Thursday, April 28, 2011

All the WikiLeaks Fit to Print

News organizations are eagerly using the information released by WikiLeaks regarding the Guantanamo Bay Military Tribunal but they are reluctant to credit the organization or defend Private Manning for having the courage to make these documents public.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/all_the_wikileaks_fit_to_print_20110426/?utm

Could Michigan-style "Martial Law" Be On Its Way to Wisconsin?

It's hard to imagine that Gov. Walker would try to install Michigan-style Emergency Financial Managers in selected Wisconsin towns with power to strip elected officials of statutory authority, but apparently such plans are already in the works. I almost hope they try it because I believe that it would blow up in his face and that people in the state are ready to ramp up the fight for their democratic rights. Still, this is a scary development that strongly reeks of fascism and is in no way how a democracy should conduct its business.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/04/10635/could-michigan-style-martial-law-be-its-way-wisconsin

Pennsylvania Official: End Nears For Fracking Wastewater Releases

This would be a positive development in the battle against fracking if Pennsylvania, the only state that allows fracking wastewater to be dumped in rivers, outlaws the practice. Industry is now behind this effort after long denying the problem. Nonetheless, there are a host of other safety issues that remain regarding natural gas fracking and it's threat to water supplies and human health. Few regulations currently exist on this industry and we don't even know the details on many of the over 900 chemicals used in the process that are pumped deep into the ground.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/24/pennsylvania-fracking-wastewater-krancer_n_853055.html

Leader of Utah Recall Group Exposed

PR Watch uncovers another charlatan on the GOP universe, this one coordinating recall attempts against Democrats in Wisconsin from - Utah. It seems the Republican message is so bereft of supporters in Wisconsin that the vast majority of its 'activism' (read propaganda) is imported through out-of-state front groups.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/04/10684/leader-utah-recall-group-exposed

Massachussetts House Votes To Limit Public Employee Collective Bargaining For Health Care

Massachusetts, of all places, has now jumped into the fray in stripping public sector worker's collective bargaining rights. This bill is somewhat more nuanced that Walker's Wisconsin law but nonetheless represents an erosion of workers rights to negotiate benefits, in this case the terms of health insurance.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/28/massachusetts-scott-walker-collective/

Wisconsin Democrats start recall elections with large cash advantage

The Democrats currently have a large cash advantage over Republicans in Wisconsin's recall battle, largely due to online support from individual citizens. However, you can expect outside groups such as the Koch-funded Americans For Prosperity to pour a great deal of money into these elections.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/28/970780/-Wisconsin-Democrats-start-recall-elections-with-large-cash-advantage?utm

Little piggies, crawling in the dirt: Minnesota reps behind ag-gag bill have factory-farm ties

Efforts to criminalize the undercover documentation of farm conditions has spread to the state of Minnesota, and have encountered a great deal of negative feedback. It turns out that the proponents of the bill, in this case, are actually in the CAFO business.
http://www.grist.org/factory-farms/2011-04-28-farmer-legislatminnesota-ag-gag-law-classic-case-of-self-dealing

Hiding the Truth About Factory Farms
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/opinion/27wed3.html

U.S. Nuclear Regulator Lets Industry Help With the Fine Print

The NRC is so concerned with the bottom lines of nuclear power plant operators that they have delayed regulatory action and emergency maintenance issues in deference to the industry. We need an aggressive regulatory body to police the nuclear industry and improve the prospects for public safety. 
http://www.propublica.org/article/u.s.-nuclear-regulator-lets-industry-write-rules

Chernobyl's Half Lives

A photo essay of life in the Ukraine after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. 
http://motherjones.com/photoessays/2010/05/after-chernobyl

Rainbow Warrior to conduct marine radiation monitoring off Fukushima

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/news-and-blogs/campaign-blog/rainbow-warrior-to-conduct-marine-radiation-m/blog/34375

Analysis: Banks Play Shell Game with Taxpayer Dollars

While the Fed provided near-zero interest loans to failing banks during the mortgage crisis with the stipulation that the funds be used to stimulate lending to small and mid-sized businesses, the banks instead used the money to buy US government securities that effectively constituted a loan back to the government at higher and profitable interest rates. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has been a tireless advocate for consumers and is one of the rare members of Congress seeking to hold the financial industry accountable for practices that exploit the public and ignore their obligations of corporate citizenship.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/26-4

Countdown with Keith Olbermann returns June 20, 2011

When the war in Iraq was forced down the throats of the American public on the basis of faulty logic and intelligence, Keith Olbermann incisively reported on the issues every night on his former MSNBC show. When election fraud and voter suppression occurred in the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio, Olbermann shined a light nightly on what should have been a huge national scandal but was largely ignored by the mainstream media. We need advocates for the rights of citizens versus abusive business and government policies and Keith will soon be back on the air to continue the fight on a new network, Current TV.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/26/970316/-Countdown-with-Keith-Olbermann-returns-June-20,-2011?utm

5 Reasons to Be Hopeful We Haven't Totally Screwed Ourselves and the Planet ... Yet


We need to ramp up our activism and get everyone we know into the game, but there is cause for hope in developments taking place now within the US. But more people need to get off the couch and into the ring...
http://www.alternet.org/vision/150694/5_reasons_to_be_hopeful_we_haven%27t_totally_screwed_ourselves_and_the_planet_..._yet?page=1

19 Studies Link GMO Foods to Organ Disruption

These reports sound yet another alarm about the potential health hazards of GMOs. The studies cited found organ disruption in lab animals after only 6-9 months. Longer studies have yet to be conducted and there is a fierce reluctance among industry (Monsanto) and regulators (USDA/FDA) to conduct full environmental impact studies and thorough health testing. The article also provides a number of updates on happenings in the GM world and is a terrific reference. Read it and weep. Then get active about combatting these dangerous and invasive food products that are being foisted on us without adequate testing and with no labeling to boot!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/27/19-studies-link-gmo-foods-to-organ-disruption.aspx

The Rent's Too Damn High but It's a Problem With an Easy Solution...If Only

The percentage of gross income that Americans pay for rent has been increasing for three decades, in large part because of stagnant wages for most of the population. The mortgage crisis and subsequent  wave of foreclosures has put even more pressure on the rental market. One remedy, that would allow underwater homeowners to remain in their homes as renters, has been introduced in Congress.. But, alas, the banking industry is fighting it with all its lobbying might.
http://www.alternet.org/news/150756/the_rent's_too_damn_high_but_it's_a_problem_with_an_easy_solution..._if_only/?utm

Supreme Court Imposes Limits On Class Actions

This decision from the US Supreme Court is very bad news for the general public. By allowing corporations to limit the ability to mount class action suits by legitimizing legal language to that effect, the Court is opening the door for ever-increasing deception and manipulation by powerful corporate interests in their dealings with average citizens. In essence, this decision gives business a license to continue fleecing the American public.