(By Tina Casey) Hook Up Your Solar Panels To A Giant Rhubarb Battery (via Clean Technica) Yes, all you rhubarb fans take note. A new energy storage breakthrough is under way at Harvard University, and it is based on a common little molecule that is almost exactly the same as one found in rhubarb. The […]
NSA Bulk Surveillance has had no Impact on Fighting Terrorism
(By Jon Queally) An in-depth analysis of 227 individuals recruited by al Qaida or like-minded groups, and charged in the U.S. with an act of terrorism since 9/11, shows the contribution of NSA’s bulk surveillance programs to these cases was minimal, and that traditional investigative methods were more helpful."Overblown." "Even Misleading." That's a how a […]
Turkey’s Fierce Battle on the Religious Right
(By Ayşe Soysal) … What is happening in Turkey now doesn’t feel like just a simple political disagreement, or even a war-game. It’s an all-out war, whose opening gambits have been politically damaging to both sides — the [Justice and Development Party or] AKP-led government and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and the secretive Islamic Gülen […]
Fossil Fuels causing Antarctic Glacier to Melt Irreversibly, raise Sea Levels
(By AFP) Giant Antarctic glacier beyond point of no return (via AFP) Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier, one of the biggest single contributors to world sea-level rise, is melting irreversibly and could add as much as a centimetre (0.4 inches) to ocean levels in 20 years, a study said Sunday. The glacier “has started a… […]
Top Ten Things wrong with NSA Surveillance of Americans
(By Peter Van Buren) The debate Edward Snowden envisioned when he revealed the extent of National Security Agency (NSA) spying on Americans has taken a bad turn. Instead of a careful examination of what the NSA does, the legality of its actions, what risks it takes for what gains, and how effective the agency has […]
Ariel Sharon should have been Tried for War Crimes: Human Rights Watch
(By Human Rights Watch) (Jerusalem) – Ariel Sharon died without facing justice for his role in the massacres of hundreds and perhaps thousands of civilians by Lebanese militias in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. The killings constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sharon also escaped accountability for other alleged […]
Iran Negotiations Breakthrough: Reduction of 19.25% Enriched Uranium Stock begins Jan. 20
(By AFP) White House confirms Iran nuclear deal to take effect Jan 20 (via AFP) The White House confirmed Sunday that a nuclear agreement with Iran will take effect from January 20, but US President Barack Obama said he was under “no illusions” how hard it would be reach a comprehensive resolution. “Beginning January 20th, […]
New Congressional Sanctions on Iran Will Backfire . . . on Congress
(By Farhang Jahanpour) Despite strong opposition by the White House and the States Department and despite the pleadings of some of the most prominent bipartisan US foreign policy luminaries who have warned that additional sanctions would jeopardize ongoing diplomatic efforts, many US senators are pushing forward with a new resolution that is supported by the […]
Pakistani Boy who Tackled, Thwarted School Bomber Honored
(By AFP) Pakistan honours teenage bomb hero with bravery award (via AFP) A Pakistani teenager who sacrificed his life to stop a suicide bomber, saving the lives of hundreds of students, has been honoured with the country’s highest award for bravery. Aitzaz Hassan, 15, a student in Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province… ——– […]