Kathlyn Stone (email kathlynstone@gmail.com) is an independent journalist in St. Paul. She maintains a health and science news site at fleshandstone.net.
After an afternoon of sirens and alarms, protesters are being arrested in downtown St. Paul. (You can see it on video shot by The Uptake http://qik.com/theuptake which has video crews all over the city.)
A rally in St. Paul that began peacefully this morning to protest government policies regarding the war and economy has turned a corner and now includes vandalism against public property. A National Guard unit http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/press_room/e-zine/articles/index.php?item=1583 that had been prepared to assist with the RNC convention is present. Continue Reading
Backed by several representatives of national peace and justice groups, Jess Sundin said today that law enforcement raids on homes, confiscation of equipment and detentions that have occurred over the past few days had not dissuaded march organizers or the tens of thousands of people who plan to protest during the Republican National Convention which begins Monday in St. Paul. Sundin, a Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War co-organizer, and representatives of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), Troops Out Now Coalition, and Latinos Against War held a press conference today to talk about the planned march and the effect of recent law enforcement activities. “We are planning a massive, family-friendly permitted march” that will send a message to the world that Americans oppose the war on Iraq and other policy failures that have harmed the American people, she said. “We won’t allow ourselves to be frightened away.”
Sara Flounders, a spokesperson for the New York-based Troops Out Now Coalition, suggested that official reports about those targeted in the raids and their intentions shouldn’t be taken at face value. Continue Reading
About 200 anti-war activists marched from the Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center today as the finishing touches were being put in place for the Republican national convention that starts Monday. Steve Clemens, a Veterans for Peace member from Minneapolis, was among a handful of marchers who decided to commit civil disobedience by crossing into the area that is restricted to Republican party delegates, elected officials, party leaders or staff. For a complete list of articles on the RNC, go to our RNC 2008 page. “We went under a security fence and police rushed us and then we were arrested,” Clemens said. Most of those arrested were given citations for trespassing and were released within a couple hours, said Clemens. Continue Reading
America has been battling over press freedom ever since the Europeans landed. In fact, the British brought their struggle for press freedom with them. If you were alive in the 50s, 60s and 70s, you will remember that U.S. media were then revered worldwide for their history of challenging authority in the public interest. The respect America once enjoyed overseas (despite a perception of brashness and naiveté) was due in large part to those who fought for freedom of the press and idealized the concept. In many respects, ethnic media in America have stepped into that role of societal liberator and public watchdog. Continue Reading
An underlying current of social justice and activism runs through the Tuesday night gatherings at the Mad Hatter’s Tea and Coffee House on West 7th in St. Paul.
Fifty-nine percent of U.S. physicians now support a federally administered health insurance fund that would guarantee health care coverage for everyone, according to a report published in the April 1 2008 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The current support represents a 10 percent increase from a similar national survey in 2002. Among Minnesota physicians, the support for health care financing reform appears to be even higher and tied more specifically to a single-payer system. Last year, Minnesota Medicine magazine reported its results from the first-ever random sampling of state-licensed physicians. Physicians were asked what type of health care financing structure they’d prefer among three choices: single-payer, health savings accounts (tax-free savings accounts to which individuals and employers contribute), and managed care (market-based private insurance plans). Continue Reading
If you are a woman who lives in a northern climate, you are at higher risk for multiple sclerosis. To date, there is no cure for MS, and more questions than answers… “From 1982 until 1997 nobody knew I had MS unless I told them,” Leslie Stanek said. Stanek, who lives in Brooklyn Park and is in her late 50s, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 25 years ago. The disease seemed relatively easy to manage for the first 15 years. Continue Reading
The July 20 opinion piece by HealthPartners CEO Mary Brainerd calling for universal health care is strong evidence that barricades to health care for all are crumbling. But keeping health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the middle of health care delivery may not achieve the other desired results of cost savings and efficiency. Since HMOs began administering government health programs with Medicaid in the mid-1980s, program costs have risen steadily. HMOs now devote 15 to 35 percent of their revenues on administration, including marketing, lobbying, claims processing, communication with physicians, and CEO benefits. In comparison, federal administration of Medicare adds 3 percent in overhead, according to Physicians for a National Health Care Program,
In her article, Brainerd states flatly, “I do not mean a government-run, single-payer system” but doesn’t address why other than sharing the opinion that “Minnesota is better poised to provide universal coverage than Massachusetts.” (Massachusetts recently enacted a law requiring that all citizens be ensured, and added new low-cost options for individuals and some state subsidies.) Presently, HMOs subcontract with the state of Minnesota to administer health care delivery for some 640,000 Minnesotans through the state’s three public programs: Medical Assistance (MA), General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC), and MinnesotaCare. Continue Reading
Last week members of a health reporters discussion group I belong to were asked to provide input for a workshop on how the news media should prepare for the purported bird flu pandemic. The program was sponsored by a state Homeland Security department and the local AP bureau.Another alarmed member called for creation of “a journalists’ pandemic task force” and suggested that if the association wasn’t ready to get behind this idea, he’d set up regular conference calls to make sure others were prepared for the impending crisis. Covering the avian flu, or H5N1, has been dominating the thoughts of many health and science writers for months. Alarming headlines and fear inspiring claims are becoming increasingly common on Web sites and TV and in newspapers. Some examples: “WHO Says Bird Flu Virus Mutated” (Reading the article, you find that the it’s a dead-end story in Indonesia, coinciding with that government’s wish for $900 million in funding for bird flu preparedness, AP: 6/22/06). Continue Reading
