POLITICS-US: Vets Mull Wins and Losses in Benefits Fight Aaron Glantz* SAN FRANCISCO, 4 Jul (IPS) - You could hear the joy in Patrick Campbell's voice as he reflected on U.S. President George W. Bush's signing Monday of a new GI Bill of Rights for veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. more...   CANADA: Safe Injection Site Mired in Political Squabble Am Johal VANCOUVER, 6 Jun (IPS) - The Canadian government has decided to appeal a British Columbia Supreme Court decision allowing North America's first supervised injection site, the facility known as Insite in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, to remain open without a federal government exemption. more...   RIGHTS-US: Despite Legal Blow, Taser Use by Police to Expand Am Johal NEW YORK, 12 Jun (IPS) - Taser International, the manufacturer of conducted energy weapons known as stun guns or Tasers, is once again implicated in deaths caused in part by deployment of the weapon. more...   RIGHTS-US: Vets Await Verdict in Class Action Lawsuit Aaron Glantz SAN FRANCISCO, 2 May (IPS) - Arturo Gonzalez delivered his closing arguments inside a packed courtroom on the 17th floor of the Federal Building in downtown San Francisco. more...   RIGHTS-US: Vets' Lawsuit Opens Door on Suicides, Poor Care Aaron Glantz SAN FRANCISCO, 22 Apr (IPS) - The United States government does such a bad job of caring for wounded war veterans, advocates told a federal judge here Monday, that 18 veterans commit suicide every week. more...   Q&A: 'We Wanted to Know How a Corn Cob Gets into a Pepsi' Interview with Curtis Ellis, documentary filmmaker SAN DIEGO, California, 9 Apr (IPS) - Browsing through the aisles of the local supermarket, few consumers fully grasp the role corn plays their daily lives. more...   POLITICS-US: Vets Press McCain to Back Greater Benefits Aaron Glantz SAN FRANCISCO, 9 Apr (IPS) - A leading political action committee founded by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has launched a new internet video and petition demanding Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain throw his support behind a new G.I. Bill to provide improved education benefits for soldiers returning home from the two wars. more...   ENVIRONMENT: A Contest for the Biggest Loser Haider Rizvi NEW YORK, 31 Mar (IPS) - Toyota, the world's largest automaker, is facing the wrath of U.S. green groups and corporate watchdogs for its constant opposition to legislative proposals aimed at increasing fuel efficiency standards in California and other states. more...   Q&A: 'A Long and Disturbing History of Human Testing' Interview with Heather Wokusch, author and blogger TAMPA, Florida, 25 Mar (IPS) - In early March, the Pentagon's Force Protection Agency released a colourless, odorless gas in Crystal City, Maryland as part of a simulated terror attack intended to track air flows and test an array of chemical sensors. more...   POLITICS-US: Embattled Veterans Official Resigns Post Aaron Glantz* SAN FRANCISCO, 29 Feb (IPS) - Another high-ranking George W. Bush administration official has resigned. The Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper quit Thursday amid mounting criticism over a backlog of disability claims for injured veterans that runs six months long and an appearance he made in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian organisation where he said Bible study was more important than doing his job. more...