San Onofre Nuclear Plant Closed After Radiation Leak --Nuclear reactor is in the heart of US earthquake country 01 Feb 2012 A 'small quantity' of radioactive gas leaked inside one of the buildings at San Onofre nuclear power plant north of San Diego, according to a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Officials say the radiation leak likely occurred in the steam generator tubes of San Onofre's reactor #3. The steam system, which is supposed to be shielded from exposure to radiation, was replaced in December 2010. San Onofre is located next to Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base where 38,000 military families live, and another 32,000 people work each day, all of whom would be in immediate danger if there is a meltdown.

Yemen minister eludes assassination attempt 02 Feb 2012 Gunmen riddled the car of Yemen's information minister with bullets as he left a cabinet meeting in the capital on Tuesday but he escaped the assassination attempt unhurt, an aide said. In southern Yemen, at least 12 'al Qaeda' militants, including four local leaders, were killed in a US strike in south Yemen. In the capital of Sanaa, unidentified assailants opened fire on Information Minister Ali al-Amrani's car as he prepared to leave after a cabinet meeting. The minister was not hurt, according to his secretary, Abdel-Basset al-Qaedi.

Nuclear Regulators Issue Violation Notice to Connecticut Yankee Plant --Federal Law Bans Facility's Foreign Ownership 30 Jan 2012 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissionhas issued a "Notice of Violation" to the Connecticut Yankee nuclear facility over the apparent partial ownership by two foreign companies of the dismantled power plant on the Connecticut River in Haddam Neck. Although the plant was idled in 1996 and fully decommissioned in 2007, it is still considered a nuclear site because 1,100 spent fuel rods are stored there, in concrete casks in a guarded zone over the river.

Occupy Vermont Yankee: A Judge Rules Vermont Can't Shut Nuclear Plant 19 Jan 2012 A federal judge on Thursday blocked Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor to shut down when its license expires in March, saying that the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, which only the federal government can do. The judge, J. Garvan Murtha of United States District Court in Brattleboro, Vt., also held that the state cannot force the plant's owner, Entergy, to sell electricity from the reactor to in-state utilities at reduced rates as a condition of continued operation, as Entergy asserts it is now doing. The ruling is almost certain to be appealed by the state and an array of private groups that want the plant shut down because of leaks of radioactive tritium and other issues.

Officials: Radiation could have escaped Calif. nuclear reactor 01 Feb 2012 A 'tiny amount' of radiation could have escaped into the atmosphere from a Southern California nuclear power plant after a water leak prompted operators to shut down the reactor as a precaution, officials said Wednesday. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks said radioactive gas "could have" escaped the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on the northern San Diego coast. The leak occurred in equipment that was installed in the plant in the fall of 2010. The leak occurred in one of thousands of tubes that carry radioactive water from the Unit 3 reactor. However, the company has found damage to other tubes, Dricks said.

Pair Detained in Twitter Homeland Threat Mix-Up 30 Jan 2012 A young couple from across the pond was detained at a Los Angeles airport after Homeland Security agents mistook a couple Twitter quips for threats against the U.S., the two told British media today. Friends Irishman Leigh Van Bryan, 26, and British citizen Emily Bunting, 24, were reportedly interrogated and spent 12 hours locked up under armed guard after going through customs in Los Angeles International Airport last week. According to several British outlets, the couple was taken into custody by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents because of the slang in Bryan's tweets. "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America," one of the tweets read. Bryan told The Sun that in this context "destroy" just meant party.

US bars friends over Twitter joke 30 Jan 2012 Two pals were barred from entering the US after innocent tweets joking about "destroying America" were picked up by the country's anti-terror cops. US special agents monitoring Twitter spotted Leigh Van Bryan's messages weeks before he left for a holiday in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting. Leigh, who also quipped about "digging up Marilyn Monroe" on Twitter, said they were treated like terrorists on arrival at a Los Angeles International Airport. The pair were held by armed guards and quizzed for five hours before being handcuffed, put in a van with illegal immigrants and locked up overnight.

Salt Lake City police website hacked; Anonymous takes credit 31 Jan 2012 Salt Lake City police took their website offline Tuesday afternoon, after it was hacked. [<g>] At about 2:30 p.m., police started seeing information on the department's website that "weren't in line with our typical postings," prompting closure of the site, said Salt Lake City Police spokesman Shawn Josephson. The group taking the credit for the hack is a collective known as Anonymous. According to a news release from police, the hacker group says the attack is a response to an anti-graffiti paraphernalia bill being sponsored by state Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City. Depending on the extent of the vandalism, the crime could be boosted to a felony.

oppiggybank1 By a guest 31 Jan 2012 'We are the new digital race' @CabinCr3w & @ItsKahuna #Anonymous #OpPiggyBank Dear Salt Lake City Police Department, We took note that Senator Karen Mayne has put forth a bill SB107 - that tries to resolve an inconvenience with a flamethrower. Regardless whether the messages spray painted are disturbing, this bill sets an attitude that will down the line lead to invasions of privacy in people's homes and raids at 6 am over spray paint. We know that law enforcement functions as a mindless machine led by InfraGard, PERF, and other domestic civil intelligence (so marches the security state) networks. We know there's money to be made in the "just doing my job" compartmentalized economy... We are Anonymous We are Legion We do not forgive We do not forget Expect us -Target- http://www.slcpd.com/ Salt Lake City PD Login Page http://www.slcpd.com/login.php.

Mitt Romney to Receive Secret Service Protection --According to a federal law enforcement officials Romney's campaign, which has long traveled with private security of its own, did request Secret Service protection. 31 Jan 2012 Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has been informed that it will start receiving Secret Service protection this week, two campaign sources and a senior Republican tell ABC News. Secret Service protection is being given to the campaign not because of a specific threat but because of the increase in crowd sizes as the primary season has progressed over the past few weeks, according to the sources, who refused to be identified because they don’t have authority to comment on such matters publicly.

Harold Simmons gives Karl Rove's Crossroads groups $7 million 31 Jan 2012 The Karl Rove-linked juggernaut Crossroads groups raised $51 million last year – including a whopping $7 million from Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons – but that's still a far cry from the $300 million the two-pronged outfit intends to spend boosting Republicans and attacking Democrats in the run-up to Election Day. The bulk of Crossroads’ 2011 haul – $33 million – went into a secret money group called Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (Crossroads GPS) that does not disclose its donors. The other group, a super PAC called American Crossroads, filed a report with the Federal Election Commission showing that it pulled in $18 million last year.

Mossad chief holds secret U.S. meetings on Iran nuclear threat, Senate panel reveals 31 Jan 2012 Mossad chief Tamir Pardo held secret talks with top U.S. officials in recent days, cursory comments made during a public Senate hearing indicated on Tuesday. The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel. During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strike Iran's nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors.

Romney Wins Big in Florida Primary, Regaining Momentum 01 Feb 2012 Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday, dispatching an insurgent threat from Newt Gingrich and reclaiming his dominant position as he urged Republicans to rally behind his quest to capture the party's presidential nomination. The triumph by Mr. Romney offered a forceful response to the concerns that were raised about his candidacy only 10 days ago after a stinging loss to Mr. Gingrich in the South Carolina primary. It stripped Mr. Gingrich of his momentum and raised questions about his effort to persuade Republicans of his viability.

Taxpayers still owed $132.9B from bailout: report 26 Jan 2012 A government watchdog says U.S. taxpayers are still owed $132.9 billion that companies haven't repaid from the financial bailout, and some of that will never be recovered. The bailout launched at the height of the financial crisis in September 2008 will continue to exist for years, says a report issued Thursday by Christy Romero, the acting special inspector general for the $700 billion bailout. Some bailout programs, such as the effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing mortgage payments, will last as late as 2017, costing the government an additional $51 billion or so.

Karzai 'to hold peace talks with Taliban in Saudi Arabia' 30 Jan 2012 The Afghan government will hold talks with the Taliban in Saudi Arabia, opening up an alternative avenue to peace negotiations between the insurgent group and the United States, according to reports. The Taliban, which was ousted from power after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks [inside job] on the United States, has previously refused to talk to the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, branding him as an American stooge. The Saudi-brokered meetings are due to take place in coming weeks ahead of talks in Qatar, where the Taliban is opening an office for the purpose of holding discussions with the Americans aimed at ending the decade-long war, the BBC reported.

Eurozone unemployment at new record high 31 Jan 2012 Unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone ended 2011 at 10.4 per cent, a new record high for the single currency since its launch at the start of 1999, official figures showed today. Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said the rate in December was unchanged, as November's was revised upwards from a previous estimate of 10.3%. Unemployment has been steadily rising over the past year - in December 2010, it stood at 9.5% - largely because of Europe's debt crisis.

WikiLeaks's Assange Sued on Eve of U.K. Extradition Appeal 31 Jan 2012 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who will ask the U.K. Supreme Court tomorrow to block his extradition to Sweden in a rape case, was sued by the British law firm he hired after his 2010 arrest. Finers Stephens Innocent LLP, which specializes in commercial litigation, sued the 40-year-old Australian yesterday in London over legal fees, according to court records. Assange replaced the firm last year after a U.K. judge rejected his defense and upheld the Swedish arrest warrant.

WikiLeaks to move servers offshore, sources say 31 Jan 2012 Julian Assange's investors are in the process of purchasing a boat to move WikiLeaks' servers offshore in an attempt to evade prosecution from U.S. law enforcement, FoxNews.com has learned. Multiple sources within the hacker community with knowledge of day-to-day WikiLeaks activities say Assange's financial backers have been working behind the scenes on the logistics of moving the servers to international waters. WikiLeaks' servers are now based in Sweden and Iceland, among other locations.

Free the Captive Dolphins in Turkey --Target: Republic of Turkey Prime Minister and the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock --Sponsored by: Freedom for Dolphins and Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project 31 Jan 2012 Dolphin captivity is cruel, no matter where it is in the world. Unfortunately, there are 10 dolphinariums in Turkey, with dolphins being held in rusty, cramped and unnatural pens. Sadly, many bear the physical and emotional scars of their appalling conditions... The Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry, together with the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, have the authority to shut down these operations and to prevent further captures and imports of dolphins into the country. Please sign and share this petition!

Police Violence Targets Occupy Oakland Demonstration --NLGSF Demands Action From the Monitor On Police Misconduct 30 Jan 2012 The National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (NLGSF) condemns Oakland Police (OPD) and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) violence, mass arrests and abuses against Occupy demonstrators at Saturday's demonstration. Police violently attacked activists with chemical weapons, so called Less-Lethal munitions, and physical assaults. Hundreds were arrested unlawfully, without opportunity to disperse, and then detained for many hours on the street and then in buses, in stress positions, and without bathrooms, food or water. Once in jail, protesters faced inhumanely crowded conditions, abusive treatment and were denied access to legal counsel. The NLGSF received many reports of assaults on protesters... Police reportedly threw others through a glass door, and down a flight of steps. A videographer was pushed to the ground and clubbed.