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Brazilian President Michel Temer: Dilma Rousseff Impeached Because She Didn’t Support Neoliberalism
Former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff speaks during impeachment hearings. March 31, 2016. (Wikimedia Commons / Agência Brasil / Antonio Cruz)
September 26, 2016
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Brazilian President Michel Temer: Dilma Rousseff Impeached Because She Didn’t Support Neoliberalism

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

During a recent appearance at a corporate think tank, Brazilian President Michel Temer admitted that his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached because she refused to implement a neoliberal reform plan published by Temer’s party.

Rousseff was formally removed from office on Aug. 31 after the Brazilian senate voted to impeach her for breaking budgetary laws. This allowed Temer to take office despite a court ruling barring him from running for election.

However, Rousseff and other critics of Temer have argued that her impeachment was actually a coup d’etat which set the stage for Temer to take power, backed by a government that’s more favorable to corporate investors.

Read moreBrazilian President Michel Temer: Dilma Rousseff Impeached Because She Didn’t Support Neoliberalism
Judge: Nestlé Can Keep Bottling California’s Water Under Permit That Expired In 1988
Lake Gregory in San Bernardino National Forest. January 17, 2012. (Wikimedia Commons / scottthezombie)
September 23, 2016
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Judge: Nestlé Can Keep Bottling California’s Water Under Permit That Expired In 1988

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Nestlé can continue to bottle water from drought-stricken Southern California, even though the permit which allows the company to pipe water from the San Bernardino National Forest expired in 1988.

Despite a devastating, five-year drought in California, Nestlé piped about 36 million gallons from the forest last year. That water is transported to Canada for bottling, and the end product appears in stores under the Arrowhead brand. Under the current agreement, Nestlé pays the U.S. Forest Service an annual permitting fee of $524 to run its pipeline.

U.S. District Court Judge Jesus G. Bernal ruled that although the permit expired 28 years ago, Nestlé can keep bottling water because corporate executives attempted to renew the permit in May 1987, but did not hear back from the Forest Service.

Read moreJudge: Nestlé Can Keep Bottling California’s Water Under Permit That Expired In 1988
Most Americans Would Rather See $38 Billion Invested In Vets & Education Than Israeli Military Aid
A jet takes off during a Israeli Air Force training. December 9, 2014. (Flickr / Israel Defense Forces / Alexi Rosenfeld)
September 21, 2016
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Most Americans Would Rather See $38 Billion Invested In Vets & Education Than Israeli Military Aid

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The announcement of a massive new aid package recently offered to Israel isn’t sitting well with many Americans, who would rather see the money used domestically, according to a new online poll.

On Sept. 14, the White House announced a Memorandum of Understanding under which the United States will provide Israel with an unprecedented $38 billion in “security assistance” over a ten-year period, between fiscal years 2019 and 2028. At about $3.8 billion annually, the deal marks a significant increase from the current levels of foreign aid to Israel, which total more than $3.1 billion each year.

“The majority of the proposed spending is for Foreign Military Financing to provide Israel advanced and upgraded jet fighters, to continue developing Israel’s missile defense systems and to purchase other U.S. weapons,” Grant Smith on Tuesday, director of the Institute For Research: Middle Eastern Policy, wrote in an analysis published by Antiwar.com on Tuesday.

Read moreMost Americans Would Rather See $38 Billion Invested In Vets & Education Than Israeli Military Aid
What’s Behind The Surge In US Pipeline Construction?
A Dakota Access Pipeline construction site in Campbell, South Dakota. (Flickr / Lars Plougmann)
September 20, 2016
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What’s Behind The Surge In US Pipeline Construction?

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

The Dakota Access pipeline is just one of several major fossil fuel projects underway as part of U.S. efforts to dominate the global energy market and crash the oil-dependent economies of American nemeses like Venezuela and Russia.

On Monday, a federal charge officially halted construction around Lake Oahe, the site of a massive protest against the Dakota Access pipeline led by the Standing Rock Sioux, who have been joined by hundreds of other Native American tribes and indigenous groups.

Elsewhere, however, expansion of U.S. fossil fuel infrastructure continues.

Winona LaDuke, a respected Native American activist and executive director of Honor The Earth, put the Dakota Access pipeline and others like it into international perspective during a July 12 interview with Democracy Now!. LaDuke explained:

Read moreWhat’s Behind The Surge In US Pipeline Construction?
Following Decades Of High Cancer Rates & Birth Defects, EPA Begins Cleanup Of Uranium Mines On Navajo Reservation
File: The former site of the Jackpile uranium mine in New Mexico. October 19, 2014. (Flickr / Gord McKenna)
September 19, 2016
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Following Decades Of High Cancer Rates & Birth Defects, EPA Begins Cleanup Of Uranium Mines On Navajo Reservation

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A cleanup effort funded by a $1 billion bankruptcy settlement is underway to reverse the devastating effects of uranium mine pollution on the Navajo Nation.

Hundreds of abandoned mines are scattered across their territory in Arizona and New Mexico, and on Aug. 31 theEnvironmental Protection Agency issued a request for bids, offering $85 million to environmental assessment firms that can document the damage and determine where best to focus resources.

“EPA’s contract is a vital step in the effort to clean up the legacy of uranium contamination in and around the Navajo Nation,” said Enrique Manzanilla, director of the EPA Superfund in the Pacific Southwest, in a press release.

Manzanilla added that the agency would prioritize Navajo businesses and individuals capable of doing the work.

Read moreFollowing Decades Of High Cancer Rates & Birth Defects, EPA Begins Cleanup Of Uranium Mines On Navajo Reservation
Despite Safeguards, 2016 Sees Rise In Heat-Related Police Dog Deaths
A police officer with a K-9 Unit in New London, Connecticut. (Wikimedia Commons / Sage Ross)
September 19, 2016
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Despite Safeguards, 2016 Sees Rise In Heat-Related Police Dog Deaths

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High summer temperatures have claimed the lives of 16 police dogs this year, most of which died as a result of being left unattended in sweltering vehicles, according to figures reported by an animal rights organization and a group that tracks canine law enforcement deaths.

Police dog deaths increased from last summer, when 12 dogs died of heat exhaustion.

This year is edging out 2015 as a more dangerous year for police dogs overall. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks both human and canine law enforcement deaths in the United States, 28 police dogs have died so far this year. Last year, the group reported the deaths of 27 police dogs.

Read moreDespite Safeguards, 2016 Sees Rise In Heat-Related Police Dog Deaths