War, Politics, and Life by Bruce Maulden
From Aljazeera English: A second explosion rocked Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, sending a plume of smoke into the air and touching off fresh concerns of radioactive leak in the quake and tsunami-hit country. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday the reactor has not been damaged. In the same report, more…
UPDATE: Another example of corporate misleading, BP-like stonewalling in allowing the real truth of dangerous matters out to the public — from the NYT: On Sunday, Kumiko Fukaya, 48, who fled the area with several family members, she had been lulled into a false sense of complacency at the nearby plants, which she said had…
World events this morning continue to operate like shit spewing through a wire basket — the GOPers in Wisconsin pulled a nasty fast one; Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi still maintains law and order while torturing journalists; civilians are still dying in greater numbers throughout Afghanistan; the Dalai Lama calls it quits; and coffee prices spike as…
“When you stretch the truth, watch out for the snapback.“ – Bill Copeland (Illustration found here). In an interview Tuesday in the New York Times, David Petraeus blew smoke up the ass of history, a procedure that the good general is most good: “The momentum of the Taliban has been halted in much of the country…
Monday morning is bullshit poem. I was happy this morning, as I woke up in bed, Then realized it was Monday and I faced the day with dread, For somehow, whatever comes my way, my temper is displayed, Just mentioning ‘it’s Monday’, my nerves, they become frayed. The day will be just a ‘ write…
“Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom.” – George Orwell, 1984 (Illustration found here). The US Department of Homeland Security (a near-perfect Orwellian title) via its Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in a $3.5 million study is seeking…
A good, quick guide for keeping track; from CNNMoney: The spike in oil last week could translate to an increase in gas prices of 37 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, according Moody’s Analytics economist Chris Lafakis. He estimates that for every $1 increase in the price of oil, retail gas prices typically rise…
Interesting, new evidence of climate change via The Atlantic Wire: A study carried out over thirty years and published recently in the journal Nature Communications showed that while grey tawny owls had higher survival rates in colder environments, brown owls were becoming more common. Dr. Patrik Karell from the University of Helsink, the leader of…
As the massive unrest in Libya continues into its eighth day on Tuesday — reportedly more than 230 people have been killed so far — and despite declaring he’s still in control, Moammar Gadhafi is reaching the point of no return — meaning he’s about to flee Libya without a chance of returning. The popular…
(Illustration found here). The abstract from a new study via Tellus: The thaw and release of carbon currently frozen in permafrost will increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations and amplify surface warming to initiate a positive permafrost carbon feedback (PCF) on climate. … By 2200, we predict a 29–59% decrease in permafrost area and a 53–97 cm…