is exactly what the Democratic Party establishment did to peace candidate Tulsi Gabbard. She was sidelined right from the beginning of …
globalresearch.ca/tulsi-gabbard-falls-her-sword-america-leading-antiwar-voice-destroyed-hillary/5707766

Webinar: Coronavirus: Time to End US Sanctions on Iran
Peace Action Massachusetts | indybay.org | 2020-03-27
Online webinar via ZOOM…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/25/18831820.php

Webinar: Decarceration in the time of COVID – 19 with Ivette Ale from JusticeLA
San Jose Peace & Justice Center | indybay.org | 2020-03-27
Online event…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/25/18831822.php

Lockerbie's Only Convict May be Exonerated Posthumously
Dr. Mustafa Fetouri | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
The only man to be convicted of the infamous Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, died in 2012 and protested his innocence until his final breath. His fellow Libyan and co-defendant, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted and is still living …
globalresearch.ca/lockerbie-only-convict-may-exonerated-posthumously/5707798

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2020-03-27
Amazon workers in France, metalworkers in Italy, postal workers in Britain and doctors in Zimbabwe are among those taking job action to protest lack of adequate safety measures in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/work-m27.html

Uruguay: Cuts in Public Wages to Finance the 'Coronavirus Fund'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Thursday announced cuts to public officials' cuts and pensions to finance the "Coronavirus Fund", which is intended to pay for the treatment of Covid-19 patients and medical supplies. | RELATED: | Uruguay: Educators Protest Against President Lacalle's Bill | That decision implies a cut of 20 percent of the salaries of the president and his ministers. | The remuneration of legislators and directors of public institutions will be reduced in equal magnitude.
telesurenglish.net/news/Uruguay-lacalle-implements-economic-measures-facing-covid-19-20200327-0003.html

Uruguay: Cuts in Public Wages to Finance the 'Coronavirus Fund'
telesurenglish.net | 2020-03-27
Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Thursday announced cuts to public officials' cuts and pensions to finance the "Coronavirus Fund", which is intended to pay for the treatment of Covid-19 patients and medical supplies. | RELATED: | Uruguay: Educators Protest Against President Lacalle's Bill | That decision implies a cut of 20 percent of the salaries of the president and his ministers. | The remuneration of legislators and directors of public institutions will be reduced in equal magnitude.
telesurenglish.net/news/Uruguay-lacalle-implements-economic-measures-facing-covid-19-20200327-0003.html

Australia's imprisoned refugees plead for release as coronavirus risk increases
wsws.org | 2020-03-27
Detainees have protested at being held "in a potential death trap in which we have no option or means to protect ourselves."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/aref-m27.html

The Senate's Coronavirus Relief Package Must be Stopped!
Mike Whitney | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
The Senate's $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package is not fiscal stimulus and it's not a lifeline for the tens of millions of working people who have suddenly lost their jobs. It's a fundamental restructuring of the US economy designed to …
globalresearch.ca/senate-coronavirus-relief-package-must-stopped/5707727

"I Will Not Kill My Mother for Your Stock Portfolio"
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-27
despite his repeated reference to the battle against COVID-19 as a "war" against a "vicious invisible enemy," Trump has so far refused to follow the pleas of public health experts, mayors, and governors for him to invoke the Defense Production Act. The legislation empowers the White House to order corporations to convert production over to manufacture of items needed to fight the war: masks, medical gowns, ventilators, respirators, test-kits, hospital beds and the like.
counterpunch.org/2020/03/27/i-will-not-kill-my-mother-for-your-stock-portfolio/

Western Media Focusses On Big Pharma's Search for a Coronavirus Vaccine While Suppressing Coverage of High Dose Intravenus Vitamin C to Save Lives in China
Dr. Leon Tressell | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Not a day passes without some hyped up media story of how big-pharma is racing to the rescue of humanity with its search for a coronavirus vaccine. There are over 40 companies now searching for a vaccine. Collectively they are …
globalresearch.ca/western-media-talks-big-pharma-search-coronavirus-vaccine-ignoring-use-high-dose-vitamin-c-save-lives-china/5707750

When Home Isn't Safe: Shelter-in-Place Is Putting Domestic Violence Survivors in a "Dire Situation"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-27
As schools shut, public spaces close, and all but essential workers are ordered to stay indoors under shelter-in-place orders across the U.S. and globe, domestic violence services are scrambling to help vulnerable people navigate home lives that they say are increasingly unsafe during the pandemic. What happens when you're trapped at home with your abuser? "This is really a dire situation for a lot of victims across the country," says Katie Ray-Jones, chief executive officer of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and loveisrespect.
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/27/domestic_violence_coronavirus_katie_ray_jones

"Total System Failure": Congress Pushes $2 Trillion Pandemic Bill. Will Dems Allow "Corporate Coup"?
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-27
We continue our look at the massive $2 trillion coronavirus relief package

Media Repeat Phony Trump Regime Narco-Terrorism Charges against Maduro
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Establishment media never miss an opportunity to set the record straight on major issues. | Instead they consistently proliferate state-sponsored Big Lies about designed US adversaries. | The latest exercise in Trump regime mass deception is directed against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro…
globalresearch.ca/media-repeat-phony-trump-regime-narco-terrorism-charges-against-maduro/5707753

Bernie Sanders Voted for Corporate Bailout Bill. "Hand Outs" to Big Money, Crumbs for Ordinary Americans
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Make no mistake. Legislation that should be called the GOP/Dem-Don't-Care/CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is a corporate bailout bill with crumbs for ordinary Americans. | It's a bandaid approach to a public health emergency/economic crisis, the latter mostly …
globalresearch.ca/bernie-sanders-voted-corporate-bailout-bill/5707757

Venezuela Dismisses US Justice Department 'Narco-terrorism' Accusations
Lucas Koerner | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected US drug trafficking accusations against his person and senior members of his government. | In a televised address Thursday evening, Maduro blasted the State Department's "racist cowboy methods" of offering money for information leading to his …
globalresearch.ca/venezuela-dismisses-us-justice-department-narco-terrorism-accusations/5707786

With a Quarter of the World's Population Under US Sanctions, Countries Appeal to UN to Intervene
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-03-27
Eight countries, representing around one-quarter of all humanity, say that Washington's actions are undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the planet.
mintpressnews.com/coronavirus-quarter-worlds-population-under-us-sanctions-appeal-to-un/266096/

Nationalize the Airlines
Paris Marx | zcomm.org | 2020-03-27
The airline industry will not survive the coronavirus. Now is the time to nationalize it

Whither Coronavirus? When Will It End and What Will Happen Along the Way
Philip Giraldi | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
The coronavirus story has generated a number of major subplots. | First is the origin of the virus. Did it occur naturally or was it created in a Chinese, American or Israeli weapons lab? If bioengineered, did it somehow escape or …
globalresearch.ca/coronavirus-when-end-what-happen-along-way/5707717

What Trump is Doing in the Middle East While You are Distracted by COVID-19
Robert Fisk | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-27
And still the virus shrouds Donald Trump's mischief in the Middle East. First it was his sly retreat from Iraq; now it's his cosy military exercises with the United Arab Emirates

Bolsonaro Needs Help to Overcome Coronavirus Pandemic Despite Loyalty to Trump
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro after weeks of downplaying the potential seriousness of the coronavirus is beginning to lose popularity for his irrationality, especially since describing the coronavirus as a "fantasy" and a "minor flu." While all South American countries, with …
globalresearch.ca/bolsonaro-needs-help-overcome-coronavirus-pandemic-despite-loyalty-trump/5707520

Montenegro Being Accelerated to the European Union in a Face-saving Regime
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Italians furious at the lack of help and solidarity from the European Union began removing flags of the Union throughout the country and replaced them with Chinese and Russian ones. As this is happening in a long-time member of the …
globalresearch.ca/montenegro-accelerated-european-union-face-saving-regime/5707759

Bolsonaro Needs Help to Overcome Coronavirus Pandemic Despite Loyalty to Trump
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro after weeks of downplaying the potential seriousness of the coronavirus is beginning to lose popularity for his irrationality, especially since describing the coronavirus as a "fantasy" and a "minor flu." While all South American countries, with …
globalresearch.ca/bolsonaro-needs-help-overcome-coronavirus-pandemic-despite-loyalty-trump/5707520

BJP and Israel: Hindu Nationalism is Ravaging India's Democracy
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-03-27
It was only a matter of time before the anti-Muslim sentiment in India turned violent. A country that has historically prided itself on its diversity and tolerance, and for being 'the largest democracy in the world' has, in recent years, exhibited the exact opposite qualities

Last Process: 50 Postees: 2020-03-27 22:43 GMT (18:43 EST)

2020-03-26: News Headlines

Andre Vltchek (2020-03-26). Eight Day Journey from Hong Kong to Chile, Covid-19 on my Tail. dissidentvoice.org Imagine that you are in Hong Kong, in a city where "you are actually not supposed to be", in the first place. You are ready to go home, to South America. But just two days before your departure, via Seoul and Amsterdam, your first Sky Team carrier, Korean Air, unceremoniously decides to cancel all flights …

RT (2020-03-26). (Cheesecake) Factory workers unite! Netizens cheer after California-based eatery says it won't pay rent amid virus-induced slump. rt.com While many imagined revolution might arise from a factory, few thought the Cheesecake Factory would fit the bill, but the firm has inspired scores of netizens after refusing to pay its landlords, some vowing to join in solidarity. | As Covid-19 brings swathes of the US economy to a standstill, workers and businesses alike have taken a beating, many facing layoffs and closed doors as the pandemic sweeps the country. The downturn has prompted the Cheesecake Factory — based out of California, among the states hit hardest by the virus — to declare that its landlords won't see a dollar when bills come due…

RT (2020-03-26). Covid-19 deaths pass 4,000 in Spain as Europe passes chilling 250,000 mark of those infected. rt.com Spain has reported a sharp rise in fatalities from coronavirus since the outbreak began. The overall number of infections has also soared by more than 8,000 over the past 24 hours, officials revealed.

RT (2020-03-26). Moscow bans all regular, charter flights starting March 27, except those bringing Russians home. rt.com The Russian government is banning all regular and charter international flights starting Friday, except those bringing citizens home, as part of measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. | . | Russia's aerial borders will go on lockdown starting Friday, so far without a resumption date. | The cabinet also requested that the Foreign Ministry assist Russian citizens abroad until their return home. Russian embassies around the world will receive additional funds to provide support. | So far, 652 Covid-19 cases have been registered in Russia, with more than half of those infected in Moscow. | The ban on flig…

RT (2020-03-26). First of its kind 'Virtual G20': Can world leaders agree on a global response to Covid-19 with online diplomacy? rt.com Heads of state will meet for a 'Virtual G20' summit in a few hours to work out a global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes as markets crash, supply chains falter, and a worldwide economic downturn looms. | For the first time in history, there will be no government planes touching down in the host city, no police blocking roads, no hotels full to the brim with the bodyguards of world leaders — and no anti-globalist protesters lining the streets. | The question is — can an online meeting really work to deliver solutions? | Creative alternative: | A traditional in-person summit was or…

RT (2020-03-26). Moscow shuts down all non-essential shops & restaurants to stop spread of Covid-19. rt.com All restaurants, cafes, and shops, except food stores, will be closed in the Russia capital from March 28 to April 5. The mayor also advised Muscovites to refrain from visiting places of worship amid the Covid-19 epidemic. | Restaurants and cafes will still be able to provide take-away food and delivery service, the order by Mayor Sergey Sobyanin read. | The restrictions also include barber shops, spas, massage parlors, as well as baths and saunas. | Access to parks, including Gorky Park and the All-Russian Exhibition Center, will be barred during the upcoming week due to the epidemic. | "I understand the feel…

RT (2020-03-26). US coronavirus deaths top 1,000 as the country waits for $2.2 trillion economic rescue package. rt.com Deaths from Covid-19 have surpassed 1,000, according to a widely-cited tally, a worrying benchmark in the ongoing health crisis as Washington rushes to provide economic relief to the country's battered economy. | The United States saw its 1,000th fatality on Wednesday night, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases have also continued to grow, reaching more than 69,000 by Thursday. The US reported its first case of the virus at the end of February. | The milestone coincided with a unanimous vote in the Senate to pass a $2.2 trillion bill designed to provide badly-needed economic aid to the countr…

RT (2020-03-26). US military confirms 1st Covid-19 case INSIDE Pentagon after Marine tests positive. rt.com A US Marine has become the first confirmed carrier of the coronavirus within the Pentagon's walls, with the US military announcing that a serviceman has gone into self-isolation after testing positive this week. | The officer's test for Covid-19 came back positive earlier this week, Captain Monica Witt, a spokesman for the US Marine Corps, confirmed Wednesday, according to Defense One. | The Marine is believed to have contracted the deadly illness sweeping through all 50 American states from his spouse, who was displaying flu-like symptoms. Assigned to the plans, policy and operations office of the Marine Corp…

RT (2020-03-26). 'Covid-19 could be seasonal': Fauci warns coronavirus is likely to return in 'CYCLES', stresses need for vaccine. rt.com Even if the US and other nations battling Covid-19 succeed in beating it back, the illness may return in yearly cycles, warned Anthony Fauci, a top expert on the US coronavirus task force, urging for the fast rollout of a vaccine.

RT (2020-03-26). US braces for SHOCKING unemployment numbers as jobless claims could reach 4 MILLION. rt.com The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is set to climb to historic highs after claims in Canada crushed the previous weekly record as Covid-19 brings businesses to a standstill. | New unemployment data is expected to reflect how hard the US economy has been hit by the Covid-19 outbreak. The minimum number of initial claims amounts to 250,000, according to a Reuters poll, while economists predict that the number of filings for last week could range from one to four million. | That would make the number of jobless claims higher than during the 2009 financial crisis or the 1982 recession. | Also…

RT (2020-03-26). 'All new trips between cities are banned': Iran shuts down internal travel to fight Covid-19. rt.com An intercity travel ban has now entered into force in Iran as the Middle East's worst-hit country fears another wave of coronavirus cases, with violators facing legal repercussions. | Hossein Zolfaghari, a member of Iran's national HQ for tackling coronavirus, said that those travelling for Iranian New Year celebrations should "immediately return to their cities without making any stop in the cities on their way back home." | Iran has already shut down schools, universities, and suspended gatherings, but after largely unsuccessful measures, the government revealed that it would bring in harsher restrictions.

RT (2020-03-26). London hospitals facing 'tsunami' of Covid-19 patients, likely to be overwhelmed in days — hospitals chief. rt.com Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, is sounding the alarm that hospitals in London may collapse within days due to a "continuous tsunami" of Covid-19 patients, despite increasing critical care capacity sevenfold. | "They are struggling with the explosion of demand in seriously ill patients. They are saying it's the number arriving and the speed with which they are arriving and how ill they are. They talk about wave after wave after wave," Hopson told BBC Radio 4's Today program. | "The words that are used to me are that it's a continuous tsunami." | NHS Providers is a group which represents hos…

RT (2020-03-26). Iran's coronavirus death toll reaches 2,234 with 157 new fatalities. rt.com Covid-19 has now killed 2,234 people in Iran, with 29,406 infected, the health authorities said, as the country remains the worst-hit by the disease in the Middle East.

RT (2020-03-26). Germany has 4,954 new Covid-19 cases & 49 deaths — RKI Health Institute. rt.com Nearly 5,000 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute has reported. Forty-nine fatalities over the past 24 hours have brought the death toll to 198. | The number of confirmed cases increased by 4,954 to 36,508 on Thursday. From Tuesday to Wednesday, Germany recorded 4,118 new cases and 35 deaths, according to the health institute. | Germany imposed strict lockdown measures last week in an effort to contain the virus. It currently has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases in Europe, second only to Italy and Spain. | Cases worldwide have surpassed 470,000, with m…

RT (2020-03-26). Russia confirms 182 new Covid-19 cases, bringing total to 840. rt.com Russia has 182 new cases of coronavirus, according to the country's official tally. Most of the new cases were recorded in Moscow. This, as Russia shutters international flights to stop the spread of the virus. | The new infections bring the nation's tally to 840. The vast majority of the new cases, 136, were reported in Moscow. | The Russian government announced on Thursday that it would ban all regular and charter international flights starting Friday. Only flights bringing citizens home from abroad will be allowed. | Non-essential businesses in the Russian capital, including restaurants and cafes, will be c…

Eds. (2020-03-26). Unions welcome government's decision to renationalise rail services. mronline.org However it should not have taken a pandemic to bring rail back into public ownership, trade unionists say.

RT (2020-03-26). G20 leaders to convene remotely, discuss coronavirus pandemic, economic impacts. rt.com Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video link on Thursday about combating the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts. Global infections top 471,000 with more than 21,000 dead, according to Reuters. | G20 finance ministers and central bankers agreed this week to develop an "action plan" to respond to the outbreak, which the International Monetary Fund expects will trigger a global recession. Few details, however, have been offered so far. | World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will address the leaders to seek support for ramping up funding and prod…

Colin Leys (2020-03-26). How market reforms made the NHS vulnerable to pandemics. mronline.org A 2014 report warned that reforms to the NHS would make it vulnerable to pandemics — by making staff redundant, undermining public health and defining spare capacity as waste. It was ignored.

RT (2020-03-26). Global stock markets down on expectations of negative US jobs data. rt.com Global market sentiment has declined ahead of the latest US jobless claims data that is expected to show a massive spike in unemployment claims after businesses stateside shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. | Some experts suggest record unemployment numbers in the US, with Citi as the most bearish, projecting roughly four million claims. | The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.5 percent in early trade on Thursday, with basic resources tumbling 2.7 percent to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses plunged into negative territory. | Britain's FTSE 100 index shed almost three percent a…

RT (2020-03-26). Troubled F-35 becomes latest coronavirus casualty after Pentagon puts the brakes on further tests. rt.com Tests being carried out on the delayed and over-budget F-35 have been suspended as part of a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Pentagon has announced. The fighter plane has already suffered a string of pricey setbacks. | Activities necessary to complete the F-35's operational test phase have been halted at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which has shut its doors to all non-essential personnel. | Flight tests have been indefinitely paused, but "select lab and ground test activities are ongoing," said Brandi Schiff, a spokesperson for the F-35 joint program office. | The setback could also mark…

RT (2020-03-26). Senate passes $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill bogged down by days of partisan wrangling. rt.com US senators have passed a much-delayed $2 trillion stimulus bill, aimed at bolstering the economy while the country is rattled by coronavirus lockdowns. The mammoth package was approved after days of bitter partisan fighting. | Senators moved to vote on the bill late Wednesday night after the last hurdle preventing its passage — an amendment put forward by four Republican senators to curb the legislation's generous unemployment provisions — was eliminated, failing to gain the necessary 60 yeas. | Despite the days of political tug-of-war over the legislation, it was passed unanimously in the end, 96-0…

RT (2020-03-26). Russia's unexpected advantage in the oil price war. rt.com The global economic downturn due to coronavirus and the breakup of OPEC+ has sent the ruble tumbling, which could give Russia an unexpected advantage in the oil price war. | While the ruble is now at its lowest level against the dollar in four years, the cheaper ruble has a silver lining for Russia's oil producers in the oil price war for market share with Saudi Arabia. The collapse of the OPEC+ deal and oil prices has hit Russia's financial markets and currency, leading to a sharp drop in the ruble versus the US dollar. The lower the ruble slides against the US dollar, the lower the production costs of Russia…

WSWS (2020-03-26). First immigrant in ICE custody tests positive for coronavirus in New Jersey. wsws.org This development highlights the criminal lack of basic sanitation that the Trump administration maintains in immigrant detention centers, as well as the ruling class' callous disregard for public health.

Conn Hallinan (2020-03-26). The Corona Virus & Immigration. zcomm.org How Austerity and Anti-immigrant Politics Left Italy Exposed…

news.un (2020-03-26). Helping migrant shipwreck survivors to deal with trauma. news.un.org Every year, migrants embarking on sea-crossings see their journey end in tragedy: those who survive and return home can struggle to cope with daily life, and need support. To help migrant returnees, the UN has a range of programs aimed at tackling the mental health side-effects of trauma.

WSWS (2020-03-26). Julian Assange's bail request denied despite coronavirus risk. wsws.org Judge Vanessa Baraitser's refusal came amid mounting calls for the release of vulnerable, low-risk prisoners from the UK's overcrowded and woefully unprepared prison systems during the coronavirus crisis.

Vijay Prashad — Suban Dennis (2020-03-26). An Often Overlooked Region of India is a Beacon to the World for Taking on the Coronavirus. counterpunch.org K.K. Shailaja is the health minister in the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the state in the southwest of India that has a population of 35 million people. On January 25, 2020, she convened a high-level meeting to discuss the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. What had particularly worried her is that there

Ajit Singh (2020-03-26). "Forced labor" stories on China brought to you by US government, NATO and arms industry to drive Cold War PR blitz. thegrayzone.com A new wave of media reports on Chinese forced labor relies almost entirely on a series of dubious studies by…

Peace Action Massachusetts (2020-03-26). Webinar: Coronavirus: Time to End US Sanctions on Iran. indybay.org Online webinar via ZOOM…

San Jose Peace & Justice Center (2020-03-26). Webinar: Decarceration in the time of COVID – 19 with Ivette Ale from JusticeLA. indybay.org Online event…

WSWS (2020-03-26). Strikes, protests spread as US workers demand protection from COVID-19. wsws.org Even as Trump rushes to resume full production, tens of thousands of workers in the US and around the world are refusing to die for the sake of corporate profits.

Peter Crowley (2020-03-26). The Shit Has Hit the Fan: Shut the Country Down to Save Lives. counterpunch.org All my life fear is all I've heard. Fear the immigrant, Muslims, foreignness, black people protesting, black athletes kneeling during the Anthem, germs, foreign travel to non-Western countries, terrorism, etc., etc. Before 9/11, as a teen in the late 1990s, it was fear of marijuana, public welfare abuse and, as always, inclement weather. There is

Ali Abunimah (2020-03-26). West Bank woman is first Palestinian to die from COVID-19. zcomm.org Israel has not eased up on its abuses of Palestinians despite the pandemic. In one shocking incident on Monday, a Palestinian laborer with flu-like symptoms and a fever was dumped at a West Bank checkpoint by Israeli police…

Ted Rall (2020-03-26). What the Government Must Do Now About Coronavirus. counterpunch.org Americans don't expect much from their government. But even by the standards of a nation with one of the flimsiest social safety nets in the Western world, the inability and unwillingness of both major political parties to manage and solve the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic is shocking. President Trump's lack of leadership is

Joe Emersberger (2020-03-26). Media Struggle to Defend Washington's Cruelty. zcomm.org U.S sanctions toward Venezuela and Iran continue as Coronavirus Spreads…

WSWS (2020-03-26). How many must die for Wall Street? wsws.org Amid growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading through American workplaces, powerful representatives of finance capital are demanding that the country be "open for business."

Workers World Party (2020-03-26). Webinar: Capitalism is Killing Us! COVID-19 and Wall Street Crash. indybay.org Online event…

WSWS (2020-03-26). Leaked government report warns of tens of thousands of deaths in one Canadian province. wsws.org An internal Saskatchewan Health Authority report has warned that the rapid spread of the coronavirus would overwhelm the province's health care system and result in 9,000 to 15,000 people dying due to COVID-19.

Santa Cruz News (2020-03-26). Santa Cruz Police Prohibit Food Distribution to Homeless at Town Clock. indybay.org Santa Cruz Chief of Police Andrew Mills has addressed a cease and desist letter to Keith McHenry, the co-founder of Food Not Bombs, demanding McHenry, "cease feeding people at the clock tower immediately." Additionally, Police have issued a public notice to vacate the area of the Town Clock, which states that all personal belongings must be removed from the park by March 25 at 9 am. Since the Coronavirus/COVID-19 shelter in place order issued by the County took effect on March 17, Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs and the Santa Cruz Chapter of the Homeless Union have been sharing food in downtown Santa Cruz around the cl…

NLCHP (2020-03-26). CDC: Housing, Not Handcuffs Is the Way to Stop COVID-19 Amongst Homeless Populations. indybay.org Advocates Hail First Step, Call for More Help…

The Commonwealth Club (2020-03-26). Live Stream: Solutions to the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond. indybay.org Online event via live stream…

Priti Gulati Cox — Stan Cox (2020-03-26). Climbing the Deadly Curves of COVID-19 and Capitalism. counterpunch.org Millions in the United States have been rendered especially vulnerable to the coronavirus's exponential growth by steep declines in workers' rights, the lack of economic security for low-income and marginalized communities, and, of course, the absence of a universal health-care system. These failures have resulted from the pursuit of exponential growth in private wealth for the affluent minority through exploitation of the majority.

Wim Laven (2020-03-26). The Truth on COVID-19 is Ugly and the Lies are Deadly. counterpunch.org On March 19th, the gutless depravity of failed leadership found a new poster-boy. Republican Senator Richard Burr was found to have sold off his stock in what he knew would be losing value (hotels, travel industry) before the stock market started crashing from the pandemic COVID-19 while simultaneously toeing Donald Trump's line that everything was

Nick Licata (2020-03-26). Trump's State of Denial, Not the Deep State, Kept Us Unprepared for the COVID-19 Pandemic. counterpunch.org President Donald Trump prides himself on being optimistic no matter how dire the situation. That is not necessarily a bad trait; it helps to get by in hard times. But deniability of past or repeated behavior when it results in harm to yourself or others, is not a positive trait. In fact, as president of

WSWS (2020-03-26). Africa records over 2,400 cases of COVID-19. wsws.org An international and coordinated struggle against the spread of coronavirus on the African continent is an urgent necessity.

WSWS (2020-03-26). After downplaying COVID-19 pandemic, Japan forced to postpone Olympics. wsws.org Facing a growing public outcry over his indifference to public health, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that the Olympics had been moved to the summer of 2021.

WSWS (2020-03-26). "We are not going to die in our cubicles!" — Wildcat strikes erupt at call centers across Brazil. wsws.org Workers have rebelled against unsafe conditions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, challenging transnational corporations like AlmaViva.

teleSUR Desk (2020-03-26). Venezuela: U.S. blocks flights to repatriate citizens amid COVID-19. mronline.org Arreaza reiterated that the request for humanitarian flights responds to a request made by Venezuelans themselves to the Venezuelan Attention System in the United States.

Nancy Mancias (2020-03-26). Black Rock Profits in a Time of Crisis. counterpunch.org With little government support and corporate accountability, humanitarian aid workers are scrambling to address the refugee crisis in the wake of the global pandemic, COVID-19 (coronavirus). The outbreak of the coronavirus comes at a time when there is a great influx of war and economic refugees migrating to Europe. Despite Turkey's efforts to host millions

WSWS (2020-03-26). Warnings that hundreds of thousands of Indonesians may already have COVID-19. wsws.org There are fears that the archipelago may become "the Italy of south-east Asia," with experts warning that 135 million may be infected by mid-May.

Last Process: 50 Citations: 2020-03-26 14:14 GMT (10:14 EST)