Truthout 2/28

EPA Drastically Underestimates Coal Waste Pollution
Joshua Frank, Truthout: "The EPA's tally of coal ash contamination locations last year did not include an additional 31 sites that should have been included in the totals, stated the study, entitled 'Out of Control: Mounting Damages From Coast Ash Waste Sites.'"
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Netanyahu Derailing Peace Effort Using Heritage Sites
Ira Chernus, Truthout: "It's the same old tragic story. Just when there is a glimmer of hope that Israel and Palestine might take a step toward peace, the Israeli government swoops in to sabotage it. At least this time the Israelis are not killing anyone - yet."
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Guns at Starbucks? Pushing the Right to Bear Arms in Public
Michael B. Farrell, The Christian Science Monitor: "Gun owners in California have been wearing their handguns in coffee shops and restaurants. The guns are unloaded and legal, but some citizens and police departments are wary."
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Turning Point: When Soldiers Have Had Enough
Nadya Williams, Truthout: "Josh Stieber and Conor Curran spoke to a gathering of Veterans For Peace and civilian peace activists in San Francisco, as part of their six months of walking and biking from the East Coast to the West to engage in dialogue about war and to become involved in community service along the way ... They spoke of their motivations for joining the Marines, their experiences in Iraq and the turning points that made them reject violence."
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White Collars Are Feeling the Blue-Collar Woes
Connie Schultz, Truthout: " ... Our country has seen the most job loss in 25 years. This time, it's not just factory workers getting laid off or suffering the health consequences. Americans who never imagined themselves vulnerable - including the journalists who didn't cover those hurting factory workers - are losing their jobs at unprecedented rates. Often, laid-off professionals are losing their health care, too."
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Jordan: Where Iraqi Women Are Also Fathers
Hanan Tabbara, Inter Press Service: "'Iraqi refugee women are bearing a disproportionate burden of family responsibilities,' says Nourjan. 'Many have had their husbands either killed, disappeared or seriously injured. The onus is now on the women to find a way to secure income,' adds Nourjan."
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Decision Time on Climate
Herve Kempf, Reporterre.com: "In 1938, it was possible to consider Mr. Hitler a respectable man. In 1960, it was possible to believe that the Soviet Union would win the cold war. In 2010, it is possible to parse climate change as an invention of dishonest scientists."
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The Other Victims of Battlefield Stress; Defense Contractors' Mental Health Neglected
T. Christian Miller, ProPublica: "While suicide among soldiers has been a focus of Congress and the public, relatively little attention has been paid to the mental health of tens of thousands of civilian contractors returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. When they make the news at all, contractors are usually in the middle of scandal, depicted as cowboys, wastrels or worse."
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