Daily Archives: September 12, 2019

2019-09-12: News Headlines

Miles Mogulescu (2019-09-12). Can Debate Moderators Stop Parroting GOP Talking Points? commondreams.org The rest of the mainstream media, which can often be lazy, has adopted this framing of abolishing private insurance or not as the biggest issue when it comes to healthcare. It only scares voters for no reason, and helps Trump's reelection chances. (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jake Johnson (2019-09-12). Healthcare ad spending exceeds $65 million in 2019 as insurance industry ramps up effort to kill medicare for all. nationofchange.org An Axios analysis released Wednesday found that spending on healthcare advertisements has exceeded $65 million in 2019 as dark money organizations, the insurance industry, and Big Pharma ramp up their campaigns against Medicare for All and other proposed reforms. "More than half of all issue advertising this year has been on healthcare," according to Axios, "and that spending will …

Charles Pierson (2019-09-12). Yemen Continues Its Descent into Hell. counterpunch.org The UN has called Yemen the "world's worst humanitarian crisis." Yemen relies on imports for 75% of its food. A coalition land, sea, and air blockade on Yemen has cut off desperately needed food and medicines. An outbreak of cholera affects half a million people. International aid group Save the Children has determined that as many as 85,000 children may have died from starvation and disease. More

United Nations (2019-09-12). Thursday's Daily Brief: Religious site protection, South-South Cooperation, 'UNComplicated' airs, West Bank threat, vaccination, Hong Kong update. un.org A recap of Thursday's top stories: UN Chief's global call to safeguard religious sites; South-South Cooperation 'accelerates' towards SDGs; Guterres on West Bank annexation threat; WHO says one in 10 children not getting proper vaccines; Protestor protection call over Hong Kong; New 'UNComplicated' podcast launches.

Sasha Abramsky (2019-09-12). Child Abuse as Official Government Policy. thenation.com Child Abuse as Official Government Policy…

Staff (2019-09-12). Equity Firms and Venture Capitalists Lobby to Save Surprise Medical Bills. truthout.org | | As proposals to ban surprise medical bills move through Congress and state legislatures with rare bipartisan support, physician groups have emerged as the loudest opponents. | Often led by doctors with the veneer of noble concern for patients, physician-staffing firms — third-party companies that employ doctors and assign them out to health care facilities — have opposed efforts to limit the practice known as balance billing. They claim such bans would rob doctors of their lev…

The Canary (2019-09-12). Banning flavoured vaping products 'would drive smokers back to cigarettes'. thecanary.co Banning flavoured vaping products in the UK would drive people back to smoking, Public Health England (PHE) has said. | Responding to US president Donald Trump's plan to axe flavourings due to concerns about youths taking up e-cigarettes, PHE said the flavours helped smokers switch from more dangerous tobacco. | Martin Dockrell, head of tobacco control at PHE, said it plans to publish a comprehensive evidence review on the safety of e-cigarettes early next year. | Smoking kills thousands every year & creating a smokefree generation is one of our top priorities. Vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking and make…

Roger Bybee (2019-09-12). The Insurance Industry's War of Words Against Medicare-for-All. progressive.org Why are we seeing all the hand-wringing about "losing" private insurance when so many people's experiences with it are so negative?

Staff (2019-09-12). Another Flint? Newark, NJ, Faces Public Health Crisis over Lead Contamination in City's Water Supply. democracynow.org Thousands of residents in Newark, New Jersey, remain unable to drink their tap water in an enduring public health nightmare. Lead contamination has plagued the city for years, but lead levels have spiked even higher in 2019. The crisis recently came to a head following revelations that water filters distributed to residents may not have been effective. New Jersey's political leaders are facing mounting criticism for their handling of the water crisis. Advocates say the city downplayed the severity of the problem for years and has been slow on solutions, comparing Newark's water crisis to Flint, Michigan. We speak…

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-09-12). Industry Coalition Launches Seven-Figure Ad Blitz to Flood Democratic Debate With Attacks on Medicare for All. commondreams.org David Sirota, speechwriter for Sen. Bernie Sanders's campaign, said the ad blitz is an attempt by healthcare industry lobbyists "to buy tonight's Democratic debate—as part of their campaign to buy the 2020 election." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2019-09-12). Trump Rollback of Key EPA Water Protection Rule Denounced as 'Callous' and 'Immoral' Giveaway to Big Polluters. commondreams.org Environmental and public health advocates blasted the Trump administration Thursday for finalizing its rollback of an Obama-era regulation designed to curb the pollution of waterways nationwide. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

Staff (2019-09-11). "Flim Flam" Biofuels Company Wants to Buy the Largest East Coast Oil Refinery. therealnews.com SG Preston is seeking to buy Philadelphia Energy Solutions, which has gone bankrupt and laid off its workers without severance pay or health care. It has never opened a facility, with a history of bilking those it owes money.

RT (2019-09-11). Trump's explosive vape ban sees MAGA voters & liberals fume in rare moment of unity. rt.com In a move guaranteed to anger both his opponents and his libertarian supporters, President Donald Trump announced plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The MAGA crowd responded: come and take it. | Appearing in the Oval Office on Wednesday, flanked by First Lady Melania and a pair of HHS and FDA officials, Trump described vaping as a problem, and said "we're going to have to do something about it." Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar later revealed that a plan to "clear flavored e-cigarettes from the market" would be forthcoming. | A handful of Democrat-governed states have already moved to…

Staff (2019-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Ousts National Security Adviser John Bolton, Palestinians Say Annexation of West Bank Would Be "Paramount to a War Crime", Scottish Court Declares Johnson's Suspension of Parliament Ahead of Brexit "Unlawful", Japan Warns Radioactive Water from Fukushima to Be Dumped into Pacific Ocean, Republicans Win Two Special Congressional Elections in North Carolina, Study: 1,700 Polling Places Have Closed Since Gutting of Voting Rights Act, California Votes to Force Gig Companies to Treat Contract Workers Like Employees, Number of Uninsured Americans Jumps to 27.5 Million, CDC Warns Against Vaping Use as Sixth User D…

United Nations (2019-09-10). UN health agency spotlights stalled effort to close health divide across Europe, in new report. un.org Progress on equal access to a healthy life for all, is at a standstill across Europe, a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed on Tuesday, despite their being a clear path to close gaps in national care.

Alice Pettway (2019-09-10). Planned Parenthood Has an App for That. progressive.org Health provider counters funding setbacks by expanding access to new technologies.

Colin Todhunter (2019-09-10). Officials Ignore Pesticides and Blame Alcohol and Biscuits for Rising Rates of Disease. dissidentvoice.org The information below and the quotes were taken from the 12-page report that accompanied Rosemary Mason's recent open letter to the Chief Medical Officer to England, Sally Davies. It can be accessed here. ***** Campaigner and environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has written an open letter to the Chief Medical Officer of England, Sally Davies. In …

Joshua Cho (2019-09-09). As Biden Invokes Dead Family Members Against Medicare for All, Media Play Along. fair.org by Joshua Cho | Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden last month released a new Iowa TV ad called " Personal," which recounts the former vice president's personal tragedy of losing his wife and daughter to a car crash, and the subsequent loss of his son Beau Biden from brain cancer. | Biden presented his story as a celebration of for-profit health insurance by saying that he "couldn't imagine" what it would've been like if their insurance didn't cover the healthcare required "immediately," and that…

United Nations (2019-09-09). Monday's Daily Brief: Suicide death every 40 seconds, rights chief on climate change link, Venezuela, Dorian updates, desertification summit latest. un.org A recap of Monday's top stories: Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds says new report; UN rights chief highlights climate change threat, and "devastating toll" on Venezuela; deputy chief Amina Mohammed says halting desertification is a key part of climate action; health agency pledges millions to Hurricane Dorian response.

United Nations (2019-09-09). One person dies by suicide every 40 seconds: new UN health agency report. un.org Despite progress in national prevention strategies, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Director-General lamented on Monday, highlighting key findings of the agency's latest report on global suicide estimates.

United Nations (2019-09-09). Nuclear testing has 'disastrous consequences' for people and planet, General Assembly told. un.org Events commemorating the recent International Day against Nuclear Tests serve as an "important and stark reminder…of the disastrous consequences of nuclear testing on human health and the environment", a top UN official told the General Assembly on Monday.

Chakib Mouazoui (2019-09-05). California health-care workers prepare to strike at Kaiser. liberationnews.org On Labor Day, Sept. 2, around 2,200 people, comprised of health-care workers, union organizers, and allies, gathered at Los Angeles City College to demonstrate their readiness to strike.

Hatewatch Staff (2019-09-05). Three Percent Security Force's Split Highlights Plague of Infighting. splcenter.org The incessant power struggles that plague militia groups prompted defections in the Three Percent Security Force, robbed its leader of control and delivered the well-known antigovernment militia to the man who defied his commander.

Mitch Malloy (2019-09-01). Kennewick teachers' strike shows power of the union in Washington state. liberationnews.org Teachers win gains on important issues including pay and insurance.

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-08-31). Cuba: U.S. government earmarks millions to hinder Cuban medical cooperation. liberationnews.org Access to health is a human right and the United States commits a crime by denying it or obstructing it with political motives or aggression.

Ricardo Vaz (2019-07-30). Venezuela: Six Chavista Militants Killed in Fresh Rural Violence. venezuelanalysis.com Landowner violence continues to plague the Venezuelan countryside.

Paul Kawika Martin (2019-06-19). House Casts Historic Vote to Repeal Authorization for Endless War. peaceaction.org Washington, D.C. — June 19, 2019 — In response to the House of Representatives passing H.R. 2740 (Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020), which includes language to repeal the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) eight months after …

2019-09-12: Social Media Postees

Thursday's Daily Brief: Religious site protection, South-South Cooperation, 'UNComplicated' airs, West Bank threat, vaccination, Hong Kong update
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-12
A recap of Thursday's top stories: UN Chief's global call to safeguard religious sites; South-South Cooperation 'accelerates' towards SDGs; Guterres on West Bank annexation threat; WHO says one in 10 children not getting proper vaccines; Protestor protection call over Hong Kong; New 'UNComplicated' podcast launches.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1…

Banning flavoured vaping products 'would drive smokers back to cigarettes'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-09-12
Banning flavoured vaping products in the UK would drive people back to smoking, Public Health England (PHE) has said. | Responding to US president Donald Trump's plan to axe flavourings due to concerns about youths taking up e-cigarettes, PHE said the flavours helped smokers switch from more dangerous tobacco. | Martin Dockrell, head of tobacco control at PHE, said it plans to publish a comprehensive evidence review on the safety of e-cigarettes early next year. | Smoking kills thousands every year & creating a smokefree generation is one of our top priorities. Vaping is a fraction of the risk of smoking and make…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/09/12/banning-flavoured-vaping-products-would-drive-smokers-back-to-cigarettes/

Can Debate Moderators Stop Parroting GOP Talking Points?
Miles Mogulescu | commondreams.org | 2019-09-12
The rest of the mainstream media, which can often be lazy, has adopted this framing of abolishing private insurance or not as the biggest issue when it comes to healthcare. It only scares voters for no reason, and helps Trump's reelection chances. (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/views/2019/09/12/can-de…

Child Abuse as Official Government Policy
Sasha Abramsky | thenation.com | 2019-09-12
Child Abuse as Official Government Policy…
thenation.com/article/supreme-court-asyl…

Equity Firms and Venture Capitalists Lobby to Save Surprise Medical Bills
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-09-12
| As proposals to ban surprise medical bills move through Congress and state legislatures with rare bipartisan support, physician groups have emerged as the loudest opponents. | Often led by doctors with the veneer of noble concern for patients, physician-staffing firms — third-party companies that employ doctors and assign them out to health care facilities — have opposed efforts to limit the practice known as balance billing. They claim such bans would rob doctors of their lev…
truthout.org/articles/equity-firms-and-v…

Healthcare ad spending exceeds $65 million in 2019 as insurance industry ramps up effort to kill medicare for all
Jake Johnson | nationofchange.org | 2019-09-12
An Axios analysis released Wednesday found that spending on healthcare advertisements has exceeded $65 million in 2019 as dark money organizations, the insurance industry, and Big Pharma ramp up their campaigns against Medicare for All and other proposed reforms. "More than half of all issue advertising this year has been on healthcare," according to Axios, "and that spending will …
nationofchange.org/2019/09/12/healthcare…

The Insurance Industry's War of Words Against Medicare-for-All
Roger Bybee | progressive.org | 2019-09-12
Why are we seeing all the hand-wringing about "losing" private insurance when so many people's experiences with it are so negative?
progressive.org/dispatches/insurance-war…

Yemen Continues Its Descent into Hell
Charles Pierson | counterpunch.org | 2019-09-12
The UN has called Yemen the "world's worst humanitarian crisis." Yemen relies on imports for 75% of its food. A coalition land, sea, and air blockade on Yemen has cut off desperately needed food and medicines. An outbreak of cholera affects half a million people. International aid group Save the Children has determined that as many as 85,000 children may have died from starvation and disease.
counterpunch.org/2019/09/12/yemen-contin…

Another Flint? Newark, NJ, Faces Public Health Crisis over Lead Contamination in City's Water Supply
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-09-12
Thousands of residents in Newark, New Jersey, remain unable to drink their tap water in an enduring public health nightmare. Lead contamination has plagued the city for years, but lead levels have spiked even higher in 2019. The crisis recently came to a head following revelations that water filters distributed to residents may not have been effective. New Jersey's political leaders are facing mounting criticism for their handling of the water crisis. Advocates say the city downplayed the severity of the problem for years and has been slow on solutions, comparing Newark's water crisis to Flint, Michigan. We speak…
www.democracynow.org/2019/9/12/newark_ne…

Industry Coalition Launches Seven-Figure Ad Blitz to Flood Democratic Debate With Attacks on Medicare for All
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-09-12
David Sirota, speechwriter for Sen. Bernie Sanders's campaign, said the ad blitz is an attempt by healthcare industry lobbyists "to buy tonight's Democratic debate—as part of their campaign to buy the 2020 election." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/09/12/industr…

Trump Rollback of Key EPA Water Protection Rule Denounced as 'Callous' and 'Immoral' Giveaway to Big Polluters
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-09-12
Environmental and public health advocates blasted the Trump administration Thursday for finalizing its rollback of an Obama-era regulation designed to curb the pollution of waterways nationwide. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…
commondreams.org/news/2019/09/12/trump-r…

Trump's explosive vape ban sees MAGA voters & liberals fume in rare moment of unity
rt.com | 2019-09-11
In a move guaranteed to anger both his opponents and his libertarian supporters, President Donald Trump announced plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The MAGA crowd responded: come and take it. | Appearing in the Oval Office on Wednesday, flanked by First Lady Melania and a pair of HHS and FDA officials, Trump described vaping as a problem, and said "we're going to have to do something about it." Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar later revealed that a plan to "clear flavored e-cigarettes from the market" would be forthcoming. | A handful of Democrat-governed states have already moved to…
rt.com/usa/468619-trump-ban-flavored-vap…

"Flim Flam" Biofuels Company Wants to Buy the Largest East Coast Oil Refinery
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-09-11
SG Preston is seeking to buy Philadelphia Energy Solutions, which has gone bankrupt and laid off its workers without severance pay or health care. It has never opened a facility, with a history of bilking those it owes money.
therealnews.com/columns/flim-flam-biofue…

UN health agency spotlights stalled effort to close health divide across Europe, in new report
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-10
Progress on equal access to a healthy life for all, is at a standstill across Europe, a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed on Tuesday, despite their being a clear path to close gaps in national care.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1…

Planned Parenthood Has an App for That
Alice Pettway | progressive.org | 2019-09-10
Health provider counters funding setbacks by expanding access to new technologies.
progressive.org/dispatches/planned-paren…

Officials Ignore Pesticides and Blame Alcohol and Biscuits for Rising Rates of Disease
Colin Todhunter | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-09-10
The information below and the quotes were taken from the 12-page report that accompanied Rosemary Mason's recent open letter to the Chief Medical Officer to England, Sally Davies. It can be accessed here. ***** Campaigner and environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has written an open letter to the Chief Medical Officer of England, Sally Davies. In …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/09/officials-ign…

Monday's Daily Brief: Suicide death every 40 seconds, rights chief on climate change link, Venezuela, Dorian updates, desertification summit latest
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-09
A recap of Monday's top stories: Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds says new report; UN rights chief highlights climate change threat, and "devastating toll" on Venezuela; deputy chief Amina Mohammed says halting desertification is a key part of climate action; health agency pledges millions to Hurricane Dorian response.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1…

As Biden Invokes Dead Family Members Against Medicare for All, Media Play Along
Joshua Cho | fair.org | 2019-09-09
by Joshua Cho | Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden last month released a new Iowa TV ad called " Personal," which recounts the former vice president's personal tragedy of losing his wife and daughter to a car crash, and the subsequent loss of his son Beau Biden from brain cancer. | Biden presented his story as a celebration of for-profit health insurance by saying that he "couldn't imagine" what it would've been like if their insurance didn't cover the healthcare required "immediately," and that…
fair.org/home/as-biden-invokes-dead-fami…

Nuclear testing has 'disastrous consequences' for people and planet, General Assembly told
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-09
Events commemorating the recent International Day against Nuclear Tests serve as an "important and stark reminder…of the disastrous consequences of nuclear testing on human health and the environment", a top UN official told the General Assembly on Monday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1…

One person dies by suicide every 40 seconds: new UN health agency report
United Nations | un.org | 2019-09-09
Despite progress in national prevention strategies, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Director-General lamented on Monday, highlighting key findings of the agency's latest report on global suicide estimates.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/09/1…

Three Percent Security Force's Split Highlights Plague of Infighting
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-09-05
The incessant power struggles that plague militia groups prompted defections in the Three Percent Security Force, robbed its leader of control and delivered the well-known antigovernment militia to the man who defied his commander.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/09/06/three…

California health-care workers prepare to strike at Kaiser
Chakib Mouazoui | liberationnews.org | 2019-09-05
On Labor Day, Sept. 2, around 2,200 people, comprised of health-care workers, union organizers, and allies, gathered at Los Angeles City College to demonstrate their readiness to strike.
liberationnews.org/california-health-car…

Kennewick teachers' strike shows power of the union in Washington state
Mitch Malloy | liberationnews.org | 2019-09-01
Teachers win gains on important issues including pay and insurance.
liberationnews.org/kennewick-teachers-st…

Cuba: U.S. government earmarks millions to hinder Cuban medical cooperation
Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs | liberationnews.org | 2019-08-31
Access to health is a human right and the United States commits a crime by denying it or obstructing it with political motives or aggression.
liberationnews.org/cuba-u-s-government-e…