(2020-05-20). YouTube Censors Epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski for Opposing Lockdown. globalresearch.ca this is an article by NYP. Selected excerpts | Big Tech companies are aggressively tamping down on COVID-19 "misinformation" — opinions and ideas contrary to official pronouncements. | Dr. Knut M. Wittkowski, former head of biostatistics, epidemiology and research design …
(2020-05-19). [Commentary] Corona crisis fuels racially profiled hate in social media networks. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has the world firmly in its grip with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases worldwide [1] and over 100 countries in full or partial lockdown [2] (as of April 24th, 2020). Although political leaders call for solidarity and people all over the world have started support initiatives, various incidents prove that the corona outbreak has also given rise to a series of discrimination and racist attacks against Chinese people and people with Asian looking features [3—5]. These attacks are not restricted to the physical space but pertain to social media networks as well.
(2020-05-19). The Privileged and Powerful in the Pandemic. commondreams.org Musk's thin-skinned, petulant narcissism bears an uncanny resemblance to Donald Trump, who last week tweeted, "California should let Tesla and @elonmusk open the plant, NOW."(Photo: flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/musk.jpg …
(2020-05-19). Friendly Reminder That This Photo Happened, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Just a friendly reminder that ~ | I feel like we don't talk enough about how there are flying death robots constantly dropping explosives on civilians from the sky but all the news is about Trump tweeting mean things about Obama. | I also feel like…
(2020-05-18). Another example of social media censorship. truepublica.org.uk TruePublica Editor: Regular readers of TruePublica know we have given up almost completely with social media as a way of driving traffic to the website. This is because we value organic growth. Growth that can be withdrawn or manipulated at will by others with no response to reasonable questions is not sustainable. We have asked …
(2020-05-18). Buzzfeed UK — brought down by Google and Facebook. truepublica.org.uk There are a number of problems in mainstream media today. Leaving aside the rank level of extremism, fake news and conspiracy nonsense spewed out by the likes of the Express, The Sun and Daily Mail, real journalism itself is under a very real threat by the American tech giants. Without investigations, journalists and editors holding …
(2020-05-17). Grading the States' Coronavirus Control. fair.org 
I recently wrote a Twitter thread ( The good idea, which appears on the Times' "Coronavirus in the US"
(2020-05-17). [Commentary] Serosurveys and convalescent plasma in COVID-19. thelancet.com The current pandemic is not only overwhelming the health systems of the affected countries but also is killing thousands of other ways healthy adults. Convalescent plasma has been proposed [1] and approved to treat COVID-19 based on the experience acquired treating other viral diseases such as influenza, Ebola, and SARS [2]. It is considered a safe treatment (at least its side effects and contraindications are well known) and it has proven to be efficacious in several viral infections for more than a century.
(2020-05-16). Missing the Context of De Blasio's 'Jewish Community' Tweet. fair.org 
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's tweet ( Time for a Yiddish lesson: Shanda, meaning a shame or disgrace; a scandal. | Right-wing voices throughout the media thought they found one with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's tweet ( The background is this: Some Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn, members of a strictly Ort…
(2020-05-15). 'Boogaloo Boy' Arrested in Texas, Charged With Plotting To Murder Cops on Facebook Live. splcenter.org "Boogaloo Boys" — individuals associated with an online community characterized by calls for civil strife and ownership of firearms and tactical gear — have advocated for an armed revolution online and at public rallies for months. On April 11, one self-proclaimed "Boogaloo Boy" allegedly used Facebook Live to show himself attempting to murder police.
(2020-05-11). Senator Nina Turner has something to Share! peoplesparty.org has something to share! | I'm happy to say that after her courageous show of support last weekend, Senator Nina Turner will be joining us on a National Call soon. She wanted me to let you know she's been watching our movement with admiration for some time. | SNT has a history of standing up for what is right, even in the face of immense pressure and adversity. She is not afraid to stand up for bold new ideas. |
(2020-05-08). HIGH-FREQUENCY failure of combination antiretroviral therapy in paediatric HIV infection is associated with unmet maternal needs causing maternal NON-ADHERENCE. thelancet.com The success of early infant testing and cART initiation strategies is severely limited by subsequent cART non-adherence in HIV-infected children. Although there are practical challenges to administering paediatric cART formulations, these are overcome by mothers who themselves are cART-adherent. These findings point to the ongoing obligation to address the unmet needs of the mothers. Eliminating the particular barriers preventing adequate treatment for these vulnerable women and infants need to be prioritised in order to achieve durable suppression of viraemia on cART, let alone HIV cure/remission, in HIV-infecte…
(2020-05-05). New PSL book: 'Climate Solutions: Beyond Capitalism'. liberationnews.org 
"It is a small book, but expansive in outlook in a way that echoes the holistic eco-socialist society we will need…"
(2020-05-04). Facebook Is Go-To Platform For Organizing Protests Against Social Distancing. splcenter.org As COVID-19 continues to pose a lethal threat worldwide, fringe, right-wing activists are using Facebook to mobilize protests of stay-at-home orders in several states.
(2020-04-02). [Comment] Monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic in the context of widespread local transmission. thelancet.com Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel viral disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December, 2019.1 Given the fast spread, the severity of disease, the increasing number of cases outside China, and the number of affected countries, WHO declared the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.2 The availability of reliable surveillance platforms is crucial to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic in a timely manner and to respond with adequate control measures.
(2020-05-17). Google Play Removes Iranian App Used against Coronavirus. iranian.com The anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the "Wild West" have forced Google to remove Iranian mobile application 'Mask', developed to tackle the novel coronavirus and warn people to avoid high-risk areas, from its Play Store, a health official said. Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Kianoosh Jahanpoor said in a post on his Twitter account that the homegrown …
(2020-05-11). "Weaponized and Racialized": Police Departments Use COVID-19 to Target Black & Brown Communities. democracynow.org 
Viral images have shone a spotlight on uneven policing. Some show police officers distributing masks to White residents in crowded New York City parks — and apparently arresting no one. Meanwhile, videos have emerged of violent crackdowns on social distancing measures in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. We continue our look at how Black and Brown communities are being disproportionately targeted and policed in New York City's enforcement measures during the pandemic, and also discuss how officers have ordered protesters to disband, citing executive orders from the mayor and the governor that ban "any non-ess…
(2020-05-19). Hunger, Misery, Chaos, Brutality, and Humiliation: The Nightmare That Is India's Lockdown. anti-empire.com 
Related: | twitter.com/satishjha/status/1262438101659648001 | | twitter.com/KanwardeepsTOI/status/1244508599038009344 |
(2020-05-19). VIDEO: Lukashenko Publicly Calls Out Putin for Blundering With Lockdown — Putin's Reaction Says It All. anti-empire.com 
At the latest summit of the Eurasian Economic Union, Lukashenko of Belarus also had something to say about covid-19 and lockdowns (be sure to switch on the subtitles): | | Putin's posture and shuffling of papers says it all. I've never seen him look smaller.The current situation in the world and…
(2020-05-19). Scientists dismiss claims 'mega doses' of vitamin D can protect against Covid-19. thecanary.co 
Scientists have dismissed "very misleading" social media reports that so-called "mega doses" of vitamin D can protect against coronavirus.Some articles have claimed that the vitamin can act as a protective measure — which scientists say is "not true" and prompted an urgent need to inform the public.However, they have emphasised the importance of maintaining a healthy level of vitamin D in the body.Professor Colin Smith, the University of Brighton's professor of functional genomics, said: "There are currently some very misleading articles doing the rounds on social media about mega doses of vitamin D as a Cov…
(2020-05-20). 'I hope she's not very heavy handed with the sword': 100yo British veteran Cpt. Tom Moore on upcoming knighting by the Queen. rt.com 
Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old British veteran who stole headlines with his viral backyard fundraiser for the NHS, is due to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth, but is taking it all in stride with some heartwarming humor. | "I hope she's not very heavy handed with the sword," he said Wednesday, in reference to the knighting ceremony in which the monarch taps the recipient's shoulders with a sword. | "By then I might be rather a poor old weak soul." | The 100-year-old World War II veteran raised £33mn by walking 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire before his 100th birthday on April 30, in what became…
(2020-05-19). 'Potential benefit outweighed the risk': Trump's doctor pens letter in defense of HCQ, Twitter still unconvinced he's taking it. rt.com 
With media and online pundits going into a full-blown meltdown after US President Donald Trump said that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis against coronavirus, his doctor issued a statement in support of the drug. | Trump's admission late Monday that he has been taking the experimental drug, originally designed to treat malaria and several other conditions, has caught many off-guard, spawning a torrent of reactions online. | The White House physician says he and the president "concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks." The FDA says there's no evidence hydroxy…
(2020-05-18). 'Take the red pill': Elon Musk sends Twitter into Matrix meltdown, gets Ivanka Trump's praise… & 'f*** you both' from Wachowski. rt.com 
Elon Musk has yet again triggered an online storm, urging the public to "take the red pill." The Matrix reference got him showered in praise from conservatives, but the creators of the iconic movie were not amused. | The new cryptic message from the billionaire, who has been repeatedly tweeting out bizarre things lately, arrived on Sunday afternoon. Unlike the lengthy and even less coherent threads Musk produced in the past, this time he stuck to a short form worthy of a true masterpiece. | "Take the red pill," he stated, posting a red rose emoji. | Take the red pill üåπ— Elon Musk…
(2020-05-20). American people from all walks of life should resist social racism: Foreign Ministry. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 20 (MNA) — Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its twitter account on Wednesday wrote that it's high time for the Americans from all walks of life to resist social racism and its main encouragement.
(2020-05-20). Zionist regime was born through terror: Foreign Ministry. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May 20 (MNA) — Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its twitter account on Wednesday wrote that the Zionist regime was born through terror, adding that a terrorist regime in nature, Israel still continues to sow seeds of chaos in our region.
(2020-05-20). Boris Johnson Spotted in Public Amid Social Media Frenzy Over His Whereabouts. sputniknews.com As hashtag #WhereIsJohnson emerged on Twitter amid speculations about the prime minister's whereabouts, a number of netizens used it to berate Boris Johnson over his actions during the coronavirus crisis.
(2020-05-20). Father's Love Can Be Mushy Too! Warm Moments Between Duo Wins Hearts – Video. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): A lot is said and written about mothers being caring and spending the most time with their young ones but this viral video of a Gorilla with his baby is warming hearts on Twitter.
(2020-05-20). 'Aliens Attacked?' Netizens Baffled as Mysterious Loud Boom Rocks India's Tech City #Bangalore. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): A mysterious loud boom in Bangalore, known as India's Silicon Valley, has left citizens in a panic. While some suspected it to be a high-intensity earthquake, others described it as a "thunderous noise". Fears are growing as India braces for super cyclone Amphan to make landfall later today.
(2020-05-20). Pakistan hails OIC's reaction to Kashmir residency law. yenisafak.com Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the Organization of Islamic Conference's (OIC) rejection of a new residency law introduced in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.In a Twitter post, Aisha Farooqui, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said: "Pakistan welcomes OIC statement strongly condemning and rejecting Indian government's illegal actions to redefine domicile rules to alter IoJK [Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir] demographic, and terms it settlement colonialism against OIC, UNSC resolutions, 4th Geneva Convention, [and] international humanitarian laws".The controversial law, notified by New Delhi on Monday, pres…
(2020-05-20). Trump threatens to cut off federal money for Michigan over mail-in voting. yenisafak.com U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Michigan's plan to send mail-in voting applications to all voters in the state illegal, without citing a specific law, and threatened to withhold funding to the state."This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Trump wrote in a tweet.
(2020-03-19). [Correspondence] Use of antiviral drugs to reduce COVID-19 transmission. thelancet.com As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads, efforts are being made to reduce transmission via standard public health interventions based on isolation of cases and tracing of contacts. In their modelling study, Joel Hellewell and colleagues1 predict that such a strategy could contribute to reducing the overall size of an outbreak, but will still be insufficient to achieve outbreak control of COVID-19 when the basic reproduction number (R0) is higher than 1 ∑5 or the proportion of contacts traced is lower than 80%.
(2020-02-20). [Comment] Efficient transmission of viral gastroenteritis in Dutch households. thelancet.com Community cohorts of acute gastroenteritis, such as the one presented by Franke Quee and colleagues1 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, provide a crucial opportunity to understand the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of different enteric viruses that could be targeted to prevent diarrhoea in vulnerable populations.