Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

15 Jun 2011 16:49

tags

Politics: Chinese government covering up lead poisonings, report says

  • Parents, journalists, and community activists who dare to speak out about lead are detained, harassed, and ultimately silenced.
  • Joe Amon, a director for Human Rights Watch • Voicing charges of large-scale deception by the Chinese government in informing its citizens about (and keeping them safe from) lead poisoning. The report comes on the heels of a major lead poisoning incident near a tinfoil factory that struck 103 children; it finds that the Chinese government would tell parents, among other things, that eating eggs and drinking milk was a sufficient treatment for lead poisoning. One parent describes being told his child wasn’t poisoned but not being allowed to actually examine his tests. This sounds like a case of putting an industrial economy above the health and safety of citizens — the level of safety regulation for factories in China is generally very poor. source

12 Apr 2010 09:43

tags

Biz: Toyota’s way of handling recalls: Cover up, then come clean

  • I hate to break this to you, but we have a tendency for mechanical failure in accelerator pedals of a certain manufacturer on certain models. … The time to hide on this one is over. We need to come clean.
  • A note from Toyota executive Irving A. Miller • Admitting that they would have to recall millions of vehicles. Over a four-month period, the company had made an active effort to hide the problems with their cars from the government. Unsuccessfully. The New York Times’ document analysis suggests that there was a whole lotta fail going on with the vehicles, and a lot more cover-up. While the company obviously screwed up, some congressmen are suggesting that federal regulators should shoulder some of the blame. source

03 Apr 2010 09:56

tags

World: The Vatican’s Jewish persecution comparison didn’t go over well

  • “This is really in bad taste.” On the list of least likely things you would’ve expected to come from the Vatican, a comparison of an abuse scandal and cover-up to Jewish persecution is pretty high. And a bunch of Jews aren’t happy about it, either. A Vatican spokesperson finally did some damage control, saying the line “is absolutely not the line of the Vatican and of the Catholic Church,” but the damage has already been done. source

25 Feb 2010 20:04

tags

U.S.: Will David Paterson quit the NY Gov. race due to his latest scandal?

  • NO but he’s asking for second opinions (just quit man) source

30 Nov 2009 10:17

tags

World: China charges a bunch of people with covering up a mine disaster

  • 58 were charged in the cover-up – including 10 journalists source

19 May 2009 20:58

tags

World: The Daily Telegraph took down a British Commons speaker. Not bad.

  • Michael Martin is the first speaker to resign since 1695. Martin, whose parliament became embroiled in political scandal after days of reports by the Daily Telegraph about huge personal expenses made by members of Parliament. We’re not talking a couple of reports. We’re talking a massive f&*!(&% subsection of the Telegraph’s site about the expenses, which they got their hands on months before the Parliament planned to release them themselves. So, yeah, let’s just say that about half the British Parliament is screwed. High-five to the Telegraph for looking out for the common man. source