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05 Dec 2011 11:30

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World: Radioactive water leaks from Fukushima nuclear site

  • 45 metric tons of radioactive water got loose from Fukushima source
  • » How bad was it? The water leak was found Sunday on a device used to purify the seawater used to cool off damaged reactors. They stopped the leak by stacking sandbags against the concrete barrier surrounding the device. The water itself, authorities say, contained higher-than-usual levels of cesium 137, a radioactive substance. It’s not clear that any of this water made it to the Pacific Ocean. The reactor was greatly damaged during the March earthquake.
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05 Dec 2011 11:07

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World: Clinton supports electoral fraud investigation in Russian elections

  • Russian voters deserve a full investigation of all credible reports of electoral fraud and manipulation and we hope in particular that then Russian authorities will take action.
  • U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • Lending support to claims that Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, which did poorly in Sunday’s Russian parliamentary elections, may have committed acts of electoral fraud to make the massive decline look better than it actually was, a claim supported by international observers. The party, in what was seen as a referendum on Putin, lost 77 seats and its pivotal two-thirds majority. “The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted,” Clinton noted. “That means they deserve free, fair, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them.” source
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05 Dec 2011 10:53

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World: Julian Assange gets one last change to fight extradition

The Wikileaks leader has 14 days to make his case in front of the British Supreme Court (regarding a single technicality). This is his final lifeline — if this falls through, he heads to Sweden to face sexual assault charges. source
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05 Dec 2011 10:34

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Politics: The stupidest comment you’ll ever hear about “The Muppets”

  • It’s amazing how far the left will go just to manipulate your kids, to convince them, give the anti-corporate message. I mean this is a Muppet movie for goodness sakes! The only thing green on the screen should be Kermit!
  • The Media Research Center‘s Dan Gainor • Missing the point of “The Muppets” by assuming that it had anything to do with the environment whatsoever. (Rather, the plot had to deal with an oil baron who planned the destroy The Muppets’ film studio, with no real eco-friendly focus.) Excuse me, friend, we just took away your pundit card. You’re not allowed to say anything on television anymore. For your own safety. source
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05 Dec 2011 10:19

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U.S.: U.S. Postal Service: First-class mail could become second-day affair

  • bad The U.S. Postal Service, facing the worst financial crisis in its history, will likely be forced to shave $3 billion off its budget, in the process dropping half of the country’s 500 mail-processing centers. This would come on the closing of numerous post offices.
  • worse This is the kind of change that consumers will feel. For the first time since 1971, there would be no way for a first-class letter to reach its recipient in a single day. Which means your Netflix will be late and your rent check better get in the mail pretty early. source
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04 Dec 2011 22:57

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U.S.: Scandal-plagued megachurch leader Eddie Long steps aside, for now

  • The church needs a cleansing. I’m real disappointed. He was a man we all looked up to.
  • Valencia Miller, a former worshipper at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta • Discussing church leader Eddie Long’s decision to stop preaching at the influential megachurch temporarily, in the wake of a sex scandal involving five young male parishioners, a settlement, and the subsequent announcement that his wife was seeking a divorce. Vanessa Long made the announcement Thursday, wavered Friday, then wavered back that same day. Now Eddie Long is taking a break. For parishioners like Miller, they hope Long (who long preached against homosexuality, making the allegations even more troublesome) leaves the church for good. source
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04 Dec 2011 21:49

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Politics: POLL: Newt Gingrich looks strong (but beatable) in Iowa

  • If he doesn’t screw up over the next month … With Iowa just around the corner, the former House speaker has momentum to spare, leaping far ahead of Romney. And look at Ron Paul’s super-impressive showing in this poll. (In another poll, he’s ahead of Romney.) With Cain now out of the race, it looks like Gingrich could get a huge bump out of this whole thing, on top of the one he already has. Think Gingrich will coast, or will Romney become the comeback kid? Or will other candidates crop up? source
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04 Dec 2011 21:01

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Culture: About time: Tiger Woods wins first tournament in over two years

The last time Tiger Woods won a tournament, he was still married and everyone thought the last thing that could happen to the golfer was a career-damaging scandal. Think about that. source
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04 Dec 2011 20:40

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U.S.: Occupy DC needed to build wooden structure to draw police scrutiny

  • A rare flash point, in wood form: Unlike most of the Occupy movements across the country, the Occupy DC movement has largely remained fairly quiet, in part because of the city’s protest-heavy history and in part because McPherson Square is managed by the National Park Service, not the city. So, as you might imagine, they would have to do something special to draw police scrutiny. Here it is, according to the movement’s Web site: “A prefabricated wooden structure that had been designed by professional architects and engineers to provide shelter, warmth and space for General Assemblies during the winter months.” If they wanted to draw police scrutiny, it worked. If they were trying to hold General Assemblies, not so much. The structure — and the National Park Police’s attempt to get it removed — has brought about some fairly interesting moments tonight. This is one of the most fascinating moments of the whole Occupy affair. source
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04 Dec 2011 09:30

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World: German town discovers WWII bombs hiding in Rhine River

  • 45,000 people evacuated over old bombs source
  • » They were hiding in a river: In one of the weirder discoveries since the end of WWII, record-low water levels in the Western German city of Koblenz exposed old bombs from the latter part of the war — including a 1.8-ton bomb that would be big enough to destroy the city center. It’s a very sensitive situation and one that officials are very careful to handle only without people nearby. “Only when we are sure that all of the 45,000 Germans have left the town (can) the regional bomb-disposal squad start to operate,” said brigade spokesman Ronald Eppelsheim.
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