(2018-04-14). Mapped: Cambridge Analytica's Ties to the Fossil Fuel Industry. Truthout Stories Why doesn't this site have ads? In order to maintain our integrity, Truthout doesn't accept any advertising money. Help us keep it this way — make a donation to support our independent journalism. (Photo: Pixabay) | Exposing the wrongdoing of those in power has never been more important. Support Truthout's independent, investigative journalism by making a donation! | Revelations continue to emerge about Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that has found itself embroiled in a scandal around data privacy and electoral manipulation. | Three whistleblowers have gone public in the Guardian and Observer to outline how Cambridge Analytica used Facebook data to influence the outcomes of the US presidential election and Brexit referendum. | DeSmog UK has previously mapped how the company ties to climate science denial through its Brexit and Trump connections. Now, Nafeez Ahmed over at
(2018-04-14). Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific. World Socialist Web Site The Odisha tanker drivers are employed by contractors for the state-owned oil corporations and are only paid about $US115 per month.
(2018-04-13). Hanford's Toxic Avengers: Department of Energy Suppresses Deadly Nuclear-Cleanup Flaws. counterpunch.org 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 More
(2018-04-13). Groundbreaking Youth Climate Lawsuit Gets a Trial Date. AlterNet.org The president's administration failed to halt the case. | A trial date of Oct. 29 has been set for a landmark climate change lawsuit brought by a group of young Americans despite the Trump administration's efforts to halt the case. Juliana v. United States was filed in 2015 on behalf of 21 plaintiffs who ranged between 8 to 19 years old at the time. They allege their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the government's creation of a national energy system that causes dangerous climate change. The trial will be heard before U. S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon, according to Our Children's Trust, the non-profit group supporting the plaintiffs. Aiken joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. "We have our trial date. In the coming months there. . .
(2018-04-13). In the Ruins. counterpunch.org 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 More
(2018-04-13). Australian media stokes fears of Chinese military base in Vanuatu. World Socialist Web Site 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.
(2018-04-13). AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THE GLOBAL COMPACT ON REFUGEES. Amnesty International 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.
(2018-04-13). Public Statement: New testimonies show Israeli deportations putting Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers at risk in Uganda. Amnesty International 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.
(2018-04-13). Colombia: Authorities must guarantee effective protection of women human rights defenders. Amnesty International 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." |
(2018-04-12). Amid Scandals, Pruitt Puts the Brakes on Auto Regulation. The Real News Network 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…
(2018-04-12). Parkland teacher arrested for leaving loaded gun in public toilet. RT US News 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.
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(2018-04-12). Headlines for April 12, 2018. Democracy Now! Trump Tweets Syria Assault Could Come "Soon or Not So Soon At All!", Russian Ambassador Warns U.S. over "Sad and Serious Events" in Syria, Sen. Bernie Sanders Warns Trump Against Syria Strike, House Speaker Paul Ryan Will Not Seek Re-Election, FBI Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Documents on "Access Hollywood" Tape, Algeria: Plane Crash Kills 257, Including Western Sahara Activists, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Grilled on Privacy by House Panel, Trump Judicial Nominee Won't State Position on School Desegregation, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Won't Resign over Reported Sexual Abuses, Study: Climate Change Is Weakening Gulf Stream Ocean Currents, Chicago Tribune Journalists Seek to Unionize, Former House Speaker John Boehner Joins Medical Marijuana Firm…
(2018-04-12). Why Did the EPA's Scott Pruitt Suppress a Report on Corruption in Oklahoma? The Intercept 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…
(2018-04-11). #ShellKnew: Green Group Sues Oil Giant Over Climate Impact. The Real News Network 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…
(2018-04-10). Major Banks Ramp Up Fossil Fuel Financing Despite Climate Crisis. The Real News Network 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…
(2018-04-09). YouTube illegally collects data on children, say child protection groups. RT US News 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. |
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(2018-04-09). Headlines for April 9, 2018. Democracy Now! Israel Bombs Syrian Air Base; 60 Killed in Alleged Chemical Weapons Attack in Douma, Israeli Army Kills 9 Palestinians at Protest, Including Journalist Yaser Murtaja, Brazil: Lula Begins Serving Jail Sentence, After 2-Day Standoff, U.S.: Kim Jong-un Open to Talking Denuclearization in Meeting with Trump, ICE Carries Out Biggest Raid in a Decade, Arresting Nearly 100 in TN Meat-Processing Plant, Texas Deploys 250 National Guard Troops to U.S.-Mexico Border, Scott Pruitt Faces Scrutiny over $3 Million Security Detail, CNN: Trump Preparing for Possible Interview with Mueller, Hungarian Far-Right Prime Minister Wins Third Term After Xenophobic Campaign, Protesters Denounce Saudi Crown Prince's Visit to Paris & Saudi War in Yemen, U.N. Warns of Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, After Protests, Kinder Morgan Suspends Work on Trans Mountain Pipeline, Indonesia: 5 Dead After Massive Oil Spill Off Island of Borneo,…
(2018-04-08). Trade wars: Trump claims Chinese president 'will take down' barriers harming US economy. RT US News 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."
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(2018-04-06). Trump orders end of 'catch & release' immigration policy. RT US News 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.
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(2018-04-06). Headlines for April 6, 2018. Democracy Now! Brazilian Judge Orders Former President Lula to Report to Prison, Oklahoma Teachers' Strike Shuts Schools for a Fifth Day, Puerto Rico to Close 283 Public Schools, NYPD Settles Lawsuit over Secret Muslim Surveillance Program, 14 States Sue EPA as Scandals Swirl Around Scott Pruitt, Trump Repeats Conspiracy Theories About Illegal Voters & Mexican Rapists, Prominent Latino Journalist Detained by ICE in Memphis, U.S. Condemns Palestinians for Protesting in Gaza, Turkey Admits to Seizing 80 Gov't Critics in Other Countries, Thousands Protest in Brooklyn over Police Killing of Bipolar African-American Man, Shell Knew: Documents Show Oil Giant Hid Dangers of Fossil Fuels for Decades, Michigan OKs Plan for Nestlé to Expand Water Bottling Operations Despite Public Outcry, Two Arrested at Protest Against Bayou Bridge Pipeline, Visionary Jazz Pianist Cecil Taylor, 89, Dies…
(2018-04-05). Trump Escalates Already-Deadly U.S. Border Policies, Ordering National Guard to Mexican Border. Democracy Now! 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."
(2018-04-05). How the Wireless Industry Convinced the Public Cellphones Are Safe & Cherry-Picked Research on Risks. Democracy Now! 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."
(2018-04-03). Headlines for April 3, 2018. Democracy Now! EPA Orders Rollback of Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules, Report: Climate Change Driving Rapid Melting of Antarctica's Glaciers, Mexico to Crack Down on Migrant Caravans as Trump Tweets Threats, Trump Anti-Immigrant Tweets Follow Mar-a-Lago Meeting with Fox News Hosts, Justice Dept. Orders Immigration Court Quotas to Speed Deportations, Thousands of Striking Teachers Rally in Oklahoma, Kentucky State Capitals, Stocks Fall Amid Trade War Fears, as Trump Attacks Amazon on Twitter, Sinclair Broadcast Group Forces Anchors to Recite Trumpian Commentary, Syria: Rebels Evacuate Douma in Russia-Brokered Deal, Yemen: U.S.-Backed, Saudi-Led Coalition Airstrike Kills 12 Civilians, Afghan Government Airstrikes Kill At Least 70 at Kunduz Mosque, Trump Congratulates Egyptian President over Rigged Election Win, Philippines: Marawi Residents Return to Homes Left Devastated by War, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Dies, Activists Blockade Puget Sound Energy HQ to Protest Natural Gas Plant…