February 2011
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South Carolina Scientist Works To Grow Meat In... →
In a small laboratory on an upper floor of the basic science building at the Medical University of South Carolina, Vladimir Mironov, M.D., Ph.D., has been working for a decade to grow meat.
A developmental biologist and tissue engineer, Dr. Mironov, 56, is one of only a few scientists worldwide involved in bioengineering “cultured” meat.
It’s a product he believes could...
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Monster Cyclone Heading to Queensland, Australia →
Huge Cyclone Yasi is rapidly intensifying as it moves towards flood ravaged Queensland, Australia. Land soaked by 4 months of the heaviest rains in Australian history now faces potentially one of the strongest tropical cyclones to strike Australia.
Yasi is forecast by the U.S. Navy to make landfall as a strong category 4 storm of 125 knots (145mph) in north Queensland, south of the Great Barrier...
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Leading Egyptian Feminist, Nawal El Saadawi:... →
Amy Goodman of Democracy NOW!:
“Renowned feminist and human rights activist Nawal El Saadawi was a political prisoner and exiled from Egypt for years. Now she has returned to Cairo, and she joins us to discuss the role of women during the last seven days of unprecedented protests.
‘Women and girls are, beside the boys, are in the streets,’ El Saadawi says. ‘We are calling...
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Look What President Obama Has Done →
Nate Silver:
Poll: Egyptian Public’s Views Toward United States Are Much Improved
Understandably, there’s been a lot of concern about what sort of regime might replace Hosni Mubarak’s in Egypt, if a new one replaces it at all. How friendly might a new regime be toward the United States, for instance? No one certainly can predict that. What does appear to be the case, however, is that Egyptian...
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January 2011
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Extremist Republicans Prepare Bizarre "pay China... →
This is really weird, especially coming when House Speaker John Boehner is ruling out blocking an increase in the debt limit:
New Republican legislation in the House and Senate would force the U.S. government to reroute huge amounts of money to China and other creditors in the event that Congress fails to raise its debt ceiling.
The legislation, pushed in the Senate by Pat Toomey and in the...
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Brisk Holiday Boosts Consumer Spending For 2010 →
Americans spent at the fastest pace in three years in 2010, boosted by a strong finish in December.
Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent in December, the sixth straight monthly increase, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Households saw their incomes rise 0.4 percent, the same as November.
For all of 2010, consumers boosted spending 3.5 percent. That was the best performance since a 5.2...
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Egyptian Army Says it Won't Use Force →
The Egyptian army says it considers the Egyptian people’s demands “legitimate” and will not use force against protesters tomorrow.
Al-Arabiya tweeted the bulletin at 1:28 p.m. ET.
The BBC, citing state television, says that “while asserting that it ‘will not use force against the people’, the Egyptian army has also warned against ‘the carrying out of any...
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Man Held Over Threat To Dearborn Mosque →
CHICAGO - A man found with explosives outside one of the nation’s largest mosques in suburban Detroit is in jail facing felony charges, police said on Sunday.
Roger Stockham, 63, of California, was arrested with explosives last Monday outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, and faces felony charges that carry up to 35 years in prison, Dearborn police told Reuters by...
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Arctic Defrost Dumping Snow on U.S. and Europe →
UXBRIDGE, Canada - The world’s northern freezer is on rapid defrost as large volumes of warm water are pouring into the Arctic Ocean, speeding the melt of sea ice, according to a new study.
Surface temperatures in parts of the Arctic have been 21 degrees C above normal for more than a month in recent weeks.
“Boats were still in the water during the first week of January,” said...
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Egyptian Reform Leader Calls On Mubarak To Go →
Egypt’s most prominent democracy advocate took up a bullhorn Sunday to call for President Hosni Mubarak to go, speaking to thousands of protesters who defied a third night of curfew to mass in the capital’s main square. Fighter jets streaked low overhead and police returned to the streets as Egypt’s government tried to show its authority over a situation spiraling out of...
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Southern Sudan Votes For Secession By 99 Percent →
Southern Sudan’s referendum commission said Sunday that more than 99 percent of voters in the south opted to secede from the country’s north in a vote held earlier this month.
The announcement drew cheers from a crowd of thousands that gathered in Juba, the dusty capital of what may become the world’s newest country.
The weeklong vote, held in early January and widely praised...
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Extremist Republican Senators Rand Paul and David... →
Instead of focusing on ways to grow the economy, shore up our crumbling infrastructure or develop cleaner energy sources, Republican Senators David Vitter (LA) and Rand Paul (KY) have proposed a resolution that “would amend the Constitution” to deny citizenship to anyone born in the United States “unless at least one parent is a legal citizen, legal immigrant, active member of...
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Clinton urges 'transition to a democratic regime'... →
With Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in danger of being toppled by waves of street protests, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged “a peaceful, orderly transition to a democratic regime,” but refused to engage in speculation about possible U.S. sanctuary for Mubarak if he were driven into exile.
Appearing on NBC’s ”Meet the Press”, Clinton told NBC’s David Gregory the...
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Ohio Case: The 'Rosa Parks Moment' For Education? →
Kelley Williams-Bolar, an Akron, Ohio, woman who served nine days in jail for lying to get her children into a better school system, was released earlier this week.
But the controversy over the case appears to be growing. Williams-Bolar’s felony conviction has stirred strong feelings over school funding, equality — and the law.
The Conviction
Two-and-a-half years ago, Williams-Bolar was...
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Medicine: Private or Social Good? →
Andrew Saal MD of Truthout:
“As a family physician, I love to teach. Last fall, I had a young medical student with me for rounds at the local hospital. When we dropped by the venerable doctors’ lounge for a quick lunch, one of the newer physicians greeted us in the bustling room. ‘Hey, we’re circulating a petition to get our issue on the ballot. We need your help,’...
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WatchDaily Show: Wyatt Cenac - Bird Like Me
Wyatt Cenac finds an historic black town in Mississippi where birds are revered more than people.
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'Secret' Republican Weekend Meeting Fires Up... →
This weekend, at a posh resort near Palm Springs, California, two billionaire corporate titans will convene a semi-annual meeting of a politically well-connected set. It will include wealthy donors and powerful Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
At David and Charles Koch’s meeting, attendees will discuss items like how best to promote free markets and how to help...
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Mubarak makes moves as protests convulse Egypt →
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — President Hosni Mubarak’s efforts to redeem his 30-year-rule did little to quell Egyptian discontent Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators again defied a curfew to demand change and a new fear of anarchy percolated.
The world’s attention fell on central Cairo where the Army was deployed to replace police forces that clashed brutally with...
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Astronaut's Brother Recalls A Man Who Dreamed Big →
Ronald McNair was one of the astronauts killed 25 years ago on Jan. 28, when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. As his brother recalls, McNair’s life was all about exploring boundaries — and exceeding them.
McNair was only the second African-American to visit space. He’d been there once before, aboard a Challenger mission in 1984. On that trip, he played his saxophone while in...
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Prominent Human Rights Activist Murdered in Uganda →
Jodi Jacobson of RHRealityCheck:
“Human rights advocates and the United States Department of State are calling for an investigation of the murder of a prominent Ugandan human rights advocate.
David Kato, the advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), fought for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. He was brutally murdered in his home yesterday by...
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Important Update on Net Neutrality(Open Internet)... →
When the FCC released its disappointing ruling on net neutrality, I promised that the fight wasn’t over.
I wanted you to know that I’m working with Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington to provide a legislative fix.
You can read more about the bill here.
Remember, your support is critical to preserving the free and open Internet. When the FCC was deliberating its regulations, we made our...
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WatchCrazy Bill O’Reilly Defends His Nazi Comparisons — Jon Stewart Makes O’Reilly Look Like the Fool That He Is
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Real Justice Requires That the Punishment Fit the... →
Kelley Williams-Bolar wanted to give her children a better life by sending them to school in the nearby majority-White school district where her father lives — and she went to jail for it. Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder — she had been studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended as well.
Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime;...
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Electric Car Gaining Favor Among Automakers and... →
Electric cars have been around since the 1900s, but it hasn’t been until recently that they have really taken off. One of the main reasons for the increased demand of electric cars is due to improvements in technology, but a lot of it also has to do with the increase in oil prices. Many companies have been creating electric cars on a small-scale basis because of low demand, low efficiency...
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Egyptian President Mubarak on TV Demands Cabinet... →
CAIRO — Embattled President Hosni Mubarak says he has asked his Cabinet to resign in his first appearance on television since protests erupted demanding his ouster.
He says he will press ahead with social, economic and political reforms. He calls anti-government protests part of plot to destabilize Egypt and destroy the legitimacy of his regime.
He is defending security forces’ crackdown...
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Friday Protests In Egypt Expected To Be Biggest... →
Protests in the streets of Egypt are expected to grow larger Friday after the arrival of democracy advocate Mohammed ElBaradei in the country and the announcement from the Muslim Brotherhood that the opposition group would begin actively supporting the demonstrations…
ElBaradei called for an end to Mubarak’s government and said he would join the protests on Friday. But it’s...
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Challenger: 25 Years Later, America's Wound Still... →
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For many, no single word evokes as much pain.
Challenger.
A quarter-century later, images of the exploding space shuttle still signify all that can go wrong with technology and the sharpest minds. The accident on Jan. 28, 1986 — a scant 73 seconds into flight, nine miles above the Atlantic for all to see — remains NASA’s most visible failure.
It was the...
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Filibuster Lives: Senate Rejects Changes in Rules →
The filibuster lives on. The Senate voted overwhelmingly late Thursday to reject efforts to change its rules to restrict the blockades that have sown gridlock and discord in recent years on Capitol Hill.
Instead, senators settled on a more modest measure to prevent single lawmakers from anonymously holding up legislation and nominations, and the parties’ Senate leaders announced a handshake...
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Hawaii Lawmakers Want Release of Obama Birth... →
Anyone would be able to get a copy of President Barack Obama’s birth records for a $100 fee under a bill introduced in the state Legislature that backers hope will finally dispel claims he was born elsewhere.
The bill would change a privacy law barring the release of birth records unless the requester is someone with a tangible interest, such as a close family member.
The measure was...
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Australia's Katrina Moment →
John Pilger of Truthout:
“When you fly over the earth’s oldest land mass, Australia, the view can be shocking. Scars as long as European countries are the result of erosion. Salt pans shimmer where native vegetation once grew. This change is almost impossible to reverse.
The first species to die are those that are most vulnerable. According to the International Union for Conservation...
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We Must Defend America’s Middle Class Before... →
By Sen. Bernie Sanders
There is a war going on in this country and I am not referring to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am referring to the war waged by the wealthiest people in America on the disappearing and shrinking middle class of our country. The nation’s billionaires are on the warpath. They want more, more, more. Their greed has no end and they are apparently unconcerned for the...
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Egypt protest leaflets distributed in Cairo give... →
Egyptians have been urged to come out after Friday prayers tomorrow and demand the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak’s government, along with freedom, justice and a democratic regime.
Anonymous leaflets circulating in Cairo also provide practical and tactical advice for mass demonstrations, confronting riot police, and besieging and taking control of government offices.
Signed “long live...
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Financial Crisis of 2008 Avoidable, Says U.S.... →
Regulators, politicians and bankers were to blame for the 2008 U.S. financial meltdown, a report has claimed.
The U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, tasked with establishing the causes of the crisis, said it was “avoidable”.
Its report highlighted excessive risk-taking by banks and neglect by financial regulators.
“The crisis was the result of human action and inaction,...
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Speaker of the House John Boehner Lies About... →
Ben Smith at Politico flags this bit of Republican lying from John Boehner (R-OH) during an appearance on CNN last night, where he complained about what the President didn’t say in his State of the Union address:
BOEHNER: Well, they — they’ve refused to talk about America exceptionalism. We are different than the rest of the world. Why? Because Americans have — the...
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Does the Tea Party Care About Special Education? →
just before President Obama’s State of the Union address, Republican freshman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) unveiled his own plan to cut $500 billion from the federal budget in a single year. The plan is (depending on your point of view) sweeping or draconian, as it calls for the elimination of
the Department of Energy
the National Endowment for the Arts
the National Endowment for the...