USA and Canada

Green Light for Magic Mushrooms to Fight Incurable Cancer

By Lisa Wohl

The writer is a Healthcare Reporter based in the United States.

FLORIDA, USA (IDN) – Four Canadian patients battling incurable cancer were approved by the federal Minister of Health, the Patty Hajdu, to incorporate psilocybin therapy in their end-of-life treatment.

According to advocacy group TheraPsil, this group of four patients represent the first publicly-known individuals to receive a legal exemption from the Canadian Drugs and Substances Act, under Section 56, to access psychedelic therapy. They are also the first known patients to legally use psilocybin since the compound became illegal in Canada in 1974.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 22 August 2020

Collage of pictures (left) of Senator Kamala Harris, official US Senate photo (Source: Wikimedia) and (right) her parents, Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris. (Source: San Jose Mercury News).

From Lotus Goddess to Holy Basil: Transnational Racio-scapes in US Presidential Politics

By Radhika Parameswaran and Pallavi Rao *

BLOOMINGTON, USA (IDN) – On June 27, 2019, the night of the second Democratic primary debate, Donald Trump Jr. shared and deleted a tweet posted by the right-wing provocateur Ali Alexander. Alexander’s social media post alleged that presidential candidate Kamala Devi Harris was “not an American Black” because she was half Indian and half Jamaican. Trump Jr.’s spokesperson then offered a dubious defense of his boss claiming that he had not intended to endorse racism, but had simply been surprised to learn about Harris’s Indian background.¹

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 21 August 2020

Chronic Underfunding of Public Health and Racist Policies Responsible for the Impact of COVID-19 in the US

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback

The writer is a market analyst and commentator. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – It is understandably tempting to drop all the blame for America’s catastrophic response to COVID-19 on the big desk in the Oval Office. But there’s more to the story than epic incompetence, grift and delusion at the highest levels of government. The stark divide in the level of health care from testing to treatment is divided by wealth and the legacy of systemic racism.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 August 2020

Photo; Kamala Harris and Biden signing paperwork to officially get on the ballot in all 50 states. Source: @KamalaHarris

Jo Biden's Kamala Harris Choice Is Consequential Beyond 2020

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – Joe Biden’s pick of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate for the 2020 Democratic presidential ticket has generated strong responses. While many Democrats are elated at the idea of seeing a brown-skinned woman of Indian and Jamaican heritage in such a position, progressives are debating one another about Harris’ mixed record on bread-and-butter issues such as criminal justice reform, foreign policy, and health care.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 August 2020

5G Is Only One of Many Battle Arenas in U.S. Tech War in Which China Holds the Cards

Viewpoint by Prabir Purkayastha

The writer is the founding editor of Newsclick.in, a digital media platform. He is an activist for science and the free software movement. This article was produced in partnership by Newsclick and Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW DELHI (IDN) – The U.S. tech war on China continues, banning Chinese equipment from its network, and asking its Five Eyes partners and NATO allies to follow suit. It is a market and a technology denial regime that seeks to win back manufacturing that the U.S. and European countries have lost to China.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 14 August 2020

Never-Ending Russia-US-Africa Geopolitical Triangular Games

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Instead of concentrating on developing its newly-established strategy for Africa, Russia has locked horns with United States over its funding for educational programmes, media and NGOs.

Russia has also accused foreign players of adopting neocolonial tendencies and approaches in dealing with Africa, according to analytical reviews and observations by diplomats, policy experts and researchers.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 13 August 2020

Photo: The Chavista march was one of the biggest in years. Credit: Rachael Boothroyd Rojas/Venezuelanalysis

Reviewing U.S. Failure of Its Foreign Policy Toward Venezuela

Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad and Érika Ortega Sanoja *

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) – On August 4, 2020, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Venezuela. Appearing before the committee was U.S. State Department Special Representative Elliott Abrams. Abrams, who has had a long—and controversial—career in the formation of U.S. foreign policy, was assaulted by almost all the members of the Senate committee. The senators, almost without exception, suggested that Abrams had been—since 2019—responsible for a failed U.S. attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 August 2020

Photo: Thousands of protestors march on newly named “Black Lives Matter Plaza” in Downtown DC on June 7.

Spreading the Seeds of Multiculturalism: A Moroccan Perspective

By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts

VIRGINIA, USA (IDN) – Since early June, an estimated 15 to 26 million people across the United States have participated in protests against the death of George Floyd and the persistence of systematic racism in America, making it one of the largest movements in the country’s history.

Recent trends have shown that support for the Black Lives Matter movement—now more than 67%— has doubled since 2016, and the majority of Americans favour working directly with Black Americans to solve local issues.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 August 2020

Death Cult Appears to Be Part of Trump's Reelection Strategy

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Sonali Kolhatkar is the founder, host and executive producer of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show that airs on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations.

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – When President Donald Trump was challenged by Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan to respond to the fact that, “a thousand Americans are dying a day” due to COVID-19, the president responded as though the grim tally was perfectly acceptable, saying, “They are dying, that’s true. And it is what it is.”

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 August 2020

Photo: WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the closing session of the 73rd World Health Assembly on 19 May 2020. Credit: WHO.

Trump Managed to Lead the World With the Worst Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad *

This article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) – Six months ago, on January 30, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Ten days before this, the Chinese government had said—to great alarm—that the coronavirus could be transmitted from human to human. The contagiousness of this virus led the WHO to make the declaration, which came a month after the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention told their counterparts in the United States about the virus.