Pentagon delays endanger whistle-blowers, report says
The Pentagon takes too long to investigate whistle-blower complaints from troops, unfairly endangering the careers of those who step forward and damaging the military’s ability to save money and stop fraud, a draft report by the Government Accountability Office says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2012-02-22/pentagon-whistle-blower-delays/53198210/1
ABC News correspondent questions Obama administration’s war on whistleblowing
Give credit to Jake Tapper, senior White House correspondent for ABC News, who in a press conference today challenged the Obama Administration for celebrating aggressive journalists that have died in Syria as it simultaneously goes after similar journalism in the United States. He noted that the White House continues to praise journalists killed covering the carnage in Syria recently. He then asked, “How does that square with the fact that this administration has been so aggressively trying to stop aggressive journalism in the United States by using the Espionage Act to take whistleblowers to court?”
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/02/22/abc-news-correspondent-challenges-obama-administrations-war-on-whistleblowing/
State backs up previous Upper Big Branch reports
State investigators have concluded that poor ventilation, inadequate cleanup of coal dust and a routine failure to fix safety problems led to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine. The state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training generally agreed with three previous reports about how the blast occurred and about safety infractions that led to the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years.
http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201202230076
AFL-CIO takes aim at Apple with petition
The nation’s largest labor federation is calling on Apple to improve conditions for the workers who manufacture the company’s products. In an email sent Wednesday, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka asked activists to sign a petition to tell Apple CEO Tim Cook “to ensure that people integral to Apple’s success — workers who manufacture Apple’s electronics — are treated fairly.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/212079-afl-cio-takes-aim-at-apples-labor-practices
OSHA cites Houston food supplier for amputation risks
A Houston food supplier has been cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to amputation hazards. OSHA investigated Amy Food Inc., a supplier of Asian and specialty foods, on Sept. 1 after a complaint alleging several employees had suffered near-amputation incidents while operating machinery, the federal agency said in a news release on Wednesday.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/OSHA-cites-Houston-food-supplier-for-amputation-3354221.php
OSHA cites Milk Specialties Company plant for August blaze
Federal officials have recommended a fine against a Fond du Lac plant that turns cheese whey into powder for weight-loss and sports nutrition products. The Milk Specialties Company has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It resulted from a fire at the plant last August that was reportedly caused by a dust explosion.
http://wtaq.com/news/articles/2012/feb/23/osha-cites-milk-specialties-company-plant-for-august-blaze/
Copter collision kills 7 Marines
Two Marine Corps helicopters collided over a remote section of the California desert during a nighttime exercise, killing seven Marines in one of the deadliest military training accidents in years. There were no survivors in the latest in a series of crashes involving troops from Camp Pendleton, officials said Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/02/23/us/AP-US-Military-Helicopters-Collide.html
Man with gun wounds manager, kills self at Wal-Mart distribution center in Va.; motive unclear
Authorities say an employee of a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. distribution center in Virginia shot and wounded his manager and then killed himself after deputies approached him.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/fire-spox-2-shot-at-central-virginia-wal-mart-distribution-center-conditions-unknown/2012/02/22/gIQAbNIbTR_story.html
Wounded journalists appeal for evacuation from Homs
A French reporter wounded in the Syrian government’s bombardment of Homs made a video appeal on Thursday for a cease-fire and evacuation for urgent medical attention. Ms. Bouvier, 31, on assignment for the French newspaper Le Figaro, was wounded Wednesday in the same shelling attack that killed two Western journalists, Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times and Rémi Ochlik, a French photographer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/world/middleeast/wounded-journalists-appeal-for-evacuation-from-syria.html?hpw
