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| http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/...5604089,00.html
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island's lawsuit against the lead paint industry
is based on big talk and little proof, a lawyer said during closing arguments
Wednesday.
The state sued four companies, claiming that tens of thousands of children have
suffered lead poisoning since the early 1990s and that hundreds of thousands of
homes contain lead paint.
The lawsuit is the first time a state has attempted to hold the industry
responsible for the dangers of lead paint in old buildings.
On Wednesday, lawyers for three of the defendants spent hours attacking the
state's case and challenging trial testimony they said was incomplete,
misleading and inaccurate. The state was scheduled to deliver its closing
arguments Thursday.
John Tarantino, a lawyer for Atlantic Richfield Co., said the state never
established that lead paint caused a widespread public nuisance.
``You can search, long and hard, high and low, and you'll find no such evidence
because it wasn't presented,'' Tarantino said. ``It doesn't exist.''
The other defendants are Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium
Holdings. The companies did not call any witnesses in part, Tarantino said,
because the state failed to prove its case.
Evidence showed that routine building maintenance can reduce the risk of
childhood lead poisoning, and that the average level of lead in children's blood
has dropped dramatically in Rhode Island, Tarantino said.
``The issue of concern today is a targeted one focused on certain poorly
maintained properties,'' he said, adding that the state knows where those
properties are located and has the tools to go after their owners.
Michael Nilan, a lawyer for Millennium Holdings, said 31,718 Rhode Island
children were screened for lead exposure in 2004, and 96.3 percent did not have
alarming levels of lead in their blood.
Nilan said the state's claim that paint is the overwhelming source of lead
poisoning is contradicted by some its own witnesses, who have written about
harmful exposure from sources such as soil and water.
``What they have written, in sum, is this: the causes of childhood lead
poisoning are multiple,'' Nilan said.
Testimony in the high-stakes trial spanned roughly three months. The state has
not specified how much money it is seeking, but Attorney General Patrick Lynch
has previously said billions of dollars could be at stake.
Rhode Island first sued former makers of lead paint in 1999, but the trial ended
in 2002 with a hung jury.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/...5604089,00.html
No proof? Lead paint has been banned over here for year and years! Jeez, I feel
like I am having a bad nightmare when I read the news this morning. But am I
surprised at the suppresion of science in a state where religion has taken over?
NO!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/art...1705709,00.html
Pro-Bush Nasa official quits over false CV
A Nasa public affairs officer who worked on George Bush's re-election campaign
and was linked to a campaign to stifle discussion by space agency scientists on
global warming, has resigned. George Deutsch, 24, was given a job in the Nasa
press office last year after working on Mr Bush's 2004 presidential campaign. He
resigned after it emerged he had not been awarded the journalism degree he
claimed on his CV, the New York Times reported.
Mr Deutsch had been described as a "bit player" in a politically motivated
campaign to stop scientists from speaking publicly on global warming or giving
interviews to the media. Scientists were also ordered to remove a posting from
the agency's website which showed that 2005 was the warmest year on record. He
also repeatedly told a web designer to add the word "theory" at every mention of
"big bang".
The New York Times quoted a Nasa source as saying his involvement was part of an
intensifying effort at the agency to exert political control over the flow of
public information. The effort antagonised Nasa's most senior scientists, and
last week prompted Michael Griffin, the agency's administrator, to offer a
review of information policy, and a renewed commitment to "scientific openness".
Mr Deutsch resigned after Texas A&M university said he attended the institution
but had not completed the course.
In an email last October Mr Deutsch wrote: "The theory that the universe was
created by a 'big bang' is just that - a theory. It is not proven fact; it is
opinion. Yes, the scientific community by and large may share this opinion, but
that doesn't make it correct ... It is not Nasa's place, nor should it be, to
make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that
discounts intelligent design by a creator - the other half of the argument."
He is supposed to be representing a scientific organisation, but he has been
watering down the science to appease his "Christian Masters"????
Yea right! Need I say any more? No wonder I had so many disagreements with
people telling me that I was talking bullshit when even NASA's output is
controlled by a political master.
WHEN WILL YOU WAKE UP AMERICA?
Alan
"Can't you see we're still here,
Can't you see we're still here,
Singing loud; Singing clear,
We shall not go under,
We're still here."
Nemesis Peace Centre
http://www.veloceraptor.free-online.../protector.html
Abuse of Women and Children
http://theoriginalfirebird.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbas.blogspot.com/
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http://lordcerneabbastoo.blogspot.com/
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