Thursday's Daily Brief: tobacco burn-out, cholera cases down, 'shifting the needle' on climate
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
Among today's stories: more men are quitting nicotine than ever before, a big drop in cholera cases was recorded between 2017 and 2018, and the UN calls on developed countries to raise their climate ambitions, following the disappointment of COP25.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Don't Deny My Patients! 4,000 NUHW CA Kaiser Healthcare Workers Start 5 Day Strike
Labor Video Project | indybay.org | 2019-12-19
4,000 NUHW Kaiser mental healthcare workers launched a 5 day unfair labor practice strike to protest the deaths of patients, failure to properly treat patients and also the stress and high turnover of mental healthcare staff…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/16/1882895…
Democrats Are Shifting on Foreign Policy — But Not Far Enough to End War
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
After months of debate, the crowded Democratic primaries have begun to narrow. Major candidates have largely avoided foreign policy discussions, instead focusing on issues like health care, trade, immigration and gun control, which are seen as more important to the U.S. electorate. Although they have clear differences in vision, it is obvious that both progressives and traditionalists on the ticket see foreign policy as a secondary concern. This is standard for U.S. politics. Often, campaign staff…
truthout.org/articles/democrats-are-shif…
World Health Organization reports 60 per cent drop in cholera in 2018
news.un.org | 2019-12-19
International action to drive down cholera led to a 60 per cent decrease in cases in 2018, compared with the previous year, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Court Voids 'Obamacare' Individual Mandate, Sidesteps Whole Law Issue
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-19
NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down "Obamacare's" now-toothless requirement that Americans carry health insurance but sidestepped a ruling on the law's overall constitutionality. The decision means the law remains in effect for now. | The 2-1 ruling handed down by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans means the ultimate fate of the rest of the Affordable Care Act including such popular provisions as protections for those with pre-existing conditions, Medicaid expansion and the ability for children under the age of 26 to remain on their parents' insurance…
truthdig.com/articles/court-voids-obamac…
A plague on both political parties
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
Despite the ferocity of conflict over impeachment, the Democrats and Republicans represent the twin imperatives of American imperialism: the drive toward war and fascistic authoritarianism.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/pers…
Remembering America's First (and Longest) Forgotten War on Tribal Islamists
Danny Sjursen | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-19
More than a century after the U.S. Army disengaged from Moroland, Islamist and other regional insurgencies continue to plague the southern Philippines. Indeed,…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/19/remembering-…
Nurses and health workers strike in Northern Ireland
wsws.org | 2019-12-19
Over 15,000 nurses and other health workers struck December 18 in Northern Ireland over pay and staffing.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/19/nurs…
Gender parity out of reach for 100 years: Report
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-19
The world must wait almost 100 years to see gender parity, according to the new World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report.The report, released on Tuesday, found that none of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, and few of our children will either.Gender parity has been considered an integral part of economic development in countries around the world.The report evaluates 153 countries on their progress towards gender parity in four dimensions: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment."It will take 95 years to close the gender ga…
yenisafak.com/en/world/gender-parity-out…
Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians strike for patient care
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-19
OAKLAND, Calif.–Some 4,000 mental health clinicians–psychologists, psychiatric nurses, therapists, and other health professionals caring for Kaiser Permanente patients at over 100 facilities throughout California–began a one-week strike Dec. 16. At the top of their list, they are demanding that their patients should be able to receive the same prompt, comprehensive services the giant health care …
peoplesworld.org/article/kaiser-permanen…
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Portion of Affordable Care Act
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-19
A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans dealt another blow to the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, agreeing with a lower-court judge that the portion of the health law requiring most people to have coverage is unconstitutional now that Congress has eliminated the tax penalty that was intended to enforce it. | But it is sending the case back to the lower court to decide how much of the rest of the law can stand in light of that ruling. | That most likely means the fate of the law will not be settle…
truthout.org/articles/federal-appeals-co…
New study names modern pollution a major cause of premature deaths worldwide; US ranks in top 10
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2019-12-19
"Pollution is an enormous and poorly addressed health problem."
nationofchange.org/2019/12/19/new-study-…
Ukraine, China & 2024 retirement plans: Key takeaways from Putin's 15th annual press chat
rt.com | 2019-12-19
At his annual year-end press conference, Vladimir Putin addressed his presumed retirement in 2024, the situation in Ukraine, domestic issues around healthcare and demographics, and relations with China, among many other topics. | Thursday's Moscow event was the 15th in as many years of Putin's presidency, and finished up as one of the longest. The Russian president sat for four hours and 18 minutes, taking around 80 questions from 57 journalists, of which he answered about 77. Some 1,895 reporters representing Russian and foreign media received accreditation for the conference, with many more watching online.
rt.com/news/476437-putin-press-conferenc…
UN health agency signals tobacco might be reaching burn-out among men
news.un.org | 2019-12-18
Two decades of increasing tobacco use around the world are set to go into reverse, UN health experts have predicted, after revealing data indicating that fewer men and boys are smoking than before.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Low cost breast cancer medicine move good news for women: UN health agency
news.un.org | 2019-12-18
More women could soon have access to an affordable version of an expensive life-saving breast cancer treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court
Melissa Grant | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-ten…
Around 9,000 nurses to take strike action in the north of Ireland
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-12-17
A last-ditch meeting is aiming to prevent around 9,000 nurses from taking the UK's first 12-hour strike action over pay on Wednesday.The unprecedented walkout in the north of Ireland will see them leave wards with the solidarity of thousands of other healthcare workers.Stormont's political parties are expected to meet the head of the civil service at Stormont in an appeal for more cash.Unison union regional secretary Patricia McKeown said: "As we enter this significant period in the industrial struggle the consequences lay firmly on the shoulders of the UK government, our elected politicians and the leadership of…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/12/17/around-9000-nurses-to-take-strike-action-in-the-north-of-ireland/
Wisconsin: Medicaid to cover gender-confirming medical procedures
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-17
Kenosha, WI – As of December 10, Wisconsin is now one of the 20 states that cover medically necessary gender-confirming surgeries. People in need of these procedures will receive coverage under the state's Medicaid healthcare plan. This development comes after state officials allowed the time frame to lapse for an appeal of the 2018 lawsuit that initiated the whole process. | This is undoubtedly a big win for transgender and non-binary people across the state and a huge rebuke to traditional thinking when it comes to transgender and non-binary individuals seeking surgery to help with gender dysphoria. Gender Dysp…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/17/wiscons…
Teaching assistants in Decatur, Il. struggle for better healthcare
Nick Goodell | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-12
"DFTA all the way!"
liberationnews.org/teaching-assistants-i…
On Human Rights Day, Let's Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Martin Fleck | progressive.org | 2019-12-09
A nuclear war would create one of the worst humanitarian crises imaginable, one for which no nation would have an adequate emergency or health response.
progressive.org/op-eds/human-rights-day-…
Bronx speakout demands closure of fake abortion clinic
Liberation staff | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-04
Dozens stopped to listen and speak with the protesters about reproductive justice and the need for affordable public healthcare.
liberationnews.org/bronx-speakout-demand…