Daily Archives: December 23, 2019

2019-12-23: News Headlines

Jake Johnston (2019-12-23). Sanders report shows how Millennial generation is 'being punished with crushing student debt and low-paying jobs'. mronline.org "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

WSWS (2019-12-23). Five-day strike of Kaiser Permanente mental health workers ends. wsws.org As planned by the union, the strike ended with no new contract proposal.

WSWS (2019-12-23). Australia: Toxic air from bushfires rated a "public health emergency" wsws.org Health professionals have called on governments to take action amid record levels of bushfire haze in towns and cities.

Colin Todhunter (2019-12-23). The Right to Healthy Food: Poisoned with Pesticides. dissidentvoice.org 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 …

RT (2019-12-23). British prisons plagued by ISIS-supporting extremists, who hold Sharia trials, groom inmates — report. rt.com 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 (2019-12-23). 'Baby Yoda vibes': Aussie firefighters warm hearts with VIRAL pics of rescued koalas. rt.com 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…

John Feffer (2019-12-23). Trump, Brexit: Where's the Backlash? counterpunch.org 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 More

Dr. Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-22). Medical Opinion, Torture and Julian Assange. globalresearch.ca 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 …

Staff (2019-12-22). Doctors Prescribe More of a Drug if Big Pharma Pays Them To. truthdig.com 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…

Claire Edwards (2019-12-22). The Health and Environmental Dangers of 5G Technology. A Lethal Multi-Trillion Dollar Operation. globalresearch.ca 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

RT (2019-12-22). 'Both are venomous snakes': Surgeon who performed 1st lung transplant on terminally-ill vaper says it's as bad as cigs. rt.com 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…

Binoy Kampmark (2019-12-21). Medical Opinion, Torture, and Julian Assange. dissidentvoice.org 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 …

Staff (2019-12-21). Buttigieg Leads 2020 Rivals in Wall Street Contributions. truthdig.com 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…

Fight Back (2019-12-21). Steelworkers sue Alcoa to keep retiree life insurance benefits. fightbacknews.org 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…

Mark Gruenberg (2019-12-20). Sanders, Warren keep class central to debate; raise opponents' reliance on billionaires. peoplesworld.org 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 …

news.un (2019-12-20). Friday's Daily Brief: Pope Francis, Lesotho, Iran, world corruption. news.un.org 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 (2019-12-20). Lesotho: Tens of thousands 'one step away from famine' as drought impacts harvests and UN launches flash appeal. news.un.org 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.

Eoin Higgins, staff writer (2019-12-20). Schumer Revealed as Key Industry Ally in Defeat of Effort to Curb Surprise Billing. commondreams.org 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…

Staff (2019-12-19). Headlines for December 19, 2019. democracynow.org President Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power & Obstruction of Congress, Trump Slams FBI, Democrats & Impeachment at Battle Creek Rally, McConnell Pushes Through 11 Federal Judge Nominations, DOJ Inspector General Testifies About FBI's Carter Page Surveillance, 7 Democratic Presidential Candidates to Take to Debate Stage in L.A. Tonight, Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Part of Affordable Care Act, Australia Protesters Pitch Tents Outside PM House over Climate Crisis, Report: U.N. Peacekeepers Fathered & Abandoned Hundreds of Children in Haiti, DRC: Families Sue Apple, Google, Microsoft over Children's Deaths in…

news.un (2019-12-19). Thursday's Daily Brief: tobacco burn-out, cholera cases down, 'shifting the needle' on climate. news.un.org 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 (2019-12-19). World Health Organization reports 60 per cent drop in cholera in 2018. news.un.org 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.

RT (2019-12-19). 'Like tobacco companies' : Coca Cola blasted for telling teens its soda is 'healthy lifestyle' choice in new study. rt.com 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…

Melissa Grant (2019-12-18). A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court. aclu.org 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…

news.un (2019-12-18). Low cost breast cancer medicine move good news for women: UN health agency. news.un.org 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 (2019-12-18). UN health agency signals tobacco might be reaching burn-out among men. news.un.org 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.

Fight Back (2019-12-17). Wisconsin: Medicaid to cover gender-confirming medical procedures. fightbacknews.org 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…

Nick Goodell (2019-12-12). Teaching assistants in Decatur, Il. struggle for better healthcare. liberationnews.org "DFTA all the way!"

Martin Fleck (2019-12-09). On Human Rights Day, Let's Abolish Nuclear Weapons. progressive.org 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.

Liberation staff (2019-12-04). Bronx speakout demands closure of fake abortion clinic. liberationnews.org Dozens stopped to listen and speak with the protesters about reproductive justice and the need for affordable public healthcare.

Matt Bruenig (2019-11-17). Warren's Head Tax Is Not More Popular Than A Payroll Tax. peoplespolicyproject.org As we know by now, Elizabeth Warren's Medicare head tax proposal is a regressive mess ( I, II, III, IV). Warren's team knows this. The goal of the proposal i…

Matt Bruenig (2019-11-17). CAP's Topher Spiro Is Trying to Deceive Journalists By Lying. peoplespolicyproject.org It's been fun to see how the Center for American Progress (CAP) navigates this year's presidential election. For insider political reasons, they can't support Biden or Sanders. But for a long time, it was unclear who the alternative candidate they could support would be. | When Kamala Harris was rising, CAP's staff was doing overtime boosting her on Twitter and in the press, including boosting Harris's absurd health care proposal. But Harris's collapse put an end to that strategy. Recently Warren has risen as the alternative and so CAP has been working to promote her campaign, which puts CAP in the comical positi…

Matt Bruenig (2019-11-03). Warren's Medicare Head Tax Would Be About $9,500. peoplespolicyproject.org On Friday, I wrote a piece arguing that Elizabeth Warren's use of an employer head tax was not a good way to fund Medicare for All and that instead the more conventional choices of income and payroll taxes would be better. The reason they are better is because income and payroll taxes are based on how much income you receive while a head tax charges the same dollar amount for every worker regardless of their income, making it much more onerous on the lower and middle classes. | This point holds…

Matt Bruenig (2019-11-02). What Is a Middle Class Tax Hike? Am I Losing My Mind? peoplespolicyproject.org I have been swimming in the Medicare for All waters for over a decade now, going back to when I worked on the Ralph Nader presidential campaign that made Medicare for All its number one issue. And during this time, I developed a specific understanding of what we might call the M4A Financing Problem. | The Problem: | The M4A Financing Problem, in simple terms, is that even if you bring in existing federal spending on health care, existing state spending on health care, and a bunch of new rich-people taxes, you still fall short of financing the program. Thus to actually complete the financing, you have to u…

Matt Bruenig (2019-11-01). Warren's Perpetual Medicare Head Tax Is Unworkable and Bad. peoplespolicyproject.org Elizabeth Warren released her Medicare for All financing plan today. The main purpose of the proposal appears to be to find a plan that you can message as "not increasing middle class taxes," which is of course a nonsensical goal insofar, as Warren herself has said, what matters is middle class health care costs, not whether you categorize those costs as premiums, taxes, or out-of-pocket expenses. | Nonetheless, bowing to the stupid media discourse on this, Warren put forward a financing pro…

John Pilger (2019-10-24). Julian Assange's Extradition Case is a Show Trial. zcomm.org Interview on the lack of mainstream media coverage of Julian's persecution, his health and conditions in Belmarsh prison, CIA spying on Julian Assange and more…

Bernie Sanders (2019-10-15). We Will Make History. zcomm.org Sanders rededicates himself to the struggle to the struggle to guarantee health care for all, make public colleges and universities, tuition free cancel student debt, and deal with climate change, criminal justice reform and immigration reform…

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 …

2019-12-23: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

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…