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Troubling Coal Plant Strains Relations between Townspeople and Power Company

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:25:18 +0000

For the past two years, the community of Lamar, Colorado, a small town 200 miles southeast of Denver, has been suffering from negative consequences from the construction and maintenance of a newly opened coal plant in the center of their town. Community leaders in conjunction with WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group based in Santa Fe, and the University of Denver’s Environmental Law Clinic are filing a lawsuit against the Lamar Light and Power Company (LLP) under the Clean Air Act. Since the LLP and the Arkansas River Power Authority jointly decided in 2008 to convert the town’s “aging power source” which ran on natural gas into a coal plant, residents of Lamar have complained of various problems related to the plant, including noise violations, clean air issues, odor, toxic emissions, and more. In addition to these health concerns, the plant has placed financial stress on the town. The estimated cost of construction was $66 million dollars, but ultimately the cost surpassed $122 million. Although local laws require a public vote on civic matters, such as opening new industrial plants in the town, the plant was installed without having a public vote, depriving the community of a chance to voice their input. As Westword reporter, Alan Pendergrast, explains, it “has logged more than a thousand violations of emissions standards.” LLP president Rick Rigel addressed the growing resistance in Lamar, calling the townspeople who have filed complaints a “small but vocal minority.” Now, though, the community has garnered 900 signatures for a petition and is taking the power company to court. This lawsuit is representative not only of Lamar but of other small towns, such as Colorado’s Cherokee and Comanche. Pendergrast indicates that due to a lack of government response, citizens like the townspeople of Lamar have taken the initiative with this lawsuit that could have “far-reaching consequences” for both “state energy policy” and for other small communities nation-wide facing similar problems. Recently, Xcel Energy announced their intent to close or improve coal plants. So far, this has failed to make an impact on the plants and communities of Lamar and Comanche. spending

Sources: “Black Out: Lamar gets steamed over a troubled plant-right in the middle of town” Alan Pendergrast, The Denver Westword, September 29, 2010

http://www.westword.com/2010-09-30/news/black-out-lamar-gets-steamed-over-a-troubled-coal-plant-right-in-the-middle-of-town/2/

“Group protests Lamar power plant: City and utility officials say complaints are baseless” Anthony A. Mestas, The Pueblo Cheiftain, September 25, 2009

http://www.chieftain.com/business/local/article_a22f12b1-8acd-51ad-97cb-16f76a32fcbf.html

“Nation watching Xcel’s plans for aging coal-fired power plants” Mark Jaffe, The Denver Post, November 7, 2010

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_16539428

Student Researchers: Marisa Rouse, Ìbíjoké Òké, Lucy Chen

Faculty Instructor: Kevin Howley

Evaluator: James Mills, Ph.D., Geoscientist, DePauw University

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Anti-Immigration Group Attacks Immigrants over Pollution in Chesapeake Bay

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:07:46 +0000

The pollution problem of the Chesapeake Bay threatening fish and shellfish populations is no secret to environmentalists and politicians alike. However the new spin conservatives have linked to the crisis is nothing short of surprising. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is targeting environmentalist support, noting that overpopulation is a major concern and source of the Bay’s troubles. FAIR argues that immigration population growth is to blame and through reduction in immigration levels, stability can be achieved. The Sierra Club and the Audubon Society are some of the groups that FAIR is hoping to attract to their efforts.

A 2011 Conservative Political Action conference in February featured a beautifully photographed report on the health of the Chesapeake Bay. However on closer inspectionthe report “Immigration, Population Growth and the Chesapeake Bay” is the latest sign that blaming immigrants for environmental degradation has joined other immigrant-demonizing strategies as a favored tactic of the anti-immigration movement.

FAIR is at the center of a network of anti-immigration organizations founded by nativist John Tanton, who continues to serve on its board. Tanton is an ophthalmologist who headed the Sierra Club’s population committee in the 1970s, and, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “kept moving to the right, eventually coming to embrace an array of eugenicists, white nationalists and race scientists as he increasingly viewed ‘European-American’ society as under threat.”

Title: Common Ground for Environmentalists and Anti-Immigration Groups

Author: Peter Montgomery

Publication: AlterNet, 3/9/2011

URL: http://www.alternet.org/story/150164/

Student Researcher: Amanda Newhall Sonoma State University

Faculty Evalutor: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University

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United States Sets Up Super Spy Center in Mexico and Other Countries

admin — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:56:35 +0000

The establishment of the Office of Bi-national Intelligence (OBI) is the new cover name for the United States super spy center in Mexico. The OBI was approved in Mexico when Felipe Calderon’s administration took office. Mexico is in dire need of help battling the drug trafficking taking place in their country. The United States took this opportunity to set up a massive spy shop in Mexico.
In a building at 265 Paseo de Reforma the United States have offices for many departments, most significant being National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Pentagon/ National Defenses. This building is close to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. The United States lists the names for all the offices up to the 21st floor, but from the 22nd floor on they simply say “occupied.” The rooftop is covered with more than a dozen satellite dishes. The US now free to operate intelligence agencies, even military, without having to disguise their agents as diplomats.
According to Wayne Madsen this sort of spy operation is widespread in US Embassies in the world. The US Security Incident Management Analysis System or SIMAS – not only also spies on citizens of the two Nordic partners of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, namely Iceland and Finland, from U.S. embassies in Reykjavik and Helsinki, respectively, but spies on individuals from all U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. At the very least, SIMAS contains data on: gender, race, height, weight, eye color, skin tone, hair color, hair style, images, age or estimated age, body type (build), scars, marks, tattoos, name, address, date of birth, telephone number, father’s name, and mother’s name, citizenship status and Information.
SIMAS data is also shared with the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, Department of Treasury, Department of Defense (including the National Security Agency), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Health and Human Services, the Capitol Police, and all other US embassies and consulates around the world.
Title: North American Union US Super Spy Center Uncovered in Mexico
Source: Proceso- November 15th 2010
Authors: – Jorge Carrasco and Jesus Esquivel. Translated by Mario Andrade
URL: http://deadlinelive.info/2010/11/15/north-american-union-u-s-super-spy-center-uncovered-in-mexico/
Title: All US Embassies and Consulated Around the World Spying on Host Nations
Source: Pakalert- November 22nd 2010
Author: – Wayne Madsen
URL: http://www.pakalertpress.com/2010/11/22/all-u-s-embassies-and-consulates-around-the-world-spying-on-host-nation-citizens/

Student Researcher: Chris Riske, Sonoma State University
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University

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Global Warming Threatens Alaska’s Waters with Acidification

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:54:52 +0000

Over time, Alaska has been affected by global warming through shrinking glaciers, costal erosion, and melting sea ice in the Artic that impacts marine animals and sea life found in these waters. Recently, scientists discovered that Alaska’s waters are becoming less basic and more acidic as a result of global warming. Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lead to ocean acidification, as nearly thirty percent of greenhouse gases emitted by humans gets absorbed into the ocean each year. A chemical oceanographer conducted research on the seawater and found samples to contain more acidity than in tropical waters. Testing also found multiple locations where the acidity inhibits the growth of shell-building minerals causing many shellfish to struggle to building strong shells. Instead of focusing on growth and reproduction, these types of creatures will have to spend their energy on adjusting to acidity changes in the water. Last year Alaska rejected The Center for Biological Diversity’s request for the state to declare its waters damaged under the Clean Water Act, but the center renewed its request this year in hopes that the state will submit to their plea.

Sources:

Joling, Dan. “Global Warming Threatens Alaska’s Waters with Acidification.”

Alternet. N.p., 9 Sept. 2009. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.alternet.org/water/142536>.

Student Researchers: Jillian Harbin & Abbey Wilson

Faculty Instructor: Kevin Howley, Associate Professor of Media Studies, DePauw University

Evaluator: Tim Cope, Department of Geosciences, DePauw UniversitySimilar Posts:

State Crimes Against Democracy

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:50:10 +0000

By Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff

New research in the journal American Behavioral Scientist (Sage publications, February 2010) addresses the concept of “State Crimes Against Democracy” (SCAD). Professor Lance deHaven-Smith from Florida State University writes that SCADs involve highlevel government officials, often in combination with private interests, that engage in covert activities for political advantages and power. Proven SCADs since World War II include McCarthyism (fabrication of evidence of a communist infiltration), Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (President Johnson and Robert McNamara falsely claimed North Vietnam attacked a US ship), burglary of the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist in effort to discredit Ellsberg, the Watergate break-in, Iran-Contra, Florida’s 2000 Election (felon disenfranchisement program), and fixed intelligence on WMDs to justify the Iraq War.1

Other suspected SCADs include the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald, the shooting of George Wallace, the October Surprise near the end of the Carter presidency, military grade anthrax mailed to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, Martin Luther King’s assassination, and the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 on September 11, 2001. The proven SCADs have a long trail of congressional hearings, public records, and academic research establishing the truth of the activities. The suspected SCADs listed above have substantial evidence of covert actions with countervailing deniability that tend to leave the facts in dispute.2

The term “conspiracy theory” is often used to denigrate and discredit inquiry into the veracity of suspected SCADs. Labeling SCAD research as “conspiracy theory” is an effective method of preventing ongoing investigations from being reported in the corporate media and keep them outside of broader public scrutiny. Psychologist Laurie Manwell, University of Guelph, addresses the psychological advantage that SCAD actors hold in the public sphere. Manwell, writing in American Behavioral Scientist (Sage 2010) states, “research shows that people are far less willing to examine information that disputes, rather than confirms, their beliefs . . . pre-existing beliefs can interfere with
SCADs inquiry, especially in regards to September 11, 2001.”3

Professor Steven Hoffman, visiting scholar at the University of Buffalo, recently acknowledged this phenomenon in a study “There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred Justification.” Hoffman concluded, “Our data shows substantial support for a cognitive theory known as ‘motivated reasoning,’ which suggests that rather than
search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe. In fact, for the most part people completely ignore contrary information.”4

Sometimes even new academic research goes largely unreported when the work contradicts prevailing understandings of recent historical events. A specific case of unreported academic research is the peer reviewed journal article from Open Chemical Physics Journal (Volume 2, 2009), entitled “Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust for the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe.” In the abstract the authors write, “We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples. These red/gray chips show marked similarities in all four samples. The properties of these chips were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The red portion of these chips is found to be an unreacted thermitic material and highly energetic.” Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction and is used in controlled
demolitions of buildings.5

National Medal of Science recipient (1999) Professor Lynn Margulis from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is one of many academics who supports further open investigative research in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Margulis recently wrote in Rock Creek Free Press, “all three buildings were destroyed by carefully planned, orchestrated and executed controlled demolition.”6 Richard Gage, AIA, architect and founder of the non-profit Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, Inc. (AE911Truth), announced a decisive milestone February 19, 2010 at a press conference in San Francisco, CA. More than 1,000 architects and
engineers worldwide now support the call for a new investigation into the destruction of the Twin Towers and Building 7 at the World Trade Center complex on September 11, 2001.7

Credible scientific evidence brings into question the possibility that some aspects of the events of 9/11 involved State Crimes Against Democracy. Psychologically this is a very hard concept for Americans to even consider. However, ignoring the issue in the context of multiple proven SCADs since World War II seems far more dangerous for
democracy than the consequences of future scientific inquiry and transparent, fact-based investigative reporting. Anything short of complete, open discourse based on all the evidence about these critical issues in our society relating to the possible continuation of SCADs is simply a matter of censorship.8
________________________________________________________________________

Peter Phillips is professor of sociology at Sonoma State University, President of Media
Freedom Foundation/Project Censored, former director of Project Censored, and coeditor
of Censored 2010.
Mickey Huff is associate professor of history at Diablo Valley College, Director of
Project Censored/Media Freedom Foundation, and co-editor of Censored 2010.

________________________________________________________________________

1 Lance deHaven-Smith, “Beyond Conspiracy Theory: Patterns of High Crime in
American Government,” American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 53, No. 6, (February,
2010): pp. 795-825. For more studies on SCADs and related issues see all articles for
American Behavioral Scientist, Sage publications, Vol. 53, No. 6, (February, 2010),
online at http://abs.sagepub.com/content/vol53/issue6/.

For more background reading on this subject with specifics on the controversial
cases mentioned in this paragraph, see the following scholarly works: Robert Abele, The
Anatomy of a Deception: A Reconstruction and Analysis of the Decision to Invade Iraq
(New York: University Press of America, 2010); Bob Coen and Eric Nadler, Dead
Silence: Fear and Terror on the Anthrax Trail (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2009);
Daniel Ellsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers (New York:
Viking Adult, 2002); Steve Freeman and Joel Bleifuss, Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official Count (New York: Seven Stories Press,
2006); Robert Griffith, The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate.
(Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1987); David Ray Griffin, The
Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report About 9/11
Is Unscientific and False (New York: Olive Branch press, 2008); Mark Crispin Miller,
Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008 (New
York: Ig Publishing, 2008); Kenneth O’Reilly, Hoover and the Un-Americans: The FBI,
HUAC, and the Red Menace (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983); Robert
Parry, Trick or Treason: The October Surprise Mystery (New York: Sheridan Square
Press, 1993); William Pepper, An Act of State: The Execution of Marin Luther King
(Updated) (New York: Verso, 2008); Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, Weapons of
Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq (New York: Tarcher
and Penguin, 2003); selected works of Peter Dale Scott, including Deep Politics and the
Death of JFK (1993, 1996), Drugs Oil and War (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield,
March 2003), The Road to 9/11 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007), and The
War Conspiracy: JFK, 9/11, and the Deep Politics of War (Ipswich, MA: Mary Ferrell
Foundation Press, 2008); Norman Solomon, War Made Easy: How Presidents and
Pundits Keep Spinning us to Death (New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2005);
Lawrence Walsh, Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up (New York:
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1997); Gary Webb, Dark Alliance: The CIA, The
Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2nd Edition,
2003);
2 Ibid.
3 American Behavioral Scientist, Sage publications, February, 2010, Vol. 53, No. 6,
online at http://abs.sagepub.com/content/vol53/issue6/. Specifically, see Laurie A.
Manwell, “In Denial of Democracy: Social Psychological Implications for Public
Discourse on State Crimes Against Democracy Post-9/11,” American Behavioral
Scientist, Vol. 53, No. 6, (February, 2010): pp. 848-884.
4 “How We Support Our False Beliefs,” Science Daily (Aug. 23, 2009) online at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090821135020.htm. For the full study see
Steven Hoffman, Ph.D., et al, “There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred
Justification,” Sociological Inquiry, Volume 79 Issue 2, (2009): pp. 142-162.
5 Niels H. Harrit, Jeffrey Farrer, Steven E. Jones, Kevin R. Ryan, Frank M. Legge, Daniel
Farnsworth, Gregg Roberts, James R. Gourley, Bradley R. Larsen, “Active Thermitic
Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe,” Open
Chemical Physics Journal, Vol. 2 (April 3, 2009): 7-31, online at
http://www.bentham.org/open/tocpj/openaccess2.htm.
6 Lynn Margulis, “Two Hit, Three Down, the Biggest Lie,” Rock Creek Press, February
2010, Vol. 4, No. 2, p. 6, and online at
http://rockcreekfreepress.tumblr.com/post/353434420/two-hit-three-down-the-biggest-lie
7 Richard Gage, AIA, Architects and Engineers for 911 Truth, Press Conference,
February 19th, 2010, SF, CA, online at http://www.ae911truth.org/info/160. See the
Conference announcement video online at
http://www.youtube.com/ae911truth#p/c/891B0945A34D98F7/0/R35O_QQP8Vw
8 For more on issues of media censorship see Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff, eds.,
Censored 2010 (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2009).Similar Posts:

Private Prison Riots for Human Rights

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:48:53 +0000

Non-violent immigrant prisoners at Reeves Detention Center in Texas took resistive action on two separate occasions this year. Inmates tired of the inhuman treatment and being denied due process, broke cell windows, ripped sinks off the walls, and took two-prison guards hostage. Inmates were upset with every aspect of the prison including the lack of medical attention, inedible food, legal resources, the use of solitary confinement to punish people who complained about their medical treatment, and overcrowdings. Reeves Detention center is a privately run prison outside of Pacos Texas housing some 1,200 inmates.

The final straw was the death of a 32-year old inmate named Galindo, who suffered from seizures and asked for medication and medical treatment on several occasions. He later died due to complications and lack of treatment. Galindo wrote home explaining to his family that he would die there because he was not receiving the attention for his medical condition. The cause of the death was ruled as an epileptiform seizure disorder. The death of Galindo outraged the inmates who then started the revolt. After it was all over one million dollars worth of damage was done to the detention center.

Title: The Pecos Insurrection: How A Private Prison Pushed Immigrant Inmates To The Brink.

Source: The Texas Observer, October 2, 2009

URL: http://www.texasobserver.org/features/the-pecos-insurrection

Author: Forrest Wilder

Student Researcher: Jameka Rothschild-Ballard

Faculty Evaluator: Tyron Woods Ph.D.

Sonoma State University: Sociology of Media, Fall 2009

Instructor: Peter Phillips, #22Similar Posts: