All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care – POLITICO – (just as you thought, it couldn’t get worse…)

Pentagon officials working on Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s cost-cutting review of the department have proposed slashing military health care by $2.2 billion, a reduction that some defense officials say could effectively gut the Pentagon’s health care system during a nationwide pandemic.

The proposed cut to the military health system over the next five years is part of a sweeping effort Esper initiated last year to eliminate inefficiencies within the Pentagon’s coffers. But two senior defense officials say the effort has been rushed and driven by an arbitrary cost-savings goal, and argue that the cuts to the system will imperil the health care of millions of military personnel and their families as the nation grapples with Covid-19.

 

Source: Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care – POLITICO

Belarus ambassador declares solidarity with opposition protesters | The Independent

The Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia has broken rank to declare solidarity with protesters in Belarus following the country’s disputed presidential election.

“I stand in solidarity with those who came out on the streets of Belarusian cities with peaceful marches so that their voice could be heard. The Belarusians have achieved this right through suffering,” Igor Leshchenya said in a video posted by Nasha Niva media on Saturday.

 

Source: Belarus ambassador declares solidarity with opposition protesters | The Independent

New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern delays election over coronavirus fears – BBC News

The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed the country’s general election by a month amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

The vote was due to take place on 19 September but will now be held on 17 October instead.

Ms Ardern said on Monday that the new date would allow parties “to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under”.

 

Source: New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern delays election over coronavirus fears – BBC News

Cheney calls pardoning Snowden ‘unconscionable’ after Trump says he’s considering it | TheHill

“Edward Snowden is a traitor. He is responsible for the largest and most damaging release of classified info in US history. He handed over US secrets to Russian and Chinese intelligence putting our troops and our nation at risk,” Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, tweeted on Sunday afternoon, adding; “Pardoning him would be unconscionable.”

Source: Cheney calls pardoning Snowden ‘unconscionable’ after Trump says he’s considering it | TheHill

Hong Kong third wave: health officials race to contain port outbreak as nearly half of 74 new Covid-19 cases tied to container terminal cluster | South China Morning Post

Health authorities are racing to contain an outbreak at Hong Kong’s biggest container terminal that is already threatening a temporary suspension of business at a port company linked to nearly half of Sunday’s 74 new

Covid-19

cases.

Expanded tests will be carried out to cover up to 8,000 workers, many of whom spend hours inside cramped, makeshift dormitories at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals, according to union members. The site now has 63 Covid-19 cases connected to more than 10 companies.

Source: Hong Kong third wave: health officials race to contain port outbreak as nearly half of 74 new Covid-19 cases tied to container terminal cluster | South China Morning Post

QAnon Vaccine Conspiracy Theories — VAXOPEDIA

There is one thing you can believe in when it comes to conspiracy theories, including vaccine conspiracy theories. “The QAnon theory now connects anti-vaccine, anti-5G conspiracies, antisemitic and anti-migrant tropes, and several bizarre theories that the world is in the thrall of a group of peadophile elites set on global domination in part aided by…

QAnon Vaccine Conspiracy Theories — VAXOPEDIA

Cats, dogs, and humans in Istanbul – Nadia’s Jerusalem

It always fascinated me to see cats and dogs in Istanbul. I was actually willing to live a dog life in that city. The amount of care and cleanliness was always a wishful thought.

This time things looked different… dogs roaming spiritless as if drugged. Homeless men on the sides of the streets, close to mosques and inside public gardens… misery was obvious. It was only cats that managed to grab life to its fullest …

 

Source: Cats, dogs, and humans in Istanbul – Nadia’s Jerusalem