Australia: Toxic air from bushfires rated a "public health emergency"
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
Health professionals have called on governments to take action amid record levels of bushfire haze in towns and cities.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/haze…
The Right to Healthy Food: Poisoned with Pesticides
Colin Todhunter | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-23
Environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written an open letter addressed to three senior officials in Britain: John Gardiner, Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the British government; Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England; and Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/the-right-to-…
Sanders report shows how Millennial generation is 'being punished with crushing student debt and low-paying jobs'
Jake Johnston | mronline.org | 2019-12-23
"In the richest country in the history of the world, we have an obligation to turn this around and make sure our kids live healthier and better lives than we do." | Source…
mronline.org/2019/12/23/sanders-report-s…
Five-day strike of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers ends
wsws.org | 2019-12-23
As planned by the union, the strike ended with no new contract proposal.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/23/kais…
British prisons plagued by ISIS-supporting extremists, who hold Sharia trials, groom inmates — report
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Islamist extremists interned in Britain's prisons preside over Sharia trials and prey on young Muslims in hopes of radicalizing them, the Times of London has reported. | A former prisoner at HMP Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, told the paper that he had been recruited by a group of inmates that pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). According to his account, the prison had its own self-appointed "emir," who oversa…
rt.com/uk/476635-uk-prison-islamic-extre…
'Baby Yoda vibes': Aussie firefighters warm hearts with VIRAL pics of rescued koalas
rt.com | 2019-12-23
Australia's east coast continues to be ravaged by the bushfires which have plagued the country for several weeks, but out of the doom and gloom have come some heartwarming photos of firefighters rescuing wildlife. | Offering a small glimmer of hope during the holiday season, professional and volunteer firefighters have been sharing images of their small, and often cute and furry triumphs, as they wrest adorable koalas from the blazing infernos which are consuming their habitats. | On Sunday, Eden Hills Country Fire Service shared this heartwarming image of a koala approaching one of their firefighters for help…
rt.com/news/476646-koala-firefighter-bus…
Trump, Brexit: Where's the Backlash?
John Feffer | counterpunch.org | 2019-12-23
I dutifully got a shot this winter to inoculate myself against four different flu viruses. By exposing myself to weakened strains of these diseases, and preemptively suffering some mild flu symptoms, I can ward off the more serious consequences of a full-on infection and do my part to help stop the further spread of these…
counterpunch.org/2019/12/23/trump-brexit…
Medical Opinion, Torture and Julian Assange
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-22
On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage …
globalresearch.ca/medical-opinion-torture-julian-assange/5698391
Doctors Prescribe More of a Drug if Big Pharma Pays Them To
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-22
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. | Doctors who receive money from drugmakers related to a specific drug prescribe that drug more heavily than doctors without such financial ties, a new ProPublica analysis found. The pattern is consistent for almost all of the most widely prescribed brand-name drugs in Medicare, including drugs that treat diabetes, asthma and more. | The financial interactions include payments for delivering promotional talk…
truthdig.com/articles/doctors-prescribe-…
The Health and Environmental Dangers of 5G Technology. A Lethal Multi-Trillion Dollar Operation
Claire Edwards | globalresearch.ca | 2019-12-22
Claire Edwards spoke with Philip about the dangers of 5G technology, and in fact of all rf/wireless/microwave technology. | Below is an excerpt of Claire Edwards's article titled 5G Cell Phone Radiation: How the Telecom Companies Are Losing the Battle to …
globalresearch.ca/the-health-and-environmental-dangers-of-5g-technology-a-lethal-multi-trillion-dollar-operation/5698398
'Both are venomous snakes': Surgeon who performed 1st lung transplant on terminally-ill vaper says it's as bad as cigs
rt.com | 2019-12-22
A teen athlete terminally ill from vaping has been saved with a double lung transplant, the first of the epidemic's victims to receive the procedure. The doctor who did the surgery tells RT that vaping is as deadly as smoking. | "Both of them are a type of venomous snake," Dr. Hassan Nemeh, surgical director of thoracic organ transplant at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit told RT. "I don't know if a snake is more venomous than the other — if a bite kills someone by a mamba or a cobra I'm not sure which is worse. I think both of them are bad for you, though." | Nemeh performed a life-saving double-lung tr…
rt.com/usa/476496-vaping-kills-lung-tran…
Medical Opinion, Torture, and Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-21
On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage covering his diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, the second dealing with his formal detention in …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/medical-opini…
Steelworkers sue Alcoa to keep retiree life insurance benefits
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-12-21
Washington, DC – The United Steelworkers (USW) filed a lawsuit, December 19, in the Southern District of Indiana to protest Alcoa USA Corporation's terminating life insurance benefits for approximately 8900 union-represented retirees. | Alcoa informed the retirees by letter on December 4 that it would eliminate life insurance coverage effective December 31, 2019. The company included with the letter a check equal to a fraction of the face value of their life insurance coverage and a federal 1099 tax form, since the payment would be taxable. | The lawsuit was filed as a class action, and three Alcoa retirees have…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/12/21/steelwo…
Buttigieg Leads 2020 Rivals in Wall Street Contributions
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-12-21
WASHINGTON — The financial sector, blamed by progressives for spawning the 2008 economic collapse, is lining up behind Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. | The mayor of South Bend, Ind., has collected more campaign cash from donors and political action committees tied to the financial, insurance and real estate sector than any other White House hopeful, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. | The $3.06 million in contributions compares to $2.8 million directed toward former Vice President Joe Biden and $2.03 million for Sen. Cory Booker, whose home state of New Jersey has st…
truthdig.com/articles/buttigieg-leads-20…
Friday's Daily Brief: Pope Francis, Lesotho, Iran, world corruption
news.un.org | 2019-12-20
Our top stories for Friday include: Pope Francis receives the UN chief in Rome, Lesotho famine threat, concern for jailed Iranian protestors, and strengthened global action to prevent corruption.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
Lesotho: Tens of thousands 'one step away from famine' as drought impacts harvests and UN launches flash appeal
news.un.org | 2019-12-20
Devastating drought in the southern African nation of Lesotho has left more than half a million people facing severe food shortages and tens of thousands "one step away from famine", UN humanitarians said on Friday, in an appeal for funds.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1…
The Police are Bad for Your Health
Michael Pappas | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-20
Police are bad for our health. It is up to all those who strive to improve societal well being to oppose the violence the institution of "law enforcement "continues to perpetrate on us all. APHA members rally in front of the conference center before the APHA vote on the policy statement (Image from Medium) I …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/the-police-ar…
Sanders, Warren keep class central to debate; raise opponents' reliance on billionaires
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-20
LOS ANGELES–It took an hour and a half for them to warm up and stop being too polite, but seven Democratic presidential hopefuls spent the last half of their Dec. 19 debate in Los Angeles mixing it up over campaign financing and health care, while one–Tom Steyer, the richest–made an unexpected (and unconvincing) bid for …
peoplesworld.org/article/sanders-warren-…
Schumer Revealed as Key Industry Ally in Defeat of Effort to Curb Surprise Billing
Eoin Higgins, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-12-20
It was one of a series of lobbying victories by the healthcare industry in 2019 bolstered by top Democrats. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/12/20/schumer…
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…
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…
'Like tobacco companies' : Coca Cola blasted for telling teens its soda is 'healthy lifestyle' choice in new study
rt.com | 2019-12-19
Internal emails from Coca Cola have shown the carbonated-beverage giant is trying to change the unhealthy image of their brand by specifically targeting active teenagers. | A new report from The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) is blasting the Atlanta-based corporation for advertising its sugary drinks to teenagers and trying to convince them that soda is part of a healthy lifestyle. | "The large number of children targeted and reached by Coke as part of their PR campaigns is a serious c…
rt.com/usa/476447-coca-cola-teens-advert…
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…
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…
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…
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…