Why Aren't People in the US Rising Up Like Those Elsewhere in the World?
Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J S Davies | commondreams.org | 2019-11-14
Demonstrators wave flags as they take part during the day of cultural activities 'El Derecho a Vivir en Paz' called by 'Movimiento Unidad Social' at Plaza O'Higgins on October 27, 2019 in Santiago, Chile. Unidad Social, an organization conformed by various social groups, has called society to be part of cultural activities in defence of human rights and against abuses, under the slogan #NoMasAbusos (No more abuses) people demand Sebastian Pi√±era's Government attention to issues such as health care, pension system, privatization of water, public transport, education, social mobili…
commondreams.org/views/2019/11/14/why-ar…
CDC raises alarm over surge of drug-resistant superbugs infecting 3 million Americans annually & killing 4 people every hour
rt.com | 2019-11-14
Resilient "superbug" pathogens are seeing a boom in the United States, with lethal infections on the rise even as health officials take "aggressive" steps to rein them in, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said in a new report. | In its latest "Antibiotic Resistance Threats" assessment, the CDC found an alarming rise in drug-resilient infections, surging from 2 to nearly 3 million per year since its last report in 2013. Those infections now kill 35,000 people each year, adding 12,000 annual fatalities to the…
rt.com/usa/473381-drug-resistant-superbu…
Zero new confirmed cholera cases in Haiti for nine months: UN envoy
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-14
Although Haiti is in the "homestretch" of defeating a cholera outbreak first declared nine years ago, the battle is far from over before the country is free of the deadly disease.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
Bernie introduces tax excessive CEO pay act
Andrew Emett | nationofchange.org | 2019-11-14
"Corporate greed is a disease that has long inflicted this country — income inequality and the pay gap between CEOs and their employees are just two of its symptoms that are harming everyday people."
nationofchange.org/2019/11/14/bernie-int…
UN mosquito sterilization technology set for global testing, in battle against malaria, dengue
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-14
With more than half the world now at risk from mosquito-transmitted dengue fever, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN has taken the lead on a global effort to eradicate the disease — and many others — by measuring the impact of releasing millions of sterilized pests across several continents, it announced on Thursday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
To Confront Climate Change Humanity Needs Socialism
W. T. Whitney | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-14
Humans may not survive. Reports from the UN's Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change provoke images of land masses drowning, fleeing populations, starvation, terrible droughts, terrible storms, migrating diseases, new deserts, and intolerable heat. It's an "ecological Armageddon," says one expert. We hear about "the sixth extinction," the geologic epoch that is our own. It's called…
counterpunch.org/2019/11/14/to-confront-…
'The captain is well, very well': Cristiano Ronaldo 'very fit' despite Juventus saying he's nursing knee injury
rt.com | 2019-11-14
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has issued an assurance regarding his health ahead of a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier amid reports that Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri has withdrawn him from recent games due to knee trouble. | Ronaldo was substituted during each of Juventus' last two games, with the player appearing unable to disguise his displeasure with his coach's decision during Sunday's 1-0 win against Milan. | Reports suggest that such was Ronaldo's unhappiness with the call that he disregarded convention and exited the stadium prior to the end of the game, a move which reportedly angered the club's hierar…
rt.com/sport/473484-cristiano-ronaldo-sa…
Bloomberg and his fellow oligarchs lay down the law: Not a penny more in taxes
wsws.org | 2019-11-14
The American financial oligarchy is indignant over any possibility of having to give up a part of their fortune to pay for things such as health care, education, housing and a livable environment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/11/14/pers…
As Superbugs Infect Millions and Kill Tens of Thousands Each Year, CDC Chief Warns Post-Antibiotic Era 'Already Here'
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-11-14
Bolstering concerns about the "continuing threat" that so-called superbugs pose to human health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Wednesday that found antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States alone each year. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/11/14/superbu…
New Global Health and Climate Crisis Report Warns of Future 'Where a Child Has to Fight Simply to Survive'
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-11-14
A report published Wednesday in medical journal The Lancet warns that the human-caused climate crisis is already disproportionately affecting children worldwide and "will define the health profile of current and future generations" if left unabated. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files… …
commondreams.org/news/2019/11/14/new-glo…
Revealed: danger and squalor for cleaners who remove human waste by hand
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-13
The plight of sanitation workers in the developing world should be addressed urgently, the UN said on Thursday, warning that their rights, health and dignity are at risk.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
UN leads bid for cheaper insulin, expanding access for diabetics worldwide
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-13
Overly expensive insulin could be a thing of the past — and life-changing news — for millions of diabetics under a plan launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday to diversify production globally, just ahead of World Diabetes Day.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
Google wades into banking even as it faces new federal probe into shady medical data collection
rt.com | 2019-11-13
Google wants you to trust it with your money, even as its latest privacy scandal, where millions of Americans' medical records were covertly slurped up to power a secret AI project, has triggered another federal investigation. | Google is rolling out a consumer finance division, currently codenamed Cache, in partnership with Citigroup and a Stanford University credit union, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Wednesday. The search behemoth will begin offering checking accounts to customers next year, muscling into yet another market, despite a mounting stack of federal investigations targeting potential antitr…
rt.com/usa/473346-google-finance-health-…
As Israel Pounds The Gaza Strip, Death Toll Reaches 32
telesurenglish.net | 2019-11-13
Israel has been heavily bombing the besieged Gaza Strip Wednesday for the second day in the most violent onslaught in months. The death toll from the air campaign increased to 32 Palestinians, including three minors; while at least 70 others including 30 children were wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. | RELATED: | Israeli Soldier Who Killed Palestinian Teen Gets 1-Month Sentence | In the eastern part of the enclave, Ayyad, a 54-year-old farmer, and Amir, 8,…
telesurenglish.net/news/As-Israel-Pounds…
Montana's Radioactive Waste Legacy
George Ochenski | counterpunch.org | 2019-11-13
One label Montana's Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock won't have to worry about being stuck with is "environmentalist." His outdated support for coal in the face of a global warming crisis and his "leadership" on the massive and ongoing deforestation of public lands under the phony rubric of the Bush-era "Healthy Forests Initiative" are bad enough.
counterpunch.org/2019/11/13/montanas-rad…
Boris Johnson lays out his plan to wreck the NHS, in 40 seconds
Kerry-anne Mendoza | thecanary.co | 2019-11-13
Healthcare is the single biggest issue for voters this election, bar Brexit. In 40 seconds of footage that should end Boris Johnson's campaign, he seems to have forgotten that. Asked not once, but twice, if he will rule out selling off more of our NHS, he refuses to say yes. | The 40 seconds that should end Boris Johnson's campaign: | These are the most important 40 seconds of this entire General Election. Twice the BBC asked…
thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2019/11/13/boris-johnson-lays-out-his-plan-to-wreck-the-nhs-in-40-seconds/
Tuesday's Daily Brief: 'Forgotten' pneumonia epidemic, experts urge vigilance over Australia wildfires, Ebola vaccine breakthrough‚ÄØ
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-12
A recap of Tuesday's top stories: Pneumonia number one killer of children; Australia's wildfires rage on; Ebola vaccine gets green light;‚ÄØnew child‚ÄØlabour‚ÄØand trafficking study;‚ÄØMalnutrition soars in Latin America and Caribbean; Intellectual Property chief encourages innovation.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
'Forgotten' pneumonia epidemic kills more children than any other disease
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-12
Pneumonia, an entirely preventable disease, kills more children than any other illness in the world, one child every 39 seconds. But although that statistic is well known, funding to improve survival rates continues to come up short, the UN and partners warned on Tuesday, World Pneumonia Day.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
Google sucks up & analyzes healthcare data on millions of Americans in secret AI project… after voluntary opt-in flops
rt.com | 2019-11-12
Google has teamed up with one of the largest health providers in the US to gather detailed medical records on millions of patients across the country without their knowledge, in a secret project the firm tried to keep under wraps. | Dubbed "Project Nightingale," the secretive program brought together Google and healthcare giant Ascension in an effort to collect medical records on patients across 21 states, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The data sharing began last year, and has only accelerated in recent months. | At least 150 employees at Google's Cloud division now have access to the bulk…
rt.com/usa/473190-google-secret-project-…
Monday's Daily Brief: Guterres on Bolivia and multilateralism, Syria and Iraq's displaced, forest initiative, the healing arts
United Nations | un.org | 2019-11-11
A recap of Monday's stories in brief: UN chief spotlights multilateralism at peace forum; Bolivian authorities must uphold safety of citizens; new programme to feed Kenya's children; experts concerned for detained in Syria and Iraq; UN forest management project fights climate crisis; and, from Warhol to the Wiggles — the role of art in keeping you healthy.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/11/1…
Mitch McConnell Faces Threat From Populist Challenger Charles Booker in Kentucky Senate Race
Ryan Grim | theintercept.com | 2019-11-11
Sen. Mitch McConnell faces a new 2020 threat, as Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker announced the formation of an exploratory committee on Monday. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, is already being challenged by Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who ran and lost a winnable race for a Lexington-area House seat in 2018. | In the Democratic primary, Booker, who backs progressive policies like a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and a living wage, plans to run as a contrast to McGrath, who is running more to the center or the center-right. | In a 2018 run for Congress, her opponent, Rep. Andy Barr, made devastat…
theintercept.com/2019/11/11/mitch-mcconn…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Environmental Justice, Shutting Down Pipelines, Capitalism & Billionaires
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-11-11
Six 2020 presidential candidates — Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, and Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson, John Delaney and Joe Sestak — participated in the first-ever Presidential Forum on Environmental Justice in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on November 8. Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and former EPA official Mustafa Santiago Ali co-moderated the event, which took place at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg. We air highlights of Warren speaking about the climate crisis, public health, shutting down pipelines, capitalism, the order of primary states and…
www.democracynow.org/2019/11/11/elizabet…
Speaking at a K Street Lobby Powerhouse, Joe Biden Renewed His Medicare for All Feud With Elizabeth Warren
Akela Lacy | theintercept.com | 2019-11-07
On Wednesday, former Vice President Joe Biden held a fundraiser at Sidley Austin, a notorious and influential K Street law firm.
theintercept.com/2019/11/07/joe-biden-fu…
How Peter Morley Turns Pain into Purpose Fighting for Health Care
Sari Beth Rosenberg | progressive.org | 2019-11-05
If the Trump Administration had its way, Americans would be completely unaware that the 2020 ACA enrollment period began on Friday, November 1. Enter Peter Morley.
progressive.org/dispatches/peter-morley-…
Trump Wants to Allow Discrimination with Billions of Dollars of Federal Funding
Louise Melling | aclu.org | 2019-11-05
Last Friday, the Trump administration announced | an alarming new proposal that would strip away critical protections against discrimination | in grants funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. | Initially, we thought this proposal would serve to fulfill Trump's promise to give taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies a license to discriminate. This proposal does…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/trump-wants-to…
Warren's Medicare Head Tax Would Be About $9,500
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-11-03
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…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/11/03/warr…
What Is a Middle Class Tax Hike? Am I Losing My Mind?
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-11-02
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…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/11/01/what…
Warren's Perpetual Medicare Head Tax Is Unworkable and Bad
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-11-01
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…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/11/01/warr…
New Poll Finds Voters Strongly Oppose Employer Insurance
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-10-24
Many centrist pundits have convinced themselves that Medicare for All (M4A) is unpopular because, when you include certain details about M4A in polling questions, support levels drop significantly. But in convincing themselves of this, centrist pundits seem remarkably incurious about whether this same thing occurs for employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) when you include certain details about it in polling questions. | Earlier this week, Emerson Polling helped answer this question when it aske…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/10/24/new-…
The Urban Institute Report Did Not Score Medicare for All
Matt Bruenig | peoplespolicyproject.org | 2019-10-16
The Urban Institute and The Commonwealth Fund put out a report today that provided cost estimates for 8 different health care reforms. One of those eight reforms, which is called "Single Payer Enhanced," describes a comprehensive, no-cost-sharing, national health plan similar to Medicare for All (M4A). However, the Urban plan uses hospital reimbursement rates that are 15 percent higher than the rates in the M4A legislation, meaning that its cost estimates are much…
peoplespolicyproject.org/2019/10/16/the-…