Daily Archives: August 21, 2020

2020-08-21: News Headlines

Betsey Piette (2020-08-21). U.S. cities, states look to socialist Cuba for COVID-19 help. workers.org With the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 expected to surpass 200,000 by the end of August, governing bodies in U.S. cities and states are taking matters into their own hands. They are calling for U.S.-Cuba scientific and medical collaboration against the pandemic. On July 21, the San Francisco Board of . . . |

Subodh Varma (2020-08-21). Understanding India's low COVID-19 death rate. peoplesdispatch.org Contrary to the Narendra Modi government's claims, India's low case fatality rate in the COVID-19 pandemic is not because of any well-thought out strategy. It is rather due to a relatively young population and some statistical tricks…

Tanya Wadhwa (2020-08-21). Union leader in Trinidad and Tobago warns that racial tensions "serve the interest of the elite class" peoplesdispatch.org The Oilfields Workers' Trade Union rejected the racial discourse and stressed that the racial divisions between Afro-Trinbagonians and Indo-Trinbagonians were created intentionally by politicians and the elites to divide the working class…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-08-21). US to Tighten Venezuela Sanctions after Gasoline Seizure. globalresearch.ca The Trump administration is reportedly considering ending all Venezuela oil sanctions exemptions in October. | "Whatever oil business is left has to be completed (by the deadline)," an anonymous source told …

Andrew Korybko (2020-08-20). The Belarusian Labor Strike Movement Could Bring Down Lukashenko. globalresearch.ca Belarus' disproportionate budgetary dependence on five big businesses makes it extremely vulnerable to economic destabilization if the tiny percentage of the country's population employed in those companies join in the nationwide labor strike movement to remove Lukashenko. | "The Economic Factor …

Eds. (2020-08-20). Venezuela: The real enemy. mronline.org We became an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. imperialism in 1999. From that moment on, our enemy declared war, not a conventional war, but war nonetheless.

Manuela Sole (2020-08-20). Venezuela Welcomes Turkish FM, Signs New Round of Agreements. venezuelanalysis.com Turkey agreed to build a new hospital in Venezuela on the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

WSWS (2020-08-20). Maryland's Republican governor overrules county order for private schools to remain closed. wsws.org The effort to force schools to open in Montgomery County will have the effect of spreading COVID-19 among the school-aged population…

The Canary (2020-08-20). Contact tracing apps 'unlikely to contain Covid-19 spread without support'. thecanary.co Contact tracing apps are unlikely to be effective in reducing the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) unless there is a large-scale uptake by the population and it is supported by other public health control measures, scientists have said. | Their findings, published in the journal Lancet Digital Health, are based on a review of data from 15 scientific studies published between January and mid-April this year. | The researchers, led by University College London, also said evidence on the effectiveness of automated contact tracing systems is limited and there is an "urgent need for further evaluation of these apps".

yenisafak (2020-08-20). Cuba to begin clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine. yenisafak.com Cuba will begin the first stage of a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine Aug. 24, officials said Wednesday.The Finlay Vaccine Institute registered a clinical trial for one of its candidates at the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials. The SOBERANA 01 trial is on phase I and II and involves 676 volunteers between the ages of 19 and 80."Achieving an effective vaccine against COVID-19 is a priority for our entire science and innovation system at BioCubaFarma. Today we see how solid and accelerated progress has been made in this project in the Finlay Institute," said Eduardo Martínez, president of the BioCubaFa…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-08-20). Trump Proposed Trading 'Poor' Puerto Ricans for Greenland After Hurricane Maria Devastation, Former DHS Official Says. commondreams.org A former Homeland Security official said this week that in addition to suggesting the U.S. sell Puerto Rico as the island territory was struggling to recover after Hurricane Maria, President Donald Trump proposed "trading" the territory for another island he had previously expressed interest in—Greenland. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_puerto_rico_0.jpg

RT (2020-08-19). 'Low Bar 2020': Twitter users roll their eyes at Biden saying that ALL Latino kids speak Spanish. rt.com Democratic nominee for US president Joe Biden appeared to have said that all Latino kids speak Spanish during his speech about the community's importance. It provoked online outrage, both about the comment and the MSM silence. | Biden made the provocative statement during a virtual forum organized by Voto Latino — an organization that encourages young Latino voters to register to cast their ballot. | "Latinos are among the fastest-growing populations in the United States," Biden

teleSUR (2020-08-19). Women in Care Roles Vulnerable Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. telesurenglish.net The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and United Nations Women warned on Wednesday that the economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic must prioritize women in care roles. | RELATED: | In a joint report, the organizations explain that the current distribution of the responsibilities of care work is unequal and carried out mostly by women as unpaid work. At the same time, the CO…

teleSUR (2020-08-19). Venezuela Honors Cuban Doctors for Their Fight Against COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez Tuesday decorated Cuban doctors for their cooperation in the fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | Rodriguez presented the Francisco de Miranda Order to the doctors in recognition of the work they do for the benefit of Venezuelans. | She indicated that over 22,000 members of the Henry Reeve Brigade are deployed in her nation, which has saved thousands of lives over…

Fight Back (2020-08-19). Tampa demands justice for Jonas Joseph, 'Community control now!'. fightbacknews.org Tampa, FL – Over 50 people rallied and marched through downtown Tampa August 15 to demand justice for Jonas Joseph, a 26-year-old Haitian-American man murdered by five Tampa Police Department officers after they fired 125 shots. The march was attended by the family of Jonas Joseph and members of the community and was hosted by the Tampa Bay Community Action Committee (TBCAC) and Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk Inc. | Jonas Joseph was murdered by Tampa officers the night of April 28 when he was pulled over for a traffic stop. Police accounts of the events leading up to the shooting have changed numerous times…

Robert J. Burrowes (2020-08-19). Halting Our Descent into Tyranny: Defeating the Global Elite's COVID-19 Coup. globalresearch.ca As many authors have documented, the global elite is conducting a coup to take complete control of our lives. It is doing this by using the 'virus' to terrorize the human population into believing that we will 'catch' Covid-19 if …

WSWS (2020-08-19). Chinese prime minister: 600 million people earn less than $145 a month. wsws.org While almost half of its population earns less than $145 a month, China recorded 373 billionaires in 2020, the second highest figure in the world.

teleSUR (2020-08-19). Lebanon: Poverty Increases at Alarming Rates-Report. telesurenglish.net The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) warned on Wednesday that the population living under poor conditions has doubled in 2020 compared to the same period last year. | RELATED: | ESCWA's latest report indicates that the poverty rate reached 55 percent in 2020, whereas in 2019, it stood at 28 percent. | The organization explains that "massive explosion and an accelerating increase i…

WSWS (2020-08-19). In act of high seas piracy, US hijacks Iranian oil bound for Venezuela. wsws.org The oil seizure came as Washington failed to secure support at the United Nations Security Council for a resolution extending an arms embargo against Tehran.

sputniknews (2020-08-19). US Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Accused of Raping NYC Woman Twice in 2013. sputniknews.com A civil lawsuit filed by a "Jane Doe" in the Southern District of New York claims Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. raped her twice in a hotel room back in 2013.

Staff (2020-08-19). Former DHS Official: Trump Wasn't Joking About Trading Puerto Rico for Greenland. truthout.org In the summer of 2019, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had " But on Wednesday, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief of staff Miles Taylor alleged that those comments weren't a joke at all — and that Trump had made r…

yenisafak (2020-08-19). Britain to bring in mass testing for coronavirus. yenisafak.com Britain is planning to bring in population-wide mass testing for coronavirus to help control the pandemic, said health minister Matt Hancock on Wednesday."This is a really, really important drive that we have across government to bring in mass testing, population-wide testing," Hancock told BBC radio."We'll ramp it up, certainly over the remainder of this year."

_____ (2020-08-18). UN Ambassador Moncada: US Keeps Plotting To Invade Venezuela. popularresistance.org The Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, reiterated his denunciation of the United States' orchestrating an invasion in Venezuela to destroy the military and political forces of the Bolivarian Revolution. | On his Twitter account, the Ambassador indicated that the White House's war propaganda against Venezuela seeks to assassinate the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro and turn the country into a colony. | "War propaganda in the US affirms that its objective is democracy in Venezuela. The truth is more sinister and deadly: eliminating President Maduro continues the invasion to destr…

_____ (2020-08-18). SouthCom Feels Threatened By Russia's 'Fundamental' Support Of Venezuela. popularresistance.org The head of the Southern Command of the United States Armed Forces, Craig Faller, declared that Russia and Cuba represents a threat to them due to the "fundamental" support they give to Venezuela, a country on which the Donald Trump regime has imposed a brutal total blockade and continually threatens military invasion. | In viralized statements on social networks, Faller says that they have had to set off the alarms because of "the size of the threat" represented by "Russian influence" and the support that the Eurasian country gives to the government presided over by Nicolás Maduro. | "I cannot describe the size…

Lorraine Liriano Chávez (2020-08-18). Colonialism intensifies pandemic school crisis for Puerto Ricans. workers.org This slightly edited talk was given at the Aug. 6 Workers World Party webinar, "War on the Working Class: the Socialist Response," which featured education workers. Lorraine Liriano Chávez Puerto Rico faces the life-threatening decision of the reopening of schools in the midst of rising COVID-19 cases. This escalation is . . . |

RT (2020-08-18). US & Brazil are biggest drivers of coronavirus case counts — WHO. rt.com The Americas account for 64 percent of officially reported coronavirus deaths around the globe — despite having just 13 percent of the world's population, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. | Covid-19 cases in the Americas have reached almost 11.5 million as the region continues to carry the highest burden of the disease, WHO Regional Director Carissa Etienne said on Tuesday. | Over 400,000 people have died in the region as a result of the pandemic, she added, speaking at a virtual briefing from Washington with other Pan American Health Organization directors. | The biggest drivers of the case…

teleSUR (2020-08-18). Venezuela: PSUV Reinforces the Organization of Its Electoral Base. telesurenglish.net Guayana Mayor Tito Oviedo Tuesday announced that the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is fully prepared and organized to win the December 6 parliamentary elections. | RELATED: | "The electoral roll in the largest city in southeastern Venezuela is 98 percent updated," Oviedo said and commented that PSUV militants will be present at all polling stations to testify about the citizen vote. | He also re…

Jorge Arreaza (2020-08-18). Venezuela, and Trump's Irrational Electoral Policy. globalresearch.ca Elections always have an interesting effect on public policy, in particular if the person in charge of designing and implementing a certain policy is up for reelection. In politics, it is logical that an incumbent candidate decides to show successful …

Mehr News Agency (2020-08-18). Oil tankers seized by US 'not Iranian'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (MNA) — Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Tuesday that the four oil tankers seized by the US few days ago belong to Venezuela not Iran.