Tennessee Firm Exposed Black Workers to More Radiation than Whites
In Tennessee, a nuclear waste processing company has settled a lawsuit accusing it of exposing African American workers to higher radiation levels than White colleagues. The company is ironically called RACE, which stands for Radiological Assistance, Consulting and Engineering. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought the suit against RACE. In addition to the excessive radiation exposure, the lawsuit says the company’s White managers assigned African American workers to work near radioactive waste while cordoning off White workers in a separate area. The managers also allegedly manipulated dosimeters that measure radiation exposure to hide their actions. One African American worker was suspended and then fired after complaining his superior had used the N-word and other racist slurs. Twenty-three African American employees will receive a combined $650,000 under the settlement.


Autopsy: FBI Agents Shot Detroit Imam 21 Times
In Michigan, explosive details have emerged from the long-awaited release of the autopsy report for a Detroit-area Muslim imam slain by the FBI in October. The imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, headed a Sunni Muslim group called the Ummah. He was shot dead during an FBI raid shortly after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit federal crimes. Local Muslim leaders have questioned if authorities are trying to cover up facts surrounding his death. The autopsy report was finally released Monday after a lengthy delay. It shows Abdullah died from twenty-one gunshot wounds and was found with his wrists handcuffed behind his back. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers is expected to join a coalition of civil rights and Muslim groups today to call for a Justice Department probe.


War Spending Increases in Record $3.8T Budget Request
President Obama has unveiled a record $3.8 trillion budget that boosts money for war while cutting domestic spending.

President Obama: “I’ve proposed a freeze in government spending for three years. This won’t apply to the benefits folks get through Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare, and and it won’t apply to our national security, including benefits for veterans. But it will apply to all other discretionary government programs.”

Under Obama’s proposal, the Pentagon budget would grow over three percent in addition to separate funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of over $741 billion. The new budget contains no major weapons cancellations as opposed to last year’s gutting of the F-22 fighter jet. Obama is also seeking a $7 billion increase in nuclear spending despite a pledge to cut the US arsenal and seek a nuclear weapons-free world. The Labor Department would see a 32 percent cut, most from declining unemployment benefits and stimulus spending.


Dems Seek to Undo Supreme Court Ruling on Corporate Electioneering
And Democrats are gearing up to try to counter the Supreme Court’s ruling that corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money to elect and defeat candidates. In a five-to-four decision, the Court overturned century-old restrictions on corporations, unions and other interest groups from using their vast treasuries to advocate for a specific candidate. Speaking on the House floor, Democratic Congress member Donna Edwards of Maryland said she’ll introduce a constitutional amendment to revoke the Supreme Court ruling.

Rep. Donna Edwards: “The American people already believe that corporate special interests and their lobbyists run the show around here. I mean, the halls are crawling with them. But that’s not enough. Now the Court says to the big banks, to the drug companies, to the insurance companies, ‘Hey, all bets are off, and it’s open season. Our elections are for sale.’ A law won’t fix this; we have to fix it in the Constitution. So today I’ll introduce a constitutional amendment so that we, the people, can take back our elections and our democracy. This is not the People’s House Incorporated. We are the people. It’s our house, it’s our Constitution, and it’s our elections. And we plan to take it back from the United States Supreme Court.”

In his State of the Union address, President Obama renewed his criticism of the Supreme Court ruling, saying he hopes Congress passes legislation “that helps to right this wrong.”


Report: CIA Operatives Allowed to Work for Private Firms
The news website Politico is reporting the CIA is allowing active-duty operatives to work for private companies on the side. The previously undisclosed “moonlighting” has granted wealthy private entities such as financial firms and hedge funds access to top-level intelligence officials. It’s said to be viewed internally as a means to prevent agency defections to the private sector. A CIA spokesperson said “moonlighting” operatives are required to submit detailed information on their outside employment. But few details have been revealed, including how long the policy has been in place and how many operatives have taken part.


California Senate Passes Single-Payer Bill
In California, the state Senate has voted to establish a statewide single-payer health care system. The measure was approved by a vote of 22 to 14. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger has vowed to veto the bill. Advocates say around 60 percent of Californians support a single-payer system. The bill now goes before the state Assembly.


Oregon Voters Back Progressive Tax Hike
Oregon voters meanwhile have approved two measures that would raise taxes on high-income residents and corporations to pay for public services. Under measures 66 and 67, residents earning more than $250,000 and large corporations would see tax hikes while the unemployed would receive tax breaks. It was the first voter-approved statewide income tax increase approved by Oregon voters in nearly 80 years.


Activist Behind ACORN Controversy Arrested for Wiretapping Office of Dem. Senator
A right-wing activist behind last year’s undercover sting against the community group ACORN has been arrested for allegedly trying to wiretap the offices of Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. The FBI says James O’Keefe and three others entered Landrieu’s New Orleans office disguised in construction garb and tried to bug her telephones. Last year O’Keefe disguised himself as a pimp and secretly videotaped ACORN employees appearing to offer him advice. The scandal led to a congressional measure stripping ACORN of federal funding.



Howard Zinn, Historian, (1922-2010
Historian, writer and activist Howard Zinn died suddenly on Feb. 24 of a heart attack at the age of 87. Zinn’s classic work A People’s History of the United States changed the way we look at history in America. It has sold over a million copies and was recently made into a television special called "The People Speak".


Zelaya Leaves Honduras as New President Takes Office
Honduras is entering a new phase following the swearing-in of a new president and the departure of the now former president Manuel Zelaya. On Wednesday, President Porfirio Lobo was sworn into office. A wealthy landowner, Lobo was elected in a November race boycotted by Zelaya supporters. Hours after the ceremony, Zelaya ended his four-month stay in the Brazilian embassy and left Honduras for exile in the Dominican Republican. Just before boarding the plane, Zelaya told the assembled crowd, “We’ll be back.” Just before Zelaya left Honduras, the Honduran Supreme Court dismissed all charges against six military commanders involved in the June 28th coup that removed him from office. The Obama administration says it’s not ready to restore aid to Honduras suspended following the coup. But Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela said he believes the new president, Lobo, is taking Honduras “in the right direction.”

Arturo Valenzuela: “I thought the President’s speech was excellent. It was a speech of national reconciliation for all the people of Honduras.”


Human Rights Group Rejects Israeli “Whitewash” of Gaza Attack
In Israel and the Occupied Territories, the Israeli military has taken what it calls “disciplinary” action against two soldiers for firing on the United Nations compound during last year’s attack on the Gaza Strip. The United Nations compound burned to the ground in the attack after Israel shelled it with white phosphorus. In its report, the Israeli military defended the white phosphorus shelling, saying the soldiers are only at fault for also firing artillery shells. It’s unclear what penalties, if any, the two soldiers face. The unspecified move is the first acknowledgment by Israel of the dozens of war crimes and international law violations during the three-week assault. But Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel continues to reject the war crimes allegations documented in the inquiry led by Justice Richard Goldstone.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon: “Israel does not need any admonition from the international community. We keep our high standards on morality, and the fact that we took disciplinary actions against very high and senior officers is just the proof. The Goldstone report still is a sham and very biased, very unprofessional, and it shouldn’t be at all discussed.”

Last week Israel issued a report disputing the Goldstone report as part of a campaign to prevent its adoption at the United Nations. Yael Stein of the Israeli human rights group
B’Tselem said the Israeli military is covering up its actions.

Yael Stein: “This morning it was revealed that two high-ranking officers were disciplined for firing white phosphorus at the UNRWA compound. This case shows the whitewash of the report that Israel submitted. The report itself does not specify the circumstances in which those officers were acted, and therefore just the revelations today just show how extreme the case is. We think that this case shows that the military system cannot investigate itself.”


Report: Israeli Bomb Found in Ruins of Gaza Flour Plant
The Guardian of London, meanwhile, says it’s found evidence undermining Israeli denials of targeting a flour mill in northern Gaza. Israel rejected allegations of nearly destroying the al-Badr plant in its report last week. But UN mine experts say the remains of an Israeli aircraft bomb were found in the ruins of the plant after the Gaza assault.

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