A US government panel’s recommendation that women under the age of 50 not undergo annual mammogram screenings has provoked outrage from oncologists and other health care professionals, as well as breast cancer patients and survivors.
Compelling evidence suggests that following the advice of the United States Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) will lead to thousands of new breast cancer deaths and a rise in the incidence of the disease. One in eight women in the US (13 percent) will be afflicted by the disease at some point in their lives. An estimated 182,000 American women were newly diagnosed in 2008 with breast cancer, and more than 40,000 women died from the illness.
After decades of promoting mammograms as the best tool for early detection of breast cancer, the USPSTF is recommending against yearly screenings for women between the ages of 40 and 49, claiming the risks outweigh the benefits.
The recommendations announced Monday have been denounced by a wide range of specialists in the field and people who deal on a daily basis with the devastation that breast cancer inflicts upon hundreds of thousands of women and their families every year. Both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute condemned the change.
Monday’s recommendation by a US government panel that women under the age of 50 not undergo annual mammogram screenings should serve as a warning on the future of health care in America: here.
Only days after a government panel recommended cutting back screenings for breast cancer, another body has advised that women undergo less frequent screenings for cervical cancer, and begin them at a later age: here.
This video is called The Corrupt Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Remember George W. Bush’s and his cronies’ propaganda about their wars? If we were to believe them: No, really, the Iraq war was not about oil; perish the thought … And the Afghan war did not have anything to do with pipelines … It was all about Saddam Hussein being behind 9/11 … err, sorry, after the war was already well underway, the United States Bush administration itself retracted their earlier propaganda on this. It was about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction … err, sorry, after the war was already well underway, the Bush administration itself retracted their earlier propaganda on this.
After the two official reasons for starting bloody war had proved to be spurious, the Bush propagandists came with a third pretext: they were so full of love for the poor Afghan and Iraqi people, especially for women and children, that they wanted to bring prosperity, democracy and good government to their countries, by bombing them, firing guns at them, and opening torture prisons in them.
The Bush regime also really loved the poor Somali people, especially women and children. They wanted to bring prosperity, democracy and good government to Somalia as well. They had the US Air Force bombing Somalia. Though they left most of the invasion, aimed at bringing prosperity, democracy and good government to Somalia, to their buddy Meles Zenawi, dictator of Ethiopia. Mr Zenawi being well known for being prosperous himself, though his subjects are starving, enjoying free speech himself though suppressing it among his subjects, seemed exactly the right guy for bringing Bush style democracy to the Horn of Africa.
In the propaganda of the Bush gang, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan would become shiny examples, models for the other countries of the Middle East and Africa.
Well, how are things eight year years later, now that Bush’s presidency is finished, but his wars are not?
Let’s look at Iraq. Where there had been a really bad dictator, Saddam Hussein, and US sponsored economic sanctions on top of that. Things then, just before Bush’s war started, were so bad that many people could not imagine them becoming even worse. Still, they did.
Iraq may hang 126 women by year’s end despite international appeals: here.
Let us look at corruption. What does Associated Press today have to say about Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, which, if we would believe the Bushists, will surely after those eight years be shiny beacons of prosperity, democracy and good government?
BERLIN - Afghanistan has slipped three places to become the world’s second most-corrupt country despite billions in aid meant to bolster the government against a rising insurgency, according to an annual survey of perceived levels of corruption.
Only lawless Somalia, whose weak U.N.-backed government controls just a few blocks of the capital, was perceived as more corrupt than Afghanistan in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
Iraq saw some improvement, rising to 176 of 180 countries, up two places up from last year.
Some ‘improvement’ in Iraq … at least half of it caused by corruption in Afghanistan getting even worse.
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai’s inability or unwillingness to tackle cronyism and bribery the past five years have resulted in an increase of support for the Taliban insurgents. That has prompted calls by the Obama administration for Karzai to tackle the practice or risk forfeiting U.S. aid.
Since 2001, the U.S. Congress has appropriated more than $39 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan, according to a report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. European nations send about 1 billion euros ($1.49 billion) a year, a total of 9 billion euros since 2002.
International donors are increasingly questioning how much of the billions of dollars in aid might have been misappropriated.
The report said examples of Afghan corruption ranged from the sale of government positions to daily bribes for basic services. …
In Iraq, corruption has become widespread since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 with scarcity of serious government measures against corrupted officials.
That has undermined the largest nation-building efforts with siphoning billions of dollars away from the country’s struggling economy, increasing frustrations among Iraqis mainly over corruption, lingering violence and poor public services. …
The United States, which was in 19th place compared with 18th last year, remained stable despite Transparency’s concerns over a lack of government oversight of the financial sector.
The report also pointed out that the U.S. legislature is another reason for concern, as it is “perceived to be the institution most affected by corruption.”
There were some bright spots in the new report — Bangladesh, Belarus, Guatemala, Lithuania, Poland and Syria were among the countries that improved the most.
US-occupied Iraq, Afghanistan among world’s most corrupt countries: here.
Afghan minister accused of receiving huge bribe: here.
An Australian man who worked with a security contractor in Afghanistan pleaded guilty to a scheme to solicit kickbacks from a U.S. contract, Washington said: here.
The deaths of 12 civilians in a rocket attack aimed at military and local leaders on Monday underscored the inability of NATO to defeat the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, local observers have said: here.
A 21-year-old single mother serving in the US Army will likely face charges for refusing deployment to Afghanistan when she could not find care for her infant son: here.
A “bombshell.” That is the word used by Patrick Karam, the inter-ministerial delegate for equal opportunity for French citizens from the overseas départements and territories, to describe the report submitted to him by the Fédération nationale des Maisons des potes and SOS Racisme.
The subject is an explosive one: the practice of keeping files on the ethnic identity of people seeking housing or a job.
A revelation of the darker side to Walt Disney’s character looking at his racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist tendencies which finally led to a pathological hatred of communists and an active particpation in McCarthy’s House Committee on Un-American Activities.
All of the parties represented in the new German coalition government are agreed that the burden of the economic crisis and the ballooning state debt is to be placed upon the backs of the general population: here.
America’s roads, bridges, and sewerage are in advanced state of decay, according to a 2009 report by an association of civil engineers: here.
More than 200 people came to the budget hearing of the Seattle City Council to oppose Mayor Greg Nickels’ proposal to cut $72 million from spending: here.
This video says about itself:
The Bush administration, which favored the rich and the financial crisis are to blame for the large number of homeless kids in the U.S., says Jeremy Rosen from the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness.
The US economy continues to shed jobs, wreaking havoc on countless lives, even as government officials prepare to announce the official end of the recession that began in December 2007: here.
Towana S. Gooch, a single mother, was on the verge of losing her townhouse in Upper Marlboro, MD, after her mortgage lender kicked her out of a government loan modification program because of a seven-cent error. The most important proposal for unmarried women is the creation of a federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would aim to prevent predatory lending and the targeting of vulnerable borrowers: here.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Homeless and marginally housed people have much higher mortality and shorter life expectancy than could be expected on the basis of low income alone, concludes a study from Canada published on bmj.com: here.
A US diplomat has resigned from his post in protest over the US-led war in Afghanistan, becoming the first US official to step down over the conflict since it began eight years ago.
“I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end,” the letter, which was dated September 10, said.
The Washington Post, a US newspaper, reported that Hoh’s decision “sent ripples all the way to the White House”. …
Government officials had tried to convince Hoh to stay, amid concerns that he could become a prominent voice against the US’s involvement in Afghanistan, the Post reported.
Hoh, a former Marine Corps captain who fought in Iraq, also turned down a senior staff-level job at the US embassy in Kabul after he gave in his resignation. …
The former diplomat said that his resignation, which became final on Wednesday, was tended because staying in his post “was not the right thing to do,” he told the Post.
“… you have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve”
“I’m not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love,” he said.
“I want people in Iowa, people in Arkansas, people in Arizona, to call their congressman and say, ‘Listen, I don’t think this is right’.”
Rosiland Jordan, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, said that the content of the letter had won some endorsement.
“There is already support coming from liberal quarters [in the US] for what Matthew Hoh wrote in his resignation letter, which indicated that, in his view, the US has the wrong perception of who the enemy is inside Afghanistan.
“He said that all his efforts inside Afghanistan were being over-run by [what he called] the fact that people in Afghanistan do not like outsiders, regardless of what flag they work under.”
‘Corrupt’ government
Many Afghans fight US forces because of their presence in the country, Hoh said in his letter.
Afghanistan: The boy is but one youth among many throughout the country forced into an age-old underground tradition known as “bacha bazi,” or “boy play,” in which young boys are taken from their families, made to dance and used as sex slaves by powerful men. The number of boys involved is unknown — the practice has been going on for centuries, in a country where such practices are overshadowed by conflict and war: here.
Since the beginning of the mortgage crisis one and a half million Americans have lost their homes. With banks repossessing their houses, many have been left no other option than to move into their cars.
The streets of California are now filled with people who call their car their home. Jennifer Clement, explains, “The estimated value of our house went to 120,000 U.S. dollars within a month. After losing all the money, we literally landed on the street and were forced to live in our caravan”. It is a vicious circle: Without a job - no home. Without an home - no job.
USA: Emergency shelter providers in Atlanta, Georgia, are confronted by a huge increase in need. Anita Beaty, director of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the worsening situation: here.
The new German government plans to use cuts to social expenditure as its most important means of redistributing social wealth in favour of the wealthy: here.
Germany: On Thursday of last week 96.7 percent of union members active in the building cleaning branch voted in favor of the first national strike in the history of the industry. The response of the union, however, has been to call out just a fraction of its membership: here.
South Korea: Following the suppression of the 77-day occupation of the Ssangyong Motor plant at Pyeongtaek in August, the government has broadened its offensive against the rights and conditions of the working class: here.
Thousands of South Korean workers rallied for a second day on Sunday, demanding the government scrap plans to enforce contentious laws they say are aimed at weakening trade unions: here.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (IPS) - Gender equality contributes to economic growth, but economic growth does not always contribute to gender equality, says the United Nations World Survey on the Role of Women in Development launched Tuesday, a message well timed in the context of the current financial crisis: here.
US forces open fire at civilians after bomb attack
However, an official, who declined to be identified, told this news agency that one civilian was killed and three others sustained injuries in the gunshots fired by the US forces
Abdul Moeed Hashimi
US forces on Sunday opened fire at civilians in eastern Laghman province after coming under a bomb attack this noon, killing a civilian and wounding three others, an official and a tribal elder said.
The bomb attack happened on the US forces in Safi Qala area of Mehtarlam city, provincial capital at 1pm.
A tribal elder named Zabardast Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News soon after the blast, two helicopters arrived at the scene and airlifted the dead and wounded soldiers.
He added after the blast, the forces cordoned off four villages.
…
Head of the Laghan Civil Hospital, Abdul Latif Qayumi said a seriously injured girl was brought to the hospital who was referred to Nangarhar civil hospital.
However, an official, who declined to be identified, told this news agency that one civilian was killed and three others sustained injuries in the gunshots fired by the US forces.
US forces have so far issued no statement about the blast and fire incident.
According to NGOs, 90 Percent of Afghan Women Are Abused
A 9-year-old tells her story of being raped at age five.
This sobering CNN video takes us into one of only a dozen women’s shelters in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to nongovernmental agencies, 90 percent of Afghan women are victims of domestic abuse.
One woman is at the shelter trying to escape 15 years of abuse from her husband for not being able to conceive a child. As she speaks, a slash on her throat is visible and highlighted by stitches. She would like to see her family again, but she fears she will be killed if she goes home. Another woman has tried to kill herself three times to escape the abuse of a man who often chained her to a wall, setting her free only when it was time for her to cook. In a country where women are viewed as property, even children aren’t spared. A 9-year-old tells her story of being raped at age five.
Within hours of the arrival of U.S. troops in the village, they wrote, bands of villagers began complaining the local police force was “a bigger problem than the Taliban”.
Afghan girls burn themselves to escape marriage: here.
North Afghanistan ‘a bridgehead for drug-trafficking to Russia’: here.
The British Establishment was accused of gross hypocrisy after immigration judges backed Home Office claims that it was safe to deport asylum-seekers to war-torn Afghanistan.
The wife of a soldier facing charges of desertion for refusing to redeploy to an unjust war speaks to peace activists about the challenges she has faced: here.
The top UN official in Afghanistan has said that the extensive fraud that marked the first round of presidential elections would be reduced but not eliminated in time for the run-off in two weeks: here.
This video from the United States Congress says about itself:
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, “Allegations of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the New U.S. Embassy in Iraq.” The hearing examines the performance of the State Department and its contractors in the construction of the new $600 million U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
The Committee reviews questions regarding the embassy compound construction as well as allegations of labor abuse through improper contracting practices. Rory Mayberry, a former subcontractor employee for First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting Company, gives opening testimony.
The extent of the massive waste and abuse surrounding the construction of the monstrous US embassy in Baghdad continues to expand. The State Department has just released another audit of the embassy’s construction and suggests that the Kuwaiti contractor hired by the Bush administration to do most of the construction work may have to repay more than $130 million to US taxpayers as a result of construction deficiencies, incomplete and undocumented design work, inadequate quality control and interest on unauthorized payments.
First a bit of background:
The Baghdad embassy—the largest of any nation on planet earth and ten times bigger than any other US embassy—is striking evidence indicating a continued US presence in the country for many years to come. The structure cost more than $700 million and is the size of 80 football fields. It is bigger than the Vatican, six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York and is about two thirds the size of the National Mall in Washington. It has space for 1,000 employees who are guarded by scores of paramilitary mercenary forces. In other words it is the perfect structure for a nation that claims to be leaving Iraq very soon.
The embassy is more like a fortress and hardly sends a message of warm diplomacy. “What kind of embassy is it when everybody lives inside and it’s blast-proof, and people are running around with helmets and crouching behind sandbags?” said Edward Peck, the former US ambassador to Iraq when the embassy was first being constructed.
The company that was contracted to build the embassy was First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting (FKTC). It’s run by Mohammad I. H. Marafie, “a member of one of the most powerful mercantile families in Kuwait,” according to CorpWatch. “FKTC’s general manager and co-owner, Wadih al-Absi jets back and forth to the United States, dreaming of magazine covers celebrating his rise to a global player in large-scale engineering and construction… FKTC is one of the many Middle East companies that collectively ship tens of thousands of cheap day laborers to Iraq’s war zones where they are paid just dollars a day.”
In 2006, David Phinney reported: “Several other contractors that competed for the embassy contracts… believe that a high-level decision at the State Department was made to favor a Kuwait-based firm in appreciation for Kuwait’s support of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. ‘It was political,’ said one contractor.”
FKIT has been plagued by allegations from whistleblowers who worked on the embassy that say the company “brought workers, mostly South Asians and Filipinos, to Baghdad under false pretenses, then abused and threatened them while there.”
The mother of a British soldier killed in Iraq broke down in tears today as she called for former prime minister Tony Blair to be held to account for the “unlawful” conflict in Iraq: here.
While Iraq and its people continue to suffer, with most of the western media ignoring their plight, President Obama is still pursuing President Bush’s goal in Iraq – to have a government in Baghdad that is closely allied to the US. This is incompatible with bringing about a stable, peaceful and democratic Iraq: here.
Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens told Congress on Wednesday that U.S. energy companies are “entitled” to some of Iraq’s crude because of the large number of American troops that lost their lives fighting in the country and the U.S. taxpayer money spent in Iraq: here.
Pressure for an “oil-gusher” tax on BP grew on Tuesday after the petroleum giant announced increased quarterly profits of £3 billion fuelled by job cuts and its new Iraq contract: here.
The massive explosions in central Baghdad on Sunday are a particularly bloody reminder of the sectarian, ethnic and political conflicts that have been generated in Iraq by six-and-a-half years of US occupation: here.
