Racist organ transplant policy now ended, helping patients find kidneys
Boston Globe, 3/9–An unprecedented effort to reverse the effects of a racially biased medical test that blocked or delayed Black people from getting kidney transplants seems to be working. Researchers reported Monday that thousands of Black transplant candidates have been given credit on the transplant waiting list for time they lost because of that misguided test, moving up their priority in an attempt at restorative justice. That test used a race-based formula to calculate patients’ kidney function. It made Black patients’ kidneys appear healthier than they really were, delaying diagnosis of impending organ failure and referral for transplant. Among the more than 21,000 Black transplant candidates given waiting time modifications, the median gain was 1.7 years…
Gulf region depends on easily bombed desalination plants
New York Times, 3/14–Last week, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said an attack on a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, in the Persian Gulf, on March 7 had affected the water supply to 30 villages…Over the last few decades, the arid countries of the Persian Gulf have become increasingly reliant on desalination plants to supply water to cities and towns. Desalination plants have become crucial infrastructure in places like Qatar and Bahrain, both of which now rely on the technology for more than 50 percent of their fresh water.
“In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote”
The Atlantic, 3/13–Astonishingly, President Trump and his aides were caught unprepared when Iran, under air assault from the United States and Israel, retaliated by targeting shipping in the Persian Gulf region and specifically through the Strait of Hormuz. Military planners have pointed out for decades that the waterway—through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes—is highly vulnerable to Iranian assault. But the Trump administration acknowledged in classified briefings…that it did not make provisions for a closure because officials assumed that such a move would hurt Iran more than the United States…U.S. leaders have drastically underestimated the Iranian regime’s ability to survive, adjust, and strike back.
Airline prepares for huge surge in fuel price
Yahoo Finance, 3/21–One of the world’s largest airlines has begun taking fuel-saving measures as managers brace for the possibility that the price of oil could surge 60 per cent higher. United Airlines said it was scrapping flights on less-profitable routes following a doubling of jet fuel prices since February. Scott Kirby, the airline’s chief executive, said the moves were part of steps to prepare for a scenario in which oil hits $175 (£131) a barrel and remains above $100 through 2027. That would push up United’s annual fuel bill by about $11bn – more than twice the company’s best-ever profit, Mr Kirby warned.
U.S. quadruples missile and bomb production
Breaking Defense, 3/6–Six top defense contractors have agreed to quadruple production of what President Donald Trump has termed “Exquisite Class Weaponry” following a meeting at the White House on munitions production… “They have agreed to quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity. Expansion began three months prior to the meeting, and Plants and Production of many of these Weapons are already under way,” he said.
Civilians in Lebanon crushed by Israeli bombs
Reuters, 3/20–Lebanon has suffered the deadliest spillover of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Israeli warplanes have pounded Beirut, hitting apartments and downing entire buildings, in strikes that Israel says are targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired into Israeli territory in early March. As of Thursday, March 19, Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes had killed at least 1,000 people and displaced another million across the country. Figures from conflict monitor ACLED show 666 people in Lebanon were killed between March 1 and 16, the most recent dates for which it has analyzed data. Eighty percent were killed in attacks in which civilians were the main targets or the only targets, according to the data.