Trump’s Methylene Chloride Rule Leaves Workers Exposed to Deadly Chemical

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a rule that leaves workers across the United States exposed to methylene chloride, a lethal chemical used in paint strippers that has already caused dozens of worker deaths. Breaking EPA’s repeated promises to

The post Trump’s Methylene Chloride Rule Leaves Workers Exposed to Deadly Chemical appeared first on Global Research.

HERE COMETH THE ROBODOCTOR AND THE PROTECT AND SERVE CROWD

by Joseph P. Farrell, Giza Death Star: Sometimes I have to wonder if all those suspicious deaths of “natural doctors” or “homeopathic” doctors, or whatever one wishes to call them, are being done simply to remove the human component of medicine altogether.  And sometimes I have to wonder if our “culture” couldn’t possibly become more inhuman, or […]

The post HERE COMETH THE ROBODOCTOR AND THE PROTECT AND SERVE CROWD appeared first on SGT Report.

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Source: Scott Slayton | Contributor to ChristianHeadlines.com |

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics showing that death from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit their highest level since the federal government started recording data in 1999.

The rate from deaths from alcohol, suicide, and drugs rose 6 percent in 2017. The increase had been higher for the previous two years, but the rate of annual increase since 1999 was only 4 percent. The Trust for America’s Health and Well Being placed the death rate from suicide, drugs, and alcohol at 46.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2017, up from 43.9 per 100,000 in 2016.

The rise in numbers encompasses the majority of the nation and is not limited to one region. Death rates from suicide, alcohol, and drugs fell in only five states- Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming. However, some regions were hit harder than others. In West Virginia, 99 residents per 100,000 died from alcohol, drugs, or suicide and in New Mexico it is 77 residents per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit men harder than women, with death rates for men standing at 68.2 per 100,000 while it was 25.7 per 100,000 for women. The hardest hit age range is age 35-54 with 72.4 deaths per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide and opioids continue to skyrocket. Suicide by firearm has increased by 22 percent since 2008 and suicide by suffocation rose 42 since 2008. Deaths from synthetic opioids increased 45 percent in 2017 and have seen a tenfold increase in the past five years.

Many experts point to an epidemic of loneliness as one factor in the rise. Loribeth Bowman Stein told USA Today that “We really don’t see each other anymore. We don’t share our hopes and joys in the same way, and we aren’t as available to one another, physically and emotionally, as we need to be.” She sees this lack of social connectedness as a major factor in the increased loneliness that leads to suicide. She also believes technology plays a role in our social isolation, saying, “The world got smaller, but lonelier.”

John Auerbach, who served as state health secretary in Massachusetts and now heads Trust for America’s Health, said the country should work hard to “understand and address” the underlying causes that fuel the rise in “these devastating deaths of despair.”

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, people are available to speak to you immediately. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is open 24 hours a day, at 1-800-273-8255.

Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.”

Photo courtesy: Cristian Newman/Unsplash

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Source: Scott Slayton | Contributor to ChristianHeadlines.com |

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics showing that death from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit their highest level since the federal government started recording data in 1999.

The rate from deaths from alcohol, suicide, and drugs rose 6 percent in 2017. The increase had been higher for the previous two years, but the rate of annual increase since 1999 was only 4 percent. The Trust for America’s Health and Well Being placed the death rate from suicide, drugs, and alcohol at 46.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2017, up from 43.9 per 100,000 in 2016.

The rise in numbers encompasses the majority of the nation and is not limited to one region. Death rates from suicide, alcohol, and drugs fell in only five states- Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming. However, some regions were hit harder than others. In West Virginia, 99 residents per 100,000 died from alcohol, drugs, or suicide and in New Mexico it is 77 residents per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit men harder than women, with death rates for men standing at 68.2 per 100,000 while it was 25.7 per 100,000 for women. The hardest hit age range is age 35-54 with 72.4 deaths per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide and opioids continue to skyrocket. Suicide by firearm has increased by 22 percent since 2008 and suicide by suffocation rose 42 since 2008. Deaths from synthetic opioids increased 45 percent in 2017 and have seen a tenfold increase in the past five years.

Many experts point to an epidemic of loneliness as one factor in the rise. Loribeth Bowman Stein told USA Today that “We really don’t see each other anymore. We don’t share our hopes and joys in the same way, and we aren’t as available to one another, physically and emotionally, as we need to be.” She sees this lack of social connectedness as a major factor in the increased loneliness that leads to suicide. She also believes technology plays a role in our social isolation, saying, “The world got smaller, but lonelier.”

John Auerbach, who served as state health secretary in Massachusetts and now heads Trust for America’s Health, said the country should work hard to “understand and address” the underlying causes that fuel the rise in “these devastating deaths of despair.”

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, people are available to speak to you immediately. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is open 24 hours a day, at 1-800-273-8255.

Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.”

Photo courtesy: Cristian Newman/Unsplash

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Deaths from Suicide, Drugs and Alcohol Reach Highest Level Ever

Source: Scott Slayton | Contributor to ChristianHeadlines.com |

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics showing that death from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit their highest level since the federal government started recording data in 1999.

The rate from deaths from alcohol, suicide, and drugs rose 6 percent in 2017. The increase had been higher for the previous two years, but the rate of annual increase since 1999 was only 4 percent. The Trust for America’s Health and Well Being placed the death rate from suicide, drugs, and alcohol at 46.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2017, up from 43.9 per 100,000 in 2016.

The rise in numbers encompasses the majority of the nation and is not limited to one region. Death rates from suicide, alcohol, and drugs fell in only five states- Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wyoming. However, some regions were hit harder than others. In West Virginia, 99 residents per 100,000 died from alcohol, drugs, or suicide and in New Mexico it is 77 residents per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide, alcohol, and drugs hit men harder than women, with death rates for men standing at 68.2 per 100,000 while it was 25.7 per 100,000 for women. The hardest hit age range is age 35-54 with 72.4 deaths per 100,000.

Deaths from suicide and opioids continue to skyrocket. Suicide by firearm has increased by 22 percent since 2008 and suicide by suffocation rose 42 since 2008. Deaths from synthetic opioids increased 45 percent in 2017 and have seen a tenfold increase in the past five years.

Many experts point to an epidemic of loneliness as one factor in the rise. Loribeth Bowman Stein told USA Today that “We really don’t see each other anymore. We don’t share our hopes and joys in the same way, and we aren’t as available to one another, physically and emotionally, as we need to be.” She sees this lack of social connectedness as a major factor in the increased loneliness that leads to suicide. She also believes technology plays a role in our social isolation, saying, “The world got smaller, but lonelier.”

John Auerbach, who served as state health secretary in Massachusetts and now heads Trust for America’s Health, said the country should work hard to “understand and address” the underlying causes that fuel the rise in “these devastating deaths of despair.”

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, people are available to speak to you immediately. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which is open 24 hours a day, at 1-800-273-8255.

Scott Slayton writes at “One Degree to Another.”

Photo courtesy: Cristian Newman/Unsplash

Venezuela’s Guaido calls for massive protest as blackout drags on

March 9, 2019

By Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday called on citizens across the country to travel to capital Caracas for a protest against socialist President Nicolas Maduro, as the country’s worst blackout in decades dragged on for a third day.

Addressing supporters while standing atop a bridge in Caracas, Guaido – the leader of the opposition-run congress who invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January – said Maduro’s government “has no way to solve the electricity crisis that they themselves created.”

“All of Venezuela, to Caracas!” Guaido yelled while standing atop a bridge in southwestern Caracas, without saying when the planned protest would be held. “The days ahead will be difficult, thanks to the regime.”

Activists had earlier scuffled with police and troops ahead of the rally, meant to pressure Maduro amid the blackout, which the governing Socialist Party called an act of U.S.-sponsored sabotage but opposition critics derided as the result of two decades of mismanagement and corruption.

Dozens of demonstrators attempted to walk along an avenue in Caracas but were moved onto the sidewalk by police in riot gear, leading them to shout at the officers and push on their riot shields. One woman was sprayed with pepper spray, according to a local broadcaster.

Much of the country remained without power on Saturday morning, including the presidential palace of Miraflores, which was running on back-up power generators, according to Reuters witnesses.

“We’re all upset that we’ve got no power, no phone service, no water and they want to block us,” said Rossmary Nascimiento, 45, a nutritionist at the Caracas rally. “I want a normal country.”

The Socialist Party has called for a competing march to protest what it calls imperialism by the United States, which has levied crippling oil sanctions on Maduro’s government in efforts to cut off its sources of funding.

Several hundred people gathered in central Caracas for a march to denounce U.S. pressure on Venezuela, which the president says is the cause of the country’s economic situation.

“We’re here, we’re mobilized, because we’re not going to let the gringos take over,” said Elbadina Gomez, 76, who works for an activist group linked to the Socialist Party.

The power flickered on and off in parts of Caracas on Saturday morning. Six of the country’s 23 states still lacked power as of Saturday afternoon, Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello said on state television.

Julio Castro, a doctor who heads a non-government organization called Doctors For Health, said via Twitter that a total of 13 people had died amid the blackout, including nine deaths in emergency rooms.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the deaths or whether they were a product of the blackout. The Information Ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

CLINICS IDLE

Clinics in the sweltering western state of Zulia, which suffers chronic regional blackouts, had scaled back operations after nearly 72 hours without power.

“We’re not offering services and we don’t have any patients staying here because the generator is not working,” said Chiquinquira Caldera, head of administration at the San Lucas clinic in the city of Maracaibo, as she played a game of Chinese checkers with doctors who were waiting for power to return.

Venezuela, already suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of basic goods, has been mired in a major political crisis since Guaido assumed the interim presidency in January, calling Maduro a usurper following the 2018 election, which Maduro won but was widely considered fraudulent.

Maduro says Guaido is a puppet of Washington and dismisses his claim to the presidency as an effort by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to control Venezuela’s oil wealth.

Former mayor and exiled opposition activist Antonio Ledezma on Saturday called on Guaido to seek United Nations intervention in Venezuela by invoking a principle known as “responsibility to protect.”

The U.N. doctrine sometimes referred to as R2P was created to prevent mass killings such as those of Rwanda and Bosnia and places the onus on the international community to protect populations from crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

“President @jguaido, (you should) formally request Humanitarian Intervention, applying the concept of R2P, to stop extermination, genocide and destruction of what’s left of our country,” Ledezma wrote via Twitter.

Trump has said that a “military option” is on the table with regard to Venezuela.

But Guaido has avoided discussion of any foreign troops in Venezuela, and Latin American neighbors have emphatically opposed a U.S. intervention as a way of addressing the situation.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas, Isaac Urrutia in Maracaibo, writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Matthew Lewis)

French City Firebombed In 4th Night Of Protests After Cops Blamed For Teenage Deaths

Rioters in the French city of Grenoble hurled molotov cocktails and set cars ablaze during the fourth consecutive night of demonstrations against the police, following the deaths of two teenagers in a high-speed chase. 

The young men, aged 17 and 19, were killed on Saturday after they refused to pull over for police who had flagged them down for not wearing helmets. A chase ensued, which ended quickly after the scooter collided with a bus. 

Riots broke out the following night as approximately one hundred hooded youth took to the sreets, hurling around 30 molotov cocktails, while around 2,000 angry citizens marched on Tuesday in memory of the boys, Adam and Fatih. 

In previous nights, rioters launched fireworks and gasoline bombs at police officers, who responded with tear gas. According to RT, at least 65 vehicles have been destroyed in the protests. 

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The American Catastrophe: Drug, Alcohol, & Suicide Deaths Hit Record Levels

Authored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com,

Since the United States government began tracking the cause of death in 1999, suicides, alcohol, and drug-related deaths have skyrocketed to record levels. The new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Americans are dying younger as life expectancy continues to drop.

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Feelings of hopelessness and despair are overwhelming many in the U.S. So much so, that people are turning to alcohol, drugs, and suicide to numb the pain of their lives.  Government enslavement and the stranglehold on the economy are making life even more difficult on those already struggling to get by. And this is seen in new death numbers released.

The national rate for deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide rose from 43.9 to 46.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017, a 6 percent increase, the Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust reported Tuesday. That was a slower increase than in the previous two years, but it was greater than the 4 percent average annual increase since 1999, reported USA Today.

Perhaps most disturbing, is that the deaths from suicides rose from 13.9 to 14.5 per 100,000, which amounted to a 4 percent increase. That was double the average annual pace over the previous decade.  Psychologist Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer of the Well Being Trust, says broader efforts are needed to address the underlying causes of alcohol and drug use and suicide. “It’s almost a joke how simple we’re trying to make these issues,” he says. “We’re not changing direction and it’s getting worse.”

That’s because people have no control over their lives anymore.  The government controls every aspect of everyone’s lives and social media helps to compound the issue by often making people feel like they don’t have enough or can’t “keep up with the Joneses.” Human beings need to and deserve to be free; it’s a basic human right.  Once that right and free will are taken away, there’s not much left for anyone to live for.  Unfortunately, this isn’t going to be a popular vein of thought, but it needs to be said. And problems caused by government control cannot be fixed by more government control.

The truth is that big government is not going to save us.  People don’t need more government bureaucrats telling them how to run their lives.  Instead, what people really need is to find meaning and purpose in life, and that is not something that big government is going to provide. –Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse 

Psychology Today wrote that in 1755, in Of Suicide, David Hume argues that, though only “one step” could put an end to his misery, and that’s to truly be free.  If one cannot be free in life, they will be free in death. Hume proposes to “restore men to their native liberty” by examining all the common arguments against suicide and demonstrating that suicide is “free from every imputation of guilt or blame.”

Loss of control over one’s life (such as forced sexual abuse) appears to be a common cause even in the article written by USA Today.  However, Miller admits that while overdose antidotes and treatment for opioid use disorder are definitely needed in today’s world, he says, “it’s not going to fix” the underlying problems that lead people to end their lives, whether or not it’s intentional.”

The American Catastrophe: Drug, Alcohol, And Suicide Deaths Hit RECORD LEVELS

Since the United States government began tracking the cause of death in 1999, suicides, alcohol, and drug-related deaths have skyrocketed to record levels. The new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Americans are dying younger as life expectancy continues to drop.

Feelings of hopelessness and despair are overwhelming many in the U.S. So much so, that people are turning to alcohol, drugs, and suicide to numb the pain of their lives.  Government enslavement and the stranglehold on the economy are making life even more difficult on those already struggling to get by. And this is seen in new death numbers released.

If America Is Such A Happy Place, Why Is The Suicide Rate Up 34% Since The Year 2000?

The national rate for deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide rose from 43.9 to 46.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017, a 6 percent increase, the Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust reported Tuesday. That was a slower increase than in the previous two years, but it was greater than the 4 percent average annual increase since 1999, reported USA Today.

Perhaps most disturbing, is that the deaths from suicides rose from 13.9 to 14.5 per 100,000, which amounted to a 4 percent increase. That was double the average annual pace over the previous decade.  Psychologist Benjamin Miller, chief strategy officer of the Well Being Trust, says broader efforts are needed to address the underlying causes of alcohol and drug use and suicide. “It’s almost a joke how simple we’re trying to make these issues,” he says. “We’re not changing direction and it’s getting worse.”

That’s because people have no control over their lives anymore.  The government controls every aspect of everyone’s lives and social media helps to compound the issue by often making people feel like they don’t have enough or can’t “keep up with the Joneses.” Human beings need to and deserve to be free; it’s a basic human right.  Once that right and free will are taken away, there’s not much left for anyone to live for.  Unfortunately, this isn’t going to be a popular vein of thought, but it needs to be said. And problems caused by government control cannot be fixed by more government control.

The truth is that big government is not going to save us.  People don’t need more government bureaucrats telling them how to run their lives.  Instead, what people really need is to find meaning and purpose in life, and that is not something that big government is going to provide. –Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse 

Psychology Today wrote that in 1755, in Of Suicide, David Hume argues that, though only “one step” could put an end to his misery, and that’s to truly be free.  If one cannot be free in life, they will be free in death. Hume proposes to “restore men to their native liberty” by examining all the common arguments against suicide and demonstrating that suicide is “free from every imputation of guilt or blame.”

Loss of control over one’s life (such as forced sexual abuse) appears to be a common cause even in the article written by USA Today.  However, Miller admits that while overdose antidotes and treatment for opioid use disorder are definitely needed in today’s world, he says, “it’s not going to fix” the underlying problems that lead people to end their lives, whether or not it’s intentional.”

 

 

Mexico government apologizes for deaths of youths taken by police

March 4, 2019

By Lizbeth Diaz

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican government officials apologized on Monday to families of five youths killed after police kidnapped them and turned them over to a brutal drug gang, a rare instance of officials admitting the state’s culpability in such crimes.

Relatives said the apology is the first official recognition the four boys and a girl were innocent victims and not criminals as officials initially asserted when they went missing in 2016 in the Gulf state of Veracruz, one of Mexico’s most violent.

“More than anything, we want to reclaim the good name of our kids … and demand justice for them and for thousands of others who experience the same thing,” Columba Arroniz, a mother of one of the dead, said with tears streaming down her face.

Bloody turf battles among increasingly splintered criminal cartels have left more than 40,000 people missing in the past two decades, as well as around 26,000 unidentified corpses in over 1,100 mass graves, according to official data.

Cartels fight to control trafficking routes, human smuggling, extortion and kidnapping, among other activities.

Alejandro Encinas, the deputy interior minister for human rights, acknowledged the state’s “profound responsibility” and vowed to revive investigations into the case in which eight police are among the 21 suspects so far arrested.

“We know that organized crime works with government officials at all levels,” Encinas said at the event attended by family members at Mexico City’s Museum of Memory and Tolerance.

No senior Veracruz security officials have been investigated in the case, a point criticized by the families.

“I apologize for the collusion between police and organized crime that wasn’t stopped in time,” said Cuitlahuac Garcia, Veracruz’s governor, who took office in December.

The youths were on their way home when they were stopped by local police, apparently in the mistaken belief they had ties to a gang, then turned over to members of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. They were then murdered and their bodies incinerated, according to preliminary findings.

Grieving mother Arroniz drew some consolation from the fact that investigators found some remains of her son Bernardo.

“The other families don’t have anywhere to cry,” she said.

The case has echoes of the 2014 abduction and suspected massacre of 43 trainee teachers in southwest Mexico, in which the government admitted police were involved. To date, the remains of only one of the 43 have been definitively identified.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by David Alire Garcia and James Dalgleish)

Spain Surpasses Italy To Become “World’s Healthiest Country”

As the US struggles with declining life expectancy (as deaths from suicides, drug overdoses and other “deaths of despair” climb), rising infant mortality and ballooning health-care costs that preclude access to preventative care for millions of Americans – not to mention the attendant ills of rampant obesity and tobacco use), America has seen its position among the world’s healthiest nations deteriorate, while, across the Atlantic, more European nations are claiming spots in the highest echelons of the global rankings.

According to Bloomberg’s 2019 World Health Rankings, Spain has supplanted Italy as the world’s healthiest country. In the most ranking, published in 2017, Spain had placed sixth.

Spain

Four other European nations ranked among the top 10 in 2019: Iceland (third place), Switzerland (fifth), Sweden (sixth) and Norway (ninth). Japan was the healthiest Asian nation, climbing three ranks to place fourth overall, and supplanting Singapore, which dropped to eighth. Rounding out the top ten were Australia and Israel, which ranked seventh and 10th, respectively.

BBG

Variables including life expectancy are used to rank countries, while factors like tobacco use and obesity work against the overall ranking. Environmental factors like access to clean water and sanitation are also taken into consideration. Spain has the highest life expectancy at birth among European Union nations. Out of all 169 nations that BBG tracks, only Japan and Switzerland rank higher. By 2040, Spain is forecast to have the highest lifespan, at roughly 86 years, followed by Japan, Singapore and Switzerland.

The reason? Access to primary care.

“Primary care is essentially provided by public providers, specialized family doctors and staff nurses, who provide preventive services to children, women and elderly patients, and acute and chronic care,” according to the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2018 review of Spain. Over the past decade, this has helped bring about a decline in deaths from heart disease and cancer. While China ranked 52nd overall, it’s on track to surpass the US by 2040, according to the Institute for health metrics and evaluation.

In the Caribbean, Cuba placed highest at 30, making it the only developing nation to be ranked that high.

In North America, Canada holds the highest ranking, placing 16th overall – that’s well above the US and Mexico, which rank 35th and 53rd.

The key to the healthy lifestyles of European countries, according to BBG, could be their observance of the Mediterranean diet, which is heavy in vegetables, nuts and lean proteins like fish.

Researchers say eating habits may provide clues to health levels enjoyed by Spain and Italy, as a “Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, had a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than those assigned to a reduced-fat diet,” according to a study led by the University of Navarra Medical School.

Many of the lowest ranking countries are located in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounted for 27 of the 30 unhealthiest nations in the ranking. Haiti, Afghanistan and Yemen were the others. Mauritius was the healthiest in Sub-Sahara, placing 74th globally due to its low rates of death by communicable disease.

See the full ranking below:

Ranking

Ranking

Ranking

This African shrub shows remarkable anticancer potential

(Natural News) Cancer is a disease that strikes fear in a person’s heart, and for good reason. In 2018, the World Health Organization attributed more than 9.6 million deaths to this disease, making it the second leading cause of mortality in the world. While conventional treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy exist, these tend to do more harm than…

American Opioids Deaths Have Quadrupled In 18 Years

The opioid crisis is the most significant public health issue affecting the US at the moment. Opioid-related deaths across the country have risen more than 4-fold in 18 years, from 2.9 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2016, according to a new report.

More than 351,000 Americans have died of opioids between 1999 and 2016, according to the report published Friday by Mathew Kiang, ScD, Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, and other researchers from the University of Toronto.

Researchers showed that the highest concentration of opioid deaths is located in eight Eastern states: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio.

“Although opioid-related mortality has been stereotyped as a rural, low-income phenomenon concentrated among Appalachian or midwestern states, it has spread rapidly, particularly among the eastern states. The increase in mortality has been driven primarily by synthetic opioids, which shows a distinct geographical patterning from east to west. Twenty-eight eastern states had synthetic opioid–related mortality rates that are at least doubling every 2 years, with half of those states experiencing a doubling in mortality rates every year. Of these 28 states, 12 had mortality rates from synthetic opioids greater than 10 per 100,000,” the resaerchers note.

The report warned the crisis has unfolded in three waves.

The first wave started right before the Dot Com bust and ended around the 2008 financial crisis. The second wave formed around the time when the Federal Reserve started up the printing presses in 2009, was associated with a significant increase in heroin-related deaths. Then the third wave took over around 2015/16, involves a rapid rise in deaths related to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

Synthetic opioids are now contaminating other illegal drugs, such as designer drugs, cocaine, and methamphetamines. 

Researchers said opioid overdose deaths are occurring across a wide range of people, and in 2016 and 2017, a 26% increase in deaths were seen among the African American population.

The crisis was so hard-hitting in 2016 that Americas’ life expectancy declined .36 years.

About 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017, setting a new national record, the CDC reported in 2018.

Looking forward, the third wave of the crisis will be the most prolonged and deadliest wave.

Synthetic opioids are even having a tremendous impact on the nation’s labor market and economy.

Record drug overdoses tend not to occur in the “greatest economy ever,” but instead economic recession/depressions. 

Bootleg liquor kills at least 41 on Indian tea plantation as dozens fall ill

February 23, 2019

By Zarir Hussain

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) – At least 41 Indian tea plantation workers have died from drinking toxic bootleg liquor after receiving their weekly wages, and 20 are critically ill in hospital, a government minister said on Friday.

The deaths come less than two weeks after more than 100 people died after drinking tainted alcohol in northern India.

At least seven women were among the dead at the plantation in the northeastern state of Assam, 310 km from the state’s financial capital, Guwahati.

“So far 41 people have died after consuming spurious liquor,” Assam Power Minister Tapan Gogoi told Reuters by telephone.

Another 45 people have been hospitalized and 20 are in a critical state after nearly 100 people drank the liquor on Thursday, local lawmakers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party told Reuters.

Dilip Rajbnonshi, a doctor at the government hospital in Golaghat, said the deaths were due to “spurious country liquor”.

Deaths from illegally produced alcohol, known locally as hooch or country liquor, are common in India, where many cannot afford branded spirits.

(Fixes paragraph 3 to reflect that Guwahati is the financial capital)

(Editing by Nick Macfie, William Maclean)

Is Venezuela Canada’s Modern Day El Dorado?

The search for gold in the mythical place of El Dorado in Latin America drew armies of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century and caused many deaths of indigenous people. The gold remained elusive but Spain colonized most of

The post Is Venezuela Canada’s Modern Day El Dorado? appeared first on Global Research.

Brazil Dam Collapse: Vale, the Private Giant Responsible, Has a History of Flouting Rules

The Brumadinho dam burst, the most recent instance in Vale’s long list of regulatory violations, has resulted in 121 deaths so far, with the number expected to rise

***

With the death toll in the Brumadinho dam disaster in Brazil

The post Brazil Dam Collapse: Vale, the Private Giant Responsible, Has a History of Flouting Rules appeared first on Global Research.

Valley Fever cases in California continue to increase

Dust billows as a farmer plows a dry field in Kern County, California. Documented cases of Valley Fever rose 11 percent in 2018 — a preliminary total of 7,886 cases compared to 7,090 cases for the same period in 2017, according to California Department of Public Health. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images, Getty

Ted Andersen

A potentially deadly illness found in the soil and dusty winds of California’s Central Valley is on the rise, state health officials say.

Documented cases of Valley Fever rose 11 percent in 2018 — a preliminary total of 7,886 cases compared to 7,090 cases for the same period in 2017, according to the California Department of Public Health. Health officials said final data for 2018 will be available in March.

Valley Fever (coccidioidomycosis) is an illness caused by a fungus found in the soil and dirt in the Central Valley. The fungus thrives in areas of low rainfall, high summer temperatures and moderate winter temperatures. The spores are carried by the wind in dust particles when the desert soil is disturbed.

Simply passing through an area with Valley Fever and breathing in a small number of spores can lead to an infection of the lungs with flu-like symptoms. About half of the infections produce no symptoms, but in a few cases, the infection can spread from the lungs to the brain, bones, skin or eyes, causing blindness, skin abscesses, lung failure and, occasionally, death.

Kern County documented the lion’s share of California’s cases last year, with 2,771, up 17 percent from 2017 and 46 percent from 2016. In 2017, Kern County recorded nine deaths — the second-highest number since the county started keeping track of cases in 1992 and the highest number in over a decade. Kern County health officials told SFGATE they have yet to release death totals for 2018.

Other counties that recorded the most Valley Fever cases last year were Fresno (623), Tulare (425) and San Luis Obispo (340). Monterey, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties have also seen their Valley Fever numbers more than double in recent years.

“We’ve seen a lot more cases recently,” said Michelle Rivera, a health education specialist for Fresno County. “Not all providers are testing for it so there might be more cases out there.”

Los Angeles County reported 973 cases of Valley Fever last year. Los Angeles County Public Health officials could not speculate as to the exact location of exposure, but based on environmental surveillance data and individual case reports, officials stated that the disease is also endemic to Los Angeles County soil.

Statewide, the number of reported cases quintupled from about 816 cases in 2000 to more than 4,000 cases in 2012. During that period, a total of 1,098 death records listed coccidioidomycosis as a cause, averaging 78 deaths annually, according to state public health data. Since then, Valley Fever cases have continued to trend up and state health officials have yet to pinpoint the exact cause.

Valley Fever made headlines in 2018 when, on Feb. 1, a U.S. appeals court threw out inmates’ lawsuits and ruled that California prison inmates cannot hold state officials liable for contracting Valley Fever. Ian Wallach, an attorney for some of the inmates, said the ruling was devastating.

“The families of over 40 inmates who died and 100 who got infected and require lifetime medical care are left to fend for themselves,” Wallach told the Associated Press.

Possible contributing factors include heavy rainfall after years of drought, as well as other climatic and environmental factors, increased number of susceptible people in areas where the fungus is present, and increased awareness, testing and diagnosis by health care providers.

Since the areas with the highest rates of Valley Fever are found along swaths of both Interstate 5 and Highway 101, drivers should be mindful of gusty conditions.

“While driving through these areas, drivers could keep car windows shut and use ‘recirculating’ air conditioning to reduce the risk of Valley Fever,” said Corey Egel, assistant deputy director of public affairs for the California Department of Public Health.

It’s unknown if or how the relatively dry 2017-18 winter in California will impact the number of Valley Fever cases this year, but researchers such Ian McHardy, co-director of the Center for Valley Fever at UC Davis, are cautious that the relatively wet winter California has experienced so far may portend higher numbers of incident cases — both human and animal — between the months of May and December 2019.

“There is concern that we’ll see another record number of cases in California this year,” McHardy said.

VACCINE-INDUCED DISEASE now a top global health threat for 2019 and beyond

(Natural News) Contrary to what the propaganda-spreading World Health Organization (WHO) purports, modern day vaccines are responsible for more deaths than the diseases they are intended to create immunity against. This is a fact based on sound science. Let’s review some examples, and then we’ll discuss shedding – the common way infectious diseases are spread…

Ebola Outbreak In DRC Continues To Worsen: “It Is Absolutely Vital That We Are Prepared”

The recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the second worst in recorded history.  So far, 743 people have been infected with the virus and 461 of those have died.

In just one day, the DRC recorded 7 new cases of Ebola. There are now 174 cases remain under investigation, which is up from 161 yesterday. Four of the new cases were reported in Katwa, the latest hot spot in the outbreak that has swept across North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the DRC during the past 6 months. According to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, one of the two deaths confirmed today was a community death in Katwa. Community deaths, which take place outside of a hospital or Ebola treatment center, raise the risk of Ebola transmission.

The World Health Organization says that approximately two-thirds of patients in the current outbreak are women; historically, infections are split evenly among men and women. But in the eastern DRC, women are more likely than men to attend funerals and care for sick relatives. In an effort to stop the spread of this disease, the WHO said some women have been trained in outbreak response and Ebola education and have gone door to door in outbreak zones to inform residents about the deadly disease. “Local women have taken a leadership role in explaining the disease, and learning how to stop its spread,” the WHO said.

South Sudan has now begun using Merck’s unlicensed and trial vaccine on people as they fear the spread of the virus. The vaccination efforts began on Monday, according to ABC News. Health workers and other front-line responders are being vaccinated with the trial vaccine against Ebola amid fears the deadly disease could spread across the border.

 The risk of a regional spread of this deadly virus is on the rise.  South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda could all experience outbreaks should containment measures fail. “It is absolutely vital that we are prepared for any potential case of Ebola spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement. “WHO is investing a huge amount of resources into preventing Ebola from spreading outside DRC and helping governments ramp up their readiness to respond should any country have a positive case of Ebola.”

Louisiana police hunting suspected 21-year old serial killer

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – A 21-year old man accused of shooting dead his mother and father, and three other people, including a teenager, is being hunted in Louisiana.

Dakota Theriot is alleged to have carried out his shooting spree in Ascension and Livingston parishes, near the Lousiana capital Baton Rouge.

“This is probably one of the worst domestic violence incidents I’ve seen in quite a while,” Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said Saturday.

Theriot lived with his parents, Elizabeth and Keith Theriot, both aged fifty, but was recently told to leave home. He returned on Saturday, and according to his parents shot them both. Police confirmed this as they arrived at the home in Gonzalez in the Ascension Parish.

He has been formally charged with two counts of first degree murder, illegal use of weapons and home invasion.

Theriot is the main suspect in the shooting deaths of 3 other people in Loivingstone Parish, 30 miles northeast of his parents’ home.

The bodies of Billy Ernest, 43, Summer Ernest, 20, and Tanner Ernest, 17 were discovered on Saturday morning, said the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office. The family was known to Theriot.

Ban Cars In Florida? US Pedestrian Deaths Soar In Last Decade

Pedestrians are the only group among U.S. road users that are being killed at a significantly higher rate than ten years ago.

While deaths of motor vehicle occupants decreased by 6.1 percent and deaths among non-motorists like bikers remained relatively stable, Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes that fatalities of pedestrians increased from 11.8 percent to 16.1 percent of all road accident deaths. Meanwhile, the number of people taking trips walking has not increased significantly.

Florida is the most dangerous state for pedestrians, as a study by activist group Smart Growth Americashows. An average 2.7 people per 100,000 inhabitants get killed in the state every year while walking on streets or roads. Among the six most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians in the U.S., five are in Florida. In general, a lot of Southern states exhibit pedestrian death rates that are higher than the national average.

Infographic: More Pedestrians Killed in U.S. in Last Decade | Statista

You will find more infographics at Statista

Smart Growth America estimates that this is because Southern metros are more likely to be designed for cars rather than for a variety of road users. Southern cities, for example, experience more sprawl, which is again linked to more pedestrian deaths.

The study also highlights that older people, poor people and people of color are killed while walking in higher numbers. A person over the age of 75 is twice as likely to be fatally hit by a car than the average American. The same is true for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Black Americans are 25 percent more likely to die in this fashion. Americans in areas where the median income is below US$36,000/year are 60 percent more likely to get killed on the road while walking.

According to Smart Growth America dangerous roads with no provisions for pedestrians are more likely to have been built in low-income neighborhood or communities of color. The National Highway System also predominantly cuts through these communities. Reservations for Native populations were historically put in places unsuitable for walking. Finally, research has shown that motorists yield to minority walkers less frequently.

Given the logic that has permeated the ever-increasing nanny states of America, we wonder how long before cars are banned (or speed limits are lowered to walking pace, or all vehicles are mandated to be made from bubble-wrap)… especially in Florida?

Big Pharma payoffs to doctors cause an increase in opioid deaths… guns don’t kill people; DOCTORS do

(Natural News) The concept of doctors prescribing patients certain medications in exchange for money and gifts from pharmaceutical companies isn’t new, but it has taken on a whole new level of danger in the wake of the opioid crisis. For a long time, many of us wanted to believe that most doctors are above this…

Mass shooting deaths in 2018 killed 68 Americans and the mass media freaked out; ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS murdered 2,000 people – MSM silent

(Natural News) It’s astonishing how at least 200 million Americans have no clue what’s really going on in this country regarding deaths caused by illegal immigrants, prescription medications, vaccines, hospital superbugs (think MRSA), chemotherapy, and hospital surgery errors. That’s because the mainstream media, a.k.a. MSM, purposely fails to report any of it. What most people…

Measles VACCINE linked to 127 deaths in last 15 years; only two deaths linked to humans who contracted measles naturally in that same period

(Natural News) It was the year 1900, and out of every 100,000 humans, only 13 died from the Measles. Forty years later, that number of deaths went down significantly to less than one person in every 100,000, and on down to barely anyone (0.2 in 100,000) dying from Measles twenty years later in 1960. Just…

Sesame oil found to protect the heart from disease

(Natural News) Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that these diseases account for as much as 17.9 million deaths every year, which is approximately 31 percent of all global deaths. These numbers highlight the need for remedies that can safely and effectively protect the heart from disease. Scientists have searched…
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