Report Details ‘Coal’s Assault on Human Health’

The Chraleston Gazette
by Ken Ward Jr.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Coal pollution is assaulting human health through impacts on workers, residents near mining operations and power plants, and the environment in coalfield communities, according to a new report by a group of physicians.
The report by Physicians for Social Responsibility examined coal’s impacts on major organ systems of [...]

What They Really Believe

New York Times Editorial
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: November 17, 2009
If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims. One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming, and the other is that America simply can’t [...]

Report: 237 millionaires in Congress

Politico
By: Erika Lovley
Vice President Joe Biden has often tagged himself as an original blue collar man. The CRP backs him up, putting his net worth at just $27,000.
Talk about bad timing.
As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of [...]

US warned on deadly drone attacks

BBC
The US has been warned that its use of drones to target suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan may violate international law.
UN human rights investigator Philip Alston said the US should explain the legal basis for attacking individuals with the remote-controlled aircraft.

He’s Earned It—for Now

Truth Dig
By Bill Boyarsky
Congratulations to the Norwegians for having the wisdom to give President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.
He’s earned it. In Obama’s nine months as president, he has put U.S. relations with Russia on a more constructive course; has seen Iran agree to open its nuclear facility near Qom to international inspection; and, [...]

The Rose Garden: Lobbyists Stew After Being Bounced From Boards

Roll Call
By Keith Koffler
Administration implements a new policy limiting the roles of lobbyists on federal advisory committees.
The policy change, described by the White House as the next step in President Barack Obamas drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the [...]

Street Report from the G20

Common Dreams
Short video from Democracy Now
by Bill Quigley
The G20 in Pittsburgh showed us how pitifully fearful our leaders have become.
What no terrorist could do to us, our own leaders did.
Out of fear of the possibility of a terrorist attack, authorities militarize our towns, scare our people away, stop daily life and quash our constitutional rights.
For [...]

No place like home: Brazilian immigrants leave US for better job prospects

Christian Science Monitor
The deep US recession – and a rebound in Brazil – have reversed the flow of migration. Will other immigrants follow?
By Taylor Barnes
When Leonardo Nakao’s flight from Brazil landed in Boston at 1:30 a.m., he didn’t have to search long for a job. By 5 a.m., he was pumping gas at a suburban [...]

ACTION: Immigrants STILL need protection

Justice for Immigrants
Take Action!
Contact your Senator on Health Care and Immigrants
Background: On September 16, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), introduced his version of health care reform in the Senate.  The Senate Committee on Finance will likely debate this bill during the week of September 21.  A key issue in [...]

Bishops say health reform should include all immigrants, legal or not

By Chaz Muth
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Though Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., concedes there’s no political will in Washington to include illegal immigrants in health care reform, he believes it’s the country’s moral obligation to ensure that everyone in the nation receives proper medical care.
That includes those who enter the country illegally, he [...]