(2020-01-08). $71 Million for More Cops; Not A Dime for Jobs and Healthcare. therealnews.com 
Operation Relentless Pursuit is a Department of Justice initiative to combat crime through a "surge in federal resources." We talked with Brandon Walker of the Ujima People's Progress Party about what's really needed to combat crime and empower neighborhoods in places like Baltimore, one of the seven cities targeted by the plan.
(2020-01-08). Nurses warn of burn-out in new strike over pay and recruitment. thecanary.co 
Thousands of "burned out" nurses have taken to picket lines in the north of Ireland as one-day strike action brings some health services to a standstill.An escalating row over pay and conditions in the under-pressure hospital system emptied treatment waiting rooms across the country.Politicians are trying to reach an agreement which would produce a funding boost for an NHS beset by long waiting lists for treatment and rancour over employee pay levels while struggling to fill some vacant posts.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) protest follows a similar walkout last month over salary rates that lag behind colleagu…
(2020-01-08). Netflix roasted for leading viewers astray with 'health misinformation' in Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop show. rt.com 
Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness brand Goop has secured its own show on Netflix and anti-pseudoscience crusaders are demanding its cancellation, insisting the doyenne of jade vaginal eggs is hurting people with health misinformation. | Paltrow's medical faddism "does real harm" by contributing to the "erosion of critical thinking," University of Alberta researcher Tim Caulfield tweeted on Monday after Netflix posted a teaser for the premiere of "The Goop Lab" later this month, setting off a firestorm of panic among a certain stripe of science enthusiast. The idea of an entire show devoted to whatever bizarre health…
(2020-01-08). Study: Medicare for All Could Save $600 Billion Annually on Bureaucratic Waste. truthout.org Insurers and healthcare providers in the United States spent a staggering $812 billion on paperwork and other administrative burdens in 2017 alone, bureaucratic costs that could be dramatically reduced by switching to a single-payer system like Medicare for All. | That's according to a study published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, which found that admin…
(2020-01-08). Trump EPA's Proposed "Secret Science" Rule Directly Threatens Children's Health. truthout.org The Trump administration is working to weaken U.S. environmental regulations in many areas, from water and air pollution to energy development and land conservation. One of its most controversial proposals is known as the " secret science" rule because it would require scientists to disc…
(2020-01-07). Cyprus gang rape claim teen heading home after judge gives her a 'second chance'. thecanary.co 
A British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus can return home after a judge said he was giving her a "second chance" and suspended her prison sentence.The 19-year-old woman hugged her family and legal team and left court weeping, with her head in her hands, after she was sentenced for public mischief.The teenager's mother shouted "she's coming home" to supporters outside Famagusta District Court, telling reporters she feels "relieved".Her lawyer Lewis Power QC said she will be returning home later on Tuesday but said her legal team would be challenging her conviction and was prepared t…
(2020-01-07). Some Pet Products Touted as CBD Don't Have Any. truthdig.com 
Companies have unleashed hundreds of CBD pet health products accompanied by glowing customer testimonials claiming the cannabis derivative produced calmer, quieter and pain-free dogs and cats. | But some of these products are all bark and no bite. | "You'd be astounded by the analysis we've seen of products on the shelf with virtually no CBD in them," said Cornell University veterinary researcher Joseph Wakshlag, who studies therapeutic uses for the compound. "Or products with 2 milligrams per milliliter, when an effective concentration would be between 25 and 75 milligrams per milliliter. There are plenty of fol…
(2020-01-07). 'Medicare for All' Would Help Heal the Income Gap. truthdig.com 
An overlooked aspect of the health care debate is how "Medicare for All" could reduce the income inequality that separates America's rich from the poor and middle class. | In the presidential campaign, attention has been focused on well-publicized, important questions of patient care: Will I lose my company- or union-sponsored health insurance? Will I have my choice of a doctor or be forced to wait for care from a narrow network of health providers, making a visit to a physician as harrowing as a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles? What about pre-existing conditions? Will rising deductibles and copays bedev…
(2020-01-07). Tuesday's Daily Brief: Syria, polio, DR Congo, Sudan updates, and – celebrating stolen art. news.un.org Tuesday's top stories include: A "daily nightmare" in Syria's Idlib; polio remains an international health emergency; Guterres extends condolences as Australia bushfires continue; measles in DR Congo; clashes in Darfur displace thousands; and a celebration of stolen art.
(2020-01-07). Health Care Paperwork Cost U.S. $812 Billion in 2017, Four Times More Per Capita Than in Canada. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2020-01-07). Spread of polio still an international public health concern. news.un.org The spread of polio internationally remains a global public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva have concluded.
(2020-01-07). Almost 900 'excess deaths' during 2019 heatwaves, official figures show. thecanary.co Almost 900 "excess deaths" are thought to have occurred during the heatwaves of summer 2019, official data shows. | There were an estimated 892 excess deaths in the over-65s over summer last year, Public Health England (PHE) said. | This is the number of deaths on top of those which were expected as per standard mortality rates. | Provisional data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last October indicated the number of deaths had spiked on the hottest day of the summer — 25 July. | Temperatures reached 38.7C (101.66F) in Cambridge, breaking the record for the highest temperature ever record…
(2020-01-07). More international support needed to curb deadly measles outbreak in DR Congo. news.un.org Countries are being asked to step up assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is facing the world's worst measles epidemic, with more than 6,000 deaths since the start of last year.
(2020-01-07). Study Shows Medicare for All Could Save US $600 Billion Annually on Paperwork and Other 'Useless Bureaucracy'. commondreams.org "Industry wants you to think universal healthcare is too expensive. In reality, it's our current system that's a wasteful, unsustainable disaster." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
(2020-01-06). Monday's Daily Brief: Geopolitical strife, Australia bushfires, Burkina Faso, Cambodia updates. news.un.org Monday's top stories include: UN chief's call for de-escalation in global tensions; UNICEF offers help as Australia bushfires continue to rage; condolences following Burkina Faso bus explosion; new shipping regulation to boost health of people and planet; and ILO responds to deadly Cambodia building collapse.
(2020-01-02). Investing in health workers yields 'triple dividend', WHO chief says in New Year's message. news.un.org At the start of the new year and new decade, the head of the United Nations health agency thanked "the brave health workers" around the globe and asked that the world do better in supporting them.
(2019-12-29). NUHW workers strike for better mental health care for their patients. liberationnews.org 
On Dec. 16, the National Union for Healthcare Workers began a week-long strike at Kaiser Permanente's Clairemont Mesa Blvd facility in San Diego, California.
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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…
(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 …