Bad Deeds for 11-11-2009

Fox News Host Falsifies Footage to Make Republican Health Care Protest Look Bigger – Fox News’ Sean Hannity interviewed Republican Rep. Michelle Bachmann following an event aimed at stirring up a crowd against Democrats’ healthcare reform bill.

Hannity said, “20,000+ people showed up. Were you as surprised as I was?” Hannity showed two video clips of what appeared to be huge crowds at the protest.

However, the clips appeared to be from two entirely different protests as Jon Stewart pointed out on The Daily Show. “When that clip started, it was a clear fall day in Washington, D.C. Not a cloud in the sky, the leaves have changed,” noted Stewart. “All of a sudden, the trees turn green again, and it’s cloudy, and it looks like thousands and thousands of more people arrived,” he continued. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think they just put two different days together and acted like they didn’t.”

The bogus footage, Stewart found, actually came from a Sept. 12 protest two months ago.

The Washington Post’s onetime White House reporter and columnist Dana Milbank wrote Friday. “I divided it [the crowd] into sections and counted. That’s where I came up with 5,000. It’s possible more came after I did my count, but nothing near 10,000.”

 

Happy Veterans Day: Lack of Health Care Killed 2,266 US Veterans Last Year According to Study – The number of US veterans who died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance was 14 times higher than the US military death toll in Afghanistan that year, according to a new study. The analysis produced by two Harvard medical researchers estimates that 2,266 US military veterans under the age of 65 died in 2008 because they lacked health coverage and had reduced access to medical care.

 

Coal Front Group Hijacks Veterans, Dishonors Veterans’ Day – Today, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry front group sent a message to their e-mail list that, under the guise of honoring Veterans’ Day, that hijacks the efforts of Veterans working against climate change and advocating a transition to clean energy.

 

Blackwater Approved Payoffs of Iraqi Officials According to Whistleblowers – To stifle criticism of civilian killings, the American mercenary group formerly known as Blackwater approved payoffs of up to $1 million for Iraqi politicians, according to former company officials who spoke to The New York Times.

“Blackwater approved the cash payments in December 2007, the officials said, as protests over the deadly shootings in Nisour Square stoked long-simmering anger inside Iraq about reckless practices by the security company’s employees,” the Times reported. “American and Iraqi investigators had already concluded that the shootings were unjustified, top Iraqi officials were calling for Blackwater’s ouster from the country and company officials feared that Blackwater might be refused an operating license it would need to retain its contracts with the State Department and private clients, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.”

 

Sara Palin Tries to Conjure Up a Coin Conspiracy – In a speech to a Minnesota anti-abortion crowd last week, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin seemed to see a conspiracy in a decision to put “In God We Trust” on the edge — rather than the face — of new presidential dollar coins. “Who calls a shot like that?” she inquired. “Who makes a decision like that?”

“It’s a disturbing trend,” she added, hinting that maybe the Obama administration or Democratic-led Congress had something to do with it.

Turns out, the new coins were commissioned by the Republican-led Congress in 2005 and approved by President Bush. The decision was reversed in 2007 — with the support of Democrats in Congress.

 

Cost of Extra Year’s Climate Inaction is $500 Billion – The world will have to spend an extra $500 billion to cut carbon emissions for each year it delays implementing a major assault on global warming, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

At United Nations climate talks in Barcelona last week negotiators from developed countries said the world would need an extra six to 12 months to agree a legally binding, global deal to cut carbon emissions beyond a planned December deadline.

The IEA, energy adviser to 28 industrialized countries, said the world must act urgently to put greenhouse gases on a track to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius.

Every year’s delay beyond 2010 would add another $500 billion to the extra investment of $10,500 billion needed from 2010-2030 to curb carbon emissions, for example to improve energy efficiency and boost low-carbon renewable energy.

 

High BPA Levels in Plastics Linked to Male Erectile Dysfunction and Obesity – Study in China is likely to bring further scrutiny of the common chemical.

Regards,

Jim