Monday, October 5, 2009
Which kids will get stuck in the web?
Ballerina tyrannosaur unearthed in Mongolia
UK supermarket pulls ad from Faux News over Beck
The popular and controversial whore is already the target of a boycott campaign in the United States after he accused Obama of harboring "a deep-seated hatred for white people."
Full Story
Al Franken gets serious on free speech, net neutrality
Senator Al Franken started his career as a comedian, but he's dead serious about the issue of net neutrality. Appearing Monday at the Future of Music policy summit at Georgetown University in Washington, the Minnesota Democrat delivered an impassioned defense of net neutrality: the idea that broadband providers should generally treat legal web content equally, and should not not discriminate against web-based services that might compete with their own offerings."Net neutrality is not a matter of needless government intervention," Franken said. "It is a necessary government response to ISPs voicing their support for a separate and unequal internet. Net neutrality doesn't interfere with the free market -- it protects the free market."
Two weeks ago, new FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a plan to keep the internet open and competitive. The rules would represent a major victory for consumer groups and internet companies, as well as the fulfillment of a key campaign promise by President Obama. But major broadband providers have been wary, especially when it comes to extending the rules to wireless devices.
Net neutrality rules are necessary, Franken said: "Corporate internet service providers have tried to use 'network management' to find ways to squeeze more cash out of their networks, and as a result, the freedom and openness of the internet has become seriously challenged."
Franken described the battle over net neutrality as a matter of free speech. "Once service providers are in the business of deciding what kind of content moves at what speed, they come very close to deciding what type of content can move at all," Franken said. "The issue is not just what might be blocked from us, but what might not be created in the first place."
In a provocative statement, Franken compared Iran's recent internet censorship, as part of its brutal crackdown against protesters, with the practices used by some major U.S. internet service providers.
"The Iranians use deep packet inspection to view every email and post," Franken said, referring to a technique used to examine network traffic in detail. "It's awful. Now, you might say that's terrible situation, but we're not Iran. Well, we're not Iran, but that isn't hasn't stopped several companies from taking the same or similar technologies out for a test-drive." Franken cited efforts by Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (ATT) to block content on wireless networks they deem objectionable, such as Pearl Jam's criticism of former President Bush during a webcast of a live concert.
"Free speech limited, or free speech slowed down, is the same thing as free speech denied," Franken said, adding that rural users, including some of Franken's constituents who have only one option for broadband service, could be hurt the most. "ISP profit margins should never come at the cost of free speech and an open internet," Franken said, "because while they may profit, we lose."
The senator sought to make clear that he supports network-management practices designed to combat illegal content, like illicit filesharing.
"Having spent much of my life as a writer and entertainer, I own copyrights too," Franken said.
"ISPs must and will maintain the right to combat illegal content. The question is, how do you technically separate legal and illegal material? And that may be above my paygrade, or below my paygrade. There are technical questions in how to resolve that, but it needs to be resolved. I think that issue needs to be resolved by people who are expert in that technology or architecture."
After his speech, R.E.M. guitarist Mike Mills interviewed Franken and asked him why he ran for office. Franken responded by citing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the death of former Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone -- an icon of the left -- and his own numerous USO tours entertaining U.S. soldiers overseas.
As he spoke about meeting U.S. soldiers, some of whom were serving their third and fourth tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, Franken choked up. "I'm really serious about doing my job," he said. "I'm really serious about representing the people of Minnesota. And I'm really serious about this issue."
Repugican Endorser Mocks Opponent's Stutter
Just when you thought the repugicans couldn't be more classless, the Virginia governor's race came to the fore when a prominent endorser for repugican Bob McDonnell mocked the slight stutter of Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds.
Health reform may heat up the job market
Health reform may heat up the job market
Cheaper health insurance options could make older workers more attractive to employers
Simple financial strategies
20 simple financial strategies
Streamline your life by applying these techniques for spending and saving.
What to leave in, What to leave out
'Accomplishments' you shouldn't tout
You might have a better shot at that job if you leave some things off your resumé.
How to snag a first-class upgrade
How to snag a first-class upgrade
Airlines have made it harder to get a first-class seat, but it's possible if you know some tricks.
Nazi treasure hunt hits snag
Nazi treasure hunt hits snag
Controversy surrounds a fortune in gold reportedly ditched in an Austrian lake.
'Awesome' Bird Photo
Story behind 'awesome' bird photo
Pat Gaines grabbed his camera when a ruckus at the local state park caught his attention.
Most economically stressed U.S. states
Most economically stressed U.S. states
Despite signs of recovery, the hardest-hit regions are struggling in three key ways.
A man's home is his missile bunker
Missile silo transformed into bachelor pad
An ex-social worker from Chicago gives a tour of his underground digs on the Texas prairie.
repugicans rooting against America
repugicans rooting
against America
Epic cases before the Supreme Court
Epic cases before the Supreme Court
The new session features several controversial issues and a new face.
Sacrilege!
The Telegraph reported that a McDonald's restaurant and McCafe will open in the Louvre museum in Paris next month.
McDonald's to open at Louvre museum
Man survives 165ft fall after bungee accident in Thailand
Mr Baveja was fortunately able to take the impact of the landing on his chest, meaning he avoided serious head injuries.
Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
(For the rest of the stories click the link below the piece.)
Author: Jeffrey St. Clair
One of the most lethal patches of ground in North America is located in the backwoods of North Carolina, where Shearon Harris nuclear plant is housed and owned by Progress Energy. The plant contains the largest radioactive waste storage pools in the country. It is not just a nuclear-power-generating station, but also a repository for highly radioactive spent fuel rods from two other nuclear plants. The spent fuel rods are transported by rail and stored in four densely packed pools filled with circulating cold water to keep the waste from heating. The Department of Homeland Security has marked Shearon Harris as one of the most vulnerable terrorist targets in the nation.
The threat exists, however, without the speculation of terrorist attack. Should the cooling system malfunction, the resulting fire would be virtually unquenchable and could trigger a nuclear meltdown, putting more than two hundred million residents of this rapidly growing section of North Carolina in extreme peril. A recent study by Brookhaven Labs estimates that a pool fire could cause 140,000 cancers, contaminate thousands of square miles of land, and cause over $500 billion in off-site property damage.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has estimated that there is a 1:100 chance of pool fire happening under the best of scenarios. And the dossier on the Shearon Harris plant is far from the best.
In 1999 the plant experienced four emergency shutdowns. A few months later, in April 2000, the plant’s safety monitoring system, designed to provide early warning of a serious emergency, failed. And it wasn’t the first time. Indeed, the emergency warning system at Shearon Harris has failed fifteen times since the plant opened in 1987.
In 2002 the NRC put the plant on notice for nine unresolved safety issues detected during a fire prevention inspection by NRC investigators. When the NRC returned to the plant a few months later for reinspection, it determined that the corrective actions were “not acceptable.” Between January and July of 2002, Harris plant managers were forced to manually shut down the reactors four times.
The problems continue with chilling regularity. In the spring of 2003 there were four emergency shutdowns of the plant, including three over a four-day period. One of the incidents occurred when the reactor core failed to cool down during a refueling operation while the reactor dome was off of the plant—a potentially catastrophic series of circumstances.
Between 1999 and 2003, there were twelve major problems requiring the shutdown of the plant. According to the NRC, the national average for commercial reactors is one shutdown per eighteen months.
Congressman David Price of North Carolina sent the NRC a report by scientists at MIT and Princeton that pinpointed the waste pools as the biggest risk at the plant. “Spent fuel recently discharged from a reactor could heat up relatively rapidly and catch fire,” wrote Bob Alvarez, a former advisor to the Department of Energy and co-author of the report. “The fire could well spread to older fuel. The long-term land contamination consequences of such an event could be significantly worse than Chernobyl.”
The study recommended relatively inexpensive fixes, which would have cost Progress approximately $5 million a year—less than the $6.6 million annual bonus for Progress CEO Warren Cavanaugh.
Progress scoffed at the idea and recruited the help of NRC Commissioner Edward McGaffigan to smear the MIT/Princeton report. McGaffigan is a nuclear enthusiast who has worked for both Republicans and Democrats. A veteran of the National Security Council in the Reagan administration, McGaffigan took a special interest in promoting nuclear plants to US client states. He served two terms as NRC Commissioner under Clinton as a tireless proponent of nuclear plant construction and deregulation, and consistently dismissed the risks associated with the transport and storage of nuclear waste.
McGaffigan’s meddling has outraged many anti-nuclear activists. Lewis Pitts, an environmental attorney in North Carolina says, “The NRC has directed the production of a bogus study to deny decades of science on the perils of pool fires.”
Liars and Fools
Lush Dimbulb is again comparing Obama health care plan to Nazi policies
He should know since he's a Nazi.
Faux's Glen Beck lying saying "a lot of truth" in the suggestion that we don't have a "pro-American president"
Coming from an American Hater this is hilarious.
Dimbulb lies again saying "Obamacare" will "smother the individual," "aimed at robbing you of your humanity," and "all of us will be slaves"
Self projecting there again, Lush?
Beck lies again saying the Second Amendment is "under attack" by the Supreme Court
You got to be kidding.
Lush lies saying Obama is "out to destroy the whole concept of the West, Western civilization"
Not worth the effort answering this idiocy.
Beck, deluded as usual says "these elites" ... taking us down the road of a progressive utopia, that only ends in death camps"
Delusions ... need I say more.
Lou Dobbs freaking out with gun paranoia by claiming Obama has appointed a 'gun czar'
Give us a break.
Now a fundraising note from the repugican party comparing President Obama to Stalin and Kim Jong Il
These fools have no class.
Repugicans aren't a political party, they're a religious movement, and you can no more reach them with rational arguments than you can talk an imam out of islam or a rabbi out of judaism.
It's really not about christianity at all, it's about a different, scarier religion — "a belief in one's own rightness so unshakable that it is not subject to political caveats"
Pwned!
Higher rate of autism reported
Higher rate of autism reported
A new government estimate would mean about 1 in 100 children have autism.
A major nursing-home crisis looms
A major nursing-home crisis looms
Nursing homes across the U.S. are starting to lay off workers, cut services — and even close.
Question and Answer
Answer: Bullshit
3 Americans win Nobel Prize in medicine
3 Americans win Nobel Prize in medicine
The trio solved a genetic mystery and inspired new lines of research into cancer and aging.
Daily Almanac
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Today in History, October 5.
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Daily Horoscope
The new people you meet today hold a lot of opportunities for you, but keep in mind that there is more to them than meets the eye.
People are very different on the inside than their appearances may lead you to believe, especially right now, when they are on their best behavior.
If you make any assumptions about their beliefs, you should keep them to yourself, or risk offending someone.
For safety's sake, wait until you know them better before sharing your opinions.
Good thinking, there.
