Jun
26
2013
Childhood lead exposure is costing developing countries $992 billion annually due to reductions in IQs and earning potential, according to a new study published today.
The report by New York University researchers is the first to calculate the economic cost of children exposed to lead in Africa, Asia, Latin America and other developing regions. The researchers found that, despite major declines in exposure in the United States and Europe, lead is still harming brains and …
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Jun
26
2013
Apparently there aren’t enough Asian actors around — or at least none that wanted to sign on to be the newest nemesis to those lovable reptilian warriors, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. None? Apparently not, because the producer of the 2014 Ninja Turtles flick has now been forced to whitewash the part of Shredder (aka Oruku Saki.) After weeks of speculation, it’s been confirmed that the part will be filled by William Fichtner, whom by …
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Jun
26
2013
Barack Obama is a “war criminal” and a “hypocrite,” an Irish politician has said in a damning attack on the US president. The MP slammed the Irish treatment of Obama during his G8 visit as akin to ‘prostituting’ Ireland for a “pat on the head.”
Irish MP Clare Daly took no prisoners in her heated attack on the visit of the Obama family to Ireland during this year’s G8 summit, which was held in the five-star …
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Jun
26
2013
Edward Snowden is not booked to fly out of Moscow over the next three days, and with no valid passport, the NSA whistleblower might be stuck in airport limbo indefinitely.
The hot pursuit of Snowden has ground to a halt three days after the former CIA technician, wanted in the US on espionage charges, flew into Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport from Hong Kong.
Washington, which wants Snowden for leaking details of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) dragnet telephone …
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Jun
26
2013
For employees of the United States government, blowing the whistle has long been a fraught decision. From Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the historic Pentagon Papers, to
Edward Snowden, America’s whistleblowers have faced varying personal and legal ramifications after the event.
Click here for the full story. …
Jun
26
2013
Australia and Japan will debate the right to hunt whales for scientific research in the Southern ocean in the International Court of Justice during the coming weeks. The first round got underway on Wednesday.
Australia accuses Japan of breaking an international moratorium on commercial whaling agreed in 1986, but which permits killing for scientific research. It is hiding behind, “the lab coat of science,” the Australian government lawyer told the court. Supporters want an emphatic judgement.
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Jun
26
2013
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has emerged as one of the Beltway’s most consistent advocates for the sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan. Previously undisclosed tax filings reveal that while issuing research reports and publishing articles on US-Taiwan relations, AEI received a $550,000 contribution from the government of Taiwan, a source of funding the think tank has never publicly acknowledged.
?
In 2009, AEI, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, received the contribution from the Taipei Economic and …
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Jun
26
2013
Protesters from two of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas took to the streets to demand investment in public services. They are calling too for the right to organise events in their neighbourhood without official authorisation. It is the latest street protest to hit the South American country.
The rally came as politicians struggled to deal with the raft of grievances behind the demos. President Dilma Rousseff has been told her proposal to hold a referendum asking Brazilians …
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Jun
26
2013
It’s raining here, softly but firmly, and Wendy Davis is filibustering in Texas.
She’s speaking in a low, quiet voice in the other tab, talking about admitting privileges, standing quietly as Senators raise points of order, resuming her flood of speech flawlessly when the floor is returned to her. Her voice is calm and clear, measured, thoughtful, as she explains a subsection of SB5. My Twitter is flooded with commentary on Davis, on SB5, on reproductive …
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Jun
26
2013
In a victory for marriage equality, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on Wednesday that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)–a federal law that deprived legally married same-sex couples of benefits given to other married couples–is unconstitutional and “a deprivation of equal liberty.”
Writing the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.”
He continued:
DOMA singles …
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