Bad Deeds for 2-19-07

Consumer Product Safety Commission Kept Findings About Lead in Lunchboxes Secret – In 2005, when government scientists tested 60 soft, vinyl lunchboxes, they found that one in five contained amounts of lead that medical experts consider unsafe — and several had more than 10 times hazardous levels. But that’s not what they told the public. Instead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement that they found “no instances of hazardous levels.” And they refused to release their actual test results, citing regulations that protect manufacturers from having their information released to the public.

This January Was the Warmest on Record – U.S. climatologists say that last month was by far the hottest January on record, with the world’s land areas found to be 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average. That breaks the old record, set in 2002, by 0.81 degrees Fahrenheit; especially significant, say meteorologists, since such records often are broken by hundredths of a degree at a time.

Wounded Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration at Walter Reed Army Medical Center – With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continuing after more than five years, the Army’s top medical center is showing the strain, forcing hundreds of wounded and maimed U.S. soldiers to await their discharge – overdue, in more than 700 instances, thanks to an overwhelmed bureaucracy – in filthy, vermin-infested rooms.

Republican Donor Indicted for Terrorism Financing – Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari has been indicted for terrorism financing, material support of terrorism and other charges. Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party and he claims to have been named National Republican Campaign Committee New York State Businessman of the Year in 2003.

Regards,

Jim