(2020-04-07). 'Who has the nuke codes?' Piers Morgan's provocative quizzing of Michael Gove splits opinion as BoJo lies in intensive care. rt.com 
Bombastic TV host Piers Morgan's probing of Minister Michael Gove about who's in control of the UK's nuclear weapons while the PM is being treated for Covid-19 has divided Twitter. | Some social media users praised the interview, while others branded the question about the country's nuclear arsenal as "stupid." | Morgan appeared very concerned about who had access to the UK's big red button as he clashed with Gove on
(2020-04-07). 'WHO blew it!' Trump accuses global health watchdog of being CHINA-CENTRIC despite 'largely US-funded'. rt.com 
US President Donald Trump slammed the World Health Organization for its "faulty recommendation" that the US — which now has more coronavirus cases than China — should keep its borders open during the early weeks of the epidemic. | The president warned he would be having a "good look" at why the WHO, chiefly funded by the US, was so "China centric" in a tweet on Tuesday. | Congratulating himself for not listening to the NGO's advice, Trump wondered aloud about its motivations. | The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving…
(2020-04-07). Indian police release footage of DRONES hunting lockdown violators complete with hilarious commentary. rt.com 
Police in Kerala, India have deployed a swarm of drones to enforce Covid-19 restrictions in the city. To add levity to the situation, the cops decided to create a compilation of their favorite airborne busts of lockdown breakers. | Not content with a simple gag reel, the fuzz went one step further and added viral cricket commentary to the compilation, both informing and entertaining the public by recalling 2016's infamous #TracerBulletChallenge. | pic.twitter.com/kN3a4YCJ5D— Kerala Police (@TheKeralaPolice) A…
(2020-04-07). Boris Johnson stable after night in intensive care, says No 10. thecanary.co 
Boris Johnson is "stable" after spending the night in intensive care following a worsening of his coronavirus symptoms, Downing Street has said.The prime minister's official spokesperson said he had been receiving "standard oxygen treatment" but had not required any other assistance in breathing.Johnson was transferred to the intensive care unit at St Thomas' Hospital, London, on Monday evening, after his condition deteriorated.His spokesperson said the move was a "precautionary step" in case he needed to be put on a ventilator.Sreengrab of a post from Boris Johnson's Twitter account (@BorisJohnson/Twitter/PA)"Th…
(2020-04-07). Senior UK cabinet minister Gove self-isolating after family member displays Covid-19 symptoms. rt.com 
UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove is self-isolating after a member of his family displayed symptoms of Covid-19. | Gove said on Twitter on Tuesday that he is not currently exhibiting symptoms of the virus but is self-isolating as a precautionary measure. He has yet to be tested for the illness and will continue to work in his capacity as one of the most senior cabinet members for the foreseeable future. | Many thanks for kind messages. In accordance with the guidance, I am isolating at home after a member of my family started to display mild symptoms of coronavirus on Sunday. I have not displayed any sym…
(2020-04-07). An Immodest and Long Overdue Proposal. indybay.org Please post your reactions to this proposed protest, which mirrors actions undertaken by nurses, unions, and homeless advocates in other cities. An earlier version of these suggestions was originally posted on facebook.
(2020-04-07). Biden Says He 'Doesn't Have Enough Information' on Iran to Have a Vew. How Odd, He Negotiated the Nuclear Deal. counterpunch.org So, while we continue to be mesmerised by Covid-19, here are a few Middle East tales that should be going viral this week. Let's start with a little divestment story. Microsoft has said it's going to sell its stake in AnyVision, an Israeli facial recognition startup, after civil liberties groups in the US complained that
(2020-04-07). African Americans Have Contracted and Died of COVID-19 at an Alarming Rate. truthout.org The coronavirus entered Milwaukee from a white, affluent suburb. Then it took root in the city's black community and erupted. | As public health officials watched cases rise in March, too many in the community shrugged off warnings. Rumors and conspiracy theories proliferated on social media, pushing the
(2020-04-07). Iran Demands US End Their Oil Sanctions. telesurenglish.net Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday called on the U.S. government to stop sanctions on Iran's oil exports. | RELATED: | "Iran is rich in human & natural resources. We don't need charity from (U.S. President) Donald Trump," Zarif tweeted. | The remarks of Zarif was an allusion to the recent help offer by Trump amid the surge of the novel coronavirus in Iran. | "What we want is for him to stop…
(2020-04-07). Six ways home-based cardiac rehab keeps patients safe, healthy during COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org ROCHESTER, Minn. ? COVID-19 presents evolving challenges to health care, in part because it is a new viral disease. People do not have natural immunity and a vaccine hasn't yet been developed. Patients with heart disease are at increased risk of cardiac-related complications and death, and are more likely to develop severe complications from COVID-19. …
(2020-04-07). How does COVID-19 affect the heart? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The effects of COVID-19 on the lungs are well-known. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more information is becoming available about the role the virus, called SARS-CoV-2, has on the heart. "Individuals with known cardiovascular disease are at an increased risk of more severe complications from respiratory viral illnesses, including the flu and COVID-19," says Dr. …
(2020-04-07). "We aren't going to take it anymore:" Anger among UPS workers as Teamsters union seeks to rein in logistics strike wave. wsws.org Workers on Facebook have reported that at least two UPS workers have died in the Chicago area from COVID-19, including Jerome Sutton, who left behind a wife and a young son. Neither management nor the Teamsters has confirmed these reports.
(2020-04-07). US should stop preventing Iran from selling oil, says FM Zarif. yenisafak.com The United States should stop preventing Iran from selling oil, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Tuesday."What we want is for (U.S. President Donald Trump) to STOP preventing Iran from selling oil & other products, buying its needs & making & receiving payments," he wrote on Twitter.
(2020-04-07). More Than Anti-Viral Drug, Nursing and Supportive Care Saved Elderly Couple – Indian Doctor. sputniknews.com New Delhi (Sputnik): In South India, Kerala has emerged as a state successfully treating high-risk COVID-19 patients. A 93-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife recently won their fight against the coronavirus after a three-week battle even with comorbidities (the presence of one or more additional conditions co-occurring with a primary condition).
(2020-04-06). Covid tears: 'No masks nurse' story shows how pandemic is newfound opportunity for MSM to peddle emotionally-charged fake news. rt.com 
Stories of human tragedy abound during the Covid-19 pandemic, but in its hunger for tear-jerking moments, CBS has thrown the rule book out the window and spread some viral "fake news." | In a clip aired on Sunday but filmed a week earlier, nurse Imaris Vera bursts into tears and describes how she quit her job after "none of the nurses" in a dedicated coronavirus unit were wearing masks. Furthermore, she called out her Chicago hospital for banning nurses from using their own protective equipment in the facility. | "America is not prepared," she sobbed, "and nurses are not being protected." | In tears, a nurse…
(2020-04-06). PLO Official says Israel will "Stop Demolitions of Palestinian Homes" imemc.org Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a tweet last week, that Israel is apparently going to stop demolishing homes in the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian WAFA News Agency reported. "I was informed by top United Nations (UN) officials that the Israeli …
(2020-04-06). A Globalized World Economy, COVID-19 and China's "Health Silk Road" globalresearch.ca The global COVID-19 viral pandemic has exposed in the sharpest light the contradiction between a globalized world economy and a still existing but archaic capitalist system based on the private expropriation of wealth and resources. | The relentless drive to reap …
(2020-04-06). Trump's Iran sanctions policy on the turn. iranian.com The past week witnessed a sudden spurt of tensions in the US-Iran standoff. There was intense speculation that to divert public attention in America from his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump might order a military attack on Iran. Trump himself fuelled the speculation with the sudden outburst in a tweet on April 1: "Upon …
(2020-04-06). Capitalism Is The Disease: Mike Davis on the Coronavirus Crisis. mronline.org 
Fifteen years ago, in his prescient book, The Monster At Our Door, Mike Davis warned that a viral catastrophe was being cooked up in the toxic vat built by the combined dangers of global capitalist production, ecological devastation, and the intentional, politically motivated neglect of public services the world over.
(2020-04-04). China's socialist planning and COVID-19. workers.org The global COVID-19 viral pandemic has exposed in the sharpest light the contradiction between a globalized world economy and a still existing but archaic capitalist system based on the private expropriation of wealth and resources. The relentless drive to reap a profit from every type of human interaction now stands . . . |
(2020-04-03). AOC slammed for blaming coronavirus deaths on inequality… after championing shutdown that accelerated it. rt.com 
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demanded minority-focused "reparations" for coronavirus, insisting "inequality is a comorbidity" exacerbating the deaths — after calling for shutdowns that impoverished millions. | The New York Democrat called for coronavirus relief to be "drafted with a lens of reparations," insisting that deaths from the virus were "disproportionately spiking in Black [and] Brown communities" in a tweet on Friday. | Blaming "the chronic toll of redlining, environmental racism, wealth gap," she smoothly conflated economic inequality — a problem in white and nonwhite commun…
(2020-04-03). Chilling Free Expression: How ICE Uses Social Media to Target Immigrants. projectcensored.org The professed mission of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency is to "protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety." In order…
(2020-04-01). COVID-19: When pandemic and precarious work intersect. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-31). Robodebt scam exposed as a rort. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-02-27). [Comment] COVID-19: combining antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatments. thelancet.com Both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are characterised by an overexuberant inflammatory response and, for SARS, viral load is not correlated with the worsening of symptoms.1,2 In our previous Correspondence to The Lancet,3 we described how BenevolentAI's proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-derived knowledge graph,4 queried by a suite of algorithms, enabled identification of a target and a potential therapeutic against SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; the causative organism in COVID-19).
(2020-02-24). [Correspondence] Viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples. thelancet.com An outbreak caused by a novel human coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first detected in Wuhan in December 2019,1 and has since spread within China and to other countries. Real-time RT-PCR assays are recommended for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.2 However, viral dynamics in infected patients are still yet to be fully determined. Here, we report our findings from different types of clinical specimens collected from 82 infected individuals.
(2020-02-24). [Comment] COVID-19 pneumonia: what has CT taught us? thelancet.com In late December, 2019, a cluster of cases of viral pneumonia was linked to a seafood market in Wuhan (Hubei, China), and was later determined to be caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; previously known as 2019-nCoV).1 The genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 is similar to, but distinct from, those of two other coronaviruses responsible for large-scale outbreaks in the past: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV; about 79% sequence identity) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV; about 50%).
(2020-02-20). [Comment] The burden of viral respiratory infections in young children in low-resource settings. thelancet.com Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI), encompassing bacterial and viral pneumonias, acute viral bronchiolitis, and bacterial and viral bronchitis, remain the leading cause of global child mortality.1 The thrust of global prevention and treatment efforts has been directed against bacterial causes of ALRI, and deaths from bacterial pneumonia have decreased substantially since 1990 because of improved access to health care and life-saving antibiotics, as well as increased use of vaccines targeted at bacterial respiratory pathogens.
