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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Yet another international event which has left the United States with diminished status. Biden, for reasons I do not understand, has been sending weapons to Israel that have killed tens of thousands of people, and people throughout the Muslim world are all to aware of this.
South Africa presents its case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands
“South Africa recognized the ongoing Nakba against the Palestinian people.”
With those words, Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, opened his government’s historic suit at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, charging the state of Israel with multiple violations of the Genocide Convention during its three-month siege of Gaza.
South Africa, a nation whose population suffered for decades under an apartheid regime backed by the U.S., has embarked on its historic effort to prosecute Israel for its genocidal war against the people of Gaza. Its 84-page filingOpens in a new tab at the ICJ is a harrowing document. In meticulous detail, it offers an overview of a murderous campaign waged against a civilian population under the fraudulent cover of “self-defense.” It lays out the horrifying scope of Israel’s destruction in Gaza of human life, civilian infrastructure, history, and culture, and paints a devastating picture of the grave conditions faced by those Palestinians who have managed to survive.
The charges describe “an exceptionally brutal military campaign by Israel in Gaza, which is extensive and ongoing, and […]
Because Republicans have rigged the U.S. Tax structure to specifically favor the rich, we have become a nation with a wealth inequality to great it represents the creation of two different societies. I saw another report that suggests that within 10 years one of these en wil become history’s first trillionaire. We have become a country with a wealth nobility rather that the traditional blood line nobility. You have no idea how these people live and they have not idea how you live. This disparity was deliberately created by the Republican Party.
The five wealthiest people on Earth have become a whole lot richer in recent years.
Since 2020, these billionaires’ net worth has skyrocketed 114% to a total of $869 billion, after taking inflation into account, according to Oxfam’s annual inequality report, released Sunday. If current trends continue, the world could see its first trillionaire in a decade.
At the same time, nearly 5 billion people globally have become poorer, as they contend with inflation, war and the climate crisis. It would take nearly 230 years to eliminate poverty based on the current trajectory.
The report, which draws on data compiled by Forbes, is timed to coincide with the kickoff of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, an elite gathering of some of the wealthiest people and world leaders.
Though inequality is on the rise, there are some bright spots, said Nabil Ahmed, Oxfam America’s director of economic and racial justice. Workers have been flexing their muscle through strikes and deals that better their compensation and working conditions. Also, some governments have been on their side, pushing policies aimed at strengthening workers’ rights.
“We find ourselves in a new Gilded Age, but workers, regulators and union and community organizers are starting to make […]
This survey suggests how unhappy Americans are about the dysfunction of the American government. What this misses is I don’t think the majority of Americans, particularly evangelical votes understand accurate any of what is going on. They live in Fox, Alex Jones, Steve Bannon MAGAt world which is virtually free of actual facts.
Americans agree on at least one thing: A huge margin say their political leaders don’t care about them, according to findings from the Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
Why it matters: This angry, irritated feeling cuts across all groups, without much hope for improvement with a potential Biden-Trump rematch looming in November.
Axios Vibe Check: 74% of Americans said they don’t think their leaders care about them.
😡 No single group reached 40% — whether broken down by race, party, gender, age, income or geographic region — on saying yes when asked whether they think leaders care about them or their loved ones.
😒 43% said their lives are worse under the Biden administration, vs. 29% who said they’re better and 28% who said unchanged.
Even Democrats are split on how they feel, with just 53% saying they’re better off under President Biden.
Zoom in: “The vibe Americans are giving their political leaders is that they’re pale, stale and frail. Most of the country does not see the people in charge as relatable, caring or connected to their lives in any genuine […]
Gisele Galoustian, Media Contact - Eureka Alert / Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine / Florida Atlantic University
Stephan:
Here is some excellent good news. Young people are smoking cigarettes far less and infrequently developing the habit. I have noticed. this when out in public spaces, and perhaps you have as well. As a result we will see a big decrease in lung cancer. All good news.
GRAPH SHOWS CIGARETTE SMOKING TRENDS BY GRADE FROM 1991 TO 2021.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading avoidable cause of premature death in the United States, accounting for approximately 500,000 deaths or 1 in 5 deaths annually. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most adults who smoke cigarettes started before age 18, so preventing cigarette smoking in adolescents is important to reducing smoking in adults.
In a new study, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators explored overall trends in cigarette smoking among a large sample of U.S. adolescents in grades nine to 12 from 1991 to 2021. They also explored differences by gender as well as race/ethnicity.
Cigarette smoking measures included: ever tried cigarette smoking, which was defined as taking even one or two puffs; currently smoked cigarettes occasionally; currently smoked cigarettes frequently; and currently smoked cigarettes daily.
Results of the study, published in Ochsner Journalonline ahead of print, show cigarette smoking in all usage categories (ever, occasional, frequent and daily) significantly decreased from 1991 to 2021.
The United States ranks 37th in the developed world in the quality of its healthcare, which is, or ought to be a national shame. And what really stands out for me is that in Red states there are really two levels of healthcare, one for men and the other, and much inferior for women, especially for women of color. Republicans, whatever they may say, by their actions, make it clear that in their minds women are second class. That’s one of the reasons I don’t understand how any woman can vote for Republicans, even though millions do.
In many Australian hospitals, pregnant patients are given stillbirth prevention materials. Credit: Peter DiCampo/ProPublica
The stillbirth of her daughter in 1999 cleaved Kristina Keneally’s life into a before and an after. It later became a catalyst for transforming how an entire country approaches stillbirths.
In a world where preventing stillbirths is typically far down the list of health care priorities, Australia — where Keneally was elected as a senator — has emerged as a global leader in the effort to lower the number of babies that die before taking their first breaths. Stillbirth prevention is embedded in the nation’s health care system, supported by its doctors, midwives and nurses, and touted by its politicians.
In 2017, funding from the Australian government established a groundbreaking center for research into stillbirths. The next year, its Senate established a committee on stillbirth research and education. By 2020, the country had adopted a national stillbirth plan, which combines the efforts of health care providers and researchers, bereaved families and advocacy groups, and lawmakers and government officials, all in the name of reducing […]
Steve Holland, Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt, Reporters - Reuters
Stephan:
I am surprised this was not a bigger story in the corporate media, but it was not. Biden doesn’t support Taiwan’s independence but he does pledge to defend Taiwan against an attack from China, a U.S. position of “strategic ambiguity” dating back to Carter’s administration. Given what has happened in Ukraine, it is a position for a future crisis, should China attempt to take Taiwan over.
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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the press, Credit: Leah Millis / Reuters
WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan, after Taiwanese voters rebuffed China and gave the ruling party a third presidential term.
Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te came to power, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, and pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks.
“We do not support independence…” Biden said, when asked for reaction to Saturday’s elections.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and has long said it does not support a formal declaration of independence by Taiwan. It does, however, maintain unofficial relations with the self-governed island and remains its most important backer and arms supplier.
Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, fears that Lai could declare the establishment of a Republic of Taiwan, which Lai has said he will not do.
Lauren Kaori Gurley and Emmanuel Martinez, Reporters - The Washington Post
Stephan:
Fast food child labor violations. Yet another reason to never eat at any of these food chains. Not only will their food make you obese, and shorten your life by as much as five years, you will also be supporting the exploitation of children. Surrely that is enough reason to never eat at these places.
Other includes hours violation for children under 13 and shipment of “hot goods”. Source: Labor Department Graph by Emmanuel Martinex / The Washington Post
The fast-food industry is fueling a surge in child labor violations across the United States, especially at companies with franchised locationssuch as McDonald’s, Sonic and Chick-fil-A, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data.
Since the widespread labor shortages of the pandemic, fast-food companies have illegally scheduled thousands of teenagers to work late and long hours and to operate dangerous kitchen equipment, The Post found. In some cases, companies have hired children 13 or younger — violating 1930s-era laws designedto protect their safety and educational opportunities.Federal law prohibits 14- and 15-year-olds from working past 7 p.m. and more than three hours on school nights.
Overall, child labor violations have more than tripled in the past 10 years, with violations in food service increasing almost sixfold, according to The Post’s analysis of U.S. Labor Department data. In the first nine months of 2023, agency officials found more than 4,700 teenagers under 18 working in […]
To be honest unless something happens to change what is taking place in the United States today. I would say we have about a 50% chance of American surviving as a democracy, maybe a little less. Voters are just fed up with the corruption and the noise. The MAGAts worship criminal Trump, I think, and nothing will change them. Will enough democracy supporters turn out. We will see.
Americans have long been critical of politicians and skeptical of the federal government. But today, Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon.
Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests, flooded with campaign cash and mired in partisan warfare. Elected officials are widely viewed as self-serving and ineffective.
A comprehensive new Pew Research Center study of the state of the nation’s politics finds no single focal point for the public’s dissatisfaction. There is widespread criticism of the three branches of government, both political parties, as well as political leaders and candidates for office.
Notably, Americans’ unhappiness with politics comes at a time of historically high levels of voter turnout in national elections. The elections of 2018, 2020 and 2022 were three of the highest-turnout U.S. elections of their respective types in decades.
But voting in elections is very different from being satisfied with the state of politics – and the public is deeply dissatisfied.
Just 4% of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very […]
