Archive for the 'Atrocities' Category
Merck Pays a Pittance for Mass Deaths
November 30th, 2011Via: Counterpunch: One of the most downplayed stories of our time ended with a whimper this week. “Merck has agreed to pay $950 million and has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge over the marketing and sales of the painkiller Vioxx,” the New York Times reported Nov. 23 (in the business section, where important medical […]
Senate Bill 1867: U.S. Military Would Be Able to Indefinitely Detain American Civilians Without Charge or Trial Anywhere in the World
November 28th, 2011Update: Senate Rejects Effort to Ease Terrorist Detainee Policy in Defense Bill Via: The Hill: The Senate rejected an amendment on Tuesday that would have removed a provision from the pending Defense spending bill to toughen U.S. policy towards suspected terrorists captured on the battlefield or on the home front. —End Update— Via: ACLU: The […]
Group Will Bring Attention to ‘Systematic Human Rights Abuses’ by Monsanto, Bayer and Dow
November 23rd, 2011Via: The Ecologist: Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal accuses biotech giants Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, DuPont and BASF of promoting dangerous pesticides including endosulfan, paraquat and neonicotinoids The world’s major agrochemical companies, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, DuPont and BASF, will face a public tribunal in early December accused of systematic human rights violations. They are accused of […]
Japan: 8% of Country’s Surface Area Contaminated with Radioactive Fallout from Fukushima Disaster
November 22nd, 2011Via: ABC: Japan’s science ministry says 8 per cent of the country’s surface area has been contaminated by radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. It says more than 30,000 square kilometres of the country has been blanketed by radioactive caesium. The ministry says most of the contamination was caused by four large plumes of […]
Egypt: Tahrir Square Riots
November 21st, 2011AP: Egypt Morgue Official: 35 Dead in Clashes — WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE. Via: Russia Today / YouTube: Egyptian army and police has launched a major crackdown on protesters at Tahrir square. Tens of thousands have been protesting since Friday at a lack of reform comes before crucial elections, and could carry the potential to paralyse […]
Big Picture Gallery: ‘The Mine’ in Guatemala City
November 21st, 2011Via: Boston Globe / Big Picture: In Guatemala City, a place called “The Mine” can deliver both a means of survival and a grisly death. Every day, dozens of residents salvage a living by scouring the massive dump for scrap metal. Facing the threat of mudslides, collapses, and disease, they can potentially earn twice the […]
As Egyptians Return to Tahrir Square, the Obama Administration Sides with the Military
November 21st, 2011Via: Salon: In the nine months since Hosni Mubarak stepped aside, the Egyptian military has monopolized political decision-making. The SCAF has broken its promise to lift or modify the Emergency Laws, which have been in place since 1981 and give the state sweeping powers to detain citizens and restrict free speech, even though repeal of […]
A Conspiracy of Hogs: The McRib as Arbitrage
November 18th, 2011I have a special relationship with the McRib sandwich. Long ago, I had a friend who used to eat those things and the smell of them turned my stomach. He found my revulsion hilarious and he would taunt me by offering me some of the McRib, or blowing the putrid fumes my way. One time, […]
‘Super Soldiers’: The Quest for the Ultimate Human Killing Machine
November 17th, 2011Via: Independent: The era of The Terminator, the perfect robotic killing machine, is decades away; to date, all efforts to create a humanoid robot that can climb the stairs, let alone fight the Taliban, have been risible. But scientists are reporting breakthroughs with the next-best thing – the creation of human terminators, who feel less […]
Japan: Radioactive Contamination in Soil Will Severely Impair Food Production
November 15th, 2011Via: Telegraph: Farmland in parts of Japan is no longer safe because of high levels of radiation in the soil, scientists have warned, as the country struggles to recover from the Fukushima atomic disaster. A team of international researchers said food production would likely be “severely impaired” by the elevated levels of caesium found in […]
