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Video Essay: in Las Vegas, a Rough Taxi Ride

The life of a taxi driver in glittering Las Vegas is not a glamorous one, especially when the local economy is so bad. Drivers are struggling to make a living. (Dec. 6)

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Restless Legs Syndrome in Pregnancy Linked to Later Risk

Women who had restless legs syndrome while pregnant were four times more likely to have the condition again after their pregnancies, and were three times more likely to have the chronic form of the condition, according to a small European study.

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Add Idaho bomb-builder to list of violent extremists inspired by Glenn Beck

Click here to view this media Well, you can add another name to the list of violent nutcases inspired to act by Glenn Beck — this time, a northern Idaho militiaman arrested last summer for building grenades at his home in the Panhandle. From Meghann Cuniff at the Spokesman-Review : A self-described militia leader pleaded guilty this week to federal gun charges connected to a grenade manufacturing operation at his trailer in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Kenneth B. Kimbley Jr., 58, discussed bombing local bridges with an undercover federal agent and made threatening statements toward President Barack Obama, leading investigators last July to seize 20,000 ammunition rounds and several firearms from Kimbley’s property, where he and other suspected militia members gathered to construct grenades, according to court documents. Kimbley, who remains in federal custody, pleaded guilty to Monday to unlawful possession of a firearm and attempt to make a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 22. … An undercover agent said Kimbley described himself as the leader of the “Brotherhood of America Patriots” militia and said “he would kill members of his group that did not follow orders,” according to court documents. Kimbely reportedly described extensive booby traps he’d built and said his militia’s purpose “was to resist in the event the government started rounding up the patriots” and to resist foreign invasions or societal breakdowns. His public defender, Kim Deater, did not return a phone call seeking comment. In court documents, she described Kimbley as a nonthreatening man who has passionate political views. Though prosecutors have emphasized his militia ties and his dislike for Obama, Kimbley “made absolutely no threats to harm anyone at anytime,” Deater wrote in court documents. “In fact, everything said by Mr. Kimbley is no different than what his idol, TV commentator Glenn Beck, typically states on the air and is protected free speech.” This is now the third such case, following Byron Williams, the would-be Tides Foundation terrorist, and Richard Poplawski, the Pittsburgh cop-killer who believed, thanks to Glenn Beck, that authorities were going to take his guns away. As Leah Nelson at SPLC’s Hatewatch notes: The connection between Kimbley’s beliefs and Beck’s provocative on-air statements seems clear, especially his fear that the government plans to round up and intern liberty-loving Americans, a fear that was also expressed by Poplawski and Byron. Moreover, this is now the fourth violent incident in which Fox News’ mainstreaming of extremism played a significant role : Make no mistake: Glenn Beck has been inciting acts of terrorist violence, and the Byron Williams case clearly establishes it — even though it is far from the first such case. It in fact was preceded by several similar cases in which the dehumanizing rhetoric, scapegoating and conspiracist smears promoted by Fox clearly played a powerful role in the violence that ensued: — Jim David Adkisson’s shooting attack on a Knoxville Unitarian church. Adkisson left behind a manifesto that repeated numerous right-wing talking points generated by Fox commentators and specifically cited a Bernard Goldberg book . His library at home was stocked with books by Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage . — Richard Poplawski’s shooting of three Pittsburgh police officers, because he believed a conspiracy theory that President Obama intended to take Americans’ guns away from them, and he reportedly believed the cops had arrived to carry it out. Poplawski, a white supremacist, liked to post Beck videos about FEMA concentration camps to the Stormfront comments board . — Scott Roeder’s assassination of Dr. George Tiller. Roeder was heavily involved in Operation Rescue and avidly read its newsletters — which featured weekly pieces from Bill O’Reilly, including several attacking Tiller as a “baby killer” — and its website, which liked to feature O’Reilly videos attacking Dr. Tiller. Indeed, O’Reilly had indulged a high-profile and unusually obsessive ( not to mention vicious ) jihad against Tiller, resulting in 42 such attacks on Tiller, 24 of which referred to him generically as a “baby killer.”

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The Engadget Interview: Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA

We had an opportunity earlier today to sit down with one of the powerhouses of the wireless industry in the US: Steve Largent, who heads up the CTIA . In that capacity, Largent oversees the industry group most directly responsible for lobbying carriers’ interests in Washington, which means he’s helping to steer the direction this business is going on a very broad, long-term, critical scale — and he also happens to run a trade show that we attend twice a year. We were joined by the CTIA’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, Christopher Guttman-McCabe, for a spirited conversation covering the gamut from net neutrality to spectrum allocation to the Droid R2-D2 Edition and pretty much everything in between. Check it out after the break, won’t you? Continue reading The Engadget Interview: Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA The Engadget Interview: Steve Largent, President and CEO, CTIA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Ad Campaign Asks Obama to Stop 2,000 Mile Oil Sands Pipeline

The notorious tar sands in Alberta, Canada have long been a source of contention for environmentalists, and rightfully so: Due to the destruction wrought by extracting the oil from the sands and the carbon-intensive refinement processes, this oil is often considered the dirtiest on… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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The Christmas season is “a tough time for supporters of abortion rights who have just as much excitement and take just as much joy in expecting a baby in their family as does everyone else, but end up feeling defensive and grumpy about the baby Jesus being hijacked for political gain.” That's how former Catholics for Choice president Frances Kissling lamented the enthusiastic response of pro-life activists to a church ad campaign in the United Kingdom that shows a sonogram with the unborn baby sporting a halo. “He's on His Way,” reads the accompanying tag line. “Christmas starts with Christ,” continues the caption in smaller print at the bottom of the advertisement. Kissling's lament was published on December 4 for the Washington Post's “On Faith” website. read more

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Suicide Bombers Kill 50 Tribesmen in Pakistan

Two militants wearing vests studded with explosives and bullets blew themselves up outside a government-backed meeting of anti-Taliban tribesmen close to the Afghan border Monday, killing 50 people and wounding 100 others. The strike in Mohmand region underscored the tenacity of the Islamist uprising in the northwest despite Pakistani army offensives over the last 2 1/2 years. The operations have retaken areas where militants enjoyed safe haven, but authorities have struggled to hold onto the gains. The tribally administered region is home to thousands of militants staging or supporting attacks on American troops fighting a related insurgency…

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We Could Have 10 MW Wind Turbines by 2011 and 15 MW Turbines by 2020

Photo: Enercon E-126 , currently the biggest wind turbine Winds of Change Wind turbines have been getting bigger and more powerful for a while. It wasn’t that long ago that 1.5-megawatt turbines were considered impressive, but now we have the Enercon E-126 (pictured above and below), currently the biggest wind turbine and able to generate 7 megawatts. But even that isn’t even close to reaching the physical limits of what we can build; The Norwegian company Sway will build a 533-feet, 10-megawatt giant by 2011 (follow… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Hertz to start renting all-electric Smart Fortwo EDs next week

It may still not amount to much of a dent in the company’s complete fleet of vehicles, but Hertz has just announced that it will start renting out the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive vehicle on December 15th, which follows recent announcements that it will soon be offering the all-electric Coda Sedan and Nissan Leaf in selected markets. As you might expect, however, the Smart ED will also be somewhat limited in availability, with San Francisco, New York and Washington D.C. being the only locations included in the initial rollout, and no word on any additional cities to follow. Head on past the break for the complete press release. Continue reading Hertz to start renting all-electric Smart Fortwo EDs next week Hertz to start renting all-electric Smart Fortwo EDs next week originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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There’s No Longer A Happy Ending Where We Prevent Climate Change Anymore: Bill McKibben (Video)

Down in Mexico at the COP16 climate conference, Andy Revkin of the New York Times just posted a video interview he did with environmental campaigner and thinker extraordinare

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