2020-02-24: News Headlines

Staff (2020-02-24). The U.S. Healthcare System Is a Case of Mass Malpractice. truthdig.com Profit-seeking monopolists are working overtime to defend our corporate-run system, but most of us know exactly what they're about by now.

George Wuerthner (2020-02-24). Trojan Horse Timber Sales on the Bitterroot. counterpunch.org The proposed Darby Lumber Timber Sale Phase Two on the Bitterroot National Forest is a Trojan Horse being implemented under the guise of "forest health" based on numerous false assumptions. The proposal displays the Forest Service's Industrial Forestry bias and its subterfuge of science. The timber sale is being litigated by the Friends of the

WSWS (2020-02-24). Cities quarantined in Italy, Iran, South Korea as coronavirus spreads globally. wsws.org Medical staff are racing to avert a deadly global pandemic, underscoring the need for a coordinated, international medical campaign to halt the spread of the disease.

Prof. Gregory D. Koblentz (2020-02-24). The Dangers of Synthetic Biology: A Biotech Firm Made a Smallpox-like Virus on purpose. Nobody Seems to Care. globalresearch.ca In 2017, the virologist David Evans made headlines when he used synthetic biology to recreate the extinct horsepox virus, which is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, a disease eradicated in 1980. Evans and his team, ordering the …

Gary D. Barnett (2020-02-24). The U.S. Is the World Leader of Bio-Weapons Research, Production, and Use Against Mankind. globalresearch.ca Those that prevent disease and expose virus creation are heroic, but those that create and purposely spread disease and virus are inhuman. Given the history of the United States government and its military industrial complex concerning biological and germ warfare, …

Diane Archer (2020-02-24). Here's What 22 Separate Studies Found: Medicare for All Would Cost Less Than the For-Profit Status Quo. commondreams.org Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during an event to introduce the Medicare for All Act of 2017 on Capitol Hill on Sept. 13, 2017. (Photo: Yuri Gripas/Reuters) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

yenisafak (2020-02-24). Iraq confirms first case of coronavirus. yenisafak.com Iraq on Monday confirmed the first case of the coronavirus in the country's Najaf city.Ridvan Kindi, the head of the Health Department in Najaf city in south of capital Baghdad, said an Iranian student has tested positive for the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.The student was immediately quarantined and necessary measures were taken, Kindi said.Earlier on Monday, Iran's state television announced that the death toll from the virus in the country rose to 12 with 47 confirmed cases.Turkey on Sunday temporarily closed its border with Iran and halted flights from Iran to prevent the spread of the virus.The…

yenisafak (2020-02-24). France plans new medical units to handle coronavirus. yenisafak.com France's Minister of Health Olivier Veran said Monday that plans would be put underway to activate 70 new urgent medical care facilities nationwide to handle possible outbreaks of the coronavirus.The announcement came after an emergency session with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and other government officials amid a surge in cases from the virus in neighboring Italy.The facilities, known as SAMUs, are used for medical care alongside university hospital centers.France was the first European country to report a case of coronavirus.The country's junior transport minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told local TV chann…

yenisafak (2020-02-24). Turkish Airlines cancels flights to four Iranian cities. yenisafak.com Turkish Airlines has cancelled its flights to four Iranian cities and decreased the frequency of flights to Tehran until Feb. 27, the company said on Monday.The company said it cancelled flights to Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz until that date. It also decreased the frequency of Tehran flights to two per day.Turkey has already closed its land border with Iran and halted incoming flights as a precaution to stop the potential spread of coronavirus, the health minister said on Sunday.

yenisafak (2020-02-24). China says more than 3,000 medical staff infected by coronavirus. yenisafak.com More than 3,000 medical staff in China have been infected by the new coronavirus that emerged in the country late last year, an official at China's National Health Commission said on Monday.Liang Wannian told reporters during a joint press briefing with the head of the World Health Organization delegation to China, Bruce Aylward, the infections have mostly occurred in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak that has killed nearly 2,600 to date in the mainland. The infections were likely due to the lack of protective gear and fatigue, he said.

yenisafak (2020-02-24). Turkish, Iranian FMs discuss COVID-19 over phone. yenisafak.com In a phone call, Javad Zarif expressed his condolences over the death of nine Turkish people from the 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the border region, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.On Sunday, Khoy in northwestern Iran was hit by two quakes, whose tremors were also felt in Turkey's Van province, according to Turkey's National Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).The duo also discussed the coronavirus outbreak, which has so far killed 12 people in Iran, with 47 confirmed cases, according to the Health Ministry.Turkey on Sunday temporarily closed…

sputniknews (2020-02-24). MP Says US Has 'Unhealthy Interest With Russian Borders' as Video Shows Warship Sailing to Black Sea. sputniknews.com On Sunday, the Russian Navy confirmed that it had picked up and was closely monitoring the USS Ross, a US Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer with Tomahawk cruise missile and AEGIS capability, as the warship headed north after entering the Black Sea.

sputniknews (2020-02-24). Iraq Reports First Coronavirus Case in Student From Iran. sputniknews.com BAGHDAD (Sputnik) – Iraq's Ministry of Health and Environment announced Monday the first case of coronavirus in the country which was detected in an Iranian student who had recently arrived from the neighbouring country.

Jim Hightower (2020-02-23). The Lie of Healthcare 'Choice'. commondreams.org Vicki Ibarra opens a late medical bill for her son at her home on Saturday, February 2, 2019 in Fresno, California. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

teleSUR (2020-02-23). Not a Single Country Working to Ensure Children's Future: Study. telesurenglish.net Not a single country on the planet is properly working to ensure safety, wellbeing, health and suitable environment for their children, a RELATED: | "Despite dramatic improvements in survival,…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-02-23). Trump Betrays His Promise to Protect and Fight for American Workers. zcomm.org Campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump promised that, if he was elected, "American worker[s] will finally have a president who will protect them and fight for them." Has he kept this promise? When it comes to protecting workers' health and safety, his administration has been a disaster. Once in office, Trump packed the

RT (2020-02-22). Bernie Sanders takes early lead in Nevada Caucus based on first preference polling. rt.com Early preference polling shows Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is a clear favorite for caucus-goers, though it is still too early to call a true victor in the race. | Entrance poll results from ABC, CBS and others show Bernie's frontrunner status in the race for the Democrat Party's presidential nomination could hold strong in the third major votes for the battling candidates. | CBS reports that six in 10 caucus goers interviewed by them support a government-run, single-payer health care system, a signature part of Sanders' campaign promises, as well as that of contender Elizabeth Warren, though she did not far…

Staff (2020-02-22). Grassroots Movements Fight for Gender Equity in Elections, Culture and Health. truthout.org Even before the #metoo movement trained the spotlight on gender inequity and its impact across the globe, there were organizations doing the hard work to address these at-times violent failings. | From closing the wage gap and protecting reproductive rights to ending gender-based sexual exploitation, the push to support and empower women and nonbinary people has Recent at…

Colin Todhunter (2020-02-22). Apocalypse Now! Insects, Pesticide and a Public Health Crisis. dissidentvoice.org In 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, produced a report that called for a comprehensive new global treaty to regulate and phase out the use of dangerous pesticides in farming and move towards sustainable agricultural practices. In addition to the devastating impacts …

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2020-02-22). Nevada Entrance Poll Shows 62% of Democratic Caucus-Goers Support Medicare for All. commondreams.org "It's fair to say Democratic leadership fails to understand how much everyday Americans hate their private healthcare coverage." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files…

RT (2020-02-21). 'Tremendous public health threat': CDC confirms 34 coronavirus cases in US, prepares for 'very possible, even likely' pandemic. rt.com The CDC has warned that transmission of the deadly Covid-19 virus in the US is "very possible, even likely" and said its current goal is not to prevent but to slow down its spread and "buy more time" for US communities to prepare.

Staff (2020-02-20). "Most Important Issue for Most People": Split on Healthcare Continues to Define 2020 Race. democracynow.org Healthcare continues to be a central issue of the Democratic nomination fight, with Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren repeating their calls for Medicare for All on the debate stage Wednesday night while their rivals proposed more incremental approaches. | We continue our roundtable discussion on Wednesday's Democratic debate in Nevada. Our guests are Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, America's oldest weekly magazine, and a columnist for WashingtonPost.com; journalist and activist Raquel Willis, executive editor of Out magazine, who has endorsed Senator Elizabeth War…

Staff (2020-02-20). Bernie Sanders Says "Will of the People" Should Decide Democratic Nomination, Not Party Insiders. democracynow.org As the primary season heads into the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, we unpack the ninth Democratic presidential debate in a roundtable on the tensions at work on the Las Vegas debate stage. Senator Bernie Sanders, currently the front-runner in the race, said the candidate with the most delegates should become the nominee; all his rivals on stage suggested they would be open to a brokered convention, with superdelegates and other party insiders potentially deciding the nomination. | We continue our discussion with Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation; Raquel Willis, journalist, activ…

Sophia Reuss (2020-02-20). The Problem With Canadian Health Care. thenation.com The Problem With Canadian Health Care…

Alan Macleod (2020-02-20). Study: Medicare for All Would Save 68,000 lives, Half a Trillion Dollars Per year. mintpressnews.com Under U.S. law, the government is barred from negotiating prices with drug companies, leading to a situation where American-made HIV medication sells for $8 in Australia and up to $2,000 in the US.

Staff (2020-02-19). Nevada Culinary Workers Union Member: I Would Trade My Union Healthcare for Medicare for All. democracynow.org The third presidential contest of the primary season takes place Saturday in Nevada. One of the state's most coveted endorsements is from the Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. Its membership is 54% Latinx. But last week they decided not to endorse any of the candidates. Nevada is a "right to work" state, and the Culinary Workers Union has attracted members by offering them healthcare. It has said it supports "choices" in healthcare. The mobilization of service employees could be critical to winning the Nevada caucuses.

Staff (2020-02-19). Yale Study Says Medicare for All Would Save U.S. $450 Billion, Prevent Nearly 70,000 Deaths a Year. democracynow.org As the Democratic presidential hopefuls prepare to take to the debate stage tonight, we turn to a central issue of the campaign: Medicare for All. In a new study, Yale scholars have found that Medicare for All will save Americans more than $450 billion and prevent 68,000 deaths every year. The study in The Lancet — one of the oldest and most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals — found that Medicare for All, supported by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, will save money and is more cost-effective than "Medicare for All Who Want It, "a model supported by Pete Buttigieg. Sanders referenced the…

John Perry (2020-02-19). While Nicaragua returns to peace, media and international NGOs conjure epidemic of violence with dubious reporting. thegrayzone.com Media bias against Nicaragua's Sandinista government is unremitting, and international NGOs are feeding it by misreporting a violent land dispute…

news.un (2020-02-19). Millions of children and families in Niger struggle as humanitarian needs mount — UNICEF. news.un.org Malnutrition, disease, floods, droughts and displacement in Niger have put nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF said on Wednesday, calling for increased attention to their plight.

news.un (2020-02-19). At Stockholm road safety summit, UN officials join global call to end 'scourge' of preventable deaths. news.un.org Road traffic accidents take some 1.35 million lives every year and cost most countries three per cent of their gross domestic product, the top UN health official said on Wednesday as the Third Global Ministerial Conference On Road Safety kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden.

news.un (2020-02-19). 'Not a single country' does enough to help children flourish, say health experts. news.un.org The world's survival depends on children being able to flourish, but no country is doing enough to give them a sustainable future, dozens of highly respected international health experts said on Wednesday.

Staff (2020-02-19). Headlines for February 19, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Falsely Claims He Is "Chief Law Enforcement Officer" of U.S., Trump Issues Clemency to White-Collar Criminals and Political Allies, Democratic Presidential Candidates to Take Debate Stage in Nevada, Resurfaced Video Shows Bloomberg Calling for Cuts to Medicare and Social Security, Death Toll from Coronavirus Surpasses 2,000 People, Afghanistan: Ashraf Ghani Declared Winner of Presidential Election, U.N.: 22 Killed, Including 14 Children, in Massacre in Cameroon, Somali Broadcast Journalist Abdiwali Ali Hassan Assassinated, North Carolina Court Temporarily Blocks Discriminatory Voter ID Laws…

Kate Oh (2020-02-18). ICE's Destruction of Records Must Be Stopped. aclu.org Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is | notorious for committing rampant unconstitutional and inhumane abuses in its | detention system — something advocates, communities, and years. Public oversight of ICE detention is about to become even harder, | further eroding accountability and endangering the health and safety of more than | 50,000 people in ICE custody every day. That's because the National Archives | and R…

news.un (2020-02-18). Polio eradication a UN priority, says Guterres in Pakistan visit. news.un.org In one of the last bastions of polio on the planet, millions of children are being given a fighting chance against the paralyzing and potentially fatal disease.