America Is Contributing to Iran's Shocking Covid-19 Death Toll
Editor | scheerpost.com | 2020-12-12
Farhad Babaei/ Magnus News] By Juan Cole / Informed Comment The US financial and trade blockade of Iran, which has strangled its economy, has also taken a heavy toll on the country's coronavirus response. Nick Paton Walsh, Jo Shelley, Ramin Mostaghim and Scott McWhinnie at CNN did a great story on this heartrending travesty. They write, "Retired teacher Khalif Farahani struggles to speak… | Source…
scheerpost.com/2020/12/12/america-is-contributing-to-irans-shocking-covid-19-death-toll/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=america-is-contributing-to-irans-shocking-covid-19-death-toll

English schools could face legal action if they plan to shut early for Christmas
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-12
Schools in England planning to allow pupils to learn remotely in the run-up to Christmas could face legal action to force them to remain open."Directions": New powers introduced through the Coronavirus Act allow the government to issue "directions" to headteachers around education provision during the pandemic.But should schools fail to comply after being directed to remain open, education secretary Gavin Williamson could apply for a High Court injunction forcing them to do so.Education Secretary Gavin Williamson pictured with a riding whip (Stefan Rousseau/PA)It's understood that directions under the act…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/12/english-schools-could-face-legal-action-if-they-plan-to-shut-early-for-christmas/

Saturday 12/12: SC1.5NCE Not SILENCE: Five-year Anniversary of Paris Agreement Climate Emergency Forum
March for Science | indybay.org | 2020-12-12
Online via livestream or Zoom…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/12/11/18838906.php

[Correspondence] Maintaining a gendered perspective in scientific meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic
Berit Lange | thelancet.com | 2020-12-12
Several studies have pointed towards the COVID-19 pandemic's potential to negatively affect career paths of women in science.1,2 Although the impact on manuscript submissions and publications, as one career path mechanism, has been well documented,3 an area that is often difficult to elucidate as part of the mechanisms underlying differential progress of male and female researchers is that of invitations to give scientific talks and to chair scientific meetings. Here, the merit of such an invitation is not always transparent or as easy to assess as a publication record.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32512-5/fulltext?rss=yes

Failing Students Need Support, Not Blame
Jill Richardson | zcomm.org | 2020-12-12
Students don't fail because they are lazy. They fail because something is wrong in their lives — and right now, so much is wrong…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/failing-students-need-support-not-blame/

[Perspectives] Protecting our second harvest
Desmond O'Neill | thelancet.com | 2020-12-12
Among the saddest aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the laying bare of how older people are devalued by our politicians and the medical establishment. Although older people, and particularly those resident in care homes, were the demographic group most affected by mortality and morbidity from COVID-19, in the early stages of the pandemic advisory sites from many international and national medical organisations and professional bodies did not sufficiently prioritise effective prevention and management for older people in COVID-19 guidance documents and educational updates.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32590-3/fulltext?rss=yes

CBO Shows Medicare For All Could Cover Everyone For Less Per Year
_____ | popularresistance.org | 2020-12-12
The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday released a report examining the costs associated with universal healthcare proposals that are based on Medicare's fee-for-service program and found that implementing a single-payer health insurance program in the United States would not only guarantee coverage for every person in the country but would also reduce overall healthcare spending nationwide. | In the words of researcher Matt Bruenig–founder and president of the progressive think tank People's Policy Project who called the CBO's working paper (pdf) on the topic…
popularresistance.org/cbo-shows-medicare-for-all-could-cover-everyone-for-less-per-year/

Two in three students do not think government is acting in their best interests
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-12-12
Nearly two in three students do not think the government is acting in their best interests and it has not adequately considered the difficulties they may face as a result of coronavirus (Covid-19), a survey suggests. | Political awakening: | A growing proportion (52%) of students say they feel more political due to coronavirus, according to the poll by the National Union of Students (NUS). | Larissa Kennedy, the NUS national president, said the government's failures were "politicising a generation" and prompting rent strikes across the country as anger grows among the student population. She said: Whether…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/12/12/two-in-three-students-do-not-think-government-is-acting-in-their-best-interests/

Texas educators demand halt to in-person state standardized testing
wsws.org | 2020-12-12
Texas educators are demanding that students not be forced to take in-person state assessments as a prerequisite for graduation during the pandemic.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/12/12/txrf…

[Perspectives] Is my cough COVID-19?
Eric J Topol | thelancet.com | 2020-12-12
Imagine that even if you have no symptoms of COVID-19, the sound of your forced cough transmitted to your smartphone or smart speaker, processed by an algorithm, could provide a 98 ∑5% accurate diagnosis. That's what a study involving more than 4000 people suggested might be possible. And it could be done anytime, free of charge, with immediate turnaround of results. It's one of many proposed uses of artificial intelligence (AI) for COVID-19. However, such technology will clearly require further research and independent replication to be refined, accepted, or implemented.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32589-7/fulltext?rss=yes

[Editorial] Facing up to long COVID
The Lancet | thelancet.com | 2020-12-12
Multiorgan symptoms after COVID-19 are being reported by increasing numbers of patients. They range from cough and shortness of breath, to fatigue, headache, palpitations, chest pain, joint pain, physical limitations, depression, and insomnia, and affect people of varying ages. At the Lancet–Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences conference on Nov 23, Bin Cao presented data (in press at The Lancet) on the long-term consequences of COVID-19 for patients in Wuhan, and warned that dysfunctions and complications could persist in some discharged patients for at least 6 months.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32662-3/fulltext?rss=yes

Biden to Mandate Mask Wearing, Mandatory Mass Vaxxing to Follow?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-11
Porous face masks offer no protection from minuscule covid spores. | Extended wearing is potentially hazardous to human health. | Mass vaxxing could be catastrophic if ordered. | Covid is a form of seasonal flu/influenza. | Protection comes from good health habits, including proper …
globalresearch.ca/biden-mandate-mask-wearing-mandatory-mass-vaxxing-follow/5731964

Pharma Controlled FDA Panel Recommends Approval for Controversial Pfizer COVID Vaccine
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-12-11