Hanford's Toxic Avengers: Department of Energy Suppresses Deadly Nuclear-Cleanup Flaws
Joshua Frank | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-13
Your tax dollars are on the line. The DOE is set to extend a contract to Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) for another year at the Hanford Nuclear Site, despite numerous allegations of misconduct since the company won the initial contract for $7.1 billion in 2008. Below is an investigative report that appeared in Seattle Weekly…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/13/hanfords-toxic-avengers-department-of-energy-suppresses-deadly-nuclear-cleanup-flaws/
Colombia: Authorities must guarantee effective protection of women human rights defenders
Amnesty International | 2018-04-13
Following the killing of Doris Valenzuela, Colombian human rights defender, in Murcia, Spain, on 11 April, Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: | "It is with great sadness that we received the terrible news of the death of the brave human rights defender Doris Valenzuela, who was forced to leave Colombia due to a lack of guarantees for her and her family's safety, and who sadly died in Spain as a result of gender-based violence. | "It is unacceptable that women defenders continue to suffer double violence: for being activists and for being women, with that violence often coming from those closest to them. It is imperative that the Colombian state guarantee effective protection of women human rights defenders through differentiated measures with a gender perspective, so that cases like that of Doris do not happen again." | …
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/colombia-autoridades-deben-garantizar-la-proteccion-efectiva-de-mujeres-defensoras-de-derechos-humanos/
Public Statement: New testimonies show Israeli deportations putting Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers at risk in Uganda
Amnesty International | 2018-04-13
Israel has continued to deport Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers to Uganda until at least January 2018, Amnesty International revealed today, despite statements by the Ugandan government that no agreement had been in place with Israel to receive them. New research by the organization shows that, once in Uganda, deported asylum seekers have not received papers, are without legal protection and remain vulnerable to exploitation, despite written assurances from Israel they would be protected.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THE GLOBAL COMPACT ON REFUGEES
Amnesty International | 2018-04-13
Mid-way through UN-led consultations with member states to agree a Global Compact on Refugees, Amnesty International urges governments to ensure the Compact will be an ambitious, inclusive and visionary plan that will mandate action and deliver results for effective refugee protection.
Amnesty International urges governments to make the Global Compact on Refugees fit for the future
Australian media stokes fears of Chinese military base in Vanuatu
WSWS | World Socialist Web Site | 2018-04-13
The escalating propaganda war is another sign of deepening tensions across the Asia Pacific that threaten to embroil the entire region into a major war.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/04/13/vanu-a13.html
In the Ruins
John Davis | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-13
I am not left alone in the blackened, fire scorched chaparral on the north-eastern fringe of California's Thomas Fire. Life is stirring in the wild hills, still partly dark with rain-washed ash, and, where the decomposed sandstone is exposed, oxidized to a sickly orange-brown. The soil is naked and unaccustomed to the light. Closer to…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/13/in-the-ruins/
Why Did the EPA's Scott Pruitt Suppress a Report on Corruption in Oklahoma?
Sharon Lerner | The Intercept | 2018-04-12
An audit released this week found evidence of corruption in how contracts were awarded at the Tar Creek Superfund site in Oklahoma. Gary Jones, the state auditor and inspector who wrote the report, submitted it to then-Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt back in January 2014. But Pruitt inexplicably refused to release it. | Pruitt's successor, Mike Hunter, had also refused to release the report since he began serving as attorney general after Pruitt left the job in February 2017 to become administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. But on Monday, facing a lawsuit demanding the release of the audit, Hunter changed his mind. | The audit, which looked into wrongdoing by a trust set up by the state to buy homes in two lead-contaminated towns in the Superfund site in the northeast corner of the state, found "considerable circumstantial evidence that…
theintercept.com/2018/04/12/scott-pruitt-oklahoma-superfund-audit-suppression/
Amid Scandals, Pruitt Puts the Brakes on Auto Regulation
TRNN | The Real News Network | 2018-04-12
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's spending habits and association with energy lobbyists are under scrutiny, but the bigger scandal is the rollback of more than 20 environmental protections, including Obama-era clean-car regulations. We speak to retired autoworker Frank Hammer, UC Berkeley's Climate Program Director Ethan Elkind, and Greenpeace USA's Natalie Nava…
therealnews.com/idirect.php?i=21547
Parkland teacher arrested for leaving loaded gun in public toilet
RT | RT US News | 2018-04-12
A teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the February shooting that claimed 17 lives, has been arrested for leaving his loaded pistol in a public toilet, where a homeless man later fired it. …
www.rt.com/usa/423978-police-arrest-parkland-teacher/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
#ShellKnew: Green Group Sues Oil Giant Over Climate Impact
TRNN | The Real News Network | 2018-04-11
Internal documents show the oil giant has known for decades that fossil fuel activities would lead to catastrophic climate change, and that it deliberately mislead the public. Friends of the Earth Netherlands says it will take Shell to court if it doesn't do more to cut its climate impact. We speak to campaign leader Freek Bersch…
therealnews.com/idirect.php?i=21557
Major Banks Ramp Up Fossil Fuel Financing Despite Climate Crisis
TRNN | The Real News Network | 2018-04-10
A recent report, "Banking on Climate Change 2018," finds major banks increased fossil fuel financing to $115 Billion in 2017–up 11% from the year before–even though it was the costliest year on record for climate-related disasters. We speak to lead author Alison Kirsch of the Rainforest Action Network…
therealnews.com/idirect.php?i=21549
Col. Larry Wilkerson: Pentagon Plans for Climate Change Despite White House
TRNN | The Real News Network | 2018-04-10
A recent report from the World Bank says that climate change could displace as many as 143 million people by 2050, generating geopolitical instability and posing new threats to national security. Can the Pentagon properly manage the threats with a climate denialist in the White House? We speak to Col. Larry Wilkerson…
therealnews.com/idirect.php?i=21536
YouTube illegally collects data on children, say child protection groups
RT | RT US News | 2018-04-09
Google violates child protection laws by collecting data from, and advertising to, children under 13, according to a complaint lodged with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by a coalition of child protection and privacy groups. …
www.rt.com/usa/423589-youtube-illegal-data-children/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Trade wars: Trump claims Chinese president 'will take down' barriers harming US economy
RT | RT US News | 2018-04-08
As trade tensions threaten to boil over between the two nations, US President Donald Trump insists his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will scrap barriers to commerce "because it is the right thing to do." …
www.rt.com/usa/423523-trump-china-trade-conflict/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Trump orders end of 'catch & release' immigration policy
RT | RT US News | 2018-04-06
President Donald Trump has signed an order ending the so-called 'catch and release' policy, under which US immigration officers allowed the release of 'caught' illegal immigrants back on US soil, pending their immigration hearing. …
www.rt.com/usa/423448-trump-ends-catch-relelease-policy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
Trump Escalates Already-Deadly U.S. Border Policies, Ordering National Guard to Mexican Border
Democracy Now! | 2018-04-05
A new wave of troops could soon be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, even as border crossings by undocumented immigrants are at their lowest levels since 1971. The move comes as a caravan of Central American migrants and asylum seekers in Mexico has prompted a series of threats from President Trump. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration is requesting that the U.S. military build walls for at least one military base along the U.S.-Mexico border. We go to Tucson, Arizona, for an update from Todd Miller, a border security journalist and author of "Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security."
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/5/trump_escalates_already_deadly_us_border
How the Wireless Industry Convinced the Public Cellphones Are Safe & Cherry-Picked Research on Risks
Democracy Now! | 2018-04-05
Ninety-five out of every 100 American adults owns a cellphone today. And worldwide, three out of four adults now have cellphone access. The wireless industry is one of the fastest-growing on Earth, raking in annual sales of $440 billion in 2016. But are cellphones safe? A new investigation by The Nation suggests that's a question that cellphone giants prefer you don't ask. We speak with Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation's environment correspondent and investigative editor. His report, co-authored with Mark Dowie, is headlined "How Big Wireless Made Us Think That Cell Phones Are Safe."
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/5/how_the_wireless_industry_convinced_the