Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care?
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2018-05-01
The continued cover-up of the Fukushima impacts in Japan is likely due to the widespread contamination of soil, vegetation, and water prolific enough that it would lead to evacuations so massive in scope they could collapse Japan's economy, the third largest in the world. | The post Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care? appeared first on MintPress News.

Fukushima Passes Chernobyl as Worst Nuclear Disaster in History: Does Anyone Care?

Two Top EPA Aides Resign Amid Ethics Probe
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-05-01
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt is mum on why security chief Pasquale Perrotta and Albert Kelly, a former Oklahoma banker who ran the EPA's Superfund program, have departed. | The post Two Top EPA Aides Resign Amid Ethics Probe appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/2-top-epa-aides-resign-amid-ethics-probe/

17 States Sue Over Plan to Scrap Car Emissions Standards
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-05-01
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt says the standards, which would require vehicles to get 36 miles per gallon by 2025, are not appropriate and need revision. | The post 17 States Sue Over Plan to Scrap Car Emissions Standards appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/17-states-sue-over-plan-to-scrap-car-emissions-standards/

Here's Why the 'Monkey Selfie' Case Is Actually a Legal Step Forward for Animal Rights
Jeffrey S. Kerr, Esq., Independent Media Institute | alternet.org | 2018-05-01
Naruto may have lost his appeal, but the case remains a watershed moment for other reasons. | In the historical march to establish rights for disenfranchised groups and individuals, we've just seen the latest refusal to extend such protections to animals. The Ninth Circuit ruling in Naruto v. Slater, et al. , denied to Naruto the copyright to his selfie photographs simply because he is not human, yet no one doubts that he used his creativity, intelligence, inspiration and dexterity to take photos that captured the attention of the world precisely because they demonstrate his wit and spark. They make people smile because he posed and clicked that shutter over and over again. Although century-old U. S. Supreme Court precedent is clear that the creator (or "author") of a work owns the copyright, the court's opinion is devoid of any analysis of this inconvenient. . .
www.alternet.org/animal-rights/naruto-doesnt-own-selfie-copyright-court-rules-case-advances-animal-rights

Boost Planned for Paris Climate Agreement
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-05-01
The global climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, already ratified by a huge majority of the world's governments, is for the next 10 days in intensive care. | That doesn't mean it's in danger of expiring, but that it needs a hefty boost so that the countries which signed up to it in 2015 will make commitments that will give it teeth. | So talks aimed at ramping up international action to cut carbon emissions and speed up progress on the treaty have begun in the German city of Bonn, attended by representatives of 193 governments. | The talks last until 10 May, and the basic agreements which the organisers, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, hope they will have reached by then will go to a summit meeting in December for approval. | Today the world is on course…
truthdig.com/articles/boost-planned-for-paris-climate-agreement/

The Cult of Hunting and Its Timely Demise
David Mattson | counterpunch.org | 2018-05-01
On August 7th, 1874, George Armstrong Custer shot a grizzly bear. At the time, he was trespassing in the Black Hills of the Great Sioux Nation along with more than 1000 heavily-armed soldiers and sundry civilians. To be accurate, he shot the bear as part of a fusillade delivered by two other soldiers and an Arikara scout. According to published accounts, the bear was innocently browsing on berries in a small draw prior to the ambush. Custer's verdict on the incident was delivered in a letter to his wife: "I have reached the hunter's highest round of fame…I have killed my Grizzly."
counterpunch.org/2018/05/01/the-cult-of-hunting-and-its-timely-demise/

Despite Disappointing Returns, Oil Driller Pushes Ahead With Fracking Near Rare Texas Wildlands
truth-out.org | truth-out.org | 2018-05-01
Zero, zip, zilch. That's how many ads we run on this site. Help keep it that way: Make a tax-deductible donation to support the free and independent journalism at Truthout. | If you ask the CEO of Apache Corp., his company made in 2016 the kind of once-in-a-lifetime find that every oil driller dreams of: a massive oil and gas field that no other company noticed, where thousands of wells could be drilled and fracked to produce massive amounts of fossil fuels — and, in theory, profits. | Indeed, Apache expects a staggering amount of oil and gas can be found in this stretch of West Texas desert: 3 billion barrels of oil; 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; and even more natural gas liquids like ethane and propane, which feed plastics production. And it all sits on the outer margins…
www.truth-out.org/news/item/44330-despite-disappointing-returns-oil-driller-pushes-ahead-with-fracking-near-rare-texas-wildlands

EPA Adviser Albert Kelly Resigned Amid Ethics Inquiries. Is Scott Pruitt Next?
Sharon Lerner | theintercept.com | 2018-05-01
Albert Kelly, a senior adviser to Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, resigned Tuesday. Kelly, who was overseeing the agency's Superfund program, left amid questions about his banking career. Pasquale "Nino" Perrotta, Pruitt's head of security, also abruptly resigned, leading many to question whether Pruitt would be next. | As The Intercept reported in December, Kelly was the chair of SpiritBank in Bristow, Oklahoma, until he was banned for life from the banking industry by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Kelly, or "Kell" as he's known by his friends, had provided several loans to Pruitt, including mortgages and funding for his share of a Triple-A baseball team, the Oklahoma City RedHawks. While Kelly was its chairman, SpiritBank became financially unstable and unable to pay back most of $30 million it received from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program. | An…
theintercept.com/2018/05/01/albert-kelly-resignation-epa-scott-pruitt/

Societal Death or Transfiguration? Cinema Visions of Humanity Facing Extinction
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-30
How should world society respond to the approach of human extinction compelled by implacable external forces, such as: radioactive fallout after a global nuclear war (as in Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach), or an alien invasion by a species of technologically superior beings from outer space, or an impending collision between Earth and…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/30/societal-death-or-transfiguration-cinema-visions-of-humanity-facing-extinction/

Whether America Can Afford a Job Guarantee Program Is Not Up for Debate
David Dayen | theintercept.com | 2018-04-30
Sen. Bernie Sanders's endorsement of a guaranteed job for anyone who wants one, joining previous supporters such as Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker, reinvigorated a debate that has been roiling within economics Twitter and academic circles for a long time. Those more partial to a universal basic income untethered to work clash with job guarantee supporters from the left; those who see the job guarantee as a dangerous slip into socialism attack from the right. And mainstream Democrats not running for the presidency don't really want to talk about it. | Those fresh to the debate, meanwhile, instinctively ask what feels like an intuitive question: How on earth can we pay for that? | But if we're going to have an honest debate about whether the government should be spending hundreds of billions of dollars so…
theintercept.com/2018/04/30/federal-job-guarantee-program-cost/

Breaking My Silence on RussiaGate
Jill Stein | counterpunch.org | 2018-04-27
We are facing a precarious historic moment. Democracy is threatened by interference in our elections, and by interference in our civil liberties. Likewise we are endangered by warmongering, rampant militarism, nuclear confrontation and accelerating climate change. To solve any of these interlinked problems, we need a functioning democracy and a voting system we can have…
counterpunch.org/2018/04/27/breaking-my-silence-on-russiagate/

Summit spoiler? US family sues Pyongyang for torturing son to death despite lack of evidence
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-27
The parents of Otto Warmbier have sued North Korea on the day the key peninsular summit, accusing the nation of torturing their son to death. Earlier medical reports said no signs of torture were found during autopsy. …
www.rt.com/usa/425342-korea-summit-lawsuit-warmbier/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

"You Really Should Resign": Lawmakers Slam EPA's Scott Pruitt over Mounting Ethics Scandals
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-27
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was grilled by lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill about a slew of scandals over his spending habits and ties to industry lobbyists. Pruitt faces more than a half-dozen investigations. Among the scandals, he paid only $50 a night to live in a Capitol Hill condo owned by the wife of a prominent Washington energy lobbyist whose firm represents a roster of fossil fuel companies. Pruitt had a $43,000 soundproof phone booth installed in his office, which a government watchdog says violated spending laws. Pruitt had the EPA spend $3 million on his security detail, including 18 full-time agents. Pruitt routinely travels first- or business-class, reportedly because Pruitt was confronted by economy-class customers angry over his policies. For more, we speak with Emily Atkin, a staff writer at The New Republic. Her latest pieces include "Scott Pruitt Is Forced to Confront Reality" and "The EPA Is Acting Like Big Tobacco." We also speak with Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/27/you_really_should_resign_lawmakers_slam

Korea peace talks: A missed opportunity for human rights
amnesty.org | amnesty.org | 2018-04-27
Responding to the joint declaration following talks between the leaders of North and South Korea at Panmunjeom, Amnesty International's East Asia Researcher Arnold Fang said: | "The declaration should be viewed with cautious optimism, but the near-total absence of human rights from today's agenda was a missed opportunity." | "These are unprecedented talks but governments must not shy away from raising the dire human rights situation in North Korea directly with Kim Jong-un and his government. It is imperative that human rights are not sidelined in any future talks, as their protection is intrinsically linked to peace and security." | "The two Koreas should now take concrete steps to address the violations that were a direct result of the war. Families have been torn apart and both governments must work together to allow regular contact between family members, especially those who were involuntarily…
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/04/north-korea-and-south-korea-peace-talks/

Headlines for April 26, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-26
Supreme Court Justices Suggest They'll Allow Trump Travel Ban, U.S. Cancels Protected Status for Nepali Immigrants on Earthquake Anniversary, Veterans Affairs Nominee Ronny Jackson Withdraws Amid Misconduct Claims, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt to Face Lawmakers' Questions About Ethics Scandals, Trump Attorney Michael Cohen to Take the Fifth in Stormy Daniels Lawsuit, French President Blasts Trump's Policies in Address to U.S. Congress, Second Palestinian Journalist Shot Dead by Israeli Forces in Gaza, Afghan Journalist Abdul Manan Arghand Assassinated in Kandahar, Japan: Okinawans Protest Construction of U.S. Military Base, HUD Chief Ben Carson's Bill Would Triple Poorest Tenants' Rents, California Police Say They've Captured the "Golden State Killer", Philippines Activist Denied U.S. Entry, Claims Torture in CBP Custody, New Alabama Memorial Is Dedicated to Victims of White Supremacy…
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/26/headlines

Colombia: Witness Linked to Uribe Probe Murdered
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-04-26
(Washington, DC) — A witness connected to a criminal investigation of former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez was murdered on April 14, 2018, and other witnesses have been threatened, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should redouble its protection of witnesses and their relatives. | Senator Alvaro Uribe, Colombia's former president, attends a debate at the congress in Bogota, Colombia, October 3, 2016. | © 2016 Reuters | The Supreme Court ordered the investigation on February 16. Uribe, now a senator, filed a criminal complaint in 2012 against Senator Iván Cepeda, contending that he had used "fraudulent" testimony to implicate Uribe and his brother Santiago in paramilitary atrocities in the 1990s. The Supreme Court rejected the allegations against Cepeda and instead initiated an investigation into whether Uribe, who was president from 2002 to…
www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/26/colombia-witness-linked-uribe-probe-murdered

Convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist says admission of guilt was obtained with torture, sues FBI agent
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-26
The only "enemy combatant" in the War on Terror arrested on US soil now insists he was innocent and demands that those who allegedly tortured him while he was in confinement at a South Carolina naval base be arrested and tried. …
www.rt.com/usa/425216-qatar-al-qaida-torture-us/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Lebanon: Political Parties Shun Rights Issues
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-04-26
Candidates for Lebanon's parliamentary elections should commit to human rights reforms. | (Beirut) — Twenty-eight candidates and some parties running in Lebanon's parliamentary elections on May 6, 2018, have made public commitments to strengthen human rights protections. But none of the parties in the current cabinet were willing to make public commitments in response to a Human Rights Watch letter urging them to commit to human rights reforms on 10 issues. | The new independent parties Libaladi, Kelna Beirut, You Stink, and individual candidates committed to all of the proposed reforms. The Kataeb party, which is not in the cabinet, committed to the reforms except those related to refugee rights. | "It is deeply disappointing that none of the parties in Lebanon's current government saw fit to make strong commitments…
www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/26/lebanon-political-parties-shun-rights-issues

Multiple explosions at Wisconsin oil refinery, 10 confirmed injured (VIDEO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-26
Two explosions and fire at a large oil refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, have resulted in at least ten casualties, according to the local fire department. Initial reports spoke of as many as 20 injured, but no fatalities. …
www.rt.com/usa/425241-casualties-wisconsin-oil-explosion/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Pennsylvania golf club sparks race row by calling police on 5 black women
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-24
A Pennsylvania golf club has become embroiled in a race row after senior staff called the police to remove a group of five black women they accused of holding up play on the course. …
www.rt.com/usa/425001-pennsylvania-golf-club-race-row/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Macron in Washington DC to walk the line between criticism and adulation with Trump
RT | rt.com | 2018-04-23
As Emmanuel Macron arrives in Washington, the French President is expected to face pressure to tackle Trump on Iran, trade, and climate change, all while continuing to strengthen his cosy relationship with the US president. …
www.rt.com/usa/424917-macron-us-visit-trump/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Media Support US Violence Against Syria, but Long for More
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2018-04-20
And by "reckoning," the Atlantic ( 4/14/18) appeared to mean "a war with Russia and its allies." | Corporate media outlets were glad that the US, France and Britain bombed Syria in violation of international law (FAIR.org, 4/18/18), but lamented what they see as a dearth of US violence in the country. | In The Atlantic ( 4/14/18), Thanassis Cambanis described the war crime as "undoubtedly a good thing," and called for "sustained attention and investment, of diplomatic, economic and military resources"–though the latter rubbed up against his assessment in the same paragraph that "a major regional war will only make things worse." Moreover, he described "the most realistic possibility" for the US and its partners in Syria as "an incomplete and possibly destabilizing policy of confrontation [and] containment. But a reckoning can't be deferred forever." | This…
fair.org/home/media-support-us-violence-against-syria-but-long-for-more/

Earth Day 2018: Ending Plastic Pollution in the Oceans, Land & Our Bodies
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-20
This Sunday more than a billion people will celebrate Earth Day. This year's theme: ending plastic pollution by Earth Day 2020. Of the nearly 300 million tons of plastic sold each year, about 90 percent ends up in landfills, in the oceans–and in our bodies. Part of the focus will be microplastics, those small bits of plastic that are seemingly everywhere. We speak to Marcus Eriksen of the 5 Gyres Institute, who has led 20 expeditions around the world to research plastic marine pollution, and Priscilla Villa of the #BreakFreeFromPlastics movement.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/20/earth_day_2018_ending_plastic_pollution

Headlines for April 20, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-20
Released Comey Memos Show Trump Distracted by Rivalries, Fear, Rudy Giuliani to Join Trump's Legal Team, Nationwide Student Walkout Marks 19th Anniversary of Columbine Massacre, Dick's Sporting Goods to Destroy Assault-Style Rifles It Didn't Sell, Trump Admin Moves to Open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Oil Drilling, Trump Admin Aims to Expand Sale of Armed Drones Globally, GOP Voter Suppression Architect Kris Kobach Found in Contempt of Court, Cuba: Outgoing President Raúl Castro Gives Final Speech at National Assembly, Nicaragua: Thousands Protest New Pension Plan, 4 Reported Dead, Chile: Massive Student Mobilization Protests Privatization of Education, Detroit Threatens to Shut Off Water at 17,000 Homes for People $150 Behind on Bills, Wells Fargo to Be Hit with $1 Billion Fine over Financial Crimes, Natalie Portman Refuses to Go to Israel to Accept Award over "Recent Events", Reproductive Justice Activist Alejandra Pablos Freed from ICE Detention…
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/20/headlines

#FreeSiwatu: Pregnant Black Detroit Activist Jailed for Standing Her Ground & Protecting Her Family
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-04-18
An environmental activist and young black mother in Detroit may be forced to give birth behind bars, after standing her ground during a frightening encounter. Since she was 15 years old, Siwatu-Salama Ra has fought for environmental justice. She campaigned against the Marathon oil refinery and the Detroit Renewable Power trash incinerator. She represented Detroit at the Paris climate summit. She's also worked to engage kids and educate young mothers about nutrition. Now, at age 26, Siwatu has been sentenced to a mandatory two years in prison, following an incident in which she brandished her unloaded–and legally registered–handgun while defending her mother and 2-year-old daughter. She was sentenced last month to two years in prison even though she is scheduled to give birth in June. We speak to two of her attorneys and Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
www.democracynow.org/2018/4/18/freesiwatu_pregnant_black_detroit_activist_jailed