Half the 600,000 residents aided by NYC Care are undocumented immigrants

The comprehensive health care plan unveiled by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio this week drew applause from the Democrat's supporters but also skepticism from those in the city who question the value and cost of the effort.

De Blasio said NYC Care will provide primary and specialty care from pediatric to geriatric to 600,000 uninsured New Yorkers. De Blasio estimated the annual cost at $100 million.

"This is the city paying for direct comprehensive care (not just ERs) for people who can’t afford it, or can’t get comprehensive Medicaid - including 300,000 undocumented New Yorkers," Eric Phillips, spokesman for de Blasio, boasted on Twitter.

State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican representing parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, criticized the proposal as an example of de Blasio using city coffers "like his personal ATM."

"How about instead of giving free health care to 300,000 citizens of other countries, you lower property taxes for our senior citizens who are being forced to sell the homes they’ve lived in for decades because they can’t afford to pay your 44 percent increase in property taxes?" she said.

Seth Barron, associate editor of City Journal and project director of the NYC Initiative at the Manhattan Institute think tank, noted that the city's uninsured, including undocumented residents, can receive treatment on demand at city hospitals. The city pays more than $8 billion to treat 1.1 million people through its New York City Health + Hospitals program, he wrote.

Barron said the mayor is simply trying to shift patients away from the emergency room and into clinics. He said that dividing $100 million by 600,000 people comes to about $170 per person, the equivalent of one doctor visit.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/09/new-york-city-care-comprehensive-health-care-plan-concerns/2522924002/

A teacher exposes the LGBT agenda coming into in elementary schools

Syria’s National Security Director Visited Saudi Arabia

Director of the Syrian National Security Bureau, General Ali Mamlouk, made a secret visit to Saudi Arabia and met with senior Saudi officials, the al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on January 9 citing a source in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

“The return of the heat to the diplomatic relations [between Syria and Saudi Arabia] is a matter of time only, Saudi Arabia is preparing for this strategic turn,” the Lebanese newspaper quoted the source as saying.

According to the source, Riyadh is not only willing to accept the status quo in Damascus but also planning to drive President Bashar al-Assad away from Tehran.

A recent report by the Sunday Telegraph said that Saudi Arabia will follow the footsteps of the UAE and Bahrain and reopen its embassy in Damascus this year. The decision will likely be taken ahead of the upcoming Arab summit in Tunisia next April.

If this is confirmed, the Syrian-Saudi reconciliation may impact positively the confllict. On the other side, Iran and Turkey, which also play an important role in the conflict, have little interests in such a development.

https://southfront.org/syrias-national-security-director-visited-saudi-arabia-report/

Kurdish Forces Capture 8 Foreign Terrorists In Euphrates Valley

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced on January 9 that their fighters captured 8 foreign terrorists during the ongoing battle against ISIS in the middle Euphrates River Valley.

The terrorists were identified as:

-58-year old Adil Rahimov from Uzbekistan;

-28-year old Ferhad Qaderov from Uzbekistan;

-30-year old Sattibek Oshibaev from Kazakhstan;

-16-year old Soulay Noah Su from the United States.

-22-year old Mohammad Dawlat from Tajikistan;

-27-year old Askar Zarmanbetov from Ukraine;

-31-year old Lucas Glaß from Germany;

-30-year old Bimuraev Begjan from Russia.

Last week, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition that includes the YPG, claimed that their units had captured five foreign fighters of ISIS. However, Syrian opposition sources said that the terrorists handed themselves over to the SDF.

Thousands of ISIS fighters fled to the SDF-held area in the last few month, according to a recent report of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Most of these fighters are currently in the SDF’s prisons or hiding in refugee camps.

https://southfront.org/kurdish-forces-capture-eight-foreign-terrorists-in-euphrates-valley/