8 July 2018 Archives

Daily Archives: July 8, 2018

2018-07-08: News Headlines

britney (2018-07-08). Trump's EPA Suppressing Cancer-Causing Chemical Study. truthout.org New reporting in Politico puts the spotlight on continued themes of the Trump administration: suppression of science, threats to public health, and carrying out the bidding of industry. The issue laid out involves alleged political interference at the Environmental Protection Agency, and while the agency's current administrator, scandal-riddled Scott Pruitt, is now on his way out the door, the reins now head to number two Andrew Wheeler, who offers little reason to believe the burying of a key report will soon end. | As Politico's Annie Snider reported, Trump appointees at the agency are blocking the release of an assessment on formaldehyde produced by the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). A draft assessment already completed confirms research linking the common chemical to leukemia, nose and throat cancer, and other adverse health effects. | "They're stonewalling every step of the way,"

Merula Furtado (2018-07-08). Newly Unearthed FBI File Exposes Targeting of Folk Singer Dave Van Ronk. truthout.org

Author's Note: The following is based on the heretofore — FBI file of Dave Van Ronk from the National Archives I acquired via a Freedom of Information Act request made in June 2016. The file was obtained in the course of researching a book highlighting the repression brought against a cohort…

teleSUR / jc-MH (2018-07-08). Haiti Gov't Suspends Fuel Price Hike After Unrest. telesurtv.net The fuel price rise falls under the terms agreed between the Haitian government IMF, which implied the cessation of public subsidies for oil products.

Staff (2018-07-08). Electric Car Sales Promise Shock for Big Oil. truthdig.com Oil and gas companies have underestimated probable electric vehicle sales and the effect they will have on their own businesses and profits, a new report says. | If the car manufacturers' projections of future sales of electric cars are correct, then demand for oil will have peaked by 2027 or even earlier, sending the price of oil in a downward spiral as supply exceeds demand, says Carbon Tracker (CT), an independent financial think-tank carrying out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets. | It says fossil fuel companies have taken into account some engine fuel efficiencies and the effect they would have on oil demand, but not the expected increase in electric vehicles themselves. There is a big mismatch between forecasts of EV market penetration from vehicle manufacturers and from oil majors, says Laurence Watson, a…

Staff (2018-07-08). Iran: Trump's Tweets Have Added $10 to Cost of Oil. truthdig.com Iran's official for the Organization of Petroleum Countries, Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, says the U.S. president's twitter activity is roiling the oil markets.

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-08). US Justice Kennedy's Legacy on Gay Rights. hrw.org U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy arrives for U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | President Trump is set to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will step down this summer after 30 years on the bench. A swing vote on a deeply divided court, Kennedy sided with the majority on many troubling decisions but was also a key figure in several that advanced human rights protections, including on gay rights, abortion rights and affirmative action. | In Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting same-sex sexual activity. It was a 6-3 ruling with Justice Kennedy writing the majority opinion. It invalidated sodomy laws in 13 other states,…

Elizabeth Shogren, Center for Investigative Reporting (2018-07-07). Here Are 8 Ways Outgoing EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Suppressed Science. alternet.org EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt leaves a legacy of suppressing the role of science at the agency | Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who announced yesterday that he is resigning, leaves a legacy of suppressing the role of science at the agency. Blocking science in the name of transparencyIn March, Pruitt proposed a new "science transparency policy. " Under the proposed rule, when the EPA designs pollution standards and rules, it would use only studies in which the underlying data is public. Pruitt said his policy would prevent the EPA from using "secret science" that cannot be tested by other researchers. But scientists say important findings could be excluded. One example is research by Harvard University that linked fine particle pollution in U. S. cities with an increase in deaths from lung and heart diseases. The data for the 1993 study was key to. . .

Staff (2018-07-07). Defense Contractor Detained Migrant Kids in Vacant Phoenix Office Building. truthdig.com A major U.S. defense contractor quietly detained dozens of immigrant children inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets during three weeks of the Trump administration's family separation effort, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has learned. | Videos shot by an alarmed neighbor show children dressed in sweatsuits being led — one so young she was carried — into the 3,200-square-foot building in early June. The building is not licensed by Arizona to hold children, and the contractor, MVM Inc., has claimed publicly that it does not operate "shelters or any other type of housing" for children. | Defending the administration's policy to separate families at the border in a May interview with NPR, White House chief of staff John Kelly promised: "The children will be taken care of…

Eliza Griswold (2018-07-07). A 'Reckless' Fracking Company, Poisoned Springs, and a Family Forced to Buy Water at Walmart. theintercept.com Driving west along the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Harrisburg to rural Washington County, sign after sign pitted energy companies against environmentalists. An evil-looking clown leered down at passing drivers above the words: "I still believe in global warming. Do you?" Then there was another: "Wind dies. Sun sets. You need reliable, affordable, clean coal electricity." Yet>>

Pete Dolack (2018-07-06). World Bank Solution for Lack of Jobs: Cut Worker Protections. counterpunch.org The World Bank is in the process of completing its "World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work" and, surprisingly, the latest draft version opens with quotes from Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Has the World Bank suddenly lost sight of its purpose and will now take up the cause of working people? More

Timothy P. Clark (2018-07-06). First as Tragedy, Then as Tragedy. Ecological Imperialism and the Destruction of Families. counterpunch.org In recent years, critical journalists and scholars of climate change and society have urged academics and activists to understand climate change through the lens of class power. [1][2] Such a lens would force recognition of the real, material meaning of the existential threat that climate change poses to humanity; a threat strongly mediated by the More

Renee Parsons (2018-07-06). The Wifi Alliance, Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood: 5G Wireless. globalresearch.ca The Alliance, which makes no pretense of potential health or environmental concerns, further proclaimed (and they may be correct) that there are "more wifi devices than people on earth". It is that inescapable exposure to ubiquitous wireless technologies wherein lies the problem.

Jeffrey St. Clair (2018-07-06). Roaming Charges: America, Unchecked and Unbalanced. counterpunch.org + Someone should put together a volume of Trump's lectures on natural resources. It will rival John Wesley Powell. This week's lesson was delivered in West Virginia is on how coal is more vital to US national security than oil & gas because you bomb pipelines but coal is "indestructible." Read closely, there will be More

Tsvetana Paraskova (2018-07-06). Iran Looks to Barter Oil as U.S. Sanctions Bite. globalresearch.ca Faced with the return of U.S. sanctions, Iran is studying a revival of a plan to barter crude oil for goods, possibly resuming the scheme that it used to try to blunt the impact of the previous round of sanctions …

Democracy Now! (2018-07-06). New EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler, Former Coal Lobbyist, Aims to Continue to Dismantle EPA from Inside. democracynow.org Following Scott Pruitt's resignation, EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will become the agency's acting administrator. Wheeler is a former lobbyist for Murray Energy, the nation's largest underground coal mining company. He's also the former chief of staff for Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, who is known as the most notorious climate-denying lawmaker in Washington. In one of his most famous stunts, Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor in 2015 in order to prove that global warming was a hoax.

Democracy Now! (2018-07-06). Headlines for July 6, 2018. democracynow.org EPA Head Scott Pruitt Resigns Amid Mounting Corruption Scandals, Former Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Named Acting EPA Administrator, HHS Administrator Says "Under 3,000" Separated Children in U.S. Custody, Guatemalan Immigrant Mother Reunites with Daughter After 55 Days, U.S. Army Discharges Immigrants Promised a Path to Citizenship, Statue of Liberty Climber on Protest: "I Went as High as I Could", Bill Shine Named WH Comms Director Despite Fox News Sex Harassment Record, Trump Mocks Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas," Attacks #MeToo, China Retaliates as U.S. Imposes $34 Billion in Tariffs on Chinese Goods, South Korean Peace Activists Call for Removal of THAAD Missiles, U.N. Envoy to Yemen Hopeful over Peace Talks, Trump Administration Extends TPS for Yemenis But Won't End Travel Ban, Thai Diver Dies Amid Effort to Rescue Boys Trapped in Cave, Fourth Ohio State Wrestler Says Rep. Jim Jordan Failed to Stop Sexual Abuse, Ed Schultz, Longtime Liberal TV News Host, Dies at 64, British Columbia: Greenpeace Ends 35-Hour Blockade of Oil Tanker, London Mayor Approves "Trump Baby" Blimp at July 13 Protest…

Sharon Lerner (2018-07-06). So Long, Scott Pruitt. We Knew You All Too Well. theintercept.com What finally pushed Scott Pruitt over the edge? Was it the woman with the baby who let him have it in a fast food restaurant? Or his use of Environmental Protection Agency staff to try to snag his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise? The secret calendar? The tactical pants? | The EPA administrator generated headlines with a stream of bizarre, inappropriate, and self-serving actions in his 16 months in office. At last count, there were more than a dozen investigations into his ethical lapses. | Pruitt, who served as Oklahoma's attorney general before being confirmed to lead the EPA last February, had a taste for the finer things — nice cars with flashing lights and sirens, biometric locks, extremely secure phone booths, and big houses. The combination of this expensive taste — the big house in Tulsa…

wsws.org (2018-07-06). Pentagon and Iran trade threats over renewed oil sanctions. wsws.org US imperialism is preparing for a military confrontation with Iran that could quickly eclipse the bloodbaths in those countries and precipitate a regional and even world war.

Democracy Now! (2018-07-06). As Scott Pruitt Resigns, Former EPA Officials Warn His Radical, Anti-Science Agenda Harmed Nation. democracynow.org Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned, amid an onslaught of financial and ethics scandals and widespread opposition to his campaign to roll back key environmental protections. President Trump announced Pruitt's resignation via Twitter. Trump later told reporters, "Scott Pruitt did an outstanding job inside of the EPA. We've gotten rid of record-breaking regulations, and it's been really good." At the time of his resignation, Pruitt was facing more than a dozen federal investigations into ethical misconduct, ranging from lavish spending to asking subordinates to help his wife find a job. Just earlier this week, CNN reported Pruitt kept a secret calendar and schedule in an attempt to hide his meetings with many industry executives.

RT (2018-07-06). EPA accused of 'suppressing' hazardous formaldehyde report. rt.com Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have accused staff appointed by departing agency head Scott Pruitt of suppressing a report warning that most Americans are exposed to hazardous levels of formaldehyde. |

TEV (2018-07-05). China Approves US$5Bn Loan for Venezuelan Oil Development. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuelan officials said Chinese cooperation opens up alternative networks outside the sanctions of the United States.

RT (2018-07-05). Twitter accuses Republican senators of defiling America after spending July 4 in Moscow. rt.com A group of Republican senators have been accused of treason after spending July 4 in Moscow. Real patriots spend Independence Day eating potato salad on US soil, according to astute Twitter users.

Pepe Escobar (2018-07-04). How The Iran Sanctions Drama Intersects With OPEC-Plus. iranian.com Major states buying oil from Iran are unlikely to heed the US call to drop imports; key allies want a waiver to avoid sanctions; OPEC, meanwhile, will have trouble boosting output in the short-term; the puzzle is not solved, but there are dark clouds [dropcap]H[/dropcap]istory may have registered stranger geoeconomic bedfellows. But in the current OPEC-plus world, […]

Miriam Pensack (2018-07-04). An American Century of Brutal Overseas Conquest Began at Guantánamo Bay. theintercept.com It is a testament to the Washington establishment's rhetorical dexterity that it labeled Guantánamo Bay home of the world's most dangerous terrorists. U.S. leaders meant, of course, to refer to the hundreds of non-Americans detained at the base over the past 16 years. But a closer look at the history of Guantánamo tells a different story — one in which the United States, beginning 120 years ago this June, used the enclave in southeastern Cuba to launch decades upon decades of terroristic overseas conquest. | Cuba was the intended target of many such terror plots. Long before Donald Rumsfeld homed in on the country to imprison "enemy combatants" in the aftermath of 9/11, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sought to visit " the terrors of the earth" on Cuba as part of Operation Mongoose, a covert CIA effort to overthrow leader Fidel…

RT (2018-07-04). Cosmic radiation from giant star system heading towards Earth — NASA (VIDEO, PHOTO). rt.com A star system containing two gigantic suns is blasting cosmic rays into space and NASA scientists have found that the radiation is making its way towards Earth on intergalactic winds.

RT (2018-07-04). Americans ask Russians to fix their space-toilet. rt.com When you want a job done right, send in the Russians. NASA has renewed a contract with Russian firm Energia to maintain and repair toilets on board the US segment of the International Space Station. |

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-04). France: Child Migrants Left Adrift in Paris. hrw.org Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant youths, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to. Hundreds of unaccompanied children sleep on the streets of Paris each night, according to estimates from lawyers and nongovernmental organizations. | (Paris) — Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant children, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Hundreds of these young migrants find themselves homeless, often condemned to sleep on the streets of Paris. |

| The…

Dwayne Gladden (2018-07-03). Heat Waves and Climate Change: Mass Media Fails to Make the Connection. therealnews.com The failure to link the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves means that the general population remains relatively unaware of the urgency of climate change, says Jennifer Marlon of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

Middle East Monitor (2018-07-03). Trump Must Choose Between Tough Iran Sanctions And Moderate Gasoline Prices. iranian.com The White House can drive Iran's oil exports to zero, or it can have moderate US gasoline prices, but it probably cannot have both. The awkward tension between the administration's foreign policy priority (tough Iran sanctions) and its electoral calculation (to keep gasoline prices low) explains its increasingly frequent comments about oil prices. President Donald […]

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-03). US: Renew 'Temporary Protection' for Yemenis. hrw.org Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck three apartment buildings in Faj Attan, a densely populated neighborhood in Sanaa, on August 25, 2017. Two of the buildings were completely destroyed and the third suffered extensive damage. | © 2017 Mohammed al-Mekhlafi | (Washington, DC) — The United States government should renew its grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Yemenis living in the US, Human Rights Watch said today. Anyone forcibly returned to Yemen faces serious risks to their personal safety from the ongoing armed conflict and laws of war violations by the warring parties. | The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to announce a decision on July 5, 2018, about whether to extend existing Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis. Since the department's last decision to continue the program for Yemenis in…

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-03). Afghanistan's Ceasefires Expire; Attacks on Civilians Resume. hrw.org Afghan Sikh men carry the coffin of a bombing victim in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, July 2, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | The two headlines could not have been more jarring. | "Casualties drop by half last month compared to June 2017," the nongovernmental Afghan Civilian Protection Advocacy Group reported on July 1, a decline attributed to overlapping unilateral ceasefires by the Afghan government and the Taliban. | "Suicide Attack Targets Sikhs in Jalalabad," screamed a headline just hours later, a story that documented a devastating suicide bombing that killed 19 people. Among the dead was Avtar Singh, the only Sikh candidate for the October parliamentary elections; another prominent Sikh civil society activist; and other Hindus and Sikhs from among Afghanistan's smallest minority communities. | Although Sikhs and Hindus have lived in Afghanistan for…

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-03). Europe is Losing its Moral Compass in the Mediterranean. hrw.org Migrants are seen onboard the charity ship Lifeline at Boiler Wharf in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour, Malta June 27, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | As an American living in Italy, I feel almost choked by despair. The country of my parents ripped young children from their parents and put them in cages. The country of my children is condemning people to drown in the Mediterranean. | Over 200 people have drowned or gone missing off the Libyan coast in the last three days, including young babies, bringing the death toll so far this year to over 1,000. | The new Italian government closed its ports to rescue boats in June. After years of laudable efforts to save lives in the Central Mediterranean, the Italian state-run Maritime Rescue Coordination Center is denying any…

Human Rights Watch (2018-07-03). US: Undocumented Crime Fighters Deserve Protection. hrw.org Undocumented immigrants brave enough to come forward to report crime, need to know they can safely approach police without fear of deportation. Congress should preserve and expand provisions in the Violence Against Women Act that allow courageous undocumented immigrants to safely report crime. | (New York) — Undocumented immigrants brave enough to come forward to report crime, need to know they can safely approach police without fear of deportation, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Congress should preserve and expand provisions in the Violence Against Women Act that allow courageous undocumented immigrants to safely report crime. | The U visa, created with strong bi-partisan support as part of the 2000 Violence Against Women Act, creates a path for crime victims who cooperate in investigations of serious crimes to apply for legal status in the US. The program…

Democracy Now! (2018-07-03). Headlines for July 3, 2018. democracynow.org Pompeo to Head to North Korea for Third Time, U.N. Urges Jordan to Open Border as 270,000 Syrians Flee Fighting in Daraa, Federal Judge: U.S. Can't Arbitrarily Detain Asylum Seekers, HHS Refuses to Say How Many Separated Children Remain in Custody, 18 Arrested in Los Angeles at ICE Protest, 3-Year-Old Ethiopian Refugee Dies After Stabbing at Birthday Party in Idaho, Trump Refuses to Lower Flags for Victims of Capital Gazette Shooting, Rhode Island Files Landmark Lawsuit Against 21 Oil Companies, EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Keeps Secret Calendar to Hide Meetings with Industry Figures, "I Urge You to Resign": A Mother Confronts Pruitt at Restaurant, Trump Meets with Four Possible Supreme Court Nominees, Michael Cohen Indicates He Will Work with Prosecutors, Trump Urges NATO Allies to Increase Military Spending, New Charges Against Harvey Weinstein Could Result in Life Sentence, Thailand Races to Rescue Youth Soccer Team Trapped in Cave, Report: Melania Trump Made Over $100K in Royalties from Photos Licensed to Media…

Democracy Now! (2018-06-26). Headlines for June 26, 2018. democracynow.org Mattis: U.S. Preparing to Imprison Immigrant Children on Two Texas Military Bases, Border Patrol to Stop Handing Immigrant Parents Over for Prosecution, In El Paso, Immigrant Parents Demand Return of Their Children, AP: Algeria Has Expelled 13,000 Migrants into Sahara Desert, Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry, NOAA Proposed Dropping "Climate" from Mission, Judge Dismisses Cities' Effort to Force Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Climate Change, Trump Attacks & Threatens Rep. Maxine Waters, PA: Family Holds Funeral for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Black Teen Killed by Police, Mexico: 2 More Political Candidates Assassinated in Lead-Up to Presidential Election, Brazilian Radio Journalist Jairo Sousa Assassinated in Pará, Argentina: Unions Launch 24-Hour General Strike to Protest Austerity, FDA Approves Cannabis-Based Drug for the First Time…

Paul Dobson (2018-06-07). Maduro & Workers Push to Stimulate Venezuela's Oil Industry amid Collapsing Production. venezuelanalysis.com It is alleged that PDVSA does not possess sufficient stocks to fulfill its June export orders.

Last Process: 36 Citations 2018-07-08 17:15:30 GMT (11:16 MDT)

2018-07-08: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Trump's EPA Suppressing Cancer-Causing Chemical Study
britney | truthout.org | 2018-07-08
New reporting in Politico puts the spotlight on continued themes of the Trump administration: suppression of science, threats to public health, and carrying out the bidding of industry. The issue laid out involves alleged political interference at the Environmental Protection Agency, and while the agency's current administrator, scandal-riddled Scott Pruitt, is now on his way out the door, the reins now head to number two Andrew Wheeler, who offers little reason to believe the burying of a key report will soon end. | As Politico's Annie Snider reported, Trump appointees at the agency are blocking the release of an assessment on formaldehyde produced by the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). A draft assessment already completed confirms research linking the common chemical to leukemia, nose and throat cancer, and other adverse health effects. | "They're stonewalling every step of the way,"
truthout.org/articles/trumps-epa-suppressing-cancer-causing-chemical-study/

Newly Unearthed FBI File Exposes Targeting of Folk Singer Dave Van Ronk
Merula Furtado | truthout.org | 2018-07-08

Electric Car Sales Promise Shock for Big Oil
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-07-08
Oil and gas companies have underestimated probable electric vehicle sales and the effect they will have on their own businesses and profits, a new report says. | If the car manufacturers' projections of future sales of electric cars are correct, then demand for oil will have peaked by 2027 or even earlier, sending the price of oil in a downward spiral as supply exceeds demand, says Carbon Tracker (CT), an independent financial think-tank carrying out in-depth analysis on the impact of the energy transition on capital markets. | It says fossil fuel companies have taken into account some engine fuel efficiencies and the effect they would have on oil demand, but not the expected increase in electric vehicles themselves. There is a big mismatch between forecasts of EV market penetration from vehicle manufacturers and from oil majors, says Laurence Watson, a…
truthdig.com/articles/electric-vehicle-sales-promise-shock-for-big-oil/

Haiti Gov't Suspends Fuel Price Hike After Unrest
teleSUR / jc-MH | telesurtv.net | 2018-07-08
The fuel price rise falls under the terms agreed between the Haitian government IMF, which implied the cessation of public subsidies for oil products.
telesurtv.net/english/news/Haiti-Govt-Suspends-Fuel-Price-Hike-After-Unrest-20180707-0007.html

Iran: Trump's Tweets Have Added $10 to Cost of Oil
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-07-08
Iran's official for the Organization of Petroleum Countries, Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, says the U.S. president's twitter activity is roiling the oil markets. | The post Iran: Trump's Tweets Have Added $10 to Cost of Oil appeared first on Truthdig: Expert Reporting, Current News, Provocative Columnists.
truthdig.com/articles/iran-trumps-tweets-have-added-10-to-cost-of-oil/

US Justice Kennedy's Legacy on Gay Rights
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-08
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy arrives for U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017. | © 2017 Reuters | President Trump is set to announce his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will step down this summer after 30 years on the bench. A swing vote on a deeply divided court, Kennedy sided with the majority on many troubling decisions but was also a key figure in several that advanced human rights protections, including on gay rights, abortion rights and affirmative action. | In Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting same-sex sexual activity. It was a 6-3 ruling with Justice Kennedy writing the majority opinion. It invalidated sodomy laws in 13 other states,…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/08/us-justice-kennedys-legacy-gay-right

Here Are 8 Ways Outgoing EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Suppressed Science
Elizabeth Shogren, Center for Investigative Reporting | alternet.org | 2018-07-07
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt leaves a legacy of suppressing the role of science at the agency | Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who announced yesterday that he is resigning, leaves a legacy of suppressing the role of science at the agency. Blocking science in the name of transparencyIn March, Pruitt proposed a new "science transparency policy. " Under the proposed rule, when the EPA designs pollution standards and rules, it would use only studies in which the underlying data is public. Pruitt said his policy would prevent the EPA from using "secret science" that cannot be tested by other researchers. But scientists say important findings could be excluded. One example is research by Harvard University that linked fine particle pollution in U. S. cities with an increase in deaths from lung and heart diseases. The data for the 1993 study was key to. . .
alternet.org/here-are-8-ways-outgoing-epa-chief-scott-pruitt-suppressed-science

Defense Contractor Detained Migrant Kids in Vacant Phoenix Office Building
Staff | truthdig.com | 2018-07-07
A major U.S. defense contractor quietly detained dozens of immigrant children inside a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets during three weeks of the Trump administration's family separation effort, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has learned. | Videos shot by an alarmed neighbor show children dressed in sweatsuits being led — one so young she was carried — into the 3,200-square-foot building in early June. The building is not licensed by Arizona to hold children, and the contractor, MVM Inc., has claimed publicly that it does not operate "shelters or any other type of housing" for children. | Defending the administration's policy to separate families at the border in a May interview with NPR, White House chief of staff John Kelly promised: "The children will be taken care of…
truthdig.com/articles/defense-contractor-detained-migrant-kids-in-vacant-phoenix-office-building/

A 'Reckless' Fracking Company, Poisoned Springs, and a Family Forced to Buy Water at Walmart
Eliza Griswold | theintercept.com | 2018-07-07
Driving west along the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Harrisburg to rural Washington County, sign after sign pitted energy companies against environmentalists. An evil-looking clown leered down at passing drivers above the words: "I still believe in global warming. Do you?" Then there was another: "Wind dies. Sun sets. You need reliable, affordable, clean coal electricity." Yet>> | The post A 'Reckless' Fracking Company, Poisoned Springs, and a Family Forced to Buy Water at Walmart appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/07/07/eliza-griswold-book-excerpt/

World Bank Solution for Lack of Jobs: Cut Worker Protections
Pete Dolack | counterpunch.org | 2018-07-06
The World Bank is in the process of completing its "World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work" and, surprisingly, the latest draft version opens with quotes from Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Has the World Bank suddenly lost sight of its purpose and will now take up the cause of working people?
counterpunch.org/2018/07/06/world-bank-solution-for-lack-of-jobs-cut-worker-protections/

First as Tragedy, Then as Tragedy. Ecological Imperialism and the Destruction of Families
Timothy P. Clark | counterpunch.org | 2018-07-06
In recent years, critical journalists and scholars of climate change and society have urged academics and activists to understand climate change through the lens of class power. [1][2] Such a lens would force recognition of the real, material meaning of the existential threat that climate change poses to humanity; a threat strongly mediated by the…
counterpunch.org/2018/07/06/first-as-tragedy-then-as-tragedy-ecological-imperialism-and-the-destruction-of-families/

The Wifi Alliance, Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood: 5G Wireless
Renee Parsons | globalresearch.ca | 2018-07-06
The Alliance, which makes no pretense of potential health or environmental concerns, further proclaimed (and they may be correct) that there are "more wifi devices than people on earth". It is that inescapable exposure to ubiquitous wireless technologies wherein lies the problem.
globalresearch.ca/coming-soon-to-your-neighborhood-5g-wireless/5646667

Iran Looks to Barter Oil as U.S. Sanctions Bite
Tsvetana Paraskova | globalresearch.ca | 2018-07-06
Faced with the return of U.S. sanctions, Iran is studying a revival of a plan to barter crude oil for goods, possibly resuming the scheme that it used to try to blunt the impact of the previous round of sanctions …
globalresearch.ca/iran-looks-to-barter-oil-as-u-s-sanctions-bite/5646650

Roaming Charges: America, Unchecked and Unbalanced
Jeffrey St. Clair | counterpunch.org | 2018-07-06
+ Someone should put together a volume of Trump's lectures on natural resources. It will rival John Wesley Powell. This week's lesson was delivered in West Virginia is on how coal is more vital to US national security than oil & gas because you bomb pipelines but coal is "indestructible." Read closely, there will be…
counterpunch.org/2018/07/06/roaming-charges-unchecked-and-unbalanced/

So Long, Scott Pruitt. We Knew You All Too Well
Sharon Lerner | theintercept.com | 2018-07-06
What finally pushed Scott Pruitt over the edge? Was it the woman with the baby who let him have it in a fast food restaurant? Or his use of Environmental Protection Agency staff to try to snag his wife a Chick-fil-A franchise? The secret calendar? The tactical pants? | The EPA administrator generated headlines with a stream of bizarre, inappropriate, and self-serving actions in his 16 months in office. At last count, there were more than a dozen investigations into his ethical lapses. | Pruitt, who served as Oklahoma's attorney general before being confirmed to lead the EPA last February, had a taste for the finer things — nice cars with flashing lights and sirens, biometric locks, extremely secure phone booths, and big houses. The combination of this expensive taste — the big house in Tulsa…
theintercept.com/2018/07/06/epa-scott-pruitt-resignation-andrew-wheeler/

EPA accused of 'suppressing' hazardous formaldehyde report
RT | rt.com | 2018-07-06
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have accused staff appointed by departing agency head Scott Pruitt of suppressing a report warning that most Americans are exposed to hazardous levels of formaldehyde.
rt.com/usa/432006-epa-supressed-formaldehyde-report/

As Scott Pruitt Resigns, Former EPA Officials Warn His Radical, Anti-Science Agenda Harmed Nation
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-07-06
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned, amid an onslaught of financial and ethics scandals and widespread opposition to his campaign to roll back key environmental protections. President Trump announced Pruitt's resignation via Twitter. Trump later told reporters, "Scott Pruitt did an outstanding job inside of the EPA. We've gotten rid of record-breaking regulations, and it's been really good." At the time of his resignation, Pruitt was facing more than a dozen federal investigations into ethical misconduct, ranging from lavish spending to asking subordinates to help his wife find a job. Just earlier this week, CNN reported Pruitt kept a secret calendar and schedule in an attempt to hide his meetings with many industry executives.
democracynow.org/2018/7/6/as_scott_pruitt_resigns_former_epa

Pentagon and Iran trade threats over renewed oil sanctions
wsws.org | wsws.org | 2018-07-06
US imperialism is preparing for a military confrontation with Iran that could quickly eclipse the bloodbaths in those countries and precipitate a regional and even world war.
wsws.org/en/articles/2018/07/06/iran-j06.html

New EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler, Former Coal Lobbyist, Aims to Continue to Dismantle EPA from Inside
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-07-06
Following Scott Pruitt's resignation, EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler will become the agency's acting administrator. Wheeler is a former lobbyist for Murray Energy, the nation's largest underground coal mining company. He's also the former chief of staff for Oklahoma Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, who is known as the most notorious climate-denying lawmaker in Washington. In one of his most famous stunts, Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor in 2015 in order to prove that global warming was a hoax.
democracynow.org/2018/7/6/new_epa_chief_andrew_wheeler_former

China Approves US$5Bn Loan for Venezuelan Oil Development
TEV | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-07-05
Venezuelan officials said Chinese cooperation opens up alternative networks outside the sanctions of the United States.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13918

Twitter accuses Republican senators of defiling America after spending July 4 in Moscow
RT | rt.com | 2018-07-05
A group of Republican senators have been accused of treason after spending July 4 in Moscow. Real patriots spend Independence Day eating potato salad on US soil, according to astute Twitter users.
rt.com/usa/431791-senators-russia-july-4/

How The Iran Sanctions Drama Intersects With OPEC-Plus
Pepe Escobar | iranian.com | 2018-07-04
Major states buying oil from Iran are unlikely to heed the US call to drop imports; key allies want a waiver to avoid sanctions; OPEC, meanwhile, will have trouble boosting output in the short-term; the puzzle is not solved, but there are dark clouds [dropcap]H[/dropcap]istory may have registered stranger geoeconomic bedfellows. But in the current OPEC-plus world, […] | The post How The Iran Sanctions Drama Intersects With OPEC-Plus appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/07/04/iran-sanctions-opec/

An American Century of Brutal Overseas Conquest Began at Guantánamo Bay
Miriam Pensack | theintercept.com | 2018-07-04
It is a testament to the Washington establishment's rhetorical dexterity that it labeled Guantánamo Bay home of the world's most dangerous terrorists. U.S. leaders meant, of course, to refer to the hundreds of non-Americans detained at the base over the past 16 years. But a closer look at the history of Guantánamo tells a different story — one in which the United States, beginning 120 years ago this June, used the enclave in southeastern Cuba to launch decades upon decades of terroristic overseas conquest. | Cuba was the intended target of many such terror plots. Long before Donald Rumsfeld homed in on the country to imprison "enemy combatants" in the aftermath of 9/11, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sought to visit " the terrors of the earth" on Cuba as part of Operation Mongoose, a covert CIA effort to overthrow leader Fidel…
theintercept.com/2018/07/04/guantanamo-bay-cuba/

Americans ask Russians to fix their space-toilet
RT | rt.com | 2018-07-04
When you want a job done right, send in the Russians. NASA has renewed a contract with Russian firm Energia to maintain and repair toilets on board the US segment of the International Space Station.
rt.com/usa/431742-russians-fix-american-space-toilet/

France: Child Migrants Left Adrift in Paris
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-04
Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant youths, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to. Hundreds of unaccompanied children sleep on the streets of Paris each night, according to estimates from lawyers and nongovernmental organizations. | (Paris) — Child protection authorities in Paris are using flawed age assessment procedures for unaccompanied migrant children, excluding many from care they need and are entitled to, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Hundreds of these young migrants find themselves homeless, often condemned to sleep on the streets of Paris. |

| The…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/04/france-child-migrants-left-adrift-paris

Cosmic radiation from giant star system heading towards Earth — NASA (VIDEO, PHOTO)
RT | rt.com | 2018-07-04
A star system containing two gigantic suns is blasting cosmic rays into space and NASA scientists have found that the radiation is making its way towards Earth on intergalactic winds.
rt.com/usa/431705-cosmic-rays-heading-earth/

Heat Waves and Climate Change: Mass Media Fails to Make the Connection
Dwayne Gladden | therealnews.com | 2018-07-03
The failure to link the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves means that the general population remains relatively unaware of the urgency of climate change, says Jennifer Marlon of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication | The post Heat Waves and Climate Change: Mass Media Fails to Make the Connection appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/heat-waves-and-climate-change-mass-media-fails-to-make-the-connection

Trump Must Choose Between Tough Iran Sanctions And Moderate Gasoline Prices
Middle East Monitor | iranian.com | 2018-07-03
The White House can drive Iran's oil exports to zero, or it can have moderate US gasoline prices, but it probably cannot have both. The awkward tension between the administration's foreign policy priority (tough Iran sanctions) and its electoral calculation (to keep gasoline prices low) explains its increasingly frequent comments about oil prices. President Donald […] | The post Trump Must Choose Between Tough Iran Sanctions And Moderate Gasoline Prices appeared first on The Iranian.
iranian.com/2018/07/03/iran-sanctions-gasoline-prices/

Afghanistan's Ceasefires Expire; Attacks on Civilians Resume
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-03
Afghan Sikh men carry the coffin of a bombing victim in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, July 2, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | The two headlines could not have been more jarring. | "Casualties drop by half last month compared to June 2017," the nongovernmental Afghan Civilian Protection Advocacy Group reported on July 1, a decline attributed to overlapping unilateral ceasefires by the Afghan government and the Taliban. | "Suicide Attack Targets Sikhs in Jalalabad," screamed a headline just hours later, a story that documented a devastating suicide bombing that killed 19 people. Among the dead was Avtar Singh, the only Sikh candidate for the October parliamentary elections; another prominent Sikh civil society activist; and other Hindus and Sikhs from among Afghanistan's smallest minority communities. | Although Sikhs and Hindus have lived in Afghanistan for…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/03/afghanistans-ceasefires-expire-attacks-civilians-resume

US: Renew 'Temporary Protection' for Yemenis
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-03
Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck three apartment buildings in Faj Attan, a densely populated neighborhood in Sanaa, on August 25, 2017. Two of the buildings were completely destroyed and the third suffered extensive damage. | © 2017 Mohammed al-Mekhlafi | (Washington, DC) — The United States government should renew its grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Yemenis living in the US, Human Rights Watch said today. Anyone forcibly returned to Yemen faces serious risks to their personal safety from the ongoing armed conflict and laws of war violations by the warring parties. | The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to announce a decision on July 5, 2018, about whether to extend existing Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis. Since the department's last decision to continue the program for Yemenis in…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/03/us-renew-temporary-protection-yemenis

Europe is Losing its Moral Compass in the Mediterranean
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-03
Migrants are seen onboard the charity ship Lifeline at Boiler Wharf in Senglea, in Valletta's Grand Harbour, Malta June 27, 2018. | © 2018 Reuters | As an American living in Italy, I feel almost choked by despair. The country of my parents ripped young children from their parents and put them in cages. The country of my children is condemning people to drown in the Mediterranean. | Over 200 people have drowned or gone missing off the Libyan coast in the last three days, including young babies, bringing the death toll so far this year to over 1,000. | The new Italian government closed its ports to rescue boats in June. After years of laudable efforts to save lives in the Central Mediterranean, the Italian state-run Maritime Rescue Coordination Center is denying any…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/03/europe-losing-its-moral-compass-mediterranean

US: Undocumented Crime Fighters Deserve Protection
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2018-07-03
Undocumented immigrants brave enough to come forward to report crime, need to know they can safely approach police without fear of deportation. Congress should preserve and expand provisions in the Violence Against Women Act that allow courageous undocumented immigrants to safely report crime. | (New York) — Undocumented immigrants brave enough to come forward to report crime, need to know they can safely approach police without fear of deportation, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Congress should preserve and expand provisions in the Violence Against Women Act that allow courageous undocumented immigrants to safely report crime. | The U visa, created with strong bi-partisan support as part of the 2000 Violence Against Women Act, creates a path for crime victims who cooperate in investigations of serious crimes to apply for legal status in the US. The program…
hrw.org/news/2018/07/03/us-undocumented-crime-fighters-deserve-protection

Headlines for June 26, 2018
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-06-26
Mattis: U.S. Preparing to Imprison Immigrant Children on Two Texas Military Bases, Border Patrol to Stop Handing Immigrant Parents Over for Prosecution, In El Paso, Immigrant Parents Demand Return of Their Children, AP: Algeria Has Expelled 13,000 Migrants into Sahara Desert, Newly Released Scott Pruitt Emails Show More Ties to Lobbyist, Fossil Fuel Industry, NOAA Proposed Dropping "Climate" from Mission, Judge Dismisses Cities' Effort to Force Fossil Fuel Companies to Pay for Climate Change, Trump Attacks & Threatens Rep. Maxine Waters, PA: Family Holds Funeral for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Black Teen Killed by Police, Mexico: 2 More Political Candidates Assassinated in Lead-Up to Presidential Election, Brazilian Radio Journalist Jairo Sousa Assassinated in Pará, Argentina: Unions Launch 24-Hour General Strike to Protest Austerity, FDA Approves Cannabis-Based Drug for the First Time…
democracynow.org/2018/6/26/headlines

Maduro & Workers Push to Stimulate Venezuela's Oil Industry amid Collapsing Production
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-06-07
It is alleged that PDVSA does not possess sufficient stocks to fulfill its June export orders.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/13864

Last Process: 34 Postees 2018-07-08 17:15:30 GMT (11:12 MDT)

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