(2020-07-25). [Editorial] COVID-19 and China: lessons and the way forward. thelancet.com China has largely controlled COVID-19. A country of 1 ∑4 billion people and a size similar to Europe or the USA now reports only clusters of cases rather than widespread community transmission. China has been widely criticised for its role and responsibilities during the pandemic because of censorship, transparency, and human rights concerns. But the rest of the world can still learn from China's successes in bringing its outbreak under control.
(2020-07-25). [World Report] COVID-19 cases surge in Colombia. thelancet.com Colombia has more than 8500 new cases per day, with restrictions being relaxed, putting the health system under strain. Joe Parkin Daniels reports from Bogotá.
(2020-07-25). [Comment] Offline: Preparing for a vaccine against COVID-19. thelancet.com The results of two randomised trials reported this week in The Lancet give great encouragement to the view that a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be produced within the next 18 months. There are no guarantees. But the evidence is hopeful. Pedro Folegatti and colleagues from The Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford used a chimpanzee adenovirus viral vector expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to create a vaccine given by a single intramuscular injection.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] COVID-19 vaccine affordability and accessibility. thelancet.com The need to ensure the affordability of any future COVID-19 vaccine is gaining increasing attention.1 Although there is support for bulk purchasing, making vaccines affordable is fraught with difficulties, particularly for the so-called missing middle countries that are not eligible for aid from Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance or other aid but lack the resources to produce their own vaccines or afford patent-protected drugs.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Australia's First Nations' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. thelancet.com Kaitlin Curtice and Esther Choo1 described the well known risks for infectious diseases among First Nations internationally and the serious concerns that COVID-19 poses for them. These risks include their levels of chronic disease, poverty, poor living conditions, and racism in mainstream services with resulting lack of trust using them. They also highlighted the problem of data not being available specifically for First Nations so that authorities are blind to the situation and hence how best to help them.
(2020-07-25). [Perspectives] Pandemic science and politics. thelancet.com In 2019, the Global Health Security Alliance assessed worldwide adherence to the International Health Regulations (2005), which supposedly commit nations to measures that prevent or control the spread of infectious diseases and mitigate their effects. The study found that no nation was fully prepared, and many countries—rich or poor—fell woefully short. This finding is only one of the many indications that we could have been ready, nationally and globally, to deal with a crisis like COVID-19, but were not.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Dupilumab for nasal polyposis. thelancet.com The encouraging results of the LIBERTY trials1 evaluating the effects of dupilumab in patients with severe chronic sinusitis with nasal polyposis that use mometasone furoate nasal spray offer much-needed hope to patients with this condition. However, we believe that these results might not reflect real-life best clinical practice.
(2020-07-25). [Comment] DISCOVER: much accomplished, but not yet for all. thelancet.com Since the initial studies of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) a decade ago, multiple clinical trials in all key populations worldwide have confirmed the efficacy and safety of emtricitabine combined with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (F/TDF) for HIV prevention.1,2…
(2020-07-25). [Comment] Ombudsman's report for 2019. thelancet.com I submitted Annual Reports for 20151 and 2016,2 but there were no events of sufficient concern to the Ombudsman during the following 2 years that required investigation and reporting.
(2020-07-25). [Comment] Tapering glucocorticoids in rheumatoid arthritis. thelancet.com Glucocorticoids are a cornerstone of care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Since the 1950s, glucocorticoids have been used to reduce inflammation and symptoms of arthritis, improve physical function, and reduce disability. These drugs are widely available, inexpensive, and typically combined with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs to induce remission in rheumatoid arthritis. However, the administration of glucocorticoids is not without risk. Long-term use of glucocorticoids is associated with increased mortality,1 cardiovascular events,2 and bone fractures.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Dupilumab for nasal polyposis — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We appreciate the interest shown by Brian Lipworth and colleagues in our Article1 and would like to take this opportunity to address their comments.
(2020-07-25). [Comment] Abrocitinib for atopic dermatitis: a step forward. thelancet.com Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases worldwide with a global annual prevalence of 3—4%.1 Few data are available on disease activity strata, but in a 2018 multinational survey between 10% and 20% of adults with incident atopic dermatitis reported severe disease.2 Atopic dermatitis pathophysiology is characterised by epidermal dysfunction and T-cell-driven inflammation, with increased production of inflammatory cytokines, in particular type 2 cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-4, IL-13, and IL-31.
(2020-07-25). [Perspectives] Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo: anti-apartheid campaigner. thelancet.com Few have done as much to forge an individual identity as "Dr Goonam", the name Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo (1906—98) adopted as the first woman of colour to practise medicine in South Africa during the 1930s. She demanded women's inclusion in political organisations representing her Indian community, and joined others in passionate opposition to the apartheid policies that oppressed them.
(2020-07-25). [Articles] Efficacy and safety of abrocitinib in adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (JADE MONO-1): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. thelancet.com Monotherapy with oral abrocitinib once daily was effective and well tolerated in adolescents and adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Dismantling racism in research. thelancet.com The widespread dissemination of how George Floyd was murdered prompted people around the world to demand structural reform. We agree with the points raised in the Editorial about the need to "find ways to use science as an instrument for social change".1 Here we highlight approaches for dismantling racism within research.
(2020-07-25). [Articles] Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide vs emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (DISCOVER): primary results from a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, active-controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial. thelancet.com Daily emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide shows non-inferior efficacy to daily emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for HIV prevention, and the number of adverse events for both regimens was low. Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide had more favourable effects on bone mineral density and biomarkers of renal safety than emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.
(2020-07-24). John Lewis & Making "Good Trouble" zcomm.org May John's example — his courage, his devotion of nonviolence and to a lifetime of making "good trouble" — help inform that struggle as it goes forward.
(2020-07-24). Unfit to Lead and Unqualified to Serve: Why William Perry Pendley Cannot be the Head of the Bureau of Land Management. counterpunch.org 
Amid the COVID-19 crisis and the uprisings against police brutality and systemic racism, it is understandable if many Americans overlooked the Trump administration's continued attacks on the management of public lands and the Constitution's mandates about how our leaders are appointed. The most recent attack of this type came with President Trump's June 30, 2020,
(2020-07-24). Some are in super-yachts and others are clinging to drifting debris. mronline.org 
COVID-19 has exposed the lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all, the fiction that unpaid care work isn't work, the delusion that we live in a post-racist world. We are all floating on the same sea, but some are in super-yachts and others clinging to drifting debris.
(2020-07-24). Teachers and staff organize in New York City during Covid-19. workers.org 
The Professional Staff Congress, the American Federation of Teachers union representing 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York, held four simultaneous car and bike caravans July 18, plus a Zoom meeting with nearly 700 participants. The caravans took place in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten . . . |
(2020-07-24). Leaked FBI Documents Reveal Secret Program To Criminalize Social Media. therealnews.com 
Simply posting about your presence at a police brutality protest can be used to incriminate you and lead to your arrest. We speak to Portland residents on the ground about the influx of unmarked federal agents.
(2020-07-24). Mumia Abu-Jamal commentary: A crack in the wall. workers.org 
This column, posted initially on prisonradio.org, first appeared on workers.org on Jan. 4, 2017. For Dylann Roof, the next few days and weeks of his young life will prove his most memorable. That's saying something, considering his slaughter of nine sweet souls in a Black Charleston church. Mumia Abu-Jamal For, . . . |
(2020-07-24). Noam Chomsky: Trump Is Using Pandemic to Enrich Billionaires as Millions Lose Work & Face Eviction. democracynow.org 
As millions of people in the U.S. lose work and face eviction due to the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic, the 1% have seen a massive increase to their wealth, with Amazon founder and world's richest person Jeff Bezos recently adding an estimated $13 billion to his net worth in a single day. World-renowned political dissident Noam Chomsky says the corporate windfall is yet more evidence that the U.S. is run "essentially by the corporate sector" for its own profits. "They're just running wild."
(2020-07-24). Headlines for July 24, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Cancels RNC in Jacksonville as COVID-19 Deaths Soar in Florida, CDC Issues New Guidelines Urging Schools To Reopen, South Africa Closes School For a Second Time as COVID-19 Cases Top 40,000, 1.4 Million File For Employment as Moratorium on Evictions Ends, Whistleblowers Reveal How ICE Used Deception to Deport Immigrants with COVID-19, ICE Attempted to Censor Embedded Journalists Who Filmed Wrongdoing, Judge Bars Federal Agents in Oregon From Targeting Journalists & Legal Observers, 37 Senate Democrats Join GOP in Passing $740 Billion Military Spending Bill, AOC Delivers Moving Response to Rep. Ted Yoho's Se…
(2020-07-24). Noam Chomsky on Trump's Troop Surge to Democratic Cities & Whether He'll Leave Office if He Loses. democracynow.org 
"President Trump is desperate," says world-renowned dissident Professor Noam Chomsky in an extended interview that begins with President Trump's vow to send a "surge" of federal agents into major Democrat-run cities across the United States. "His entire attention is this one issue on his mind: that's the election. He has to cover up for the fact he is personally responsible for killing tens of thousands of Americans. It's impossible to conceal that for much longer."
(2020-07-24). Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fire Back on House Floor After Rep. Yoho Calls Her An "F'ing Bitch" democracynow.org 
We bring you Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's full address from the floor of the House when she excoriated her Republican colleague, Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida, after he verbally attacked her earlier in the week on the steps of the Capitol and used a sexist slur overheard by a reporter, calling her a "fucking bitch," then issued a non-apology from the House floor. "My mother got to see Mr. Yoho's disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television," she says, "and I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men."
(2020-07-24). "Man. Woman. Camera. Person. TV.": Noam Chomsky Responds to Trump Bragging He Aced a Dementia Test. democracynow.org 
Is the United States being run by a madman? "What can you say about a person who, before speaking before an adoring crowd, raises his eyes to heaven and calls himself the chosen one?" says Noam Chomsky, responding to President Trump's boast that he aced a mental acuity test.
(2020-07-24). High and Dry in the Mojave. counterpunch.org Let this be a lesson to you all: Don't try to con teenagers when it comes to spring break. It can be done, of course, but the consequences are bound to be unspeakably harsh. This winter when we were all sitting around the table in our house in Oregon City, facing the prospect of six
(2020-07-24). New Stimulus Bill Lacks Teeth to Reverse 'Wave of Permanent Layoffs' in Ailing US Economy. sputniknews.com Senate Republicans announced Wednesday a "fundamental agreement" for a $1 trillion coronavirus relief package. However, that is not sufficient to generate an economic recovery, Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California, told Sputnik.
(2020-07-25). [Correspondence] Women's reproductive rights. thelancet.com I hope it is stating the obvious to suggest that it is despicable both to ban abortion and to impose it on women whether in the name of religion, in the service of a political ideology, or as a perceived demographic imperative.1 Forced birth and forced abortion are foul. They are an assault on the autonomy, dignity, and rights of women, and are a threat to their lives, health, and wellbeing. Examples of banning and forcing abortions are found throughout the world and across time (sometimes in the same place and at the same time, as seen in Nazi Germany).
(2020-07-24). Berkeley City Council refuses to counter cops. workers.org 
Berkeley, Calif. "Don't Believe the Hype," released in 1988 by Public Enemy, still rings true today in Berkeley. Local media call the July 14 City Council decision to study and curtail police actions a victory. Black students, led by Youth Protect the Bay and a community coalition to defund the . . . |
(2020-07-24). Portland's movement is fighting back! Defend Portland, Ore.! Defend People's Resistance! No Police State! workers.org 
Workers World Party Statement Despite the brutal attempt of the White House to crush the heroic Black Lives Matter movement by sending camouflaged federal agents — secret police — to Portland, Ore., Chicago and other U.S. cities, the movement and all who support it have been fighting back. The initial . . . |
(2020-07-24). Standing Rock gana la victoria legal contra Oleoducto. workers.org 
En una victoria para la tribu Sioux de Standing Rock contra el oleoducto Dakota Access, el juez de distrito de los Estados Unidos James Boasberg dictaminó el 6 de julio que las operaciones del oleoducto DAPL deben cerrarse mientras el gobierno realiza un análisis ambiental completo que examina los riesgos . . . |
(2020-07-24). From Portland to the World. mronline.org 
Since the end of May, demonstrators opposing police violence and white supremacy have thronged the streets of Portland, Oregon, clashing with law enforcement officers. Last week, aspiring autocrat Donald Trump escalated the situation by announcing that he would be sending federal agents around the country to assert his authority through acts of violence against protesters.
(2020-07-24). COVID-19 and why we need to aim for elimination. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-07-24). WATCH Portland protesters battling federal police to sound of Star Wars' Imperial March. rt.com 
Chaotic scenes outside Portland's federal courthouse were given a snarky soundtrack by a demonstrator who showed up to the fracas armed with a stereo. The city has seen nightly clashes between police and protesters. | Footage taken by New York Times correspondent Mike Baker shows activists and federal agents fighting over control of a fence guarding the building in downtown Portland, which has been under siege by demonstrators for nearly two months. | Protesters used projectiles and laser pointers against federal law enforcement tasked with protecting the courthouse, who in turn deployed tear gas to keep the m…
(2020-07-24). FAA issues emergency directive to Boeing, warns corrosion on 737 aircraft could cause twin engine failure. rt.com 
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency directive, warning that some 2,000 Boeing 737 aircraft could be at risk of dual engine failure. The alert comes after a series of technical snafus for the Seattle firm. | In an Emergency Airworthiness Directive
(2020-07-24). Oregon judge bans feds from arresting or using force against 'journalists & legal observers' at Portland protests. rt.com 
A judge has issued a temporary restraining order on federal agents deployed in Portland, ruling that they may not arrest, disperse or otherwise use force against reporters and legal observers covering ongoing protests there. | US District Court Judge Michael Simon
(2020-07-24). Black protester ATTACKED while trying to stop mob taking down Portland courthouse fence (VIDEO). rt.com 
Protesters returned to the Justice Center in Portland for another night of orchestrated chaos on Thursday. Eyewitness footage from the scene captured the moment apparent Antifa members attacked a black protester calling for calm. | After repeated criticism of heavy-handed tactics, reportedly no police or federal agents were posted on the streets at the beginning of Thursday evening, instead remaining inside the courthouse and issuing repeated orders that protesters not target the exterior fence. | Despite this, several agitators in the crowd threw trash over and set it on fire at the fence, which quickly desce…
(2020-07-24). Police in Israel use water cannon on anti-Netanyahu protesters. thecanary.co 
Israeli police have used water cannons on protesters in central Jerusalem. It happened as clashes broke out overnight after thousands staged a demonstration against the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Israelis have held a series of demonstrations in recent weeks calling on Netanyahu to resign. Protesters are citing his trial on corruption charges and his fractious unity government's poor handling of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic as reasons.Protests: The protest near the prime minister's residence began around sundown on Thursday 23 July. It was initially largely peaceful, but police said at least 5…
(2020-07-24). Why Palestinian-Israeli Prisoners Exchange Deal Could Happen Soon? counterpunch.org For the first time since the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling its willingness to engage in negotiations regarding the release of the bodies of two Israeli soldiers believed to be held by resistance groups in Gaza. But will another prisoner exchange similar to that
(2020-07-24). Catalan politicians' phones hacked by government-grade spyware. wsws.org The hacking occurred under the premiership of Pedro Sánchez of the Spanish Socialist Party, which is now backed by the pseudo-left Podemos party.
(2020-07-24). Some Are in Super-Yachts and Others Are Clinging to Drifting Debris. zcomm.org It is beyond time for the cancellation of these odious debts, which cannot — in any case — be paid during the coronavirus recession…
(2020-07-24). 45 people killed in airstrike in Afghanistan. peoplesdispatch.org Officials in Adraskan district claimed the airstrike was carried out by the Afghan security forces in Herat district's Kham Ziarat area. As per eyewitness accounts, the airstrike targeted a wedding party…
(2020-07-24). The $24 an Hour Minimum Wage. counterpunch.org The push for a $15 an hour minimum wage has developed considerable political momentum over the last decade. It is a very real possibility that we will see legislation imposing a national minimum wage of $15 an hour by 2024 if Joe Biden wins the election this fall. That would be a great thing, it
(2020-07-24). Patriotic Dissent: How a Working-Class Soldier Turned Against "Forever Wars" counterpunch.org When it comes to debate about US military policy, the 2020 presidential election campaign is so far looking very similar to that of 2016. Joe Biden has pledged to ensure that "we have the strongest military in the world," promising to "make the investments necessary to equip our troops for the challenges of the next century,
(2020-07-24). Ohio Nuclear Power Scandal. counterpunch.org The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI this week charged the speaker of the Ohio House of Representative and four others in a $61 million scheme to use $1 billion in ratepayers money to keep two decrepit nuclear power plants operating. And, said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, David DeVillers, at a
(2020-07-24). The Moment of Truth for BRICS: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward. globalresearch.ca As already known, BRICS is an association of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa joined the association in 2010. The BRICS has a significant influence on regional affairs and very active on the …
(2020-07-24). Trump Is Flailing, and the Country Is Paying the Price. thenation.com Trump Is Flailing, and the Country Is Paying the Price…
(2020-07-24). Thawing Arctic Permafrost. counterpunch.org It's no surprise that first prize, or the blue ribbon, for exceeding 2 ∞C above baseline goes to the Arctic with permafrost that covers 25% of the Northern Hemisphere. Recognition is long overdue, as it's been totally neglected far too long by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This crucial nugget of knowledge comes by