http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/07/institute-index-appalachias-deepening -human-rights-crisis.html
Facing South By Sue Sturgis The Institute for Southern Studies - A New Voice for a Changing South July 20, 2011 INSTITUTE INDEX: Appalachia's deepening human rights crisis <http://www.southernstudies.org/images/sitepieces/mtr_ky.jpg> mtr_ky.jpgOf every 100,000 babies born, number who suffer from birth defects in areas of Appalachia where coal is mined by mountaintop removal, in which ammonium nitrate fuel oil explosives are used to expose coal seams: 235 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/mountaintop-removal-coal-mining-bi rth-defects_n_885172.html> In non-mining areas: 144 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/mountaintop-removal-coal-mining-bi rth-defects_n_885172.html> Percent higher risk of having a baby with a birth defect for mothers who smoked during pregnancy compared to non-smoking mothers: 17 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> Percent higher risk of having a baby with a birth defect for mothers living in mountaintop removal areas compared to mothers living in non-mining areas: 42 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> Percent that a mother's smoking increases the risk that her baby will be born with defects of the circulatory or respiratory system: 17 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> Percent that a mother's living in a mountaintop removal mining area increases the risk of such defects: 181 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> Number of birth defects with rates significantly higher near mountaintop removal mining sites: 6 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/mountaintop-removal-coal-mining-bi rth-defects_n_885172.html> * Additional number of unhealthy days per year experienced by residents of mountaintop removal mining counties compared to non-mining areas: 18 <http://wvuhealthcare.com/%28X%281%29S%28v5mqbubqdaeek5l051lfocsg%29%29/news releases/news-details.aspx?ID=1766> Number of years that amounts to over an average American lifetime: almost <http://wvuhealthcare.com/%28X%281%29S%28v5mqbubqdaeek5l051lfocsg%29%29/news releases/news-details.aspx?ID=1766> 4 Date on which a law firm representing the National Mining Association (NMA) posted an analysis faulting the study looking at mountaintop removal and birth defects for failing to account for "consanguinity" (i.e., inbreeding): 6/28/2011 <http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/07/11/mountaintop-removal-and-bi rth-defects-just-what-are-the-coal-industrys-lawyers-talking-about/> Date on which the NMA released another critique of the birth defects study based on the commissioned findings of Exponent, a California-based consulting firm that specializes in defending troubled corporations: 7/13/2011 <http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/07/13/coal-industry-calls-in-con troversial-hired-gun-to-take-on-mountaintop-removal-birth-defects-study/> Percent of coal produced in the U.S. by mountaintop removal: 5 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> to 8 Date on which Appalachian grassroots leaders launched a petition calling for a moratorium on mountaintop removal mining: 7/12/2011 <http://www.change.org/petitions/centers-for-disease-control-demand-a-mounta intop-removal-moratorium-now> Date on which mountaintop removal mining opponents held an emergency press conference in Washington to draw attention to a bill that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of the power to regulate the practice: 7/13/2011 <http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/07/12/humanitarian-crisis-appalach ian-leaders-launch-mountaintop-removal-moratorium-now-campaign/> Amount in campaign contributions from mining interests to Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the sponsor of that bill: $142,600 <http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=Career&cid=N000 02198&type=I> Vote by which that legislation passed the House the same day as the press conference: 239-184 <http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/07/13/house-set-to-vote-on-rep-n ick-rahalls-race-to-the-bottom-epa-water-pollution-legislation/> <http://www.change.org/petitions/centers-for-disease-control-demand-a-mounta intop-removal-moratorium-now> * circulatory/respiratory, central nervous system, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, urogenital and "other" (Click on figure to go to source. Photo of a mountaintop removal mining site in Martin County, Ky. by Flashdark via <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Martin_County_home.jpg> Wikimedia Commons.) <http://www.southernstudies.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id =5&id=20> user-pic By Sue <http://www.southernstudies.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id =5&id=20> Sturgis on July 14, 2011 10:30 AM * * * From: Portside Moderator [mailto:modera...@portside.org] Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 6:56 PM http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/statement-on-the -gang-of-six-plan Tax cuts for the wealthy, and Social Security cuts for ordinary workers For Immediate Release: July 19, 2011 <http://www.cepr.net/press-releases/press-releases/statement-on-the-gang-of- six-plan#inbox#inbox> Contact: Alan Barber 202-293-5380 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-293-5380 end_of_the_skype_highlighting x115 Washington, D.C.- Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), issued the following statement on the Gang of Six deficit plan: "The budget plan produced by the Senate's "Gang of Six" offers the promise of huge tax breaks for some of the wealthiest people in the country, while lowering Social Security benefits for retirees and the disabled. Despite claiming that they will "reform" Social Security on a "separate track, isolated from deficit reduction," the plan includes cuts to Social Security that would be felt in less than six months, as the plan calls for a new inflation formula that will reduce benefits by 0.3 percentage points a year compared with currently scheduled benefits. The plan also calls for a process that is likely to reduce benefits further for future retirees. "The proposed cuts to Social Security are cumulative. This means that after ten years, a beneficiary in her 70s will see a cut of close to 3 percent. After 20 years, the cuts for beneficiaries in their 80s will be close to 6 percent, while the reduction in annual benefits will be close to 9 percent by the time beneficiaries are in their 90s. For a beneficiary in her 90s living on a Social Security income of $15,000, this means a loss of more $1,200 a year in benefits. "The plan also calls for large cuts in tax rates including a targeted top rate of between 23-29 percent, which will be at least partially offset by elimination of tax deductions. For the highest-income people, this is likely to mean a very large reduction in taxes. For example, Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein, the CEOs of J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, respectively, are both paid close to $20 million a year at present. If this pay is taxed as ordinary income, then they would be paying close to $7.5 million a year in taxes on it after 2012. However, if the top rate is set at 29 percent, they may save as much as $1.9 million a year on their tax bill. If the top tax rate is set at 23 percent then the Gang of Six plan may increase their after-tax income by more than $3 million a year. "It is striking that the Gang of Six chose to respond to the crisis created by the collapse of the housing bubble by developing a plan that will give even more money to top Wall Street executives and traders. By contrast, the European Union is considering imposing financial speculation taxes to reduce the power of the financial industry and raise more than $40 billion a year in revenue. "The plan calls for substantial cuts elsewhere in the budget which are likely to cut into the incomes of large segments of the population, especially the sick and the elderly. The cuts it proposes to the military are just over 1.0 percent of projected spending over the next decade. "In short, this is a plan that should be expected to please the wealthy since it will mean large reductions in their tax liability in the decades ahead. On the other hand, most of the rest of the country is likely to feel the effects of lower Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, in addition to other cuts that are not yet fully specified." ### _____ No virus found in this message. 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