All eyes on Darnolds progress, Adams status as Jets begin – KGBT-TV

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Posted: Jul 20, 2020 / 02:42 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 20, 2020 / 02:42 PM CDT

NEW YORK (AP)NEW YORK JETS (7-9)

CAMP SITE: Florham Park, New Jersey

LAST YEAR: Adam Gases first year as Jets coach got off to rough start, headlined by quarterback Sam Darnolds bout with mononucleosis that sidelined him for three games. Linebacker C.J. Mosley was hurt in regular-season debut and missed all but two games with core muscle injury. Offense struggled for much of season, but Darnold played better down stretch and Jets turned 1-7 start into surprisingly respectable 7-9 finish by taking advantage of weak late schedule.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONS: First-round pick OT Mekhi Becton, second-round pick WR Denzel Mims, WR Breshad Perriman, CB Pierre Desir, C Connor McGovern, RB Frank Gore, QB Joe Flacco, LB Patrick Onwuasor, CB Quincy Wilson, OT George Fant, G Greg Van Roten, OL Josh Andrews, third-round pick S Ashtyn Davis, sixth-round pick P Braden Mann.

IMPORTANT LOSSES: WR Robby Anderson, CBs Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts, LT Kelvin Beachum, LB Brandon Copeland, RB Bilal Powell, RB-WR Ty Montgomery, WR Demaryius Thomas, OT Brandon Shell, P Lachlan Edwards.

PANDEMIC CHALLENGES: Offensive line could have five new starters Becton, Fant, McGovern, Van Roten and LG Alex Lewis from Week 1 of last season, so lack of on-field time together could play into how quickly they jell.

CAMP NEEDS: GM Joe Douglas has preached competition and that will play out at several positions, including offensive line, cornerback, wide receiver and linebacker. Darnold going into third season and will be expected to take next step in development. Being in Gases system for second straight year helps, but Darnold needs to develop rapport with new WRs after departures of Anderson, Montgomery and Thomas. Whether star safety Jamal Adams shows up for start of camp or, at all will be key story line. He has requested trade from Jets, who control contract for this season and next, and could potentially use franchise tag on him in 2022.

EXPECTATIONS: Gases future with team likely directly tied into how Darnold performs this season. Jets have difficult schedule and could take slight step back record-wise, but Gase could be safe if Darnold consistently plays like franchise QB that New York expects him to be. Despite uncertainty of Adams situation, defense should be solid again under Gregg Williams especially with returns of healthy ILBs Mosley and Avery Williamson and revamped CB group.

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All eyes on Darnolds progress, Adams status as Jets begin - KGBT-TV

COVID-19 Is Threatening the Progress of Clinical Trials – BRINK

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A microscope showing blood cells. The global recession will put pressure on already strained health care budgets, and governments will continue to look for cost savings, bringing clinical trials in rare diseases to a pause.

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The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic presents a potential risk to the future of clinical trials in rare diseases. Rare diseases by their nature are not very prevalent in the population, therefore, any treatment for a rare disease will only have a small number of beneficiaries.

In addition, so-called orphan drug development takes around 18% longer from first patent filing to product launch than the average time required for all new drugs. As such, the pricing models around rare disease treatments have always been a challenge for the pharmaceutical sector, and COVID-19 has exacerbated this problem.

Clinical trials are the engine room that powers companies ability to deliver new treatment options to patients. Clinical trials in rare diseases are funded by pharmaceutical companies, investors, the public sector and patient organizations themselves. COVID-19 will have a financial impact on all of these groups, and prioritizing areas for funding will entail difficult decision-making.

The global recession will put further pressure on already strained health care budgets, and governments will continue to look for cost savings. This means the price of pharmaceuticals will also be scrutinized. Companies will be looking at the potential return on investment of conducting research in this space and weighing the likelihood of reimbursement from government payers. For the same reasons, they might also struggle to secure external funding, for example, from venture capitalists.

Smaller companies may decide that it is not worth the investment risk. This, in turn, could mean that we see a concentration of rare disease research being done by the larger pharmaceutical companies, which can offset losses from other parts of their business or portfolio, rather than the existing diverse range of biotechs who are leading in this sector.

A significant amount of COVID-19 research funding has been delivered by governments and supranational organizations, such as the European Commission, which inevitably means that there will be less research funding available for other diseases. The focus on COVID-related research doesnt seem to be slowing, and until we get a vaccine or a treatment, this might not change.

Patient organizations are another source of funding for clinical trials, particularly in rare diseases, where conditions are often inherited or affect the very young. A great example of this can be seen in alkaptonuria, a rare genetic metabolic disorder characterized by the accumulation of homogentisic acid in the body. This causes damage to cartilage and heart valves, as well as precipitating as kidney stones and stones in other organs.

The Alkaptonuria Society initiated the DevelopAKUre program, a series of major international clinical trials run by a consortium of 12 European partners. It studied the effectiveness of a drug called nitisinone, in treating AKU. The DevelopAKUre clinical trials finished in 2019, and the company that makes the drug is currently awaiting a decision from the European Medicines Agency on a licence for the treatment of alkaptonuria.

However, many charities and patient organizations are deferring upcoming grant rounds and withdrawing future trial funding, due to uncertainty of incomes. These organizations have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, which has triggered reduced capacity for fundraising, coupled with a surge in demand for their services from patients who are looking for guidance and support to help them through the crisis. It is unlikely that these organizations will be able to prioritize clinical trials at this time.

There have been specific proposals brought forward to support and quicken COVID-related research. On June 17, 2020, the European Commission presented a European strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing and deployment of vaccines against COVID-19.

Part of this strategy adapts the EUs regulatory framework to the current urgency and makes use of existing regulatory flexibility to accelerate this development, while maintaining the standards for vaccine quality, safety and efficacy. This could be good news for research and development in rare diseases.

The same arguments used in rare diseases, which focus on the need for urgency in getting new treatments approved and to patients, are now reflected in the response to the pandemic. If some of these approaches become permanent changes in the way clinical trials are conducted in the EU, clinical trials could be sped up and some of the risk transferred from industry to public authorities. This would be in return for assuring member states of equitable and affordable access to treatments.

Additionally, there are treatments for rare diseases being tested to see if they could have a benefit in the management of COVID-19. This could also help in our longer-term understanding of some of these treatments and therefore speed up their availability in rare diseases.

In the short term, the impact of COVID-19 will likely be a reduction in innovation in the rare disease space. The diversity of companies playing in this area will reduce, with research concentrated in the larger companies who can afford to take the risk.

In normal times, this would spur action from charities and organizations to set up clinical trials because of personal experience, but their capacity to do this presently is limited.

However, the indirect impact of COVID-19 may result in longer-term positives for the rare disease sector, addressing some of the shortcomings of clinical trial setup that have long held back innovation in the area.

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The Pentagon Moves To Launch Its Own Experimental Mini Space Station – The Drive

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The Sierra Nevada Corporation recently received a Pentagon contract to craft an experimental space outpost capable of supporting various research and development, training, and operational missions, including potentially with humans aboard. This comes as the U.S. military as a whole, including the nascent U.S. Space Force, is increasingly focused on operations in various orbits around the Earth, and competition there, as well as in cislunar space between our planet and the Moon.

On July 14, 2020, the Nevada-headquartered aerospace company announced the deal with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), but did not state the approximate value of the award. DIU is charged with "accelerating the adoption of leading commercial technology throughout the military" and has offices in California's Silicon Valley, as well as Boston, Massachusetts and Austin, Texas, in addition to its headquarters in the Pentagon.

The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) will now modify its Shooting Star space transport vehicle design as an Unmanned Orbital Outpost. The company has been developing Shooting Star since at least 2016 for NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, which is seeking new means of delivering cargo to the International Space Station (ISS).

The existing 15-foot-long cargo vehicle is intended to be able to carry up 10,000 pounds of cargo, both inside in a pressurized compartment and in unpressurized packages attached to three external mounting points. The design has two solar panel arrays capable of generating six kilowatts of onboard power and is capable of maneuvering independently in space using six thrusters. SNC is hoping to conduct its first demonstration mission to the ISS using Shooting Star next year.

"Were excited by the multi-mission nature of Shooting Star," SNC's CEO Fatih Ozmen said in a press release regarding the DIU contract. "It was originally developed for NASA resupply missions to the International Space Station, and since then we keep identifying new capabilities and solutions it offers to a wide variety of customers. The possible applications for Shooting Star are really endless."

"The current Shooting Star is already designed with significant capabilities for an orbital outpost and by adding only a few components we are able to meet Department of Defense needs." Steve Lindsey, Senior Vice President of strategy for SNCs Space Systems business area, who is also a retired U.S. Air Force pilot and former NASA space shuttle commander, added. "We are proud to offer our transport vehicle to DoD as a free-flying destination for experimentation and testing, expanding beyond its current payload service capabilities for Dream Chaser cargo missions."

DIU first announced it was interested in a solution for a self-contained and free-flying orbital outpost," just over a year ago. The miniature space station could support space assembly, microgravity experimentation, logistics and storage, manufacturing, training, test and evaluation, hosting payloads, and other functions, it had said in a July 9, 2019, notice.

"Space assembly" and "manufacturing" refer to the potential future capability to assemble, as well service, satellites and other spacecraft in orbit, something the U.S. military, as well as NASA, has been exploring for some time. The outpost itself could serve as platform on which to test those capabilities. The Air Force has also publicly raised the possibility of using orbital platforms as logistics nodes, the feasibility of which The War Zonehas explored in the past.

"The proposed orbital outpost will be initially established in LEO with guidance, navigation and control for sustained free-flight operations to host payloads and support space assembly, microgravity, experimentation, logistics, manufacturing, training, test and evaluation," SNC's press release says, showing that DIU is still interested in an orbital platform that may be capable of performing these and the other previously stated mission sets. "Future outposts may be based in a variety of orbits including, medium-Earth orbit, highly elliptical orbit, geosynchronous Earth orbits (GEO) to include GEO transfer orbits, and cislunar orbits."

Neither DIU's original notice nor SNC's press release mentions any specific payloads that could find their way onto the orbital platform. It could be an ideal space to test new space-based communications, data-sharing, or navigation systems.

The outpost could also potentially support sensor suites for intelligence, surveillance, or reconnaissance purposes or weapons, either defensive or offensive. It is worth noting that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, to which the United States is party, bans the deployment of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in outer space, but does not expressly prohibit arming satellites or other spacecraft with conventional weapons.

DIU had also said when it first publicly unveiled its orbital outpost plans last year that it was interested in proposals that could eventually have a "human-rating," meaning they could support manned operations, or serve as a stepping stone to a larger and more robust military space station. It's interesting to note that in the 1960s, the U.S. Air Force, together with the then-classified National Reconnaissance Office, explored the possibility of a Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) for intelligence-gathering purposes. The name was part of a cover story that this miniature space station was purely for research and development use.

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Watch SpaceX catch an entire rocket nose cone that fell from space for the 1st time (video) – Space.com

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SpaceX just pulled off another rocket-reusability milestone its first-ever payload fairing double catch.

The company managed to pluck out of the sky both halves of a Falcon 9 rocket's falling payload fairing shortly after the successful launch of a South Korean military satellite from Florida yesterday (July 20), SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said.

"Both fairing halves caught from space by @SpaceX ships!" Musk announced via Twitter yesterday evening. Then today, Musk unveiled video of the epic double play.

Related: See the evolution of SpaceX's rockets in pictures

Those ships are GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief, both of which have been outfitted with big nets to catch falling fairings, the protective nose cones that surround satellites during launch. (SpaceX fairings come back to Earth in two pieces, explaining the need for two ships.)

SpaceX has caught a handful of fairing halves on previous missions, but this is the first time the company has managed to keep both pieces from a single launch out of the drink.

Fairing catches are part of SpaceX's push to increase rocket reusability, an effort that's already in full swing. The company routinely lands and reflies the first stages of their two-stage Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Indeed, yesterday's launch featured a Falcon 9 landing on a ship at sea, the 57th successful booster touchdown for SpaceX during an orbital launch.

It was the second landing for this particular booster, which also helped launch the Demo-2 test flight on May 30. Demo-2, SpaceX's first-ever crewed spaceflight, sent NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule.

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy fairings they're the same for both rockets cost about $6 million apiece, Musk has said, so there's a strong incentive to reuse them. And reuse is tougher if fairings splash down, because seawater is highly corrosive. Hence the net-sporting boats.

The upper stages of the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy remain expendable at the moment. SpaceX's next-gen spaceflight system, however, will be entirely reusable. The 100-passenger Starship spacecraft and giant Super Heavy rocket, which could begin launching operational missions as soon as next year, are designed to fly many times apiece, Musk has said.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Sriharikota space station to function with skeletal staff due to Covid-19 – Business Standard

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The Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) SHAR Sriharikota in Nellore district, has decided to work with essential staff members after Covid-19 positive cases were detected in SDSC SHAR's housing colonies.

SDSC SHAR's senior administrative officer issued an order in this regard on Sunday. "The organisation will run with skeletal staff until further orders. The entity chiefs will consult the director and decide the essential activities and deploy the staff accordingly."

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: 4,985 new cases in Tamil Nadu; state tally at 175,678

All the employees, except those providing essential services, have been ordered to work from home and be available over phone or mail.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state stands at 49,650, including 26,118 active cases. Out of the total cases, 22,890 have been cured/discharged/migrated and 642 deaths have been reported.

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Sriharikota space station to function with skeletal staff due to Covid-19 - Business Standard

Mount Everest, Seen from Space! – Universe Today

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One under-appreciated space asset is the photography skills of the Russian cosmonauts on board the International Space Station. They are extremely skillful photographers who dont get the same recognition as their astronaut counterparts in their Earth observation skills. In particular, they have taken some stunning high-oblique shots of objects close to the horizon, with almost an 3-D effect.

One example is our lead image of Mt. Everest, which was taken by cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev (@OlegMKS), who was a flight engineer ISS Expedition 39/40, and Expedition 55/56. Below, is another view of Earths highest mountain, taken by Sergey Rryazanskiy (@sergeyISS), who was on ISS Expeditions 37/38 and 52/53.

These images were brought to our attention by Chhabi R. Pokhrel (@crpokhrel) on Twitter, who lists himself as a mountaineering enthusiast and space geek.

To see more imagery from cosmonauts, Roscomos has this page of limited images from various cosmonauts. They do, however, usually give credit to each cosmonaut who took the photo.

NASA, on the other hand, has basically EVERY image taken by astronauts available at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography website but they dont necessarily give credit to the astronaut photographer. Different strokes for different space agencies.

But, no matter the photographer or the country of origin, I feel fortunate to be able to see these beautiful images, basically every day via Twitter or websites, of our precious planet Earth. Take a few minutes to peruse the links above to check out these wonderful images.

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Mount Everest, Seen from Space! - Universe Today

What the mysterious boredom divide teaches us – BBC News

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One is narcissism not the ordinary kind, in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and greatness, characteristic of certain politicians, but covert narcissism. This type involves people feeling like theyre fabulously talented, but they arent being given due credit for it. They're like If only the world knew, says Danckert.

No one knows for sure what explains the link, but an early theory is that, if theres a gap between your natural abilities and your goals, you are setting yourself up for failure and this leads to feelings of disenchantment and boredom. Another is that once a covert narcissist has received the empty approval they crave from the people around them, they will lose interest and become bored.

In fact, boredom is just one of many unpleasant side-effects to keeping narcissism bottled up. For example, covert narcissists tend to have low psychological wellbeing, while overt narcissists are relatively happy and have higher self-esteem.

Other personality traits linked to boredom include anger aggressive drivers tend to be especially susceptible and neuroticism, which involves having high levels of anxiety, guilt and jealousy. In all, being prone to boredom is generally a bad sign and may be partly caused by having poor emotional control.

We need to try and understand the causal nature of these relationships. And we haven't really done that yet, says Danckert. So for example, in the relationship between boredom and depression, does boredom precede depression is it a risk factor for depression? I think the answer to that will be yes.

The ultimate question is whether the strategies that make some people susceptible are all learned or whether boredom can be genetic. This is something Danckert is currently looking into. Again, we dont have the data yet, but my speculative answer is that this is going to be related to something within certain individuals.

However, Danckert expects that, as with all emotions, boredom is likely to arise from a combination of learned and genetic factors. It looks like Hadfield honed his ability to cope with boredom in childhood and with the right techniques, even the most agonisingly boredom-prone might be able to lead richer inner lives.

So the next time you find yourself lamenting how tedious life is, think back to Lebedev and Hadfields differing experiences in space. You might well discover that its just a matter of perspective.

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Smallspark Space Systems and Leaf Space to offer ground-station services to the UK – SpaceWatch.Global

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This collaboration promises to change the landscape of UK aerospace, with the companies jointly providing UK-based services for OneWeb, including the development of low-cost, rapidly-deployable ground stations, expansion of ground segment coverage to new geographies, as well as operating & maintaining OneWebs existing ground station networks.

If successful, the bid will kick-start rapid development across the space value chain, creating new skilled jobs, and providing opportunities for investment across the sector, with new sites proposed across the country, and exploring the potential of manufacturing opportunities in the UK.

Commenting on this agreement, Joe Ward, Chief Executive Officer of Smallspark Space Systems said, Working with Leaf Space is an exciting opportunity for both Smallspark and UK Space as a whole; with the UKs goals of dramatically expanding its reach into space, were keen to help support the governments ambitions wherever possible. With both satellite constellations and native launch capabilities, it is essential the UK has reliable, agile ground station services.

Jai Dialani, Sr. Business Developer on behalf of Leaf Space, said, Partnership with Smallspark Space Systems is a valuable opportunity for our company to start a collaboration with a pioneering launch service provider. We will provide an immediately available ground segment service capability to broaden their portfolio. This will help potential customers find a complete solution for their missions, assuring a reliable and consistent end-to-end service.

Leaf Space has been offering tailored ground segment services, including Launch and Early Operations (LEOPS), daily passes, pass distribution and operational conditions, for in-orbit demonstrations (IOD) or other missions such as serving broadband constellations requiring high contact time and low latency. The proprietary ground-segment infrastructure provides redundancy and reliability during the LEOP mission phase, and the service can be integrated into third-party bundles.

The two companies are planning to conduct integration and testing activities that will ensure the ground segment service provision is operational on a rapid schedule before OneWebs satellite launches.

For more information visit leaf.space

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Biography ‘The Beauty Of Living’ Examines Experiences That Shaped Poetic Voice Of E.E. Cummings – WBUR

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In late 1918, E.E. Cummings sat down in a barracks at Camp Devens in Massachusetts and began to write.

Art is vital, he wrote. Art is indeed that superfluous crisp minute inexcusable impulse which substitutes the actual synthesis of premeditated vitality for a probable comedy of cellular agglomeration, amoeboid improvisations, corpuscular statistics, or mess.

Satisfied with this high-minded statement of purpose, he flipped the page over and covered it, says author J. Alison Rosenblitt, with erotica.

Therein lies the charm of Edward Estlin Cummings on one side, a tangle of lofty modernist ideals worthy of T. S. Eliot, on the other, a vulgar fascination with sex that recalls James Joyce at his most transgressive. Its this cheeky blend of high and low that makes his poems so memorable, so popular, and so widely read.

In The Beauty of Living (out now), Rosenblitt explores Cummingss youth in Cambridge, his studies at Harvard, and his time in France during the First World War, providing an in-depth look at the experiences that shaped his unique poetic voice.

Cummings had been drafted by the U.S. Army and sent to Camp Devens with the expectation that he would soon be deployed to France to fight the Germans a strange turn of events considering that just six months earlier, the U.S. government had expended a significant amount of effort getting him out of France.

He had gone there in 1917 as a volunteer for the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, a popular choice among Cummingss coterie of Harvard-educated literary types, young men who wanted to experience the frisson of war without having to shoot anybody.

Unfortunately for Cummings, his friend William Slater Brown sent a few letters home that were critical of the French war effort. When the censors saw them, Brown and Cummings were arrested as undesirables and locked up in a detention camp. Cummings spent about four months in jail and was freed only thanks to the entreaties of the U.S. State Department. Fortunately for him, the war ended before he could be sent back as a soldier.

Rosenblitt proposes that, since Cummingss poetry was influenced by what he witnessed in France, he should be considered a war poet alongside Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We do not normally think of Cummings as a war poet, she writes, but insists we must understand this period of his life if we wish to understand his ideas about love, justice, injustice, humanity and brutality.

Its a bit of a stretch. Cummingss writing on the subject is elliptical (i have seen / deaths clever enormous voice / which hides in a fragility / of poppies) a far cry from the visceral narratives of Dulce et Decorum Est or Counter-Attack. The tone signals Cummingss status as an observer rather than a participant. From his position on the margins, he is able to aestheticize the sights and sounds of battle in a way that would be inconceivable to those who endured the nightmare of the trenches.

Owen and Sassoon became famous for their stinging, anthemic poems illustrating the horrors they saw in vivid detail; Cummings through his playfulness with language, form, and convention, habits that seem more rooted in his need to rebel against the strictures of life growing up in Cambridge or the rigidity of his education at Harvard.

Indeed, Rosenblitt does an excellent job of describing Cummingss artistic evolution in the days leading up to the war: the influence of the classical paganism and Decadent poetry he picked up at Harvard and his excitement over pre-war modernist movements like cubism, futurism and imagism. The war, while important, was if anything just a final nudge toward the break from convention that hed long been aiming for.

The five weeks he spent in Paris awaiting his assignment with the ambulance corps seem to have had a much greater effect on his poetry than anything he saw near the front. While there, he struck up a relationship with an older woman named Marie Louise Lallemand. Rosenblitt points out that Cummingss relationship with Lallemand has been poorly treated by previous biographers who seemed unable to reconcile their genuine intimacy with the fact that she was a sex worker.

But Rosenblitt gives the woman her due. Lallemand is more than just Cummingss muse. She helps him recognize the power in the passion and sexuality he spent much of his youth trying to suppress. Their relationship is a watershed for Cummings; by unlocking this side of himself, he taps into a vast reservoir of feeling that can be seen throughout his later work.

The subtitle of this book, E.E. Cummings in the Great War, undersells what is a thoughtful, engaging story of an artist discovering his voice. Rosenblitts depiction of both Cummings and the elite, early 20th-century literary world in which he moved make it a fascinating read, and the dialogue she opens with previous biographies of Cummingss life regarding Lallemands role in it make it an important one.

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Biography 'The Beauty Of Living' Examines Experiences That Shaped Poetic Voice Of E.E. Cummings - WBUR

Trump tweets photo of himself wearing a mask in apparent U-turn: Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask – MarketWatch

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President Trumps resolve may be cracking at least when it comes to face masks.

On Monday, Trump tweeted TWTR, +0.37% a photo of himself wearing a mask with a presidential seal, writing, Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. CNN T, +1.22% reported that the presidents falling poll numbers likely played a role in his latest decisions to wear a mask and resume his daily 5 p.m. update on the coronavirus pandemic.

On April 3, the Trump administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed their policies on face masks and said all Americans not, as they previously said, just medical workers should wear cloth face coverings. As of Tuesday, COVID-19 had claimed at least 140,909 lives in the U.S. and infected at least 3.8 million people.

Unlike New York Mayor Bill de Blasios mandate to wear masks in stores, however, the federal governments recommendations are voluntary. Whats more, Trump at the time signaled his resistance to wearing a mask. I dont think Im going to be doing it, he said. Wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens I just dont see it.

During an interview on Fox News on Sunday, journalist Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would introduce a federal mandate to wear face masks in public places where social distancing is not possible. No, I want people to have a certain freedom, Trump replied. I dont agree with the statement that if everyone wears a mask everything disappears.

Asked if he took responsibility for not having a federal policy on coronavirus during the interview, Trump replied, Look, I take responsibility always for everything because its ultimately my job too. I have to get everybody in line. Some governors have done well, some governors have done poorly. We have more testing by fair than any country in the world.

As of Tuesday, COVID-19 had infected 14.7 million people globally. It had killed more than 610,149 people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins Universitys Center for Systems Science and Engineering. New York, once the epicenter of the virus in the U.S., has still had the most deaths of any state (32,506), followed by New Jersey (15,715) and Massachusetts (8,433).

CityWatch:CDC confirms that coronavirus already spreading in New York City when European travel ban went into effect in March

On Feb 29, the surgeon general tweeted his opposition to the public wearing masks. Seriously people: STOP BUYING MASKS! he wrote. They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #coronavirus, but if health-care providers cant get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk! He reversed course in April.

The public was, understandably, confused. N95 masks appear to be effective for health-care workers. One study says N95 medical-grade masks do help filter viruses that are larger than 0.1 micrometers. (One micrometer, um, is one millionth of a meter.) The coronavirus is 0.125 um. The masks have efficacy at filtering smaller particles and are designed to fit tightly to the face, the study said.

The markets appear torn between optimism on vaccine research and the economic impact of new infection surges, particularly in California, Arizona, Florida and Texas. The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA, +0.70% closed higher Monday as investors looked toward the prospect of further fiscal stimulus. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.27% and Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.60% also ended higher.

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Trump tweets photo of himself wearing a mask in apparent U-turn: Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask - MarketWatch

Death and Your Federal Government – AAF – American Action Forum

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Eakinomics:Death and Your Federal Government

Eakinomics apologizes for its recent obsession withdeath, but Ive been in search of topics cheerier than the pandemic, Congress, or the administration. The occasion for todays observations is Gordon Grays superbpieceon Numident and the Death Master File (DMF), a piece that was, in turn, prompted by the fact that Treasury recently sent on the order of 1 million checks, totaling about $1.4 billion, to dead people. This is actually a pretty low error rate since there were roughly 160 million checks sent out, but it did raise the question: How was Treasury supposed to knowwho had died?

As it turns out, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the chief curator of death records in the federal government with the obvious goal of ceasing payment of Social Security benefits upon death. According to Gray, the SSA maintains a master registry containing identifying information of all holders of assigned Social Security numbers, known as the Numerical Index File, or Numident. When an individual dies, that fact is denoted in their Numident record with a date of death and a death indicator to facilitate a stoppage in paid benefits. It obtains data largely from states (as well as funeral homes, families, etc.).

Sounds like a plan. Unfortunately, over time state data increasingly has come in the from the state-based Electronic Death Registration System (EDRS), and the Social Security Act prohibits sharing data obtained from the states with benefit-paying agencies. This prohibition presumably would halt the flow of the death data across the government except for the fact that in 1978 a Federal Postal Service official realized that the Service might be spending millions on pension benefits to deceased postal workers.He sued the SSA for access to the death data under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), under the logic that dead people did not have privacy protection under FOIA.

The suit was never decided; instead SSA agreed to a consent decree that remains in place to this day. Under the decree, the SSA produces a subset of the Numident that strips out the state-supplied data and is shared with other agencies. This subset goes by the nifty name of Death Master File. Among the agencies restricted to using the DMF instead of the full Numident is the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which sent the checks. As Gray notes, Beginning with the 4thbatch of payments, the IRS did provide the Bureau of the Fiscal Service with temporary access to the full death file until the IRS was able to set up its own internal process for doing so thereafter.

In short, there was a patch on the system for purposes of sending the checks, but the larger information-sharing challenge remains.

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How a Working-Class Soldier and Platoon Leader in Iraq Turned Against Our Forever Wars – Jacobin magazine

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When it comes to debate about US military policy, the 2020 presidential election campaign is so far looking very similar to that of 2016. Joe Biden has pledged to ensure that we have the strongest military in the world, promising to make the investments necessary to equip our troops for the challenges of the next century, not the last one.

In the White House, President Trump is repeating the kind of anti-interventionist head feints that won him votes four years ago against a hawkish Hillary Clinton. In his recent graduation address at the military academy West Point, Trump recycled applause lines from 2016 about ending an era of endless wars as well as Americas role as policeman of the world.

In reality, since Trump took office, theres been no reduction in the US military presence abroad, which last year required a Pentagon budget of nearly $740 billion. As military historian and retired career officer Andrew Bacevich notes, endless wars persist (and in some cases have even intensified); the nations various alliances and its empire of overseas bases remain intact; US troops are still present in something like 140 countries; Pentagon and national security state spending continues to increase astronomically.

When the National Defense Authorization Act for the next fiscal year came before Congress this summer, Senator Bernie Sanders proposed a modest 10 percent reduction in military spending so $70 billion could be redirected to domestic programs. Representative Barbara Lee introduced a House resolution calling for $350 billion worth of Department of Defense cuts. Neither proposal has gained much traction, even among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Instead, the House Armed Services Committee just voted 56 to 0 to spend $740.5 billion on the Pentagon in the coming year, prefiguring the outcome of upcoming votes by the full House and Senate.

Even if Biden beats Trump in November, efforts to curb US military spending will face further bipartisan resistance. In the never-ending work of building a stronger anti-war movement, Pentagon critics, with military credentials, are invaluable allies. Daniel Sjursen, a thirty-seven-year-old veteran of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan is such a critic.

Inspired, in part, by Bacevich, who he acknowledges as a mentor, Sjursen has just published a new book, Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War (Heyday Books). Written in a powerful voice, the book is composed of Sjursens political insights and painful personal reflections, rooted in the experience of an eighteen-year military career. It provides a timely reminder of just how costly, wasteful, and disastrous our post 9/11 wars have been.

Patriotic Dissent is a short book with just 141 pages, but it packs the same kind of punch as Howard Zinns classic 1967 polemic, Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal. Like Zinn, who became a popular historian after his service in World War II, Sjursen skillfully debunks the conventional wisdom of the foreign policy establishment, and the militarys own current generation of yes men for another war power hungry president. His appeal to the conscience of fellow soldiers, civilians, and veterans alike deserves the widest possible audience on the Left, and, hopefully, far beyond it.

Sjursen has the distinction of being a graduate of West Point, an institution that produces few political dissenters. He grew up in a working-class firefighter family on Staten Island. Even before enrolling at the Academy at age seventeen, he was no stranger to what he calls deep-seated toxically masculine patriotism. As a newly commissioned officer in 2005, he was still a burgeoning neo-conservative and George W. Bush admirer and definitely not, he reports, any kind of defeatist liberal, pacifist, or dissenter.

Sjursens initial experience in combat vividly described in his first book, Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge occurred at the statistical height of sectarian strife in Iraq. The horror, the futility, the farce of that war was the turning point in my life, Sjursen writes in Patriotic Dissent.

When he returned, at age twenty-four, from his brutal, ghastly deployment as a platoon leader, he knew that the war was built on lies, ill-advised, illegal, and immoral. This unexpected, undesired realization generated profound doubts about the course and nature of the entire American enterprise in the Greater Middle East what was then unapologetically labeled the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).

By the time Sjursen landed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in early 2011, he had been promoted to captain but no longer believed in anything we were doing. He was, he confesses, simply a professional soldier a mercenary, really on a mandatory mission I couldnt avoid. Three more of my soldiers died, thirty-plus were wounded, including a triple amputee, and another over-dosed on pain meds after our return.

Despite his disillusionment, Sjursen had long dreamed of returning to West Point to teach history. He applied for and won that highly competitive assignment, which meant the Army had to send him to grad school first. He ended up getting credentialed, while living out of uniform, in the Peoples Republic of Lawrence, Kansas, a progressive oasis in an intolerant, militarist sea of Republican red.

During his studies at the state university, Sjursen found an intellectual framework for his own doubts about and opposition to US foreign policy. He completed his first book, Ghost Riders, which combines personal memoir with counterinsurgency critique. Amazingly enough, it was published in 2015, while he was still on active duty, but with almost no blowback from superior officers.

Before retiring as a major four years later, Sjursen pushed the envelope further, by writing more than a hundred critical articles for TomDispatch and other civilian publications. He was no longer at West Point, so that body of work triggered a grueling, stressful, and scary four-month investigation by the brass at Fort Leavenworth, during which the author was subjected to a non-publication order.

At risk were his career, military pension, and benefits. He ended up receiving only a verbal admonishment for violating a Pentagon rule against publishing words contemptuous of the President of the United States. His PTSD and co-occurring diagnoses helped him qualify for a medical retirement last year.

Sjursen has now traded his identity as a soldier the only identity Ive known in my adult life for that of an anti-war, anti-imperialist, social justice crusader, albeit one who did not attend his first protest rally until he was thirty-two years old. With several left-leaning comrades, he started Fortress on a Hill, a lively podcast about military affairs and veterans issues.

Hes a frequent, funny, and always well-informed guest on progressive radio and cable TV shows, as well as a contributing editor at Antiwar.com, and a contributor to a host of mainstream liberal publications. This year, the Lannan Foundation made him a cultural freedom fellow.

In Patriotic Dissent, Sjursen not only recounts his own personal trajectory from military service to peace activism. He shows how that intellectual journey has been informed by reading and thinking about US history, the relationship between civil society and military culture, the meaning of patriotism, and the price of dissent.

One historical figure he admires is Marine Corps Major-General Smedley Butler, the recipient of two Medals of Honor for service between 1898 and 1931. Following his retirement, Butler sided with the poor and working-class veterans who marched on Washington to demand World War I bonus payments. And he wrote a best-selling Depression-era memoir, which famously declared that war is just a racket and lamented his own past role as a high-class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and for the Bankers.

Sjursen contrasts Butlers anti-interventionist whistleblowing nearly a century ago, with the silence of high-ranking veterans today after nineteen years of ill-advised, remarkably unsuccessful American wars. Among friends and former West Point classmates, he knows many still serving who obediently resign themselves to continued combat deployments because they long ago stopped asking questions about their own role in perpetuating and enabling a counter-productive, inertia-driven warfare state.

Sjursen looks instead to small left-leaning groups like Veterans for Peace and About Face: Veterans Against the War (formerly Iraq Veterans Against the War), and Bring Our Troops Home. US, a network of veterans influenced by the libertarian right. Each, in its own way, seeks to reframe dissent, against empire and endless war, as the truest form of patriotism. But actually taming the military-industrial complex will require big-tent, intersectional action from civilian and soldier alike, on a much larger scale.

One obstacle to that, he believes, is the societal divide between the vast majority of citizens who have chosen not to serve in the military and the one percent of their fellow citizens on active duty, who then become part of an increasingly insular, disconnected, and sometimes sententious post-9/11 veteran community.

Not many on the left favor a return to conscription. But Sjursen makes it clear theres been a downside to the United States replacing citizen soldiering with a tiny professional warrior caste, created in response to draft-driven dissent against the Vietnam War, inside and outside the military. As he observes:

Nothing so motivates a young adult to follow foreign policy, to weigh the advisability or morality of an ongoing war as the possibility of having to put skin in the game. Without at least the potential requirement to serve in the military and in one of Americas now countless wars, an entire generation or really two, since President Nixon ended the draft in 1973 has had the luxury of ignoring the ills of US foreign policy, to distance themselves from its reality.

At a time when the United States desperately needs a massive, public, empowered anti-war and anti-imperial wave sweeping over the country, we have instead a civil-military gap that, Sjursen believes, has stifled antiwar and anti-imperial dissent and seemingly will continue to do so. Thats why his own mission is to find more socially conscious veterans of these endless, fruitless wars who are willing to step up and form a vanguard of sorts for revitalized patriotic dissent.

Readers of Sjursens book, whether new recruits to that vanguard or longtime peace activists, will find Patriotic Dissent to be an invaluable educational tool. It should be required reading in progressive study groups, high school and college history classes, and book clubs across the country. Lets hope that the authors willingness to take personal risks, rethink his view of the world, and then work to change it will inspire many others, in uniform and out.

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How a Working-Class Soldier and Platoon Leader in Iraq Turned Against Our Forever Wars - Jacobin magazine

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, 21 July 2020 -…

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As delivered

Mister President,

Members of the Security Council,

I brief you today as Palestinians and Israelis are grappling with a complex and potentially destabilizing three-pronged crisis:

An escalating health crisis as both struggle to contain the rapid spike of COVID-19 cases.

A spiraling economic crisis as businesses close, unemployment soars, protests increase, and the economy suffers the financial impact of months of lockdowns and restrictions.

And finally, a mounting political confrontation, driven by the threat of Israeli annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, and the steps taken in response by the Palestinian leadership.

These developments are not happening in a vacuum. The unfolding dynamics have shed a stark light on the daily reality of the conflict and the imperative to resolve it through negotiations between the parties. They have further exposed the unsustainability of the occupation and the need to update agreements that define the relationship between the two sides in the interest of peace.

In recent weeks, the region and the broader international community have continued to express their firm rejection of annexation. Among these, on 1 July, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom published an Op-Ed in a leading Israeli newspaper expressing his opposition to annexation and asserting that such a step would violate international law and run contrary to Israel's own long-term interests. Two joint statements issued on 7 July one by the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan, and the second by Foreign Ministers of nine Arab States and the Secretary-General of the Arab League stressed their staunch opposition to the move and called for a return to negotiations based on UN resolutions and international law.

On 2 July, leaders from Fatah and Hamas held a rare joint video press conference, in an effort to restate their opposition to annexation and to commit to a unified Palestinian front against it.

Palestinian and Israeli women are also making their voices heard. On 9 July, I engaged with some 100 Palestinian women in a high-level dialogue organized by UN Women, marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325. Participants shared their deep concern and uncertainty in the face of both COVID-19 and annexation threats. Ten Palestinian women leaders, supported by 180 women, issued a joint appeal against annexation, calling for the right to live in a democratic state of their own in freedom, dignity and equality.

A separate appeal issued by 22 Israeli women leaders, and later signed by over a hundred others, highlighted that annexation plans pose an irreversible danger to Israelis, Palestinians, and regional stability. Responding to both initiatives 45 global women leaders signed a joint call against annexation and for peace, highlighting the importance of heeding womens voices in situations of conflict.

The Secretary-General and the United Nations will continue efforts to resuscitate a dialogue among all stakeholders, with no preconditions, and in the interest of peace and a negotiated resolution to the conflict. For these efforts to stand a chance of success, there must be political will from all parties. Otherwise, the path to a negotiated solution risks quickly becoming unnavigable, moving instead towards a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict.

Mister President,

Regrettably, the situation on the ground is rapidly being affected by the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.

To contain the pandemic, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has re-imposed movement restrictions across the West Bank as well as some closures in the worst-hit governorates. Israel has also re-imposed limitations on gatherings and certain non-essential businesses, as well as lockdowns in specific areas. Movement between Israel, the West Bank and Gaza remains heavily restricted, and the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been closed in both directions since 15 May.

The challenge of confronting the rapid increase in cases in the West Bank and boosting prevention efforts in Gaza has been significantly compounded by the ending of coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The PAs refusal to accept any clearance revenues transferred by Israel has exacerbated an already concerning fiscal crisis and impacted service provision. It has effectively blocked the ability of patients to travel from Gaza for treatment outside of the Strip and has led to delays in delivering humanitarian assistance and materials intended for the COVID-19 response and other health support and services.

In response, the United Nations has engaged with all sides to ensure the continued and unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance. The UN has reached agreements with the PA to make exceptions for coordinating humanitarian deliveries and with Israel to streamline its administrative procedures, considering the COVID-19 crisis. I want to thank the authorities for their openness and cooperation with the United Nations on these challenges. Having said this, I am also concerned that we are far below the level of coordination that existed in the beginning of the year, when the first wave of the virus hit. This situation could have serious repercussions on the ability to control its spread and its impact on peoples lives.

Over the past weeks, because of the unprecedented circumstances, the UN has offered to increase its intermediary role between the parties. This includes COVID-19 response as well as a greater role in the facilitation of patient referrals from Gaza. Nevertheless, there are limitations to what the UN and other organizations can be expected to do. Any increased responsibilities in this context should be limited and time-bound and not designed to replace the roles and responsibilities of the Palestinian Authority or the Government of Israel.

While the COVID-19 pandemic and the breakdown in cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian authorities have raised new concerns and complicated the speedy transfer of patients outside of Gaza, it is important to recognize the long-standing, underlying fragility of Gazas own healthcare system.

Mister President,

On the economic side, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance announced on 2 July that it would pay partial Government salaries for the month of May. The May salary payments were delayed due to an 80 per cent reduction in Palestinian revenues stemming from the economic impact of COVID-19 and from the PAs refusal to accept the monthly transfers of its clearance revenues. It is unclear whether the Palestinian Government will have sufficient resources to make any future salary payments or, indeed, to continue to carry out its governing functions in the coming months.

The suspension of coordination between the PA and Israel has also impeded the ability of Palestinian Security Forces (PSF) to move through Areas B and C of the West Bank, undermining their capacity to enforce COVID-19-related restrictions.

Mister President,

During the reporting period, daily violence continued throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Overall, one Palestinian was killed by Israeli Security Forces (ISF) and 65 Palestinians, including ten children, and two Israeli soldiers were injured in various incidents.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza organized protests against Israels plan to annex parts of the West Bank. Overall these protests remained peaceful. On some occasions Israeli Security Forces used rubber-coated bullets and tear gas, declared closed military areas and set up checkpoints near protests.

On 9 July, ISF shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian man and shot and wounded a 17-year-old Palestinian in the central West Bank village of Kifl Hares. ISF released a CCTV video allegedly showing the two throwing Molotov cocktails toward a military patrol and soldiers opening fire in response.

Meanwhile, settlers perpetrated some 13 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in nine injuries and damage to property, about half the number of such incidents recorded during the previous month.

There were some 25 incidents also in which Palestinians threw stones or Molotov cocktails at Israeli-owned vehicles, injuring seven Israeli civilians, including one child, and causing damage to property.

In Gaza, while the relative calm continued, Palestinian militants fired five rockets towards southern Israel. One fell short inside Gaza, one was intercepted by the Iron Dome system and the others hit in open areas in Israel, causing no injuries or damage. On all occasions, the IDF carried out retaliatory strikes against Hamas targets, including underground infrastructure in the Strip, with no injuries reported. Over the month, militants also test fired an unusually high, 69, rockets and mortars towards the sea, with 44 projectiles launched on 1 and 3 July, alone.

Economic tensions brought out dozens of Palestinians on 5 July, who demonstrated in front of the Legislative Council in Gaza City against the deteriorating situation, poverty and unemployment.

Mister President,

In the past month, the Israeli authorities demolished 48 Palestinian-owned structures due to a lack of Israeli-issued building permits. Another five structures were self-demolished by their owners following the receipt of demolition orders. Of the buildings demolished, 39 were in Area C and 14 in East Jerusalem. Consequently, 34 people, including 17 children and ten women, were displaced and over 250 people were otherwise affected.

I note that the latest information available from Israeli authorities indicates that, as of 31 May, the number of Palestinian detainees, including minors, in Israeli prisons is at its lowest level in years. The number of Palestinian minors in Israeli prisons has declined by some 30 percent, from 201 in February to 142 in May. While still too high, I welcome this development, particularly in light of the recent calls to release detainees and reduce their numbers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Mister President,

Turning briefly to the region, in Lebanon, the economic situation continues to deteriorate, with inflation rising as the Lebanese lira falls against the U.S. dollar. As the health and education sectors come under increased stress, and with growing concerns over food insecurity, the Government and the International Monetary Fund remain engaged in talks over a potential assistance package. In parallel, Lebanon has witnessed a spike in daily COVID-19 infections, with 2,542 confirmed cases as of 15 July.

The situation in the UNIFIL area of operations remained mostly stable, notwithstanding several instances of weapons being pointed between Israel Defense Forces and Lebanese Armed Forces along the Blue Line. On 2 July, under COVID-19 restrictions, the UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander chaired a tripartite meeting attended by senior delegations of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the IDF to prevent tensions along the Blue Line.

On the Golan, while generally calm, the situation remained volatile, with the continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. On 15 July, the Alpha side informed UNDOF that they had eliminated a position within the area of separation which they believed was a violation and a threat. UNDOF did not observe this activity but observed an explosion in the area of separation consistent with the report from the Alpha side.

Mister President,

In closing, I would like to emphasize that confronting the current crises requires unity of effort, strength of purpose, and a clear understanding of the multifaceted risks we are facing.

The ferocity of the COVID-19 virus and its devastating human and economic toll demand extraordinary measures measures that must rise above politics-as-usual. Immediate efforts to curb the virus and to mitigate its impact must be prioritized.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a duty to protect the lives and livelihoods of their populations.

With unemployment in Israel surging to over 20 per cent, and with thousands of Israelis taking to the streets to demand greater financial support from their Government, many have highlighted the staggering financial and, potentially, human cost of moving forward with potential annexation plans.

I reiterate the Secretary-General's call on the Israeli Government to abandon plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

With an 80 per cent reduction in its income, the Palestinian Authority faces the risk of a total collapse at a time when Palestinians throughout the occupied territory need the services and support of their Government more than ever.

I call on both sides to work with the United Nations in ensuring that those forms of civil and security coordination that are vital to preventing the continuing spread of the corona virus are reinstated immediately. This should be done without prejudice to the political position of either party. It is necessary to do that in order to protect lives in the face of rapidly growing infection rates.

We will continue to work with all sides to ensure that humanitarian and health needs are met.

For the United Nations, protecting lives will always remain our highest priority.

The complexities of the pandemic also require us to examine how we arrived at this pivotal, and destructive, point in the history of the conflict and what it will take to reverse the current course.

Last week, I spoke with representatives of Palestinian and Israeli civil society organizations engaged in peacebuilding efforts. Their resilience, creativity and commitment to a peaceful solution are deeply inspiring, and we, in the international community, would do well to follow their lead.

Today, however, it is not enough to restate our opposition to annexation. Today we should discuss what can and must be done to improve the situation on the ground, preserve the prospect for a two-state solution, increase the chances of meaningful negotiations for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and protect these efforts from spoilers, radicals and extremists.

To this effect I reiterate today the Secretary-Generals call to the members of the Middle East Quartet, the Arab countries, the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to urgently re-engage.

We need to restart diplomacy!

Over these past years, these types of discussions have been dormant for too long, allowing both parties to move further apart along diverging paths. Unilateral action and the threat of unilateral action have made the goal appear ever more distant. Only by engaging together, based on shared principles and aspirations, can we identify realistic steps to avoid increasing polarisation and advance the goal of two states, living side-by-side in peace, security, mutual recognition, integrated into the region.

We must use the opportunity presented by the current crises to move forward, to and to regain the path towards a negotiated two-state solution, built on a just and sustainable resolution to the conflict in line with relevant UN resolutions, bilateral agreements and international law.

Thank you.

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UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, 21 July 2020 -...

India, US need to sit down on negotiating table for FTA: Goyal – Outlook India

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New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) After concluding a "quick" trade deal, India and the US need to sit down on the negotiating table for working towards a more sustainable, robust and enduring partnership in the form of a free trade agreement (FTA), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. For the FTA, the minister said, India is willing to work with an open mind, with a willingness to open markets with a corresponding opportunity for Indian businesses in the US. "I believe we have a quick trade deal which has some of the pending matters built up over the last couple of years which we need to get out of the way quickly. We are almost there. I think another couple of calls and we should be able to solve that out. "Post that, as was already intimated to the US Congress, the US and India need to sit down on the negotiating table, I do not know if that can be done before the (US) elections or post the elections, but we need to work towards a much more sustainable, a much more robust, a much more enduring partnership in the form of a FTA," he said in a webinar of US-India Business Council. Goyal said that both the countries should also look for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) which can include 50-100 products and services. While in a PTA two trading partners eliminate or significantly reduce import duties on a limited number of goods traded between them, in a FTA the countries remove duties on maximum number of products. "We believe we should also look at an early harvest in the form of a PTA, so that we can rather than waiting for the gains of a FTA, which may take severalyears to conclude, we could look at an early harvest of maybe 50 or 100 products and services, where we can engage with mutual trust and open spirit. So that the partnership between the US and India can kick start much faster," he added. India and the US are negotiating a limited trade deal with a view to ironing out differences on trade issues to boost economic ties. India is demanding exemption from high duties imposed by the US on some steel and aluminium products, resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and greater market access for its products from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, apart from cut inimport duties on some information and communication technology products. The US has also raised concerns over trade deficit with India. Further the minister stated that the government is taking several steps to further improve the business climate to attract investors. He said businesses are looking for a stable and predictable policy environment, fair play, ease of doing business, better infrastructure in terms of logistics, utilities, and common facilities required for manufacturing firms. "By enlarge industry and business wants to be left alone, wants freedom to operate and is willing to commit itself to work within the framework of a country''s laws. And I think India is working towards making all of these enablers...whether it is ease of doing business, whether it is improving our competitive edge, bringing down logistics cost, making it easier to get approvals. All of this typical needs of business which we in government are trying to address," he said. He added that there is an opportunity and a trust deficit available globally and India is willing to fill that gap in the international supply chain as a trusted partner. Talking about formulation of the single window clearance process, he said a team is working on this by understanding the needs of businesses, their pain points and requirements. "We are understanding industry pain points and their requirements. We are trying to create such a genuine single window, and not a window behind which it opens to 10 doors. It is a herculean task, will take some time but I assure you that we are committed to make it happen," the minister said. To begin with one of the first things that on a pilot basis, the government is going to release "very soon" is a GIS based land bank availability across the country, he said adding "we have identified in six states a few hundred thousand hectares of land and we are actually going to offer you a Google earth view of particular lands available for industry to buy. Taking it forward from there so much so that my intention is that a person sitting in Iceland should be able to not only locate the land he wants but also pay for it and buy it". "I will give you a simple example of how I am explaining it (single window process) to my own officers. I said look at the common application form that a student who applies to US university has to fill up. It''s eight universities, one form, small supplement to each...," he added. The minister also said that India has become self-sufficient in ventilators and "I shortly be starting export of ventilators". In March, the government banned export of ventilators in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The US remained India''s top trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 88.75 billion, as against USD 87.96 billion in 2018-19. The US is one of the few countries with which India have a trade surplus. The trade gap between the countries has increased to USD 17.42 billion in 2019-20 from USD 16.86 billion in 2018-19. In 2018-19, the US had surpassed China to become India''s top trading partner. PTI RR MR

Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

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India, US need to sit down on negotiating table for FTA: Goyal - Outlook India

Alternative medicine and thermography: Sean’s cancer story – BBC News

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Sean Walsh was 20 when he found out his cancer was back. Hed been in remission for less than two years and was determined that this time round, he would not have conventional treatment. He turned down chemotherapy in the hope that he could cure his Hodgkins Lymphoma through an alternative approach, including a vegan diet, cannabis oil and coffee enemas. Throughout his treatment he used controversial thermography scans to monitor his progress, and believed he was getting better.

Journalist Layla Wright followed Seans journey on social media as he attempted to heal himself, and for a while, it seemed to be working. He raised thousands of pounds to fund his treatment, and beat the doctors prognosis. But in January 2019 Sean died, and his family believe alternative treatments cost him his life.

Through the testimony of those closest to him, and through his own words, Layla explores why Sean and many others took this approach. She meets the family of Linda Halliday who also relied on thermography scans for reassurance that alternative treatments were working and investigates the clinic that provided them.

Watch the full documentary on BBC iPlayer.

Presented and Produced by: Layla Wright

Additional filming: Blanca Munoz

Editor: Ed Emsley

Filmed, Produced and Directed by: Ruth Evans

Executive Producer: Kimberley Rowell

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Alternative medicine and thermography: Sean's cancer story - BBC News

Alternative Medicine Market Growth, Type and Application Trends Forecast by 2026 – Cole of Duty

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Alternative Medicine Market report is to help an individual to comprehend the Pandemic (COVID19) Impact analysis on the market concerning its Definition, Segmentation, Potential, Influential Trends, and also the Challenges that the Alternative Medicine market is confronting. The Alternative Medicine industry profiles descriptions of top manufacturers/players such as (Deepure Plus, Pure encapsulations, Herb Pharma, Herbal Hills, Thorne Research, Medigenics, Nordic Naturals, Helio USA, Pacific Nutritional) which include Ability, Generation, Cost, Revenue, Price, Gross, Gross Margin, Growth Rate, Import, Export, Market Share and Technological Developments.

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Alternative Medicine Market Growth, Type and Application Trends Forecast by 2026 - Cole of Duty

Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market Growth and Restrain Factors Analysis 2017 2025 – Cole of Duty

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Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Snapshot

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) refers to medical products and practices that are not part of mainstream practices. While complementary medicine can be used along with mainstream medical practices, alternative medicine are used in place of standard medical treatments. Some CAM therapies have been found to be safe and effective unlike some that have been found to be ineffective or possibly harmful.

Get Sample Copy of the Report @https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2531

Complementary and alternative medicine includes a host of botanicals and nutritional substances such as herbal supplements, dietary supplements, and vitamins. A large number of CAM products are regarded to be safe as they are produced by nature or are present in nature. However, this may not be necessarily true for all natural products. In addition, some naturally sourced medicines may affect the action of other medicines. For instance, St. Johns wort a herb which is used for depression may interfere with the way certain anticancer drugs work.

Herbal supplements can have unwanted effects when used on their own, in combination with other drugs, or in large doses. Vitamins can also be harmful on the body. Too much of vitamin can be detrimental on health, even in a healthy person. Supplements do not need approval from federal government before being commercially available.

Patients of chronic diseases who are considering using complementary or alternative medicine need to talk to their doctor or nurse. This is because some therapies of complementary and alternative medicine may interfere with mainstream medicine or can be also be harmful. The claims of efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine therapy needs to be ascertained before bringing into use.

Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Overview

The global market for alternative and complementary medicines is projected to experience substantial growth in the next few years. The rising expenditure of the healthcare facilities is considered as the major factor that is likely to encourage the growth of the overall market in the coming years. In addition, the increasing number of initiatives being taken by Governments across the globe to promote alternative and complementary medicines is projected to accelerate the markets growth. Thanks to these factors, the global alternative and complementary medicine market is likely to exhibit a promising growth rate in the near future.

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Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Key Trends

A significant rise in the number of initiatives by NGOs and government organizations to encourage the use of alternative and complementary medicines is estimated to bolster global market in the near future. In addition to this, technological advancements in this field and the rising inclination of consumers towards these medicines and practices are likely to offer lucrative growth opportunities for the leading players operating in the alternative and complementary medicine market across the globe. However, the lack of scientific results is expected to hamper the overall growth of the market in the next few years.

Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Market Potential

Alternative and complementary medicines make use of several tradition methods to help the patients, most of which are not completely supported scientifically. As a result, the use of these medicines in several developed economies is comparatively less. Nonetheless, with a rising focus on research and development activities in order to find clinical support and the emergence of new methods and medicines are anticipated to encourage the growth of the global alternative and complementary medicine market throughout the forecast period.

Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Regional Outlook

From a regional perspective, Europe is considered as one of the leading segment, thanks to the significant revenue contribution in the last few years. This region is expected to account for a large share of the global alternative and complementary medicine market with the rising use of botanicals. In addition to this, the increasing awareness among consumers regarding the availability of effective alternative and complementary medicines and the benefits they offers are expected to encourage the growth of the Europe market in the coming years.

Furthermore, with the rising popularity of medical tourism, the alternative and complementary medicine market in Asia Pacific is projected to witness a steady growth in the next few years. Moreover, the presence of a large number of new players operating in this region is likely to offer promising growth opportunities over the forecast period. The Middle East and Africa segment is anticipated to experience a healthy growth in the alternative and complementary medicine market in the near future.

Global Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market: Competitive Analysis

The global market for alternative and complementary medicines is presently at a highly competitive stage and is predicted to experience an intense level of competition among the leading players in the coming years. The prominent players in the market are focusing on the expansion of the product portfolio so as to attract a large number of consumers across the globe. This is likely to help them in creating a brand name and acquiring a leading position in the global market. Some of the leading players operating in the alternative and complementary medicine market across the globe are Herb Pharm, Yoga Tree, Quantum Touch Inc., Helio USA Inc., Pure encapsulations, Inc., Pacific Nutritional Inc., Deepure Plus, Herbal Hills, Iyengar Yoga Institute, The Healing Company, and Nordic Naturals.

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Alternative and Complementary Medicine Market Growth and Restrain Factors Analysis 2017 2025 - Cole of Duty

Alternative And Complementary Medicine Industry 2020 Market Size, Share, Price, Trend And Forecast To 2026- DataIntelo – 3rd Watch News

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Alternative And Complementary Medicine Market

DataIntelo, 20-07-2020: The research report on the Alternative And Complementary Medicine Market is a deep analysis of the market. This is a latest report, covering the current COVID-19 impact on the market. The pandemic of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected every aspect of life globally. This has brought along several changes in market conditions. The rapidly changing market scenario and initial and future assessment of the impact is covered in the report. Experts have studied the historical data and compared it with the changing market situations. The report covers all the necessary information required by new entrants as well as the existing players to gain deeper insight.

Furthermore, the statistical survey in the report focuses on product specifications, costs, production capacities, marketing channels, and market players. Upstream raw materials, downstream demand analysis, and a list of end-user industries have been studied systematically, along with the suppliers in this market. The product flow and distribution channel have also been presented in this research report.

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The Major Manufacturers Covered in this Report:Pacific NutritionalHerb Pharm.Herbal HillsHelio USADeepure PlusNordic NaturalsPure encapsulationsIyengar Yoga InstituteJohn Schumacher?s Unity Woods Yoga CenterYoga TreeThe Healing CompanyQuantum Touch

The Research Study Focuses on:

By Types:BotanicalsAcupunctureMind, Body, and YogaMagnetic Intervention

By Applications:Direct ContactE-trainingDistance Correspondence

By Regions:

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The Alternative And Complementary Medicine Market Report Consists of the Following Points:

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In conclusion, the Alternative And Complementary Medicine Market report is a reliable source for accessing the research data that is projected to exponentially accelerate your business. The report provides information such as economic scenarios, benefits, limits, trends, market growth rate, and figures. SWOT analysis is also incorporated in the report along with speculation attainability investigation and venture return investigation.

About DataIntelo:DATAINTELO has set its benchmark in the market research industry by providing syndicated and customized research report to the clients. The database of the company is updated on a daily basis to prompt the clients with the latest trends and in-depth analysis of the industry. Our pool of database contains various industry verticals that include: IT & Telecom, Food Beverage, Automotive, Healthcare, Chemicals and Energy, Consumer foods, Food and beverages, and many more. Each and every report goes through the proper research methodology, validated from the professionals and analysts to ensure the eminent quality reports.

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Alternative And Complementary Medicine Industry 2020 Market Size, Share, Price, Trend And Forecast To 2026- DataIntelo - 3rd Watch News

Ginger – The Tryon Daily Bulletin – Tryon Daily Bulletin

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By David Crocker

Diet and Exercise

Ginger is amid the most healthful and delicious herbs on the planet. Its zesty flavor spices up foods, teas, ales and can even be enjoyed alone as a snack.

Although often call ginger root, its a rhizome (a continuously growing horizontal stem), not an actual root. The flesh of the ginger rhizome can be yellow, white or red depending on the variety. It is a member of the Zingiberaceae family, which also includes cardamom, galangal (sometimes called Thai ginger) and turmeric. Ginger originated in the tropical rain forests of the Indian subcontinent to Southern Asia and was likely domesticated by the Austronesian people.

Although a fragrant and delectable kitchen spice, ginger lends many healthful benefits, including:

Ginger is an anti-inflammatory, which means it reduces swelling. This may be especially helpful for treating symptoms of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Folks may get relief from pain and swelling either by taking ginger by mouth, or by using a ginger compress or patch on the skin.

Ginger contains naturally occurring nutrients called gingerols and shogaols. Shogaols have been of interest in medical research for their anticancer and anti-inflammatory benefits. Promising studies have examined their effects on colon, gastric, and breast cancers. Other studies show that bio-active molecules in ginger may slow down the growth of some cancers such as colorectal, gastric, ovarian, liver, skin, breast, and prostate cancers.

Its not just an ole wives tale ginger is an effective and safe therapy for nausea and vomiting, especially in the context of pregnancy, and as an adjuvant treatment for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting.

According to one study published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods, taking ginger may help reduce A1C levels, and fasting serum glucose levels in folks with type-2 diabetes. A1C measures what percentage of your hemoglobin is coated with sugar. A normal A1C level is below 5.7, but a level of 6.5 or more indicates diabetes. Another study suggests ginger may help your body use insulin more efficiently.

Free radicals are unstable atoms, derived from normal metabolic processes, exposure to X-rays, and external pollutants. They can cause cell damage, and lead to illness and hasten the aging process. Ginger contains 40 antioxidant elements that combat free radical damage, while improving blood circulation, promoting collagen production, increasing skin elasticity and evening skin tone.

One study revealed, women who took 1,500 milligrams of ginger powder once a day, for three days during their cycle felt less pain than women who didnt. In fact, ginger can be about as effective at easing pain for menstrual cramps as ibuprofen, according to a 2009 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary medicine.

LDL (bad) cholesterol are associated with increased risk of coronary (heart) disease and stroke. One 2014 study demonstrated that ginger can lower total cholesterol and triglyceride (fat in the blood) levels, while yet another study in 2008 determined it can reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol blood levels, and boost HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Gingers anti-inflammatory properties also protect the brain. Scientists have long recognized inflammation to be a symptom of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons. According to a 2011 study published in Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, ginger may help decrease inflammation and improve cognitive function.

Questions? Contact David at dwcrocker77@gmail.com.

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Ginger - The Tryon Daily Bulletin - Tryon Daily Bulletin

Global Chiropractic Medicine Market Revenue to Witness Rapid Growth in the Near Future – Lake Shore Gazette

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Chiropractic Medicine is an alternate form of medicine used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system by using hands-on spinal manipulation and other alternative techniques. Chiropractic medicine is primarily used as an alternative to pain relief for muscles, joints, bones, or connective tissue. It can also be used sometimes in combination with the conventional medical treatment. The common and well known therapeutic procedures performed by chiropractic doctors is spinal manipulation. The technique of chiropractic medicine focuses on enabling the body to heal itself without surgery and conventional medication by restoring the mobility of joints which got restricted by tissue injury due to a traumatic event.

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The goal of chiropractic medicine is to correct alignment problems, relaxes body and support bodys natural ability to heal itself. Chiropractic doctors evaluate patients through the medical examination, laboratory tests, x-rays, etc. and after taking the complete history and diagnosing a patient, the doctor describes the comprehensive treatment plan and recommend therapeutic exercise along with nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counselling. The chiropractic medicine is used to compliment or support the medical treatment but in many cases, the chiropractic therapy may be the principal method of treatment.

Chiropractic Medicine Market: Drivers & Restraints

The main driving factor for the chiropractic medicine market is the relief from taking medications. Multiple studies also prove the safety of chiropractic treatments than any other commonly used medical treatments; including medications, injections and surgeries for similar conditions. These factors also drive the market for chiropractic medicine market. Along with this, increasing geriatric population, increasing openness to alternative medicines and rise in disposable income also supports the market of chiropractic medicines. However, several side effects associated with the treatment, such as, aching or soreness in the spinal joints or muscles, may restrict the market growth. Unavailability of services in low and middle income countries also restrain the global chiropractic medicine market growth.

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Chiropractic Medicine market: Segmentation

By Disease Type:

By Age Group:

By End Users

The cost of chiropractic services varies from region to region and form the service type. It is one of the major three healing professions of western world. Chiropractic physicians are trained in providing diagnostic, therapeutic & rehabilitative services along with nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counselling. In context to the rising healthcare costs, the chiropractic medicine can also be seen as an inexpensive and relatively effective treatment method. The market for chiropractic medicines is growing with increasing networking and proven results. The approach followed by one practitioner decides its sales performance and helps in developing customer base.

Geographically, the market for chiropractic medicine can be segmented into five regions, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America has the highest market share in the global chiropractic medicine owing to the easy access to services and favorable reimbursement scenario. There are over 70,000 licensed chiropractors working in the United States today. This is followed by the European market due to the existence of many healthcare facilities providing chiropractic medicine services. Asia Pacific is expected to represent a stable growth rate during the forecast period supported by the increasing investment in healthcare facilities and rise in the healthcare spending. Latin America followed by MEA represents a slow growth rate in the chiropractic medicines market because of the out of pocket spending and less availability of these services in the region.

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Some of the service providers in the chiropractic medicine include

There are however not any international service provider in the chiropractic medicine and vary from region to region.

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Global Chiropractic Medicine Market Revenue to Witness Rapid Growth in the Near Future - Lake Shore Gazette