Civilianism News for July 14th

News  for July 14th:

• Iraqi Surveys Start to Unveil the Mental Scars of War – Only when the guns fall silent does the extent of damage wrought by conflict become visible.
  So in Iraq, as security improves, only now are the full effects of the violence on the Iraqi people emerging.” I think Iraqis might have some PTSD, to say the least.
  

  Russell Powell

• PTSD May Nearly Double Dementia Risk – U.S. researchers say having post-traumatic stress disorder nearly doubled the risk of dementia in veterans. Yes, PTSD can lead to dementia in people as young as in their 50s. I wonder how that translate to the PTSD Iraqis and Afghan people have due to our wars on them.
• W. Va. soldiers sue firm for chemical exposure in Iraq – Mr. Powell and other soldiers in his unit may have been exposed to sodium dichromate, an industrial chemical used to prevent the corrosion of pipes at a water treatment facility near Basrah, Iraq.  The chemical contains hexavalent chromium, [the Erin Brockovich chemical] which can cause sores inside the nose and on the skin, general skin irritation, nose bleeding, wheezing, coughing and pain in the chest when breathing, fever, nausea and upset stomach. It also has been linked to cancer.” Again, a deadly condition created by KBR, a company with no regard whatsoever for human life.

• The sad controversy over ‘Coal Country’ – … Coal Country [the movie] shines the light on one of the darkest human rights and environmental violations overseen by federal and state regulators in our times. Through a series of moving portraits of coalfield residents, the film chronicles the extraordinary and largely overlooked toll of coal mining on the lives of Appalachian residents.” Mountain top removal is a crime, and those perpetrating this crime should burn in a pit of their own coal.
• House Democrats Introduce Bill to Provide Quality, Affordable Health Care for All Americans – # Every American who receives coverage through the exchange will have a plan that includes standardized, comprehensive and quality health care benefits.
  # It will end increases in premiums or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, age, race, or gender.
  # The proposal will also eliminate co-pays for preventative care, cap out-of-pocket expenses, and guarantee catastrophic coverage that protects every American from bankruptcy. ” Actually we just need single payer health care and frak the marketplace. The marketplace is the reason we’re in this gawdawful mess. Sometimes I think Democrats are almost as idiotic as Republicans. We’re going to end up with a system that no one can even understand.  Health care should not be for-profit.
• Climate Change: Halving Carbon Dioxide Emissions By 2050 Could Stabilize Global Warming – If carbon dioxide emissions are halved by 2050 compared to 1990, global warming can be stabilized below two degrees, according to a new study by German, Swiss and British researchers. Unfortunately, we don’t have any legislation on the horizon that will actually do this. We need some political leadership on this issue!   A revenue-neutral cap and dividend system would get us there, but no one in Congress seems to want a system that would make sense.
• On Health-Care Reform, Obama Looks to Johnson’s Model – President Obama returned to domestic affairs yesterday after a weeklong overseas tour with a warning for skeptics of his stalled health-care overhaul: “Don’t bet against us.” I sure hope he’s right since he’s putting most of his time and energy into this thing to the detriment of a lot of other important things.
• U2’s ‘massive carbon footprint’ called into question – U2 and Bono’s long-held commitment to “save the planet” has come into question after it emerged they have a carbon footprint big enough to fly the band to Mars and back.” I call that being a bunch of hypocrites. Boycott U2 until they stop wasting enough fuel to go to MARS and back.
• Violent Crackdown on Amazon Oil Protest Reverberates Around the World – There are many dates that will live in infamy on different scales in different places for different peoples. Now add June 5, 2009, the morning on which a group of about 2,500 indigenous Peruvians from the Awajún and Wambis tribes stood at Curva del Diablo on the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway outside Bagua, near Petroperu’s oil pipeline pumping station No. 6.
• The Consensus On Global Warming/Climate Change – Climate change critics like Richard Lindzen try to say “There’s no consensus on global warming.” in the Wall Street Journal, in front of Congress, and many other places. This argument has also been made repeatedly on Fox News.1,2 Other researchers like Dean Dr. Mark H. Thiemens say this “has nothing to do with reality”.1,2,3 The following is a list of quotes from scientific organizations, academies, scientists, industry spokesmen, etc supporting the existence of man made climate change and the need to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [their purpose is to confuse skeptics] This is a great resource page for anyone who wants to know more about the “controversy”. There is no “debate” on climate change, except the one that addresses what we do about it, and how fast.