All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Coronavirus: Vietnam to test 1.1 million people in Danang

Vietnam will test all residents of Danang, the city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak with 1.1 million people, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, as the risk of a widening spread increases.

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HANOI (BLOOMBERG) – Vietnam will test all residents of Danang, the city at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak with 1.1 million people, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, as the risk of a widening spread increases.

There were two more confirmed cases linked to the Danang outbreak, the health ministry said on Sunday (Aug 2), while another two were imported infections.

More than 800,000 people had travelled to the coastal city since July 1, and returned to their home provinces and cities, according to the government, while about 41,000 people had visited three hospitals there where most of the infections occurred.

The financial hub of Ho Chi Minh City recorded three cases after testing over 21,000 residents as of Sunday out of 32,000 who said they visited Danang in the past month, its centre of diseases control said.

Hanoi has quick-tested nearly 50,000 people who returned from Danang as of Saturday, according to the city’s government, which said an estimated 72,275 of its residents had been in the coastal city since July 8.

Vietnam has reported 174 new virus patients, mostly from Danang, since July 25 when the first locally-transmitted case was confirmed after more than three months.

The South-east Asian nation now has 590 virus cases, including 214 under treatment and three deaths.

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The painful truth about Covid and the economy – Trump is to blame | Robert Reich

Lies about the economy are as dangerous as lies about the virus. Thanks to the Republicans, millions are about to be hurt

“The recovery has been very strong,” Donald Trump said on Monday. Then the commerce department reported the US economy contracted between April and June at the fastest pace in nearly three-quarters of a century, which is as long as economists have been keeping track. The drop wiped out five years of economic growth.

But pesky facts have never stopped Trump. Having lied for five months about the coronavirus, he’s now filling social media and the airwaves with untruths about the economy so he can dupe his way to election day.

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Lies about the economy are as dangerous as lies about the virus. Thanks to the Republicans, millions are about to be hurt

“The recovery has been very strong,” Donald Trump said on Monday. Then the commerce department reported the US economy contracted between April and June at the fastest pace in nearly three-quarters of a century, which is as long as economists have been keeping track. The drop wiped out five years of economic growth.

But pesky facts have never stopped Trump. Having lied for five months about the coronavirus, he’s now filling social media and the airwaves with untruths about the economy so he can dupe his way to election day.

Continue reading…

The Rank Hypocrisy of a TikTok Ban | WIRED

ON FRIDAY, THE President of the United States declared that he intends to ban a vibrant source of American speech. And that he intends to eliminate competition in a giant industry that doesn’t have nearly enough. It’s a rare feat to upturn two such fundamental democratic values—free speech and free markets—at the same time.

There has been a certain amount of conspiratorial talk about Trump and Zuckerberg since the two had dinner last November: theorizing perhaps that they reached some sort of tacit agreement that Zuckerberg would allow Trump to use the platform as he saw fit, and Trump would help Zuckerberg in other ways? I’ve always doubted that there was anything explicit. But powerful diplomacy doesn’t work that way. It happens through subtle signals, winks, and nods. And I doubt that Zuckerberg’s kindness toward the White House didn’t weigh somewhat in Trump’s mind.

But this of course just lays bare the hypocrisy in Trump’s move. It’s a move against free speech and, to the extent that Facebook has been gentle on the president, it’s because of Zuckerberg’s defense of that fundamental right. And if one is an avid believer in free speech, how can one even threaten the death penalty for a social media platforrm?

Source: The Rank Hypocrisy of a TikTok Ban | WIRED

Media to be banned from Republican convention due to coronavirus restrictions | US news | The Guardian – new low in anti-democracy GOP trend

The media will be barred from the Republican national convention where Donald Trump is set to be renominated as presidential candidate later this month, a spokeswoman said on Saturday, citing coronavirus restrictions.

While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country, 336 delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 24 August to formally vote to make Trump the GOP standard-bearer once more.

 

Source: Media to be banned from Republican convention due to coronavirus restrictions | US news | The Guardian

Thousands demonstrate against Netanyahu as Israel protests gain strength | World news | The Guardian

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the official residence of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thronged the streets of central Jerusalem, as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader appeared to be gaining steam.

The demonstration in central Jerusalem on Saturday, along with smaller gatherings in Tel Aviv, near Netanyahu’s beach house in central Israel and at dozens of busy intersections nationwide, was one of the largest turnouts in weeks of protests.

 

Source: Thousands demonstrate against Netanyahu as Israel protests gain strength | World news | The Guardian

‘Everyone knows everyone’ in this small Texas town. Now, COVID-19 is out-of-control there.

a man sitting at a desk: Personnel at Val Verde Regional Medical Center work just outside a COVID-19 isolation unit Thursday, July 23, 2020 in a hospital that has been described as a 'war zone' in the fight against the virus.

Valadez said she feels traumatized and infuriated after losing her grandmother to the virus. She wasn’t able to hold her grandmother who lay dying in the hospital, and she’s upset by the number of people who still aren’t wearing masks. She too has a message for those who think COVID-19 is a hoax.

“It’s real. It’s here. And you don’t know who could be a carrier. Wearing a mask could save someone else,” Valadez said. “I don’t wish this upon anyone. My grandmother helped raise me … It’s hard watching someone you love fighting for their life and not being able to do anything about it.”

Valadez continues to urge people to be responsible and do what they can to stop the spread of the virus, a mission shared by city, county, and Del Rio healthcare officials who have likened COVID-19 to a viral hurricane.

 

Source: ‘Everyone knows everyone’ in this small Texas town. Now, COVID-19 is out-of-control there.

Street photography using flash: how Dougie Wallace photographs Indian taxis using flash – Amateur Photographer

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With Road Wallah, Dougie hasn’t fallen into the trap of photographing the stereotypical clichés of somewhere exotic. Indeed, there is nothing trite about this series, which offers a fresh perspective on the beating heart of Mumbai and what, quite literally, drives the city. ‘A lot of the images you see of Mumbai are very much travel photography in style,’ says Dougie. ‘I wanted to shoot something different, something a bit more conceptual.’

Source: Street photography using flash: how Dougie Wallace photographs Indian taxis using flash – Amateur Photographer