Free Republic

Scientists to create controlled nuclear meltdown in Ibaraki facility National Jan. 12, 2014 - 03:20PM JST TOKYO — A team of nuclear scientists in Japan plan to create a controlled reactor meltdown in a bid to learn how to deal with future disasters like that at Fukushima. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said it was working on a project using a scaled-down version of a reactor which they would deliberately cause to malfunction at a research facility in Ibaraki, north of Tokyo. “We want to study exactly how meltdowns happen and apply what we will learn to help improve ways...

Much has been said about the Fukushima nuclear power-plant disaster, much of it true, some untrue. The problem with the news coming out of the troubled complex is that the operating company TEPCO, the Japanese government and international agencies are not being completely forthcoming. Some call it political spin, but others just say the world is being told lies. The epitome of the falsehoods being told about Fukushima comes from no less than the Japanese prime minister himself. At the final International Olympic Committee meeting in Buenos Aires, the one deciding who would host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Shinzo Abe...

Obamacare Zombies: Now they are the ones being chased WASHINGTON, November 13, 2013 — President Barack Obama’s legions of Obamacare Zombies are in confusion with the meltdown of Obamacare. It is one crisis that Obama cannot cover-up. For once, the media could not help him by ignoring events, because insurance cancellation letters bypassed media and took bad news directly to the public. Unfortunately, exposing years of deceit required a personal crisis for millions, which for some is a life-and-death crisis. It is inexcusable that it took such disaster to shock these political zombies from their trances. Now it’s too late...

Voters in Cincinnati last week soundly defeated a ballot initiative which would have overhauled the pension system for public workers, leaving the city without a plan to deal with $872 million in unfunded liabilities. Cincinnati is not alone. Across the nation, cities and states are finding funding for basic services being crowded out of their budgets by the rising cost of retirees’ pensions and healthcare. … More and more cities, counties, and even some states will face the harsh reality of having to fix their pension systems or deal with a Detroit-style bankruptcy. …

The impact of Obamacare is starting to hit the DUmmies. And not all of them are pleased. Employers are canceling health insurance for their workers. People are having to pay higher premiums. People are having to meet higher deductibles. And this is not going over well with all the denizens of the DUmp. My gosh, who could have predicted that these things would be happening???? Who could have predicted all this? Why, WE did, you stupid DUmmies! We TOLD you this would happen, way back when. But did you listen? NO-OOOO!!! You went and voted for the Moron-in-Chief and his...

From its earliest days, the Obama Administration has operated from a “community organizer” worldview, characterized by an “us” against “them” perspective. The President has repeatedly and in a variety of circumstances said, “Elections have consequences, and I won” as an excuse for yet another executive order, non-Constitutional decision, or “in-your-face” arrogant action. The President goes through the motions of listening to others: he claims to be bipartisan; he hosts White House confabs and talks about the need for compromise, but he always ends up saying, “I won,” and ends any pretense of discussion or negotiation. He explains that, as President,...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday blocked a House bill providing funding to reopen national parks amid the government shutdown, saying he would not allow the GOP to pick and choose from among favored programs and insisting the only way out is to pass all spending at the same time. Republicans tried to get an agreement in the Senate to restore the parks money along with funding for the National Institutes of Health, the military reserves and National Guard, and veterans affairs, but Democrats objected to each of those agreements in turn. [snip] The debate on the Senate floor...

Late this afternoon White House insiders leaked information stating the president has suffered a mental breakdown and is presently resting and under a doctors care. This afternoon the National Report received three calls on our nationwide hot tip line (206) 222-1975. Two of the three callers are insiders known to the National Report to be reliable confidential informants. The caller unknown to this publication is a low level employee who could only state that there was some kind of a medical emergency involving President Obama. The other two callers known to us are both support personnel within the Obama administration....

Russian diplomat warns that North Korea faces 'man-made disaster' after satellite images show it has restarted ageing nuclear reactor The Yongbyon nuclear facility in North Korea was closed in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement Its five megawatt reactor can produce plutonium for weapons and bombs New satellite images have captured steam rising from the complex This suggests the nuclear reactor has been restarted, according to a U.S. research institute By Sophie Jane Evans PUBLISHED: 10:26 GMT, 12 September 2013 | UPDATED: 00:54 GMT, 13 September 2013 ....................................... But a senior Russian diplomat has claimed that the outdated...

Melissa Harris-Perry ✔ @MHarrisPerry Damn, that citizenship thing was so great for awhile.

While Americans remain focused on the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups applying for tax exempt status, two recently filed lawsuits reveal a far deeper level of alleged corruption at the agency. On May 2, a group of small businesses challenged the IRS’s attempt to illegally implement health insurance subsidies contained in the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka ObamaCare. On May 14, it was revealed that a class action suit has been filed by a California-based HMO, accusing the IRS of stealing 60 million medical records belonging to 10 million Americans. The small business group’s suit, filed in the U.S. District Court...

The Next Bank Meltdown Won't Be An "Accident" By Shah Gilani, Capital Wave Strategist, Money Morning April 22, 2013Big banks turned in a pretty stellar first quarter. All but one beat profits expectations. But as I told you last week, I'm now out of these stocks completely. Do you want the truth about what shape banks are in right now? Sure you can handle it? I'm sorry; I can't tell you the truth. Regulators can't tell you the truth. And the Federal Reserve won't tell you the truth. No one can tell you the truth. That's because banks don't tell...

IT HAS taken the Japanese government more than 18 months since the earthquake and tsunami that hit Fukushima to pay tribute to a group of brave men, once known as the “Fukushima 50”, who risked their lives to prevent meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant from spiralling out of control. But when the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, belatedly offered official thanks to them on October 7th something strange was afoot: six of the eight men he addressed had their backs to the television cameras, refused to be photographed and did not introduce themselves by name, not even to...

Last week on Meet the Press, it was NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel slamming the Obama administration's "diminished",foreign policy influence around the globe.Today on Meet the Press, two veteran Washington newsmen, The Washington Post's Bob Woodward and former ABC, now NBC News correspondent Ted Koppel, matter of factly described the present foreign policy environment as being in "meltdown" and entering "one of the most dangerous" periods in U.S. history. Their remarks were made without directly blaming President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but they were made in response to a question pointing out Obama's...

Karl Rove taken off the air as Fox News distances themselves from conservative pundit after his Election Night tantrum Karl Rove has officially been benched as Fox News chief Roger Ailes has reportedly suspended the Republican operative from their airwaves. Rove and Dick Morris, a fellow paid political analyst, have been temporarily banned from appearing on Fox News as the network tries to distance themselves from the two men whose election predictions ended up being so far from the result. New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman reports that Ailes decided that it is important for Fox News to take a step...

"Let it crash!" "Give them what they want and they'll see what happens!" "Surely, once the left's programs are implemented and the economy crashes, people will come to their senses." Since the election, many on the right have echoed this meme. They are convinced that widespread poverty and lack of opportunity will bring a resurgence of the America many of them knew growing up. Grandma and Grandpa's America. Perhaps these people forget that Roosevelt was re-elected three times during a depression that he helped prolong -- a depression that featured soup lines and starvation in a population that actually wanted...

MELTDOWN COMING: Canada Is Bleeding Private Sector Jobs, And Its Housing Market Is Tanking Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Global Economic Trend AnalysisNov. 4, 2012, 5:19 PMThe Financial Post has an interesting story on the state of the Canadian jobs market. It seem over 100% of job growth is from government jobs. Please consider Employment numbers hide the fact Canada is bleeding private sector jobs Canada may have added 1,800 jobs in October, but that number hides the fact that almost all the gains came from government and that the private sector lost more than 20,000 jobs. The 1,800 jobs added was...

The Obama campaign is on the verge of free-fall. The latest Gallup poll shows Romney up 52%-45% over Obama, gaining another point following Obama’s improved debate performance. Immediately following this week’s debate, LIVE pollster Frank Luntz interviewed a group of “undecided” voters, most of whom voted for Obama in 2008. Almost all of them switched to Romney after watching Obama’s more aggressive, but still defenseless performance.Meanwhile, the Internet was raging with threats to assassinate Mitt Romney, all posted by Barack Obama supporters. The Obama campaign was heading into total meltdown. The Secret Service is aware and following the leads on...

The 2012 presidential election is one of the most momentous crossroads in U.S. history. As Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee, stated in his Thursday debate against Vice President Joe Biden, the outcome on Election Day will determine “what kind of country we are going to give our kids.” Under Obama-administration policies, out-of-control government spending has grown to such an extent that federal debt is now larger than the gross domestic product of the United States, the largest economy in the world. U.S. power and prestige in the world are in such dramatic decline that armed Islamists can...

While careful not to get drawn into the conspiracy-theory wonk camp, CNBC's Rick Santelli just connects the dots on last week's miraculous unemployment rate. In one of the most voluminous rants we can remember, Santelli - from a position of realist (and market whisperer) - argued with Liesman - from a position of 'but, but, the data must be true' - and summed it all perfectly "if I told you that you'd win the lottery tomorrow, and you did; wouldn't you wonder how did I know that?" With Langone also chipping in that he does not see anything in his...