Society's ChildS

Eye 1

Power blackout hits Chile

chile,blackout
© Reuters/Eliseo FernandezA woman listens to news on the radio during a blackout in Vina del Mar city, about 121 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago September 24, 2011.

A massive power blackout paralyzed crucial copper mines in Chile on Saturday and darkened vast swaths of the country including the capital Santiago before energy was largely restored, officials said.

The outage acutely exposed the fragility of the energy grid in the world's top copper producer, which was devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2010.

Critics have blamed Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for under-investment in infrastructure and his popularity ratings have dropped since taking office last year. Prior to the power failure, he was already struggling with massive protests by university students demanding deep educational reforms.

Newspaper

Nepal Tourist Plane Crash Kills 19 On Board

nepal,plane,crash
The 19 people on board the plane all died when it crashed in dense fog

A plane carrying 19 people, mostly foreign tourists, has crashed in Nepal while trying to land in dense fog, police have said.

A witness said he saw as many as 18 of the bodies pulled out of the wreckage in Bisankunarayan village, a few miles south of the capital, Kathmandu.

The final person on board was rushed to hospital but also later died.

Eyewitness Haribol Poudel told Avenues Television the plane had hit the roof of a house in the village.

Officials said that there were 13 foreign tourists on board - 10 Indians, two Americans and one Japanese.

Light Saber

Saudi king gives women right to vote

saudi, woman
© NA

Riyadh - Saudi King Abdullah announced on Sunday he was giving women the right to vote and run in municipal elections, the only public polls in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom.

He also announced that women would have the right to join the all-appointed Shura (consultative) Council, in an address opening a new term of the council.

"Starting with the next term, women will have the right to run in municipal elections and to choose candidates, according to Islamic principles," he said.

Comment: Wow, progress in Saudi Arabia... not.


Sherlock

US: Missing Moon Rock Found Among Bill Clinton's Files

A long lost, highly valuable moon rock, bought back by Apollo 17 has been found in former U.S. president Bill Clinton's files.

moon rock, clinton
© Unknown
The rock, missing for 30 years, was one of 50 presented to each state after the 1972 space mission. It was presented to Clinton's predecessor Gov. David Pryor in 1976. The rock hung in the governor's office that was later occupied by Clinton. The rock was apparently packed away with Clinton's memorabilia after it fell off its plaque.

The moon rock is estimated to be worth $10 million. NASA says that few of the rocks, which were encased in acrylic and mounted on a plaque with the intended recipient's flag, can be located.

Wall Street

Genius Video: Bank Bailouts Explained - The Screwing Of The American People


Yes, these clips look infantile, but stupid this one is not.

From the creator of QE2 for dummies...

Paulson, Geithner, AIG, Goldman, Bernanke and more.

On the Goldman Sachs:
  • "Because when you already own the U.S. government, you don't need to buy any more banks."
  • "What about the president Obama and the change? Did the president Obama bring the change to the Timothy Jeethner?"

Wolf

Randy 'Amanda' Lehrer missing for a month found encased in concrete in a drum at her home. But where is husband who reported her missing?

amanda lehrer
Vanished: Randy 'Amanda' Lehrer was last seen on August 12 but her husband didn't report her missing until five days later

The body of a woman who has been missing for a month has been found encased in concrete in a drum in her basement, her mother says.

Rose Moncarz told CBC News in Canada thather daughter Randy 'Amanda' Lehrer was found at her home in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The police have yet to confirm that the body is Miss Lehrer.

Arrow Down

High-flying gold crashes in record $100 freefall

gold bars
© Reuters

Gold crashed more than $100 on Friday, as a slide turned into a free fall, with weeks of volatility, renewed strength in the dollar and talk of hedge fund liquidation wrecking its safe-haven status.

The sell-off came even after relative calm was restored to the stock and oil markets following Thursday's losses. Bonds also dived with gold and silver as investors took profit on a near week-long rally in U.S. Treasuries.

Widespread talk of possible selling by big hedge funds covering losses in other markets set off one of the biggest routs on record in the precious metals group.

Briefcase

Court Advances U.S. Torture Victims' Case Against Donald Rumsfeld

Donald Vance
Donald Vance

The Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals ruled August 8 that two American citizens detained and tortured without trial or court hearing by the Bush-era Defense Department may sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

U.S. Navy veteran Donald Vance (left) and fellow American Nathan Ertel were employed by the private U.S. government contractor Shield Group Security in 2006 outside the Baghdad green zone and witnessed the sale of U.S government munitions to Iraqi rebel groups for money and alcohol. After becoming FBI informants, the two were detained and tortured by federal officials for 97 days (Donald Vance) and six weeks (Nathan Ertel) at Camp Cropper in Iraq after contacting the FBI about corruption in the now-defunct federal contractor.

Judge David Hamilton wrote in a 2-1 appellate court decision that concluded, "The wrongdoing alleged here violates the most basic terms of the constitutional compact between our government and the citizens of this country." The district court had earlier ruled that the allegations are the kind that "shocks the conscience."

MIB

US: EPA to Property Owner - "Your Land is Our Land"

Just imagine. You want to build a home, so you buy a $23,000 piece of land in a residential subdivision in your hometown and get started. The government then tells you to stop, threatens you with $40 million in fines and is not kidding.

That's the case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, with briefs being filed today by the Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of a Priest Lake, Idaho, family, Chantell and Mike Sackett.

Attorney Damien Schiff, who will be arguing before the high court in the case, said it's simply a case of a government run amok, and it poses a potential threat to perhaps not every landowner across the nation, but untold millions.

The Sacketts, Schiff said, "bought property, and the government in effect has ordered them to treat the property like a public park."

"The EPA has not paid them a dime for that privilege," he said. "The regime we have operating now allows the EPA to take property without having to pay for it, or giving the owners the right to their day in court.""

Wolf

US: Perry lies again about Texas Gardasil scandal, claims woman he met after signing executive order lobbied him to pass it

rick perry
Texas Governor Rick Perry

The more Texas Gov. Rick Perry tries to defend his decision to sign an executive order in 2007 mandating that all young girls in Texas receive vaccinations against the human papillomavirus (HPV) before being admitted to school, the more he exposes himself as a lying scoundrel that is unfit to govern his own state, let alone lead a nation.

During the recent Republican presidential debate in Orlando, Fla., Perry tried once again to defend his infamous Gardasil blunder, this time by telling the heart-tugging story of a woman he met and got to know who had cervical cancer. He told the audience and viewers Thursday night that the reason he signed the executive order was because the woman lobbied him to do so.

"I got lobbied on this issue," said a calm and composed Perry. "I got lobbied by a 31 year old young lady who had stage-four cervical cancer. I spent a lot of time with her. She came by my office. She talked to me about this program. I readily admitted we should have had an opt-in (for the mandate) but I don't know what part of opt out most parents don't get. The fact is I was on the side of life and I will always be on the side of life as a governor and as president of the United States."