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Middleboro Review 2

NEW CONTENT MOVED TO MIDDLEBORO REVIEW 2

Toyota

Since the Dilly, Dally, Delay & Stall Law Firms are adding their billable hours, the Toyota U.S.A. and Route 44 Toyota posts have been separated here:

Route 44 Toyota Sold Me A Lemon



Friday, February 28, 2014

Arizona On Steroids




The Progress Report Banner

Arizona On Steroids


Feb 28, 2014 | By CAP Action War Room

Will the Supreme Court Issue a License to Discriminate?


The nationwide outcry over Arizona’s anti-LGBT law was swift and severe. Amid mounting pressure from leading Republicans in her own state as well as the business community and others, Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the law on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, Arizona is far from the only state where lawmakers are contemplating bills that would give the government, private businesses, and others the a license to discriminate under the guise of “religious liberty.” As Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards wrote yesterday, “this didn’t start with Arizona, and it won’t end with Arizona.”

Indeed, proposals similar to the Arizona law have been introduced recently in states across the country, including Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Kansas, and South Dakota, and Tennessee.

The Missouri proposal was actually introduced in attempt to model the Arizona bill, but the backlash over Arizona helped propel measures in other states to outright defeat or at least has them on ice for the moment.

As bad as these bills are, they pale in comparison to the damage the Supreme Court could do with an erroneous ruling in the upcoming Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood cases. While these cases are specifically about the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, the High Court could open the floodgates to discrimination in the name of religious belief.

ThinkProgress’ Ian Millhiser explains how the Supreme Court could essentially impose an Arizona-style law on steroids nationwide:

If this issue sounds familiar, it should, because it’s the exact same issue behind two of the most high profile Supreme Court cases being hear this term — Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius. In both of those cases, for-profit businesses object, on religious liberty grounds, to complying with Obama Administration rules increasing access to birth control. One of the most important questions presented by both cases is whether a for-profit corporation can have religious faith at all, and if so, whether it can use that supposed faith as the basis for a legal claim.
So if the Supreme Court agrees with the plaintiffs in these cases that corporations aren’t just people, but they can also be people of faith, the outcome will be very similar to what would happen if Congress had taken the bill Brewer just vetoed, passed it at the federal level and then President Obama had signed it into law — except, of course, for the fact that no one on the Supreme Court was actually elected to make law.

Last year, some of our Center for American Progress colleagues wrote about the dangerous slippery slope we could all go sliding down if the Supreme Court agrees that corporations are not only people, but people entitled to religious beliefs. Such a decision poses a very real threat to core civil rights protections in this country:

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, or religion. But if for-profit corporations have religious beliefs, they will be able to argue they have the right to side-step Title VII and, for example, hire only those who sign a “statement of faith” or share the same religious beliefs.

  • The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is part of Title VII, protects against sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, but for-profit corporations may try and use their newly found religious rights to fire unmarried pregnant employees.

  • The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, or religion, unless you qualify for certain religious organizations exemptions. If for-profit corporations have religious rights, then property-management firms may argue their religious beliefs do not support certain lifestyles such as living together before marriage. They may choose not to rent or sell to those engaging in the unapproved conduct.

  • Many states have public accommodations laws that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. A holding that a corporation can be exempt from basically any federal law because of its owners’ religious beliefs could lead to similar state law exemptions. (See Elane Photography v. Willock.)

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in these cases on March 25, so the timing of this growing national backlash against discrimination under the guise of religious liberty could not be better. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is frequently the Court’s swing vote, has a long history of supporting LGBT rights, including authoring last year’s historic decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act. That decision has nationwide marriage equality barreling back toward the Supreme Court at breakneck speed.

As Millhiser wrote earlier this week, the Arizona backlash could be of tremendous benefit in the upcoming cases:

The last time a conflict between gay rights and religious conservatives reached the Supreme Court, Kennedy broke with his fellow conservatives and sided with gay equality. [...]
But if Kennedy views Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood and a broad attack on the idea that religious employers have to comply with the law, and specifically, with laws protecting gay people, then he is much more likely to uphold the birth control rules.
The plaintiffs’ legal theory in Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood would, in the words of a brief filed by attorneys from Lambda Legal, “mark a sea change – not only in allowing business owners’ religious views about family planning to burden decisions employees are entitled to make for themselves, but also in opening the door to similar denials of equal compensation, health care access, and other equitable treatment for LGBT people, persons with HIV, and anyone else whose family life or health need diverges from their employers’ religious convictions.” If birth control loses in Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, it is all but certain that gay rights will be next on the chopping block.

Stay tuned for more on the potential consequences of the Hobby Lobby case.

BOTTOM LINE: Religious liberty is a core American value and progressives believe in religious liberty for all, not just for some. Religious liberty means religious liberty for everyone. And that includes the freedom from having the theological doctrines of your boss or those of business owners in your community being forced upon you.

The Arizona law and the upcoming Supreme Court cases are not really about religious liberty, they are about minority of individuals seeking a license to ignore laws and regulations they disagree with in order to discriminate against LGBT people, women, and others.
 
 

Republicans Turn Their Backs on VETERANS!





Republicans Turn Their Backs on Veterans

Senate Republicans on Thursday derailed legislation to expand health care, education and job-training benefits for the nation’s 22 million veterans. “I have a hard time understanding how anyone could vote for tax breaks for billionaires, for millionaires, for large corporations and then say we don't have the resources to protect our veterans,” Bernie told the Senate before his legislation was sidetracked on a mostly party-line vote. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Bernie’s bill was backed by more than two dozen veterans’ service organizations. “I don’t know how anyone who voted ‘no’ today can look a veteran in the eye and justify that vote,” said American Legion Commander Daniel Dellinger. Bernie isn’t giving up. Just three more Republican votes are needed to pass the bill. CNN's Chris Cuomo called what happened "outrageous."





Comcastic?
Comcastic?
At a time when fewer and fewer corporations control the flow of information and news, Comcast wants to take over Time Warner Cable. If federal regulators approve the deal, just one corporation would provide cable and Internet service for about one in three American households. More than 8,000 people already have sent Bernie emails critical of the mega-merger. Are you concerned about a handful of corporations controlling what we see, hear and read? Do you think this merger should be approved?
Read Tell Bernie what you think about the merger


A Major Victory for the People
A Major Victory
for the People
President Obama will send a budget to Capitol Hill next week that drops his controversial proposal to cut Social Security benefits. Republicans and even some prominent Democrats in Congress had backed the cuts. So did Wall Street CEOs. So did TV pundits and major newspapers. But in poll after poll, big majorities of the American public strongly opposed the proposal. Bernie credits that grassroots opposition for Obama’s retreat. “It amounts to a major, major victory for the people of this country,” he said. “When people stand together on an issue,” Sanders said, “we can win.”


Must Reads


News
An End to the Grand-Bargain Charades
The New York Times


News
Don't Close Our Post Offices -- Put Them To Work!
Jim Hightower in Common Dreams


News
Don't Let Senate Republicans "Torpedo" Historic Veterans Bill
Jamie Reno’s The Reno Dispatch

 

Video Watch CNN's Chris Cuomo explain the vote

Plastic Bags Can be Recycled Into Diesel Fuel

Impressive process that has the potential of addressing this waste issue alone:

Given that each year an estimated 100 billion
shopping bags are thrown away in the US alone,
this is great news indeed.


[Jetson Daily]

Plastic Bags

Can be Recycled

Into Diesel Fuel

 

Posted: 27 Feb 2014 04:46 PM PST
title

Researchers at the University of Illinois, or more
precisely the Illinois Sustainable Technology
Center, have discovered a process that can turn
used plastic shopping bags into a compatible
drop-in diesel fuel and a number of petroleum
products. The recycling process also works to
recover most of the initial manufacturing inputs
that go into producing plastic shopping bags.
Given that each year an estimated 100 billion
shopping bags are thrown away in the US alone,
this is great news indeed.

According to the researchers, the recycling
process actually produces a lot more energy
than it requires, along with resulting in the
creation of transportation fuels such as diesel.
The latter can then be blended with existing
ultra-low-sulfur diesels and biodiesels. The
other products that can be obtained by this
shopping bag recycling process include natural
gas, naphtha, gasoline, waxes and lubricating
oils, namely engine oil and hydraulic oil. As
the lead researcher, Brajendra Kumar Sharma,
put it: “You can get only 50 to 55 percent fuel
from the distillation of petroleum crude oil.
But since this plastic is made from petroleum
in the first place, we can recover almost 80
percent fuel from it through distillation.”

oil
team
To recycle the shopping bags, the researchers used
a process called pyrolysis, which has been used
previously to transform plastic bags into crude oil
products. The process works by heating the plastic
bags in an oxygen-free chamber to obtain the oil.
However, the University of Illinois research team
has managed to refine the material created through
pyrolysis into different petroleum products, and
have achieved their goal of producing a fuel that
meets the standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel
and biodiesel fuels.
The results of their study revealed that the fuels
which result from their process can be blended
into regular diesel at rates of up to 30%, without
any compatibility issues or any necessary
changes. In fact, nearly all properties of the
produced fuel were within ASTM D975 and
EN 590 diesel specifications, while the
derived cetane number (the measure of
the combustion quality of diesel requiring
compression ignition), and lubricity were
superior to conventional diesel fuel.
These findings are very promising, since
they could prove to be the answer of how
to successfully and effectively recycle plastic
bags. However, before the process can be
used to recover the initial inputs from
manufacturing plastic bags and reduce
the amount of petroleum required for
 diesel and other fuels, it must first be
successfully scaled up to help in dealing
with the massive amounts of discarded
shopping bags. The challenge of getting
people to recycle their shopping bags,
however, still remains.

Colony Collapse Disorder


A WORLD WITHOUT BEES: We're at a point of genuine crisis as far as honeybees are concerned. All across America, honeybee colonies are collapsing. Unless things change fast, we won't have enough bees soon to pollinate many important crops, including almonds, apples, squash, melons, blueberries, plums and peaches.

And in the midst of this crisis, EPA approved a new pesticide called sulfoxaflor. Now, sulfoxaflor belongs to a family of pesticides called neonicotinoids, and like... most neonicotinoids, sulfoxaflor is extremely toxic to bees. Sulfoxaflor is also a systemic pesticide, which means it's absorbed into the growing plant and makes the whole plant, including the pollen and the nectar, poisonous to bees.


HOW YOU CAN HELP>>
1. Learn More about Colony Collapse Disorder by listening here: http://ow.ly/u4mFh
2. Plant a bee garden! Just make sure the plants you buy aren’t treated with pesticides (some are already sprayed with harmful pesticides from big box stores).
3. Support your organic local farmers and beekeepers
4. Help us protect bees by donating here: http://ow.ly/u4E4T

SHARE>> This post to spread the words to your friends and family!
See More
 
 
A WORLD WITHOUT BEES: We're at a point of genuine crisis as far as honeybees are concerned. All across America, honeybee colonies are collapsing. Unless things change fast, we won't have enough bees soon to pollinate many important crops, including almonds, apples, squash, melons, blueberries, plums and peaches.
 
And in the midst of this crisis, EPA approved a new pesticide called sulfoxaflor. Now, sulfoxaflor belongs to a family of pesticides called neonicotinoids, and like most neonicotinoids, sulfoxaflor is extremely toxic to bees. Sulfoxaflor is also a systemic pesticide, which means it's absorbed into the growing plant and makes the whole plant, including the pollen and the nectar, poisonous to bees.

 
HOW YOU CAN HELP>>
1. Learn More about Colony Collapse Disorder by listening here: http://ow.ly/u4mFh
2. Plant a bee garden! Just make sure the plants you buy aren’t treated with pesticides (some are already sprayed with harmful pesticides from big box stores).
3. Support your organic local farmers and beekeepers
4. Help us protect bees by donating here: http://ow.ly/u4E4T
 
SHARE>> This post to spread the words to your friends and family!
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Greatest Propaganda Coup...?, Manufacturing Consent For Military Intervention? et al



Header

Not For Profit - For Global Justice - Since 2001
The Peoples Press - Powered By People - For People

Follow us on Twitter Support Information Clearing House Visit our blog

Further Updates Will Follow Later Today


Russian Troops Landing in
Crimea: Report
Air Space Had Been
Closed
By RTE
Russian aircraft carrying nearly 2,000 suspected
troops have landed at a military air base near the
regional capital of the Crimean peninsula, a top
Ukrainian official said accusing Moscow of an
"armed invasion".
Manufacturing Consent For Military
Intervention?
Ukraine Pleads For Help After
Russian 'Invasion'
Mark MacKinnon
The new Ukrainian government says it has been
invaded by Russia and has appealed for the
United States and United Kingdom to protect
it, as guaranteed under a 1994 agreement.
Fact Or Fiction?
Crimean Coup is Payback by Putin
for Ukraine's Revolution
By Luke Harding
After what Moscow regards as the western-backed
takeover of Kiev, the Kremlin's choreography has
been impressive.
Washington's Man Yatsenyuk Setting Ukraine
Up For Ruin
By Kenneth Rapoza
Ukraine's interim prime minister, Arseniy
"Yats" Yatsenyuk, may prove to be arsenic
to the beleaguered nation.
Ukraine's Protests in Context
By Kenny Coyle
The Euro love-fest for Ukraine masks some
deeply ugly alliances.
The Coup in Ukraine
Obama's Dumbest Plan Yet
By Mike Whitney
The United States helped defeat Nazism
in World War 2. Obama helped bring it
back.
The Syrian Subterfuge:
The Case for Humanitarian War
- Again
By Ajamu Baraka
"This concern for the humanity of the
Syrians is comical if it was not so deadly
serious."
'Illegal' Drone Strikes Condemned In
Landslide Vote By European Politicians
By Jessica Elgot
Europe's politicians have voted by a landslide
to propose a ban on US drone strikes that have
killed thousands in Yemen and Pakistan, calling
the killings "unlawful".
Prelude to World War
We are Hungry in Three Languages
By John Stanton
The combination of financiers, investors,
technocrats and politicians is toxic. They
run the world with formulas and a market
ideology that has long since passed its prime.
Socialism's Critics Look at Venezuela and
Say, 'We Told You So'. But They Are Wrong
By Owen Jones
The democratic credentials of the post-
Chavez government are being maligned.
Venezuela: Socialism Is Still a Real
and Inspiring Possibility
By Chris Gilbert
What was once known as capitalism was
simply being rebaptized as "socialism."
When Protests and Violence Are
Important to the U.S. Media
By Nate Singham
It is worth comparing the extent of press
coverage to protests of similar importance
next door to Venezuela.
The Greatest Propaganda Coup
of Our Time?
By Mike Whitney
Yipee! Free money for all the crooks who
blew up the financial system and
plunged the economy into recession.
Cost Of War

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US
War And Occupation Of Iraq
"1,455,590"
Number of U.S. Military Personnel
Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged)
In America's War On Iraq: 4,883

Number Of International Occupation
Force Troops Slaughtered In
Afghanistan : 3,424
Cost of War in Iraq & Afghanistan
Total Cost of Wars Since 2001
$1,517,253,082,795
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A Shadow US Foreign Policy, The Keystone XL Pipeline: Who Benefits?



It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News



FOCUS: Rep. Alan Grayson | The Keystone XL Pipeline: Who Benefits?
Congressman Alan Grayson. (photo: Getty Images)
Rep. Alan Grayson, Reader Supported News
Grayson writes: "Today, energy independence soon will be a reality. For China. Thanks to the Keystone XL pipeline."
READ MORE

It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News



FOCUS: Robert Parry | A Shadow US Foreign Policy
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. (photo: unknown)
Robert Parry, Consortium News
Parry writes: "A shadow foreign policy apparatus built by Ronald Reagan for the Cold War survives to this day as a slush fund that keeps American neocons well fed and still destabilizes target nations, now including Ukraine."
READ MORE

The beginning of the end




We Love Our Land


The five-year battle against Keystone XL is approaching its conclusion.

And you have a chance to help write the final chapter.

According to Republican governors' recent comments, President Obama is going to make a final decision on the pipeline in a couple months.

Last month, you — along with thousands of other people — signed a petition asking John Kerry to reject the faulty Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) released by the State Department. (Thank you for speaking up!)

Now there's another way that you can make a difference. Secretary John Kerry and the State Department now have a 30-day period where people like us can formally comment on the FEIS.

Will you submit a comment to Secretary Kerry by the March 7 deadline, encouraging President Obama to say "no" to the Keystone XL pipeline?

You and I both know that Keystone's carbon footprint would be equivalent to more than 50 new coal plants — and that's not what America needs.

It's time to tell Washington, Secretary Kerry, and President Obama that we care about climate change — and that approving the Keystone XL pipeline is a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

Take one minute to share your thoughts with Secretary Kerry.

Thanks again for all your help,

Jesse Thomas

TransCanda's Dirty Tar Sands Public Comments Still Open

Please join with others and speak out to protect the environment from Dirty Tar Sands!
Public Comment is still open re. TransCanada's Keystone Pipeline permit applications.

You can send comments by electronic submission through the federal government's eRulemaking Portal. To submit comments electronically, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov), enter the Docket No. DOS-2014-0003, and follow the prompts to submit a comment.

The State Department also will accept comments submitted in hard copy by mail and postmarked no later than Mar...ch 7, 2014. Please note that standard mail delivery to the State Department can be delayed due to security screening. To submit comments by mail, use the following address:

Bureau of Energy Resources, Room 4843,
Attn: Keystone XL Public Comments,
U.S. Department of State,
2201 C St. NW.,
Washington,
DC 20520.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS-2014-0003-0001
See More
 

Anabel is a community activist from California's Central Valley. She's part of an awesome panel of fracking and climate activists who will be joining us for tonight's Don't Frack California web chat. Tune in live online at 6:00PST/9:00EST: http://act.350.org/signup/WebDFCAL/

SHARE if you stand with Anabel and against fracking -- in California and beyond.
 
Anabel Marquez is a community activist in Shafter, CA and a member of CRPE's fracking committee. Shafter is one of the most heavily fracked areas in California ...and Anabel sees the effects of this boom everyday. Join her on Thursday for a live webchat with 350.org and CREDO to learn more about how the Valley is fighting back.

Tar Sands Lies


The Canadian government isn't telling the truth about tar sands pollution.

Dr. O'Connor takes care of people made sick by the tar sands, and he will tell you the truth.

Click LIKE and SHARE to make sure his voice gets heard.

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/alberta-doctor-tells-us-canada-%E2%80%98lying%E2%80%99-about-tar-sands%E2%80%99-health-effects
 

West Virginians Harvest Rainwater in Wake of Chem Spill, Moazzam Begg Arrest: Criminalizing Muslim Political Dissent,



It's Live on the HomePage Now:
Reader Supported News



Glenn Greenwald | Moazzam Begg Arrest: Criminalizing Muslim Political Dissent
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg was praised by the US for his campaign for other countries to take in inmates, according to the US embassy cables. (photo: Murdo Macleod/Guardian UK)
Glenn Greenwald and Murtaza Hussain, First Look
Greenwald and Hussain write: "Moazzam Begg, a native-born British citizen of Pakistani descent, spent three years incarcerated in the most notorious detention camps created in the post-9/11 'War on Terror': all without ever being charged with any crime."
READ MORE

Judge Orders Kentucky to Recognize Same-Sex Marriages From Other States
Amanda Holpuch, Guardian UK
Holpuch reports: "A federal judge on Thursday ordered Kentucky to immediately recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states."
READ MORE

Armed Men Take Control of Two Airports in Crimea
Andrew Higgins and Patrick Reevell, The New York Times
Higgins and Reevell report: "Amid fears of a Kremlin-backed separatist rebellion here against Ukraine's fledgling government, armed men in military uniforms took up positions at two Crimean airports as Ukraine's interior minister warned of 'a direct provocation,' but there was no sign of any violence."
READ MORE

Christie Aide Joked About Creating a Second Traffic Jam
Wesley Lowery, The Washington Post
Lowery reports: "The comments come as Christie prepares for a fundraiser in Boston Thursday night, and just hours after newly-released text messages show that top Christie aides joked about causing 'traffic problems' at the home of a New Jersey rabbi associated with the Port Authority - a new example of them jesting about using traffic construction as means of political retribution."
READ MORE

Verizon CEO Says You Should Pay More If You Use the Internet Too Much
Lauren C. Williams, ThinkProgress
Williams reports: "Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam closed out a Monday conference call with investors saying that true net neutrality, which promotes an open Internet where all online traffic is treated equally, means customers and companies that use more Internet should pay more."
READ MORE

West Virginians Harvest Rainwater in Wake of Chem Spill
Molly Rusk, YES! Magazine
Rusk reports: "Some residents of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia lost access to clean drinking water on January 9, when a coal-processing facility spilled roughly 10,000 gallons of crude MCHM - a chemical used to treat coal - into the Elk River and surrounding land. The spill affected the water supply for more than 300,000 people."
READ MORE
 
 

With just 41 votes, Republican senators block veterans benefits bill, Republican lobbyist drafts bill barring 'self-declared homosexual football players' from NFL teams et al



Daily Kos Recommended

Harvey Wasserman, Common Dreams . . .
A stunning new report indicates the U.S. Navy knew that sailors from the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan took major radiation hits from the Fukushima atomic power plant after its meltdowns and explosions nearly three years ago. Many of the sailors are already suffering devastating health impacts, but are being stonewalled by Tepco and the Navy.

The $4.3 billion carrier is now docked in San Diego. Critics question whether it belongs there at all. Attempts to decontaminate U.S. ships irradiated during the Pacific nuclear bombs tests from 1946-1963 proved fruitless.
Still radioactive?
aircraft carrier ronald reagan photo: US Navy 1-119.jpg
(stock photo)
Stars and Stripes . . .
When the March 11, 2011 disaster struck, the Reagan was on its way to Korea, according to Reagan sailors who participated in Operation Tomodachi. They turned around and immediately made their way for the Japanese mainland, passing through a sea of debris.

Sailors told Stars and Stripes that they believe they were as close as five miles off the coast of the stricken plant that spewed radiation into the air and sea.
Sailors who were onboard the Reagan have claimed that they were drinking contaminated desalinated seawater and bathing in it until the ship’s leadership came over the public address system and told them to stop because it was contaminated. They claim the ventilation system was also contaminated. Furthermore, some claim they were pressured into signing forms confirming they had been given iodine pills when none had been provided.
The ship's ventilation system might have been contaminated? What other systems might have been contaminated?The US Navy's "investigation" of the turret explosion on the USS Iowa doesn't give me much confidence that we'll be told the truth about conditions aboard the USS Reagan during its exposure to Fukushima radiation, or about what action has been taken to decontaminate the $4.3 billion dollar carrier.
Wasserman . . .
In the midst of a snow storm, deck hands were enveloped in a warm cloud that came with a metallic taste. Sailors testify that the Reagan’s 5,500-member crew was told over the ship’s intercom to avoid drinking or bathing in desalinized water drawn from a radioactive sea. The huge carrier quickly ceased its humanitarian efforts and sailed 100 miles out to sea, where newly published internal Navy communications confirm it was still taking serious doses of radioactive fallout.
Still taking serious doses of radioactive fallout.For how long?
Wasserman . . .
Tepco and the Navy contend the Reagan did not receive a high enough dose to warrant serious concern. But Japan, South Korea and Guam deemed the carrier too radioactive to enter their ports.
Tepco and the Navy are insisting that all is well.Yeah. Thanks for looking into this, keep up the good work!


David Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries, attends an Economic Club of New York event in New York, December 10, 2012.  REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR3BFKF
David Koch
The most egregious of the Koch brothers anti-Obamacare ads has been the one featuring Julie Boonstra, a leukemia patient who made a lot of vague and easily disproved assertions about how Obamacare was hurting her. The response from the Koch brothers' astroturf group, Americans for Prosperity, to anyone pointing out that Boonstra's claims were not believable has been basically "how can you be so mean to a cancer victim?" Well, since the Kochs want to play the cancer victim card, let's do it. Let's start back in 2010.
A prominent philanthropist, cancer survivor, and American businessman, David Koch, has given millions to the cause of cancer research, while his company—Koch Industries—has lobbied against formal recognition of formaldehyde as a carcinogen, The New Yorker reported in a piece published today. [...]The National Cancer Institute published a study in 2009 concluding that formaldehyde causes cancer in humans. [...] [P]rior to the May 2009 study, the National Cancer Institute had also performed a preliminary study that linked formaldehyde to leukemia, but members of Congress including Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and David Vitter, R-La., managed to delay the EPA from officially designating the chemical as a “known carcinogen.” [...]
In a letter to federal health authorities sent last December, the company’s vice-president of environmental affairs wrote that “the company ‘strongly disagrees’ with the N.I.H. panel’s conclusion that formaldehyde should be treated as a known human carcinogen,” reported The New Yorker.
Koch Industries bought Georgia-Pacific, one of the world’s largest plywood manufacturers—a process that uses and produces a great deal of formaldehyde—in 2005. But David Koch cares deeply about cancer victims. Not so much about preventing people from getting cancer by keeping carcinogens out of the atmosphere, but once they've got it, he's there. You know what else besides formaldehyde are carcinogens? Butadiene and benzene. About that, August, 2013:
Flint Hills Resources reported a benzene and butadiene leak late Tuesday at its olefins plant in Port Arthur, Texas, the company said in a filing with the National Response Center.According to the filing, 325 pounds of butadiene and 268 pounds of benzene was released into the atmosphere. The report also stated there was an equipment failure that caused the leak and that it has been secured.
You know what happens next: "Flint Hills Resources is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc." And guess who ranks #14 in the top 100 of Political Economy Research Institute's Toxic 100 Air Polluters? "The Toxic 100 Air Polluters ranks corporations based on the chronic human health risk from all of their U.S. polluting facilities."
"Chronic human health risk." Yep, and the fact-checkers are the bad guys when it comes to a cancer victim.






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