Friday, July 18, 2008

How Long Will Your Doctor Continue Accepting Private Insurance?. Doctors are getting fed up with private insurers. Here's a look at what out-of-pocket costs could look like for patients. [AlterNet.org] 12:11:46 PM    comment []

Amy Goodman: Don’t Drink the Nuclear Kool-Aid. We can't let the nuclear power industry use global warming as an opportunity to sell its insanely expensive and dangerous power plants. [AlterNet.org] 12:00:40 PM    comment []

Patt Morrison: ``That's 'Screw In a Lightbulb, SIR,' Airman!'' This is not a joke. How many Air Force generals does it take to choose upholstery? At least four. At least that many ranking generals had a hand in choosing the decor of deluxe ''comfort capsules'' for themselves and their peers aboard military transport planes, so the brass don't have to suffer with the enlisted hoi polloi. The story in today's LA Times describes private jet-like touches -- sofas, beds, leather swivel chairs, flat-screen monitors with stereo -- and also cites a price of $16.2 million for all this, out of the War on Terror budget. That was for the original ten luxury capsules; the number's been dropped to three, and some chairs, which cuts the cost to a mere $7.6 million -- a consolation, no doubt, to men and women who have served their country and then can't get the post-war care they need. When Air Force brass changed their minds about color and wanted Air Force blue leather seats instead of brown, and a seat pocket, that added $68,240 to the tab. The description sounds like a brochure for a Gulfstream 5, and the promo job was all about waving the flag. It's patriotic to encase high-ranking butts in luxury that ''the people of the United States would be proud of.'' When, pray, would the people of the United States be seeing this deluxe set-up? And I don't think ''proud'' would describe the sentiments of the enlisted people who got an eyeful of the first-class section they aren't allowed to occupy. I'm proud that we know how to win one war, slam-dunk -- the war on generals' hemorrhoids. <a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=7a4db3809ec31715c504a903569f9bcd";><img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=7a4db3809ec31715c504a903569f9bcd";/> <img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=7a4db3809ec31715c504a903569f9bcd"; style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/> - Patt Morrison [The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com] 11:57:01 AM    comment []

Ashcroft Defends Waterboarding In Front of House Judiciary Committee. WASHINGTON - Former Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday “it was not a hard decision” to withdraw Justice Department legal opinions that approved the use of harsh interrogation methods which critics say amount to torture. Ashcroft, testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee, said he did not necessarily disagree with the conclusions of the two [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 11:31:04 AM    comment []

Warming Is Major Threat To Humans, EPA Warns. WASHINGTON - Climate change will pose “substantial” threats to human health in the coming decades, the Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday — issuing its warnings about heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens just days after the agency declined to regulate the pollutants blamed for warming. In a new report, the EPA said “it is very likely” that [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 11:25:52 AM    comment []

New Uranium Leak Discovered at French Nuclear Site. PARIS - French nuclear safety authorities said Friday that a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in southeast France had caused a radioactive leak but no damage to the environment. The latest uranium spill at the plant run by nuclear giant Areva in Romans-sur-Isere came amid much public concern over a leak at another facility [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 11:18:22 AM    comment []

Army to Shoot Live Pigs for Medical Drill. HONOLULU — The Army says it’s critical to saving the lives of wounded soldiers. Animal-rights activists call the training cruel and outdated. Despite opposition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Army is moving forward with its plan to shoot live pigs and treat their gunshot wounds in a medical trauma exercise Friday [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07] 11:17:40 AM    comment []