There
was a fantastic piece from Frontline, the renown PBS television series, airing
last night that chronicled the
problems of water pollution and contamination (both wild and drinking),
with a focus on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, Washington state’s Puget Sound, and
the Washington D.C. area’s drinking water. The piece analyzes several problems
and sources of water pollution, including the massive waste attributable to
factory farms, excessive buildup of household chemicals being washed down
drains at residential houses, and urban sprawl. You can watch the episode
online at the link above.
Of
course, the big news from yesterday was that in a reversing of course, President
Obama indicated that he
would not be opposed to creating a bipartisan commission that would investigate
the Bush administration’s use of torture, nor did he rule out prosecution
against the torture memos’ drafters. The statements by Obama are in stark
contrast to previously ones indicating his desire to “move forward,” and
directly contrast statements made on Sunday by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
A
recent episode of GAP’s television program Whistle Where You Work focused on
the issues surrounding the release of the key “torture memos” drafted by the
DoJ Office of Legal Counsel, and the future of the DoJ (under Obama) in general.
You can view that
episode by clicking here.
From
Georgia (and the AP), in what is being labeled (and looks like) a smear
campaign, lawyers for the sugar company whose plant exploded last year, killing
14 workers, are
attacking a whistleblower who claims he sent a report of hazardous plant
conditions to managers just weeks before the explosion.
Lastly,
an excellent
New York Times story from Monday really should be mentioned. It exquisitely
details how most state food safety agencies are simply sub-par, and are grossly
inadequate at protecting public health. From the article, regarding the recent
peanut outbreak:
Forty-two Minnesotans were
reported sick compared with three Kentuckians. Jalapeño peppers last year?
Thirty-one in Minnesota and two in Kentucky became ill. The
different numbers arise because health officials in Kentucky and many other states fail to investigate many complaints of food-related
sickness while those in Minnesota do so diligently, safeguarding not only Minnesotans but much of the rest of the
country, as well.
A
recent episode of GAP’s television program Whistle Where You Work focused on
the problems of the federal food safety system. You can view that
episode by clicking here.
--
Dylan Blaylock