[Comment] The Wakley–Wu Lien Teh Prize Essay 2020: Chinese health workers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic
Helena Hui Wang, Esther Lau, Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
“I feel deeply the burden of the honour placed upon me in being chairman of this Medical Conference, which is unique in our history, powerful in its representation, and which gives China a strong position amongst nations seeking the welfare of the people”, wrote Wu Lien Teh in his first publication in The Lancet,1 on his inaugural address delivered at the International Plague Conference in Shenyang, China, in 1911. Wu was elected as the chair of the conference for his work in controlling the pneumonic plague epidemic outbreak in 1910–11 in northeastern China, which ultimately claimed about 60‚Ä&a…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31478-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Offline: It’s time to convene nations to end this pandemic
Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
A historic and calamitous milestone was reached this week. WHO reported more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 and over 500‚Äà000 COVID-19 deaths. The world’s political leaders have been tested and they have been found wanting. It’s hard to recall a more lamentable response to a global emergency. Even the climate crisis had its Kyoto and Paris agreements. But despite the urgency of this continuing human catastrophe, despite the immediacy of the economic collapse we are witnessing, there has still been no moment when nations have been convened to reflect on lessons to be learned, to coordinate ac…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31488-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Time for WHO to declare climate breakdown a PHEIC?
Andrew Harmer, Anja Leetz, Ben Eder, Remco van de Pas, Sophie Gepp | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
At the opening plenary of the World Health Assembly in May, 2019, Richard Horton urged member states and the Secretariat of WHO to recognise climate change as a planetary emergency. A few days later, during a side event on air pollution, climate change, oceans, and health sponsored by the Government of Sweden, the Minister of Health for the Seychelles Jean Paul Adam argued that climate change has to be recognised as a public health emergency at the international level. Johan Giesecke1 once stressed that as public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) evolve into more complex forms, it becomes neces…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31289-7/fulltext?rss=yes

National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression to join “We Can’t Breathe” protest at RNC
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-07-04
Chicago, IL -The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) will be joining the massive demonstration that is set for August 27 at the Republican National Convention (RNC), in Jacksonville, Florida. The “We Can’t Breathe” protest, organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC, will focus on stopping police crimes and advancing the demand for community control of the police. | Speaking about the need to march on the RNC, Frank Chapman, Executive Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression states, “The Trump administration has been green-lighting police crimes…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/7/3/national-…

[Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China — Author’s reply
Christopher J L Murray | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 provides comprehensive assessment of population health for 195 countries and territories and subnational units for selected countries, including all province-level administrative units in China. It is important to point out that, as the GBD uses a hierarchical analytical framework, data input from all GBD 2017 analytical units, national or subnational, are integrated into a single modelling process to provide a set of estimates for all locations that are internally consistent and comparable across locations and over time.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30481-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China
Ping-I Lin, Stephen J Glatt, Ming T Tsuang | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
We found the Article by Maigeng Zhou and colleagues1 intriguing. However, we have some concerns. Our major concern arises from mixing data from mainland China and Taiwan. These two regions have distinct health-care and social welfare systems; they also have different time trends of how socioeconomic conditions evolved during the past half century. Therefore, mixing the data from these two regions might lead to biased estimates, especially for the health outcomes shaped by health policies (eg, vaccination programmes as a prevention strategy).
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30483-9/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] Methodology in the GBD study of China
Yen-Feng Lin | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Maigeng Zhou and colleagues1 claimed that they had implemented the same hierarchical model setup as Christopher Murray and colleagues had in their Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD),2 in which Taiwan and China were treated at the same level in the hierarchical model. However, according to figures 3 and 4 in the Article,1 Taiwan was placed at the level under the umbrella of China. The inconsistency between the methodology and results in these figures requires clarification.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30485-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] Salome Maswime: dynamic leader in global surgery
Richard Lane | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
As Associate Professor and Head of Global Surgery at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, Salome Maswime is aware of the scale of the job in front of her. “For me the big problem is the disconnect between health systems and clinical care in low and middle income countries, especially concerning surgical care. Outcomes are often poor, there being not enough focus on the quality of surgery, and how it relates to integrated health care and overarching health systems performance”, she explains.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31448-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: when less is more
Christopher Kapp, David Feller-Kopman | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Spontaneous pneumothorax is a pneumothorax that occurs in the absence of trauma or iatrogenic injury, and occurs in about 20‚Äà000 people per year in the USA.1 Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is typically defined as a pneumothorax that occurs in patients without evidence of underlying lung disease, and is estimated to affect about 3000 people per year in the UK,2 whereas secondary pneumothorax occurs in patients with known lung disease such as emphysema, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31306-4/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] Investing in surgery: a value proposition for African leaders
Desmond T Jumbam, Ché L Reddy, Emmanuel Makasa, Adeline A Boatin, Khama Rogo, Kathryn M Chu, Benetus Nangombe, Olufemi T Oladapo, John G Meara, Salome Maswime | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Globally, poor access to high-quality surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care remains a main contributor to global disease burden accounting for about a third of deaths worldwide.1 The need for strengthening surgical care systems is especially urgent in sub-Saharan Africa, where access is strikingly limited, leading to the highest mortality and morbidity from surgically preventable and treatable conditions in the world.2,3 Approximately 93% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lacks access to safe, affordable, and timely surgical care, compared with less than 10% in high-income countries.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30482-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[Articles] Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: an open-label, randomised controlled trial
Rob J Hallifax, Edward McKeown, Parthipan Sivakumar, Ian Fairbairn, Christy Peter, Andrew Leitch, Matthew Knight, Andrew Stanton, Asim Ijaz, Stefan Marciniak, James Cameron, Amrithraj Bhatta, Kevin G Blyth, Raja Reddy, Marie-Clare Harris, Nadeem Maddekar, Steven Walker, Alex West, Magda Laskawiec-Szkonter, John P Corcoran, Stephen Gerry, Corran Roberts, John E Harvey, Nick Maskell, Robert F Miller, Najib M Rahman | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Ambulatory management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax significantly reduced the duration of hospitalisation including re-admissions in the first 30 days, but at the expense of increased adverse events. This data suggests that primary spontaneous pneumothorax can be managed for outpatients, using ambulatory devices in those who require intervention.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31043-6/fulltext?rss=yes

[Clinical Picture] Coarctation of the aorta: a rare cause of severe hypertension in pregnancy
Catherine Anne Cluver, Philip Herbst, Stephanie Griffith-Richards, Muhammed Hassan, Brian Allwood | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
A 24-week pregnant 18-year-old woman was seen at her local health-care centre where she was found to have a respiratory rate of 38 breaths per min, a blood pressure of 250/90 mm Hg, and a heart rate of 39 beats per min. She collapsed and required intubation and ventilation. A chest x-ray showed bilateral infiltrates–pulmonary oedema–and she was treated with furosemide and nitroglycerin and transferred to our intensive care unit.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31312-X/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] A Lancet Commission on women and cancer
Ophira Ginsburg, Richard Horton | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Over the past decade, the global health community has begun to acknowledge that cancer is an increasingly important public health and economic challenge in all countries.1 What is not acknowledged is the disproportionate impact of cancer on the lives and livelihoods of women, and the downstream impacts this creates for societies. In 104 countries, breast cancer has the highest age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in both sexes combined; in 23 countries, it is cervical cancer.2 Of the 938‚Äà044 deaths from these two cancers in 2018, most were premature and preventable and occurred in a…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31479-3/fulltext?rss=yes

[Correspondence] US Global Gag Rule increases unsafe abortion
Terry McGovern | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
The Trump administration issued the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy in 2017. This policy is an expansion of the Global Gag Rule that blocks US global health assistance to foreign non-governmental organisations that provide, counsel on, refer to, or advocate for abortion services; even if they do so with their own funding and in countries where abortion is legal. Following an additional policy expansion in 2019, foreign organisations that comply with the policy must now attach it to all subgrants that they give to other foreign organisations, including those that do not involve US global health…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30921-1/fulltext?rss=yes

[World Report] Collaborating on kidneys: Haiti’s transplantation ambitions
Jane Regan | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Haiti lacks health programmes and facilities for kidney disease. Jane Regan reports on an ambitious collaboration between Haitian and US doctors to make kidney transplantation widely available.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31487-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Perspectives] Maps and guides
Roger Kneebone | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Like many people, I use satnav when I’m driving to an unfamiliar address. I know that if I follow the instructions as they come up, I’ll almost certainly get to my destination. But there are times when you need a broader sense of the territory you’ll be passing through. If you’re plotting a route from one part of the country to another in the car, a small-scale road atlas works well. If you’re planning a cross-country hike, however, you’ll need a map that shows the landscape in detail–contours, footpaths, points of reference.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31449-5/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] Zoonoses: beyond the human–animal–environment interface
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
World Zoonoses Day on July 6 marks the day, in 1885, when a young boy received the first vaccine against rabies–a zoonosis, a disease caused by a pathogen transmitted from animals to humans. Rarely is a World Zoonoses Day so relevant to consider these diseases and their disruption of societies.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31486-0/fulltext?rss=yes

[Articles] Thulium laser transurethral vaporesection of the prostate versus transurethral resection of the prostate for men with lower urinary tract symptoms or urinary retention (UNBLOCS): a randomised controlled trial
Hashim Hashim, Jo Worthington, Paul Abrams, Grace Young, Hilary Taylor, Sian M Noble, Sara T Brookes, Nikki Cotterill, Tobias Page, K Satchi Swami, J Athene Lane, UNBLOCS Trial Group | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
TURP and ThuVARP were equivalent for urinary symptom improvement (IPSS) 12-months post-surgery, and TURP was superior for Qmax. Anticipated laser benefits for ThuVARP of reduced hospital stay and complications were not observed.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)30537-7/fulltext?rss=yes

Week in Review 28th June — 4th July
graham | truepublica.org.uk | 2020-07-04
Editor’s Review The new normal today is characterised by scandals that come and go so quickly, it’s hard to keep up. No sooner is Robert Jenrick attempting to shrug off accusations that he ‘fixed’ the techincal consents for a £1bn building project, therefore saving a Tory donor some £45m when — he’s immediately accused of …
truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/week-in-review-28th-june-4th-july/

Twitter targets accounts of MintPress and other outlets covering unrest in Bolivia
Alan MacLeod | mronline.org | 2020-07-03
MintPress News, along with a number of independent Bolivian news outlets and journalists covering the unrest there, were all targeted for suspension at the same time.
mronline.org/2020/07/03/twitter-targets-…

US Buys Up Remdesivir: We Must Break Patents for Access to COVID-19 Drug
Newsclick | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
Newsclick’s Prabir Purkayastha points out that countries must use the compulsory licence clause to make sure the drug is available to all. He also analyses how this might be a prelude to similar acts once a vaccine is available.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/us-buys-u…

Trump and Pence — Step Aside for Professional Pandemic Scientists and Managers
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
Major changes in society can be accomplished by a fast-emerging, broad-based civic jolt so obvious and persuasive that it overwhelms the entrenched powers. The most urgent job is for people to organize to get Trump and Pence to step aside from their bungling, making-matters-worse mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic. The White House should let a…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/trump-and-pe…

Trump and Pence — Step Aside for Professional Pandemic Scientists and Managers
Ralph Nader | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
Major changes in society can be accomplished by a fast-emerging, broad-based civic jolt so obvious and persuasive that it overwhelms the entrenched powers…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/trump-and-pence-st…

Connecting the Dates — US Media Used To Stop The ‘Threat’ of Peace
Lee Camp | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
This is not a column defending Donald Trump. Across my career I have said more positive words about the scolex family of intestinal tapeworms than I have said about Donald Trump. (Scolex have been shown to read more.) No, this is a column about context. When The New York Times reports anonymous sources from the intelligence community…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/four-giant-r…

Another reason to tear down the walls: Ohio jail 100% COVID-positive
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2020-07-03
Cleveland, Ohio In a recent report, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance stated that the Morrow County Correctional Facility in Mt. Gilead is the first county jail in the state to be 100 percent COVID-positive. The jail, holding local prisoners as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, is also the first . . . | Continue reading Another reason to tear down the walls: Ohio jail 100% COVID-positive at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/07/49818/?utm_source=rs…

‘Day of Rage’ protests annexation of Palestinian land
Liberation staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-07-03
In the U.S.,Palestinians and their supports found ways in the midst of a pandemic to make clear that the Palestinian struggle for liberation will continue, and support for it will grow.
liberationnews.org/day-of-rage-protests-…

Seattle’s CHOP Went Out With Both a Bang and a Whimper
Arun Gupta | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
“Greed drowned out the protests.Everyone is fighting to be a leader because they want to be in the meeting with the mayor and say, ‘Defund the police and fund my organization.'”
zcomm.org/znetarticle/seattles-chop-went…

[Comment] Surgery for benign prostatic obstruction
Giuseppe Magistro, Christian G Stief | thelancet.com | 2020-07-04
Almost all men have some form of benign prostatic hyperplasia as they age, often resulting in lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic obstruction. Most patients with bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms are treated with drugs (eg, Œ± blockers or 5Œ±-reductase inhibitors) and surgery is usually reserved for patients who do not respond to drug treatment. Both the safety issues of medication and surgery-related morbidity must be weighed against the efficacy of these treatments. The main reasons for discontinuation of drug treatment are serious adverse effects, such as postur…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PI…(20)31287-3/fulltext?rss=yes

Socialists Are Beating Jeff Bezos in Seattle (Again)
Kshama Sawant | thenation.com | 2020-07-03
Socialists Are Beating Jeff Bezos in Seattle (Again)…
thenation.com/article/economy/bezos-seat…

US govt providing unsterile Covid-19 screening supplies amid surge in testing demand, claims Washington state
rt.com | 2020-07-03
Medical supplies sent by the federal government to help with coronavirus testing have been too slow to arrive and have failed quality control checks, according to Washington state’s top health official. | A US government program aimed at supporting nationwide testing efforts has been “beset by logistical problems that impede our pandemic response and undermine our shared goals,” Washington state Secretary of Health John Wiesman wrote in a letter to US Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir. | Wiesman claimed that his state had received around 250,000 bulk-packaged swabs from the federal government…
rt.com/usa/493650-washington-sterile-cov…

Bounty-Hunter Hoax to Kill U.S.-Russia Relations
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-07-03
Relations between the United States and Russia have already been badly wounded during recent years, largely as a result of baseless allegations such as Moscow interfering in American elections, colluding with President Donald Trump, or regarding other international developments, from the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, to purported war crimes in Syria, to the alleged poisoning of British double-agent Sergei Skripal in England. | But the latest U.S. media effort claiming Russian military intelligence involvement in sponsoring Taliban assassins or “bounty hunters” to target American troops in Afghanis…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/07/03/bo…

A Russian Bounty Is Bad. What’s Shocking and Outrageous Is the War
Andrew McCormick | thenation.com | 2020-07-03
A Russian Bounty Is Bad. What’s Shocking and Outrageous Is the War.
thenation.com/article/world/russian-boun…

Roaming Charges: Mutiny of the Bounties!
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
+ If I recall, there were serious discussions inside the White House about turning the Afghan War into a bounty hunting operation led by mercenaries on contract with Erik Prince. I’m pretty sure many elements of that scheme have been in place since 1979 at the beginning Carter’s secret war and have continued in one…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/roaming-char…

As COVID Burns Through the South and West, Trump Fans the Flames
William rivers Pitt | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
Donald Trump would step on the dead faces of his own supporters in the street if he believed doing so would carry him closer to victory in November…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/as-covid-burns-thr…

Protecting migrant workers in Kuwait: a Resident Coordinator’s blog
news.un.org | 2020-07-03
In Kuwait, the UN has played an important role in countering xenophobic rhetoric, falsely blaming the spread of COVID-19 on migrant workers. In this opinion piece, Tarek El Sheikh, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the country, highlights the efforts being made to safeguard the rights of foreign residents.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/07/1…

Remdesivir for Covid-19: $1.6 Billion for a “Modestly Beneficial” Drug?
Elizabeth Woodworth | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently “bought” all of Gilead Science’s Remdesivir for $1.6 billion. “500,000 doses at $3,200 per patient — to be available to American hospitals but not for other countries”[6] | That’s $1.6 …
globalresearch.ca/remdesivir-covid-19-1-…

Give Me Liberty, Give You Death
Frank Joyce | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
So, here we are again at the granddaddy of all of the official U.S. celebrations of militarism and white power. Only the hard won observances of Labor Day and MLK’s birthday are exceptions. Independence Day this year though is different. That’s because of COVID 19 and the eruption of protest over the ongoing murders of…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/give-me-libe…

What do 6 months of COVID-19 pandemic tell us about USA?
Sunil Freeman | liberationnews.org | 2020-07-03
Given the government’s catastrophic profit-driven response and the lack of a vaccine, it’s possible this pandemic is only in its early stages.
liberationnews.org/what-do-6-months-of-p…

US unemployment rate dips, but millions remain jobless or face wage cuts
wsws.org | 2020-07-03
Despite Trump’s claims that the “economy is roaring back,” joblessness remains at depression levels while the reopening of businesses has produced a surge of COVID-19 cases.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/07/03/jobs…

Dead or In Prison
| workers.org | 2020-07-03
By Nanon Williams Workers World received this letter from Williams, a Texas prisoner. In the first week of June 2020, all the inmates at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas, were tested for COVID-19. On the 6th and 7th of June, medical personnel and guards came to our cellblock 7 . . . | Continue reading Dead or In Prison at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/07/49834/?utm_source=rs…

Nigeria third worst COVID-19-affected African country
Pavan Kulkarni | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
According to official data, Nigeria has 6.3% of the COVID-19 cases on the African continent, while South Africa accounts for around 37%. However, Nigeria has conducted only 0.67 tests per 1,000 people, when the figure in South Africa stands at 27.48 tests every 1,000 people…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/nigeria-t…

Scoring systems for predicting mortality for severe patients with COVID-19
Yufeng Shang, Tao Liu, Yongchang Wei, Jingfeng Li, Liang Shao, Minghui Liu, Yongxi Zhang, Zhigang Zhao, Haibo Xu, Zhiyong Peng, Fuling Zhou, Xinghuan Wang | thelancet.com | 2020-07-03
Old age, CHD, LYM%, PCT and DD were independently related to mortality. CSS was useful for predicting in-hospital mortality and complications, and it could help clinicians to identify high-risk patients with poor prognosis.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30170-X/fulltext?rss=yes

What Happens When Wildfires and Covid Collide?
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-07-03
COVID-19 may make the impacts of the west’s wildfire season more deadly, hitting aging and vulnerable communities the hardest.
therealnews.com/stories/what-happens-whe…

How might Covid-19 change our schools long-term?
Diana Adjadj | nationofchange.org | 2020-07-03
What happens in the short-term will certainly be determined within the next several weeks. How institutions will deal with the longer-term impacts of this crisis are yet to be seen.
nationofchange.org/2020/07/02/how-might-…

Huge COVID Case-counting Deception at the CDC
Jon Rappoport | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
For this piece, we have to enter the official world (of the insane)–where everyone is quite sure a new coronavirus was discovered in China and the worthless diagnostic tests mean something and the case numbers are real and meaningful. Once …
globalresearch.ca/huge-covid-case-counti…

Behind the walls: a summary
Mirinda Crissman | workers.org | 2020-07-03
Case numbers in the thousands At least 48,764 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among prisoners. The data suggest that even these numbers may be underreported. Texas leads in the number of cases with 7,757, followed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons with 6,621 cases. Ohio, Michigan, California and Tennessee . . . | Continue reading Behind the walls: a summary at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/07/49825/?utm_source=rs…

People tested for Covid-19 in England NOT asked to give addresses during peak of pandemic, complaints of ‘incomplete’ data
rt.com | 2020-07-03
People in England tested for Covid-19 during the height of the pandemic were not being asked to provide address details, it has emerged. Local authorities have hit out at the “poor and incomplete” data they’ve received. | Read more | | ‘You blew it’: Piers Morgan rages at BBC’s Dan Walker for giving UK Health Minister Hancock an ‘easy ride’ over Covid-19 testing | According to the BBC, the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed users of the government’s testing service only had to provide their postcode from April 23, as the country…
rt.com/uk/493721-addresses-covid19-incom…

Britain’s Disorder and Decline
Brian Cloughley | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is no longer united, as most recently illustrated by the vastly dissimilar tactics to control the Covid-19 pandemic taken by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This follows the differences of opinion in each region concerning the disastrous Brexit decision to quit the European Union, as…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/britains-dis…

After thousands of coronavirus deaths in care homes, government announces regular testing programme for staff and residents
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-07-03
Staff and residents in care homes for people over 65 or with dementia will be regularly tested for coronavirus (Covid-19) from week beginning 6 July, the government has announced.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced a new social care testing strategy on 3 July. As part of the strategy, staff will be tested weekly, while residents will receive a test every 28 days. This is in addition to intensive testing in any care home facing an outbreak or at increased risk of a flare-up, the department added.The repeat testing programme will be rolled out over the next four weeks to all care homes for the…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/20…

Pakistani FM Qureshi tests positive for COVID-19
yenisafak.com | 2020-07-03
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, according to reports.’This afternoon I felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined myself at home. I have now tested positive for Covid 19. By the grace of Allah, I feel strong and energetic,” Qureshi said on Twitter.He said he will continue to carry his duties from his home and requested the public to keep remember in their prayers.Previously, the country’s two former prime ministers, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, several cabinet members, lawmakers, and politicians ha…
yenisafak.com/en/world/pakistani-fm-qure…

EU grants conditional clearance to COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir
yenisafak.com | 2020-07-03
The EU executive said the drug, produced by Gilead Sciences Inc, was the first medicine authorised in the European Union for treating COVID-19 following a “rolling review” begun by the European Medicines Agency at the end of April.The agency reviews data as they become available on a rolling basis, while development is still ongoing.The Commission said on Wednesday it was in negotiations with Gilead to obtain doses of remdesivir for the 27 European Union countries.However, that may prove difficult after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it had secured all of Gilead’s projected production…
yenisafak.com/en/world/eu-grants-conditi…

China’s COVID-19 complex to produce over 100M vaccine
yenisafak.com | 2020-07-03
China has completed the construction of a research laboratory and workshop complex in the city of Wuhan for producing vaccines to combat COVID-19 or coronavirus pandemic, the state-run media said on Friday.While the laboratory is capable to research and study pathogenic virus vaccines, the workshop will produce over 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine annually, reported Xinhua news agency, quoting the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).The complex was earlier hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which first emerged in Wuhan city located in Central China’s Hubei province last December.China National…
yenisafak.com/en/world/chinas-covid-19-c…

Black Immigrants On The Front Lines Of COVID-19
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
As the country continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Black immigrants — immigrants who identify as Black regardless of country or region of birth — are playing an important role on the front lines in healthcare, food supply, education, and biomedical industries. Black immigrants make up a significant portion of healthcare workers. In 2018, there were more than 560,000 Black immigrant workers in the healthcare sector. These workers made up 3.4 percent of all healthcare workers, a share almost three times their share of the U.S. population. In the food industry at large, there are over 223,000 Black immigrant…
popularresistance.org/black-immigrants-c…

Cuba’s Two Pandemics: The Coronavirus And The US Embargo
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
As soon as the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Cuba, our country mobilized all its resources to contain the spread of the virus. | Our healthcare workers go door to door checking people for possible symptoms. Those with symptoms are transferred to specially designated centers to receive treatment, mostly with medication developed by Cuba’s own pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The medical examinations and treatments are all provided free of charge. | As of June 20, 85 people have died of COVID-19 in Cuba. Our mortality rate of 3.9 percent is very low compared to the rest of the world. We reached the p…
popularresistance.org/cubas-two-pandemic…

France to probe ex-PM & minister over handling of Covid-19 — prosecutors
rt.com | 2020-07-03
France’s former prime minister Edouard Philippe and its health officials will be the targets of a probe into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors say. | Health minister Olivier Véran and his predecessor Agnès Buzyn will be investigated, along with Philippe, the attorney general said. | The probe comes after nine complaints were found to be admissible by the Court of Justice of the Republic “on the sole count of abstention from fighting a disaster.” | | Edouard Philippe arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace. © Reuters / Christian Hartmann | Philippe resi…
rt.com/news/493758-france-investigate-pm…

US Imposes Additional Economic Sanctions Against Venezuela and Iran
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
The US government is seeking to economically drown Venezuela and Iran by wanting to seize fuel that Tehran is sending to Caracas. This is part of a sustained aggressive and illegal policy against both countries. The US Attorney’s Office requested …
globalresearch.ca/us-imposes-additional-…

The China-India Trade War: Indian Boycott of Chinese Goods
Paul Antonopoulos | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
The level of India’s economic boycott against Chinese imports will depend on how the two countries resolve their border conflicts and if Indian industry is capable of offsetting the shortage of Chinese goods entering the country. Although the call to …
globalresearch.ca/indian-boycott-chinese…

UK Denies Venezuela Access To Its Gold For Food And Medicine
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
The United Kingdom’s High Court Thursday decided that opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido can access 31 tons of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, which prevents President Nicolas Maduro’s administration from using those resources to fight the pandemic. | The ruling about this monetary reserve valued at over US $ 1 billion occurs after months of disputes between Venezuela and the Bank of England, which denied the constitutionally constituted government access to its own resources | On May 14, the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) sued the Bank of England to obtain and sell the Venezuelan gold bars. | The Sout…
popularresistance.org/uk-denies-venezuel…

On Contact: Ecosocialism with Victor Wallis
Victor Wallis | mronline.org | 2020-07-03
On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to writer, teacher and activist Victor Wallis about the prospect and need for ecosocialism. Wallis’ book is entitled ‘Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of Ecosocialism’.
mronline.org/2020/07/03/on-contact-ecoso…

Revolutionary Possibilities: Could U.S. Capitalism Turn Nationalist?
Richard D. Wolff | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
The Trump administration has turned sharply toward economic nationalism. It attacks and undermines the World Trade Organization, NATO, and the UN. Trump and other top officials explicitly insult many world leaders. He imposes high tariffs. Official statements renew and sustain Cold War-type attacks on China, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Trump flirts openly with nationalists who…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/revolutionar…

Could U.S. Capitalism Turn Nationalist?
Richard D. Wolff | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
Will we see a transition to a post-capitalist global system of quite differently organized enterprises, political institutions (including nation-states), and movements of productive resources and products across its geography?>…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/could-u-s-capitali…

“What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?”: James Earl Jones Reads Frederick Douglass’s Historic Speech
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-07-03
In a Fourth of July holiday special, we hear the words of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, he gave one of his most famous speeches, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” He was addressing the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. This is actor James Earl Jones reading the speech during a performance of historian Howard Zinn’s acclaimed book, “Voices of a People’s History of the United States.” He was introduced by Zinn.
www.democracynow.org/2020/7/3/what_to_th…

“America’s Moment of Reckoning”: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Cornel West on Uprising Against Racism
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-07-03
Scholars Cornel West and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor respond to the global uprising against racism and police violence following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “We’re seeing the convergence of a class rebellion with racism and racial terrorism at the center of it,” said Princeton professor Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. “And in many ways, we are in uncharted territory in the United States.”
www.democracynow.org/2020/7/3/americas_m…

Angela Davis on Abolition, Calls to Defund Police, Toppled Racist Statues & Voting in 2020 Election
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-07-03
Amid a worldwide uprising against police brutality and racism, we discuss the historic moment with legendary scholar and activist Angela Davis. She also responds to the destruction and removal of racist monuments in cities across the United States, and the 2020 election.
www.democracynow.org/2020/7/3/angela_dav…

Tearing Down the Idols of Colonialism: Why Tunisia, Africa Must Demand French Apology
Ramzy Baroud | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
The visit by newly-elected Tunisian President Kais Saied to France on June 22 was intended to discuss bilateral relations, trade, etc. But it was also a missed opportunity, where Tunisia could have formally demanded an apology from France for the decades of French colonialism, which has shattered the social and political fabric of this North…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/tearing-down…

Podcast Panel: Israeli Annexation Could Turn the West Bank Into a Gaza-Style Open Air Prison
Mnar Muhawesh | mintpressnews.com | 2020-07-03
Palestinian academic Ramzy Baroud, Israeli activist Miko Peled and documentary filmmaker Robert Inkalesh join MintPress to discuss the implication of Israel’s coming annexation of the Palestinian West Bank.
mintpressnews.com/podcast-israel-annexat…

Will the ICC Investigation Bring Justice for Palestine?
Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-07-03
In the past, there have been many attempts at holding accused Israeli war criminals accountable. Particularly memorable is the case of the late Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, (known, among other nicknames, as the ‘Butcher of Sabra and Shatila’) whose victims attempted to try him in a Belgian Court in 2002. Like all other efforts, …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/07/will-the-icc-…

Smearing Black Lives Matter…From the Left
Louis Proyect | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
Over the past fifty-three years as a socialist, I have seen repeated calls for purifying the left of capitalist influences, both governmental and corporate. The latest flare-up was a Jacobin article titled “Don’t Let Blackwashing Save the Investor Class” by Cedric Johnson, a black African American studies professor. Just as Deep Throat advised Bob Woodward…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/smearing-bla…

Class, Race and Power
Rob Urie | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
Since the onset of the Great Recession, a debate has persisted over creating what is described— depending on one’s premises, as either a trans-ideological working class movement or a red-brown alliance of socialists with fascists. ‘Socialist’ in this configuration is a classless movement that maps quite remarkably to the base of the Democratic Party.
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/class-race-a…

More than 1000 at Day of Rage against Israeli annexation in NYC
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-07-03
Bay Ridge, NY – On Wednesday, July 1, over 1000 people gathered in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to rally and march against the planned Zionist annexation of the West Bank. The international Day of Rage was locally organized by Within Our Lifetime and the NY4Palestine coalition. | The rally began at 4 p.m., but the crowd had already started growing before the start time. As the crowd swelled, Palestine flags waving by the dozens, a motley handful of counter-protesters gathered across the street. They had a few Israeli flags and none of them were wearing masks. While they attempted to chant, the pro-Palestine crowd easily…
www.fightbacknews.org/2020/7/3/more-1000…

100 Jewish Lawyers And Judges Call On Israel To Halt Annexation Plans
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
Palestine Legal joins widespread international condemnation of Israel’s annexation attempts in the West Bank and highlights legal resources for protesters participating in Wednesday’s Day of Rage against annexation in the U.S. | We recognize that this is the latest move in 70+ years of Israel’s efforts to annex — or fully colonize — Palestinian land. We also recognize that the failure of international law to protect Palestinians or hold Israel accountable further highlights the importance of grassroots efforts to resist Israel’s colonization and ethnic cleansing plans, including mass protests. | We sh…
popularresistance.org/100-jewish-lawyers…

Selected Articles: Annexation of Palestine. Crime against Humanity
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
We hope that by publishing diverse view points, submitted by journalists and experts dotted all over the world, the website can serve as a reminder that no matter what narrative we are presented with, things are rarely as cut and …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-why-…

Australian Journalist Threatened With Prosecution For Exposing War Crimes
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
In another major assault on press freedom, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) journalist Dan Oakes has been threatened with prosecution for his role in exposing war crimes committed by the country’s Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan. | The Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued a statement last night, confirming that they had sent a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), following a protracted investigation targeting the ABC. | The AFP indicated that the probe began after it received “a referral on 11 July, 2017, from the Chief of the Defence Force and then-Acting…
popularresistance.org/australian-journal…

India’s Modi Terminates His Weibo Diplomacy
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-07-03
What started out as a promising relationship with China is now one struggling to find a direction | MK BHADRAKUMAR | The common perception among Indian analysts, widely articulated in the country’s media, is that the government’s options to “hit back” at China for whatever has happened in eastern Ladakh during the past two months are very limited. | The reported erasure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “official page” on the Chinese social media website Weibo can only reinforce that impression. It simply doesn’t add up. | If reports are to be believed, Modi’s official page on Weibo “went blank” on Wednesday with…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/07/03/in…

UK Court Denies Venezuela $1bn in Gold Needed to Fight Virus
Lucas Koerner | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
The United Kingdom’s High Court has blocked the Venezuelan government’s effort to recover 31 tons of the nation’s gold held by the Bank of England (BoE). | In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the court said it “unequivocally recognised opposition …
globalresearch.ca/uk-court-denies-venezu…

Video: Syria Prepares for Military Confrontation with Turkey in Northeast
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces have put their forces on high alert in response to the new round of aggressive actions by the Turkish Army and its proxies in northeastern Syria. | Several convoys of government forces, including …
globalresearch.ca/video-syria-prepares-m…

Adjudicating the Chomsky-Greenwald Dispute on Lesser-Evil Voting
Chris Wright | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
There are, at long last, so many newly awakened leftists in this country that in the aggregate they can have a tangible effect on the elections…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/adjudicating-the-c…

The Racist Counter-Revolution of 1776
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
This essay originally appeared six years ago on Telesur English as a review of Gerald Horne’s important book The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America (New York, 2014). I offer it for re-publication and hopefully wider readership in the wake of the great 2020 George Floyd uprising, which…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/the-racist-c…

Over 800 Afghan civilians have lost their lives in six months: UN Assistance Mission
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
In a recent spate of at least 56 violent incidents, members of Afghanistan’s civil society, religious leaders, healthcare workers, members of the judiciary, civil society activists, non-governmental organizations and journalists have been deliberately attacked…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/over-800-…

COINTELPRO: How the U.S. state dealt with the last radicalization
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-07-03
Twenty-one-year-old Black Panther Party deputy chair Fred Hampton and his comrade Mark Clark were assassinated in a 1969 pre-dawn raid in Chicago. Arguably the most talented and politically astute of the Panther leaders, Hampton was renowned for inspiring activists of all colours. But he was betrayed by William O’Neal, his bodyguard and the Panthers’ head …
mronline.org/2020/07/03/cointelpro-how-t…

Politicians of Color Should Not be Immune From Criticism
Jeff Cohen | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
To me, being an anti-racist activist means that one consistently challenges the structures of racist exclusion, exploitation, repression and incarceration It does not mean that one must defend or praise establishment politicians of color. Forty years ago, I was an activist and leader in the battle against police racism, brutality and repression in Los Angeles.
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/politicians-…

Leeds, England: Black Lives Matter
| workers.org | 2020-07-03
By Kadesh Anderson Kadesh Anderson is a Black Lives Matter activist and journalist in Leeds, England. Leeds, England — On June 21 in Hyde Park, over 5,000 people came out in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protest. With social distancing measures in place, people came together with their banners . . . | Continue reading Leeds, England: Black Lives Matter at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/07/49830/?utm_source=rs…

‘Attempt to instigate civil war in Ethiopia foiled’
yenisafak.com | 2020-07-03
The Ethiopian prime minister on Friday said violence in the country over the past three days was an attempt to instigate a civil war and that it has now been foiled.Abiy Ahmed was speaking at a meeting with senior civil and army officials in the capital Addis Ababa, according to state channel ETV.So far, “87 people lost their lives in the violence including four police officers,” ETV quoted Oromia police commissioner as saying.Abiy said instigators of the violence have been arrested thanks to security forces.Violence started in the Horn of Africa country on Tuesday following the death of Ethiopian activist and ar…
yenisafak.com/en/world/attempt-to-instig…

Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid labelled ‘racist fish’
yenisafak.com | 2020-07-03
Denmark woke up on Friday to the words “racist fish” scrawled across the base of the “Little Mermaid”, the bronze statue honouring Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale that perches on a rock in the sea off a pier in Copenhagen.Police said it had not yet identified the perpetrators. The 107-year-old sculpture, which is visited by one million tourists each year, has been vandalised before, including by anti-whaling campaigners and pro-democracy activists, twice suffering decapitation.”We consider it vandalism and have started an investigation,” a spokesman for the Copenhagen police said.Protesters of the Bla…
yenisafak.com/en/world/copenhagens-littl…

The Incredible Stitch-up of Julian Assange
Rod Driver | zcomm.org | 2020-07-03
What the US and Britain are attempting is not a legal form of extradition, it is extraordinary rendition — the ILLEGAL transfer of a person from one country to another…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-incredible-sti…

WATCH: Police ‘army’ blasts non-lethal rounds at BLM protesters in Portland as riot declared
rt.com | 2020-07-03
For the second night in three days, Portland police have declared a riot in the city, opening fire on protesters with non-lethal munitions outside the Multnomah County Justice Center. | The demonstration had remained peaceful throughout the night but then all hell broke loose when, at 11: 45pm local time, a group of protesters set fire to a piece of wood, prompting a police response which escalated as people refused to leave the area and continued protesting. | @PortlandPolice central precinct, police responded and were promptly surrounded by an angry mob. pic.twitter.com/y…
rt.com/usa/493660-riot-declared-portland…

Cal Democrats Not Paying Unemployment Claims; Pro-War Feinstein
Register Peace & Freedom or Green | indybay.org | 2020-07-03
From the home front, with the California Supermajority Democratic Legislature & Governor contracting out to process millions of unemployment claims, many unpaid for months, to California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein voting to continue the blood for oil illegal occupation and war in Afghanistan, the Democratic Party insists with every move it is the same as the Republican Party.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/07/03/1883482…

New York City’s police budget cut falls short
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
In New York City, protests have continued almost daily, one month after the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. Similar to cities across the country, protesters and movements have raised the demand that the city administration cut all funding for the police department, or defund the police. On June 30, the city council passed the budget for the 2021 fiscal year and despite sustained protests and a one week protest occupation outside city hall, councillors resolved to only cut 1 billion from the New York Police Department (NYPD) budget. | The budget cuts, even though significant, still leaves…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/new-york-…

From rebellion to revolution
Eugene Puryear | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
A profound rebellion against racism has been sweeping the country for a month. Millions have taken to the streets in every part of the country, shaking public opinion. Elite institutions, individuals and corporate brands are scrambling to offer symbolic sacrifices at the altar of racial justice in the hopes they will be spared from the righteous wrath in the streets. | At the same time the police are wantonly attacking protestors and continuing to murder Black people, making a mockery of all the “official” declarations of “anti-racism.” | Hidden in just this fact is the most important lesson: The capitalist syste…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/from-rebe…

Challenging the French Republic’s Color-Blindness
Philippe Marlière | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
George Floyd’s killing by a policeman in Minneapolis reverberated across the world in an unprecedented fashion. On all continents, young people took to the streets to pay tribute to Floyd. They protested against police brutality which they regarded as ‘systemic’. Citizens expressed their anger at the racial profiling of Black people by the police. Those…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/challenging-…

Chileans carry out a two-day national protest against Piñera’s government
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
The national strike has been called in rejection of the national government, its mishandling of the health and economic emergencies and the lack of food and aid for vulnerable population…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/chileans-…

Anatomy of a counter-insurgency
Martin Schoots-McAlpine | mronline.org | 2020-07-03
The defanging of the George Floyd Uprising was not accidental but was rather a deliberate attempt on the part of the American ruling class to regain social control in the wake of the largest and most militant protests in recent memory. This article examines the dimensions of how this defanging took place: how, within the …
mronline.org/2020/07/03/anatomy-of-a-cou…

Trump’s decision to celebrate 4 July at Mt Rushmore is a big ‘f**k you’ to Indigenous people and anti-racism campaigners
Peadar O’Cearnaigh | thecanary.co | 2020-07-03
The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May sparked protests and anger across the globe. Floyd’s killing reminded the world of the danger to Black people’s lives. It reminded us too that the abuse and murder of Bl…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/…

US Exposed For Funding Last Year’s Hong Kong Protests
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
Imagine how the American government would react if multiple Chinese state agencies such as Xinhua were exposed secretly helping protest groups across the United States to evade surveillance and crackdowns by law enforcement agencies. | Washington would probably threaten China with war. Roughly, though, the little-known but powerful US Agency for Global Media has been doing just that in Hong Kong. It oversees funding for various news and information operations around the world, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. | About US$2 million was earmarked for the protest movement in Hong Kong, but has now been…
popularresistance.org/us-exposed-for-fun…

Lawyers Get No Bail In Property Damage Case, Face 45 Years In Prison
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-07-03
The Center for Constitutional Rights and a coalition of other civil rights organizations are calling on federal prosecutors to release on bail two New York attorneys who are accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into an empty New York police car during protests in Brooklyn on May 30. The lawyers — Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman — are facing a minimum of 45 years in prison if convicted on the federal charges. The two were initially released on bail, but then the federal government challenged the bail conditions, sending them back to pretrial detention — a move that shocked many in the legal co…
popularresistance.org/lawyers-get-no-bai…

Civil rights groups sue N.Carolina town over protest ban – but where were they when 3 other states banned pipeline protests?
rt.com | 2020-07-03
The ACLU and other groups have sued Graham, North Carolina, calling the city’s ban on “demonstrations of two or more people” while under a declared emergency unconstitutional. They’ve remained silent on similar laws, though. | Graham violated protesters’ First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly and speech with the law, which bars two or more people (or even a single person carrying a sign) from assembling without a protest permit during a declared state of emergency, the suit, filed on Thursday, states. The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office announced last Friday that no further protest permits would be iss…
rt.com/usa/493778-aclu-carolina-lawsuit-…

Vandals spray-paint and BURN Portland’s ‘Promised Land’ statue (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-07-03
Rioters in Oregon used fireworks to torch the ‘Promised Land’ statue depicting a pioneer family at the end of the Oregon Trail. The vandals also laid siege to the city’s Justice Center in what police deemed a “riot.” | The city of Portland is known nationwide as a hotbed of left-wing activism, and protesters there have embraced the ‘Black Lives Matter’ cause with gusto. After incinerating a statue of an elk on Wednesday, a mob of rioters returned to Chapman Square on Thursday night, where they soon began sho…
rt.com/usa/493730-portland-riot-statue-f…

‘Racist’ elk statue targeted by mob to be removed, after inferno causes ‘severe’ damage to Portland landmark (PHOTOS)
rt.com | 2020-07-03
A sculpture of an elk that has graced downtown Portland, Oregon, for 120 years is to be taken down by city authorities, after protesters set the statue on fire. Police have asked the public to help identify the vandals. | On Wednesday night, demonstrators defaced the seemingly benign statue and lit a series of fires around its base, quickly engulfing the horned effigy in flames. | Portland Police said in a statement that the city’s Regional Arts Council had determined that the damage to the base was “so severe” that the landmark would have to be removed for public safety reasons. Officials fear the statue coul…
rt.com/usa/493706-portland-elk-statue-re…

Scuffles break out as National Guard moves in to disperse protesters blocking entrance to Trump’s Mt. Rushmore event (VIDEOS)
rt.com | 2020-07-03
It has come to a face-off between the National Guard and protesters blocking the road to Mount Rushmore, which is set to host US President Donald Trump’s rally, after they refused to back down. Arrests have been reported. | With several hours left until Trump’s ‘Salute America’ event to mark Independence Day was to kick off at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on Friday, an estimated 200 to 300 protesters effectively made the road leading into the venue impassible. | BREAKING: Protestors using vans to block entrance to Mt. Rushmore event. Removing tires creating physical barrier to event.
rt.com/usa/493780-rushmore-trump-protest…

Saturday 7/11: San Lorenzo Valley: Black Lives Matter Protest
Black Lives Matter SLV | indybay.org | 2020-07-03
Meet at San Lorenzo Valley High School, 7105 Hwy 9, Felton…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/07/01/1883481…

The Trouble With ‘White Privilege’
_____ | strategic-culture.org | 2020-07-03
In the wake of the tumultuous Back Lives Matter protests, “white privilege” is the phrase of the day. Everyone uses it, and everyone seems to know what it means. | After all, whites could attend better public schools back in the days of Jim Crow, they could live in better neighborhoods, and they could go to colleges and universities from which blacks were expressly barred. They could enter a store or walk down a street without having to worry about being lynched if they said something wrong to a member of another race, and they could vote without fear of someone burning down their house. | So isn’t this the “w…
strategic-culture.org/news/2020/07/03/th…

SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical features and pregnancy outcomes
Asma Khalil, Erkan Kalafat, Can Benlioglu, Pat O’Brien, Edward Morris, Tim Draycott, Shakila Thangaratinam, Kirsty Le Doare, Paul Heath, Shamez Ladhani, Peter von Dadelszen, Laura A. Magee | thelancet.com | 2020-07-03
The risk of iatrogenic preterm birth and caesarean delivery was increased. The available evidence is reassuring, suggesting that maternal morbidity is similar to that of women of reproductive age. Vertical transmission of the virus probably occurs, albeit in a small proportion of cases.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30190-5/fulltext?rss=yes

Caesarean delivery rates and analgesia effectiveness following injections of sterile water for back pain in labour: A multicentre, randomised placebo controlled trial
Nigel Lee, Yu Gao, Sally L. Collins, Lena B. Mà•rtensson, Wendy Randall, Toni-Marie Rowe, Sue Kildea | thelancet.com | 2020-07-03
Compared to placebo, injections of sterile water did not reduce rates of caesarean delivery. For the main secondary outcome of pain relief the intervention did result in significantly more women reporting at least 30% and 50% reduction in pain for up to 90 min. Water injections have no effect on birth outcomes though can be an effective treatment for the relief of labour-related back pain.Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PI…(20)30191-7/fulltext?rss=yes

The War on Kitsch
David Yearsley | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
With all the talk of meddling in U. S. elections and bounties on U.S. soldiers, it’s no small wonder that a Russian named Berlin can still claim to have composed this nation’s best-loved song. Born in the Russian Empire in 1888, the immigrant Irving Berlin wrote both the words and the music to…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/the-war-on-k…

Colombians march for dignity against state violence
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-07-03
Despite the national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Colombian people continue to suffer at the hands of security forces and far-right armed groups. A series of assassinations of social leaders shook Colombia last weekend. In less than 24 hours, 4 Indigenous, peasant and social leaders were killed. The news of the rape of a 13-year-old Indigenous Embera girl by 7 soldiers has also sparked mass outrage.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/07/03/colombian…

Countries Ranked on “Democracy” in 2020
Eric Zuesse | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-07-03
NATO and its supporters and member-nations are hiding the fact that the predominant belief in many of these nations is that they’re dictatorships that merely pontificate ‘democracy’ to other nations. NATO, which is America’s propagandistically ‘pro-democracy’ military alliance against Russia and against China, polled the people in 53 countries — some of which are in …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/07/countries-ran…

The U.S. Military Is the World’s Biggest Climate Destroyer. No to War and Occupation! No to Environmental Degradation
Alison Bodine | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
Talk by Alison Bodine at the United National Antiwar Coalition National Conference held from February 21–23, 2020, at the People’s Forum in New York City. | *** | To begin, I hope everyone has been able to see actions across Canada in …
globalresearch.ca/us-military-world-bigg…

Green structural adjustment in the World Bank’s resilient cities
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-07-03
Cities across the world are facing a double-barreled existential problem: how to adapt to climate change and how to pay for it.
mronline.org/2020/07/03/green-structural…

“No One Has Died from the Coronavirus”
Rosemary Frei | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
A high-profile European pathologist is reporting that he and his colleagues across Europe have not found any evidence of any deaths from the novel coronavirus on that continent. | Dr. Stoian Alexov called the World Health Organization (WHO) a “criminal medical …
globalresearch.ca/no-one-has-died-corona…

Profit Shares Soared After the Great Recession: News You Can’t Get at the New York Times
Dean Baker | cepr.net | 2020-07-03
Apparently Steven Rattner, a regular columnist at the New York Times, is unable to get government data on corporate profits. That is what readers must conclude from his column on the strength of the stock market in spite of a plunging economy. While Rattner rightly points to the fact that interest rates on bonds are …
cepr.net/profit-shares-soared-after-the-…

A Requiem for George Floyd
John Davis | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
However complicit we may be in sustaining the historical-racial schema in this country, we can all now agree that, ‘Black Lives Matter’, but the tag’s emblazonment across the country, and internationally, remains a hollow gesture unless there is meaningful collective action to create a social environment in which all black lives can indeed flourish – and matter.
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/a-requiem-fo…

The US Military Has Its Knee on the Throat of the World
Ellen Taylor | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
The 2021 Defense Budget is making its way through Congress. The annual drama of this event has always been of particular interest to residents of the north Pacific Coast, as the US Navy’s nursery lies only twelve miles off our coast. This is where many of the weapons purchased by Congress take their first baby…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/the-us-milit…

Why are Certain Christians Democratic and Others Authoritarian?
AEAWRWA | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
Why are certain Christians democratic and other Christians authoritarian, yet both profess belief in the same Bible and God? Why do some Christians emphasize personal authenticity and others biblical authority? Why do certain Christians want to empower people, and other Christians want to gain power over people? Why do some Christians believe that the goal…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/why-are-cert…

Police and the Wealth of Nations: Déjà Vu or Unfinished Business?
Peter Linebaugh | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
In the 1960s there was a wave of rioting, municipal rebellion, and challenges to property in the USA. In order to see that wave from a working-class point of view I went over to England to study riots and crime. In those days the theory was that the working-class could bring an end to capitalism, but historically before the working-class was “made,” it consisted of a mob of the poor given to crimes. The horrid ones against people — assault, rape, murder — were relatively few. The ones against property – highway robbery, burglary, shop-lifting, house-breaking, pocket-picking – tended to be new, i.e., f…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/police-the-w…

Drawn Away from Reality in Plain View
Joseph Natoli | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
“By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain,” several false posts on Facebook and Twitter stated.” “An extremely credible source has called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/drawn-away-f…

The Desire to Kill
Steve Martinot | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
They don’t know how to stop. They just don’t know how. It doesn’t matter how many people march in how many cities calling for the police to stop killing people, they don’t stop. If a private affair is in progress, and someone says, “don’t go in there,” common decency would dictate that one not enter…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/the-desire-t…

When Rogue States Sanction the International Criminal Court
Richard Falk | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
Even Orwell would be at a loss to make sense of some of the recent antics of leading governments. We would expect Orwell to be out-satirized by the American actions to impose penalties and sanctions on officials of the International Criminal Court, not because they are accused of acting improperly or seem guilty of some…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/when-rogue-s…

My Adventures in the Matriarchy
Jonah Raskin | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
I’m not talking about a fairytale matriarchy from long ago and far away. I’m talking about a matriarchy here and now in northern California. I live in one, though I imagine that some might say that it’s not a true matriarchy. Maybe not, but as far as I’m concerned it’s as close to a true…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/my-adventure…

White Nationalists on the Attack
David Rosen | counterpunch.org | 2020-07-03
On Monday, June 22nd, Pvt. Ethan P. Melzer, 22, was charged with planning an ambush of members of his unit during an upcoming deployment with the help of an “occult-based neo-Nazi” group known as the “Order of the Nine Angles” and a related group known as the “RapeWaffen Division.” Melzer was stationed in Vicenza, Italy, and…
counterpunch.org/2020/07/03/white-nation…

Haiti: U.S. deports mortgage fraudster, backs repression
G. Dunkel | workers.org | 2020-07-03
Emmanuel “Toto” Constant was in charge of FRAPH (the Revolutionary Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti) during the 1991-94 coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide when this death-squad organization killed 3,000 people and wounded and maimed many more. During that time, he was also on the CIA’s payroll. In . . . | Continue reading Haiti: U.S. deports mortgage fraudster, backs repression at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/07/49815/?utm_source=rs…

Security Council, General Assembly Never Held Israel Accountable for Violations of UN Principles
Michael Jansen | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
Seventy-five years ago, 50 countries signed the UN Charter at a conference in San Francisco in ceremonies attended by 3,500 delegates and 2,500 media representatives and observers from non-governmental organisations. Representing 80 per cent of the world’s population, the signatories …
globalresearch.ca/security-council-gener…

Hundreds of Saudi and Gulf Military Personnel Trained in Britain as Yemen War Continues
Phil Miller | globalresearch.ca | 2020-07-03
New data shows Britain’s Royal Air Force trained Saudi personnel in 2019 on fighter jets used to bomb civilians in Yemen — a country on the brink of famine — while UK soldiers coached other forces in the Saudi-led coalition …
globalresearch.ca/saudi-gulf-military-pe…

House Democrats Set to Give 850,000 Acres of Nevada Wildlife Refuge to Military