Trump has hit the right chord with India, Indian-Americans, say campaign officials

PTI Washington | Updated on August 17,2020 THE HINDU 

The President elevated India’s stature on the world stage, stood up to China in support of India and never intervened in the Kashmir issue, they say

US President Donald Trump has hit the right chord with India by standing up to China and never intervening in the Kashmir issue, officials of his presidential campaign have asserted.

Seeking re-election for a second consecutive term, Trump, 74, is pitted against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, 77, in the November 3 presidential elections.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US, there was a record drop in unemployment rate of Indian-Americans under the Trump administration, his Indian-American supporters said.

President Trump elevated India’s stature on the world stage, stood up to China in support of India and has never intervened in the Kashmir issue, they claimed.

“In a nutshell, Trump has hit the right chord with India and Indian-Americans,” said Al Mason, the co-chair for the Trump Victory Indian-American Finance Committee and for the recently created Indian Voices for Trump.

The Trump campaign’s strong pitch that he is the best bet for the community and India-US relationship for the next four years comes on the eve of the Democratic National Convention that would for the first time nominate an Indian-American and an African-American, Senator Kamala Harris, as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California senator Harris, 55, if elected, would be second in line of succession after Biden.

“The choice for Indian-Americans is clear this fall, four more years for Trump/Pence (Vice President Mike Pence),” said Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, an eminent Indian-American lawyer and a senior Republican Party leader from California.

Dhillion is also the co-chair for Indian Voices for Trump by the Trump Campaign.

“President Trump has been a great friend to India, with historic warmth and feeling between the two allies, and that will only continue in the next four years. President Trump is also a friend of religious liberty, very important to the diaspora Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims who came here from India,” Dhillon said.

Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate among Indian-Americans dropped by nearly 33.33 per cent, a senior official of the Trump administration told PTI.

The unemployment rate for Indian-Americans dropped from 4.1 per cent in 2015 to a record low of 2.5 per cent in 2019, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.

“Indian-Americans are arguably the group that have most benefited from America’s freedoms which include free markets, freedom to pursue happiness and freedom to aspire and strive for the best life possible. Also, personal freedom to practice one’s religion,” Mrinalini Kumari, co-chair of the Indian Voices for Trump, said.

Employment among Indian-Americans increased from 2.1 million in 2016 to an all-time high of 2.5 million in 2019, according to the latest figures from the Department of Labour.

Indian-American members of the Trump campaign attribute this to the economic policies of his administration.

“The Indian-American community is filled with hard-working achievers who create jobs, technology, and small businesses, all of which have thrived, thanks to Trump,” Dhillon said.

“In addition to these economic metrics, the administration’s focus on equal opportunity as opposed to quotas has ensured educational and job opportunities for Indian-American students and workers,” Dhillon said.

Referring to his recent survey in battle ground states, Mason said that Indian-Americans feel respected and acknowledged for the first time by a US president.

“No other US President has ever given the respect to an Indian Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) or to India , as much as President Trump has,” he said.

“President Trump has elevated India’s stature on the world stage. Of course, credit also goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his smart policy towards the US. The India-US relationship has never been stronger, and the Indian-American community in the US largely credits both Trump and Modi for deepening the ties between the two countries,” Mason said.

During Trump’s tenure in office, energy exports to India have grown substantially, generating billions of dollars in US revenues, according to another senior administration official.

In India, ExxonMobil signed a deal to further improve India’s natural gas distribution network so the country can accept even more US LNG exports.

“Thanks to Prime Minister Modi and President Trump’s trust and good friendship, India will procure over $3 billion in US military equipment, including Apache and MH-60R helicopters,” said the official on the condition of anonymity.

In 2018, India’s JSW Steel announced that it would invest up to $500 million to revitalise a shuttered steel plant in the state of Ohio.

“Kashmir is the most sensitive issue for every Indian, as well as every Indian-American. Trump has never interfered in the Internal affairs of India — Kashmir — which is an integral part of India. No other US President has stood up to China as much as President Trump has,” Mason said.

He said Trump has treated India and Indian-Americans with respect and dignity. Trump has echoed it during his remarks earlier, Mason said.

During Modi’s visit in September 2019, Trump had said, “Every day, the Indian-American community is helping to strengthen our country and build our future.”

“Indian Americans are pioneering ground-breaking medicines to save countless lives. They’re developing revolutionary technology that is changing the world,” he had said.

They are founding new businesses that provide jobs to thousands of fellow citizens, Trump had said.

“In America, we have come to know the splendour of Indian culture personally, through the four million Indian Americans living in the United States as our wonderful friends, colleagues, and neighbours. They are truly spectacular people. Indian Americans enrich every aspect of our national life,” he said.

Trump eyes new unproven coronavirus "cure"
Jonathan Swan, author of Sneak Peek

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios


To the alarm of some government health officials, President Trump has expressed enthusiasm for the Food and Drug Administration to permit an extract from the oleander plant to be marketed as a dietary supplement or, alternatively, approved as a drug to cure COVID-19, despite lack of proof that it works.

Driving the news: The experimental botanical extract, oleandrin, was promoted to Trump during an Oval Office meeting in July. It's embraced by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, a big Trump backer, who recently took a financial stake in the company that develops the product.
Lindell told Axios that in the meeting, Trump "basically said: …'The FDA should be approving it.'"

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Why it matters: A senior administration official familiar with the internal conversations told Axios, "The involvement of the Secretary of HUD and MyPillow.com in pushing a dubious product at the highest levels should give Americans no comfort at night about their health and safety during a raging pandemic."

The big picture: It's part of a pattern in which entrepreneurs, often without rigorous vetting, push unproven products to Trump — knowing their sales pitches might catch his eye. Trump will then urge FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to "look at" or speed up approval.
In March, Trump personally lobbied Hahn to authorize hydroxychloroquine's emergency use to treat COVID-19.
The FDA obliged. But in June, after a large trial, the agency revoked that authorization and warned of the "risk of heart rhythm problems" in COVID-19 patients treated with the drug.

Behind the scenes: Senior administration officials familiar with the internal conversations around oleandrin have raised concerns about the way this botanical extract — pushed by Andrew Whitney of Phoenix Biotechnology — is being promoted at the highest levels of the Trump administration.
There is no public data showing oleandrin has ever been tested in animals or humans for its efficacy against COVID-19, but the extract has shown some evidence of inhibiting the virus in a non-peer reviewed laboratory study.
In an interview on Saturday, Whitney told Axios that oleandrin has been tested on humans for its efficacy against COVID-19 but said the study has not been published yet. He also said the lab study is in the process of being peer reviewed.

HUD Secretary Carson has enthusiastically promoted oleandrin to Trump administration officials and to the president himself.
MyPillow CEO Lindell, who is a major advertiser on Fox News and a personal friend of Carson and Trump, helped Whitney get an Oval Office meeting with the president in July to discuss oleandrin as a potential COVID-19 cure. (The Washington Post first reported this meeting.)
Lindell said that he, Carson, at least one lawyer and, briefly, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, joined Trump and Whitney for the meeting. Notably absent was Hahn, the head of the agency that studies and approves medical treatments.
Asked why the HUD secretary was promoting an unproven botanical extract to cure COVID-19, a Carson spokesperson emailed the following statement to Axios: "Secretary Carson is a member of the Coronavirus Task Force, he has been directly involved with the Administration's response to this disease from the very beginning."
"The Task Force is looking at a plethora of therapeutics to fight COVID-19," the statement also said. "To suggest that Secretary Carson, who is a world-renowned expert in the medical field, shouldn't be involved is not only absurd but unhelpful in our collective fight to eradicate the pandemic."
A senior official familiar with Carson's involvement noted that while Carson is a world-renowned expert in pediatric neurosurgery, he is not a world-renowned expert on antiviral drugs or infectious diseases.

What's next: Whitney said he is pursuing multiple paths to getting oleandrin to market.
The first path is as a COVID-19 drug, which would involve a rigorous process that includes clinical trials.
But to hedge his bets, Whitney said he is also pushing the FDA to allow oleandrin to be sold off the shelf as a dietary supplement — a move that could be made immediately, Whitney has told administration officials.

Whitney has claimed to administration officials that oleandrin cures COVID-19 in two days, according to a source familiar with his private comments.
But if the FDA allows oleandrin to be sold as a dietary supplement, the company would not be allowed to make medical claims about its ability to treat or cure COVID-19.
Asked about this claim about oleandrin being a "cure" for COVID-19, Whitney said he stands by it "100%."

What they're saying: "Now, there are all sorts of lawyers who would tell me I can't say things like that, because you know you need to have years of studies, and you need to have this, that, and the other, and so forth," Whitney said. "But as an American with a right of free expression, I'm telling you, I've seen it with my own eyes."
Whitney said that by "cure" he means the symptoms go away quickly "in the vast majority of cases."

A source briefed on the situation said Whitney has so far provided no evidence to give the administration confidence about his claims.
Whitney disputed that. "Actually, we have provided that," he said. Asked what human clinical evidence he has provided to the FDA to support his claim that oleandrin cures COVID-19, Whitney did not provide any additional evidence, saying, "At this stage it's probably best left at that. The data is compelling."
"We have something that we believe will address the problem and we want to make it available," he added. "We believe we should be given the opportunity to demonstrate that in a hospital clinical trial setting and we believe that must happen now and not a month from now."

What we're hearing: Hahn appears to be resisting Whitney's efforts — at least so far — despite Trump expressing his enthusiasm for the FDA to approve oleandrin. In a sign that has reassured some administration officials worried about the oleandrin campaign, Whitney has privately complained that the FDA has been dragging its feet.
In response, Whitney described Hahn as "immensely professional" but added: "The process is too slow. ... We ought to be given an opportunity to test this. Call my bluff!"
Whitney has invoked his meeting with the president to apply further pressure on administration officials to approve or authorize oleandrin. (Whitney responded, "If I was the president I would want a solution to this situation. And if our solution is perceived as an effective one, or a potentially effective one, I would want to see it tested.")
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment.
Inside the oleandrin campaign

The science: Oleandrin is an extract from the oleander plant. Researchers have suggested that it could be useful to treat cancer because of the way it affects cells, and that it could enhance the effects of other cancer therapies.
Professor Sharon Lewin, the director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne, is an international authority on antiviral drugs and has a laboratory working on COVID-19.
Asked about oleandrin's potential efficacy as a COVID-19 treatment, Lewin told Axios, "Oleandrin looks to have antiviral activity at high doses in a test tube model. You'd certainly want to see more work done on this before even contemplating a human trial."

A July 2020 study from the University of Texas at Galveston shows, in a laboratory setting, that oleandrin can inhibit the coronavirus in monkey kidney cells. This study has not been peer reviewed and one of the authors of the study, Robert Newman, is chairman of Phoenix Biotechnology's scientific advisory board — the company developing the oleandrin product.
Phoenix Biotechnology's website listed Newman as the president of the company and a member of its board of directors until quite recently (Google's cache shows he held both roles as of August 12th).
When Axios checked the website on Friday night, Newman was still listed as president. But on Saturday evening, after Axios had emailed questions to Whitney, Newman was no longer listed as president of the company; the website listed him only as a scientific adviser.
Asked why the company made this change on Saturday, Whitney texted, "He recently stepped down as president to focus purely on science. This is a small company that has relatively few personnel and is going through acceleration and reorganization."
Asked when had Newman stepped down as president given that he was listed as president the night before Axios' email, Whitney replied, "Conversations about reorganization have been ongoing this week."

Citing the University of Texas study and HUD Secretary Ben Carson's belief in oleandrin, Whitney said regulators ought to take his product seriously. "This isn't whipped up in a bucket in someone's back garden," he said. "There's support for this."

Between the lines: Whitney enlisted Lindell in his effort to speed up approval of the botanical product.
In an interview with Axios on Saturday, Lindell spoke passionately in support of oleandrin and said he was such a believer in the botanical that he now has a financial stake in Phoenix Biotechnology and wants to ensure every American has access to this COVID-19 "cure."
Lindell said he first became aware of oleandrin when Whitney called him on Easter Sunday and said it could cure COVID-19.
Lindell said he then took the information to Carson, who got on board.

Lindell said he has been taking the unapproved botanical and has shared it with his family and friends. He said he believes it has kept him from getting COVID-19 and has cured other people. (No published clinical studies show the botanical cures or prevents COVID-19. Nor has the FDA said the product is safe or fit for this purpose.)
Told about the alarm inside the administration regarding his promotion of oleandrin, Lindell said, "This is the most amazing miracle thing I've ever seen in my life, so I went all in.... If you want to know what I think, I think it's being suppressed because somebody doesn't want this out there because it works."
"Why wouldn't the guy that's on the task force [Carson] bring the cure to the president if it's getting stopped at other places?" Lindell added.

Lindell said that in July's Oval Office meeting, he was joined by President Trump, Carson, Whitney, and briefly White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Lindell said that Stephen Hahn — the head of the FDA, which studies and approves medical treatments — wasn't there.
"There were two other people in the room, one of them was not Steve Hahn because I've seen a picture of Steve Hahn before and it wasn't him,” Lindell said.
Whitney said he approached Lindell because he thinks he's one of the country's greatest businessmen and was impressed that Lindell mobilized MyPillow to make face masks.

Another influential Trumpworld figure also touted Whitney's product. The first example I could find of a media outlet floating oleandrin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 was an April 23 article on John Solomon's website "Just The News."
In his article, Solomon described oleandrin as "a rising star in the biomedical world" and quoted Dr. John Dye of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, saying his laboratory planned to test what effect oleandrin would have on "tissue culture assays" for COVID-19.
Caree Vander Linden, a spokesperson for the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, emailed the following statement to Axios: "In May 2020, USAMRIID performed some preliminary testing of oleandrin against SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19]. Our results were inconclusive."
"Additionally, USAMRIID was contacted by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, indicating that they were also testing it," Vander Linden added. "Given our inconclusive results, and having other high priority therapeutics to assess, we did not continue with this line of research."
Solomon is a frequent on Sean Hannity's Fox News show and is close to Rudy Giuliani. President Trump has waxed lyrical about Solomon, saying he deserves a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Russia investigation. A story from Solomon can carry extra weight in the Oval Office.

The bottom line: Scientists around the world are in a race for cures, treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. Government regulators are investigating hundreds of products. When a biotech executive like Whitney can take his case directly to the president, it casts doubt over the scientific rigor of the drug development process.

Belarus's Leader Tried To Rig an Election. He Got a Bigger Fight Than He Was Expecting.

Lukashenko is still clinging to the 1990s. After five terms in office, he seems to have learned nothing.

by Slawomir Sierakowski August 16, 2020 

Belarusian opposition leaders knew beforehand that they would be protesting the falsified result of the presidential election this past weekend, and had already adopted three governing principles. Their demonstrations must be absolutely peaceful, they must be sustained and they must seek specific objectives, including free elections and the restoration of the country’s democratic constitution.

Now that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has essentially nullified the election, claiming—preposterously—that some 80% of Belarusians voted for him, supporters of the opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, are putting these principles into practice.

The regime’s opponents are disciplined and technologically savvy. Because the central authorities completely control the official media, an alternative media ecosystem has emerged online, where independent publications’ readership has grown by 300–400% in recent weeks.

By contrast, Lukashenko is still clinging to the 1990s. After five terms in office, he seems to have learned nothing. Having proved incapable of countering independent reporting, he has resorted to shutting off the internet and mobile phone networks at opposition rallies. But Belarusians have quickly found ways around this through the use of proxy servers and end-to-end encrypted messaging (in fact, I dictated this commentary over the phone, owing to the internet blackout).

No one seriously doubts the pervasiveness of election fraud in Belarus. But, rather than succumb to despair or cynicism, Belarusians have refused to accept that there is no point in voting. On election day, voters gathered at polling stations in droves, building up a critical mass to prove that there was a significant turnout. Observers sat outside and recorded the number of people entering. Although they couldn’t ask people how they voted, they counted how many were wearing the white ribbons of the opposition.

The observers’ mere presence was a clear demonstration that Lukashenko can no longer rely on repression and fear. Belarusians have increasingly begun to express their views openly, even in smaller towns and villages. My own firsthand observations match those of independent analysts who have estimated that roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the electorate supports the opposition.

While here, I have asked many poll watchers how they remained so determined, given that everyone knew their votes wouldn’t be counted, and that the fraudulent result would be announced immediately. They explained that these tactics would prove effective in the long run, because they serve as a visible demonstration of what free and fair elections should look like.

No one can deny that Tikhanovskaya’s supporters were there, and that they were committed to voting. That fact alone will sow uncertainty among Lukashenko loyalists, including those who make up the electoral committees.

After assembling en masse and observing the polling stations, the next step was to launch demonstrations in response to the long-foreseen outcome. The plan was that, after gathering at polling places at around 6 pm and demanding to hear the voter-turnout count at 8 pm, everyone would move to pre-designated sites for mass mobilisation. In smaller towns, everyone knew to gather in the largest square. In Minsk, the meeting point was Victory Square, near the Minsk Hero City Obelisk. If the way was blocked, people knew to head instead for Independence Avenue, followed by Victors Avenue.


The assembly quickly took shape in Victory Square and gradually grew, spreading in multiple directions. Cars honked and people sang and played the Perestroika-era song ‘Khochu peremen!’ (‘Want to change!’) by the Soviet rock band Kino. Special police units, having clearly prepared for the moment, showed up on cue to intimidate the crowd, which responded by chanting, ‘All together!’ Then, a column of several dozen armoured vehicles rolled in and closed off a key intersection. Step by step, phalanxes of police arrived and claimed more space.

Nonetheless, the protesters remained peaceful, and consistently made clear that they didn’t consider the police their enemy. Many chanted, ‘The police with the people!’ The implied message was: We understand that you’re just following orders, and would probably prefer to be anywhere other than where you’re standing.


Again, these tactics have long been in the making. On the night before the election, opposition leaders told me that they have no doubt that almost everyone in Lukashenko’s own ranks deeply dislikes him. The open displays of kindness towards the same security forces who are expected to beat protesters are designed to exploit these divisions, by letting security forces know that they don’t have to be synonymous with the Lukashenko regime.

At one point, several hundred policemen with large shields and batons emerged from the column of vehicles, occupying part of the square and launching explosives and flash grenades. I don’t know whether they were firing rubber bullets, blanks or live ammunition, but the intent was clearly to instill terror in the crowd.

In the event, their efforts at intimidation were only moderately effective. The protesters did not retreat fully, and they remained absolutely peaceful. They kept a close eye on any potential provocateurs in their ranks, corralling anyone who took up bottles or other objects to throw at the police.

The dark squadrons of shielded security forces who occupied the square took a long time in doing so, and clearly were not trying to force a violent confrontation. Only at the end did the police start chasing fleeing protesters and running towards the crowd.

The square is open on three sides, but movement is impeded in some places. This is where some demonstrators were caught and beaten. Soon thereafter, Reuters reported that some 1,300 people had been detained; other independent media sources indicate that several people are in critical condition, and that at least one died after being deliberately run over by a police truck.

The demonstrations are now expected to grow. What we have seen so far is merely the beginning. The opposition has it all planned out. Every day, people know to meet in the squares at 7 pm, where peaceful protests will continue, organisers say, until they are no longer needed.

This article by Slawomir Sierakowski first appeared in The Strategist on August 12, 2020.

Image: Reuters.

THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
The pill at 60 — transformative and controversial birth control
The birth control pill, often simply called "the pill," was first approved for use 60 years ago. The oral contraceptive changed lives and lifestyles. It was championed but also condemned. But how relevant is it today?




As tiny as it is, the pill had a huge impact. The first birth control pill was introduced to the US market on August 18th,1960. It was a sensation: the first form of hormonal contraception. A year later, the pill became available in West Germany and four years after that in East Germany.

Initially, the pharmaceutical industry marketed it as a treatment for menstruation complaints. It was exclusively prescribed to married women. And only a careful reading of the small print revealed its contraceptive capacity.

The pill also had further remarkable "side-effects" and, above all, the social impact was explosive. This new method of contraception went further than any that had gone before towards decoupling sex for fun and sex for reproduction. It gave women unprecedented power over their bodies and their sexuality.It was truly a sexual revolution.


The pill gave momentum to societal changes in western countries in the 1960s

At the time, the fear of an unwanted pregnancy dominated sexuality, recalls author and women's rights activist Alice Schwarzerin an interview with German public TV, explaining it was central to all aspects of women's lives. "You were well aware that abortion was not at all an option. There were all sorts of rumors about kitchen tables and women bleeding to death." Even putting moral qualms aside, the prospect of an abortion was simply too terrifying: "So, when the pill became available in the first half of the 1960s — I was a young woman in a wild stage of my life — it was in every way a liberation. It was just fantastic. We all, I think, welcomed it. It was like a miracle."

Read more: Depression and suicide — the dark side of the pill
Doctors' warnings, papal ban

Up until that time, the "3 C's" dominated women's role in society: children, chores, church. In conservative post-war Germany, the idea that women could take charge of their lives was still novel. And there were the first rumblings of protest against the pill. Even doctors were up in arms.

Speaking to DW, medical historian Robert Jütte looked back on what was called the "Ulm Declaration" of 1964. In this appeal, some 200 doctors warned "that there would be devastating consequences if love were to remain without consequences." The former head of the Institute for the History of Medicine at the Robert Bosch Foundation adds: "There was a broad and authoritarian social consensus that contraception must be limited."

From the church, there was also bitter opposition to the pill. On July 25, 1968, Pope Paul V issued the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae condemning birth control using artificial methods of contraception. This would only encourage, "a general lowering of moral standards" resulting from sex without consequences. For devout Catholics, those words effectively amounted to a banning of the pill.


The recipe for birth control pills has changed since the 1960s

'Make love, not war'

But the zeitgeist was moving in another direction, and the old social order was crumbling. As people became more prosperous, the yearning for self-realization and individual freedom grew. The sexual revolution swept away stifling conventions and the hippy mantra of "make love, not war" played a key role in the 1968 student movement.

Suddenly people were changing partners in way that had previously been unimaginable. One of the most famous slogans of West Germany's protest movement was: "Anybody who sleeps with the same partner twice has sold themselves to the establishment." But Robert Jütte says it is important not to exaggerate the role of the pill. It was, he argues, not the origin of this movement, but the catalyst.


Feminist Alice Schwarzer says the sexual liberation also had its downsides

The sexual revolution also led to new constraints. "Before it came along, young girls and women simply got married. And now? With the pill, things were turned upside down and women had to be up for it," says the feminist Alice Schwarzer. If a woman wasn't taking the pill, people would start saying, "she's too narrow-minded, and nobody had danced with her so far." Women were permanently at men's sexual disposal. And men took no responsibility for any consequences that might arise."
Growing demand for non-hormonal birth control

In Germany, the pill has long been established as the most widely used and 'safest' method of contraception. But it still has to be prescribed by a doctor. And the health insurance companies pick up the costs for young women and girls only below the age of 22. But there is also financing available to older women, who pay less than 30 euros for a six-month packet.

Read more: Fewer German women are taking the pill


The pill can improve skin complaints — but it's not a beauty product without health risks

Nevertheless, there is a growing intolerance for the pill, with young women increasingly reluctant to do anything that might impair natural hormonal processes. For about five or six years now, Gabrielle Stöcker has been seeing "a growing demand for non-hormonal birth control and for an alternative to the pill," says the gynecologist. She works for Pro Familia, Germany's leading sexual and reproductive health organization. And she says that while the pill might be a good contraceptive, it is also a form of medication with side-effects.

Which is why Stöcker is critical of pharmaceutical companies that market their preparations as lifestyle and beauty products. The promise might be: The pill keeps you slim, or it improves your skin. And everything is done to downplay the danger of the pill causing thrombosis.

Look at the advertising and you could almost begin to imagine that "the pill is a beauty product without any risks," says Gabrielle Stöcker. "It's clear that women suffering from side-effects or complications are no longer taken seriously."


World number four

Stöcker's observation is substantiated by a 2018 study from Germany's Federal Center for Health Education on birth control patterns among adults, according to which the pill and condoms are still the most important contraceptives (47% and 46% respectively). But in comparison with the previous study from 2011, the use of the pill has gone down by 6% while there has been a clear 9% increase in the preference for using condoms. Prevention of HIV and other STDs is clearly a factor here.

Read more: Why are condoms so unpopular in India?

It is mainly in other European countries that the pill is as frequently used as in Germany. In global comparison, however, figures put out by the United Nations suggest that the most popular contraceptive worldwide is female sterilization — although this kind of intervention is in medical terms far less complicated for men. In the past year, 23.7% of all women using contraception (219 million) were sterilized. Condoms were in second position (189 million) ahead of the intrauterine device, or coil (159 million). The pill followed in fourth place. (151 million).


In India women often undergo sterilization surgery, which is often unsafe

Poor countries putting their faith in sterilization

In developing countries in the Global South the problems begin with getting supplies of antibiotics due to infrastructure or financial problems. The fact that the daily contraceptive pill is hardly a success story in those regions is not at all surprising.

Medical historian Robert Jütte explains that the poor distribution of the pill in these countries is also due to the widespread suppression of women in society. "And it's important not to overlook the government repression in Islamic states that are in principle opposed to birth control. It's a combination of social, economic and political factors."

Rütte points out that even in the countries with the lowest levels of gross national product in the world, "still 28% of women use birth control methods." He says that in these countries, with their poor medical care, "it is contraceptive methods like the sterilization of women or the coil that will in the long term play a bigger role than the pill."

DW RECOMMENDS


Sexual revolution can't be blamed on the pill, says its inventor

To mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the birth-control pill in the US, Carl Djerassi tells Deutsche Welle what events led him to this medical breakthrough, and how it changed the world.

WHO Accused Of 'Downplaying' COVID-19 Infection Risk After Virus Found On Frozen Meat Packaging

The allegation comes after the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into China from Brazil tested positive for the virus

LIAM GILLIVER


Reuters say the WHO have 'downplayed' COVID-19's infection risk (Photo edited by PBN)

Media organization Reuters has accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of 'downplaying' the infection risk of coronavirus.

The allegation comes after the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into China from Brazil tested positive for COVID-19.
'Take precautions'

Samples of the outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in Xian also tested positive for the virus.

It has been reported that other samples of the same cargo tested negative, as did every person who came into contact with the products.

According to Reuters, The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters said the public 'needed to take precautions to reduce infection risks from imported meat and seafood'.

'Reduce the risk'

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is currently 'no evidence to suggest that handling food or consuming food is associated with COVID-19'.

The organization advises that people wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after 'shopping, handling food packages, or before preparing or eating food'.

"If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry," CDC said.

"Remember, it is always important to follow good food safety practices to reduce the risk of illness from common foodborne pathogens."

BY LIAM GILLIVER is the Deputy Editor and Social Media Coordinator for Plant Based News. He has written for a number of top publications including Gay Times, Attitude Magazine, Oh Comely, and The Huffington Post - and is the author of 'We're Worried About Him'.

GOP Rep. Kinzinger: It's Time to Denounce QAnon

By Eric Mack    |   Sunday, 16 August 2020 03:57 PM

As QAnon conspiracy theories "make it into the mainstream," leaders need to start denouncing it, according to Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.

"I haven't addressed it for a while, but it's started to make it into the mainstream, and now is when it's important for leaders to come out and push back on it, because it's already had the attention, frankly, it doesn't deserve," Kinzinger told CNN's "Reliable Sources."

Kinzinger's push comes from a perspective of understanding "good" and the differences in people while respecting it in an effort to get to reality.

"If anybody buys into a conspiracy theory, whether it's on the far left, far right — we never landed on the moon, whatever it is — it's out of an interest of, 'if only the truth is known, life would be better for me and other people,'" he added to host Brian Stelter. "So, everybody thinks they're the good guy. Everybody wants to do right. And I think understanding humanity from that perspective and then engaging them in that perspective through love and understanding is far different.

"You're never going to offend somebody onto your side. You're never going to offend somebody away from something they believe. In fact, it emboldens them. I think it's understanding that they're still human."

Kinzinger stresses before sharing other's conspiracy theories, people should do some digging for themselves.

"If you believe in this conspiracy theory stuff, especially QAnon, do some independent research," he added. 

"There's a lot of stuff debunking it, including all the predictions that didn't come true, and now the new Q stuff reads basically like a tarot card reader that gives you something so vague that will absolutely fit into something that will happen in the next months."

In the end, each party has to denounce conspiracy theories in their own party, he concluded.

"The president hasn't fully denounced it or denounced it at all," he said. "Now it's time for leaders to come out and denounce it. The key isn't Democrats denouncing it, it's Republicans denouncing it. Democrats and Republicans have to denounce extremism in their own party, because that's where it's effective. It's not effective from the other side denouncing it. It emboldens them."

© 2020 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

At Sturgis, Trump Supporters Look to Turn Bikers Into Voters

A man shows off his chest painted with a portrait of President Donald Trump during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D., last week. While the rally usually attracts around 500,000 people, officials estimate that more than 250,000 people may still show up to this year's festival despite the coronavirus pandemic. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Friday, 14 August 2020 08:32 PM

 

It's a Friday night at a crowded biker bar in South Dakota when Chris Cox, founder of Bikers for Trump, takes the stage. While many have come to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for some combination of riding and partying, Cox's focus is on something else: voting.

The coronavirus pandemic may have squashed most in-person get-out-the-vote efforts across the country, but Cox's group remains unbothered by public health recommendations. As the Trump campaign looks to bolster its momentum less than 90 days from the election, Bikers for Trump has taken advantage of recent motorcycle rallies to make direct appeals to register to vote.

While the group has gained a significant online following for its bravado in providing security at some Trump 2016 rallies, it remains to be seen if it can get bikers — many from the suburbs Trump is targeting — to show up at the ballot box.

To make his appeal, Cox enlisted scantily-clad female bartenders to join his nightly “Trump rallies” atop bars at One Eyed Jack's Saloon. Most of the rallies consisted of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the national anthem. As members of the predominantly male audience removed their hats, one bartender who was topless except for a pair of strategically placed American flag stickers performed the Star-Spangled Banner in sign language.

“If you live in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Florida the campaign needs you to double-down because those are the states that we need to carry this thing,” Cox bellowed to the crowd.

Cox’s list of battleground states contained a tacit acknowledgment that many places Trump carried in 2016 are now in doubt. But his praise for the president drew cheers from the crowd, a display of Trump’s lasting favor among those who still see him as an outsider in defiance of the political elite.

“Trump tapped into all this fear and anger and frustration," said Bill Thompson, a sociologist at Texas A&M University at Commerce who studies biker culture. “Man, he’s a master at whipping that up.”

Cox, who started the group in 2015, has shown a knack for generating political drama. He gained media attention during the 2016 election for assembling a quasi-security force at rallies and forming what he called a “wall of meat” to keep protesters from disrupting Trump's inauguration. More recently, he has enlisted bikers to give Amish and Mennonite Trump supporters motorcycle rides to rallies in Pennsylvania.

Since the last election, Cox has tried to build Bikers for Trump into a political machine, registering a political action committee. Its Facebook group has more than 350,000 followers, and 180,000 people have signed up for a mailing list. Cox did not give numbers on how many had registered to vote.

The annual Sturgis rally seems like a good hunting ground for political supporters. Even with the pandemic, it is expected to draw some 250,000 bikers, which is less than its estimated 400,000-person turnout, but still an impressive assemblage City officials in this South Dakota town voted to proceed with the event back in June -- it began Friday, Aug. 7, and will run through Sunday, according to a CBS News report.

Still, turning bikers into voters could prove a challenge. Cox experienced that firsthand this year when his bid to represent South Carolina in Congress got less than 10% of the vote in the Republican primary.

“A lot of people want to participate, wearing T-shirts or maybe waving flags,” he said. “But the only way to really raise the bar and move the needle is to identify people who otherwise don’t vote and get them to vote.”

Chris Carr, the Trump campaign's political director, urged members of the crowd at a rally Thursday to get their neighbors registered to vote.

“Chris Cox right here is a huge ally," Carr said. "The president loves this man."

With hundreds of thousands of people rumbling into Sturgis through this weekend, Cox may be in the right place to reach the suburban voters that the Trump campaign is desperate to win over. Despite the stereotype of the grizzled, tattooed biker, a significant number are what's known as “Rolex riders,” professionals who can afford to travel across the country with expensive motorcycles. A growing number are female, college-educated and married, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

Cox said that women, including those from the suburbs, are willing to overlook Trump's character to vote for his economic policies and support for law enforcement.

“It’s not always about liking the leadership, but it’s more about respecting the leadership and seeing the direction of your future,” Cox said.

Genevieve Schmitt, who founded an online biker magazine called Women Riders Now, said that she sees just as many liberals as conservatives among women riders. They often see the sport as an “expression of freedom, independence, to express herself in the outdoors,” she said.

“If you start to throw flyers at her, whatever side you are on, they kind of just turn their nose up at it,” Schmitt said. “They just want to ride.”

Cox also tried to brush aside criticism of Trump's handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Cox called it a “plandemic, not a pandemic," suggesting a misguided notion that the coronavirus crisis is politically motivated and will disappear.

That message may resonate with some bikers, who echoed the sentiment that the coronavirus is not as serious as health experts have warned.

“If you’re going to get it, you’re going to get it,” said Linda Harrison, who came from Ohio. “Deal with it.”

But even at the Sturgis rally, where displays opposing Hillary Clinton were common in 2016, there was an undercurrent of frustration detectable to at least a few.

Phillip Geary, a rallygoer from Washington, strolled the streets in a “Make America Kind Again” T-shirt. He said that he had gotten fist bumps amid the leather-clad crowd, and someone even bought him lunch.

“I think there's more sentiment against the president," he said. “It's just beneath the surface, beneath the facade.”

© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

What explains the widening gap between Wall Street and Main Street?

BY VIVEKANAND JAYAKUMAR, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 08/16/2020

© Getty Images


A common refrain today is that U.S. equity markets do not accurately reflect economic reality. Even as the initial estimate of second-quarter GDP indicates a 9.5 percent contraction (32.9 percent on an annualized basis), major stock market indices continue to surge towards record highs. The rapid stock market recovery from the bear-market low (set on March 23) has flummoxed many. Unemployment rates are in double digits, and the fragile economic recovery appears to be faltering. And, yet, bullish sentiments continue to prevail. So, what explains the widening gap between Wall Street and Main Street?

It is tempting to presume that economic growth should be closely related to stock market performance. The rationale being that stronger economic growth causes a spike in corporate profits, which in turn boosts earnings per share and supports higher stock prices. Despite this appealing logic, empirical research in recent decades has established that there is no clear relationship between economic growth rates and stock market returns. Indeed, cross-country studies suggest a low or even negative correlation between real GDP per capita growth and inflation-adjusted stock returns. Seasoned financial market observers have long been aware of such a disconnect between stock market performance and overall economic activity. However, the widening disconnect between financial market performance and the real economy observed in the post-2008 period has been somewhat mystifying. The stock market performance during the pandemic has also been quite puzzling.

In the past, explanations for the disconnect focused on such facts as the dominance of the stock indices by large multinational companies, the forward-looking nature of equity markets, the tendency for investors to get ahead of themselves and bid-up stock prices on the basis of high expectations for future growth and the relative significance of firm-specific performance metrics (earnings per share) vis-à-vis economy-wide corporate earnings. Multinationals (which account for the majority of large-cap stocks) rely on fast growing regions of the world for growth, and, consequently, their equity performance is often decoupled from the performance of mature domestic economies. Another explanation relates to the forward-looking nature of equity markets. Stock prices, in so far as they reflect the present discounted value of the future stream of earnings, are likely to mirror expectations regarding future GDP growth rates rather than contemporaneous economic performance.
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The disconnect between equity returns and GDP growth rates is also caused by the propensity among investors to prematurely bid up stock prices based on high growth expectations, which reduces future realized gains. The growth rate of economy-wide earnings can also be distinct from the growth rate of earnings per share that current investors receive. This might be due to factors such as new enterprises and privately-held companies contributing more/less to economic growth than existing publicly-listed companies, and, the extent of net buybacks (stock buybacks net of new share issuance) diluting/boosting the dividend and earnings per share accruing to current investors.

Recently, a few key factors have played a critical role in driving strong U.S. stock market performance despite sub-par economic growth. First, in the post-financial crisis era, the Federal Reserve has reduced both the risk-free rate (through its quantitative easing programs and forward guidance announcements) and the equity risk premium (by its commitment to keep rates low for extended periods and by implicitly offering a “Fed Put”). The resultant reach for yield has pushed investors into riskier assets like stocks. Second, the rise of corporate market power has led to the emergence of superstar firms that are able to achieve abnormal profits. By construction, stock indices give more weight to the dominant winners of each era, and, in the era of the superstar firms, this creates a high degree of disconnect with the real economy.

In the pandemic era, some troubling aspects have further amplified the disconnect between the stock market and the real economy. An unprecedented surge in liquidity from the Federal Reserve contributed to the rapid stock market recovery. Growing belief that the pandemic will alter the way we live, work and entertain, and the expected windfall from such a fundamental shift for Big Tech and a few other “winners” has caused the stock market to become top-heavy. The collective market value of the top ten stocks in the S&P 500 index recently stood at $8 trillion, and the top five stocks accounted for around 23 percent of the weight in the S&P 500. Complicating matters, new retail investors (attracted by the availability of convenient trading platforms that provide fractional share ownership and commission-free trades), driven by a “fear of missing out,” are jumping on the bandwagon.

While there are rational explanations for the normal-level of disconnect between equity returns and economic performance, the current historically wide gap suggests the presence of significant distortions (unparalleled levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus) as well as heightened levels of uncertainty. A few not-so-far-fetched developments may trigger a sudden change in market sentiments: Overly-enthusiastic predictions regarding the future role of technology in our personal and work lives may turn out to be overblown, or the pace of economic recovery may not be in accord with stock market expectations, or a delay in vaccine development may occur. Entry of novice traders, an unstable political climate and upcoming U.S. elections pose additional risks.

All in all, it would be wise to be prepared for a sudden and sharp course correction in equity markets as the disconnect between the equity market and the real economy reaches historic proportions.

Vivekanand Jayakumar is an associate professor of economics at the University of Tampa.

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE

Puerto Rico governor loses primary after second round of voting

BY REBECCA KLAR - 08/16/20


Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez acknowledged losing the primary of her pro-statehood party to challenger Pedro Pierluisi on Sunday after the second round of voting in an election marked by ballot mishaps.
With more than 66 percent of electoral colleges reporting, Pierluisi, who briefly served as Puerto Rico’s governor last year, received more than 58 percent of the vote compared with nearly 42 percent for Vázquz, The Associated Press reported.

“We have to abide by the decision of the majority,” Vázquez said in a brief speech, according to the newswire.

The governor also reportedly warned Pierluisi that he should “aspire” to have the support of those who had voted for her.

Puerto Rico holds second round of voting after primary marred by...

Pierluisi spoke shortly after the governor, and said “we all have to be united to push Puerto Rico forward,” according to the AP.

More than half of voting precincts in Puerto Rico reopened for a second round of voting on Sunday after a chaotic first round earlier this month. Voting was suspended in numerous precincts during the Aug. 9 primary after many centers failed to receive ballots on time or at all. The issues resulted in many voters standing in long lines before leaving without casting a ballot.

Vázquez was sworn in as governor last year after a court invalidated Pierluisi’s appointment after he briefly served as a replacement for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who stepped down

Browns owners say they stand by Baker Mayfield's decision to kneel

BY ARIS FOLLEY - 08/16/20

© Getty Images

Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said Sunday they'll support quarterback Baker Mayfield and other players if they decide to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality this season.

In a Zoom call on Sunday, the co-owners defended freedom of speech and said they will support their players who participate in the protests regardless of possible backlash, according to USA Today.

“One of the great things about this country, one of the many great things, is the ability to have freedom of speech and being able to express yourself. So we are going to support our players,” Jimmy Haslam reportedly said on the call.
His comments come several months after Mayfield drew widespread attention in June for saying he “absolutely” plans to join kneeling protests against police brutality and racial inequality during the national anthem when the season picks back up.

At the time, Mayfield took aim at opponents of the kneeling movement, which was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 season, and slammed criticisms that the kneeling protests, meant to bring awareness to racial injustice in the nation, were unpatriotic.

“It's about equality and everybody being treated the same because we are all human. It's been ignored for too long and that it my fault as well for not becoming more educated and staying silent,” Mayfield, who also said then that he supports cops and the military, said at the time. “If I lose fans, that's OK. I've always spoken my mind. And that's from the heart.”

During the Zoom call on Sunday, Jimmy Haslam touched on the ongoing debate surrounding anthem protests, which has seen more fuel in recent months amid nationwide protests sparked by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans.

“There is just all of this condemnation from one side versus the other, rather than everybody trying to understand, ‘Well, why is that important to you, Baker? You are a thoughtful young man. You understand the ramifications,’” Jimmy Haslam said on the call.

“So we are going to be fully supportive of our players no matter what they decide to do. We just ask that, as a country, we have a lot more thoughtful dialogue,” he added.

"Somewhere along the line, we completely lost that respect and the civil discourse, it is gone," Dee Haslam also said on the call. "Hopefully, we can get that back and maybe we can be an example of that."

Browns owners vow to support players who kneel during national anthem

Posted by Charean Williams on August 16, 2020,

Getty Images

Baker Mayfield reiterated last week that he plans to kneel during the national anthem this season to protest social injustice. Other Browns players are expected to do the same.

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said Sunday they stand in support of any player who takes a knee during the national anthem this season.

“One of the great things about this country, one of the many great things, is the ability to have freedom of speech and being able to express yourself,” Jimmy Haslam said on a Zoom call with his wife, via Tom Withers of the Associated Press. “So we are going to support our players.”

Mayfield said he was prepared for fan backlash. The Haslams are, too.

“There is just all of this condemnation from one side versus the other, rather than everybody trying to understand, ‘Well, why is that important to you, Baker? You are a thoughtful young man. You understand the ramifications,’” Jimmy Haslam said. “So we are going to be fully supportive of our players no matter what they decide to do. We just ask that, as a country, we have a lot more thoughtful dialogue.”

Nearly two dozen Browns players knelt before a home exhibition game last season, drawing condemnation from some Cleveland-area veterans groups, according to Withers.

Lost in the debate, Jimmy Haslam said, is why the players are kneeling.

“I think all too much attention is called to whether somebody kneels or stands or what their statement is, and not nearly enough attention is called to what they do afterward,” Jimmy Haslam said. “Dee and I can issue some great statement, but what you all really ought to look at is what ourselves, our coaches, our players are doing the rest of the week, if you will, to make this country a better place to live, work and raise a family.”