Dump Obamacare, institute “single-payer-everybody-in-nobody-out”: Ralph Nader

Obama’s care calls thousands to die for lack of health insurance.

Canada’s care calls no one to die for lack of health insurance.

Excerpt, minor edit by 

Carolyn Bennett

U.S. Obamacare penned in 2,500 pages plus regulations; Canadian Medicare Bill penned in 13 pages

U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson in six months in the early 1960s enrolled 20 million elderly Americans into Medicare ─ achieved without websites but with index cards!

R

alph Nader is an American political activist, an author, lecturer, and attorney (b. Winsted, Connecticut, February 27, 1934). His areas of concern: consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. 

Nader came to prominence in 1965 with the publication of his book Unsafe at Any Speed, a critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers in general, and most famously the Chevrolet Corvair. 

Nader is a five-time candidate for the U.S. presidency, having run as a write-in candidate in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary, as the Green Party nominee in 1996 and 2000, and as an independent candidate in 2004 and 2008. He holds academic credentials from Princeton University (A.B.) and Harvard Law School (LL.B.).

 This week Nader penned “21 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare”

Number 21:  In Canada, everyone is covered automatically at birth – everybody in, nobody out. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, 31 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2023 and millions more will remain underinsured. 

Number 20: In Canada, the health system is designed to put people, not profits, first. 

• In the United States, Obamacare will do little to curb insurance industry profits and will actually enhance insurance industry profits. 

Number 19: In Canada, coverage is not tied to a job or dependent on your income – rich and poor are in the same system, the best guaranty of quality. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, much still depends on your job or income. Lose your job or lose your income, and you might lose your existing health insurance or have to settle for lesser coverage. 

Number 18:  In Canada, health care coverage stays with you for your entire life. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, for tens of millions of Americans, health care coverage stays with you for as long as you can afford your share. 

Number 17: In Canada, you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals and keep them. There are no lists of ‘in-network’ vendors and no extra hidden charges for going ‘out of network.’ 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, the in-network list of places where you can get treated is shrinking – thus restricting freedom of choice – and if you want to go out of network, you pay for it. 

Number 16: In Canada, the health care system is funded by income, sales and corporate taxes that, combined, are much lower than what Americans pay in premiums. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, for thousands of Americans, it is pay or die – if you can’t pay, you die. That’s why many thousands will still die every year under Obamacare from lack of health insurance to get diagnosed and treated in time. 

Number 15: In Canada, there are no complex hospital or doctor bills. In fact, usually you don’t even see a bill. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, hospital and doctor bills will still be terribly complex, making it impossible to discover the many costly overcharges. 

Number 14: In Canada, costs are controlled. Canada pays 10 percent of its GDP for its health care system, covering everyone. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, costs continue to skyrocket. The U.S. currently pays 18 percent of its GDP and still doesn’t cover tens of millions of people. 

Number 13: In Canada, it is unheard of for anyone to go bankrupt due to health care costs. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, health care driven bankruptcy will continue to plague Americans. 

Number 12: In Canada, simplicity leads to major savings in administrative costs and overhead. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, complexity will lead to ratcheting up administrative costs and overhead. 

Number 11: In Canada, when you go to a doctor or hospital, the first thing they ask you is: ‘What’s wrong?’ 

• In the United States, the first thing they ask you is: ‘What kind of insurance do you have?’ 

Number 10: In Canada, the government negotiates drug prices so they are more affordable. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, Congress made it specifically illegal for the government to negotiate drug prices for volume purchases, so they remain unaffordable. 

Number 9: In Canada, the government health care funds are not profitably diverted to the top one percent. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, health care funds will continue to flow to the top. In 2012, CEOs at six of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. received a total of $83.3 million in pay, plus benefits. 

Number 8: In Canada, there are no necessary co-pays or deductibles. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, the deductibles and co-pays will continue to be unaffordable for many millions of Americans. 

Number 7: In Canada, the health care system contributes to social solidarity and national pride. 

• In the United States, Obamacare is divisive, with rich and poor in different systems and tens of millions left out or with sorely limited benefits. 

Number 6: In Canada, delays in health care are not due to the cost of insurance. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, patients without health insurance or who are underinsured will continue to delay or forgo care and put their lives at risk. 

Number 5: In Canada, nobody dies due to lack of health insurance. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, many thousands will continue to die every year due to lack of health insurance. 

Number 4: In Canada, an increasing majority supports their health care system, which costs half as much, per person, as in the United States. And in Canada, everyone is covered. 

• In the United States, a majority – many for different reasons – oppose Obamacare. 

Number 3: In Canada, the tax payments to fund the health care system are progressive – the lowest 20 percent pays 6 percent of income into the system while the highest 20 percent pays 8 percent. 

• In the United States, under Obamacare, the poor pay a larger share of their income for health care than the affluent. 

Number 2: In Canada, the administration of the system is simple. You get a health care card when you are born. And you swipe it when you go to a doctor or hospital. End of story. 

• In the United States, Obamacare’s 2,500 pages plus regulations (the Canadian Medicare Bill was 13 pages) is so complex that then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said before passage ‘we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.’ 

Number 1: In Canada, the majority of citizens love their health care system. 

• In the United States, the majority of citizens, physicians, and nurses prefer the Canadian type system – single-payer, free choice of doctor and hospital, everybody in, nobody out.

“

Repeal Obamacare,” Nader says, “and replace it with the much more efficient single-payer, everybody in, nobody out, free choice of doctor and hospital.

Sources and notes

“21 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare” by Ralph Nader, published Friday, November 22, 2013 by Common Dreams,

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/11/22-      

Nader bio in brief, Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader#Works

Books by Ralph Nader

Unsafe at Any Speed. Grossman Publishers, 1965.	Action for a Change (with Donald Ross, Brett English, and Joseph Highland). Penguin (Non-Classics); Rev. ed edition, 1973.
Whistle-Blowing (with Peter J. Petkas and Kate Blackwell). Bantam Press, 1972.	Ralph Nader, Joel Seligman, and Mark Green. Taming the Giant Corporation. Paperback ed. Norton, W. W. & Co., Inc., 1977.
Nader, Ralph, and John Abbotts. Menace of Atomic Energy. Paperback ed. Norton, W.W. & Co., Inc.,. 1979.	You and Your Pension (with Kate Blackwell)
The Consumer and Corporate Accountability	In Pursuit of Justice
Corporate Power in America (with Mark Green) Penguin Books, 1977.	Ralph Nader Congress Project
Ralph Nader Presents: A Citizen's Guide to Lobbying	Verdicts on Lawyers
Who's Poisoning America (with Ronald Brownstein and John Richard)	The Big Boys (with William Taylor)
Nader, Ralph, and Wesley J. Smith. Winning the Insurance Game: the Complete Consumer's Guide to Saving Money. Hardcover ed. Knightsbridge Pub., 1990.	Nader, Ralph, and Clarence Ditlow. Lemon Book: Auto Rights. 3rd ed. Asphodel Pr., 1990.
Nader, Ralph, and Wesley J. Smith. Collision Course: the Truth About Airline Safety. 1st ed. McGraw-Hill Co., 1993.	"Children First! A Parent's Guide to Fighting Corporate Predators" (with Linda Coco) Corporate Accountability Research Group, 1996.
Nader, Ralph, and Wesley J. Smith. No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America. Hardcover ed. Random House Pub. Group, 1996.	Canada Firsts (with Nadia Milleron and Duff Conacher)
The Frugal Shopper (with Wesley J. Smith. )	Getting the Best from Your Doctor (with Wesley J. Smith. )
Nader on Australia	Nader, Ralph. Cutting Corporate Welfare. Paperback ed. Open Media, 2000.
The Ralph Nader Reader. Seven Stories Press, 2000. ISBN 1-58322-057-7	Crashing the Party, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28433-0 [1]
Civic Arousal Paperback ed. Harper Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-06-079325-2	"It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought"
"Why Women Pay More" (with Frances Cerra Whittelsley)	Nader, Ralph. The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap. Paperback ed. Harper Collins Pub., 2004. ISBN 0-06-077955-1
"The Seventeen Traditions" Regan Books, 2007. ISBN 0-06-123827-9	Citizen Power: A Mandate for Change by Mike Gravel, 2008. Foreword by Ralph Nader.
Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us! Seven Stories Press, 2009. ISBN 1-58322-903-5	Getting Steamed to Overcome Corporatism Common Courage Press, 2011.
The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future HarperCollins, 2012.	Told You So: The Big Book of Weekly Columns. Seven Stories Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-60980-474-9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliography_of_Ralph_Nader

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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World at turning point must attend urgently to climate change, rising loss, damage

COP 19 at Warsaw “must trigger new dynamics”

Excerpt, editing by
Carolyn Bennett

GERMANWATCH: “Global Climate Risk Index 2014: Who suffers most from extreme weather events? Weather-related loss events in 2012 and 1993 to 2012

This year’s 9th edition of the analysis reconfirms that, according to the Climate Risk Index, less developed countries are generally more affected than industrialized countries.

Regarding future climate change, the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag for already existing vulnerability that may further increase in regions, where extreme events will become more frequent or more severe due to climate change. While some vulnerable developing countries are frequently hit by extreme events, there are also some others where such disasters are a rare occurrence.

“In terms of extreme weather events, the year 2012 will most likely be remembered for the occurrence of Hurricane Sandy (October 2012), which amounted to damages of over USD 68 billion and made global media headlines for several days. However, what the media often failed to mention was the impact the ‘Frankenstorm’ had on countries outside the United States.

The hurricane wreaked havoc in the Caribbean with Haiti being hit hardest, thus accounting for the country’s rise to the top of this year’s Climate Risk Index. In this Caribbean country still recovering from the devastating earthquake in 2010, the heavy rainfalls fuelled by Sandy not only left 200,000 people homeless, but also destroyed much of Haiti’s crops, which had already been affected by Hurricane Isaac in late August 2012.

The Germanwatch Climate Risk Index ranks countries according to relative and absolute number of human victims, and relative and absolute economic damage. The core data stems from the Munich Re NatCatSERVICE. The most recent available data from 2012 as well as for the 20-year-period 1993-2012 were taken into account for the preparation of this index.

The countries affected most in 2012 were Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan.

For the period from 1993 to 2012 Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.

Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index Report’s Key messages 

• Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti were the countries affected most by extreme weather events between 1993 and 2012. 

• From the ten most affected countries (1993–2012) eight were developing countries in the low-income or lower-middle income country group, while two belong to the upper-middle income countries. 

• Altogether more than 530,000 people died as a direct result of approx. 15,000 extreme weather events, and losses between 1993 and 2012 amounted to more than 2.5 trillion USD (in PPP;1 USD 1.75 trillion overall losses in original values). [PPP or purchasing power parity: the concept allows one to estimate what the exchange rate between two currencies would have to be in order for the exchange to be on par with the purchasing power of the two countries’ currencies.]

• In 2012, Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan led the list of the most affected countries. 

• The 2012 droughts and floods in large areas of the Balkan, eastern Europe and southern Russia in the aftermath of the unparalleled 2010 wildfires have proven the climate vulnerability of the region that hosts the 2013 Climate Change Conference (COP 19 in Warsaw). This should serve as a wake-up call for the region to ramp up its domestic and international climate policy positions. 

• The Warsaw Summit provides the opportunity to further detail the adaptation implementation by determining the role of adaptation in the 2015 agreement and by renewing the international adaptation knowledge management. 

• In Warsaw the Parties will discuss how to institutionalize the loss and damage agenda. COP 19 must make commitments towards establishing a consolidated international response for instance in the form of a mechanism. 

• Many developing countries are already taking measures in preparation for climate-related disasters, promoting as well as implementing adaptation. Yet the industrialized countries must provide adequate financial and institutional support to further advance disaster preparedness and resilience of the poor countries. A substantial outcome of Warsaw would be a clear commitment to climate funding towards 2020 in general, and specific funding pledges to the Least Developed Country Fund and the Adaptation Fund. 

Germanwatch is a think tank focused on “the politics and economics of the North and their worldwide consequences.” It concerns itself with “promoting global equity and the preservation of livelihoods.”

1993-2012 most affected

(report excerpt continued)

Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti have been identified as the most affected countries followed by Nicaragua, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Haiti, the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere, rises into the top three of the most affected countries over the past two decades due to the serious impact that Hurricane Sandy had on the Caribbean island. Still coping with the aftermath of the heavy earthquake of 2010, the country suffered losses amounting to USD 750 million, which is equivalent to approximately 10 percent of its total GDP.

Particularly in relative terms, poorer developing countries are hit much harder. These results emphasize the particular vulnerability of poor countries to climatic risks, despite the fact that the absolute monetary damages are much higher in richer countries. Loss of life and personal hardship is also much more widespread ─ especially in the low-income countries.

2012 most affected

(report excerpt continued)

Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan have been identified as the most affected countries last year, followed by Madagascar, Fiji and Serbia.

Hurricane Sandy that hit the United States wreaked havoc in the Caribbean with Haiti being hit hardest, thus accounting for that country’s rise to the top of this year’s Climate Risk Index. In the Caribbean country still recovering from the devastating earthquake in 2010, the heavy rainfalls fuelled by Sandy not only left 200,000 people homeless, but also destroyed much of the

Haiti’s crops, which had already been affected by Hurricane Isaac in late August 2012.

Therefore, the researchers conclude

“The climate summit 2013 held in Warsaw, Poland, represents a defining moment and should mark a turning point for the international community by starting immediately to scale-up its response in addressing climate change and the increasing loss and damage.

“The window of time to put the world on track to stay below the 2 degrees C guardrail is closing rapidly, and Warsaw must trigger new dynamics.”

Beyond Warsaw

For the international community the Warsaw Climate Summit (COP 19) represents “the midway point en route to agreeing upon a new universal climate regime (that is to be adopted in 2015 and to come into effect in 2020). 

“Part of these talks that were established in 2011 focus on creating a legally binding accord or protocol that will comprehensively address emissions from industrialized and developing   countries. The Warsaw Summit is expected to provide the basis for that by setting up a detailed roadmap for the negotiation process in 2014 and 2015.”

Sources and notes

"Global Climate Risk Index 2014: Who Suffers Most from Extreme Weather Events? Weather-Related Loss Events in 2012 and 1993 to 2012" BRIEFING PAPER by Sönke Kreft and David Eckstein http://germanwatch.org/de/download/8551.pdf

Cover CRI 2014

Authors: Sönke Kreft and David Eckstein; Editing: Birgit Kolboske, Daniela Baum and Gerold Kier; Germanwatch thanks Munich RE (in particular Petra Löw and Jakob Alfredo) for their support (especially the provision of the core data which are the basis for the Global Climate Risk Index); Publisher: Germanwatch e.V., Office Bonn Office Berlin, Kaiserstr. 201, Schiffbauerdamm 15; D-53113 Bonn D-10117 Berlin 0; Phone +49 (0) 228 60492-0, Fax -19 Phone +49 (0) 30 2888 356-0; Internet: http://www.germanwatch.org

E-Mail: info@germanwatch.org

November 2013

ISBN 978-3-943704-14-3

This publication can be downloaded at: www.germanwatch.org/en/cri

Prepared with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Comments welcome. For correspondence with the authors contact: kreft@germanwatch.org

http://germanwatch.org/en/7673

The Global Climate Risk Index 2014 analyses to what extent countries have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). The most recent data available—from 2012 and 1993–2012—were taken into account. The countries affected most in 2012 were Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan. For the period from 1993 to 2012 Honduras, Myanmar and Haiti rank highest.

This year’s 9th edition of the analysis reconfirms that according to the Climate Risk Index less developed countries are generally more affected than industrialized countries. Regarding future climate change, the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag for already existing vulnerability that may further increase in regions, where extreme events will become more frequent or more severe due to climate change. While some vulnerable developing countries are frequently hit by extreme events, there are also some others where such disasters are a rare occurrence.

The climate summit 2013 held in Warsaw, Poland, is a defining moment and should mark a turning point for the international community by starting immediately to scale-up its response in addressing climate change and the increasing loss and damage. The window of time to put the world on track to stay below the 2°C guardrail is closing rapidly, and Warsaw must trigger new dynamics.

Links:

[1] http://germanwatch.org/de/download/8551.pdf

 [2] http://germanwatch.org/de/download/8552.pdf

 [3] http://germanwatch.org/de/order/publication/7659

 [4] http://germanwatch.org/de/kri

 [5] http://germanwatch.org/de/7675

 [6] http://germanwatch.org/en/7673

 [7] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima/internationale-klimapolitik

 [8] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima

 [9] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima/internationale-klimapolitik/un-klimaverhandlungen

 [10] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima/internationale-klimapolitik/entwicklung-klima

 [11] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima/internationale-klimapolitik/sicherheit-klima

 [12] http://germanwatch.org/de/thema/klima/internationale-klimapolitik/klimawissenschaft

http://germanwatch.org/de/7659

  

GERMANWATCH

On its website the group writes, “Following the motto Observing, ‘Analyzing, Acting’, Germanwatch has been actively promoting global equity and the preservation of livelihoods since 1991. In doing so, we focus on the politics and economics of the North and their worldwide consequences.

“The situation of marginalized people in the South is the starting point of our work. Together with our members and supporters as well as with other actors in civil society, we intend to represent a strong lobby for sustainable development. We attempt to approach our goals by advocating for the prevention of dangerous climate change, for food security, and compliance of companies with human rights.

“Germanwatch is funded by membership fees, donations, grants from the ‘Stiftung Zukunftsfähigkeit’ (Foundation for Sustainability) as well as grants from various other public and private donors.”

Location: Germanwatch – Bonn Office, Kaiserstrasse 201, D-53113 Bonn, Germany

Ph.: +49 (0)228 / 60492-0; Fax: +49 (0)228 / 60492-19; Germanwatch – Berlin Office

Schiffbauerdamm 15, D-10117 Berlin, Germany, Ph.: +49 (0)30 / 2888 356-0; Fax: +49 (0)30 / 2888 356 -1; E-Mail: info@germanwatch.org

Website: www.germanwatch.org

“Germany urges universal climate agreement at UN Warsaw conference: Germany’s environment minister has emphasized the need for a global agreement aimed at stopping climate change during the UN climate conference in Warsaw. But Germany’s international climate credentials are slipping” November 20, 2013, http://www.dw.de/germany-urges-universal-climate-agreement-at-un-warsaw-conference/a-17241791

Climate change is ruining the hopes of prosperity and development for millions, if not billions of people.

The devastating typhoon Haiyan which hit the Philippines is the latest staggering example … but also with the hundreds of millions of people still exposed without decent protection to similar typhoons still to come. This means that we have a responsibility to act.

We must succeed in adopting a climate agreement that is binding for all states, for all of us. We must do everything in our power to ensure that a historic agreement covering all states is going to be adopted in Paris in 2015 … Securing this agreement is probably the most important duty of humanitarian solidarity in our century. [Germany’s environment minister Peter Altmaier speaking today at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Warsaw, Poland]

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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Coming to a community near you: water privatized, millions thirst

Water, water everywhere for the few: Privatizers enrich themselves deepening poverty of millions

Excerpt, editing by Carolyn Bennett

For twenty years, aid donors have been pushing poor countries to privatize their basic services and ‘liberalize’ their economies. 

Conditions attached to aid and debt relief have been combined with technical assistance and other forms of “knowledge transfer” to ensure that recipient countries comply with donor demands. [Report by England and Wales charity ActionAid]

Cautionary tale

Notes from Action Aid Report’s conclusions

Disregarding public opposition and failing to take into account potentially negative consequences to poor people, the World Bank, particularly, has continued “to push for risky and unproven economic ‘reforms’ such as water privatization.”

Tanzania: Dar es Salaam

One of the poorest countries in the world, Tanzania is doubly burdened with thousands of refugees fleeing regional wars and conflicts. And IFIs take by force.

One of the main aims of IFIs’ privatization project leveled against Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, according to the Action Aid report, “has been to increase Dar es Salaam’s population’s ‘willingness to pay’ (force them to pay) for water. Yet those designing and implementing the reforms seem to have paid scant attention to the fact that 80 percent of Dar es Salaam’s residents are poor.” For these people, “‘unwillingness’ to pay could in fact be ‘inability’ to pay. 

Those forced to pay for water are likely to have to forgo other basic essentials such as food or education – a burden which will most likely fall most heavily on women and girls.

Most poor people do not have direct water connections and rely largely on neighbors or water vendors.

As prices go up, and metering means that every single drop of water is charged for, they are likely to suffer most from the ‘reforms’.

There is already evidence that poor households are shifting toward unsafe water sources, with serious consequences for their family’s health.

“Meanwhile, it is abundantly clear that the ‘pro-poor’ measures, ostensibly designed to increase water access for poor households, will only benefit a very select few, if anyone at all. …

“Action Aid believes  it is time for donors to end the practice of tying IFI (International financial institutions) loans, bilateral aid and debt relief to such risky and unproven policies.”

 

What donors (World Bank and others) should do, Action Aid says, is (a) “restrict conditionality to what is necessary to ensure that aid is spent on those it is intended to benefit; and (b) give countries the space to develop locally grown solutions that meet poor people’s needs.”

Sources and notes

“Turning off the taps: Donor conditionality and water privatisation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania” (from Conclusion “Water privatisation in Dar: the role of donor conditionality”), 2004 Report by  ActionAid, a registered charity (number 274467) and a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales (number 1295174),  https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/turningoffthetaps.pdf

Tanzania

BBC Tanzania Profile June 18, 2013 excerpt: One of the poorest countries in the world, Tanzania hosts thousands of refugees from conflict in the neighboring Great Lakes region, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14095776

Tanzania /ˌtænzəˈniːə/, officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north; Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west; and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country’s eastern border is formed by the Indian Ocean. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.

The official capital of Tanzania since 1996 has been Dodoma where the National Assembly and some government offices are located; between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country’s political capital. Dar es Salaam remains Tanzania’s principal commercial city and is the main location of most government institutions. It is also the principal port of the country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania

IFIs

International financial institutions (IFIs) are financial institutions that have been established (or chartered) by more than one country, and hence are subjects of international law. Their owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other organizations occasionally figure as shareholders. The most prominent IFIs are creations of multiple nations, although some bilateral financial institutions (created by two countries) exist and are technically IFIs. Many of these are multilateral development banks (MDB). The following are usually classified as the main MDBs: World Bank; European Investment Bank (EIB); Asian Development Bank (ADB); European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB, IADB); African Development Bank (AfDB); Islamic Development Bank (IsDB),  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_financial_institutions

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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“Please DON’T THANK ME for my service” ─ Veteran Andrew Larkin

“No Glory in War”

Excerpt, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett

“War damages everything associated with it: ● Not only the sailors and soldiers but the civilians including the children ● Not only the body but the mind and the spirit. 

“Glorification of war becomes support for more war, for accepting the easy violence of war ─ instead of the difficult peaceful resolution of human problems.

Afghan deadWar's endless sufferersPeople of Afghanistan

“… Veterans Day ceremonies perpetuate a myth of fear that we have created for ourselves and that we have allowed our false leaders to impose upon us. 

“We invent myths of defense against those we fear ─ instead of living truly free.

“We perpetuate fear to maintain fantasies of victory and glory and nostalgia for the oxymoronic ‘good war.’ 

We spend $trillions and kill and injure millions of people;

We sacrifice our own people and our people’s needs [for] fantasies of glory, [for] perpetuation of fear.

“War, if it continues, will bring down a nation built by generations of hard-working, dedicated people — a long collapse to be caused by economic and moral bankruptcy, and by the anger, envy and spite of people around the world.

Injury compounded by insult

“Please don’t tell me

War's endless sufferers - People of Iraq

‘thank you for your service’ because that is revolting to me. 

“Instead, thank others for their services to your true freedom:  the creators, growers, healers, preservers.

“As a veteran I might participate in the ceremonies if I could display my opposition to war at those ceremonies; but I cannot because many would be angered, not enlightened, not persuaded.  I would be told, without embarrassment, that ‘freedom isn’t free.’ Even [my] words written here will permit many to indulge their anger.”

War's endless sufferersPeople of Vietnam

Andrew Larkin is a Vietnam-era veteran “as are [his] friends and brothers,” he says. His father, uncles and an aunt were World War II veterans; a great uncle was stationed on a battleship during World War I; a great-grandfather, an immigrant in an Illinois regiment, fought in the Civil War and sustained a bullet wound that caused him to suffer for “the rest of his life.” Andrew Larkin is also Emeritus Professor of Economics at St Cloud State University (Minnesota) and writes for PeaceVoice.

Sources and notes

“No Glory in War: Reflections on the Day from a Veteran” November 11, 2013, by Andrew Larkin, NCVeditor; Category: Guest Author, Politics, newclearvision.comhttp://www.newclearvision.com/2013/11/11/no-glory-in-war/

New Clear Vision: constructive commentary for the chronically farsighted - See more at: http://www.newclearvision.com/about/#sthash.sRQ4SGuL.dpuf

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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Private monopoly conjoined with gov’t neglect breaches public trust

Radio Station’s Willful harm FCC ignores: Sue Wilson acts

Excerpt, editing by Carolyn Bennett

Inordinate power corrupts; unchecked power kills ─ often with impunity (domestic broadcasting to drone warfare: they get away with murder)

The medium of broadcasting “is unique because the airwaves belong to the people; radio and TV stations are licensed by the FCC only if they ‘serve the public interest.’  What does that really mean, and how do ‘We the People’ ensure that broadcasters and their regulators hold up their end of the bargain?”

A Case of Willful Harm

Sue Wilson
Founder of
Media Action Center

Entercom Sacramento’s KDND radio station in 2007 sponsored a water drinking contest called ‘Hold Your Wee for a Wii.’ The idea was to compete to see who could drink the most water without peeing; ‘last man standing’ would win a Nintendo Wii!  But the stunt turned deadly: a contestant ─ 28-year-old mother of three, Jennifer Strange ─ died. 

Learning of Jennifer Strange’s death, Entercom Sacramento market manager John Geary “instructed his staff NOT to call the other contestants to warn them of possible health risks; he asked his station manager to get on the phone - and start calling lawyers.”

When sued and found guilty of negligence, Entercom Sacramento’s KDND radio station insurance company paid millions; “the station itself never paid any price as you or I would have [had] we killed someone, even accidentally.” The death of Jennifer Strange, however, can barely be called an accident, as the jury discovered.

Six years after the incident, the Federal agency tasked with protecting the public interest in broadcasting has done nothing about the request to strip Entercom of its license.  Instead, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has granted Entercom several more radio licenses across the United States.” 

A couple of weeks ago, through her non-profit project, the Media Action Center, Sue Wilson, also director of “Broadcast Blues”, filed a Petition to Deny the renewal of the broadcast license of a Entercom Sacramento’s KDND radio station “because, simply put, they killed a woman.”

Responsibility, accountability

Common, societal good

Wilson says it is “now up to the FCC as to whether they force real accountability in this matter by denying renewal of the station’s license to broadcast over our public airwaves.” 

Broadcast Blues
Directed by
Sue Wilson

A motorist who drives recklessly and kills someone pays through the required auto insurance and personally loses the license to drive. [So too] “If a radio station broadcasts recklessly and kills someone,” it too should “lose the free license it’s been granted by the people to use our public airwaves?”

Wilson concludes, “Broadcasting is a public privilege entrusted to precious few private entities.  Radio and TV stations privately own their equipment; the public owns the air frequencies over which signals are broadcast.  The frequencies, called public airwaves, are like public highways:  just as [the people, the public] own the highways and receive licenses to drive, we own our public airwaves and stations are issued licenses by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to broadcast.  The licenses are free, but stations are only granted lucrative and scarce licenses IF they agree, in exchange, to ‘serve the public interest’. When stations do not keep that bargain, the FCC should rescind their licenses.” 

Tomorrow (November 16) in four countries people will March against the Mainstream Media, a coordinated protest involving 64 events. Activists are hoping to draw attention to lack of alternative sources for news and information. 

Protests will be held outside locations owned by major media networks and will be coordinated with online protests of the companies’ social media outlets. The March against the Mainstream Media is the latest in a string of multi-location demonstrations organized via social media networks. 

Sources and notes

“Who’s Accountable for Reckless Broadcasting?” November 12, 2013, http://www.suewilsonreports.com/2013/11/whos-accountable-for-reckless.html#more

Sue Wilson’s film “Broadcast Blues” was screened at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 2013; and a panel discussion with Free Press, Common Cause, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition focused on “ways to hold not only broadcasters, but the FCC itself accountable to the public interest. A petition has also been circulated to tell the FCC that “enough is enough: radio stations cannot just kill people and expect to continue to broadcast on our publicly owned airwaves.”

Putting the Public Back into the Public Interest

Strategies for Broadcast Media Reform

The medium of broadcasting “is unique because the airwaves belong to the people; radio and TV stations are licensed by the FCC only if they ‘serve the public interest.’  What does that really mean, and how do ‘We the People’ ensure that broadcasters and their regulators hold up their end of the bargain?”

Sue Wilson’s Media Action Center: “Putting the Public Back into Broadcasters’ Public Interest Obligations,” http://www.mediaactioncenter.net/

Broadcast Blues Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MrNvYVb-jw

Sue Wilson reports, http://www.suewilsonreports.com/

November 15 on “Breaking the Set” with Abby Martin: “Sue Wilson of Media Action Center, single-handedly taking on media conglomerates and the FCC to demand that public airwaves be put back in the hands of the people.” Also on the program “a call to action for a March Against the Mainstream Media on November 16, discussing the abysmal failure of the Fourth Estate and the lack of public knowledge about important issues.…” November 15, 2013 04:30

http://rt.com/shows/breaking-set-summary/operation-pillar-of-defense-757/

Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554

Phone: 1-888-225-5322; TTY: 1-888-835-5322; Fax: 1-866-418-0232

http://www.fcc.gov/

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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