Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Guardian UK:
"In a move celebrated by experts and activists who continue to raise alarm about the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance—fueled in part by rampant overuse of medicines in agriculture—the European Parliament on Thursday approved new rules for antibiotic use on healthy farm animals.

'This is a hugely important breakthrough for human and animal health and is by far the more serious attempt that Europe has ever made to achieve responsible antibiotic use in farming,' declared Cóilín Nunan, campaign manager of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, a coalition of EU-based medical, health, agricultural, environmental, consumer, and animal welfare groups. ...

MEP Molly Scott Cato, of the U.K., pointed out that the legislation could have broader positive impacts, explaining to the Guardian that it 'will also challenge the factory farming model where animal suffer appalling conditions and are packed together in unhealthy conditions,' because 'without the routine use of antibiotics, farmers will need to adopt better farming practices.' "

-->The pharmaceutical and Big Ag companies depend on the NYT to keep stories like this hidden. This important breakthrough wasn't covered. 

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The Guardian UK:
"Mike Africa Sr has become the second member of the Philadelphia-based group of black radicals known as the Move 9 to be released from prison, more than 40 years after they were arrested for the death of a police officer in one of the most dramatic shootouts of the black liberation era. ...

Mike Africa Sr’s release marks a big step in the struggle of black militants who are still behind bars decades after they were arrested for police killings and other violent acts in the late 1960s and 1970s. ...

Eighteen individuals, including two Move women, Janine Phillips Africa and Janet Hollaway Africa, remain in prison. Many of them insist they are innocent of the charges brought against them. In the case of the Move 9, they were convicted collectively of the death of a police officer, James Ramp, in the 1978 siege of their group home in Philadelphia even though only one shot killed him. Debbie Africa was eight months pregnant at the time."

-->Black liberation activists were framed, and some are still in prison 40 years later. The NYT conveniently spares their readers the shame of such travesties of justice. It didn't print this story.

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Common Dreams:
"During a year in which so much of the world faced deep poverty, the corrosive effects of austerity, and extreme weather caused by the worsening human-caused climate crisis—from devastating hurricanes to deadly wildfires and floods—one class of individuals raked in more money in 2017 than any other year in recorded history: the world's billionaires.

According to the Swiss bank UBS's fifth annual billionaires report published on Friday, billionaires across the globe increased their wealth by $1.4 trillion last year—an astonishing 20 percent—bringing their combined wealth to $8.9 trillion. 'The past 30 years have seen far greater wealth creation than the Gilded Age,' the UBS report notes. ...

Meanwhile, according to a June report by U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston, 18.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty and '5.3 million live in Third World conditions of absolute poverty.' "

-->OK, the NYT has done articles about the disparity of wealth in the US. But our newspaper of record prefers not to rub their wealthy readers' noses in it too much. It didn't cover this story.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

The NYT:
"Israeli Forces Kill 7 Palestinians in Gaza Boarder Clashes." reads the NYT headline. But was it a "boarder clash," or Israeli snipers shooting unarmed protesters? Who to ask? 

The NYT reporter, Isabel Kershner, quotes seven Israeli sources for the article, and one from Hamas. Nice balance of reporting from our newspaper of record. Kershner herself has some interesting opinions as well. She blames the Palestinian Authority for the economic sanctions on Gaza, not the Israeli state. And she blames Hamas for thwarting a UN cease-fire by flying "incendiary balloons."

This is sickening reporting by one of the most blatant defenders of Israel on the NYT staff. With deep ties to the Israeli military, Kershner can be counted on to take the Israeli side no matter what the atrocity committed against the Palestinians. The question remains, how is it that the NYT allows itself to be a vehicle of apartheid Israel's propaganda?

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Common Dreams:
"With progressives still mobilized and angrier than ever following Judge Brett Kavanaugh's successful confirmation to the Supreme Court amid credible sexual assault allegations, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) provided further cause for fury—and added to already deafening calls for new leadership in the Democratic Party—by cutting a deal behind closed doors with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) late Thursday to fast-track 15 more of Trump's right-wing judges to lifetime federal court positions.

'Make no mistake, today was yet another step in the GOP's takeover of our courts, stacking the deck against women and families at every level. Immediately following Kavanaugh's confirmation and all of the energy and despair around it, this deal is especially painful,' NARAL Pro-Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said in a statement.

'Through this deal,' Hogue continued, 'Democrats allowed Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress to fast track 15 more of Donald Trump's nominees, including David Porter and Mark Norris, whose biased views and extreme anti-choice records indicate they will shape our country in Donald Trump's brutal image for decades to come.' "

-->Sellouts by establishment Democrats aren't often reported on the pages of the NYT. It didn't cover this story because the NTY has been selling out to corporate interests for a long time.

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Common Dreams:
"Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) joined with Senate Republicans on Thursday to confirm Jeffrey Bossert Clark—a climate-denying former attorney for the fossil fuel industry—to lead the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

'Clark's blatant hostility toward environmental protection is good news for polluters, but awful news for the rest of us,' warned Environmental Working Group (EWG) president Ken Cook. 'The guy who defended the company that caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history is not likely to aggressively go after corporate environmental outlaws.'

The new assistant attorney general's nomination has been stalled for more than a year due to concerns about his history as a lawyer. Clark has represented B.P. in lawsuits that stemmed from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in suits attacking the U.S. government's authority to craft regulations that aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions."

-->A sad state of affairs for this country's climate. The polluters have been put in charge. No mention of this in the NYT, long in bed with the nation's oil industry.

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Forward:
"One of the largest Jewish charities in the U.S. has been secretly funding a shadowy online blacklist targeting college students who criticize Israel.

For three years, a website called Canary Mission has spread fear among undergraduate activists, posting more than a thousand political dossiers on student supporters of Palestinian rights. The dossiers are meant to harm students’ job prospects, and have been used in interrogations by Israeli security officials.

At the same time, the website has gone to great lengths to hide the digital and financial trail connecting it to its donors and staff. Registered through a secrecy service, the site is untraceable."

-->One would think that this brazen attack on American college students would be at least covered by the NYT. The one reference to the Canary Mission in the NYT offered was written by a confirmed Zionist whose husband writes propaganda for the state of Israel. 

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FAIR:
"Three years ago, as Americans debated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran—popularly known as 'the Iran deal'—I highlighted a troubling media trend on FAIR.org (8/20/15): 'For nearly all commentators, regardless of their position, war is the only alternative to that position.' ...

To experience the full menu of US media’s single-mindedness about Iran, one need only buy a subscription to the New York Times. After Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, the Times’ editorial board (5/8/18) wrote that his move would 'lay conditions for a possible wider war in the Middle East.' Susan Rice (New York Times, 5/8/18), President Barack Obama’s national security advisor, agreed: 'We could face the choice of going to war or acquiescing to a nuclear-armed Iran,' she warned. Cartoonist Patrick Chappatte (New York Times, 5/10/18) was characteristically more direct, penning an image of Trump alongside Bolton, holding a fictitious new agreement featuring the singular, ultimate word: 'WAR.' ”

-->Yes, our national media keeps pushing for war, especially the NYT. No wonder our nation has been at war for 17 years and is fighting in over 7 countries. And assassinating "enemy terrorists" in God knows how many more. 

Thursday, October 04, 2018

Guardian UK:
"Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms severe, says new report. ... Modern antidepressants of the SSRI class, such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and Seroxat (paroxetine), were marketed in part on their safety. People were unable to harm themselves by overdosing as they could on benzodiazepines like valium and stopping the drugs was said to be easier.

'This new review of the research reveals what many patients have known for years – that withdrawal from antidepressants often causes severe, debilitating symptoms which can last for weeks, months or longer,' said Dr James Davies.

'Existing Nice guidelines fail to acknowledge how common withdrawal is and wrongly suggest that it usually resolves within one week. This leads many doctors to misdiagnose withdrawal symptoms, often as relapse, resulting in much unnecessary and harmful long-term prescribing.' "

-->The NYT is never quick to point out the evils of the pharmaceutical industry. I wonder how long it will take to print this story?

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Common Dreams:
"Imperiling People and Planet, Warnings Mount That Trump's NAFTA 2.0 Just Another 'Corporate Giveaway.' ...

[Food & Water Watch executive director] Wenonah Hauter outlined in a statement how USMCA: features deregulatory provisions that 'would have a dangerously chilling effect on food safety enforcement'; includes 'giant giveaways to the agrochemical industry,' from rolling back Mexico's GMO rules to enabling companies such as Monsanto and Dow to keep pesticide safety data secret for a decade; and bolsters Trump's industry-friendly agenda with measures that would 'encourage more pipelines and exports of natural gas and oil that would further expand fracking in the United States and Mexico.' "

-->That is not the message the public is getting from NPR and the NYT. The latter in particular has barely a bad word to say about the new trade deal, and its coverage is full of politicians' praises. The mainstream media always loves "free trade" even if it trashes the environment and screws workers.

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Common Dreams:
" 'Israel's use of deadly force against unarmed protesters on Friday is characteristic of its actions throughout the Great March of Return, during which more than 150 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children, three persons with disabilities, three paramedics and two journalists,' Maureen Clare Murphy of Electronic Intifada noted on Saturday.

'More than 10,000 have been injured and required hospitalization, around half of them wounded by live fire,' Murphy added. 'There have been 77 cases of injuries requiring amputation, among them 14 children and one woman. Twelve patients have been paralyzed due to spinal cord injury and two of them have died.' 

-->The "most moral army in the world" shooting children like they were fish in a barrel. The NYT, ever the protector of Israel's good name, didn't print this story. 

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