Camp Lejeune Contaminated Water Investigation Heats Up
Friday, March 12, 2010
	Congress and a federal anti-toxics office are continuing to investigate the controversy of contaminated water at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where numerous military and civilian personnel have contracted various forms of cancer.   McClatchy Newspapers, which has been investigating the issue, has reported that Marine commanders withheld information from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry about the presence of the carcinogen benzene in an underground well at the military base. Lawmakers want to know why the Corps was not more forthcoming about the contamination, which lasted from the 1950s to the 1980s. McClatchy discovered government documents showing that as many as 800,000 gallons of fuel leaked from underground storage tanks near a well that served base barracks, officers’ quarters and the base hospital. Other records reveal that federal, state and camp environmental officials knew about the benzene contamination as early as 1988.   Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who oversees the Marine Corps, tried to downplay the necessity of examining benzene-related deaths at the base until media reports exposed the seriousness of the problem. The Navy is now funding a study that will do just that. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Lejeune Water Probe: Did Marine Corps Hide Benzene Data? (by Barbara Barrett, McClatchy Newspapers) The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten Website Senate VA Committee Approves Health Care for Camp Lejeune and Atsugi Toxic Exposure (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov) 20 From Camp Lejeune Marine Base Developed Male Breast Cancer, Blame Toxic Water (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Pfizer CEO Gets 12.5% Raise for Successful Lobbying
Thursday, March 11, 2010
	As head of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler has lobbied long and hard on behalf of his corporation, and been handsomely rewarded for his efforts. Kindler earned a 12.5% pay increase, elevating his salary to $1.8 million and his total compensation to nearly $15 million, for his lobbying, which included six visits last year to the White House.   According to Pfizer’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kindler was effective in “developing and advancing U.S. and global public policies that serve the overall interests” of the company, which included “constructive participation in the U.S. legislative process to advance Pfizer’s goals.” He was also credited for helping keep imported prescription drugs out of the U.S. market. -David Wallechinsky   Load Up 'Reform' With Corporate Welfare, Get a Raise (by Timothy P. Carney, Washington Examiner) Pfizer Proxy Statement (Securities and Exchange Commission) Visitor Records (White House)

Jury Orders Hog Farm to Pay Locals $11 Million for Foul Odors
Thursday, March 11, 2010
	If at first you don’t succeed, sue, sue again. That’s what residents of Gentry County, Missouri, did after owners of a hog farm failed to do anything to mitigate the terrible odor emanating from their property. In 1999, a group of 52 plaintiffs, mostly farmers, sued Premium Standard Farms over its hog facility 80 miles north of Kansas City. They won their case and $5.2 million, but Premium Standard allowed the smell to continue to foul the air.   So 15 of the plaintiffs from the 1999 case sued again, and won an $11 million verdict. One expert who testified during the trial said what he saw at the hog farm was worse than anything he experienced while visiting the slums of Calcutta, India.   Following the verdict, the company said it is considering moving its operation elsewhere, in light of “the continuing hostile environment toward live hog production.” Premium Standard Farms is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Plaintiffs Win $11 Million Verdict over Hog Odors (by Karen Dillon, Kansas City Star) Premium Standard Statement on Hog Farm Verdict (Kansas City Star) Jury Awards Plaintiffs $11M Total in Hog Lawsuit (by Bill Draper, Associated Press) Smithfield Foods Subsidiary Hit with $11 Million Verdict (by Philip Walzer, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) Pork Plant Workers Win Union Contract after 17-Year Fight (by Jacquelyn Lickness, AllGov) Large Hog Farm Produces More Waste than Philadelphia (AllGov)

16 Midwest Cities Sue Maker of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
	Switzerland-based agribusiness Syngenta AG is being sued by 16 American cities and one county water district over the contamination of water supplies by the weed-killer atrazine. The chemical, sprayed on corn fields in the Midwest, has found its way into drinking water used by communities that cannot afford the expensive means to filter atrazine from local groundwater.   A new scientific study has found the chemical can cause frogs to switch genders. The European Union banned its use in 2004 because of uncertainty over the chemical’s safety, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking into its potential to cause cancer and birth defects.   The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Illinois by 16 cities in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, seeks money in part so local water districts can purchase the necessary carbon filters to remove atrazine. -Noel Brinkerhoff   Cities Sue Manufacturer of Weed-Killer Found in Tap Water (by Danielle Ivory, Huffington Post Investigative Fund) Study: Weedkiller in Waterways Can Change Frogs' Sex Traits (by David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post) EPA, Reversing Bush, to Study Dangers of Weed-Killer Used on Corn and Lawns (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

House Ethics Probe Avoided Interviewing Members of Congress in PMA Case
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
	Following the Department of Justice’s November 2008 raid of the Washington lobbying firm, the PMA Group, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) investigated accusations that several lawmakers accepted campaign contributions in exchange for funneling federal dollars to specific projects. The OCE concluded that at least two of the seven House members under suspicion, Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas) and Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana), deserved further investigation by the House ethics committee—but that committee did little to probe the allegations.   In late February, the ethics committee concluded that no House members colluded with the PMA Group. The committee, however, reached this conclusion without interviewing any of the elected representatives or companies allegedly involved, in particular Boeing, according to Roll Call. The political news publication reported the committee “did virtually no additional investigation beyond the draft reports” produced by the OCE.   Among the other members of Congress who received contributions from PMA were John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania), who died February 8, Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), Bill Young (R-Florida), Mike Capuano (D-Massachusetts), Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Chet Edwards (D-Texas), Paul Kanjorski (D-Pennsylvania, Jerry Lewis (R-California), Anders Crenshaw (R-Florida) and Jack Kingston (R-Georgia). -Noel Brinkerhoff   Ethics Panel Probed Lightly Into PMA (by Paul Singer, Roll Call)

New York City Police Accused of Arrest Quotas and Doctoring Figures
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
	Two separate media sources have turned up accusations of New York City police using quotas to make arrests or manipulating records to show crime has gone down. WABC-TV interviewed police officer Adil Polanco, who said precinct commanders have pressured cops to make more arrests and give out more summonses.   “Our primary job is not to help anybody, our primary job is not to assist anybody, our primary job is to get those numbers and come back with them?” said Polanco.   Paul J. Browne, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information, would only say that, “Police officers, like others who receive compensation, are provided productivity goals and they are expected to work.”   Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported that a Brooklyn precinct is under investigation for doctoring statistics to make local police look better. The allegations include changing felonies to misdemeanors and ignoring citizens’ complaints, all in an effort to show crime is dropping. -Noel Brinkerhoff   NYPD Officer Claims Pressure to Make Arrests (by Jim Hoffer, WABC-TV New York) Brooklyn's 81st Precinct Probed by NYPD for Fudging Stats; Felonies Allegedly Marked as Misdemeanors (by Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News)

Online Security Questions Need Improving
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
	From banks to email programs, website developers need to create more complex security questions so users avoid the danger of identity theft. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh found that current schemes used to keep unauthorized individuals from gaining access to personal accounts are too easy to break through. Right now hackers have about a 1 in 80 chance of figuring out answers to security questions if given three chances to guess correctly, a rate considered dangerously high by experts.   For instance, a commonly asked question on many websites involves giving the maiden name of the user’s mother. Because birth and marriage records are often available online, this type of security measure is far too easy to overcome, researchers insist.   They also determined that cultural diversity plays a role in making websites and online accounts more secure. Because of the melting-pot nature of U.S. citizens, American surnames were deemed the most difficult to guess, while surnames from Japan and South Korea, where populations are more homogenous, were much easier to figure out. For example, asking the name of a person’s childhood teacher may seem like a secure question, but not if the teacher’s name was Smith in English-speaking countries or González, Garcia or Rodriguez in those that speak Spanish.   The researchers recommend using more esoteric questions or requiring users to answer three separate questions. -Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky   Weak Security ID Questions Put E-Mail at Risk (BBC News) What's in a Name? Evaluating Statistical Attacks on Personal Knowledge Questions (by Joseph Bonneau, Mike Just and Greg Matthews, University of Cambridge) (pdf)

DC First City to Distribute Free Female Condoms
Monday, March 08, 2010
	With HIV/AIDS infections reaching epidemic proportions, the District of Columbia has become the first city in the United States to distribute female condoms. The city plans to make 500,000 available in beauty salons, convenience stores and high schools in neighborhoods with high HIV rates. More than 15,000 people, mostly African American, have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS, and the city’s infection rate is estimated at 3-5% of the local population.   The decision to give out female condoms is seen as an admission that relying on male prophylactics has not worked in stopping the spread of AIDS. Local officials are hoping the change in policy will empower women protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases. -Noel Brinkerhoff   D.C. to be First U.S. City to Give Away Free Female Condoms to Fight HIV/AIDS (by Darryl Fears, Washington Post) FHI Research Briefs on the Female Condom — No. 1: Dialogue on the Female Condom: An Overview on Science and Advocacy (Family Health International) The Female Condom (AVERT)

Veterans’ Courts May Go National
Monday, March 08, 2010
	In recent years there has been a growing movement to grant veterans special treatment within the American legal system. In January 2008 this resulted in the first veterans' court in Buffalo, NY. Since then, 22 other cities and counties have also begun to experiment with similar institutions. These courts focus more on treatment and rehabilitation, so that nonviolent veterans can deal with their problems and be successfully reintegrated into society rather than remaining untreated and clogging up courtrooms and detention facilities.The increasing number of these courts around the nation has prompted the federal government to begin evaluating and considering them as well, with legislation being introduced by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a veteran, and Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski for increased funding of these projects.   The call for such facilities for veterans stems from increasing research showing the intense symptoms and widespread effect of maladies such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe depression, and other mental disorders that afflict veterans. Numerous studies estimate that between 20 and 50 percent of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans suffer from such afflictions. These veterans subsequently receive no treatment or the wrong kinds of treatment and thus have difficulties readjusting to civilian life. Many argue that this leads veterans to make up a disproportionate percentage of people with criminal records. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that veterans account for 10 percent of those with criminal records in the United States. Proponents of these courts contend that since there are specialized courts to deal with others, such as drug, mental health, and domestic violence courts, there should be, and is a precedent for, special courts for veterans and their unique troubles.    Opposition groups however, argue that these courts would unfairly provide a section of the population with more civil liberties than others. Criminals with military histories would essentially be given a free pass. There is also concern that these courts may also be used for violent veteran offenders. In addition, some contend that the label of veteran is at once too broad and too narrow. It encompasses all who served from World War II to the present wars and who suffer from very different afflictions or from none at all. At the same time, the label excludes all of those who suffer from the same conditions many veterans do, but who have not done military service.                                                                                       - Kyle Kuersten   A Separate Peace (by Dahlia Lithwick, Newsweek) Helping those who Served Us (editorial, Johnston Tribune-Democrat) Philly Opens a Criminal Court Just for Veterans (by by John McDevitt,KYW-1060) Specter Holds Special Meeting on Veteran's Court (WTAE, ABC,Pittsburgh) Special Courts Give Veterans an Extra Break (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov) Allegheny County Courts Considers New Division for War Veterans (WTAE, ABC,Pittsburgh)