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The Obstacles to Real Health Care Reform - Private Insurers and Big PhRMA |
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by Stephen Lendman, lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net |
 Simply put, the obstacle to real health reform is the insurance and drug lobby's stranglehold on Democrat and Republican administrations and Congress. Corporate lawyers draft new laws, sign-off on changes, and industry officials staff the FDA, CDC, and other related agencies, then return to high-paying jobs in the sectors they represent. Public welfare is unconsidered under a system favoring profits, so achieving real reform is near-nil. Whatever, if any legislation, passes, will make a dysfunctional system worse by rationing care, leaving growing millions uninsured, many others underinsured, while enriching insurers, drug companies, and large hospital chains. |
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Honduras Resiste: A Speech on the Global Day of Action |
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by Simon Rios, elektrodread (nospam) gmail.com |
 Good afternoon compañeras y compañeros, passersby, workers, bosses, fellow-citizens, humans, aliens. We unite today to celebrate the resistance to the military coup in Honduras, to lament for the fallen, disappeared, & wounded in the struggle, & to shout NO to the impunity of the men who have, for the moment, overturned the will of the Honduran people. Now we witness, in this twist of irony that is a drop of the lifeblood of history, that the actions of the golpistas not only fortify the popular will they aim to repress, they have set off an awakening in Honduras that no fleet, airforce infantry or death-squad will be capable of reversing. |
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12 Aug 2009
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : International |
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CORI Reform Hearing, March and Rally Reportback |
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by Dorothea Manuela, |
 On Monday, July 27, over 600 people packed the State House CORI Hearing as part of an extended CORI Day of Action. Organized by the Commonwealth CORI Coalition, supporters demonstrated the severity of the CORI crisis and raised the need for immediate reforms. |
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30 Jul 2009
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : Labor : Race |
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ICRC - Israel Traps Gazans in Deprivation and Despair |
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by Stephen Lendman, lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net |
 Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross is an "impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance." It also tries "to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles." It's legally mandated to do it under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and has had a permanent presence in Gaza since 1968.
Currently 109 ICRC staff work there, including 19 expatriates. They remained throughout Operation Cast Lead and witnessed firsthand the carnage and destruction that took place. |
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Interview: Inmate Darrell Jones Speaks Out Against Massachusetts Prisons |
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by Dee, Lucidreeme (nospam) aol.com |
 Massachusetts ranks high among those prisons that are overcrowded. There is poor medical treatment, according to the inmates, prison racism, abuses, and poor nutritional food among some of the complaints. What Massachusetts prisons do have is a large number of Correctional Officers. In a state that is suffering from unemployment, and an over loaded budget, the hiring of Correction officers don't seem to be affected at all.
One Massachusetts inmate Darrell Jones (see other article)could see the abuses and racism in Massachusetts prisons, and decided to watch, take notes, and eventually report on an audio tape what he felt was going on. Upon release of the audio tape on the Internet, the next day he was thrown into "the hole." He was soon transferred from OCCC to MCI Norfolk, where he currently housed. |
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16 Jul 2009
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Filed under: Interview / Human Rights |
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Bioweapons, Dangerous Vaccines, and Threats of a Global Pandemic |
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by Stephen Lendman, lendmanstephen (nospam) sbcglobal.net |
 Although international law prohibits the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons, America has had an active biological warfare program since at least the 1940s. In 1941, it began secret developmental efforts using controversial testing methods. During WW II, mustard gas was tested on about 4000 servicemen. Biological weapons research was also conducted. Human subjects were used as guinea pigs in various other experiments, and numerous illegal practices continued to the present, including secretly releasing toxic biological agents in US cities to test the effects of germ warfare. |
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Torture Accountability Action Day in Harvard Square |
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by Michael Borkson, nosanctions (nospam) yahoo.com |
 Cambridge--Anti-torture protesters gathered in "the pit" in Harvard Square today to demand a stop to torturing prisoners held in Guantanamo and other US facilities. Some wore orange jumpsuits and black hoods to emulate the garb of detainees. Several speakers spoke out against torture by the Bush regime.
To see video of the protest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlgA7TSKQM |
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26 Jun 2009
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : War and Militarism |
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Solidarity with Iranian People Rally at Copley Square |
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by ben, ben (nospam) melanconent.com |
 More than one hundred declared supporters of democracy, free communication, and peace in Iran gathered at Copley Square in Boston on Saturday afternoon, as widespread protests against the present regime continued one week and one day after an illegitimate election. |
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22 Jun 2009
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Filed under: News / Human Rights : International |
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