Society's ChildS


Bomb

Ben Swann interviews Dr. Ron Paul


He was a longtime congressman in the state of Texas, known as "Dr. No". Ron Paul will not be remembered for all the bills he worked to pass, he's remembered for all the bills he worked to stop.

He has never been president, never served in a presidential administration, never won a presidential nomination. Never even elected to the U.S. senate. And yet Ron Paul is arguably the most influential polititian in modern American history.

Bizarro Earth

Billion litres of coal-mine muck leaks into Athabasca River

Edmonton - Geotechnical engineers remained at the Obed Mountain coal mine Sunday trying to determine how one billion litres of murky water leaked from a containment pond into the Athabasca River.

A barrier gave way on Halloween, allowing liquid containing coal dust, sand and dirt to flow through two creeks into the Athabasca, said Darin Barter, a spokesman for the Alberta Energy Regulator.

"I haven't seen this happen. Coal mine incidents and pit leak incidents are really rare," he said. "I was surprised this could happen."

The Obed Mountain mine, owned by Sherritt International and now undergoing reclamation since operations were suspended last November, is about 30 kilometres northeast of Hinton.

The dirty water travelled 25 kilometres to the Athabasca, forming a muddy plume now floating downstream, Alberta Environment spokeswoman Jessica Potter said.

Department staff and Alberta Health Services were analyzing water samples to determine if anything in the sediment could cause environmental or health problems, she said.

"There's actually quite a noticeable change of colour (in the river)," she said. "It's like muddy water ... murky, muddy water."

The leading edge of the plume, which is slowly dissipating, was between Whitecourt and Athabasca on Sunday.

Investigators don't know how long the plume is because aircraft needed to monitor the situation were unable to fly in the snowy weekend weather.

Airplane

Testimony of a Former Drone Warrior

us drone
HALA GORANI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Welcome back to the program. I'm Hala Gorani, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour.

Imagine this: killing more than 1,500 enemies in war without ever stepping foot on the battlefield. That was Brandon Bryant's life. He was a drone sensor operator responsible for tracking and killing militants halfway around the world from where the trigger was pulled, a ground control station in the U.S. states of Nevada and New Mexico.

Grainy black-and-white videos like this one give us a bird's eye view of this new form of warfare. This attack, for instance, took place on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan back in 2008.

Che Guevara

30,000 people dispersed with tear gas as French riot police break up anti-tax protest in Brittany

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© Reuters / Stephane Mahe
French riot police fired tear gas at thousands of demonstrators in north-west France on Saturday, after some protesters hurled stones and iron bars at them in a rally against a controversial green tax and layoffs.

Three demonstrators were arrested while four protesters and a police officer were injured after scuffles broke out during the protest on Saturday afternoon.

Protest organisers said 30,000 people, including hauliers, fishermen and food industry workers, had gathered in the town of Quimper in Brittany to demonstrate against an environmental tax on trucks and layoffs, even though the government had earlier in the week suspended the application of the so-called ecotax.

Authorities estimate that 15,000 people joined in the protest.

Some of the protestors pelted police with stones, iron bars and even pots of chrysanthemum, while others burned palettes. Police responded with water cannons and tear gas.

Colosseum

Sen. John Barrasso calls Secretary Kathleen Sebelius a laughingstock over Obamacare website

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© ABC News
As technical problems continue to plague the Obamacare rollout, Senator and orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Barrasso, R-Wy., once again called for Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to resign.

"She's already, as of 'Saturday Night Live' last night, the laughing stock of America," he said on 'This Week' this Sunday. "She's lost considerable credibility."

Sebelius was parodied in the opening segment of 'Saturday Night Live' last night, poking fun at the failures of the Healthcare.gov website.

The Obamacare rollout has been beleaguered by problems since the enrollment system went live at midnight on Oct. 1. By mid-afternoon that same day, around 2.8 million people had visited Healthcare.gov, the federally-run exchange serving 36 states. The resulting system overload meant many visitors were greeted with an error message saying the site was down.

In the following weeks consumers reported problems with system timeouts, creating and logging into accounts and inaccurate information regarding eligibility.

In his weekly address Saturday, President Barack Obama said Healthcare.gov had been visited more than 20 million times since its launch. However, only around 700,000 Americans have successfully submitted applications.

Life Preserver

No takers for Obamacare in one Colorado county: Navigator hasn't signed up anyone because it's too expensive

"Thus far everybody has taken a look at the rates and they've walked out the door."

Al Jazeera finds an Obamacare navigator in Colorado who hasn't signed up anybody for the new program because it's too expensive:
"So far, no one," says the Obamacare navigator. "Thus far everybody has taken a look at the rates and they've walked out the door. There's sticker shock. They just can't afford it."

Vader

Disturbing! British Army fascists

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© unknownA picture which shows two British soldiers making Nazi salutes in front of British and loyalist flags has caused a fresh controversy following its publication by a tabloid newspaper in England.

The men dressed in camouflage fatigues have their right arms raised in a traditional fascist manner. They are standing in front of a British Union Jack featuring the words "Invicta Loyal", the name of an English Rangers supporters' club, and the so-called 'Northern Ireland flag'.

The photograph was defended in the press with suggestions the soldiers may be making a 'Red Hand of Ulster salute'. Displays of fascism by Rangers fans have previous been explained away in such terms, but the gesture is unknown in Ireland.

The mythical 'Red Hand of Ulster salute' is understood to be have been invented for damage limitation purposes only.

The identities of the soldiers and their regiments have not been made public. It is believed the photograph was taken in Afghanistan.

Syringe

Drug Frenzy: China's new drug underworld

Drugs are pouring out of Burma into a booming China. With cash to spend and a rocketing drug culture, it's a social and legal time bomb.

Part I


Heroin and other dangerous drug traffic is pouring out of a newly unshackled Myanmar and into a booming, cashed-up China. As the country's drug culture sky-rockets, the narcotics are threatening social chaos.

Pistol

Shooter's former roommate: LAX shooting suspect 'a nice guy'

Former room-mate of LA airport shooting suspect tells of his shock and surprise.


No Entry

Overdue book in Texas? Go to jail


Jory Enck is apparently a slow reader. About 3 years ago, he checked out a G.E.D study guide from a library in Copperas Cove. Last week police arrested him on a warrant for not returning library materials. The city ordinance was passed to crack down on delinquent readers. According to the city's municipal judge, Bill Price, "the reason they passed it was that they were spending a tremendous amount of money replacing these materials that people just didn't return." Enck was released on a $200 bond and reportedly returned the study guide to the city library the next day.