Annie Robbins on July 27, 2014


Rotterdam (photo: @HerakAsra)


Belfast (photo: @SlabberCart)


London, Ontario ,Canada (photo: Fadi Fataftah)


Taipei


Boston (photo: Nadeen Abuhasan)


Portland, Oregon (photo: Erick Crash)


Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina


Chicago


Cape Town, South Africa


London

MUCH, MUCH, MORE

RT * Published on Jul 26, 2014

Privacy watchdogs are in uproar following revelations the U.S. government may have been behind a recent Facebook experiment. Marina Portnaya reports.

Deep13th Nuclear Waste Info * Published on Jul 25, 2014

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is reported to be looking at the direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel instead of reprocessing it.

NHK has obtained a draft report compiled by the agency which analyzed the environmental impact of disposing of spent nuclear fuel.

The conclusion of the analysis is expected to touch off controversy, because the government has long maintained the policy of reprocessing all spent nuclear fuel. It has conducted few studies about disposing of it as waste.

Spent nuclear fuel is known to have higher radiation levels than high-level radioactive waste.

But the agency's draft report says it is technically possible to directly dispose of spent nuclear fuel at a low radiation level.

If spent nuclear fuel is buried 1,000 meters underground for 1 million years, the radiation level at the earth's surface will peak in 3,000 years, at 0.3 microsieverts per year.

Even though reprocessing remains official government policy, the Rokkasho reprocessing plant is nowhere near full operating capacity.

Japan's nuclear power plants have accumulated 17,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel.

The agency's analysis is expected to lead to greater attention on future discussions on dealing with the stockpile of spent nuclear fuel.

Professor Tatsujiro Suzuki at Nagasaki University says the conclusion that direct disposal is possible is a very important step forward. Suzuki is a former member of the government's Atomic Energy Commission.

Jul. 25, 2014 - Updated 11:06 UTC

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

The Young Turks * Published on Jul 26, 2014

"Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's indictment on charges that he accepted illegal gifts, vacations and loans from a major campaign contributor who sought special treatment is so shocking, in part, because McDonnell is the first governor in the history of the Commonwealth to face criminal charges. Unlike plenty of other states, Virginia doesn't have a long history of scandals and ethics abuses.

"Which states are more used to corruption? Well, depending on how you define corruption, it could be Florida, or Louisiana, or Tennessee, or New York, or Georgia. And then there's the District of Columbia." *

Cenk Uygur, Gina Grad, Ben Mankiewicz and Dave Rubin break down the who, what and why of this intriguing list.

* Read more here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/22/the-most-corrupt-states-in-america/

The Young Turks * Published on Jul 23, 2014

"Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) is flying to Israel tonight on the Israeli airline El Al to protest a Federal Aviation Administration ban on U.S. carriers flying to or from Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.

Bloomberg made the announcement on his Web site. He urged the FAA to change its decision.

"This evening I will be flying on El Al to Tel Aviv to show solidarity with the Israeli people and to demonstrate that it is safe to fly in and out of Israel," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Ben Gurion is the best protected airport in the world and El Al flights have been regularly flying in and out of it safely. The flight restrictions are a mistake that hands Hamas an undeserved victory and should be lifted immediately. I strongly urge the FAA to reverse course and permit US airlines to fly to Israel."" * The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

*Read more here from Sean Sullivan / The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/07/22/michael-bloomberg-flying-to-israel-to-protest-faa-ban/

RT * Published on Jul 20, 2014

Over 350 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's ongoing operation to root out Hamas fighters. Tens of thousands march across the glove to protest the victims of the invasion, almost 80% of whom are civilians.

RT * Published on Jul 19, 2014

Barack Obama claims the US has firm evidence that the plane was shot down by a missile, fired from an area controlled by anti-Kiev fighters. He also accuses Russia of supporting them. Nevertheless US president agrees to Putin's calls to conduct transparent investigation and says it's too early to say who and why shot down the plane. Ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern see the situation as isolation for President Poroshenko.

New Scientist * Published on Jul 16, 2014

Full story: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25894
Some bacteria produce hair-like filaments that act as wires, ferrying electrons back and forth between the cells and their environment

Biologists discover electric bacteria that eat pure electrons rather than sugar, redefining the tenacity of life

By Sebastian Anthony on July 18, 2014 at 8:51 am



Some intrepid biologists at the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered bacteria that survives on nothing but electricity — rather than food, they eat and excrete pure electrons. These bacteria yet again prove the almost miraculous tenacity of life — but, from a technology standpoint, they might also prove to be useful in enabling the creation of self-powered nanoscale devices that clean up pollution. Some of these bacteria also have the curious ability to form into ‘biocables,’ microbial nanowires that are centimeters long and conduct electricity as well as copper wires — a capability that might one day be tapped to build long, self-assembling subsurface networks for human use.

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