Daily Archives: August 23, 2020

2020-08-23: News Headlines

teleSUR (2020-08-22). Venezuela Receives Humanitarian Aid To Fight Covid-19. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Vice Minister for Europe Yvan Gil Saturday announced the arrival of a 73 tons' Humanitarian aid bound from Spain and Portugal, in order to face COVID-19 in the country. | RELATED: | "This shipment is a contribution made by the European Union (EU) and the governments of Spain and Portugal to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking about 73 tons of medical supplies," Gil said. | Gil pointed out…

RT (2020-08-22). 'A bit like flu': Coronavirus will stay with us 'FOREVER', British scientist says. rt.com Covid-19 will stay with humankind "forever in some form or another," a leading British scientist has predicted, advocating regular vaccinations of the population against the deadly disease. | The not-exactly-optimistic prognosis was produced by Sir Mark Walport, a member of the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), on Saturday. | Unlike some other diseases, like smallpox "which could be eradicated by vaccination," Covid-19 is unlikely to be completely destroyed, the scientist told BBC Radio 4. At the same time, "global vaccination" is a must merely to contain the ongoing pandemic, h…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-08-22). Cuba's vaccine candidate "Sovereign" is all set to enter clinical trials. peoplesdispatch.org Cuba's vaccine candidate is the first from the Latin America and the Caribbean region and marks a continuation of its pioneering work in combating COVID-19 across the world…

teleSUR (2020-08-22). Tropical Storm Laura Hits Puerto Rico With Heavy Rains. telesurenglish.net The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) Saturday announced that Tropical Storm Laura reached Puerto Rico's territory with heavy rains. | RELATED: | In the early hours of this Saturday, Laura was 20 miles southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and 210 miles east-southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. | The tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and is moving westward at 20 miles per hour. | Lau…

teleSUR, ce (2020-08-22). Jamaica's Election Campaigning Affected by COVID-19 Measures. telesurenglish.net With Jamaica's elections less than two weeks away, campaigning is looking a bit different under the current COVID-19 restrictions. | RELATED: | On Friday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that political motorcades have been prohibited in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus. | "This is to say, motorcades with more than two buses, which we call Coaster buses; motorcades that are stopping and greeting; motorcades t…

teleSUR, ce (2020-08-22). Venezuela Receives 73 Tons of Supplies & Equipment from Europe. telesurenglish.net Seventy-three tons of donated supplies Saturday arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, from Europe to assist in the fight against COVID-19. | RELATED: | The shipment includes equipment and supplies such as medicine, vaccines, PPE, water purification equipment and family hygiene kits. | The two flights which came from Madrid, were received by Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister for Europe, Yvan Gil, in the company of Jan Harfst, representative…

_____ (2020-08-22). The Ongoing US Dominance Of The Dominican Republic. popularresistance.org This is an island with two nations that have suffered from foreign intervention and repeated imperialist invasions, and, in our case, a country that has been absolutley captured by the Pentagon after our most recent attempt to change ourselves into a sovereign nation in 1965 (following Cuba's path in our own manner) precisely due to the popular-democratic revolution of 1965 which was blocked by the landing of 42,000 invading US Marines. | Since then we've been unable to break these powerful chains. Every time there are attempts in our country at changes out of the control of the US, the shackles are tightened.

_____ (2020-08-22). Walking The Tightrope: Latin America's Pink Tide. popularresistance.org Latin America's Pink Tide: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings, edited by economic historian and prominent Latin Americanist Steve Ellner, offers a critical ethical theoretical framework for assessing the performance of left and left-of-center governments in Latin America during the Pink Tide. The "Pink Tide" refers to the wave of progressive governments beginning with the election of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela in 1998. These progressive governments provided alternatives to the neoliberal economic model that had brought growing economic and social inequality, austerity, privatization of public resources, and political s…

Michael Brainin, World Stroke Organization, Karen Sliwa, World Heart Federation (2020-08-22). [Correspondence] WSO and WHF joint position statement on population-wide prevention strategies. thelancet.com In 2008, Rod Jackson and colleagues1 proposed that prevention strategies for high-risk cardiovascular disease, based on screening individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease, would deliver large benefits for the population. Simon Capewell2 cautioned that these strategies could mislead health professionals and politicians into thinking they can tick the box reading mission accomplished and, with screening completed, cardiovascular disease prevention would be resolved. Both sides of this debate were based on assumptions and therefore did not reach consensus, but the high-risk approach to the prevention of ca…

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…

WSWS (2020-08-21). Democrats nominate Biden in inane display of political reaction. wsws.org The sheer contempt for the intelligence of the population and the viewing audience was summed up in Biden's acceptance speech, which sought to cram every possible trite phrase into a single 20-minute address.

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 …

commondreams (2020-08-21). Nation's First Public Database Launched Featuring Research on Links Between Human Population Growth, Extinction Crisis. commondreams.org ______________________________…

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 …

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.

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.

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…

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…