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NFL Ignores Iraq War Hero and Star Quarterback on Ten-Year Anniversary of September 11

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:25:04 +0000

On Sunday, September 11 2011 NFL teams across the United States commemorated the 10^th anniversary of the New York and Washington DC terror attacks. Yet the name of former NFL player-turned-soldier Pat Tillman was only mentioned before the game at his home field in Arizona. The absence of Tillman’s name during memorial activities that swept the nation suggests a conscious effort to conceal his sacrifice and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his battlefield death.

Tillman was the only professional athlete to die in the Iraq-Afghanistan war theater since September 11th, 2001. He walked away from fame and a multi-millions dollar career to join the U.S. Army because of how 9/11 impacted him. On the day after the September 11^th attacks, Tillman remarked in an interview, “My great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor and a lot of my family has gone and fought in wars, and I really haven’t done a damn thing.”

Twenty-two months after enlisting, Pat Tillman was dead. His memorial service was aired on national television. The Army awarded him a Silver Star for his “gallantry in action against an armed enemy.” Army officials claimed Tillmanʼs convoy was ambushed in Afghanistan. They said Tillman charged up a hill to protect his men but was struck down by Taliban forces. The NFL in turn created statues and commemoratives in his honor.

In fact, the Pentagon’s official story, and the one adopted by the NFL, was proven false. Tillman died in friendly fire, and the event was knowingly hidden from his family, his fans, and the broader public. It is also known that Tillman began to turn against the war before his death, telling fellow soldiers that the Iraq war was “illegal.” An avid reader, Tillman’s final months included evaluating the works of anti-war authors in an attempt to understand the conflict he was in and how he had become America’s most famous solider.

Source:

“Where was the Pat Tillman Story on NFL Sunday?” Edge of Sports, September 13, 2011
Author: Dave Zirin
URL: http://www.edgeofsports.com/2011-09-13-649/index.html

Student Researcher: Kirk Moncol, Florida Atlantic University
Faculty Advisor: James F. Tracy, Florida Atlantic University

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Want a Passport? Better Find Your Circumcision Records

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:42:52 +0000

It is now harder than ever to obtain a U.S. passport. Since September 11^th ordering a passport now costs $135 (before September 11^th it cost $25.)

Along with providing their Social Security number, the State Department has proposed a new “Biographical Questionnaire” that if approved would have to be completed to receive a passport.

Sample questions include: Mother’s residence one year before birth, mother’s residence one year after birth, circumstances of birth including names of persons present, any religious or institutional recoding of birth (for example baptism, circumcision, or other religious ceremonies.), a list of every address at which one has resided since birth, the name and telephone number of every supervisor at every job the individual has had in their life- including temporary work.

The State Department can share the information obtained through the questionnaire as “routine use.” Almost anyone can receive this information, US and foreign government agencies, private contractors, international organizations etc. The State Department estimates that only about 7,400 persons per year will need to complete this form, that’s about .5% of persons applying for a passport.

Title: Want a Passport? Better Find Your Circumcision Records!
Source: nestmann.sovereignsociety.com, April 1^st, 2011
Author: Mark Nestmann

http://nestmann.sovereignsociety.com/2011/04/01/want-a-passport-better-find-your-circumcision-records/

Student Researcher: Garrett Scafani, Sonoma State University
Faculty Advisor: Kathy Charmaz, Sonoma State UniversitySimilar Posts:

US: Improve Weak Standards to End Prison Rape

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:03:17 +0000

Since Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) has been conducting a study on the causes and consequences of prison rape. In June of 2009, the NPREC released its findings from the 6-year research program. The Justice Department has been slow to act and as many have argued, failed to respond appropriately. “Although the Justice Department has adopted many of the standards the commission proposed, and even strengthened some, a number of the proposed standards constitute an unjustified step backward,” Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch brought up several arguments regarding a lack of response from the Justice Department in areas that need strong regulation. Among their biggest concerns were the complete lack of applying standards to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities as well as failing to stop cross-gender pat downs, not guaranteeing necessary staffing, not requiring independent periodic audits, and failing to understand the significance of sexual abuse. Currently there is very little assistance to victims and just as little regulation for those doing the sexual abuse. “Congress knew that eliminating prison rape might require changing the way prison and jails are run, perhaps even spending more,” said Jamie Fellner, Senior Advisor with HRW. The poor response of the Justice Department is coming at an expensive price.

Sources:

“US: Improve Weak Standards to End Prison Rape” Human Rights Watch, April 2011

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/04/us-improve-weak-standards-end-prison-rape

“Little and late; Efforts to stop the sexual abuse of prisoners are welcome but overdue” The Economist, May 2011

http://www.economist.com/node/18651484?story_id=18651484&fsrc=rss

“The Justice Department has a way to go on ending prison rape” The Washington Post, January 2011

Student Researchers: Matt Coffin, Nick Strautman, Currin McCarty

Faculty Advisor: Kevin Howley

Evaluator: Keith Nightenhelser

DePauw University

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Illnesses linked to BP oil disaster; Doctor attributes widespread sickness to toxic chemicals from the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe

admin — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:20:30 +0000

Less than one year after the worst oil mishap in U.S. history, BP began running televised commercials featuring cheerful Gulf of Mexico fishermen as if the 185 million gallons of oil from the BP oil spill of 2010 was just a tiny drop in a big ocean that was quickly cleaned up. The commercials painted a picture indicating that residents and the coasts were quickly restored to health and the seafood was safe to eat. The reality is far from this.

It may take years to determine the full effects from the toxic gusher and the chemical dispersant, Corexit that BP used despite EPA safety concerns. Corexit, utilized in the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, was linked to respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders.

Gulf seafood including oysters, crabs, shrimp and mussels contained traces of the dispersant and petroleum hydrocarbons nearly one year after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed 11 workers and set off a nearly three month long oil gusher.

Gulf area doctors report they have found volatile organic compounds in patients’ bloodstreams, even those inland. They worry about long latency periods for cancer and brain degeneration. During the cleanup workers were seen passed out in boats as toxic fumes wafted over the water and dead wildlife floated in it. Chemicals in the air and water have been linked to damage to the kidneys, liver, lungs, digestive tract and muscles.

Record numbers of baby and stillborn dolphins continued to wash up on Gulf shores 12 months after the initial event.

Source: Truthout.org, Jan, 12, 2011
Title: The Tragic State of the Gulf of Mexico: Sampling Reveals Oil and Dispersants on Mississippi Coast
URL http://www.truth-out.org/the-tragic-state-gulf-mexico-sampling-reveals-oil-and-dispersants-mississippi-coast66726

And
Source: Al Jazeera English, Jan. 5, 2011
Title: Illnesses linked to BP oil disaster; Doctor attributes widespread sickness to toxic chemicals from the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe.
URL: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2010/12/20101230105158700342.html

Student Researchers: Rashanah Baldwin, Maureen Foley, Monica Macellari , DePaul University
Faculty Evaluator: Marla Donato, DePaul UniversitySimilar Posts:

Washington DC Nurses Fight For Union Rights

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:09:48 +0000

In June, President Obama told a meeting of delegates of the American Nurses Association that “Nurses are the beating heart of our healthcare system.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to working conditions and cuts, nurses across the country have more and more become the bleeding heart of our healthcare system. In early October, a snapshot of this reality could be seen at the largest hospital in the nation’s capital. Nearly 1,600 registered nurses at the Washington Hospital Center (WHC) voted overwhelming to affiliate with National Nurses United (NNU), the largest nurses’ union in the country. Formerly members of the independent organization Nurses United of the National Capital Region, 1,121 nurses among a turnout of 1,190 voted in favor of joining NNU.

Tense relations between the nurses and hospital management were the backdrop to the NNU election victory. Hospital executives have taken an increasingly combative stance against the nurses’ union in their efforts to cut costs.

Nurses hope that the new affiliation with a stronger national union will not only give the nurses more power at the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract, but also the extra muscle to reverse the hospital’s latest attacks.

A week before the NNU affiliation vote, the hospital unilaterally cut take-home pay for most of the nurses. The imposed takeaway, which includes cuts in shift pay for evenings, nights and weekends, resembles similarly harsh takeaways in management’s last contract proposal which 98 percent of the nurses voted against. The nurses have been working without a contract since June.

While WHC management has tried to push through severe wage cuts, the nurses’ union has pointed out that the hospital – which is run by a $3.8 billion non-profit called MedStar Health – has maintained healthy margins. MedStar Health’s CEO makes an average of $2.7 million a year.

The hospital has been on the warpath against the nurses, particularly over the past year as it has sought to intimate and break their union. The hostile atmosphere was set by management ahead of contract negotiations earlier in the year when WHC terminated 18 nurses in March for not reporting to work during the biggest blizzard to hit Washington, DC in more than 70 years.

Since the firings, nine of the 18 nurses were reinstated following an investigation. But nurses continued to stand in solidarity with each other. The union filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge in July, citing the firings as a violation of the hospital’s snow emergency policy.

With its most recent victory in DC, the National Nurses Union is building on its membership of more than 155,000 RNs across the country. NNU is a new national formation created last December with the merger of the several smaller and largely state-based unions.

But now WHC nurses have larger forces backing their efforts to win a decent contract. Their victory will be a victory not just for NNU, but for the labor movement as a whole and for all those at the heart of healthcare: the nurses battling for their patients on the frontlines of a profit-driven system.

Title : American Nurses Seek Support in National Nurse=92s United Union

Author: Brian Tierney

Publication: Counterpunch, November 1, 2010

Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/tierney11012010.html

Student researcher: Amanda Newhall, Sonoma State University

Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University

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Tax Time Difficulty for Same-Sex Couples

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:05:38 +0000

As the end of the year is looming near, same-sex couples are finding it difficult to complete state and federal tax returns. While the couples have benefited from taxes in a state level, their unions are not recognized on the federal level. Couples must pay federal taxes on “employer-sponsored benefits provided to a partner.” Nine states; California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia are involved with the new tax filing situation. Couples married in California between June 16, 2008 and Nov. 4, 2008, must also file under “married.” While the couples do not receive the recognition and benefits of being legally married, they are required to pay the same taxes or perhaps pay extra on their federal tax return as a traditional married couple. Software, such as Turbo Tax, has made the new filing process easier for the same-sex couples.

“Tax Time Complicated for Same-Sex Couples,” John Caldwell, Advocate.com, 4/12/2010

http://www.advocate.com/Business/Finance/Tax_Time_Complicated_for_Same_Sex_Couples/

Student Researchers: Amy Block & Aimee Caneva, CSU Fresno
Faculty Evaluator: Sari Dworkin, Ph.D. CSU Fresno

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Obama’s Renewed Tax Cuts Continue to Make the Rich Richer

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:20:16 +0000

For the past 6 months, President Obama has been planning on extending the Bush/Cheney tax cuts for the super-rich, continuing the President’s support for Republican economic policies and the financial elite. The President has tried different methods in order to get his new extension taken care of before the New Year; when taxes would have raised by “$3000 for a typical American Family”, according to the President. These methods have included the attempt to add the middle class to the tax cut extensions; which the Republican’s shot down in early December, or his most recently passed tax cut extension for all Americans, which also included renewing jobless benefits and granting a one-year reduction in Social Security taxes for millions.
According to Michael Hudson, a former Wall Street economist and Distinguished Research professor at University of Missouri, Kansas City, explains how Obama’s two year extension for tax cuts for the super-rich negatively affects the rest of us; “this happy 2 per cent of the population now receives an estimated three quarters (75 percent) of the returns to wealth (interest, dividends, rent and capital gains). This is nearly double what it received a generation ago. The rest of the population is being squeezed, and foreclosures are rising.” The estimated cost of the tax cut extension to the super-rich: $700 to $750 billion.
“The second pretense is that cutting taxes for the super-rich is necessary to win Republican support for including the middle class in the tax cuts. It is as if the Democrats never won a plurality in Congress. (One remembers George W. Bush with his mere 50+ per cent, pushing forward his extremist policies on the logic that: “I’ve got capital, and I’m using it.” What he had, of course, was Democratic Leadership Committee support.) It’s all “to create jobs,” headed by employment of shipyard workers building yachts for the nouveau riches and foreclosing on the ten million Americans whose mortgage payments have fallen into arrears.”
Title: Obama’s Greatest Betrayal: The Coming Sell-Out to the Super Rich and What It Means for the Rest of Us
Publication: CounterPunch.org, November 15th, 2010
Author: Michael Hudson
URL: http://www.counterpunch.org/hudson11152010.html
Faculty Evaluator: Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University
Student Researcher: Taylor Falbisaner, Sonoma State UniversitySimilar Posts:

Japanese Dolphin Slaughter Cover-up

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:33:27 +0000

Over the years the Japanese have been going on annual dolphin hunts. The Japanese have issued over 23,000 dolphin hunting permits each year. This is giving permission to hunters to kill thousands of dolphins in the six month period from September to March. The way these dolphins are being killed is brutal and inhumane. The Japanese hunters have gone great lengths in the past years to hide this hunt from the public. They send about 26 men out on boats early in the morning to ensure that no one hears or sees the blood and screams coming from the dolphins. The men get the dolphins in a panic by banging pipes under the water to make loud noises, making it easier for these hunters to corral the dolphin in their secret, slaughter cove. These chases can last up to 8 or more hours, and many dolphins die just from the stress of the chase. Once they have corralled the dolphins in this secret cove, the massacre begins. The men trap and begin to stab them to death using spears, fishing hooks and knives. This results in a blood-filled ocean. The Japanese put so much effort into hiding this slaughter from the public that a majority of the people in Japan has no idea about the dolphin slaughter. The hunters claim that this is a means of “pest control” and a way of providing food. What they do not disclose is that the dolphin meat that they are selling to the stores and schools is highly contaminated with high levels of mercury that is over the allotted amount for human consumption. They are also falsely selling this meat, claiming that it is whale meat, which is considered a delicacy in Japan. Also the dolphins that appear to be show worthy are captured and sold to aquariums and zoos for a grand total of $154,000 per dolphin.

Student Researcher: Ciara Egerton, Constanza Ulloa Colina
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D.
Indian River State College
Source: Save Japan Dolphins.com http://www.savejapandolphins.org/index.php/Similar Posts:

South Asian Climate Trouble

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:57:29 +0000

South Asian countries face a catastrophic impacts from global climate change. At a UN Summit in Sept 2010, several people stressed the importance of the UN taking charge on the issue of a climate change in South Asian countries. These nations and other less developed countries with high poverty rates, poor economic infrastructure, and health problems are going to face the effects of climate change before anyone else. They have already experienced floods, hurricanes and droughts due to change in climate. With rising sea levels in areas where fishing is depended on, and powerful storms arising, countries cannot wait for the world to act.
There is great importance for investing in disaster-risk reduction and preparedness; it saves more lives than if we were to wait until disaster has already struck. The support of the international community is crucial to the survival of these endangered countries. Though delegates expressed disappointment over the failure of the UN member states to agree on a binding treaty on climate change last year, they are preparing to bring their ideas to a UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Cancun later this year.
Title: Averting the Grimmest Scenarios
Author: Amanda Bransford
Publication: IPS News, Sept 22, 2010
URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52933
Student Researcher: Chelsea Silva @ SSU
Faculty Evaluator: Kimberly Ramos @ SSU
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President Obama deepens U.S.’s long-standing practice of giving the most military aid to the worst human rights abusers.

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:27:51 +0000

The biggest human rights scandal in years is developing in Colombia. The largest mass grave unearthed in Colombia was discovered by accident last year just outside a Colombian Army base in La Macarena, a rural municipality located in the Department of Meta just south of Bogota. The grave was discovered when children drank from a nearby stream and started to become seriously ill. These illnesses were traced to runoff from what was discovered to be a mass grave. The fact that this grave was discovered just outside a Colombian military base overseen by U.S. military advisers — the U.S. having around 600 military advisers in that country — is especially troubling, and raises serious questions about the U.S.’s own conduct in that country. This calls into greater question the propriety of President Obama’s agreement with President Alvaro Uribe last summer to grant the U.S. access to 7 military bases in that country.

Title: U.S. and Colombia Cover Up Atrocities through Mass Graves

News sources: The Huffington post, April 03, 2010

URL: www.huffingtonpost.com/…/us-colombia-cover-up-atro_b_521402.htm

Author: Dan Kovalik

Researcher: Helen Kitilla,

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Julie Andrzejewski

St. Cloud State UniversitySimilar Posts: