There was no need for a water treatment facility in Flint with pre-treated water from Lake Huron running through the pipes. When the water treatment facility was reopen there was even no assessment ti reflects the poor conditions of the plant.
January 17, 2019
By Ron Fonger
Flint -- A drinking water expert (click here) says regulators at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality should have known they were flirting with disaster when they allowed the city to treat its own water in 2014.
Robert Bowcock, who visited Flint’s water plant in early 2015, told Genesee District Court Judge Jennifer Manley Wednesday, Jan. 15, that he could see problems as soon as he walked in the front door and so should have DEQ officials who had oversight responsibilities.
“It was a mess and the reason it was a mess was it was a treatment plant ... that was seldom used ... and sat in mothballs 50 weeks out of the year ...,” said Bowcock, a longtime associate of environmental activist Erin Brockovich. “It was sort of like grandma’s Chevy .. full of spider webs, dust and bad oil.”
Flint’s water source was changed from pre-treated Lake Huron water to the Flint River in April 2014 and the city’s treatment plant was put into full-time operation for the first time since 1967 in what was promoted as a temporary, cost-saving move while the city was being run by a state-appointed emergency manager....
The idea the water treatment plant in Flint was out of repair and out of any operation 50 out of 52 weeks of the year raises the issue as to why the assessment of the plant never too place. Snyder was operating on the cheap. If the water treatment plant was assessed for it's WORTHINESS to treat the Flint River water it would probably cost a great deal of money to repair. Snyder wasn't interested in spending money, he wanted to sell assets.
Snyder's demands of his Emergency Managers was to end spending by the governing authority regardless the expense and to sell assets to pay down any debt. When the clean water from Lake Huron was stopped and the river water introduced, there was absolutely no preparation for the change except closing the access to one and opening the river water to the pipes of Flint, Michigan.
Snyder demanded a strict discipline of this Emergency Managers with only one focus, pay the debt and don't spend a dime. Snyder's orders to his Emergency Managers were arrogant, racist, grossly negligent and criminal causing the deaths and injuries to many.
18 January 2019
By Tom Perkins
New Democratic leadership (click here) in the investigation into the Flint water crisis has sparked hope among activists that a tougher line will be taken on prosecuting officials and compensating victims of the environmental disaster.
The move comes after three years of Republicans leading the investigation saw 15 state and city officials face criminal charges or be prosecuted over decisions that led to at least 12 deaths, and likely sickened thousands more. At the same time, hundreds of civil lawsuits representing tens of thousands of victims are working their way through state and federal courts.
But critics say there’s been little accountability when Republicans headed the investigation and its targets have been let off lightly. None of the crisis’s perpetrators have paid a fine or served a day in jail for poisoning the city’s water or the subsequent cover-up. Likewise, the state isn’t paying reparations for the deaths or health problems resulting from Flint’s lead-tainted....
Friday, January 18, 2019
An now the Water Plant is stated to have been a poor condition.
...Flint’s Water Treatment Plant foreman, (click here) McFarland, died “suddenly,” according to his obituary, and though the Flint Journal reported there were no indications of foul play, his cause of death was unknown as of Thursday. Officials were awaiting toxicology reports. According to ABC, McFarland had been questioned by officials investigating Flint’s water crisis.
Several reports have connected Bell and McFarland’s deaths and suggested that taken together, they are “suspicious” (the Daily Mail) or constitute an effort to cover up the water crisis (Natural News).
Flint’s water crisis first made national news in December, when the city declared a state of emergency due to local children’s lead levels. (Lead-tainted water, like the water in Flint, especially severe long-term effects on children.) The first criminal charges related to the crisis rolled out last week, and Michigan’s Attorney General, Bill Schuette, tweeted that the charges were “just the beginning.”
April 27, 2016
By Alexander Lee
Two people were found dead (click here) in their homes over the past two weeks during the ongoing Flint, Michigan water crisis investigation. Sasha Bell, 19, and Matthew Bell (McFarland), 43, died in seemingly unrelated incidences, some startling facts may state otherwise."A 19-year-old Michigan mother who was one of the first to file lawsuits on behalf of the thousands of children poisoned by water in Flint was found shot to death this week." "The body of Sasha Bell was discovered Tuesday night at Ridgecrest Village Townhouses in Flint, authorities said. The body of a second woman, Sacorya Reed, was also found in the home." in a report from the NY Daily News.
"The Lapeer County Sheriff's Department said a friend found McFarland unresponsive at a home in Otter Lake. There were no signs of foul play," reported Mlive.com. "An autopsy did not determine a cause of death and police are awaiting toxicology reports. The investigation remains open... Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office confirmed that McFarland was previously interviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the city's water crisis."
18-year-old Malek Thornton is in custody for the murders of Sasha Bell and Sacoyra Reed. "Thornton has been charged and arraigned in this case for two counts of first degree murder, two counts of open murder and felony fireman," according to NBC 25.
It is hard to rule out the speculation that Bell and McFarland were murdered for standing up against the Flint Water Crisis. Matthew, who is a foreman of the Flint Water Treatment died days before he was to stand trial on the ongoing investigation of the water crisis that has left many families damaged from the poisonous water they had been consuming for years.
What you should consider...
It is ironic that every time the government is behind an incident such as this, they find immunity and walk away free. Upon the notice of Flint residents that their water was tainted, an EPA official resigned and walked away free despite knowing what was happening for months. Uproar of protests called for Governor Rick Synder to resign for his role on this issue. Back in 2014, Flint was in the guidance of an emergency manager appointed by the state to repair the shattered city. Governor Rick Synder was responsible for selecting those on staff for this task and once he picked his officials, they immediately went to work. The governor wanted to save as much money possible, so instead of pumping water from the Detroit system, they chose to take water from the Flint River. Unaware of the immense salt content in the river, it immediately began corroding Flint's archaic water pipelines thus flowing lead into the water system. Although the project did save millions, more harm was done than good....
January 16, 2019
By Roberto Acosta
Flint - A 21-year-old man (click here) has been found guilty in connection with an April 2016 double homicide at a Flint apartment complex.
Jurors convicted Toron Cortez Fisher on Wednesday, Jan. 16 of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and two counts of felony firearm in the shooting deaths of 19-year-olds Sasha Bell and Sacorya Reed.
Fisher and cousin Malek Emmanuel Thornton went to the victim’s residence at Ridgecrest Apartments in Flint on April 18, 2016 to retaliate for an earlier incident in which Thornton had been robbed, according to a statement from the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office.
It is convenient the 19 year olds aren't alive to testify for themselves. I find it unusual that there exists testimony that pins the blame of the actions of murderers initially on the victims. Supposedly the robbery of Mr. Thornton, which was never reported, provided a reason for murders three months later. That is the strangest reporting about murder I ever heard.
Fisher and Thornton believed the 19-year-olds were involved in setting up the robbery, per the statement. Court testimony revealed Thornton was robbed at Bell’s apartment in late 2015, according to MLive-The Flint Journal records.
Thornton pleaded guilty in October 2018 to second-degree murder and felony firearm while agreeing to testify against Fisher in the case.
Bell’s murder garnered national and international headlines due to her involvement in a lawsuit in which she alleged her child had been poisoned by lead as a result of the Flint water crisis. Police have said the murders had no direct connection to Bell’s involvement in the lawsuit....
If the only legal authority left to deal with Trump's corruption is the US House, the Democrats need to get busy.
19 January 2019
By John Wagner and Tim Elfkink
Democrats in Congress vowed Friday (click hereT) to aggressively investigate a new report that President Donald Trump personally directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the president's push for a Moscow real estate project ahead of the 2016 election.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his panel would "get to the bottom" of the allegations in a Thursday night report from BuzzFeed News that have caused an uproar among congressional Democrats.
"We know that the President has engaged in a long pattern of obstruction," Nadler said in a tweet. "Directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime. The @HouseJudiciary Committee's job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also said that his panel would do "what's necessary to find out if it's true" that Trump had directed Cohen, a longtime loyalist and fixer, to lie to Congress about plans for a massive Trump Tower in Moscow....
By John Wagner and Tim Elfkink
Democrats in Congress vowed Friday (click hereT) to aggressively investigate a new report that President Donald Trump personally directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the president's push for a Moscow real estate project ahead of the 2016 election.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his panel would "get to the bottom" of the allegations in a Thursday night report from BuzzFeed News that have caused an uproar among congressional Democrats.
"We know that the President has engaged in a long pattern of obstruction," Nadler said in a tweet. "Directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime. The @HouseJudiciary Committee's job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also said that his panel would do "what's necessary to find out if it's true" that Trump had directed Cohen, a longtime loyalist and fixer, to lie to Congress about plans for a massive Trump Tower in Moscow....
Questions? Literally.
Who needs judges and the Supreme Court when Trump can make time stand still? What exactly is the US Senate propose to do about the shutdown of the federal courts? The US Senate Judiciary Committee? Kavanaugh my quit to teach or something.
After the 2016 election when Trump said, "I will take care of you guys," He really meant it.
January 15, 2019
The U.S. District Court (click here) for the Southern District of New York's ruling to halt the inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 census is a victory for New York and for everyone who calls it home.
Under the guise of enforcing the Voting Rights Act, the Trump administration insisted that the question is necessary to protect eligible voters. But we see it for what it is - a blatant attempt to weaponize the census against immigrants, communities of color and sanctuary cities and states. The question is designed to intimidate immigrants into not responding to the census, leaving their communities undercounted, underrepresented and underfunded.
Time and again, the Trump administration has used illegal tactics to mislead, disenfranchise and intimidate minorities. And while they are sure to appeal the Court's decision, we believe that today's ruling is indicative of a larger victory - that our democratic institutions will not be manipulated to instill fear or to divide us.
January 18, 2019
By Thomas Kaplan
United States (click here) District Court for the Southern District of New York (Nassau County)
Washington — The federal courts (click here) are running out of money as the partial government shutdown continues with no end in sight, raising concerns that the legal system will be significantly hobbled if the standoff is not resolved soon.
Judges and court officials around the country are bracing for the likelihood that the federal judiciary will be unable to maintain its current operations within the next two weeks, once it exhausts the money it has been relying on since the shutdown began last month.
Already, courts have been cutting down on expenses like travel and new hiring. Court-appointed private lawyers who represent indigent defendants have been working without pay since late December, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, which provides support for the court system.
There have been other disruptions. The Justice Department is among the executive branch agencies whose funding has lapsed, and at the department’s request, some federal courts have issued orders postponing civil cases in which the Justice Department is a party while the shutdown continues, according to the administrative office....
But, the good news is though that First Lady Melania was able to be whisked away to Maralago. No problem with TSA workers, just orders from the president.
January 18, 2019
by Martha Ross
After the 2016 election when Trump said, "I will take care of you guys," He really meant it.
January 15, 2019
The U.S. District Court (click here) for the Southern District of New York's ruling to halt the inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 census is a victory for New York and for everyone who calls it home.
Under the guise of enforcing the Voting Rights Act, the Trump administration insisted that the question is necessary to protect eligible voters. But we see it for what it is - a blatant attempt to weaponize the census against immigrants, communities of color and sanctuary cities and states. The question is designed to intimidate immigrants into not responding to the census, leaving their communities undercounted, underrepresented and underfunded.
Time and again, the Trump administration has used illegal tactics to mislead, disenfranchise and intimidate minorities. And while they are sure to appeal the Court's decision, we believe that today's ruling is indicative of a larger victory - that our democratic institutions will not be manipulated to instill fear or to divide us.
January 18, 2019By Thomas Kaplan
United States (click here) District Court for the Southern District of New York (Nassau County)
Washington — The federal courts (click here) are running out of money as the partial government shutdown continues with no end in sight, raising concerns that the legal system will be significantly hobbled if the standoff is not resolved soon.
Judges and court officials around the country are bracing for the likelihood that the federal judiciary will be unable to maintain its current operations within the next two weeks, once it exhausts the money it has been relying on since the shutdown began last month.
Already, courts have been cutting down on expenses like travel and new hiring. Court-appointed private lawyers who represent indigent defendants have been working without pay since late December, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, which provides support for the court system.
There have been other disruptions. The Justice Department is among the executive branch agencies whose funding has lapsed, and at the department’s request, some federal courts have issued orders postponing civil cases in which the Justice Department is a party while the shutdown continues, according to the administrative office....
But, the good news is though that First Lady Melania was able to be whisked away to Maralago. No problem with TSA workers, just orders from the president.
January 18, 2019
by Martha Ross
Hours after President Donald Trump abruptly grounded (click here) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s flight on a military aircraft to visit troops in Afghanistan, Melania Trump flew on an Air Force plane to Florida for a weekend at Mar-a-Lago, multiple outlets are reporting.
Melania Trump, reportedly accompanied by son Barron, boarded an Air Force plane at Andrews Air Force Base on Thursday afternoon, according to to reports. She landed in West Palm Beach about 4:30 p.m., according to tweets by CNN White House correspondent Betsy Klein....
Melania Trump, reportedly accompanied by son Barron, boarded an Air Force plane at Andrews Air Force Base on Thursday afternoon, according to to reports. She landed in West Palm Beach about 4:30 p.m., according to tweets by CNN White House correspondent Betsy Klein....
Ethnic cleansing in Syria. (click here for the article - thank you)
President Obama's red lines, but, they enforced or not meant there was a cop on the beat. The USA did react to chemical weapons used by Assad and the fact they were being used for ethnic cleansing.
20 February 2018
by Kareem Shaheen
20 February 2018
by Kareem Shaheen
Almost 200 civilians (click here) have been killed in dozens of airstrikes and shelling by forces loyal to Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in eastern Ghouta over two days of “hysterical violence”, which has led to warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe that could eclipse past atrocities in the seven-year war.
The surge in the killing in the besieged region came amid reports of an impending regime incursion into the area outside Damascus, which is home to 400,000 civilians. More than 700 people have been killed in three months, according to local counts, not including the deaths in the last week.
Amnesty International said “flagrant war crimes” were being committed in eastern Ghouta on an “epic scale....
In less than two years the Republicans have turned the USA into a banana republic. (click here for link - thank you)
Trump is afraid of what Speaker Pelosi will find in Afghanistan.
January 18, 2019
By Kyle Rempfer
...If the change indeed goes through, (click here) it would come after the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the previous drawdown in 2014, when the U.S.-led coalition shifted to an advisory role under NATO’s Resolute Support mission.
The death toll has been matched with increased airstrikes against insurgent forces that rival all other years on record. The bombing was a component of Trump’s South Asia Strategy, a plan designed to drive the Taliban to the negotiating table through a mix of international pressure and kinetic operations....
With increased airstrikes came increase in civilian deaths caused by war. The suicide attacks were against civilian people for the continued presence of the USA. When there is an escalation in war, there is always retribution against civilians in the Middle East. The people are used as pawns in a very disturbing game of killing. Killing isn't the answer to war, peace negotiations are.
Where is any strategy going to go with simply killing people? How many have to die to satisfy a pathetic terrorist attempt at a coupe? There is no other way for the Taliban or Daesh to register an impact when their own die. They have no major weapons as do the USA and the Afghanistan government, but, they have fear of dying among the people. That is how they turn the tide on the Afghan government. It is what inspires Green on Blue Attacks (click here).
The USA military likes to say talks about leaving Afghanistan only makes the war worse. Not. The increase of attacks on the Taliban increases the blood spilled by civilians.
Since Trump was sworn into office the civilian deaths have escalated.
11 January 2019
By Karen McVeigh
January 18, 2019
By Kyle Rempfer
...If the change indeed goes through, (click here) it would come after the bloodiest year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the previous drawdown in 2014, when the U.S.-led coalition shifted to an advisory role under NATO’s Resolute Support mission.
The death toll has been matched with increased airstrikes against insurgent forces that rival all other years on record. The bombing was a component of Trump’s South Asia Strategy, a plan designed to drive the Taliban to the negotiating table through a mix of international pressure and kinetic operations....
With increased airstrikes came increase in civilian deaths caused by war. The suicide attacks were against civilian people for the continued presence of the USA. When there is an escalation in war, there is always retribution against civilians in the Middle East. The people are used as pawns in a very disturbing game of killing. Killing isn't the answer to war, peace negotiations are.
Where is any strategy going to go with simply killing people? How many have to die to satisfy a pathetic terrorist attempt at a coupe? There is no other way for the Taliban or Daesh to register an impact when their own die. They have no major weapons as do the USA and the Afghanistan government, but, they have fear of dying among the people. That is how they turn the tide on the Afghan government. It is what inspires Green on Blue Attacks (click here).
The USA military likes to say talks about leaving Afghanistan only makes the war worse. Not. The increase of attacks on the Taliban increases the blood spilled by civilians.
Since Trump was sworn into office the civilian deaths have escalated.
By Karen McVeigh
Civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan (click here) from explosive weapons rose by more than a third last year, against a downward trend globally, according to a survey seen by the Guardian.
Most of the 4,260 civilians killed or injured in explosions in the country in 2018 – up from 3,119 in 2017 – were victims of suicide attacks, found a report by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).
Globally, however, the picture was different. The report recorded a total of 22,335 civilian deaths and injuries from the use of explosive weapons in 2018, compared with 31,904 the previous year, suggesting civilian casualties fell by about a third. There was also a 26% decrease in attacks recorded on populated areas around the world.
In total, 78% of civilians casualties recorded in Afghanistan were caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) – 62% in suicide attacks, AOAV found. Civilian casualties caused by Isis explosives in Afghanistan rose by 90% compared with the year before. The number of civilian casualties from airstrikes almost doubled, from 238 in 2017 to 463 last year. The report attributed the increase – which the organisation said was probably underestimated, given that not all casualties are reported – to the US conducting a greater number of strikes aimed at the increased military presence....
...The overall decrease in civilian casualties worldwide was largely due to the short-term defeat of Isis in Iraq and Syria, Overton said, as well as the decline of Boko Haram in Nigeria....
January 5, 2019
New Delhi - Russia, Wednesday (click here) said India's role in Afghanistan is "indispensable" and complimented it for carrying out various developmental initiatives.
...The overall decrease in civilian casualties worldwide was largely due to the short-term defeat of Isis in Iraq and Syria, Overton said, as well as the decline of Boko Haram in Nigeria....
January 5, 2019
New Delhi - Russia, Wednesday (click here) said India's role in Afghanistan is "indispensable" and complimented it for carrying out various developmental initiatives.
The comments by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov about India's engagement in the war-ravaged country came days after US President Donald Trump mocked New Delhi's role in Afghanistan.
The minister, currently visiting India, was also critical of the US and some other countries for their tendency to display "raw power" in some cases, without thinking of the consequences.
"In all countries, where we see domestic conflicts, the issue of development is the number one issue. Wars can be won, but peace cannot be ensured without any material investment into economic development, social stability," he said in response to a question on India's role in rebuilding of Afghanistan.
Indian efforts and that of other countries in the area of material support to Afghanistan is an "indispensable one," Sergei Ryabkov said at a press conference....
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