‘They Are Afraid of Democracy,’ Says Evo Morales as Bolivian Tribunal Bars Him From Running for Senate

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

Common Dreams | February 21, 2020

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales attends a press conference on January 19, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: Matías Baglietto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

 

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales on Friday accused the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal of being “afraid of democracy” after the seven-member body late Thursday barred Morales from running for Senate on the grounds that he did not meet residency requirements.

Morales, who is currently living in Argentina after being ousted in a military coup last November, said during a press conference in Buenos Aires on Friday that the tribunal’s decision was “illegal and unconstitutional” and alleged the U.S. government was involved in the ruling.

Iranian communists join mass boycott of ‘sham’ Iranian elections

by Steve Sweeney

Morning Star | February 22, 2020

A soldier guards at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tehran

IRAN’S communists joined a mass boycott of today’s “sham” parliamentary elections, calling for all democratic forces to unite in struggle against tyranny, oppression and corruption.

The Tudeh Party insisted that the poll was in reality “a failed attempt to prove the legitimacy of the regime” to the international community.

Michael Bloomberg Is Trying To take Down Bernie Sanders, Not Trump

by Alan Macleod

MintPress News | February 19, 2020

illionaire New York businessman Michael Bloomberg was a late arrival to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination race, but he has certainly already made an impact. Spending $327 million on TV advertising alone, the former mayor has jumped into second place in some national polls, running on a promise to “unite America, defeat Donald Trump, and start getting big things done.”

Winter 2019-20 was so far the warmest on record in the contiguous U.S.

Countercurrents | February 21, 2020

January Average Temperature Departures

The first two months of meteorological winter (December 2019 – January 2020) were the warmest on record for the contiguous U.S. in data going back to 1895. January 2020 the fifth warmest January on record in all 48 contiguous states. The states saw above- to much-above-average temperatures last month. This was the ninth consecutive January with temperatures at least nominally above the 20th century average for the month.

Thirteen states had a top-ten-warmest January, including every New England state except Vermont.

Moving towards clean cooking in China

by Renjie Chen, Haidong Kan

The Lancet | January 20, 2020

Domestic use of solid fuels is a major source of household air pollution and a substantial contributor to ambient air pollution, particularly in developing global regions. Solid fuel use can increase risks for many cardiopulmonary diseases; in the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, household air pollution from solid fuel use was estimated to account for about 1·6 million deaths,

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and this number could be underestimated in areas with a high prevalence of solid fuel use. Developing countries such as China are seeing rapid urbanisation, which is accompanied naturally by a general transition from use of solid fuels to clean energy. Accordingly, assessment of how risks and disease burden would change because of this transition, and use of ventilation facilities, is of public health importance.

Burden of disease in francophone Africa, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

by Charbel El Bcheraoui, PhD , Prof Honoré Mimche, PhD, Yodé Miangotar, PhD, Varsha Sarah Krish, BA, Faye Ziegeweid, MPH, Kris J Krohn, MPH, Martin Herbas Ekat, MD, Jobert Richie Nansseu, MD, Zacharie Tsala Dimbuene, PhD, Helen Elizabeth Olsen, MA, Prof Roger C K Tine, PhD, Christopher M Odell, MPP, Christopher E Troeger, MPH, Nicholas J Kassebaum, MD, Tamer Farag, PhD, Prof Simon I Hay, FMedSci, Prof Ali H Mokdad, PhD

The Lancet | Volume 08, Issue 03, March 01, 2020

Summary

Background

Peer-reviewed literature on health is almost exclusively published in English, limiting the uptake of research for decision making in francophone African countries. We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to assess the burden of disease in francophone Africa and inform health professionals and their partners in the region.