#1 China Executed Two People Involved in the Melamine Scandal
BEIJING — Two milk producers were executed in China on Tuesday for selling more than three million pounds of contaminated milk powder in connection with a food-safety scandal that killed six infants and rocked the country last year.
More than 300,000 children were also sickened after consuming milk products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine. The scandal caused panic among Chinese parents, weakened the nation’s dairy industry and provoked a global recall of Chinese-made dairy products.
Authorities described the two men who were executed, Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping, as among the biggest culprits of the scandal. Mr. Zhang was found guilty of selling more than 1.3 million pounds of tainted milk powder from July 2007 to August 2008, and Mr. Geng was convicted of selling more than 1.9 million pounds of contaminated product. Nineteen other people were tried and sentenced in January for their roles in the scheme. Fifteen of them were imprisoned for terms ranging from 2 to 15 years. One received a suspended death sentence, and three received life sentences.
#2 Sarah Palin fans have trouble describing why they like her
Great job Chase Whitestead and Erick Stroll of New Left Media!
#3 John F. Kennedy's adviser Ted Sorensen wrote an article about what JFK would be proud of and ashamed if he were still around.
The Washington Note
He would be disappointed that his unprecedented efforts to renew the constitutional separation of church and state - in a country, as he said, in which "no Catholic prelate" would tell an elected official how to decide what was in the best interest of all Americans - had still not dissuaded the current Roman Catholic hierarchy from trying to punish a good Catholic congressman like JFK's nephew Patrick for voting his conscience on the question of free reproductive choice for American women...
He would be disappointed, even astounded, that, despite his assassination and the crushing blows that followed - the assassinations of his brother Robert and his friend Dr. King, as well as the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan - this country is still awash in handguns easily available to terrorists, the criminally inclined, and the mentally impaired.
#4 Blackwater is at it again. Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan
Jeremy Scahill The Nation
At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.
War is a racket, now more than ever. When did it become OK to get filthy rich off of war?
#5 The Fall Of Greg Craig is a disturbing look into the Obama White House. It shows the way pragmatism has overshadowed doing the right thing in the first year of this Presidency.
Time
Nearly 100 days after Barack Obama entered office, his top White House lawyer, Greg Craig, braced the President's senior advisers for a potentially explosive development. The Administration was preparing to release photographs of suspected terrorists being abused in U.S. custody. On April 16, Craig asked chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to focus on the issue. Emanuel pleaded for more time to bury the release behind other news.
#6 From the Guardian via Huffington Post
Another $1.3 Billion is approved in stimulus funds, too bad for you it's in Afghanistan
The United States will make $1.3 billion available for a program that rewards Afghanistan's anti-Taliban militias with development money, according to unnamed officials quoted in The Guardian.
The $1.3 billion in development funds for militias and warlords adds to US spending in Afghanistan, which totals $3.6 billion per month. That cost could rise even more, if President Obama decides to escalate the war and send more US troops as predicted.
The US program, known as Community Defense Initiative, is already in place in 14 areas of Afghanistan. According to The New York Times, CDI is one of the most ambitious and riskiest plans to counter the Taliban:
It's amazing all the Republicans that support infrastructure investments for Afghanis but not Americans.
#7 I really hope we don't send anymore troops to Afghanistan. We need to bring them home.
#8 Kid Rock and Creed lead singer in sex tape?
The Young Turks
#9 Were these Clippers NBA announcers offensive?
#10 Sarah Palin shows more stupidity with Bill O'Reilly
The Young Turks
#11 New Jersey may be the first state to require calorie counts on drive thru fast food windows
New Jersey’s most popular fast-food chains would have to print new menus disclosing the calorie count for all of their edible items under a bill opposed by restaurants owners but approved by a Senate committee today.
Following the lead of New York City, Philadelphia and four other states, New Jersey would require restaurants with 20 or more locations to include calorie counts for all food and beverages on printed menus, menu boards and drive-through window signs, according to the bill. A registered dietitian would have to attest that the calorie counts are accurate.
Crossposted to the Progressive Electorate
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