Daily Archives: February 5, 2022

2022-02-05: News Headlines

International Action Center, Bay Area (2022-02-05). Saturday 2/5: No War Against Russia! Fund Schools and Covid Relief Not War! indybay.org In front of Grand Lake Theater (Grand and Lake Park) Oakland…

Hannah Rose (2022-02-05). Before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Corona Virus "Vaccines". Nuremberg Code, Crimes against humanity, War Crimes and Crimes of Aggression" globalresearch.ca We bring to the attention of Global Research readers, the full text …

Alexandre I R White (2022-02-05). [Perspectives] Xenophobia, prejudice, and blame in pandemic times. thelancet.com The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us time and time again, through deeply painful lessons, that epidemics of infectious diseases may be biological in origin but our collective understandings of them and their impacts are social. From US Supreme Court rulings on mask and vaccine mandates in December, 2020, and as recently as January, 2022, to xenophobia, racism, and the blaming of disease spread on those marginalised within society, COVID-19 has laid bare what historians of epidemics have long understood—that epidemics expose, reproduce, and harden existing prejudices and inequalities within societies.

C.J. Hopkins (2022-02-05). Attack of the Transphobic Putin-Nazi Truckers! dissidentvoice.org They rolled up on Ottawa's Parliament Hill like one of the plagues in the Book of Revelations, honking their infernal air horns, the grills of their tractors grinning demonically, the sides of their dry vans painted with blasphemies like "FREEDOM TO CHOOSE," "MANDATE FREEDOM," "NO VACCINE MANDATES," and "UNITED AGAINST TYRANNY." Yes, that's right, New …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2022-02-05). Video: Has Justin Trudeau Been Duly Vaccinated? Registered Nurse Expresses Doubt on Authenticity of Trudeau's Vaccine Jab. globalresearch.ca First published …

Gérard Delépine (2022-02-05). High Recorded Mortality in Countries Categorized as "Covid-19 Vaccine Champions". The Vaccinated Suffer from Increased Risk of Mortality. globalresearch.ca This "health strategy" based on false simulations, lies, promises never kept, propaganda and the fear campaign has become unbearable. In turn it has been followed by the extortion of consent to be vaccinated, by outright blackmail.

Jyotsna Singh (2022-02-05). Cuba is helping vaccinate the world. peoplesdispatch.org Only 9.5% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose of the vaccine. Cuba has a comprehensive plan to support vaccine distribution in the global south to make sure none are left behind…

Leonardo Mattos (2022-02-05). Health systems, pandemic response and social participation: lessons from Latin America. peoplesdispatch.org Latin America has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, following years of privatization and fragmentation of health systems, and low public investment in health…

WSWS (2022-02-05). Australian government in disarray as workers' anger grows over pandemic disaster. wsws.org While polls show collapsing popular support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government, the Labor Party has offered bipartisan backing throughout the pandemic.

Michael Daly, Eric Robinson (2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Depression and anxiety during COVID-19. thelancet.com The COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators conclude that, throughout 2020, the pandemic led to a 27 ∑6% increase in cases of major depressive disorders and 25 ∑6% increase in cases of anxiety disorders globally.1 However, we propose that these prevalence estimates are likely to be substantially inflated. Decades of trauma research has shown that, for most people, negative life events such as bereavement or disaster exposure are typically followed by resilience (minimal effect on symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or both) or recovery (initial short-term increase in symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or…

Richard Horton (2022-02-05). [Comment] Offline: Where is America? thelancet.com The pessimism is overwhelming. During a series of meetings convened by a US foreign policy think tank last week (I am forbidden from naming the organisation), participants (whom I am barred from identifying) explored prospects for American engagement in global health. The opportunity is surely there for the taking. After 2 years in which a pandemic has gripped and ground down the world, America's superior resources, intellectual and material, should place the country in a prime position for leadership.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Canadian workers need a socialist program to defeat the threat of far-right political violence, end the pandemic and oppose war. wsws.org With the support and encouragement of a significant faction of the ruling class, far-right thugs have besieged Canada's parliament for the past week to demand all COVID-19 public health measures be abolished. These extraordinary events underscore the urgent necessity of the independent political mobilization of the working class.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Australian respiratory scientist Guy Marks discusses need for global elimination strategy to end COVID pandemic. wsws.org Guy Marks reviews previous measures used to fight tuberculosis and how these lessons should be applied to fight for the global elimination of COVID-19…

WSWS (2022-02-05). Oakland, California educators and students protest planned budget cuts and school closures. wsws.org Immediately following their agreement with the teachers union to maintain in-person instruction throughout the pandemic, Oakland Unified School District is pushing ahead with plans to close or merge 16 schools.

Jyotsna Singh (2022-02-05). The people of the world vs Pfizer Inc. peoplesdispatch.org During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pfizer has used every opportunity to maximize its profits, even if this meant reduced access to life-saving medical products for most of the world. The same is about to happen in the case of Paxlovid, the company's Covid-19 oral treatment…

Damian F Santomauro, Harvey A Whiteford, Alize J Ferrari (2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Depression and anxiety during COVID-19 — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We thank Michael Daly and Eric Robinson for their comments on our Article.1 We share Daly and Robinson's caution against generalising mental disorder prevalence estimates solely from the very early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our methods took this timing into account in several ways. Every estimate that informed our model had corresponding values of the impact of the pandemic (estimates of human mobility and SARS-CoV-2 infection rate) for the period in which the survey was done, whether it was early or later during the course of the pandemic.

scorinoco (2022-02-05). The Beijing Winter Olympics are a Symbol of Multipolarity and International Friendship. orinocotribune.com By Carlos Martinez — Feb 2, 2022 | With over 30 heads of state and government gathered in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in spite of the pandemic which is still raging in most parts of the world, the Games will prove to be a symbol of a deepening multipolarity and global solidarity. | A tiny handful of imperialist countries, led by the United States, tried and failed to coordinate a so-called "diplomatic boycott," based on absurd and debunked fabrications about the treatment of Xinjiang's Uygur population. | When Joe Biden announced a year ago that "diplomacy is back," mo…

Michael Lord (2022-02-05). Klaus Schwab's WEF "School for Covid Dictators", a Plan for the "Great Reset" globalresearch.ca First published on December 18, 2022 | Economist Ernst Wolff believes that a hidden alliance of political and corporate leaders is exploiting the pandemic with the aim of crashing national economies and introducing a global digital currency. | How is it that …

WSWS (2022-02-05). Bomb threats sent to historically black colleges across the United States. wsws.org The series of threats against historically black colleges and the law-and-order response of authorities follow protests and demonstrations at schools and universities against inequality and the spread of COVID-19.

sputniknews (2022-02-05). COVID-19 Gave Sense of Smell to Woman Who Grew Up Without It. sputniknews.com Many people who have been ill with COVID-19 infections have noticed a loss of smell. Some, meanwhile, complain that smells have become unbearably intense and unusual.

Global Research News (2022-02-05). Global Research Weekender: #FreedomConvoy2022 Updates. globalresearch.ca In this weekend selection, we bring to your attention some important updates on the Canadian #FreedomConvoy2022. The people's movement gathers pace as more truckers and freedom fighters rally to the Capital to protest against all levels of COVID-19 mandates. The …

WSWS (2022-02-05). COVID outbreak in Tonga after volcanic eruption and tsunami. wsws.org The deadly virus has almost certainly entered Tonga via infected personnel delivering aid from countries that include Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, France, Fiji and Britain.

John Zarocostas (2022-02-05). [World Report] WHO concerned over COVID-19 health-care waste. thelancet.com In a new report, the agency calls for global action to deal with huge amounts of waste produced by personal protective equipment and other material. John Zarocostas reports from Geneva.

WSWS (2022-02-05). In New Zealand, rising inflation, inequality intensify social crisis. wsws.org The Labour-Green Party government's pro-business policies, imposed since it assumed office in 2017, have produced an unprecedented explosion in social inequality since the onset of COVID-19.

Udani Samarasekera (2022-02-05). [Perspectives] Ayoade Alakija: advancing equity in the COVID-19 response. thelancet.com Ayoade Olatunbosun-Alakija is running late for our video call because of back-to-back meetings in Geneva as the newly appointed WHO Special Envoy and Co-Chair of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), a global collaboration to accelerate equitable access to COVID-19 health tools. Her Geneva visit will help her "join the dots to help move us from working in silos to working better collectively to overcome COVID-19", she tells me in between her last meeting and catching a flight back home to Abuja, Nigeria.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Nebraska teacher and parent describe brutal conditions in schools during Omicron surge. wsws.org Despite the surge of the Omicron variant, which has pushed COVID-19 deaths close to 4,000 across Nebraska, schools continue to be fully open for in-person learning.

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2022-02-05). Indefinite "Political Quarantine" for Justin Trudeau: Freedom Convoy 2022. In Solidarity with the Truck Drivers. globalresearch.ca A mass movement against the Covid mandate is unfolding coast to coast across Canada in solidarity with cross-border truck drivers. Tens of thousands of people will be joining the truck drivers in Ottawa.

WSWS (2022-02-05). COVID-19 death toll in US officially surpasses 900,000, driven by Omicron. wsws.org Deaths from the latest COVID-19 wave continue to surge globally, with the seven-day average surpassing 10,000 victims per day.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Texas teacher exposes nightmarish conditions in schools with COVID. wsws.org "We've had kids with COVID and we've had staff with COVID. Nonstop. It is not getting better. I don't think they'll close no matter what."

Carol Brayne, Paul O'Mahoney, Joanne Feeney, Rose Anne Kenny (2022-02-05). [Correspondence] The challenges of open access data. thelancet.com The demand that publicly funded scientific research be freely available to the public and the larger research community (including beyond academia—eg, government departments and non-governmental organisations) has increased in recent years. In line with the goal of open access science, funders of epidemiological cohort studies often mandate that study teams make anonymised datasets available for wider use.

Alison Lopez, Jocelyn Srigley (2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: still up in the air. thelancet.com Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues claim that the dominant mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is likely to be airborne.1 However, many of the reasons that are cited as support for airborne transmission do not hold up to scrutiny. We acknowledge that transmission occurs along a spectrum and airborne spread is possible, particularly in crowded and poorly ventilated settings, but the epidemiology and scientific literature do not support airborne spread as the predominant mode of transmission.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Olympics open under clouds of war. wsws.org The 2022 Winter Olympics in China are being staged in a world wracked by disease and poised on the edge of global conflict.

WSWS (2022-02-05). Europe's governments go all in for "herd immunity" wsws.org Mass infection is now the official policy of every European government. To keep the economy running and profits flowing, those in power are prepared to sacrifice countless lives and the health of the next generation.

WSWS (2022-02-05). With Ôªøre-election of ÔªøMattarella, Italian government will seek to enforce "EU recovery plan" wsws.org The anti-working class offensive of the Draghi government and the rise of the Fratelli d'Italia make clear how urgently necessary an independent working class movement is, a party that resolutely leads the struggle against mass infection, social impoverishment and war.

Trisha Greenhalgh, Jose L Jimenez, Kimberly A Prather, Zeynep Tufeki, David Fisman, Robert Schooley (2022-02-05). [Correspondence] Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: still up in the air — Authors' reply. thelancet.com We welcome the opportunity to clarify the misconceptions that were raised by Alison Lopez and Jocelyn Srigley, which reflect a widely held but fundamentally flawed paradigmatic view among infection control clinicians.

teleSUR (2022-02-04). 5 Months to Get 3rd COVID Vaccine Dose in Costa Rica. telesurenglish.net The minimum wait time between the administration of the 2nd vaccine dose and the 3rd booster injection was at least six months. | RELATED: | The Costa Rica Ministry of Health disclosed that it was allowed the 3rd dose to be given to people over 58 years of age, first responders, public and private education officials, besides all people over 18 years of age with a 5-month mark. | The vaccine to be used Pfizer and…

Staff (2022-02-04). Headlines for February 4, 2022. democracynow.org Biden Claims ISIS Leader Detonated Bomb That Killed 13 at Site of U.S. Raid, Vladimir Putin Meets Xi Jinping in Beijing as Winter Olympics Open, State Dept. Questioned over Claims Russia Is Plotting "False Flag" Operation in Ukraine, South African Plant Produces mRNA COVID Vaccine Based on Moderna Data, Chicago Ex-Cop Who Murdered Laquan McDonald Released After Just Three Years in Prison, Biden on Crime in New York City: "The Answer Is Not to Defund the Police", Turkey Blames Greek Border Guards After 12 Asylum Seekers Freeze to Death, Texas Butterfly Conservation Center Shuts Doors Following Right-Wing Harassmen…

_____ (2022-02-04). Make Noise About The Silent Crisis Of Global Illiteracy. popularresistance.org In October 2021, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a seminar on the pandemic and education systems. Strikingly, 99% of the students in the region spent an entire academic year with total or partial interruption of face-to-face classes, while more than 600,000 children struggled with the loss of their caregivers due to the pandemic. It is further estimated that the crisis could force 3.1 million children and youth to drop out of school and force over 300,000 to go to work. At the seminar, Alicia Bárcena, the executive secretary of ECLAC, said that the combinati…

Marie Kelly (2022-02-04). Pandemic exposes U.S. health care crisis. workers.org In the book "The Great Influenza: The Deadliest Pandemic in History" by John Barry, written in 2005 about the so-called Spanish Flu of 1918, we learn that pandemic actually started in the U.S. The army barracks in the Midwest were the breeding ground for the deadly virus. World War I . . . |

Richard Duluth (2022-02-04). Connecticut's Essential Worker Relief Fund a model other governments should follow. peoplesworld.org Connecticut is leading the way in building back better. The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the lives of many working-class families, but some relief is in sight. Recently, the Connecticut General Assembly, with a strong push from organized labor, passed the Connecticut Essential Worker COVID-19 Relief Fund. It' a $34 million program which will allow essential …

WSWS (2022-02-04). Johnson government to end daily reporting of UK COVID deaths. wsws.org Ending daily reporting is the first step towards ending all reporting. According to the logic of the social murderers in the government, there will no longer be a pandemic to report.

WSWS (2022-02-04). The COVID-19 cover-up: Hear no deaths, see no deaths, speak no deaths. wsws.org As thousands of Americans die every single day from COVID-19, the Biden administration carries out a campaign, through media propaganda and the manipulation of data, to cover up the pandemic and accustom the population to mass death in perpetuity.

Karen Conner (2022-02-04). Strong Job Growth in January as Omicron Leads to Cuts in Hours, Not Jobs. cepr.net Employers responded to omicron by cutting hours rather than workers. | The economy added 467,000 jobs in January, in spite of the spread of the omicron variant. Even pandemic sensitive sectors such as hotels and restaurants were big job gainers. It appears that employers' main response was to reduce hours, with the average workweek falling by 0.2 hours, a decline of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent. |

Dean Baker (2022-02-04). January Sees Strong Job Growth as Omicron Leads to Cuts in Hours, Not Jobs. truthout.org The economy added 467,000 jobs in January, in spite of the spread of the omicron variant. Even pandemic sensitive sectors such as hotels and restaurants were big job gainers. It appears that employers' main response was to reduce hours, with the average workweek falling by 0.2 hours, a decline of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent. | WSWS (2022-02-04). Berlin: SPD-Left Party-Greens coalition Senate pursues mass infection. wsws.org The German capital Berlin is a hotspot, where over half a million people have been infected with the virus since the start of the pandemic, of whom over 4100 have died.

teleSUR (2022-02-04). China, Russia Issue Joint Statement on NATO European Expansion. telesurenglish.net The two countries emphasize the need for cooperation between governments across the world, given the challenges of fast-moving economic globalization, political upheavals, and a pandemic that continues to threaten millions and weigh on international security. | Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photograph during their meeting & the recent anti-NATO joint statement in Beijing, on February 4, 2022…

Vijay Prashad (2022-02-04). Make noise about the silent crisis of global illiteracy: The Fifth Newsletter (2022). mronline.org In October 2021, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a seminar on the pandemic and education systems.

WSWS (2022-02-04). Growing student opposition to reopening of Australian universities amid COVID surge. wsws.org University students have taken to social media to express their concern over the profit-driven campaign to force students back onto campus amid a surge of the pandemic.

ecns.cn (2022-02-04). Herd immunity through natural infection to fight COVID-19 'foolish idea': WHO chief scientist. ecns.cn Chief scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan Thursday warned against the idea of attaining herd immunity through natural infection to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it "foolish" as there are huge costs to be paid.

WSWS (2022-02-04). An open letter to workers in New Zealand: Join the fight to stop the pandemic and save lives in 2022! wsws.org The Labour Party-led government, backed by the trade unions, insists that schools and businesses must remain open, allowing Omicron to spread. The working class cannot accept this policy of mass infection and death.

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