"Safety lapses cited in radiation leak"Associated Press April 25, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE — A radiation release from the US government’s underground nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico was the result of a slow erosion of the safety culture at the 15-year-old site, which was evident in the bungled response to the emergency, federal investigators said in a report released Thursday.
The report from the US Department of Energy’s Accident Investigation Board cited poor management, ineffective maintenance, and a lack of proper training and oversight at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. The report also found that much of the operation failed to meet standards for a nuclear facility.
The series of shortcomings are similar to those found in a probe of a truck fire in the half-mile-deep mine just nine days before the Feb. 14 radiation release, which shuttered the plant indefinitely.
Given the latest findings, watchdog Don Hancock said the leak, which contaminated 21 workers with low doses of radiation in mid-February, was a ‘‘best-case scenario.’’
Last month, the head of the Defense Nuclear Safety Board, which has staff monitoring the Waste Isolation Pilot Project, called the accidents ‘‘near misses.’’
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Consider the way the government and pre$$ are covering up the effects of the Gulf and Fukushima disaster why would we believe their ass-covering report here?
Also see:
The Winds of Washington State
Power Surge
Power Surge Plus
You Can Always Go Home in Japan
But you end up in New Mexico.
"US report finds fault in New Mexico police force" by Russell Contreras | Associated Press April 11, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE — A scathing report by the US Justice Department released Thursday revealed a troubling pattern of excessive force by the Albuquerque Police Department and recommended that New Mexico’s largest city become the latest municipality to adopt reforms aimed at cleaning up its police force.
The report, which drew support from Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, came after federal officials spent months conducting interviews, scouring videos, and reviewing documents. According to the report, Albuquerque officers too frequently used deadly force on those who posed a minimal threat and used a higher level of force too often on those with mental illness.
It's the attitude that comes with the training and position of authority in AmeriKa, and the fact that they are treated with impunity.
Albuquerque joins a list of cities, including New Orleans, targeted by the Justice Department over allegations of brutality and violations of constitutional rights by police officers.
Quit nagging them.
In Albuquerque, US investigators focused on 37 shootings — 23 of them fatal — by officers since 2010. By comparison, police in the similarly sized cities of Denver and Oakland have had fatal and non-fatal shootings of 27 and 23, respectively.
Investigators found the majority of those Albuquerque shootings were unreasonable.
Berry asked the agency to expedite its review and help overhaul the police force. His request followed a violent protest last month in response to the shooting death of a homeless man who had threatened officers. The man was turning away when officers opened fire, helmet camera video showed.
Is that the way it was reported?
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Related:
"An Albuquerque Planet Fitness refused to let a New Mexico Muslim woman wear her religious head covering when she tried to work out, according to a new lawsuit."
It's not funny.
"N.M. prisons to end overnight family visits" Associated Press April 17, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE — Joining a growing trend nationally, New Mexico’s Department of Corrections announced Wednesday that it is ending its 30-year policy of allowing inmates overnight visits with lovers and family.
Beginning May 1, inmates in the state’s 11 prisons will no longer be allowed conjugal visits, the agency announced.
That change means New Mexico is the latest state to end what used to be a common practice in prisons across the country.
Mississippi, for example, ended its conjugal visit policy this year despite criticism from some civil rights groups, while only four other states — California, Connecticut, New York, and Washington — still allow the practice.
Supporters of the visits say they help inmates reintegrate back into society after their release and they keep families together.
New Mexico’s corrections secretary, Gregg Marcantel, said the change in the state’s policy came after a two-year study, and officials concluded that allowing inmates evenings with loved ones had almost no effect on recidivism rates.
Then why stop the program?
And if things get worse after ending it, then what?
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