Monthly Archives: July 2020

2020-07-23: News Headlines

Jean Jores Pierre (2020-07-23). PetroCaribe and Haiti's lost opportunities. peoplesdispatch.org Haitian activist and economist Jean Jores Pierre argues that the mismanagement of the PetroCaribe agreement and funds by the Haitian government first and foremost affects the people of Haiti who still do not have access to basic goods and services…

William Boardman (2020-07-23). Defund the Police State, Before It's Too Late. globalresearch.ca The American police state is currently making its boldest test run to date in Portland, Oregon, escalating violence and lawlessness against the peaceful population of an American city. The people of Portland have responded with increased resistance, but support from …

Black Alliance for Peace (2020-07-23). Trump Administration Deploys Federal Forces into Major U.S. Cities. globalresearch.ca The repressive U.S. state's chickens have come home to roost with President Donald Trump announcing federal troops will be deployed to several U.S. cities. This comes after federal agents reportedly disappeared protesters last week off the streets of Portland, Oregon….

DLI (2020-07-23). Secret police in Portland violated human rights of peaceful protesters. indybay.org Videos showing U.S. Federal secret police(with no badges and riding in unmarked vehicles)inflicting massive violence on mostly peaceful protesters are running viral across the Globe. Yet the Federal governing regime brazenly avows that this will be the "new normal" in major cities from now on…

Marilyn Bechtel (2020-07-23). Cities challenge Trump's dispatch of federal law enforcement officers. peoplesworld.org OAKLAND, Calif. — Outrage is growing throughout the country over Donald Trump's use of federal law enforcement against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and his threats to dispatch federal officers to other U.S. cities. On July 20, Trump told reporters he might send federal "law enforcement" to cities he claimed were experiencing heightened violence, naming cities …

Fight Back (2020-07-23). Stand with the resistance in Portland! fightbacknews.org Protesters grabbed off the streets by federal agents who refuse to identify themselves, placed unmarked vehicles, and taken to undisclosed locations. These same agents nearly killed a young man holding part of a sound system at a demonstration. This is the outrageous reality in Portland today, were Trump has deployed a paramilitary police force to carry out a wave of repression. The good news is that the resistance in Portland has been nothing short of heroic, as thousands have taken to the streets in a powerful display of opposition. | The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that it is deploying federal a…

_____ (2020-07-23). New Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Federal Law Enforcement. popularresistance.org The Western States Center, the First Unitarian Church of Portland, two state representatives and an ACLU legal observer are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which alleges the federal government has violated protesters' 10th Amendment rights. It was filed Tuesday in federal court. | The 10th Amendment delineates the separation of powers between federal and state governments. | "The power to engage in ordinary law enforcement is one of the long-recognized powers that belong to the states and to their municipalities," said Cliff Davidson, an attorney with Snell & Wilmer, the firm filing the lawsuit. | The W…

_____ (2020-07-23). What Are Trump And His Goons Up To? popularresistance.org First and foremost, it is a political stunt to capture the law and order crowd and press on divides between the coastal cities and inland voters. But it's also more sinister than that. The use of federal forces is designed to weaken local accountability by freezing out local government that constituents can reach. Portland's mayor might not even have opposed some "help" from the feds, but he wasn't asked. In other words, this wasn't mutual aid. This was indeed an invasion. An alphabet soup of federal agencies have been employed to crack down on police brutality protests, including the National Guard, the US Marsh…

_____ (2020-07-23). Federal Agents Retreat To Portland Base As Protesters Control Streets. popularresistance.org The DHS officers dispatched by the president to put down the demonstrations have instead become prisoners of the building they are ostensibly there to defend. | "The feds don't have control of the streets," said a woman holding a sign "100% not a terrorist", who gave her name only as Shannon. "I think they're more scared than us. They're hiding in there. They don't know what they're doing." If the intent was to intimidate the protesters into abandoning the few square blocks of downtown Portland under their control, it backfired spectacularly. | Residents of a city with a long history of radical street protest wer…

_____ (2020-07-23). Portland's Mayor Tear-Gassed By Militarized US Police. popularresistance.org The mayor of Portland, Oregon was tear-gassed by U.S. government agents as he stood outside a federal courthouse during another night of protests against the presence of federal police sent by President Donald Trump to quell the city's ongoing unrest. | Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, appeared slightly dazed and coughed and said Wednesday night it was the first time he'd been tear-gassed. | He put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water but did not leave his spot at the front of the protest and continued to take tear gas as the demonstration raged — with protesters lighting a large fire betwe…

yenisafak (2020-07-23). In another night of unrest in Portland, tear gas hits mayor. yenisafak.com The mayor of the U.S. city of Portland, Ted Wheeler, was stung by tear gas early on Thursday morning after he joined demonstrators protesting against racial injustice and police brutality.Protests have rocked Portland every night for weeks, with security forces often tear-gassing and clubbing demonstrators.Visiting the protest site, Wheeler was jeered at by some demonstrators who called on him to resign and chanted "Shame on You". They said he should have done more to protect Portland's citizens.However, as he stood amongst the crowd outside Portland's Justice Center, Wheeler, who was wearing a face mask, was him…

RT (2020-07-23). Portland mayor cheers protesters & joins them to face tear gas, gets calls to resign anyway (VIDEOS). rt.com Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler failed to win over a crowd of angry anti-police protesters despite rooting for their cause. But rather than seeing him as an ally against federal agents, some said he's part of the problem and has to go.

Staff (2020-07-23). Paramilitary-Style Tactics in Portland Mirror Decades of U.S. Violence on the Border & Abroad. democracynow.org The harrowing scenes of paramilitary-style units in the streets of American cities like Portland has shocked mainstream America, but award-winning independent journalist Todd Miller, who has reported on border security and immigration for over a decade, says it's a reflection of how the U.S. has operated around the world. We also speak with Cecilia Menjívar, UCLA sociology professor, who says the image of unmarked vans snatching people from the streets "brings back memories to Latin Americans who lived through disappearances of families and friends and co-workers."

yenisafak (2020-07-23). 'Turkish aid helps Venezuela fight virus effectively'. yenisafak.com Sevki Mutevellioglu told Anadolu Agency last week Turkish aid, including 25 ventilators, 40,000 testing kits, 150,000 masks and protective clothing, reached the capital Caracas.He noted that the aircraft was also carrying medical equipment donated to Venezuela as part of various health projects supervised by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).The ambassador said the Venezuelan side welcomed the aid as its economy is crippled by sanctions.Mutevellioglu praised the "fast, effective and accurate" response of President Nicolas Maduro's government.Noting that the ventilators and other supplies were…

Eds. (2020-07-23). Saving nature: Overpopulation is not the primary problem. mronline.org In a period of ecological and climate crises, figuring out 'how to save nature' is perhaps the principal challenge facing our planet. Yet, a largely unchallenged view is the misconception that overpopulation is among the primary drivers of these crises.

Olivia Rosane (2020-07-23). Due to climate change, polar bears could be nearly extinct by 2100. peoplesworld.org If world governments don't act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most polar bear populations will not survive the century, a new study has found. Polar bears, who rely on Arctic sea ice to hunt for seals, have long been a symbol of the impacts of the climate crisis. As the ice melts, they lose the ability to sustain themselves. "Polar bears …

Stan Cox (2020-07-23). The Coronavirus-Climate-Air Conditioning Nexus. counterpunch.org A wave of persistent, intense heat and humidity has enveloped the Midwest, South, and Northeast in this second half of July. By the time it subsides, more than half of the U.S. population will have been hit with heat indexes above 100; for many, the heat wave will last for several days. The severe heat

Margaret Kimberley (2020-07-23). Freedom Rider: Media silent as Trump declares wars. mronline.org Donald Trump's attacks on Venezuela, Syria and Iran are criminal, but Joe Biden vows to be even worse.

Editor (2020-07-23). Defend Portland! Defend People's Resistance! No Police State! workers.org Despite the brutal attempt of the White House to crush the heroic Black Lives Matter movement by sending camouflaged federal agents ‚àí secret police ‚àí to Portland, Chicago and other U.S. cities, the movement and all who support it have been fighting back. The initial response to the threat of . . . |

Eds. (2020-07-23). As Trump threatens secret police deployment nationwide, Democrats debate expanding surveillance powers and new money for DHS. mronline.org The rogue deployment of secret federal police forces in Portland, Oregon, has added a new complication to negotiations over reauthorizing the Trump administration's vast surveillance powers and appropriating new money for the Department of Homeland Security.

Margaret Kimberley (2020-07-23). Media Silent as Trump Declares Wars. globalresearch.ca Donald Trump's attacks on Venezuela, Syria and Iran are criminal, but Joe Biden vows to be even worse. | The corporate media in this country can endlessly repeat lies about Russia paying Taliban bounties, but ignore important information that is …

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-23). Mexico struggles to fight COVID-19. peoplesdispatch.org Mexico emerges as the third worst-hit country in the Latin American and Caribbean region and the seventh nation in the world with most confirmed cases of coronavirus. With a population of about 129 million, Mexico has the second-highest death toll in the region and the fourth-highest in the world, after the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom. | The first coronavirus case in Mexico was recorded on February 28 and the first fatality on March 19. As of July 22, the country has registered 362,274 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection, 41,190 deaths due to the disease and 231,403 recoveries. | The gov…

Max Elbaum (2020-07-23). Guns? Yes. Masks? No. And Gestapo in Portland. zcomm.org The toxic mix of valuing gun ownership over protecting public health, conspiracism, and reactionary movements glued together by white supremacy and national chauvinism are too deeply rooted to be ended any time soon…

Fight Back (2020-07-22). The Wisconsin District of FRSO condemns the deployment of federal agents to Milwaukee. fightbacknews.org Milwaukee, WI – Last week, unmarked federal agents in military uniforms grabbed protesters off the streets of Portland, Oregon, and threw them into unmarked black vans. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed responsibility for the shadowy operation, citing "graffiti" as their justification for snatching activists off the street and interrogating them. | Now, Milwaukee has been named by the Trump administration as one of the cities that would likely be targeted for deployment of Homeland Security Investigation agents. Some Milwaukee activists have reported spotting unidentified agents in military gear n…

Joshua Hanks (2020-07-22). Outrage over Trump attack: Portland movement fights back. workers.org Federal officers were deployed to "quell" Portland's protests beginning the weekend of July 10 and continuing the following week. Camouflaged unidentified agents arrested and detained demonstrators without even a pretext. The Trump administration has escalated the confrontation between the people and the state apparatus, bringing a whiff of fascism to . . . |

Alan MacLeod (2020-07-22). Portland: "Wall of Moms" mobilizes to protect protests from police violence. mronline.org Chanting, "Feds stay clear! Moms are here!," groups of women congregated at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse and other locations in Central Portland. They were met with tear gas, flashbangs, and pepper round bullets, injuring many.

Joan Walsh (2020-07-22). Another Long Day of GOP Disrespect for Women. thenation.com Attacks on AOC, Liz Cheney, and Portland's "Wall of Moms" make it seem like Republicans don't care about women. Except Ghislaine Maxwell.

Fight Back (2020-07-22). Federal officers seen dragging protesters into unmarked vans in Portland. fightbacknews.org Portland, OR – For weeks now, officers under the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security have been terrorizing the residents of Portland Oregon in new attempts to stamp out the protest movement that has been ongoing since the killing of George Floyd. These officers can be seen in various videos wearing nondescript camo fatigues with no markings indicating who they are or, or what agency they are working for. These same federal officers nearly killed a protester in Portland last week after shooting him in the head with a 'less-lethal' impact device. | In an intensification of an already overzeal…

Fight Back (2020-07-22). Trump deploying 150 federal agents in Chicago to repress our movement. fightbacknews.org Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. | What we have watched in Portland is the dress rehearsal for what Trump is preparing for Chicago: an effort to squash the Black Lives Matter protests flowing from this uprising by violent military means. He claims he is targeting the cities controlled by Democrats because of the chaos caused by the largest rebellion in U.S. history. | In truth, broad democratic forces have come together to exercise their right to protest against police murder and violence. We've had signals this was…

sputniknews (2020-07-22). Over 100 US Lawmakers Ask Barr to Explain Unidentified Federal Officers in Portland. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US law enforcement chiefs need to explain the activities of unidentified federal personnel in Portland, Oregon, during the protests there, 114 members of the House of Representatives wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Wednesday.

RT (2020-07-22). 'We won't retreat': DHS chief defends 'proactive arrests' amid Portland riots, stokes Minority Report dystopia outcry (VIDEOS). rt.com The head of the Department of Homeland Security set off alarms after saying that federal agents were making 'proactive' arrests in Portland amid heated protests, drawing comparisons to the dystopian "pre-crime" of Minority Report. | Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf appeared on a Fox News segment on Tuesday night, discussing the ongoing protests and rioting across Portland, which he says have continued for "52 nights in a row" as federal officers there are stretched to the limit. | "Because we don't have that local law enforcement support, we are having to go out and proactively arrest individuals, and we need…

Staff (2020-07-22). Philadelphia DA Says Trump's Police Will Be Arrested If They Assault Protesters. truthout.org As President Donald Trump defends his questionable use of federal agents to arrest and detain protesters in Portland, Oregon, in recent weeks, suggesting also that such actions could happen in other places across the country, one district attorney of a city Trump said might be next said he'd take direct action against any federal officers that unlawfully detained individuals. | Trump appeared to cite partisan politics on Monday as part of the reason he felt the need to take action against c…

Mike Hastie (2020-07-22). Tear Gas, Beatings and Projectiles in Portland. counterpunch.org The last couple of nights I have been heavily involved in demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. ( July 18-19, 2020.) As most of you probably know these demonstrations have been going on in front of the Federal Justice Center for over 50 straight nights. Since Trump called in the Feds, the turmoil and violence has escalated. We

Ron Jacobs (2020-07-22). Trumpfen Sturmabteilung (Trump's Stormtroopers). counterpunch.org It is not hard to see the forces kidnapping individuals and teargassing Portland's streets as the Trump administration's private stormtroopers. Although they are operating under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the truth is it is the Executive Branch that issued their orders.

teleSUR (2020-07-22). Venezuela Rejects US Actions Against Supreme Court President. telesurenglish.net Venezuela rejects the illegal and coercive actions of Donald Trump's government that intend to disrespect the Supreme Court of Justice and its President, Dr. Maikel Moreno, based on false accusations. | RELATED: | In the style of sheriffs and cowboys of the old American West, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a reward of five million dollars for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Moreno,…

teleSUR (2020-07-22). Tropical Storm Gonzalo Puts the Caribbean on Alert. telesurenglish.net Venezuela, Barbados, and other Caribbean islands are on the alert because Tropical Storm Gonzalo is approaching their territories. | RELATED: | On Wednesday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC ) reported that tropical depression seven developed into Tropical Storm Gonzalo in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. | Gonzalo is a small tropical cyclone, with tropical-storm-force winds that extend outward up to 25 mil…

teleSUR (2020-07-22). US: San Francisco Lawmakers Call On Cooperation With Cuba. telesurenglish.net U.S. San Francisco City and County Supervisors Board Tuesday approved bill N ∞ 200773 that allows medical and scientific cooperation with Cuba. | RELATED: | "The country of Cuba has a long history of providing international medical aid to other countries with many of its medical personnel directly involved in the fight against COVID-19 as members of the specially trained Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade agains…

Zoà´ Carpenter (2020-07-22). Why Portland Became the Test Case for Trump's Secret Police. thenation.com Why Portland Became the Test Case for Trump's Secret Police…

_____ (2020-07-22). Portland's Wall Of Moms Joined By Dads With Leaf Blowers. popularresistance.org In response to the use of tear gas being utilized by federal officers against demonstrators, including a group of moms, in an uprising in Portland, Oregon, this week, a like-minded dads' group encouraged others to show up to the event with leaf blowers in order to dissipate the chemical agents. | Uprisings in Portland have happened nightly since the end of May, in response to police violence against Black Americans, including renewed attention to Jason Washington, a Black resident of the city who was shot and killed by police in 2018. | Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as federal officers began appearing a…

ACLU Foundation of Oregon (2020-07-22). ACLU Sues Federal Agents Over "Unconstitutional Nightmare" in Portland. indybay.org Organization Seeks to Block Federal Law Enforcement Attacks on Journalists, Legal Observers in Portland…

Coalition for Police Accountabiity (2020-07-22). Reject the "Exigency Clause" Measure — No Martial Law in Oakland. indybay.org This letter was written by Cathy Leonard on behalf of CPA in response to the Police Union's addition to a Measure LL [Police Commission] clean-up measure which would allow the city administrator to declare a version of martial law. If Mayor Schaaf really opposes the Portlandization of Oakland, she needs to demand this addition be removed from any police accountability measure now.

_____ (2020-07-21). Portland: A Harbinger Of Things To Come? popularresistance.org Militarized federal agents deployed by the president to Portland, fired tear gas against protesters again overnight as the city's mayor demanded that the agents be removed and as the state's attorney general vowed to seek a restraining order against them. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP) | Masked men in unrecognizable police uniforms jump out of unmarked vans and grab an activist who has been involved in demonstrations against a repressive state. That person is disappeared. Is this Pinochet's Chile, apartheid South Africa or a scene from a John Clancy novel? | No, this is happening in Portland, Oregon, a major…

Democracy Now! (2020-07-21). Portland Protests Grow Despite Violent Crackdown from Militarized Federal Agents & Local Police. dissidentvoice.org Heavily armed federal officers without name tags have carried out nightly attacks on antiracist demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, and snatched people off the streets into unmarked vans, sparking widespread outrage. "What we've seen is a continuous escalation in violence against our protesters," says Lilith Sinclair, an Afro-Indigenous local organizer in Portland. They note the federal …

Sasha Abramsky (2020-07-21). When 'Law and Order' Means Maximum Chaos. thenation.com When 'Law and Order' Means Maximum Chaos…

Julia Conley (2020-07-21). 'Feds Stay Clear, Moms Are Here'. zcomm.org Portland Mothers Form Human Shield to Protect Protesters from Federal Agents…

Staff (2020-07-21). Instead Of Battling COVID-19, Trump Launches A War On Protesters. therealnews.com The Nation's Ken Klippenstein discusses the leaked documents that reveal CBP as the federal agency detaining protesters in Portland.

RT (2020-07-21). WATCH: Antifa and parents set up 'shield walls' as protesters lay siege to Portland federal courthouse. rt.com Antifa members and their new reinforcements from parent groups faced off against federal agents in Portland, Oregon, once again, employing shield walls and flanks in tactics reminiscent of the ancient Greeks or Romans. | As midnight approached on Monday, more than 1,000 protesters had gathered outside the federal courthouse. Some among the crowd attempted to tear down barricades outside the courthouse and gain entry, taunting the police inside. Others in the group formed a shield wall to fend off any non-lethal munitions which might be fired at them. | A man climbs up the protective barricade at the Portland f…

Staff (2020-07-21). "Camouflaged Goon Squads": Outrage, Legal Challenges in Portland as Federal Agents Snatch Protesters. democracynow.org The U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon has called for an investigation into the conduct of federal officers deployed to protests in Portland, calling their behavior "unlawful." Local officials are also mounting legal challenges to remove the agents from city streets. Juan Chavez, project director and attorney at the Oregon Justice Resource Center, says it's a terrifying situation for Portland residents who face "these camouflaged goon squads" who often refuse to identify themselves or their agencies. "They just appear in the middle of the night next to people who are in and around downtown who then get corr…

Staff (2020-07-21). Portland Protests Grow Despite Violent Crackdown from Militarized Federal Agents & Local Police. democracynow.org Heavily armed federal officers without name tags have carried out nightly attacks on antiracist demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, and snatched people off the streets into unmarked vans, sparking widespread outrage. "What we've seen is a continuous escalation in violence against our protesters," says Lilith Sinclair, an Afro-Indigenous local organizer in Portland. They note the federal violence follows many years of "severe police brutality" from local police. "It's left the people of Portland not only worried about their safety, but, even more so, justified in the fight that we're engaged in."

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-07-21). New Local Lawsuit Challenges 'Violent and Unlawful' Attacks on Portland Protesters by Trump's Secret Police Force. commondreams.org "There is no positive delegation of authority in any law that makes the federal government's recent forays into general policing in Portland either legal or constitutional." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-12277186951_0.jpg

2020-07-22: News Headlines

Rabail Chaudhry, George Dranitsaris, Talha Mubashir, Justyna Bartoszko, Sheila Riazi (2020-07-21). [Research Paper] A country level analysis measuring the impact of government actions, country preparedness and socioeconomic factors on COVID-19 mortality and related health outcomes. thelancet.com In this exploratory analysis, low levels of national preparedness, scale of testing and population characteristics were associated with increased national case load and overall mortality.

RT (2020-07-21). US puts $5 MILLION bounty on president of Venezuela's supreme court, accusing him of 'corruption'. rt.com Washington is offering $5 million for the arrest of the presiding judge of Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice, accusing Maikel Moreno of accepting bribes in criminal cases and of being a "crony" of President Nicolas Maduro. | US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the bounty on Tuesday, saying that Moreno "used his position of authority for personal gain" and that his designation sends a clear message that the US "stands firmly against corruption." | | Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, a Maduro crony, used his position of authority for…

Gloria La Riva (2020-07-21). Cuba flattens the COVID-19 curve. liberationnews.org Photo: Director of Epidemiology of the Cuban Ministry of Health Dr. Francisco Durán García, in his daily press conference Yesterday, the United States surpassed 140,000 COVID-19 deaths. More than 3.7 million people in the U.S. are known to have fallen ill, by far the largest number of cases in the world. The Trump administration's monumentally …

Anand Naidoo (2020-07-21). U.S. battles COVID-19 and Cuba's medical aid. america.cgtn.com Coronavirus cases surge across the United States with the death toll now topping 140,000. And, Cuba's medical teams fight COVID-19 across the globe.

RT (2020-07-21). Trump orders that illegal aliens NOT BE COUNTED in allocating House seats under 2020 census, provoking Democrat outrage. rt.com Immigrants in the US illegally will be excluded from allocating state seats in the House of Representatives based on the 2020 census, President Donald Trump has announced. Democrats called the move racist and unconstitutional. | On Tuesday, Trump instructed the Department of Commerce to "exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment base following the 2020 census," meaning that non-citizens will not be counted in the population of those states when the number of seats in the House is next apportioned. | The action "reflects a better understanding of the Constitution and is consistent with the principles of our…

Hye Jin Rho — Shawn Fremstad (2020-07-21). Multiple Job Holders: Who Are They and How Are They Holding Up During the Pandemic? counterpunch.org According to the Current Population Survey (CPS), 8.1 million employees worked one or more additional jobs in a typical week in 2019. As the figure below shows, the number of these "employee multiple jobholders" had been trending upward since 2013 before the pandemic hit. (We use the term "employee multiple jobholders" here because, as we

Matt Sedlar (2020-07-21). Labor Market Transitions of Young People During the Pandemic. cepr.net As noted in a previous CEPR article, the employment-to-population ratio, or EPOP, for 16 to 24-year-olds fell at twice the rate of the decline in overall employment between February and April 2020. In this article, we document trends in young people's employment and month-to-month labor market transitions through June 2020. While there has been some …

Schnurr PP, Norman SB, Hamblen JL. (2020-07-21). PTSD Treatments for Veterans. jamanetwork.com To the Editor The JAMA Insights article by Dr Steenkamp and colleagues highlighted the need to improve treatment outcomes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for veterans and service members. However, we are concerned because the article failed to accurately characterize the recommendations of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)/Department of Defense (DoD) PTSD Practice Guideline and drew erroneous conclusions from the evidence that may be potentially detrimental to this population.

Forbes West (2020-07-20). Time to defund the Senate. peoplesworld.org Here are some fun facts and figures when talking about the United States of America and the world: The population of California is 39.78 million. The population of Canada is 37.7 million. The population of Los Angeles County is larger than every state with the exceptions of California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, …

Elliot Sperber (2020-07-20). The Ghost of Sabato Rodia. counterpunch.org The Ghost of Sabato Rodia How old were you When you first saw The cops beat the weak And the young, and the poor Who, as they say, will inherit the earth When the cops dissolve — With the rich, who train them, Like horses, or dogs The common will In common — And Simon

The Canary (2020-07-20). Only 'aggressive' cuts to carbon emissions can save polar bears from extinction, study says. thecanary.co Melting sea ice could "jeopardise" the survival of most of the Arctic's polar bear population by 2100, a new study claims.Researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada said a loss of sea ice caused by global warming will force them on to land, where they must rely on fat reserves due to a lack of food.The study, published in Nature Climate Change, said "aggressive" cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are now needed to save the polar bears, which rely on sea ice to reach their prey, from extinction.Researchers used modelling to determine a polar bear's energy requirements while fasting and the thresholds that…

Stephen Sefton (2020-07-20). Nicaragua: No Stopping the Sandinista Revolution. globalresearch.ca 41 years on from the revolutionary triumph of 1979, the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) in Nicaragua looks stronger and with greater legitimacy than ever. Nicaragua embodies the same revolutionary paradox as Cuba and Venezuela. Despite all three countries …

Boaz Anglade (2020-07-20). Reimagining Haitian Exceptionalism. globalresearch.ca When Haiti is called "exceptional," it is rarely in the positive sense of the term. An exceptional Haiti often refers to a strange and enigmatic place where the theories and practices applicable to other societies inexplicably fail. In Haitian literary …

Paul Dobson (2020-07-20). Venezuela Sees COVID-19 Outbreak at State Television Network. venezuelanalysis.com Caracas' regional government chief, Dario Vivas, has tested positive, while National Assembly President Luis Parra has been hospitalised with pneumonia-like symptoms.

_____ (2020-07-20). Paralyzed Companies Rescued By An 'Army' Of Volunteer Workers. popularresistance.org The Productive Workers' Army (EPO) is a grassroots movement composed of Venezuelan workers that came together in 2014. They dedicate their volunteer labor to rescuing various companies that have been paralyzed because of the economic situation which the country is going through, the shortages of spare parts and supplies due to the US blockade, and the various kinds of political destabilization. | The movement, with 2,270 members spread across the country, defines itself as "an unconventional army to win an unconventional war." | When the EPO is contacted by workers from the company in trouble, those best placed -…

Vanessa Beeley (2020-07-19). Hunger is a Weapon of War: Syria Under US Coalition Blockade and Scorched Earth Policy. globalresearch.ca In a world dominated by American exceptionalism and neo-colonialism, hunger has become a weapon of war. "The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited" under i

teleSUR (2020-07-19). Cuba: President Diaz-Canel Congratulates Children on Their Day. telesurenglish.net Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel Sunday congratulate every Cuban child marking on occasion of the Children's Day in the Caribbean Island. | RELATED: | "Congratulations to our kids in Cuba. We Are Cuba," president Diaz-Canel tweeted. | Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez congratulate the Cuban children and reaffirmed the government's commitment to guarantee children's rights, well-being and full development. | He added that the Cu…

teleSUR (2020-07-19). Filmmaker Michael Moore Voices Support for Cuba's Doctors. telesurenglish.net U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore is one of many U.S. and Cuban artists and personalities participating in this weekend's virtual Concert for Cuba in support of the valiant efforts of Cuban doctors in their mission to assist 34 nations in their fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | Around 60 Cuban and U.S. performers can be seen on Concert for Cuba, which is being held July 18th and 19th during which many have also added their voice to the campaign calling…

teleSUR (2020-07-19). Cuban and US Artists Pay Tribute to Doctors. telesurenglish.net Around 60 Cuban and U.S. artists are coming together for Concert for Cuba, which is being held July 18th and 19th, to raise their voices against the decades-long U.S. blockade and to pay tribute to doctors who are providing medical collaboration globally, in the fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | The online event is being organized by the Chicago Hot House in collaboration with the Cuban Ministry of Culture and Cuban Institute of Music, in which message…

_____ (2020-07-19). SouthCom Warships Sailing Near Venezuelan Shores. popularresistance.org The United States Navy (US) sailed into Venezuelan waters, "to challenge the excessive claim of Venezuela on June 23", when the Minister of Popular Power for Defense, G / J Vladimir Padrino López , warned that a US ship entered 30 miles north of the Venezuelan coasts, calling the event a threat. | According to US military forces, the "Freedom of Navigation" operation in the Caribbean Sea is being carried out "outside 12 nautical miles off the Venezuelan coast." However, the ship sailed through an area that according to international law belongs to Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan Organic Law of Aquatic Spac…

yenisafak (2020-07-19). Kuwait says emir, 91, had successful surgery. yenisafak.com Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 91, underwent successful surgery on Sunday, according to the official KUNA news agency.KUNA cited a statement by the country's royal court calling the surgery a "success," but gave no further details.The royal court said Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah "temporarily assumed some of the emir's constitutional duties for the duration of the operation and till the [emir's] health event was over".Last October, Sheikh Sabah, who ruled Kuwait since 2006, conducted "medical checkups" in the US.*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara…

Harry Rutter, Richard Horton, Theresa M Marteau (2020-07-18). [Comment] The Lancet—Chatham House Commission on improving population health post COVID-19. thelancet.com The health of populations across the planet is in a perilous state during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 550‚Äà000 deaths worldwide as of July 10, 2020.1 The disease burden is falling mainly on the most disadvantaged groups worldwide and there are major impacts on health systems across high, middle, and low-income countries. In parallel with these direct health impacts, the economic effects of lockdowns are leading to an unprecedented global recession which will have ramifications well into the future.