AlterNet.org: Investigations

Revealed: How Syngenta Investigated the Press and Shaped the News About its Controversial Weed-Killer Atrazine

Beau Hodai, Lisa Graves, PR Watch — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:00:01 PST

A new investigation shows the global chemical company spent millions spinning news coverage and tracking journalists as concern grew over potential health risks of atrazine.

Koch Brothers Convene Super-Secret Billionaires' Meeting for 2012 Elections

Lee Fang, Republic Report — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:01 PST

Some of America's wealthiest Republicans flew into Palm Springs last weekend to update their stealthy political strategy for 2012.

Thanks to Citizens United, Multinational Mega Lobbyist Firm Salivates Over $4 Billion in Campaign Cash

Lee Fang, AlterNet — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:00:01 PST

The WPP Group is perhaps the most important lobbying corporation you've never heard of.

Tanks, SWAT Teams, Surveillance Helicopters: Cities Already Turning Into Mini-Police States for the Political Conventions

Rania Khalek, AlterNet — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:00:01 PST

With millions in federal grants, local officials are preparing to crack down on dissent.

The 20 Biggest Donors of the 2012 Election (So Far)

Dave Gilson, Gavin Aronsen, Mother Jones — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:01 PST

The 2008 presidential election was the most expensive on record, but this year's contest promises to break that record, due in part to the new rules of political fundraising.

Fracking on Shaky Ground: How Our Latest Fossil Fuel Addiction Is Linked to Earthquakes

Scott Thill, AlterNet — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

When the mayor of Youngstown, Ohio decides to buy earthquake insurance, you know we've got a big problem.

Inside Our Supposedly "Humane" Immigrant Detention Centers

Seth Wessler, ColorLines — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:00:01 PST

The interiors of detention centers might as well be black sites, cast off the political map except for the rare instances of abuse so egregious that they blip onto our radar.

5 Things You Should Know About the FBI's Massive New Biometric Database

Tana Ganeva, AlterNet — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

Civil libertarians worry about the roll-out of Next Generation Identification, a massive expansion of the agency's current biometric database.

Damning New Letter from NY State Insider: 'Hydraulic Fracturing as It's Practiced Today Will Contaminate Our Aquifers'

Karen McVeigh, The Guardian — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:00:01 PST

A former technician responsible for investigating and managing groundwater contamination for New York State opens up about risks from fracking.

Fraud and Folly: The Untold Story of General Electric's Subprime Debacle

Michael Hudson, The Center for Public Integrity — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:00:01 PST

The industrial giant jumped into the subprime business in 2004, lending blue-chip respectability to the market for risky home loans.

7 Reasons America's Mental Health Industry Is a Threat to Our Sanity

Bruce E. Levine, AlterNet — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:01 PST

Drug industry corruption, scientifically unreliable diagnoses and pseudoscientific research have compromised the values of the psychiatric profession.

â€œFree Pancho!â€: the Occupy Movement Steps Up for Immigrant Rights

Cloee Cooper, Imagine 2050 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:00:01 PST

Occupy Oakland and the Free Pancho campaign were successfully pressured Pancho's release from ICE.

Haiti: Where the Earthquake Money Did and Did Not Go

Bill Quigley, Anna Ramanauskas, AlterNet — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:00:01 PST

Haitians ask the same question as many around the world â€œWhere did the money go?â€

Why You May Be Drinking Soda That Contains a Dangerous Flame Retardant Banned in Europe and Japan

Brett Israel, Environmental Health News — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:00:01 PST

Some soda drinkers may be getting a dose of a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil, or BVO.

Kids, Minivans, and Drug-Dealing: How the Recession Pulls Ordinary Families Into the Weed Game

Tony D'Souza, Mother Jones — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

Struggling to keep their house and feed their kids, a California family goes from typical to criminal.

Are Crackpot Liars Being Used to Tie Iran to 9/11?

Gareth Porter, TruthOut.org — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:00:01 PST

A court case resulting in a "finding of fact" that Iran assisted al Qaeda is a tapestry of recycled fabrications and distortions of fact from a bizarre cast of characters.

We've Lost Nearly All of Our Wild Foods -- What Happened? And What Are We Missing?

Jill Richardson, AlterNet — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:00:01 PST

Fish are the last wild food that most of us will eat.

L.A.'s Dirty Coal Addiction Is Killing Arizona

Joshua Frank, AlterNet — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:00:01 PST

A large percentage of the power Angelenos depend on comes from coal plants, which spew their filth hundreds of miles away, across state lines in Indian country.

Why the White South Is Still in Denial About Slavery

Peter Birkenhead, Salon — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:00:01 PST

On a trip through the South, Civil War culture is presented as "authentic." They just leave out the slavery part.

Why Are American Citizens Getting Locked Up and Even Deported By Immigration Authorities?

Rania Khalek, AlterNet — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:00:01 PST

Over 4,000 citizens were detained or deported in 2010 alone.