Daily Archives: June 8, 2020

2020-06-08: News Headlines

Don Fitz (2020-06-09). How Che Guevara Taught Cuba to Confront COVID-19. dissidentvoice.org Beginning in December 1951, Ernesto "Che" Guevara took a nine-month break from medical school to travel by motorcycle through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela. One of his goals was gaining practical experience with leprosy. On the night of his twenty-fourth birthday, Che was at La Colonia de San Pablo in Peru swimming across the …

Anya Parampil (2020-06-08). Colectivo de Protección de la Embajada de Venezuela logra victoria legal frente a una juez hostil nombrada por Obama y la fiscalía del gobierno. thegrayzone.com La sentencia contra los cuatro miembros del Colectivo de Protección de la Embajada de Venezuela, quienes fueron los últimos ocupantes…

Paul Dobson (2020-06-08). China Sends Sixth COVID-19 Aid Installment as Venezuela Thanks 'True Friends'. venezuelanalysis.com The country is relaxing it's lockdown on a week-on-week-off basis despite rising cases.

Venezuela Solidarity Campaign (2020-06-08). Give Venezuela Back Its Gold: Case Goes to London Court. globalresearch.ca Venezuelan authorities appeared in court in London last Thursday May 28 to demand that the Bank of England comply with instructions to sell part of the 31 tons of gold it holds on behalf of Venezuela. | Venezuelan Central Bank President …

Peter Koenig (2020-06-07). Venezuela, Minneapolis, Iran, Europe — Trump's Last Gasps of Collapsing World Control. Or Is It? globalresearch.ca There comes a time when shooting around in circles just hits walls, bullets splinter off sidewalks, and shatter a window here and there. But people are in safety. They watch from a distance and with self-assurance. | Venezuela has received five …

Peter Koenig (2020-06-07). Venezuela, Minneapolis, Iran, Europe — Trump's Last Gasps of Collapsing World Control — Or is it? globalresearch.ca There comes a time when shooting around in circles just hits walls, bullets splinter off sidewalks, and shatter a window here and there. But people are in safety. They watch from a distance and with self-assurance. | Venezuela has received five …

Lucas Koerner (2020-06-07). WOLA: Media's 'Left' Source for Pro-Coup Propaganda in Venezuela. zcomm.org The US blockade is a naked expression of imperial might, which WOLA and other Western propaganda amplifiers hide behind empty rhetoric about "democracy" and "human rights."

Staff (2020-06-06). Climate Crisis: Black Lives Matter, Looting Puerto Rico, And California's Environmental Racism. therealnews.com This week the climate justice movement says Black Lives Matter, disaster capitalists are still looting Puerto Rico, and California is neglecting to fix the environmental racism of its oil infrastructure.

Joe Emersberger (2020-06-06). When did Venezuela's Economic Crisis begin? zcomm.org The starting point for Venezuela's current depression has been the subject of some debate. It can get a bit technical, so I'll weigh in on it here. Looking at Real GDP Inflation adjusted (i.e. real) Gross Domestic Product (GDP ) is essentially a country's aggregate income. I say "essentially" because there is an adjustment that

Kaitlin Curtice, Esther Choo (2020-06-06). [Perspectives] Indigenous populations: left behind in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Scholar Annie Belcourt described Native American populations in the USA as having lives that are "challenging and short". Globally, across countries and populations, Indigenous peoples face a greater burden of disease than non-Indigenous peoples, including cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and have higher infant and maternal mortality and lower life expectancy. Their health is impacted by epigenetic stressors of generational oppression and violence, including disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women, lower educational attainment, and persistent poverty.

Healthier Societies for Healthy Populations Group (2020-06-06). [Comment] Healthier societies for healthy populations. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic makes the importance of health and wellbeing clear. The pandemic's implications for societies are far reaching. Yet the response to this pandemic and the creation and promotion of health and wellbeing require action beyond the health sector—and beyond the usual ways of working in global health. Governments are not adequately tackling inequality, ongoing economic crises, or continuing environmental damage, which undermines the health of current and future generations. For example, tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets, air pollution, and insufficient physical exercise contribute to m…

Joht Singh Chandan, Deepiksana Keerthy, Dawit Tefra Zemedikun, Kelvin Okoth, Krishna Margadhamane Gokhale, Karim Raza, Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, Julie Taylor, Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar (2020-06-06). The association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and the subsequent development of functional somatic and visceral pain syndromes. thelancet.com Background: Childhood maltreatment is a global public health issue linked to a vast mortality and morbidity burden. This study builds on current literature to explore the risk of developing central sensitivity syndromes (CSS) (consisting of somatic and visceral pain syndromes) subsequent to childhood maltreatment exposure.Methods: A retrospective population based open cohort study using the UK primary care database, 'The Health Improvement Network,' between 1st January 1995-31st December 2018. 80,657 adult patients who had experienced childhood maltreatment or maltreatment related concerns (exposed patients) were…

W. T. Whitney Jr. (2020-06-05). New U.S. military intervention subverts peace in Colombia and Venezuela. peoplesworld.org The United States Embassy in Bogotá announced on May 28 that the U.S. is sending 50 or so soldiers of the Army's 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) to Colombia. They would be carrying out consultations with Colombian Army commanders and providing them with technical assistance, both in order to fight narco-trafficking. The collaboration will …

Vijay Prashad (2020-06-05). Goliath is not invincible. mronline.org Last year, I walked with Mariela Machado in her housing complex known as Kaikachi in the neighbourhood of La Vega (Caracas, Venezuela). After Hugo Chávez was inaugurated president in 1999, a group of working-class residents of the city saw an empty piece of land and occupied it. Mariela and others went to the government and …

Manar Alkuzweny, Anita Raj, Sanjay Mehta (2020-06-05). [Letter] Preparing for a COVID-19 surge. thelancet.com As of May 12, 2020, over 4.2 million cases of COVID-19 across 187 countries have been reported, of which 1.3 million have occurred in the United States (US) alone [1]. Although many infected individuals will have mild symptoms, older patients are disproportionately more likely to progress to severe disease (US adults aged 65—84 are hospitalized at a rate of 31—59%, and infected adults over 85 at a rate of 31—70%) [2]. As hospital capacity and the population density of older adults vary considerably across the country and worldwide, understanding which regions will face disproportionate burden fr…

Zoe PC (2020-06-05). How do you resist a hybrid war amid a pandemic? peoplesdispatch.org The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a series of unexpected challenges in countries across the world. However amid the uncertainty, crisis and tragedy, we have seen traces of a more humane society based in solidarity. In several countries, States have committed to paying the salaries of workers that lost their jobs, some have implemented a basic income, and the healthcare systems have been re-nationalized. These measures have shown not only that it is not antagonistic to protect and support the people but long term it is actually better for the economy. On the international level, China and Cuba stand out for showi…

ahtribune (2020-06-08). Syria: Will the Great Middle Eastern War Begin in the Levant? ahtribune.com The world is in turmoil. 2020 has already brought major multiple crises, with the Iranian-American clash in Iraq which followed the US assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, and the COVID-19 health pandemic and economic disaster that struck all continents and stole the lives of over 400 thousand people around the world, costing tens of millions of jobs. None of this, however, prevented America from imposing even more sanctions on Iran, Syria and Venezuela. Iran — already under maximum sanctions since 1979 — sent five tankers to Venezuela to break the embargo on components and spare parts…

ahtribune (2020-06-05). The Hydroxychloroquine Enigma. ahtribune.com For most people, the outbreak of a new severe respiratory disease in China did not ring alarm bells — at least not ones commensurate with the global catastrophe we are now facing. Unlike those specialists who deal with epidemic diseases, or companies and institutes who study them and research drugs and vaccines, we were not familiar with the intricacies of infection and transmission, antibodies and immunity, nor the contingency plans governments had to deal with such outbreaks. | Being a new strain of Coronavirus not previously "tested" on human populations, even those at the Wuhan Institute of Virology…

Dan Roberts (2020-06-06). The Shortwave Report 06/05/20 Listen Globally! indybay.org A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. Radio Deutsche-Welle, Radio Havana Cuba, and NHK Japan.

Staff (2020-06-05). Pandemic and Digital Divide Threaten Accurate Census Count of Native Populations. truthout.org Every 10 years, the U.S. government undertakes the largest peace-time mobilization effort to count the nation: the U.S. census. People from marginalized communities are…

RT (2020-06-05). Paris denies that Guaido is hiding in French Embassy in Caracas as Venezuela demands he be handed over. rt.com France has rejected allegations that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has been holed up inside the nation's diplomatic mission in Caracas. Venezuelan authorities earlier labeled Guaido a "fugitive from justice." | "Juan Guaido is not at the French residence in Caracas. We have repeatedly confirmed this to the Venezuelan authorities," French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Agnes von der Muhll said. | Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza earlier claimed that Guaido, who was named 'interim president' by the opposition-controlled parliament last year, has been hiding inside the French Embassy, and deman…

RT (2020-06-05). Venezuelan FM says Guaido is holed up in French Embassy in Caracas, calls on Paris to 'hand over the fugitive'. rt.com Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has taken refuge at the French Embassy in the country's capital, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said. Guaido previously sought to shoot down the rumors, insisting he is "with the people." | "We cannot enter the premises of any country's embassy whatsoever, in this case Spain or France," Arreaza said on Thursday, referring to both Guaido and fellow opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who fled to a Spanish diplomatic compound soon after a failed attempt to spark an insurrection in April 2019. Arreaza said this means that any arrest of the two men "is not possible." | We hop…

en.mehrnews (2020-06-08). Leader thanks crew of oil tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jun. 08 (MNA) — Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appreciated the efforts of the oil tankers' crew that delivered Iranian fuel to Venezuela.

sputniknews (2020-06-06). American Oil Company Chevron's Crude Cargo Gets Embroiled In US Anti-Venezuela Sanctions. sputniknews.com The day before, Reuters reported, citing unnamed US officials that the US Department of the Treasury was considering sanctioning more than 40 foreign oil tankers over their alleged involvement in the oil trade with Venezuela, which has been sanctioned by the US in its efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

yenisafak (2020-06-08). 'Hunger is worse than corona': Sudanese demand end to lockdown amid economic woes. yenisafak.com Like many Sudanese, car mechanic Mohamed Othman says the government must end its coronavirus lockdown now so that he can get back to work because "me and my family have no other source of income".The transitional civilian government, which runs Sudan under a power-sharing deal with the army, ordered most businesses, markets, schools and mosques to shut and imposed travel restrictions nearly two months ago.But it is facing growing demands to end the restrictions from a population mired in poverty and facing annual inflation of nearly 100% as well as complaints that promised aid for poorer Sudanese has failed to ma…

_____ (2020-06-07). Bolivia Under Dictatorship: US The Real Power. popularresistance.org A little more than six months after the coup d'état (10-11 November 2019) against President Evo Morales in Bolivia, now exiled in Argentina, he warned of the serious situation his country is facing under a de facto government headed by the self-proclaimed President Jeanine Añez, who in addition to repression involving massacres against the population and persecution and imprisonment of political leaders and militants, is systematically destroying the social and economic model and achievements of the overthrown government of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS). | Now that country is confronting the COVD-19 pandem…

_____ (2020-06-07). Fortress On A Hill: Interview With Kevin Zeese. popularresistance.org Kevin Zeese of Popular Resistance stops by the podcast to discuss his path to becoming an activist during protests in the 60's and 70's, what he's learned from Ralph Nader, police brutality and militarization, Kevin's long standing work on the Vietnam war and Venezuela, and the dynamics of "lesser evil voting." | Kevin Zeese is a public interest attorney who has worked for economic, racial and environmental justice since graduating from George Washington Law School in 1980. | He co-directs PopularResistance.org which works to build the independent movement for transformational change. Kevin co-hosts, "Clearing th…

_____ (2020-06-07). Fortress On A Hill: Interiew With Kevin Zeese. popularresistance.org Kevin Zeese of Popular Resistance stops by the podcast to discuss his path to becoming an activist during protests in the 60's and 70's, what he's learned from Ralph Nader, police brutality and militarization, Kevin's long standing work on the Vietnam war and Venezuela, and the dynamics of "lesser evil voting." | Kevin Zeese is a public interest attorney who has worked for economic, racial and environmental justice since graduating from George Washington Law School in 1980. | He co-directs PopularResistance.org which works to build the independent movement for transformational change. Kevin co-hosts, "Clearing th…

_____ (2020-06-06). Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective Wins Legal Victory. popularresistance.org On the morning of June 3, four U.S. citizens from the Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective (EPC) who engaged in a two-week-long standoff with right-wing Venezuelan exile hooligans and members of Juan Guaidó's coup administration entered a plea agreement with the U.S. government. | The chief Judge for the U.S. District Court District of Columbia, Beryl Howell, sentenced David Paul, Margaret Flowers, Kevin Zeese, and Adrienne Pine to six months of probation and fines totaling $750 each. Additionally, Judge Howell ordered the four defendants to stay away from the building which formally served as Venezuela's emb…

_____ (2020-06-05). Push Back: US Police State Faces Revolt. popularresistance.org Dr. Gerald Horne on the George Floyd protests, the black freedom struggle, and Trump's expansion of the US police state at home and around the world. | Historian and author Gerald Horne discusses the US uprisings against police brutality and systemic racism sparked by George Floyd's killing; the devastating impact of the US government's decades-old war on the black freedom struggle; the ongoing "Russia-baiting" of the protests; and how, amidst the suffering and repression at home, the U.S. government, in bipartisan fashion, continues to attempt to impose its will on countries abroad, from China to Venezuela. | Gu…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-05). Taxing large fortunes, a tool of social justice. peoplesdispatch.org Several countries around the world are discussing a tax on large fortunes to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question of combating extreme inequality is a political decision that governments have to make. | According to an Oxfam study, since 2015, the richest population, which accounts for 1% of the total, has more wealth than the rest of the planet. Small elites of countries seize an increasing proportion of national income, while hundreds of millions of people still do not have access to potable drinking water or enough food for their families. | The gap between rich and poor people wid…

Caitlin Johnstone (2020-06-05). Smartphone Cameras Are The Windows Into Society's Soul. thealtworld.com In ages past we knew hardly anything about what was going on in a given civilization. Mythology about a population's history were handed down around campfires in the form of verbal tradition from generation to generation. When the written word came around we invented something called "history", which was really just records of the ancient propaganda from whoever happened to have won the most recent war. Then later on we got very clever and invented something called "journalism", which was really just whatever stories the people who controlled the media wanted told. | None of these presentations were particularly…

news.un (2020-06-05). First Person: Countering COVID-19 misinformation in Venezuela. news.un.org The virus of false information and fake news which has proliferated globally as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, has not spared the crisis-wracked South American country, Venezuela. But the United Nations there is countering the misinformation by making sure that Venezuelans receive trustworthy and reliable information about the deadly virus.