Tuesday, September 16, 2014

‘No combat mission:’ US ready to strike Syria, may use up to 1,600 troops to fight ISIS in Iraq | End the Lie – Independent News

No combat mission:’ US ready to strike Syria, may use up to 1,600 troops to fight ISIS in Iraq

Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the US Central Command has a
plan to take “targeted actions against ISIS safe havens in Syria,”
including striking infrastructure. Hagel also unveiled a plane to boost
Iraqi forces by 1,600 US “military advisers.”

The US will also train and equip 5,000 members of the Syrian opposition
to fight the militants from the Islamic State group, previously known
as ISIS and ISIL. However, Hagel said that this number will not be
enough to turn the tide at this stage and might be boosted later.

The plan to strike Syria was confirmed by General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“We will be prepared to strike ISIL targets in Syria that degrade ISIL’s capabilities,” General Dempsey said.

Washington will not look to unleash a “shock and awe” campaign of airstrikes in Syria against Islamic State fighters, he however noted – rather it would be a “persistent and sustainable campaign.”

Hagel has ruled out putting any troops on the ground for the moment, but did say that some of the 1,600 American “military advisers” deployed in Iraq since June may get involved into direct fight with the ISIS.

“American forces will not have a combat mission,” Hagel said. “The troops deployed will support Iraqi and Kurdish forces.”

URGENT: 1600 US 'military advisers' go to #Iraq, Hagel says 'not a combat mission' http://t.co/SKOO5nTnO6 pic.twitter.com/njjtFEjwoY

— RT (@RT_com) September 16, 2014

According to General Dempsey those troops who are on the ground in
Iraq could take a more active role in certain missions, such as “retaking Mosul.”

US forces will operate from the capital Baghdad and Kurdistan’s
Erbil. Kurdish forces are to join the fight and work to retain the
territory taken back from the ISIS militants.

The Obama administration will also try to push a bill through
congress to authorize the spending of $500 million to help train and
equip the Syrian opposition.

A member of the House of Representatives, Walter Jones, a North
Carolina Republican says he will vote against the plan to arm the Syrian
rebels, though he expects the bill to be passed regardless.

“Here we go again … We train the Syrians today who are supposed to be our friends, but tomorrow they’re our enemies,” Jones said. “We need to let these other countries take care of their own region.”

Protestors at Hagel/Dempsey ISIS hrg have interrupted periodically w chants like No More War. Three have been ejected pic.twitter.com/ElBiIU8aDG

— Athena Jones (@AthenaCNN) September 16, 2014

More than 30 countries have agreed to join the US coalition in their
fight against Islamic State, the Pentagon reported. However, there is no
sign of regional powers Iran and Syria on the list.

The official anti-ISIS coalition list everyone's been waiting for is out pic.twitter.com/GH8GqGVKRG

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) September 16, 2014

America reiterated that there will be no cooperation
with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in any way in its fight
against the Islamic State. Obama’s position has long been that he would
like to see Assad leave power, particularly after he was alleged to have used chemical weapons against his own people last year.

The Syrian president was briefed by an Iraqi national security adviser on Tuesday to, “put
Assad in the picture of the latest developments in Iraq and the efforts
that the Iraqi government and people are making to combat the
terrorists,” the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Assad and Iraqi govt are surely coordinating against ISIS – here's Assad with @HaiderAlAbadi's natsec advisor. pic.twitter.com/xeq6m2ls9I

— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) September 16, 2014

Faleh al-Fayed, the Iraqi official said the meeting stressed “the
importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination between the
two brotherly countries in the field of combating terrorism that is
hitting Syria and Iraq and which threatens the region and the world.”

Source: RT

Read
more at
http://endthelie.com/2014/09/16/no-combat-mission-us-ready-to-strike-syria-may-use-up-to-1600-troops-to-fight-isis-in-iraq/#7gECdo4uxsVtbhFA.99

News Release: US Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2014

US
Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired
Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities

WASHINGTON
– In a settlement with the United States, Consumers Energy, a
subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation, has agreed to install pollution
control technology, continue operating existing pollution controls and
comply with emission rates to reduce harmful air pollution from the
company’s five coal-fired power plants located in West Olive,
Essexville, Muskegon and Luna Pier, Michigan, the Department of Justice
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The
settlement will resolve claims that the company violated the Clean Air
Act by modifying their facilities in a way that caused the release of
excess sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

EPA
expects that the actions required by the settlement will reduce harmful
emissions by over 46,500 tons per year, which includes approximately
38,400 tons per year of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and 8,100 tons
per year of nitrogen oxide (NOx). The company estimates that it will
spend over $1 billion to implement the required measures. The pollution
reductions will be achieved through the installation, upgrade, and
operation of state-of-the-art pollution control devices designed to
reduce emissions and protect public health. Consumers Energy will also
take several coal-fired units offline and may repower additional
coal-fired units with natural gas.

The
settlement requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $2.75 million
to resolve Clean Air Act violations and spend at least $7.7 million on
environmental projects to help mitigate the harmful effects of air
pollution on the environment and benefit local communities.

“The
required pollution controls and funding for mitigation projects will
reduce harmful pollution in American communities,” said Cynthia Giles,
assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance
Assurance. “This case demonstrates that energy can be provided to local
communities in a responsible way that significantly reduces sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxide known to contribute to serious health
concerns.”

“Today’s
settlement will bring cleaner air to residents in Michigan by removing
tens of thousands of tons of harmful air pollution from the atmosphere,”
said Sam Hirsch, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice
Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This
agreement will render benefits to communities far into the future with
pollution-reduction projects that will improve public health and help
restore natural resources downwind of the plants."

The
settlement requires the company install to pollution control technology
and implement other measures to reduce sulfur dioxide, and particulate
matter emissions from its five coal-fired power plants, comprising 12
operating units. Among other requirements, the company must comply with
declining system-wide limits for SO₂ and NOx and meet
emission rates. In addition, the company must retire or refuel two units
to natural gas and retire an additional five units.

SO₂and
NOx, two predominant pollutants emitted from power plants, have
numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant
contributors to acid rain, smog, and haze. These pollutants are
converted in the air to particulate matter that can cause severe
respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death.

The
settlement also requires Consumers Energy to spend at least $7.7
million on projects that will benefit the environment and local
communities, including paying $500,000 to the National Park Service for
the restoration of land, watersheds, vegetation and forests or combating
invasive species in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park.

The
remaining $7.2 million will be spent on a series of mitigation
projects. Potential projects include efforts to reduce vehicle
emissions, install renewable energy and energy efficiency projects,
replace or retrofit wood burning appliances, and protect and restore
ecologically significant lands in Michigan. Consumers Energy has five
years to complete its selected projects.

This
settlement is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to control
harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes
coal-fired power plants, under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of
Significant Deterioration requirements. The total combined SO₂
and NOx emission reductions secured from all these settlements will
exceed 2 million tons each year once all the required pollution controls
have been installed and implemented.

Consumers
Energy is Michigan’s second-largest electric and natural gas utility,
providing electric service to more than 6 million people in the Lower
Peninsula of Michigan.

The
settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period
and final court approval.

More on the settlement: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/consumers-energy-clean-air-act-settlement

More information about EPA’s enforcement initiative: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011airpollution.html

EPA Adds Five, Proposes Three Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List

CONTACT:
Rachel DeitzDeitz.rachel@epa.gov202-564-1807
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 16, 2014

EPA Adds Five, Proposes Three Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List
Cleaning up hazardous waste sites protects human health, raises property value, and facilitates the economic restoration of communities

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding five hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. In addition, the agency is proposing to add three additional sites to the list. The Superfund program, a federal program established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and converts them into productive local resources by eliminating or reducing health risks and environmental contamination associated with hazardous waste sites.
“Cleaning up hazardous waste sites protects our country’s most vulnerable populations, prevents diseases, increases local property values and facilitates economic restoration of communities across America,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “By listing a site on the Superfund National Priorities List, we’re taking an important action to protect human health and encourage economic restoration of communities.”
Recent academic research, from the study Superfund Cleanups and Infant Health, demonstrated that investment in Superfund cleanups reduces the incidence of congenital abnormalities for those living within 5,000 meters (or 5,468 yards) of a site. Another study conducted by researchers at Duke and Pittsburgh Universities, concluded that making a site final on the NPL may increase housing prices by signaling that a site has been placed on the path towards remediation. Furthermore, the study found that once a site has all cleanup remedies in place, nearby properties have a significant increase in property values as compared to pre-NPL proposal values.
The following five sites have been added to the NPL:

Indiana - North Shore Drive (ground water plume) in Elkhart, Ind.;
Louisiana - Delta Shipyard (former boat cleaning and repair) in Houma, La.;
New Jersey - Pierson’s Creek (chemical manufacturer) in Newark, N.J.;
Pennsylvania - Baghurst Drive (ground water plume) in Harleysville, Pa.; and
Vermont - Jard Company, Inc. (former capacitor manufacturer) in Bennington, Vt.

The following three sites have been proposed for addition to the NPL:

Alabama - 35^th Avenue (residential soil contamination) in Birmingham, Ala.;
Indiana - Kokomo Contaminated Ground Water Plume (ground water plume) in Kokomo, Ind.; and
Michigan - DSC McLouth Steel Gibraltar Plant (steel finishing operation) in Gibraltar, Mich.

The sites announced today have characteristics and conditions that vary in terms of size, complexity and when the contamination occurred, with some sites involving recent contamination, among other factors. But as with all NPL sites, EPA first works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and requires them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting substantial cleanup at the site.
Past and current site uses include lead smelting, solvent handling, small capacitor and motor manufacturing, and maritime-related activities. Site contaminants are numerous with lead, arsenic and other metals; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); and volatile organic compounds such as trichloroethylene (TCE), as well as others. Contamination affects residential yards, wetlands, surface water and groundwater, and soil.
For example, EPA added the Jard Company Inc. to the NPL. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), used in the manufacturing process, were released into the former building structure and soils on the property which contaminated area groundwater. At the Delta Shipyard site, heavy metals and other hazardous wastes were released from disposal ponds which contaminated area soils, groundwater and surface waters. Without NPL site listing and cleanup, contamination would continue to pose a risk to human health and the environment.
The Superfund program uses remedy effectiveness information to actively manage site operations and refine remedial strategies in order to efficiently move sites to completion. Today, more than 800 Superfund sites across the nation support some type of continued use, active reuse or planned reuse activities.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the law establishing the Superfund program, gives EPA the authority to clean up releases of hazardous substances and directs EPA to update the NPL at least annually to protect human health and the environment with the goal of returning these sites to communities for productive use. The NPL contains the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. The list serves as the basis for prioritizing both enforcement actions and long-term EPA Superfund cleanup funding; only sites on the NPL are eligible for such funding.
Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the final and proposed sites:http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

Information about how a site is listed on the NPL:http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm
Superfund sites in local communities:http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm
More information about the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the law establishing the Superfund program, can be found at:http://epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm

Monday, September 15, 2014

Social Security: Older Couples Face a Terrifying Divorce Trap

By

Dan Caplinger

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Social Security provides benefits not just for workers but also for
their spouses. It's pretty easy to understand workers' benefits in
retirement, as they're directly linked to that person's work history and
are therefore unaffected by things like changes in marital status. But
some more complicated rules govern the spousal benefits that workers'
spouses are entitled to claim, and those benefits can change when you go
through major life events. Specifically, couples considering divorce
need to understand their Social Security benefits thoroughly in order to
make informed financial decisions and avoid unknowingly causing
payments to stop.

The general rule for divorced couples and Social SecurityMost
people considering divorce are relieved to find out that, in many
cases, divorced spouses are entitled to the same benefits they would
have received if they remained married. Specifically, if you were
married to your former spouse for at least 10 years, you can claim
spousal benefits based on your ex's work history when you turn 62 as
long as you're still unmarried at that time. The amount of that spousal
benefit is the same as it would have been as a married couple.

Indeed, divorced spouses actually have more flexibility than
married couples in one instance. Regardless of when or whether your ex
actually starts claiming benefits, divorced spouses are entitled to
benefits calculated as if their ex had waited until full retirement age
to start collecting Social Security. That can produce a clear advantage
if your ex-spouse actually claimed early benefits and therefore accepted
reduced monthly payments that would ordinarily cut your spousal
benefits as well. In addition, your ex-spouse doesn't have to have
actually claimed benefits in order for you to get spousal
benefits as a divorced spouse. That's in contrast to usual rules that
require a worker to apply for Social Security before a spouse can
receive those benefits.

Source: Social Security Office of the Inspector General

How divorce can crush older couples on Social SecurityDespite
providing benefits to divorced spouses in many situations, the Social
Security rules governing divorce aren't always so benign. For couples
considering divorce in their early to mid-60s, those rules can disrupt
what would otherwise be optimal strategies for Social Security.

For instance, many couples plan to have spouses file restricted
applications for spousal benefits at full retirement age, allowing
benefits based on their own work history to receive additional delayed
retirement credits until age 70. But if you want to use that strategy,
the Social Security divorce rules say that if your to-be-ex-spouse
hasn't filed for Social Security, you have to wait two years after
getting divorced to make your claim for spousal benefits. That can make
the restricted-application strategy much less attractive and force you
to consider other less lucrative alternatives.

Source: SSA

A much larger trap faces older couples who haven't been married for
10 years. You're entitled to apply for spousal benefits on your spouse's
work history after being married as little as a single year, so those
who marry in their late 50s or early 60s can initially apply for Social
Security and receive benefits for years before reaching the 10-year
threshold. If they divorce, however, the spousal benefits will be in
jeopardy, as people aren't entitled to divorced-spouse benefits if they
weren't married for at least 10 years.

Beware the Social Security remarriage trapFinally,
remarriage after divorce usually leads to your losing spousal benefits
based on an ex-spouse's work history. The presumption is that your
ability to claim spousal benefits on your new spouse's history replaces
your former entitlement.

Social Security has a number of confusing provisions that can lead to
unexpected results for those who don't look closely at the rules. Older
couples who marry relatively late in life need to be particularly aware
of how Social Security's provisions can adversely affect them.
Otherwise, these traps can cut the benefits you're counting on for your
financial future.

EPA Settles with DuPont over Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws that Led to Widespread Tree Deaths and Damage

Jennifer Colaizzi
Colaizzi.jennifer@epa.gov (News media only)
202-564-5677
202-573-1259

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 15, 2014

EPA Settles with DuPont over Violations of Federal Pesticide Laws that Led to Widespread Tree Deaths and Damage

DuPont to pay $1,853,000 penalty to resolve alleged violations of pesticide reporting and distribution laws

WASHINGTON – The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with
the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) for alleged violations
of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). DuPont
will pay a $1,853,000 penalty to resolve allegations that the company
failed to submit reports to EPA about potential adverse effects of an
herbicide product called Imprelis, and sold it with labeling that did
not ensure its safe use. When customers applied the misbranded Imprelis
product, it led to widespread death and damage to trees.

"EPA's ability to protect the public
from dangerous pesticides depends on companies complying with the legal
obligation to disclose information on the harmful effects of chemicals,"
said Cynthia Giles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance. “This case sends the message that illegally
withholding required information will be treated as a very serious
violation."

As part of the registration process for a pesticide
or herbicide, FIFRA requires companies to submit to EPA reports on a
product’s potential adverse impacts on plants or animals that it is not
intended to control. During the registration process and after
registration was approved for Imprelis, an herbicide product intended to
control weeds like dandelions, clover, thistle, plantains and ground
ivy, DuPont failed to submit 18 reports.

As a result, Imprelis – as it was
registered and labeled – did not adequately protect against damage to
certain tree species. DuPont made 320 shipments of Imprelis to
distributors in 2010 and 2011. This failure to submit reports and the
sale or distribution of a misbranded pesticide or herbicide are
violations of FIFRA.

DuPont has submitted over 7,000 reports to
EPA of damage or death of trees – primarily Norway spruce and white
pine – related to the application of Imprelis. Test data from DuPont
confirmed certain coniferous trees, including Norway spruce and balsam
fir, as susceptible to being damaged or killed by the application of
Imprelis. There is also evidence that non-coniferous trees such as
maple, honey locusts, lilacs, sycamores, and alders are susceptible to
damage from Imprelis.

Starting in June 2011, EPA began
receiving complaints from state pesticide agencies regarding damage to
trees related to the use of Imprelis when it was applied to control
weeds. Cases of tree damage and death from Imprelis were widespread in
the Midwest, especially Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and
Wisconsin. Indiana investigated more than 400 cases of tree damage
related to Imprelis in 2011.

In August 2011, EPA ordered DuPont
to stop selling and distributing Imprelis without prior approval from
EPA. In September 2011, the registration for Imprelis was amended to
prohibit the sale, distribution or marketing of Imprelis. The product
registration for Imprelis expired on September 8^th, 2014, and DuPont is no longer selling the product.

Imprelis was distributed and sold in 1 gallon, 2.5 gallon and 4.5 ounce
containers, primarily to pest control professionals servicing the lawn,
golf, turf and weed control sectors.

Imprelis was registered
with EPA in 2010, and was marketed by DuPont for lawn and turf
applications on residential and commercial lawns, golf courses, sod
farms, schools, parks, and athletic fields.

The settlement, a
consent agreement and final order, will be filed at EPA’s regional
office in Philadelphia, and DuPont must submit payment of the penalty to
the U.S. Department of Treasury within 30 days.

For more information about this settlement, click here: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/ei-du-pont-de-nemours-and-company-settlement

R205

Schizophrenia is 'umbrella disease' of eight gene disorders, study finds | Al Jazeera America

Schizophrenia is 'umbrella disease' of eight gene disorders, study finds

Study finds debilitating mental illness results from distinct clusters of gene variations, not a single gene

September 15, 2014
8:28AM ET

by

Renee Lewis

Schizophrenia is not a single disease caused by one gene, but rather a
group of eight distinct genetic disorders — each with its own set of
symptoms, according to a study released Monday.

The new findings, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, could help doctors diagnose and treat the often-debilitating symptoms associated with the mental illness.
While schizophrenia affects people in different ways, some of the most
common manifestations include hallucinations or delusions, disorganized
speech and behavior, and a disassociation of thoughts and emotions.

Previous research had already led scientists to believe that around
80 percent of the risk of schizophrenia was genetic, but until now they
could not determine where it originated. The study’s findings suggest
that distinct clusters of gene variations — not a single gene — causes
the disease.

“Genes don’t operate by themselves,” C. Robert Cloninger, one of the study’s senior researchers, explained.
“They function in concert much like an orchestra, and to understand how
they’re working, you have to know not just who the members of the
orchestra are, but how they interact.”

Researchers based their conclusions on a gene study of more than
4,000 people with schizophrenia and 3,800 others without the condition.

Individual genes have inconsistent connections to schizophrenia, but
groups of interacting genes were found to contribute to an extremely
high risk of the disease — making it nearly impossible for individuals
with those genetic variations to avoid the illness, the report said.

They found that those specific genetic variations worked together to
produce different severities of the mental illness. People who had
distinct gene clusters — 42 of which were identified in the study
— were between 70 and 100 percent likely to develop schizophrenia,
according to the report.

Of those clusters, researchers were able to identify eight
qualitatively unique disorders within what they now see as the “umbrella
disease” of schizophrenia — each with its own symptoms and level of
severity.

“What we’ve done here, after a decade of frustration in the field of
psychiatric genetics, is identify the way genes interact with each
other, how the ‘orchestra’ is either harmonious and leads to health, or
disorganized in ways that lead to distinct classes of schizophrenia,”
Cloninger said.

The study marks a breakthrough for scientists hoping to treat
patients suffering from the illness. Now that the genetic variations
responsible for the symptoms have been identified, it may be possible to
target specific pathways that lead to schizophrenia.

“In the past, scientists had been looking for associations between
individual genes and schizophrenia,” said Dragan Svrakic, a
co-researcher and professor of psychiatry at Washington University.
“When one study would identify an association, no one else could
replicate it. What was missing was the idea that these genes don’t act
independently. They work in concert to disrupt the brain’s structure and
function, and that results in the illness.”

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Liberal Vermont Senator Sanders may seek U.S. presidency in 2016 | Reuters

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Liberal Vermont Senator Sanders may seek U.S. presidency in 2016

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON
Sun Sep 14, 2014 12:58pm EDT

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U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
Chairman Senator Bernie Sanders leads a hearing on ''The State of VA
Health Care'' on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 9, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Jim Bourg

Pope Francis Says World War III Has Already Begun | Pakalert Press

Pope Francis Says World War III Has Already Begun

TRUTHER 0

NTEB

Is Francis the herald of the prophesied one world religion?

“And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Revelation 17:6

REDIPUGLIA Italy – Pope Francis said on Saturday the spate of conflicts around the globe today were effectively a “piecemeal” Third World War, condemning the arms trade and “plotters of terrorism” sowing death and destruction.

“Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep,” Francis said in the homily of a Mass during a visit to Italy’s largest war memorial, a large, Fascist-era monument where more than 100,000 soldiers who died in World War One are buried.

Pope Francis Says World War III Has Already Begun

The pope began his brief visit to northern Italy by first praying in a nearby, separate cemetery for some 15,000 soldiers from five nations of the Austro-Hungarian empire which were on the losing side of the Great War that broke out 100 years ago.

“War is madness,” he said in his homily before the massive, sloping granite memorial, made of 22 steps on the side of hill with three crosses at the top.

“Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction,” he said.

In the past few months, Francis has made repeated appeals for an end to conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Gaza and parts of Africa.

“War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying,” he said. “Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often justified by an ideology …,” he said.

Last month the pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God’s name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop “unjust aggression” by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.

Friday, May 30, 2014

This Week on RealKochFacts.com

http://realkochfacts.com/

Dear Friend:

American Bridge has your weekly recap of all things Koch.

This week? The Kochs helped kill renewable energy in Ohio, Americans
For Prosperity threw a party for Thom Tillis's anti-middle class policy
agenda, and we took a look back in time to see what's changed between
the Kochs' agenda 30 years ago and today (hint: not much).
Read below for your weekly dose of Real Koch Facts.

Sincerely,

Brad Woodhouse

American Bridge 21st Century

Then & Now: Koch Attacks on Medicare In David Koch's 1980 VP
bid, his ticket supported cutting payments to Medicare contractors in
half. Over 30 years later, the Kochs are still at it. AFP has backed
budgets that "would essentially end Medicare" according to the Wall
Street Journal... Read More

AFP Holds Rallies To Celebrate Thom Tillis’s Extreme Policies In NC
The Koch brothers, by way of their political group Americans for
Prosperity, have made North Carolina one one of their flagship states
for pushing their extreme agenda. They helped pour money into races in
2010 and 2012 to fill the state legislature with Republicans who would
push their ultra-conservative policies, and it worked. Now, Speaker of
the NC House and US Senate candidate Thom Tillis is running the show... Read More

http://realkochfacts.com/afp-holds-rallies-to-celebrate-thom-tilliss-extreme-policies-in-nc/

Then & Now: Koch Efforts to Deregulate Wall Street In 1980,
the Ed Clark-David Koch ticket sent out a white paper calling for
abolishing the SEC and deregulating the securities markets. Three
decades later, AFP has repeatedly key voted against consumer protection
legislation, scaring Republicans into pushing the Kochs' self-serving
agenda... Read More

Then & Now: Koch Support for Tax Cuts for the Wealthy In
1980, the Ed Clark-David Koch campaign proposed cutting capital gains
tax rates in half and rolling back taxes on big oil companies like Koch
Industries. Nothing has changed. AFP has consistently scored votes in
favor of reducing taxes for the wealthy and shifting more of the tax
burden onto the middle class... Read More

Kochs Help Deal Defeat To Renewable Energy In Ohio Score another
victory for the Kochs in their self-serving campaign to protect oil
profits at all costs. Ohio’s burgeoning renewable energy industry was
dealt a major blow yesterday as the Cleveland Dispatch announced that
Governor Kasich would sign the AFP-backed bill to freeze energy
efficiency incentives... Read More

This Just In: Koch brothers back for more in Wisconsin In 2011
and 2012, the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity spent $10
million backing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s policies, and this
election year is shaping up to be no different. AFP is kicking off a
major paid media blitz in Wisconsin this week in support of Walker in
the midst of what many polls show is a tightening reelection race this
fall... Read More

National Review: Hey, You Forgot To Mention How Successful The Kochs’ Self-Serving Crusade Has Been!
It’s good to know that there is bipartisan consensus that the Kochs
have been on a decades-long self-serving crusade to augment their oil
fortune. National Review just wants you to know that it’s been
successful... Read More

Green Tea 4 U

Tuesday, September 16, 2014