(2020-04-14). 'We've turned the dollar into toilet paper', chief investment officer tells Keiser Report. rt.com 
Central banks and fiscal policy makers worldwide are launching huge stimulus measures in an effort to backstop the global economy, as the Covid-19 pandemic takes its toll. | RT's Keiser Report talks to Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital to figure out what lies ahead for the world economies, as entire industries are shutting down. | "The real issue today is that it's not the virus that's the threat," Yusko says. According to him, there are lots of viral threats around the world that are actually worse than Covid-19. The "unprecedented response" from fiscal and monetary stimulus around the world will lead to a g…
(2020-04-14). Obama endorses Biden for president in long-expected video. rt.com 
Former US president Barack Obama has officially endorsed his former vice president Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential race. The long-awaited anointing came days after challenger Bernie Sanders packed in his own candidacy. | Obama endorsed Biden in a video message on Twitter on Tuesday, calling the selection of Biden as his VP "one of the best decisions I ever made" and referring to the candidate as "a close friend." | @JoeBiden for President of the United States. Let's go: t.co/maHVGRozkX— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) (2020-04-14). 'That's the bloody point!' UK journalist roasted after saying govt's Covid-19 'furlough scheme' removes 'incentive to work'. rt.com 
A prominent UK political journalist has provoked anger after claiming the government's economic safeguarding initiative — commonly known as the furlough scheme — is a "straightforward bribe to stop working." | Robert Peston tweeted a link to his Spectator article on Tuesday, which was titled: "Has the furlough scheme removed the incentive to work?" He was ostensibly frustrated at the idea that people are being "paid to do nothing at home." | Under the UK government scheme, non-essential workers furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic are being paid 80 percent of their monthly wages up to £2,…
(2020-04-14). Preemptive Therapy vs Antiviral Prophylaxis and CMV in Seronegative Liver Transplant Recipients With Seropositive Donors. jamanetwork.com This randomized trial compares preemptive therapy vs antiviral prophylaxis with valganciclovir in cytomegalovirus (CMV)-seronegative liver transplant recipients with seropositive donors for the prevention of CMV disease.
(2020-04-14). Facebook Picks up Senior FTC Official to Undermine Her Former Employees. cepr.net The Covid-19 pandemic is creating ripe conditions for corporate acquisition sprees by industry giants. But at least one company, already under the microscope, isn't just looking to pick off competitors. Facebook has its eyes on the supposed cops on this beat, the antitrust enforcement officials ready to jump ship. Barbara Blank just joined Facebook …
(2020-04-14). Australian construction workers denounce union enforcement of unsafe conditions. wsws.org The union has responded to the outpouring of anger by mass deleting Facebook comments and declaring that work must continue, despite the dangers posed by the pandemic.
(2020-04-14). When Oil Markets Go Viral. zcomm.org The Covid-19 crisis has lead to a huge drop in the demand for, and price of, oil globally…
(2020-04-14). Preventing Cytomegalovirus Infection After Liver Transplant: An Evolving Approach. jamanetwork.com Despite recent advances in the management of patients following liver transplant, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality among this population. Clinicians and transplant centers have adopted varying approaches to managing CMV-seronegative liver transplant recipients with CMV-seropositive donors, a recipient group that is at highest risk for developing CMV-associated complications. Antiviral prophylaxis is typically initiated soon after transplant for a period of several months. Although the most widely used strategy, prophylaxis is limited by the incidence of delaye…
(2020-04-14). A New Vaccine for Chikungunya Virus. jamanetwork.com Arboviruses (arthropod-borne) are a group of viruses that encompass hundreds of members and span multiple viral families making it one of the most genetically diverse, widespread, and dangerous groups of viruses on earth. Arboviruses are transmitted to humans by a variety of geographically widespread arthropod vectors (most commonly, mosquitoes and ticks) so that these viruses can change location with human hosts or arthropod vectors, with potential for rapid spread wherever these vectors are present. Past outbreaks of West Nile virus and recent outbreaks of eastern equine encephalitis virus, Zika virus, and chik…
(2020-04-14). SECURE Act Leaves Millions of Workers as Insecure as Ever. dissidentvoice.org Tweeter-in-chief Donald Trump constantly bashes "do nothing Democrats." In fact, it's Mopey Mitch McConnell who's the do nothing man, refusing to act on nearly 400 bills passed by Pelosi's House. One big Democratic initiative did manage to become law, pushed through as part of a late-2019 budget deal. Titled the SECURE Act, it's the latest …
(2020-04-14). Democratic Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Protect Fauci From Being Fired by Trump. truthout.org After President Donald Trump sent out a tweet this past weekend that included a suggestion to fire one of the most recognizable and trusted names on his coronavirus task force, a Democratic senator hopes to pass legislation to prevent him from doing so without just cause or oversight. | Trump's tweet
(2020-04-14). Digital Day of Action to #ShutDown850 Bryant St. indybay.org Phone, Email, and Social Media…
(2020-04-14). Islamophobia Has No Place in the Fight Against COVID-19. truthout.org From politics to social media, Muslims or anything associated with Islam (whether correctly or not) are dehumanized as objects against which to measure the intensity or severity of all things negative and threatening. Such comparisons reinforce conscious and subconscious biases, and prime society and lawmakers to implement drastic and often repressive measures to address the latest perceived threat ostensibly posed by Muslims or Islam. | This cycle is nothing new. It should therefore come as no surprise that in t…
(2020-04-14). RT'S WWII VICTORY ANNIVERSARY PROJECT AND OTHER WORKS MADE IT TO THE DRUM ONLINE MEDIA AWARDS FINALS. rt.com MOSCOW, APRIL 14 — RT's documentary social media project marking the 75th anniversary of the Victory in WWII #VictoryPages, augmented reality book for #Romanovs100 and the Redfish media platform are among this year's finalists in five categories of The Drum Online Media Awards — a prestigious international competition that recognizes achievements in online journalism. | RT's large-scale documentary project
(2020-04-14). UCSC Transit Driver Dies from COVID-19. indybay.org In a post on social media, UCSC reports, "It is with a heavy heart that we share that the campus shuttle driver who we had reported had tested positive for COVID-19 died earlier today of complications related to the virus. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends during this difficult time."
(2020-04-14). It's Free Real Estate: Birds Build Nest Under Airbus A320's Wing – Video. sputniknews.com Most civilian planes are standing idle now, as the pandemic has closed borders and paralysed multiple airlines across the world, but this does not mean that nobody needs the aircraft. If they can't fly – that is totally fine, there is always another way to use them!
(2020-04-13). The Decade Of Transformation: Being In Balance With Nature. dissidentvoice.org 
Save Our Planet Save Our Future, Belgium, January 31, 2019 (Photo: EuroNews/Twitter) This is the fourth newsletter in our series on the 2020s as a decade of transformation See Remaking International Relations, Remaking the Economy for the People, and Remaking Healthcare. In addition to COVID-19 and the economic collapse, multiple crises are reaching a peak and …
(2020-04-13). Colombia: Police Abuse Becomes Common During COVID-19 Outbreak. telesurenglish.net Colombian citizens denounced the police brutality and misuse of power during quarantine enforcement due COVID-19 outbreak inside the South American nation, a new report revealed. | RELATED: | Social media users shared videos showing police imposing arbitrary and random fines during the quarantine period in Colombia this past week. Colombian officers are also intimidating citizens who are seen outside of their homes. | Esteban Velazquez, a psych…
(2020-04-13). Sanders Endorses Biden to 'Bring Democrats Against Trump'. telesurenglish.net United States (U.S.) Senator and former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Monday former Vice President Joe Biden, joining him as a guest on an online appearance. | RELATED: | "We must come together to defeat the most dangerous president in modern history," tweeted Sanders announcing his appearance with Biden and referencing U.S. President Donald Trump. | "Today, I am asking all Americans[mdas…
(2020-04-13). Cuba is Willing to Send More Medical Brigades to the World. telesurenglish.net Cuba is in condition to send more medical brigades to countries that need support to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cuban government said | RELATED: | "We defend solidarity, even in times of pandemic," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Sunday on the social network Twitter. | According to Rodriguez, new Cuban medical brigade from the Henry Reeve International Contingent left for Italy, in Europe, this…
(2020-04-13). Trump Shared a Tweet Urging Fauci's Firing. Will Fauci Be Axed as a Scapegoat? truthout.org President Donald Trump shared a tweet on Sunday that suggested he might be thinking about removing Anthony Fauci from the coronavirus task force, or possibly from his position within the National Institutes of Health, over his comments from this past weekend in which the doctor stated that an earlier implementation of mitigation efforts could have saved lives. | The tweet that the president shared came from a former candidate for Congress who had once sought the seat held by Speaker of the Hou…
(2020-04-13). Trump Asserts He Alone Has Authority to Reopen Economy — Experts Say Otherwise. truthout.org President Donald Trump issued out a pair of tweets on Monday morning in which he asserted that he alone, and not state governors, had the authority to end shelter-in-place orders to allow all businesses and services to reopen. | Trump blamed the news media for trying to create "conflict and confusion" by claiming that the authority to "open up the states" lies with governors rather than the president. | "Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect," Trump insisted. "It is the decision o…
(2020-04-12). Poetry: Rhyming not necessary but some assembly required. dissidentvoice.org 
This sense of viral isolation, dread and global make-over (for good and worse) gets the proverbial juices flowing of our local and national bards. It's not a stretch to say there are many people on our coast and farther east who consider themselves to be "poets." With a liberal dose of simile, any number of …
(2020-04-12). Dr. Marandi: Blocking My Voice on Social Media Networks Shows US Degree of Intolerance. iranian.com Seyed Mohammad Marandi, senior Iranian political analyst and university professor, blasted the American social media networks for silencing influential pro-resistance voices, including his accounts, saying that the move is a clear indication of their deep intolerance of all opposition. Speaking in an exclusive interview with FNA, Dr. Marandi said, "There is a large number of …
(2020-04-10). 'Madness that will start riots': Philadelphia police drag man off public transit for not wearing mask (VIDEOS). rt.com 
Viral videos are showing police in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania telling people to wear masks on public transportation to help stop the spread of Covid-19, and harshly enforcing this rule with non-complying passengers. | The first video, posted by the Philly Transit Riders Union on Friday, shows an official informing transit riders that they are not allowed to be on board if they are not wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. | He says all of this while he himself is not wearing a mask. A rider also not wearing a mask is then told to exit the vehicle. | throwing off riders for not having masks. A…
(2020-04-09). I'm Queer and I've Been in Solitary. Ellen Isn't Experiencing What I Did. aclu.org On Monday, I ended a 12-hour day returning emails to incarcerated queer folks, providing direct aid for housing to folks living with HIV & AIDS who have been incarcerated and challenging the state of Nebraska to provide humane conditions for incarcerated individuals and decided to mindlessly scroll on Twitter. , , I found the quote from the show Ellen DeGeneres filmed from her multimillion-dollar, multi-room mansion: "One thing that I've learned from being in quarantine is that people — this is like being in jail, is what it is," she said. "It's mostly because I've be…
(2020-04-07). Facebook's Strategy for Taking Down Hate Groups is Spotty and Ineffective. splcenter.org Facebook continues to provide a safe haven for hate groups and extremists despite the company's attempts to "stop the most egregious and dangerous groups from using its tools." Hatewatch staff previously reported several extremist groups and pages currently active on the platform directly to Facebook in 2018.
(2020-03-05). [Comment] Time to address disparities in the standard of care for Kaposi sarcoma. thelancet.com Despite clinical trial evidence and guideline recommendations to use pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or paclitaxel for AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma, most patients in sub-Saharan Africa continue to receive bleomycin and vincristine.1—3 Before antiretroviral therapy (ART), clinical trials for AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma in resource-abundant settings had shown a superior response for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin compared with bleomycin and vincristine.4 A trial in 2010 showed similar progression-free survival for pegylated liposomal doxorubicin plus ART and for paclitaxel plus ART for advanced AIDS-ass…
(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.