U.S. Government

Playing Hide and Seek With Oil

by Anne Landman — August 26, 2010 - 2:07pm

A new report authored by five prominent marine scientists provides a powerful contradiction of the government's recent report that only 25 percent of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in the Gulf of Mexico.

Main Source: 
University of Georgia News Service, August 17, 2010

Will the NAIC Be a Hero for Consumers, or Insurers?

by Anne Landman — August 17, 2010 - 11:25am

Wendell Potter is a former health insurance company executive, and he knows exactly how health insurance companies maximize profits at the expense of policyholders. Now Wendell is putting his inside knowledge of the industry to work -- for policyholders.

Main Source: 
Life and Health National Underwriter Insurance News, August 16, 2010

Does Security Glitch Mean Less Heat for Wikileaks?

by Anne Landman — August 4, 2010 - 12:31pm

The Web site Wikileaks has been drawing criticism for publishing 90,000 classified documents about the war in Afghanistan, some of which reveal the names of Afghan citizens who have provided information to the U.S. The Obama Administration has said this could endanger the lives of those informants.

Main Source: 
Voice of America (VOA.com), August 3, 2010

Former U.S. Soldiers Describe Indiscriminate Military Violence in Iraq

by Anne Landman — August 4, 2010 - 12:08pm

Three former American soldiers who served in Iraq are going public about the realities of the U.S. military occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they claim routine acts of excessive violence upon local citizens stem from the U.S. chain of command. Former Army Specialists Josh Stieber, Ray Corcoles and Ethan McCord say that they thought they were going to Iraq to help the Iraqi people and advance freedom and democracy.

Main Source: 
The Nation, August 16-23, 2010 edition

Here's Your Change, Have a Nice BPA Day

by Anne Landman — July 28, 2010 - 12:36pm

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) performed laboratory tests on cash register receipts from major U.S. businesses and found bisphenol A (BPA) present on 40% of them, some at levels higher than those found in canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula.

Main Source: 
U.S. News and World Report, Science News, July 28, 2010

Get Serious About The Deficit and Cut Military Spending

by Maxwell Abbott — July 27, 2010 - 11:09am
  • Topics: Economy, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal deficit is a serious problem for the stability of American economy. But over the past few weeks, both parties have fought major battles on how to address this problem. The Democrats won the first round when last week, when President Obama signed a six-month extension of emergency unemployment benefits, surmounting Republican objections that the $34 billion measure would add too much to the deficit. The conflict this week is over the extension of the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire December 31. As expected, Republicans are fighting for extension of the entire package while many Democrats, including President Obama, vowed to keep them for families making less than $250,000 a year. It is estimated that keeping the tax cuts for households that make more than $250 thousand a year will cost about $40 billion a year. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued that tax increases on the richest Americans are necessary "to make some progress bringing down our long-term deficits." $34 billion and $40 billion are surely not trivial sums. But if Congress and the Administration are sincere about tackling the deficit, it should confront the biggest expense of federal funds: military spending.

    Environmental & Health Effects of Oil Dispersants a Mystery to BP and the Government

    by Anne Landman — July 13, 2010 - 2:15pm
  • Topics: Animal Rights, Corporations, Environment, Health, U.S. Government

    • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson questions BP's widespread application of oil dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico, as does everyone else. According to Jackson, the government is "uncharted waters" with the use of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico. "The amount of dispersant being used at the surface is unprecedented," Jackson says. BP is also applying the chemicals in the sub-sea environment. In addition, dispersant is stopping oil from collecting on water surface, where it can be more easily controlled.

    BP's Web site gives the impression that dispersants "clean and control" ocean oil spills by putting the oil in a state where "it becomes a feast for the naturally-occurring microbes that inhabit the ocean." But dispersants do not clean the water, nor do they remove oil at all, but rather re-arrange where it exists, and change where it goes.

    CMD at Netroots Nation

    by Anne Landman — July 12, 2010 - 3:21pm
  • Topics: Banking, Corporations, U.S. Government

    • CMD Executive Director Lisa Graves, and Mary Bottari of CMD's BanksterUSA project will both be speaking this year at the Netroots Nation 2010 gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada. Formerly known as the YearlyKos Convention, Netroots Nation magnifies progressive voices by providing a venue for exchanging ideas and learning how to more effectively use technology to influence public debate. It is an incubator for progressive ideas that challenge the status quo. Lisa will be speaking on fighting against expanded corporate rights in the wake of the Citizens United decision and Mary will be speaking about reforming Wall Street. The event will be July 22-25 at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. You can see the Netroots Nation agenda here.

    Syndicate content