“A Reflection of Growing Inequality”: Dr. Paul Farmer on the Deadly Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

democracynow

Published on Aug 22, 2014

http://www.democracynow.org – As the death toll from the West African Ebola outbreak nears 1,400, two American missionaries who received experimental drugs and top-notch healthcare have been released from the hospital. We spend the hour with Partners in Health co-founder Dr. Paul Farmer discussing what can be done to stop the epidemic and the need to build local healthcare capacity, not just an emergency response. “The Ebola outbreak, which is the largest in history that we know about, is merely a reflection of the public health crisis in Africa and it’s about the lack of staff, stuff and systems that could protect populations, particularly those living in poverty, from outbreaks like this or other public health threats,” says Farmer, who has devoted his life to improving the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. He is a professor at Harvard Medical School and currently serves as the special advisor to the United Nations on community-based medicine. He has written several books including, “Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues.”

This video is just an excerpt from the full 45-minute interview with Dr. Paul Farmer. To watch the full segment and read the transcript, visit http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/22…

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Back To School With The Educational App Boom

August 26, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Educational apps are all over these days. How are they working for the education of our children? Plus: why our kids need more sleep.

 

Matthew Triska, 13, center, helps Alex Fester, 10, to build code using an iPad at a youth workshop at the Apple store on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013, in Stanford, Calif. (AP)

The new school year is revved and revving up all over now. Backpacks, notebooks, new sneakers – and technology. At home and in the classroom, educational apps are all over now. Apps for babies. Apps for toddlers. Apps for kids in school. We’ve got The Three Little Pigs and Monster Physics. Frog Dissection and Duolingo. Apps for the classroom, and for home, and apps for teachers to communicate with home. Is it all rocketing our children ahead in learning? This hour On Point: In school and out, wading deep into the age of educational apps.

– Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Betsy Corcoran, CEO and editor at EdSurge. (@betsy_)

Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation. Author of “Screen Time: How Electronic Media — From Baby Videos to Educational Software — Affects Your Young Child.” (@LisaGuernsey)

Annie Murphy Paul, educational consultant and author of the forthcoming book, “Brilliant: The New Science of Smart.” (@anniemurphypaul)

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Should The Wealthy Worry About Inequality?

August 26, 2014 at 10:00 AM   Multi-millionaire Nick Hanauer says he and his fellow super-rich are killing the goose — the American middle class — that lays the golden eggs.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, right, speaks with Ady Barkan of the Center for Popular Democracy as she arrives for a dinner during the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyo. Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. (AP)

Nick Hanauer is a millionaire many times over. An entrepreneur. An investor. He was one of the first investors in Amazon.com. Has started more than 30 companies. Sold just one to Microsoft for $6 billion, cash. He’s got a pile of fancy homes. The plane. The yacht. His own bank. And a message for his fellow American super-rich: If we don’t figure out how to re-balance the wealth in this country and save the middle class, it’s all coming down. The country. The plutocracy. The works. This hour On Point: Nick Hanauer, multi-millionaire, and his message for the super-rich.

– Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Nick Hanauer, entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Co-author, with Eric Lui, of the book “The Gardens of Democracy.” (@NickHanauer)

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Speaking Truth to Power

CAROLYN BAKER, Ph.D., was an adjunct professor of history and psychology for 11 years and a psychotherapist in private practice for 17 years. (She is not, and never has been, a licensed psychologist.)

Carolyn’s latest book is Collapsing Consciously: Transformative Truths For Turbulent Times (2013). Her 2011 book, Navigating The Coming Chaos: A Handbook For Inner Transition (2011) is a toolkit for emotional and spiritual preparation for a very uncertain future. It was proceeded by Sacred Demise: Walking The Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization’s Collapse (2009). Her other books include: Coming Out From Christian Fundamentalism: Affirming Sensuality, Social Justice, and The Sacred (2007) , U.S. History Uncensored: What Your High School Textbook Didn’t Tell You (2006) and The Journey of Forgiveness, (2000) Carolyn offers life coaching, workshops, and speaking engagements nationally and internationally and may be contacted at carolyn@carolynbaker.net

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The Arctic Methane Monster’s Rapid Rise

CoreLightFilms

Published on Aug 5, 2014

Researcher Jennifer Hynes offers a riveting, comprehensive, scientific Power Point presentation about the Arctic atmospheric “methane global warming veil”, a spiral of runaway global warming.

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3 Ways to Reverse a Supreme Court Decision

freespeechtv

Published on Aug 26, 2014

Thom Hartmann explains the three ways to reverse a supreme court decision.

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Ralph Nader (07/31/2014)

Commonwealth Club

Published on Aug 26, 2014

Ralph Nader, Political Activist; Author, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State; Twitter @RalphNader

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The Struggle to Contain Sierra Leone’s Ebola Epidemic

Journeyman Pictures

Published on Aug 26, 2014

Into the Hot Zone: NGO’s fight to stem the tide of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone

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The deadly haemorrhagic Ebola virus has wiped out whole villages in Sierra Leone. At the epicentre of the outbreak is Kailahun, a town where aid workers are risking their lives to deal with the crisis.

“We are now going to the house, and get the volunteers – the Dead Body Management Team – and they will proceed with the burial”, explains a Red Cross worker. His boiler suited unit is responding to the unexplained death of a middle aged man. The body must be treated with all the precautions afforded to an Ebola patient. Informing the locals of what is happening to the deceased diffuses tension, and helps to defeat the fear and paranoia spreading among the shocked communities. “There’s a lot of beliefs in black magic and those traditional beliefs, so people often explain things through witchcraft and curses. All those things come together… to result in the explosive outbreaks” says Dr Richard Broome. It is up to brave volunteers and local medics to educate communities afflicted by the brutal disease that operates by “overwhelming the body with the virus”. With the number of confirmed deaths increasing, it is important to focus on the few survivors who pull through the virus’ 21 day cycle. The individuals and NGOs fighting and dying with their patients now look to a concerted international response.

ABC Foreign Correspondent – Ref. 6237

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Chris Hedges on “Empire of Illusion”

Allan Gregg In Conversation

Uploaded on Mar 22, 2010

Social critic and author of “Empire of Illusion”, Chris Hedges talks about the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle in American culture.

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Chris Hedges – Death of the liberal class

Fédération canadienne des sciences humaines

Published on Jun 1, 2012

According to Chris Hedges, liberal institutions are to blame for the downward spiral of the American political system. In his Big Thinkinglecture at Congress 2012, he argues that the liberal class—the press, universities, liberal religious institutions, labour unions and the Democratic Party—have forsaken their core values and sold out to corporate interests.

Chris Hedges was a foreign correspondent for nearly two decades for The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitorand National Public Radio, and the author of such books as War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002), American Fascists (2007), I Don’t Believe in Atheists (2008) and Empire of Illusion(2009). He is a senior fellow at The Nation Institute and has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University.

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