2020-03-27: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Rep. Omar Blasts Trump's "American Exceptionalism" as US Leads in COVID-19 Cases
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-03-27
As much of the United States is under lockdown, the House votes today on a $2 trillion emergency relief package to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It will generate payments to most Americans and includes protections for workers, but it is also a massive bailout for a number of industries and corporations, and the vote comes as a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. We speak with Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American electe…
truthout.org/video/rep-omar-blasts-trumps-american-exceptionalism-as-us-leads-in-covid-19-cases/

U.S. Is #1 in Pandemic: Rep. Omar Blasts Trump for "Wrong Kind of American Exceptionalism"
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-27
As much of the United States is under lockdown, the House votes today on a $2 trillion emergency relief package to address the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. It will generate payments to most Americans and includes protections for workers, but it is also a massive bailout for a number of industries and corporations, and the vote comes as a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. We speak with Congressmember Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the first Somali American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and one of the first Muslim women in Congress, about the bill, Trump's response t…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/27/rep_ilhan_omar_coronavirus_relief_bill

Online Event: Powerful Lessons from the Extraordinary Women of Rwanda (United Nations)
United Nations Association | indybay.org | 2020-03-27
Online event via Zoom: zoom.us/j/3613960435
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/25/18831810.php

Somalia Wins Debt Relief
Kate Zeller | indybay.org | 2020-03-27
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank announced that Somalia qualifies to receive debt relief. In three years time, Somalia's debt will be reduced from $5.2 billion to $557 million.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/03/25/18831805.php

Canada: Vancouver homeless left to fend for themselves amid coronavirus pandemic
wsws.org | 2020-03-27
The Canadian ruling elite's policy of malign neglect in the face of the lethal coronavirus pandemic is exemplified by the failure of all levels of government to do anything to protect homeless people.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/vanh-m27.html

Fighting resumes in Libya amid efforts to stop coronavirus pandemic
rt.com | 2020-03-27
Battles raged on several fronts in Libya on Friday after a night of heavy bombardment in Tripoli, Reuters reported, citing combatants and residents. After a comparative lull, serious warfare resumed this week despite international calls for calm to allow Libya's fragmented health system to prepare for any spread of the coronavirus. Libya confirmed its first case of the infectious disease on Monday. | The Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar has been assaulting Tripoli for nearly a year, hoping to capture the capital in the northwest where the internationally recognized Governmen…
rt.com/newsline/484282-fighting-resumes-libya-embargo/

Lockerbie's Only Convict May be Exonerated Posthumously
Dr. Mustafa Fetouri | globalresearch.ca | 2020-03-27
The only man to be convicted of the infamous Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, died in 2012 and protested his innocence until his final breath. His fellow Libyan and co-defendant, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted and is still living …
globalresearch.ca/lockerbie-only-convict-may-exonerated-posthumously/5707798

Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
wsws.org | 2020-03-27
Amazon workers in France, metalworkers in Italy, postal workers in Britain and doctors in Zimbabwe are among those taking job action to protest lack of adequate safety measures in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/work-m27.html

Horn of Africa and East Africa face coronavirus and locust swarm
wsws.org | 2020-03-27
Some 80 percent of the population in the Horn, a region long synonymous with famine, conflicts and refugees, relies on agriculture for subsistence, meaning that the consequences will be devastating for the already vulnerable population.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/03/27/locu-m27.html

Deadly Beast From the Jungle: How the Ebola Outbreaks Differ From the COVID-19 Pandemic
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-27
Since the 1970s, the Ebola virus has been killing thousands of people, primarily in Africa. Despite the relatively low death toll numbers, Ebola has resulted in very high mortality rates in recent decades.
sputniknews.com/in_depth/202003271078727602-deadly-beast-from-the-jungle-how-the-ebola-outbreaks-differ-from-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Well-Behaved Guinea Pigs Always Play 'Follow the Leader'
sputniknews.com | 2020-03-27
In South America, the birthplace of marine rodents, Guinea pigs live in marshy areas, and in the foothills, plains and forests.
sputniknews.com/videoclub/202003271078726380-funny-and-cute-guinea-pigs–follow-routine/

Fighting escalates in Libya despite virus threat
yenisafak.com | 2020-03-27
Battles raged on several fronts in Libya on Friday after a night of heavy bombardment in Tripoli, combatants and residents said, despite the threat continued fighting poses to efforts to stop the coronavirus pandemic.Serious warfare resumed this week after a comparative lull in recent weeks, defying international calls for calm to allow Libya's fragmented and overstretched health system to prepare for any spread of the coronavirus.Libya confirmed its first case of the highly infectious respiratory disease on Monday – a Libyan man recently returned from overseas. After years of instability and violence, much of th…
yenisafak.com/en/world/fighting-escalates-in-libya-despite-virus-threat-3515192

Scientists at Glasgow University discover deep-sea fish seasonal migration for the first time
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-03-26
Scientists have documented seasonal migrations of deep-sea fish across the seabed for what is said to be the first time. | Researchers analysed more than seven years of deep-sea photographic data from two observatory platforms, 1,400m (4,593ft) deep, off the coast of Angola in west Africa for the project. | They based their analysis on all the seafloor fish they saw in the photographs, which included species from 11 different families, including eels, grenadier fishes and sharks. | They linked seasonal patterns in primary productivity

Gerald Horne's new book 'White Supremacy Confronted' relates apartheid to Jim Crow
Tony Pecinovsky | peoplesworld.org | 2020-03-26
United States' support of the apartheid regime in South Africa intersected with Cold War geopolitics. Anti-communism bolstered racist oppression globally. Additionally, domestic Jim Crow and South African apartheid were two sides of the same anti-communist coin, a currency used to stifle African-American civil rights at home as well as Black liberation and anti-colonial struggles in …
peoplesworld.org/article/gerald-hornes-new-book-white-supremacy-confronted-relates-apartheid-to-jim-crow/

Debt relief milestone in Somalia, as World Bank, IMF, call for global payment suspension in light of COVID-19
news.un.org | 2020-03-25
The top United Nations official in Somalia congratulated the Horn of Africa nation on Wednesday for achieving the benchmark set by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirming its eligibility for debt relief.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060292

UN in Nigeria strengthens COVID-19 containment and care, mobilizes $2 million for key support to Government
news.un.org | 2020-03-24
The United Nations system in Nigeria has mobilized $2 million to help the Government's efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and care for those in the West African country stricken by the virus.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/03/1060182

Doctor: As Coronavirus Cases Spike Worldwide, We Need Global Cooperation to Halt Spread
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-20
As the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 10,000, with over 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we speak with Stanford University's global health expert Dr. Michele Barry, an infectious disease doctor. Italy has surpassed China in coronavirus deaths, and cases are rising in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as the governor of California has ordered all 40 million residents to shelter in place.
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/20/coronavirus_dr_michele_barry

[Research Paper] A phase 1b randomized study of the safety and immunological responses to vaccination with H4:IC31, H56:IC31, and BCG revaccination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa
Linda-Gail Bekker, One Dintwe, Andrew Fiore-Gartland, Keren Middelkoop, Julia Hutter, Anthony Williams, April K. Randhawa, Morten Ruhwald, Ingrid Kromann, Peter L. Andersen, Carlos A. DiazGranados, Kathryn T. Rutkowski, Dereck Tait, Maurine D. Miner, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Stephen C. De Rosa, Kelly E. Seaton, Georgia D. Tomaras, M. Juliana McElrath, Ann Ginsberg, James G. Kublin, HVTN 602 | thelancet.com | 2020-03-18
BCG revaccination administered as a single dose ID and both H4: IC31 and H56: IC31 administered as 2 doses IM had acceptable safety profiles in healthy, QFT-negative, previously BCG-vaccinated adolescents. Characterization of the assays and the immunogenicity of these vaccines may help to identify valuable markers of protection for upcoming immune correlates analyses of C-040-404 and future TB vaccine efficacy trials.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30057-2/fulltext?rss=yes

[Comment] COVID-19: towards controlling of a pandemic
Juliet Bedford, Delia Enria, Johan Giesecke, David L Heymann, Chikwe Ihekweazu, Gary Kobinger, H Clifford Lane, Ziad Memish, Myoung-don Oh, Amadou Alpha Sall, Anne Schuchat, Kumnuan Ungchusak, Lothar H Wieler, WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards | thelancet.com | 2020-03-17
During the past 3 weeks, new major epidemic foci of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), some without traceable origin, have been identified and are rapidly expanding in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, with the first confirmed cases being identified in African and Latin American countries. By March 16, 2020, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China had increased drastically and the number of affected countries, states, or territories reporting infections to WHO was 143.1 On the basis of "alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction", on March 11, 2020, the…
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30673-5/fulltext?rss=yes

The Government Has a Secret Plan to Track Everyone's Faces at Airports. We're Suing
Ashley Gorski | aclu.org | 2020-03-12
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration are putting us on an extraordinarily dangerous path toward the normalization of face surveillance. But because key facts about this surveillance are still secret, the public lacks the information it needs to hold these agencies to account. We're suing to bring some much-needed transparency., , Over the past few years, CBP and the TSA have dramatically expanded their use of facial recognition technology at the airport and other U.S. ports of entr…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/the-government-has-a-secret-plan-to-track-everyones-faces-at-airports-were-suing

[Commentary] We all progress through progress towards gender equality
Pavel V. Ovseiko, Anand Ahankari | thelancet.com | 2020-03-04
Ubuntu

[Research Paper] Violence-related knife injuries in a UK city; epidemiology and impact on secondary care resources
Nabeela S. Malik, Beau Munoz, Cynthia de Courcey, Rizwana Imran, Kwang C. Lee, Saisakul Chernbumroong, Jonathan Bishop, Janet M. Lord, George Gkoutos, Douglas M. Bowley, Mark A. Foster | thelancet.com | 2020-03-03
Knife injuries constitute 12 ∑9% of trauma team workload. Violence recidivism and intoxication are common, and females are predominantly injured in a domestic setting, presenting opportunities for targeted violence reduction interventions. 13 ∑9% of injuries involved machetes, with implications for law enforcement strategies.
thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30040-7/fulltext?rss=yes

2020-03-26: News Headlines

The Canary (2020-03-26). Scientists at Glasgow University discover deep-sea fish seasonal migration for the first time. thecanary.co Scientists have documented seasonal migrations of deep-sea fish across the seabed for what is said to be the first time. | Researchers analysed more than seven years of deep-sea photographic data from two observatory platforms, 1,400m (4,593ft) deep, off the coast of Angola in west Africa for the project. | They based their analysis on all the seafloor fish they saw in the photographs, which included species from 11 different families, including eels, grenadier fishes and sharks. | They linked seasonal patterns in primary productivity — the amount of energy produced by phytoplankton in the surface ocean abo…

WSWS (2020-03-26). Africa records over 2,400 cases of COVID-19. wsws.org An international and coordinated struggle against the spread of coronavirus on the African continent is an urgent necessity.

United Nations Association (2020-03-26). Online Event: Powerful Lessons from the Extraordinary Women of Rwanda (United Nations). indybay.org Online event via Zoom: zoom.us/j/3613960435

sputniknews (2020-03-26). 'Disaster Waiting to Happen:' Doctor Says Africa Cannot Afford Most Anti-Coronavirus Tips. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The coronavirus outbreak threatens to become a perfect storm for Africa as key COVID-19 precautionary measures such as remote work, social distancing, border closures and aggressive testing look simply infeasible to a majority of countries on the continent.

news.un (2020-03-25). Debt relief milestone in Somalia, as World Bank, IMF, call for global payment suspension in light of COVID-19. news.un.org The top United Nations official in Somalia congratulated the Horn of Africa nation on Wednesday for achieving the benchmark set by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirming its eligibility for debt relief.

teleSUR (2020-03-25). Another Migrant Domestic Worker Found Dead in Lebanon. telesurenglish.net The lifeless body of Faustina Tay, 23, a domestic worker from Ghana was found on March 14 in a car park under the fourth-story home of her employers in Beirut, Lebanon, according to a report by Al Jazeera. | RELATED: | Some hours before her death, Tay had sent a last hopeless message to

teleSUR (2020-03-25). War-Torn Libya Announces Its First Case of Coronavirus. telesurenglish.net The Health Minister of the United Nations (U.N.)-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, Ahmed Ben Omar, confirmed Tuesday Libya's first case of coronavirus in a brief statement. | RELATED: "The necessary measures have been taken to treat [the patient]," Ben Omar said. | The National Centre for Disease Control said the patient is a 73-year-old man who came back from a trip to Saudi Arabia via Tunisia on March 5. He is now being treated in…

The Canary (2020-03-24). Ecotourism suspended to protect mountain gorillas from Covid-19. thecanary.co Conservationists have backed moves to limit contact with endangered mountain gorillas to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic. | Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo has halted mountain gorilla tourism until June 1 following scientific advice that primates, including gorillas, are likely to be susceptible to complications arising from the Covid-19 virus. | Rwanda's Development Board has suspended tourism and research activities with primates around the Gishwati-Mukura, Nyungwe, and Volcanoes national parks. | Conservation efforts to help mountain gorillas in two areas in the Democratic…

news.un (2020-03-24). UN in Nigeria strengthens COVID-19 containment and care, mobilizes $2 million for key support to Government. news.un.org The United Nations system in Nigeria has mobilized $2 million to help the Government's efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and care for those in the West African country stricken by the virus.

Staff (2020-03-23). Headlines for March 23, 2020. democracynow.org Global COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 15,000 as Italy Drafts Military to Enforce Lockdown, Angela Merkel to Self-Quarantine After Her Doctor Tests Positive for COVID-19, First COVID-19 Cases Reported in Occupied Gaza, War-Stricken Syria and Afghanistan | , Coronavirus Cases Mount Across Africa, Two Nigerians Overdose Self-Medicating with Chloroquine After Trump Praised Anti-Malaria Drug as Possible COVID-19 Treatment, Coronavirus Leads to Lockdowns, Travel Bans in Latin America, as a Colombian Prison Riot Turns Deadly | , Fate of Tokyo Olympics Still Unknown as Canada, Australia Refuse to Send Athletes | , India Lock…

Richard Lane (2020-03-21). [Perspectives] Sean Wasserman: rising star in TB-HIV research and medicine. thelancet.com A year spent working in a township hospital outside Cape Town, South Africa, was a defining career moment for Sean Wasserman, winner of the 2019 Stephen Lawn TB-HIV Research Leadership Prize, which is supported by The Union. "I remember seeing the devastation caused by untreated HIV and common opportunistic infections including TB and meningitis, and was inspired by the high quality of medicine practised by my consultants in this challenging environment. I knew from that point on that I wanted to make a contribution in the emerging field of infectious diseases medicine in South Africa", he says.

Geoff Watts (2020-03-21). [Obituary] Lionel Henry Opie. thelancet.com Leading African cardiologist. He was born in Hanover, South Africa, on May 6, 1933, and died in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb 20, 2020, aged 86 years.

news.un (2020-03-21). UN welcomes response by Libyan parties to calls for humanitarian pause. news.un.org The United Nations on Saturday welcomed the "positive responses" of Libya's Tripoli-based government and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to calls for a pause to stop the fighting, in the hopes that this would allow humanitarian access throughout the crisis-torn country and head off the potential threat of COVID-19.

Staff (2020-03-20). Headlines for March 20, 2020. democracynow.org Worldwide COVID-19 Death Toll Tops 10,000 as Italian Nurses "Stop Counting the Dead", Refugee Groups Warn of COVID-19 "Carnage" in Camps Housing Millions, Coronavirus Multiplies Across Australia, Latin America, Africa and Middle East, California Gov. Gavin Newsom Issues Statewide "Stay at Home" Order for 40 Million, New York Mayor Calls on Trump to Mobilize Military to Aid Overwhelmed Hospitals, Georgia State Legislators Urged to Self-Quarantine; Spring Break Revelers Party On in Florida, Demands Grow to Empty ICE Jails as NJ Detention Center Worker Tests Positive, Trump Blasts "Corrupt" Media at Rambling Coronav…

Staff (2020-03-20). Doctor: As Coronavirus Cases Spike Worldwide, We Need Global Cooperation to Halt Spread. democracynow.org As the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has topped 10,000, with over 250,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we speak with Stanford University's global health expert Dr. Michele Barry, an infectious disease doctor. Italy has surpassed China in coronavirus deaths, and cases are rising in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as the governor of California has ordered all 40 million residents to shelter in place.

Staff (2020-03-19). Headlines for March 19, 2020. democracynow.org Italy Records Record 475 Coronavirus Deaths as Infections Continue Climbing, British PM Boris Johnson Closes Schools After Reversing Lax Virus Containment Plan, Millions of Brazilians Protest from Windows and Balconies Demanding President's Ouster, World Health Organization Warns Critical Lack of Testing Is Costing Lives, Egypt Arrests Protesters Calling for Release of Prisoners at Risk of COVID-19, Yemen, Already Wracked by U.S.-Supported, Saudi-Led War, Braces for Coronavirus, Trump Admin Tightens Sanctions That Have Devastated Iran's Public Health System, Trump Signs Coronavirus Relief Bill Providing Paid Leav…

Linda-Gail Bekker, One Dintwe, Andrew Fiore-Gartland, Keren Middelkoop, Julia Hutter, Anthony Williams, April K. Randhawa, Morten Ruhwald, Ingrid Kromann, Peter L. Andersen, Carlos A. DiazGranados, Kathryn T. Rutkowski, Dereck Tait, Maurine D. Miner, Erica Andersen-Nissen, Stephen C. De Rosa, Kelly E. Seaton, Georgia D. Tomaras, M. Juliana McElrath, Ann Ginsberg, James G. Kublin, HVTN 602 (2020-03-18). [Research Paper] A phase 1b randomized study of the safety and immunological responses to vaccination with H4:IC31, H56:IC31, and BCG revaccination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa. thelancet.com BCG revaccination administered as a single dose ID and both H4: IC31 and H56: IC31 administered as 2 doses IM had acceptable safety profiles in healthy, QFT-negative, previously BCG-vaccinated adolescents. Characterization of the assays and the immunogenicity of these vaccines may help to identify valuable markers of protection for upcoming immune correlates analyses of C-040-404 and future TB vaccine efficacy trials.

Ashley Gorski (2020-03-12). The Government Has a Secret Plan to Track Everyone's Faces at Airports. We're Suing. aclu.org U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration are putting us on an extraordinarily dangerous path toward the normalization of face surveillance. But because key facts about this surveillance are still secret, the public lacks the information it needs to hold these agencies to account. We're

Pavel V. Ovseiko, Anand Ahankari (2020-03-04). [Commentary] We all progress through progress towards gender equality. thelancet.com Ubuntu — often translated as "I am because we are" — is an African humanist philosophy asserting that we are all interconnected and derive our humanity from each other [1]. It follows that we progress through the progress of others. Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it this way [2]: "We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."

Nabeela S. Malik, Beau Munoz, Cynthia de Courcey, Rizwana Imran, Kwang C. Lee, Saisakul Chernbumroong, Jonathan Bishop, Janet M. Lord, George Gkoutos, Douglas M. Bowley, Mark A. Foster (2020-03-03). [Research Paper] Violence-related knife injuries in a UK city; epidemiology and impact on secondary care resources. thelancet.com Knife injuries constitute 12 ∑9% of trauma team workload. Violence recidivism and intoxication are common, and females are predominantly injured in a domestic setting, presenting opportunities for targeted violence reduction interventions. 13 ∑9% of injuries involved machetes, with implications for law enforcement strategies.

Kaja M Abbas, Kevin van Zandvoort, Marc Brisson, Mark Jit (2020-02-24). [Articles] Effects of updated demography, disability weights, and cervical cancer burden on estimates of human papillomavirus vaccination impact at the global, regional, and national levels: a PRIME modelling study. thelancet.com HPV vaccination provides greater health benefits and is more cost-effective than was previously estimated. The demography update, which incorporates population aging, has the largest effect on the health impact estimates. The WHO African region is expected to gain the greatest health benefits and should be prioritised for HPV vaccination.

Valérie Schw≈ìbel, Arnaud Trébucq, Zacharie Kashongwe, Alimata S. Bakayoko, Christopher Kuaban, Juergen Noeske, Souleymane H. Harouna, Mahamadou B. Souleymane, Alberto Piubello, Franàßois Ciza, Valentin Fikouma, Michel Gasana, Martial Ouedraogo, Martin Gninafon, Armand Van Deun, Elisa Tagliani, Daniela M. Cirillo, Kobto G. Koura, Hans L. Rieder (2020-02-10). [Research Paper] Outcomes of a nine-month regimen for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis up to 24 months after treatment completion in nine African countries. thelancet.com The close to 80% relapse-free success indicates the good outcome of the regimen in low-and middle-income settings. Results confirm the lesser effectiveness of the regimen in patients with initial resistance to fluoroquinolones and support the use of high-dose isoniazid, but do not support exclusion of patients for resistance to drugs other than fluoroquinolones.

thelancet (2019-12-23). [Corrections] Correction to Lancet Infect Dis 2019; 19: 143—55. thelancet.com Hemelaar J, Elangovan R, Yun J, et al; WHO—UNAIDS Network for HIV Isolation Characterisation. Global and regional molecular epidemiology of HIV-1, 1990—2015: a systematic review, global survey, and trend analysis. Lancet Infect Dis 2019; 19: 143—55—In figure 3 of this Article, one segment of the pie charts for east Africa and central Africa was mislabelled as CRF02_AG (yellow) instead of D (pink). This change does not affect the written interpretation. This correction has been made to the online version as of Dec 23, 2019.