enlarge Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan. I don’t know why we’re not seeing much about this on the news, but I’m sure they would tell us if there was anything to worry about , right? Entergy’s Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven on Lake Michigan is venting radioactive steam into the environment as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident. This shutdown, which began Sunday evening, came just five days after the plant restarted from a shutdown that was caused by a leak in the plant’s cooling system. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Prema Chandrithal said that the current shutdown happened because an object slipped during work on a circuit breaker and caused an arc that took out power for one of two DC electrical systems that power safety valves and other devices. According to a notice filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the plant is stable and “controlling temperature using Atmospheric Dump Valves.” “The steam that would normally go to the generators, that steam is now going into the environment … through the steam stack,” said Chandrithal. “This would have very low levels of tritium.” Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The plant is monitoring the levels and will report them to the NRC, Chandrithal said.
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enlarge Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan. I don’t know why we’re not seeing much about this on the news, but I’m sure they would tell us if there was anything to worry about , right? Entergy’s Palisades nuclear plant near South Haven on Lake Michigan is venting radioactive steam into the environment as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident. This shutdown, which began Sunday evening, came just five days after the plant restarted from a shutdown that was caused by a leak in the plant’s cooling system. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Prema Chandrithal said that the current shutdown happened because an object slipped during work on a circuit breaker and caused an arc that took out power for one of two DC electrical systems that power safety valves and other devices. According to a notice filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the plant is stable and “controlling temperature using Atmospheric Dump Valves.” “The steam that would normally go to the generators, that steam is now going into the environment … through the steam stack,” said Chandrithal. “This would have very low levels of tritium.” Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The plant is monitoring the levels and will report them to the NRC, Chandrithal said.
Continue reading …Death in the Amazon: Brazil accused of protecting trees but not its people
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Progress in reducing logging marred by brutal killings of environmental campaigners Even here, Tuesday is an unusual day to die. At the weekend there is no shortage of bloodletting in this corner of the Amazon. Bar brawls, knife fights, lovers’ tiffs, alcohol-soaked arguments, all with the same predictable coda: a slit throat, a shot to the head, a visit from Maraba’s over-worked head of forensic science, José Augusto Andrade, and a gory crime-scene photograph splashed across the pages of a tabloid. Tuesdays, though, are normally quiet. But 24 May this year was an
Continue reading …Palestinian statehood bid kicked into committee by UN security council
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Move comes as efforts to launch fresh peace talks are threatened by row over new Jewish settlement The UN security council has moved the issue of recognising a Palestinian state to a committee which could take weeks to reach a decision. The move came as US and European efforts to launch fresh peace talks – and avoid a diplomatic confrontation after Washington said it will veto the statehood bid – were undermined by Israel’s “provocative” announcement that it will build more than 1,000 more homes in a major Jewish settlement. The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the security council should approve the statehood request because much of the world already recognises Palestine as a country. “We hope that the security council will shoulder its responsibility and address this application with a positive attitude, especially since we have 139 countries that have recognised the state of Palestine so far, meaning more than two-thirds majority,” Mansour said. “We are ready to govern ourselves.” But the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, said that recognition of statehood is meaningless without a peace agreement. “A real Palestinian state, a viable Palestinian state, will not be achieved in composing things from the outside but only in direct negotiations,” he said. “We had peace with Egypt. It wasn’t imposed; we negotiated. With Jordan, the same thing.” The UN committee on new admissions, which is made up of the 15 members of the security council, will meet on Friday morning. It could vote immediately on the Palestinian request or agree to study the matter further. Last week, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, resisted US pressure to abandon the request for statehood. But at the urging of Washington, London and Paris — which were keen to avoid voting on the issue because of the impact on opinion in the Middle East of failing to support the Palestinian bid — he privately agreed to the slow tracking of the issue while fresh attempts are made to restart negotiations. Those efforts were immediately compromised when the US ensured that a statement by the quartet of the US, UN, EU and Russia proposing a framework timetable for talks, and the immediate addressing of the contentious issues of borders and security, did not call for a halt to construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. But the statement did ask both sides to refrain from provocative actions. This week, Israel announced that it will build 1,100 new houses as well as public buildings and an industrial zone in Gilo settlement. Mansour said the move was a deliberate snub by Israel to peace efforts, because the Palestinians have said that continued construction of housing for Jewish settlers on occupied land is a barrier to talks. “They gave 1,100 answers of saying no to the effort of the international community to open doors to negotiation, and I think speaks clearly that Israel is not interested in negotiating with us – in spite of the fact they say they would like to do so,” he said. Prosor said the settlement expansion is inside Jerusalem and therefore distinct from other parts of the occupied territories. “Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people. This is our heart. Jerusalem, if I may say so, was the capital of the Jewish people when London was still a swamp,” he said. However, the area that Gilo is built on was not within the municipal boundaries at the time Israel captured the east of the city in the 1967 war. The city limits have since been greatly expanded to annex Gilo and other settlements to the city. Prosor said Palestinian objections are an excuse for not negotiating. “Everything is negotiable, but I hear the Palestinian using every pretext in order to find a reason why not to go in to negotiations,” he said. The US has called the new settlement construction “counter-productive” and “distressing”. But the Palestinians have little confidence that Washington will do anything about it after Barack Obama made what was widely seen as a strongly pro-Israel speech to the UN. Palestinian territories Israel United Nations Middle East Middle East peace talks Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Palestinian statehood bid kicked into committee by UN security council
September 28, 2011 No CommentMove comes as efforts to launch fresh peace talks are threatened by row over new Jewish settlement The UN security council has moved the issue of recognising a Palestinian state to a committee which could take weeks to reach a decision. The move came as US and European efforts to launch fresh peace talks – and avoid a diplomatic confrontation after Washington said it will veto the statehood bid – were undermined by Israel’s “provocative” announcement that it will build more than 1,000 more homes in a major Jewish settlement. The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the security council should approve the statehood request because much of the world already recognises Palestine as a country. “We hope that the security council will shoulder its responsibility and address this application with a positive attitude, especially since we have 139 countries that have recognised the state of Palestine so far, meaning more than two-thirds majority,” Mansour said. “We are ready to govern ourselves.” But the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, said that recognition of statehood is meaningless without a peace agreement. “A real Palestinian state, a viable Palestinian state, will not be achieved in composing things from the outside but only in direct negotiations,” he said. “We had peace with Egypt. It wasn’t imposed; we negotiated. With Jordan, the same thing.” The UN committee on new admissions, which is made up of the 15 members of the security council, will meet on Friday morning. It could vote immediately on the Palestinian request or agree to study the matter further. Last week, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, resisted US pressure to abandon the request for statehood. But at the urging of Washington, London and Paris — which were keen to avoid voting on the issue because of the impact on opinion in the Middle East of failing to support the Palestinian bid — he privately agreed to the slow tracking of the issue while fresh attempts are made to restart negotiations. Those efforts were immediately compromised when the US ensured that a statement by the quartet of the US, UN, EU and Russia proposing a framework timetable for talks, and the immediate addressing of the contentious issues of borders and security, did not call for a halt to construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. But the statement did ask both sides to refrain from provocative actions. This week, Israel announced that it will build 1,100 new houses as well as public buildings and an industrial zone in Gilo settlement. Mansour said the move was a deliberate snub by Israel to peace efforts, because the Palestinians have said that continued construction of housing for Jewish settlers on occupied land is a barrier to talks. “They gave 1,100 answers of saying no to the effort of the international community to open doors to negotiation, and I think speaks clearly that Israel is not interested in negotiating with us – in spite of the fact they say they would like to do so,” he said. Prosor said the settlement expansion is inside Jerusalem and therefore distinct from other parts of the occupied territories. “Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people. This is our heart. Jerusalem, if I may say so, was the capital of the Jewish people when London was still a swamp,” he said. However, the area that Gilo is built on was not within the municipal boundaries at the time Israel captured the east of the city in the 1967 war. The city limits have since been greatly expanded to annex Gilo and other settlements to the city. Prosor said Palestinian objections are an excuse for not negotiating. “Everything is negotiable, but I hear the Palestinian using every pretext in order to find a reason why not to go in to negotiations,” he said. The US has called the new settlement construction “counter-productive” and “distressing”. But the Palestinians have little confidence that Washington will do anything about it after Barack Obama made what was widely seen as a strongly pro-Israel speech to the UN. Palestinian territories Israel United Nations Middle East Middle East peace talks Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hinted Tuesday that she might not run in 2012 because the presidency could be “too shackling.” “For logistical reasons, though, yes, certainly, decisions have to be made,” she told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “I’m going to keep repeating, though, Greta, through my process of decision-making with my family and with my close friends as to whether I should throw my name in the hat for the GOP nomination or not for 2012 — is a title worth it? Does a title shackle a person? Are they — someone like me, who’s a maverick — you know, I do go rogue and I call it like I see it.” She added: “Somebody like me — is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of a box, not allowing handlers to shape me and to force my message to be what donors or what contributors or what political pundits want it to be? Does a title take away my freedom to call it like I see it and to affect positive change that we need in this country? That’s the biggest contemplation piece in my process.” The former Alaska governor also had words of praise for Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who she called “Herb.” “Take Herb Cain,” she said “Look at why he’s doing so well right now. He’s, I guess you could say, with all due respect, the flavor of the week because Herb Cain is the one up there who doesn’t look like he’s part of that permanent political class.” Palin has about a month to make up her mind before Florida’s Oct. 31 filing deadline for the Republican primary. EDITOR’S NOTE: Herb Caen – pronounced the same – was a Pulitzer-winning San Francisco newspaper columnist who died in 1997. Palin probably confused Herman Cain with Herb because she reads all newspapers with a great appreciation.
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Click here to view this media Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hinted Tuesday that she might not run in 2012 because the presidency could be “too shackling.” “For logistical reasons, though, yes, certainly, decisions have to be made,” she told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “I’m going to keep repeating, though, Greta, through my process of decision-making with my family and with my close friends as to whether I should throw my name in the hat for the GOP nomination or not for 2012 — is a title worth it? Does a title shackle a person? Are they — someone like me, who’s a maverick — you know, I do go rogue and I call it like I see it.” She added: “Somebody like me — is a title and is a campaign too shackling? Does that prohibit me from being out there, out of a box, not allowing handlers to shape me and to force my message to be what donors or what contributors or what political pundits want it to be? Does a title take away my freedom to call it like I see it and to affect positive change that we need in this country? That’s the biggest contemplation piece in my process.” The former Alaska governor also had words of praise for Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who she called “Herb.” “Take Herb Cain,” she said “Look at why he’s doing so well right now. He’s, I guess you could say, with all due respect, the flavor of the week because Herb Cain is the one up there who doesn’t look like he’s part of that permanent political class.” Palin has about a month to make up her mind before Florida’s Oct. 31 filing deadline for the Republican primary. EDITOR’S NOTE: Herb Caen – pronounced the same – was a Pulitzer-winning San Francisco newspaper columnist who died in 1997. Palin probably confused Herman Cain with Herb because she reads all newspapers with a great appreciation.
Continue reading …Actress Eva Longoria Trashes ‘Dangerous’ ‘Extremists’ Who Oppose Obama
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Actress Eva Longoria appeared on Tuesday's Jimmy Kimmel Live to trash the “dangerous” “extremist movement” that opposes Barack Obama. The Desperate Housewives star became just the latest celebrity to smear the Tea Party movement. Longoria didn't directly identify the group as the target of her anger. However, she made her point clear, fuming, ” …[Obama] keeps getting beat up lately because there's such an extremist movement happening and it's a very dangerous .” [See video below. MP3 audio here .] The actress continued, “For me, it's very dangerous because it's not the character of America. It's really under attack.” She added that Obama has governed in a “state of emergency.” The Desperate Housewives star began by defending, “…I'm a big Obama supporter no matter what he's been through. He's been beaten up the past couple of years.” There seems to be an unusually similar-sounding amount of venom coming out of Hollywood in the last few weeks. On the September 23 Piers Morgan program, movie star Morgan Freeman spun the Tea Party as saying, “Screw the country. We're going to whatever we do to get this black man, we can, we're going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here.” “It is a racist thing,” he concluded. [Dedicated Newsbusters readers! We are up to $2880 of our goal to raise $5000. Help us continue to expose and defeat the insidious bias of the liberal media. Show you appreciation for NewsBusters and get "I Don't Believe the Liberal Media" buttons and bumper stickers, or a Chris Matthews floormat, as our thank you. Donate now! ] The day before, on September 22 edition of the same show, actor Alan Cumming excoriated Tea Partiers, saying their fiscal issues only serve to cover up “a lot of real homophobia and racism. While hosting the September 18 Emmy Awards, actress Jane Lynch mocked, “Yesterday my daughter had a tea party with her little friends and it was so cute. They complained about taxes, called Obama a communist and wondered how the Latina kid got in?”
Continue reading …Phone-hacking inquiry needs advisers to ‘fill gap’ in expertise, says publisher
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Associated Newspapers voices concern that the prime minister’s appointees lack tabloid or regional newspaper experience The publisher of the Daily Mail has challenged Lord Justice Leveson over the six advisers to the phone-hacking inquiry amid concerns that the prime minister’s appointees lack tabloid or regional newspaper experience. Jonathan Caplan QC, representing Associated Newspapers, told a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that the inquiry would “benefit greatly” if the judge appointed additional advisers “to fill the gap” in expertise. The application by Associated Newspapers was supported by Trinity Mirror, the Newspaper Publishers’ Association and Guardian News and Media. Caplan said Associated did not wish to be confrontational, but the inquiry would “raise very important issues for the future conduct, regulation and ownership of the newspaper industry”. Leveson’s advisory panel includes two prominent journalists – a former political editor of Channel 4 News, Elinor Goodman, and a former political editor of the Daily Telegraph, George Jones. The former chairman of the Financial Times, Sir David Bell, is also one of the appointees. Leveson said he took on board Associated’s concerns and would reserve judgment until he had considered the matter fully. Earlier he told the hearing he was eager to engage with the Daily Mail and had invited the paper’s editor in chief to attend a pre-inquiry seminar next month. Gillian Phillips, director of editorial legal services for the Guardian, said: “Our view is that tabloid and mid-market papers, as well as regional papers, will play a vital part in the story and we believe it is important that those assisting the inquiry reflect the plurality and divergence of the wider UK media.” Leveson said that the role of assessors was limited to assisting from within their area of expertise with the conclusion being “mine and mine alone”. He added: “It is of critical importance throughout this inquiry that I have the help of everybody. I have a vast and difficult task to address within a comparatively short period of time. I accept the importance that it holds for your clients and for the industry, the profession. “I will only start to be able to achieve a sensible resolution of these issues if everybody is pulling in the same direction, albeit from their different standpoints. “I am conscious that I am stepping into a profession that is not the one that I spent 40 years of life in. It is critical that I obtain advice from those who have made their life in this area, not least because I would be keen to understand any flaws that I might have because of lack of experience.” Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers Associated Newspapers Daily Mail & General Trust The Guardian Lisa O’Carroll guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …South Carolina Governor Forces State Employees to Greet Callers Cheerfully
September 28, 2011 No Comment
It’s a great day in South Carolina. Even if it’s not. South Carolina’s Republican governor Nikki Haley is ordering state employees to cheerfully answer phones with the phrase: “It’s a great day in South Carolina. How can I help you?” The overly optimistic greeting clashes with the Southern state’s social ills, including an 11.1% unemployment rate
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