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Clinton AIDS

 In his post-presidential life, Clinton has been rushing day-by-day to touch as many lives as he can. Among his countless organizations is one that improves AIDS treatment. Here he spoke at the International AIDS Conference. The National Geographic reports:

Mexico City--President Clinton addressed the International AIDS Conference here.

Reacting to the recent announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that there are 56,000 more new HIV infections a year than had previously been reported in the U.S., Clinton said: "For Americans, this should be a wake-up call. Even as we fight the epidemic globally, we must focus at home. And I intend to do so with my foundation."

Is it possible if he decided to devote his fame to one cause, he could help that one cause significantly more than all the proverbial pies he is trying to stick his finger in? Much like Al Gore dedicated himself to the spread of awareness for global warming, Clinton could create so much more help for individual causes. If he one day does decide to do so, hopefully he chooses AIDS. Then again, it's possible that he has enough fame for all the causes that he is promoting.

Tracking AIDS

 Theories of the 'quasi-origins' of AIDS are slowly coming around to prove true. The main theory, that AIDS traveled from Africa to Haiti to the United States are showing genetic truths. National Geographic reports:

HIV went directly from Africa to Haiti, then spread to the United States and much of the rest of the world beginning around 1969, suggests an international team of researchers. The findings settle a key debate on the history and transmission route of the deadly virus, the scientists say.

When AIDS was officially recognized in 1981 in the U.S., for instance, the unusually high prevalence of the disease in Haitian immigrants fueled speculation that the Caribbean island was the source of the mysterious illness. Another theory held that the AIDS epidemic spread from the U.S. in the mid-1970s after Haiti became a popular destination for sex tourism.

Scientists led by Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, Tucson, tried to solve the puzzle by tracing back the family history of the virus subtype blamed for the epidemic in North America.

Although this news may not prove useful to an 'outsider' of AIDS at first glance, this has much genetic value behind it. It has been proven that a certain percent of the human population is immune to the HIV virus which triggers AIDS. If the spread of AIDS is genetically traced and these immune genes are identified, it could mean the end of AIDS as we know it.

Text Aiding AIDS

As AIDS continues to magnify its victim count, South Africa has turned to an unusual resource for help. Texting could be the future of AIDS treatment. Those who believe they have symptoms and those who have been diagnosed can text their questions and concerns to doctors for advice. National Geographic reports:

As South Africa reels from the HIV/AIDS epidemic, health workers are turning to cell phone technology to get the word out about testing for the virus. An ambitious text messaging campaign is expected to reach a million South Africans daily with information about HIV/AIDS counseling services and testing centers throughout the country.

The effort, called Project Masiluleke—which means "hope" and "warm counsel" in the South Africa's major language, Zulu—"is one of the largest ever uses of mobile phones for health info," according to Andrew Zolli, executive director of Pop!Tech, which helped coordinate and fund the project.

The initiative was announced this week at the annual Pop!Tech technology conference in Camden, Maine, and is expected to officially launch in South Africa next February.

This could revolutionize early treatment for the AIDS victim society. A simple quick text could prove life-saving, not only physically but mentally too. Many myths about treatment could quickly be put to rest by this new method, protecting many possible future patients. AIDS texting should be employed as soon as possible.

Trump Trumping?

Donald Trump is causing indecisive turmoil within the 2012 election scene. Recent polls show data that swings either way for the favor of Trump. Politico reports:

Donald Trump might be a factor in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but it’s not clear that he’d pull support away from one candidate more than any other, a new poll suggests.

In fifth place, behind former Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who would get the support of 19 percent and 18 percent of Republicans, respectively. Newt Gingrich ranked fourth in the poll, getting the support of 14 percent of those surveyed, followed by former Sarah Palin, at 12 percent. Ron Paul is sixth after Trump at eight percent in the poll.

Without Trump included in the pool of candidates, all the other top GOP hopefuls do a bit better. Huckabee would get the support of 21 percent of Republicans, while Romney would get the support of 19 percent. Support for Gingrich and Palin would be one percentage point higher for both, at 15 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

Is it possible that Trump could bring back the Palin effect? Could he muster enough crazed fans to distract enough voters away from the Republican candidates? These polls indicate that this is a possibility. Which is somewhat disturbing. Although Trump is the business mogul, that is not necessarily the trait a president or any political leader would want to be prominent.

Gaddafi Cut Off

 While Libya has been in chaos, America has been slowly stepping into the spotlight of foreign aid. In the last 72 hours, the Obama administration has been targeted on cutting off as much money as possible from the Libyan government. As mush as $29.7 billion of Libyan property have been within one bank. Here is what the Washington Post reports:

The Treasury Department team had been working nonstop on a plan to freeze Libyan assets in U.S. banks, hoping they might snare $100 million or more and prevent Moammar Gaddafi from tapping it in the deadly attacks against protesters who wanted him gone.

Never before had U.S. officials so quickly launched economic sanctions affecting so many assets of a targeted country.

The frenetic 72 hours leading up to the Executive Order 13566 illustrate how a process of identifying and freezing assets — something that customarily has taken weeks or months — has become one of the first tactical tools to employ in the midst of fast-breaking crises.

 The same virtual finances that helped maintain the Libyan government are now ironically the same ones being used against them. Although this freeze is only one of many actions used to slow down the dictatorship, there is no guarantee that it will slow Gaddafi down in any way. This action should dwindle his resources but after a look at Gaddafi's track record, it is obvious that he knows how to remain in power during rough rides. The US should also consider proactively going after sources supplying the Lybian dictatorship.

Politico

Mental Health Break

Politico reports:

If there’s still any doubt that Sarah Palin doesn’t poll well with independents, consider it settled — they actually prefer Charlie Sheen to the former Alaska governor.

In the totally improbable yet amusing match-up, Palin takes only 36 percent of independents to the troubled actor’s 41 percent, according to a Public Policy Polling survey out Thursday.

Not surprisingly, the overwhelming majority of Republicans — 84 percent — would choose Palin over Sheen if given the choice. But the poll underscores just how polarizing Palin has become, as she now sports astonishingly high negatives in most surveys.

Showing just how bad of a sign it is for any politician to be polling in close competition with Sheen, the actor’s favorability rating stands at only 10 percent — tying him with John Edwards as the fourth least popular person ever tested by PPP.

Mental Health Break

Washington Post

Politico

Bahrain Following Lybia?

Washington Post

MANAMA, Bahrain — A tent city in the heart of Bahrain’s capital was wiped away Wednesday morning in a cloud of tear gas and a hail of rubber bullets after the government dispatched troops against pro-democracy demonstrators in defiance of U.S. warnings.
Trails of acrid black smoke floated over Manama as dumpsters and tires were set alight across the city. By late afternoon, the military had announced a 12-hour curfew for most of the downtown area, including Pearl Square, which has been the hub of the demonstrations.
The early-morning sweep came despite U.S. insistence that dialogue, not violence, was the only way to end the crisis that has convulsed Bahrain for more than a month. It drew an unusually sharp rebuke from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is visiting the Middle East.
“They are on the wrong track,” she told reporters in Cairo. “There is no security answer to this,” she added, referring to the protesters’ demands, “and the sooner they get back to the negotiating table and start trying to answer the legitimate needs of the people, the sooner there can be a resolution.”
The assault Wednesday, which left at least five people dead, was no more deadly than a nighttime raid on Pearl Square in February that killed at least four. But it appeared in some ways to deliver a more definitive blow to the protesters, followed up not just by the curfew but by tougher government rhetoric and a heavier troop presence on the streets.
The move also came after two days in which dozens of tanks and hundreds of troop carriers, armored personnel carriers and water tankers streamed over a causeway connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has said it will do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of the al-Khalifa monarchy, which has ruled Bahrain for more than two centuries.

Saudi troops and forces from other Gulf countries did not appear to take part in Wednesday’s action, but the decision to clear the square highlighted a profound sectarian divide in the region. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the assault as “foul and doomed,” according to Iran’s state-run news agency. And in Iraq, the highly influential cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called on Bahrain’s government to stop using violence against its citizens. Sistani rarely comments on politics, and his words hold great weight for Shiites in the region.
The mostly Shiite protesters in Bahrain have been calling for democratic reforms and an end to what they say is systematic discrimination against them by the Sunni monarchy. Shiites make up about 70 percent of the population in Bahrain, according to most estimates but constitute only a minority in a parliament that is largely powerless anyway.
Saudi Arabia has voiced concern that if Bahrain is taken over by Shiites, the country would become a satellite state of Iran. But the crackdown may only increase protesters’ sympathy for the Shiite-ruled country, some observers said Wednesday.
“For the Saudis to be here is a challenge to the Iranians,” said Jasim Husain, a member of the main Shiite opposition party, al-Wefaq. “This is something we wanted to avoid.” Protesters have strenuously maintained that they were not controlled by Iranians, an assertion largely supported by U.S. officials.
“This is a historical day in Bahrain,” Husain said. “There are a lot of injuries, for sure.” Husain said contact had been severed between opposition parties and the monarchy, who as recently as Sunday had appeared poised to begin negotiations with demonstrators.
Bahraini security forces massed near Pearl Square about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, and police started sweeping through the area about an hour later, using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, witnesses said. The witnesses also reported hearing rifle fire in the area, and doctors at Manama’s main hospital said that they had treated several protesters who had been shot with live ammunition.
By 9 a.m., protesters had fled, on foot or by car, leaving the army in control of the square, where tear gas mixed with dark smoke rising from blazing tents. In the afternoon, state television broadcast footage of security forces walking through the square as large tanker trucks extinguished the flames. It was not clear who had set the fires, and each side blamed the other.
The Bahraini government said two police officers were run over and killed by protesters leaving the square, and Reuters reported that a third police officer later died, citing a hospital source. Doctors and human rights workers said there were at least two other deaths, but the number was difficult to independently verify.
In a statement, the government said that no live rounds were fired by police and that “the only fatalities” during the operation were two police officers who were “repeatedly run over by three vehicles containing protesters leaving the fringes of the scene.” It asserted that “no other injuries were recorded.”
The military said in a statement carried by the state-run Bahrain News Agency that the protesters were “outlaws who had terrorized citizens and residents and harmed the national economy.”
The square was far less crowded Wednesday morning than it had been in recent days, as many protesters had returned to their villages to protect their homes. Those who remained did not put up a stiff fight, witnesses said. The daylight action stood in contrast to the surprise nighttime attack in February.
The assault also appeared to encompass Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama’s main hospital, where a doctor said police and soldiers took over the facility about 7 a.m.

CIA Backtracks in Pakistan

Washington Post

CIA security contractor who fatally shot two Pakistani men in January was released Wednesday after relatives of the victims received “blood money” as compensation and agreed to pardon him, U.S. officials said.

Raymond Davis was released from a Pakistani jail in Lahore after nearly two months in detention and was flown to meet with U.S. officials in Kabul. Cameron Munter, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, accompanied Davis on the flight, a U.S. official said.
“There has been a plan in the works for the last three weeks,” the official said, adding that U.S. officials had desperately worked to free Davis before a threatened murder trial began. “The concern was that if the actual murder trial started it would become very difficult to extricate him.”
Davis was arrested Jan. 27 after gunning down two Pakistani men at a traffic signal in Lahore. Davis later said that the two men were attempting to rob him and had brandished a weapon.
The U.S. official confirmed that so-called “blood money” had been paid to family members of the shooting victims. In Pakistan, there is a tradition of such payments in return for pardoning the perpetrator of a crime.
An official close to the negotiations said three Pakistani families each received between $700,000 and $1 million as part of the deal to free Davis. In addition to the two men killed by Davis, a third Pakistani died after being struck by a vehicle carrying CIA personnel attempting to retrieve Davis after the shooting.
The sources for this story asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to discuss details of the case.
The decision to free Davis resolves what had become a high-stakes tense diplomatic stand-off and a signal of mounting tensions between the CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, or ISI.

Punjab province law minister Rana Sanauallah told a Pakistani news channel that Davis was set free by the court after the blood money was accepted by the families of those killed, in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.
He said, “The members of the families of killed persons appeared before the court and independently confirmed that they have forgiven Davis.”
When asked where Davis is now after his release, Sanaullah said, “He is a free American citizen and it is up to his own desire wherever he wants to go.”
He also denied any role of Punjab government in the settlement of the issue. “This is also baseless that the families of those killed were pressurized to sign the papers as for the acceptance of ‘blood money,’ ” he said.
A second U.S. official said that the U.S. government had yet to make any payments in connection with the case, apparently because the terms and initial payments were handled by Pakistani officials.
“To date the U.S. government has not paid anybody anything,” the U.S. official said. “We expect to receive a bill.” The U.S. official said that no other concessions had been made.
“There was no quid pro quo between the Pakistani and U.S. government” in connection the attempts to get Davis freed, the U.S. official said.
The unexpected release of Davis stunned Pakistanis, and opponents immediately accused the Zardari government of bowing to US pressure and selling the nation’s sovereignty by allowing him to be pardoned for blood money. Hundreds of angry protesters tried to gather outside the U.S. consulate in Lahore, where they were beaten back by police, and religious groups said they planned nationwide protests Friday.
“The judge who released Davis murdered law and justice,” said Sen. Khurshid Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest religious-based political party. He said federal, provincial and security officials had connived to free Davis, and that “blood money was taken not just for two men, but the whole country was sold.”
Pakistani officials denied Wednesday that they had capitulated to U.S. pressure, saying only that they had said accepted the court’s decision under the law.
Davis, 36, was a member of a security team assigned to protect CIA operatives in Lahore collecting intelligence on targets including Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Islamist group tied to terrorist attacks against India and long backed by the ISI.
Davis’s arrest triggered new tensions between the CIA and ISI, with officials from the Pakistani spy service expressing outrage that Davis’s activities had not been cleared with the Pakistani government.
Since almost immediately after his arrest, there was suspicion that Davis, a former U.S. special operations soldier, had worked for the CIA, fueled by the fact that Pakistani authorities found a camera, a headlamp, a small telescope and other spy paraphernalia in his possession.
The Washington Post for weeks refrained from reporting Davis’s status as a CIA employee at the request of the Obama administration, which said identifying him as an agency operative could risk his life.
The CIA has a major presence in Pakistan, despite an often dysfunctional relationship with the ISI. The agency has carried out more than 100 drone strikes over the past year in the tribal areas of Pakistan where al-Qaeda and other militant groups are based. The CIA and ISI have also collaborated on captures and other operations, even while frequently accusing one another of breaches of trust.
After his arrest, Davis became the center of a major diplomatic dispute. U.S. officials argued that he was protected by diplomatic immunity, but Pakistani authorities disputed that and threatened to try him for murder.
U.S. officials said serious negotiations to resolve the dispute began three weeks ago when Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass) made a surprise trip to Pakistan at the request of the administration to try to dampen tensions and encourage talks

Stopgap Predicted to Pass This Week

Politico

Senate leaders from both parties predicted Tuesday that a three-week stopgap budget measure will pass this week, making the specter of an imminent government shutdown unlikely.

“We’re anxious to get this over here, get this out of here, and move on to a long-term CR,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to reporters.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed the same. “I think we’ll pass the short-term C.R. later in the week, one that clears the House tonight,” said McConnell. “And in all likelihood, as House Republican leadership has indicated, we’ll then negotiate a final agreement for the balance of this fiscal year."

Half and Half GOP

Politico

The White House unsurprisingly welcomed the House's passage of a three-week spending bill on Tuesday, while arguing that the temporary measures to stave off a government shutdown can't be used excessively.

Somewhat defiantly, press secretary Jay Carney repeated in a statement that the White House has "met Republicans halfway" in budget negotiations, a claim the GOP has disputed wildly.

President Obama "urges" the Senate to pass the House's spending bill, Carney said in the statement. 

"The short-term funding bill passed in the House of Representatives today gives Congress some breathing room to find consensus on a long-term measure that funds the government through the end of the fiscal year. The President urges the Senate to pass this bill to avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery. But the President has been clear: with the wide range of issues facing our nation, we cannot keep funding the government in two or three week increments. It is time for us to come together, find common ground and resolve this issue in a sensible way. There is no disagreement on whether to cut spending to put us on a path to live within our means, but we can’t sacrifice critical investments that will help us out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build our global competitors to win the future. We have already met Republicans halfway, and we are optimistic that Congress can get this done."

AIDS Vaccines To Improve In the Future

New York Times

An experimental AIDS vaccine tested on some 2,500 drug users in Thailand failed to protect them from becoming infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, the vaccine's developer said on Wednesday.

The poor results were widely expected because the developer, VaxGen Inc., said earlier that its vaccine had not worked in a larger North American study.

Two dozen other vaccines are being tested on 12,000 human volunteers, but none have advanced as far as VaxGen's.

America's Future 'Green Light' from Nuclear Japan

In a meeting in which Steven Chu, Nobel prize winning physicist and energy secretary, was supposed to help promote currently 'not so socially' thriving nuclear energy to a House panel, the secretary ended up defending nuclear power in light of the recent disasters in Japan. Politico posts:

The panel did not allow him to support Obama's pro-nuclear views and instead forced him to speak of the recent Japanese disasters, possibly forcing him to promote anti-nuclear panic instead. Chu, well spoken and well informed seamed to quell the panels disturbed and distorted views of nuclear energy but possibly not enough to persuade the panel to be in favor of supporting nuclear energy. In only another among countless events of scientific misinformation and bias, it looks like America will remain anti-nuclear for several years to come.

Republicans Poising for a Hit

As Wisconsin Unions and the government duke it out, the last few groups join sides of this polarized issue. This time, facing high opposition, a conservative group under the name of GOPAC joins the side of the Republican governor to promote the death of unions within the state. Politico reports: 

The fight for control of the Wisconsin state Senate looks increasingly like a toss-up, as national groups continue gearing up for the recall campaign triggered by anti-union legislation passed last week. 

GOPAC has bought airtime to defend Republican state Sen. Randy Hopper for his vote to scale back collective bargaining rights for most government workers. 

 “Amid all the shouting and contention in Madison, let’s remember these facts: State government is broke. Wisconsin has lost over 150,000 jobs,” says the ad. “Without these reforms, taxes will go up and more jobs will be lost."

The Republicans should prepare to take a blow on the chin for this in the next elections. Democrats and 'undecideds' will decidedly go against the now 'anti-union' right. If the Republicans plan to run for re-election in the state of Wisconsin, they are clearly delusional.

Obama's Polls Take a Dip

In the midst of the Tuscon crisis, Obama took upon his presidential social powers quite favorably amongst the American people. But his lack of presence in the social media due to tremulous political times has possibly caused a dip in his followers' enthusiasm. Politico reports:

Dipping a bit from heights reached in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings, President Barack Obama’s approval rating is hovering at or just above 50 percent in a pair of polls released Tuesday.
Fifty percent of Americans surveyed for a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said they approve of how the president is handling his job, while 51 percent of those surveyed for an ABC News/Washington Post poll said they approve of how Obama is doing.

Obama’s approval rating reached as high as 55 percent in January in a CNN poll conducted just after he delivered his State of the Union address. Another CNN poll, conducted earlier in January, had the president’s approval rating at 53 percent, as he rode positive sentiments from his response to the shooting that killed six and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). His approval rating in the CNN poll was last below 50 percent in mid-December, when 48 percent of those surveyed said they approved of how the president was doing and 48 disapproved

Forced to exercise his political prowess at the moment, Obama has had no time to practice his social skills. Disrupting wold crises shake the faith of people in many aspects, one being the President and his reactions. If anything positive can be taken away from the momentary worldwide devastation, hopefully it is that Obama will be able to step in and provide substantial foreign aid.

The World Steps Back From Nuclear

While disaster after disaster crashes upon Japan, the world, which among developed nations was decidedly pro nuclear, now takes a step back to re-evaluate. The National Geographic reports:

The disaster in Japan, which threatens to worsen as the country’s officials struggle to contain what is being called the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl meltdown 25 years ago, is having repercussions on nuclear policy worldwide.

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a three-month moratorium on extending the operation periods for its nuclear power plants. Under the moratorium, seven plants that began operating before 1980 will be shut down.

Switzerland also suspended its nuclear plans pending a safety review, and the European Union called for an emergency meeting of energy ministers Tuesday to assess, among other points, the idea of running stress tests on the EU’s 143 nuclear plants.

Many already nuclear European countries have scheduled immediate check-ups for their plants. America faces a slightly different problem. Obama had high hopes for nuclear energy and this disaster is putting his efforts to a screeching halt. Although this disaster can in the end, sadly, be deemed a learning experience to the rest, it has placed many not only cautiously but violently against nuclear energy.

Sports Going Green

 With much of the world turning to green forms of energy, it is no wonder that sports would soon follow suit in going green. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar, largely due to the fact that they've pledged to build as green a stadium as possible. The beautiful plans for this stadium have inspired numerous other countries to follow closely in green sports, America being a large contender of building green stadiums. The National Geographic  reports:

The Persian Gulf nation of Qatar—the world's largest supplier of liquefied natural gas—won its bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in December with its bold commitment to make the event carbon-neutral for the first time, an effort in which stunning stadium design will play a vital role.

Qatar plans to renovate three existing stadiums and construct nine new ones, incorporating solar energy, sun-shading, and an elaborate public transportation plan.

The issue of the World Cup's greenhouse gas emissions came under scrutiny last year, when a report commissioned by the South African and Norwegian governments concluded that carbon footprint of the 2010 tournament in South Africa was eight times higher than that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The increased burden stemmed primarily from South Africa's heavy reliance on coal for electricity, and a lack of intercity rail or local public transit that required fans to travel by air and bus.

Although the African FIFA was a large help in improving impoverished countries, much of it was done in non-environmentally friendly ways. Qatar, and possibly Russia in 2018, will help pave the way for awe inspiring and environmentally friendly sports around the world.

Japan's 50 Unnamed Nuclear Heroes

 As the rest of the world watches through the gaps of shaking hands, fifty heroic Japanese workers stay behind to tend to the highly dangerous and exploding nuclear power plants. Facing full knowledge of their possible instant death due to fires and explosions, or their long term health defects due to overexposure to radiation, they've  nevertheless opted to stay behind and protect their families, their country, and the world from massive amounts of nuclear radiation. The New York Times  reports;

A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan’s last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe.

They are the faceless 50, the unnamed operators who stayed behind. They have volunteered, or been assigned, to pump seawater on dangerously exposed nuclear fuel, already thought to be partly melting and spewing radioactive material, to prevent full meltdowns that could throw thousands of tons of radioactive dust high into the air and imperil millions of their compatriots.
They struggled on Tuesday and Wednesday to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Among the many problems they faced was what appeared to be yet another fire at the plant.
The workers are being asked to make escalating — and perhaps existential — sacrifices that so far are being only implicitly acknowledged: Japan’s Health Ministry said Tuesday it was raising the legal limit on the amount of radiation to which each worker could be exposed, to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts, five times the maximum exposure permitted for American nuclear plant workers.

The reactor operators face extraordinary risks. Tokyo Electric evacuated 750 emergency staff members from the stricken plant on Tuesday, leaving only about 50, when radiation levels soared. By comparison, standard staffing levels at the three active General Electric reactors on the site would be 10 to 12 people apiece including supervisors — an indication that the small crew left behind is barely larger than the contingent on duty on a quiet day.

With extremely low chances of survival, these workers, if they survive, face a lifetime of various health defects from the overexposure. Most likely, many of them knew they were signing on to this mission to die, either short or long term. the immense pressure from the world's eyes is building upon them, as is the pressure from within the power plants themselves. More than the best of luck to these human heroes.

Obama's Melting Pay Freeze

 Last year Obama announced a freeze on federal workers' pay. Is it possible that this freeze had loopholes through which federal workers' pay could be increased? According to Politico, this is exactly the case. Politico reports:

Issa, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made his case to the Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry at a hearing on Wednesday.

“The president has announced a pay freeze,” Issa said. “The truth is, there will be pay raises through this process.”

Last November, Obama announced a two-year freeze on on two million federal employees. The freeze, which took effect in January, will save $28 billion over five years. Berry told Republicans that the freeze doesn’t stop federal agencies from promoting workers for a job well done. He said agencies must be able to offer promotions to good employees or risk losing them to private companies. Berry said that federal workers are victims of a poor economy, just like private sector employees.

In the rile of devil's advocate, this is only addition to Obama's slights. This plan could quite possibly completely backfire, although it will most likely not cost him re-election. Republicans, specifically Tea Party members could use this to their advantage, but they will most likely be dealing with slip ups of their own. With Obamacare flaring up, this issue probably won't cause any major uproar.

 Michelle Bachmann does not cease to spill gems of political mayhem from Tea Party alter ego. Possibly said as a anti-Obama comment for her Obama hating supporters, Bachmann decidedly called the Obama administration a "gangster government". Here's politico's report:

"I don’t take back my statement on gangster government," said Bachmann, who is weighing a 2012 run for president, on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think there are actions taken by this government are corrupt."

After the midterm elections, Bachmann had blogged that the debt ceiling would be “one of the most significant challenges to the start of the 112th Congress” and that “Congress simply cannot continue to operate under the pretense of ‘gangster government,’ raising the limit upon our whim.”

 Hopefully Bachmann's supporters will feel bad enough for her that they'll vote for her anyway. If she realizes in time that she is distancing herself from the 'undecideds' and democratic majority, she ay even have a chance to consider running for president.