Egypt Election: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Could Face...
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Massey Energy Guilty: West Virginia Probe Finds Coal Giant Systemically Failed to Comply with Law
An independent state probe in West Virginia concludes that mining giant, Massey Energy, was responsible for the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 underground coal mining workers. It echoes preliminary findings by federal investigators earlier this year that Massey repeatedly violated federal rules on ventilation and minimizing...May 23, 2011 | Story -
The Fight over Coal Mining is a “Fight About Democracy”: New Documentary with Robert Kennedy, Jr. Chronicles Campaign to Halt Mountaintop Removal
We speak with environmental activist Robert Kennedy, Jr., and filmmaker Bill Haney about the new documentary, The Last Mountain, which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film chronicles the fight against coal mining across Appalachia and Massey Energy’s devastating practice of mountaintop removal to extract...May 23, 2011 | Story -
"Sundance and the Art of Democracy" By Amy Goodman
While much of the attention is focused on the celebrities, Sundance has actually become a key intersection of art, film, politics and dissent. It is where many of the most powerful documentaries premiere, films about genuine grass-roots struggles, covering the sweep of social justice history and the burning issues of today.January 26, 2011 | Blog Post -
Appalachia Rising: 100 Arrested at White House Calling for End to Mountaintop Coal Removal
Over 100 people were arrested outside the White House on Monday in a protest calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal coal mining. The rally was part of Appalachia Rising, a multi-day event organized by residents of Appalachian communities impacted by mountaintop removal. The protesters were detained after refusing to...September 28, 2010 | Story -
Manchin Appointing Fmr. Aide to Replace Byrd "Kabuki Theater Politics" to "Make Sure Coal’s Will Be Done in the Senate"
Governor Joe Manchin recently appointed former chief counsel Carte Goodwin to succeed US Senator Robert Byrd. We take a look at what the move means and issues surrounding mountaintop removal in Appalachia with Bob Kincaid, an internet broadcaster with the Head On Radio Network and a progressive voice from the Appalachian coalfields....July 23, 2010 | Story -
"We Are Tearing Down Our Mountains": Photojournalist Antrim Caskey on West Virginia’s Fight Against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
The Environmental Protection Agency took a significant step last week toward blocking one of Appalachia’s largest and most disputed mountaintop removal coal mines. On Friday the EPA proposed a veto of the Clean Water Act permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia. Earlier this month,...March 31, 2010 | Story -
As Obama Pushes "Clean Coal," Jeff Biggers Tracks History of Destructive Mining in "Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland"
On the heels of President Obama’s major initiative to develop so-called clean coal technology, the journalist and cultural historian Jeff Biggers explores the myth of clean coal in a new book on the secret history of coal mining in Obama’s home state of Illinois. Jeff Biggers’ family has lived in southern Illinois...February 26, 2010 | Story -
As Massey Energy Blasts West Virginia’s Coal River Mountain, a Debate on Mountaintop Removal Mining
There have been a number of recent developments around the controversial practice of mountaintop removal coal mining, wherein coal companies remove the tops of mountains with explosives. Last week, the Obama administration indicated it will not immediately cancel Bush-era changes to a rule protecting streams from mountaintop...November 05, 2009 | Story -
Actress Daryl Hannah, Climate Scientist James Hansen Among 30+ Arrested Protesting Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia
More than thirty people were arrested on Tuesday, including NASA climate scientist James Hansen and actress Daryl Hannah, protesting mountaintop removal in West Virginia. The protesters were charged with obstructing officers and impeding traffic after they sat down in the middle of the road outside of the facility run by Massey Energy. It was the latest protest in a growing civil disobedience campaign...June 24, 2009 | Story -
"We All Live in the Coal Fields": West Virginians Step Up Protests as EPA OKs New Mountaintop Removal
At least thirty people were arrested in West Virginia Saturday as protesters marked a new phase of Operation Appalachian Spring, a campaign to end mountaintop removal mining. The protests came just a week after the Obama administration gave the green light for forty-two more mountaintop removal permits in a major victory for the coal industry. We speak to journalist Jeff Biggers, author of the...May 29, 2009 | Story -
The Struggle Against Mountaintop Removal: Leading Activist Mike Roselle Continues Fight Against Destructive Coal Mining
The Environmental Protection Agency recently dealt a blow to the coal mining industry when it delayed hundreds of mountaintop coal mining projects for a new review of their environmental impact. But the EPA decision still leaves in place hundreds of existing permits for mountaintop removal. The group Climate Ground Zero has been leading protests and peaceful direct actions against the company Massey...April 08, 2009 | Story -
West Virginia Grandfather Takes on the Coal Industry: Ed Wiley on His Battle Against Mountaintop Removal Mining
It’s been described as “the government-sanctioned bombing of Appalachia.” The controversial coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal has been used widely in West Virginia. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams. Its use has expanded under the Bush administration. We speak with Ed Wiley, one of the leading activists...April 29, 2008 | Story -
"What this Rule Change Amounts to is a Declaration of War Against the Appalachian People": Opponents of Mountaintop Removal Decry Bush’s New Mining Rules
The Bush administration is poised to issue regulations today that would legalize and expand the controversial coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams. We speak with Appalachian activist Vernon Haltom of Coal River Mountain Watch. [includes rush transcript]August 24, 2007 | Story -
Whistleblower Warns the Bush Administration Is Cutting Back Mining Safety Regulations
We speak with Jack Spadaro, the former head of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy, a branch of the Department of Labor. Spadaro discusses how we was forced out of his job as he attempted to investigate a 2000 mining accident. We are also joined by Hillary Hosta with the West Virginia-based Coal River Mountain Watch. [includes rush transcript]January 05, 2006 | Story
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Columns
By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
Web Exclusives
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]
