Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
All systems go! Dawn did a camera and instrument checkout last week, in preparation for its summertime arrival at the asteroid Vesta.
Certain IRS officials should go to prison for this: The IRS now admits it specifically targeted the political enemies of Bill Clinton for audits and harassment.
Power reconnected to Japanese reactor site.
Increasingly, the panic over the Japanese reactor problems appears to have been overblown and childish. Meanwhile, the real disaster continues, with thousands dead and large areas of the Japanese northeast coast devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.
Fifty mortars fired into Israel from Gaza, injuring two; Israeli military responses.
This is from Gaza, remember, a place that Israel unilaterally retreated from several years ago, leaving it entirely to the Palestinians. By what justification then do they have to continue to fire missiles into Israel, unless their real goal is simply to kill Jews?
More leftwing civility in Wisconsin: “Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?” Also this:
So you Tea Bags want to take away my hard earned blue ribbon bennies. Well guess what you scum sucking Tea Bags, I got your kids all day long in my classroom and with just a few slick questions I know who the little tea bags are! And you think you’ll have the last laugh HA-Ha-ha
Subsidies to the Ariane 5 rocket to keep it afloat.
Something is seriously wrong with any operation (like Ariane) that dominates the market and still loses money the past two years.
New Horizons has passed the orbit of Uranus on its way to Pluto.
The first death in space.
Two stars fusing into one.
A fire in a Minnesota mine is threatening an underground physics laboratory.
The mess from the NASA space war spreads: Three European space science missions are now on their own after the U.S. the space agency pulls funding.
Twenty days of leftwing thuggery in Wisconsin.
Then there’s this: What’s with all the death threats, libs?
Here’s some good news: The situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant continues to stabilize.
The article has a lot to say about the panicky overreaction of much of the press and political class over this incident. For example:
In summary it appears more and more that health consequences from reactor damage will be extremely minimal even for workers at the site. It will now be a surprise if anyone who has not been inside the plant gates this week is affected by the situation at at all – apart from all the people worldwide who have been taking iodide pills or eating salt unnecessarily. There may also be measurable psychological health effects from the global media-driven hysteria surrounding the situation, of course.
A man has won $15K in a lawsuit after police seized his gun illegally in a Denver park.
A judge has blocked Wisconsin union law.
Isn’t it interesting how often laws that the left dislikes get thrown out by unelected judges?
A look at the “progressive” who threatened the Altmans for doing such a thorough job of covering the events in Wisconsin. Key quote:
Apart from his nasty rant, if Shankman, a self-defined “radical progressive” reminded me of anyone, it was Peggy Joseph, who, after hearing Obama speak in October of 2008 said, “I won’t have to work, I’ll put gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage.”
This ain’t good: Japan has raised the nuclear alert level at its stricken nuclear power plants.
Then again, it appears that the dangers remain limited to a relatively small area, within 20 kilometers of the power plant.
The background behind last week’s recall vote in Miami. Key quote:
”County voters have demonstrated by their ballots that they are tired of unaccountable officials, of being ignored and of being overtaxed in this very difficult recessionary time.”
Real civility from the left: “Burying the death threat story is a clear example of intellectual dishonesty and journalistic bias.” Read the whole thing.
Treasures from the Soviet Union’s space history.
Now for some squealing from planetary scientists: Funding for new unmanned planetary missions under threat.
Note that I agree with Squyres: money spent for planetary research is worth it. However, considering the state of the federal budget, we all have to recognize that nothing is sacrosanct, until that budget gets under control.
You can’t make this stuff up! Iran is claiming it has built a working flying saucer.
The new civility: A Wisconsin Republican lawmaker has canceled public meetings due to vandalism and death threats.
After an almost seven year journey, Messenger has successfully entered orbit around Mercury. More here.
This is a good sign: The Senate vote on restricting the power of the EPA has been postponed by Harry Reid as he struggles to get Democrat votes.
The spring rains (of methane) have arrived on Titan.
The Wisconsin assembly’s bold leap. Key quote:
It was these freshman legislators who stood on the assembly floor following Knilans’ speech that day, while their orange-T-shirt-clad Democratic colleagues shouted “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!” in their faces. They could feel the ambient rumble of the thousands of pro-union protesters that stood mere feet outside the assembly chamber. Newly elected representative Michelle Litjens had earlier been the target of a threat from a Democratic assemblyman, who pointed at her and said, “You’re f***ing dead.”
Knilans himself felt the intimidation. In his capitol office one day, he heard a group outside his door say, “We know where you live.” Picketers showed up at his house. He said he didn’t personally feel threatened, but he was anxious about the safety of his wife and two small children at home. One day, his five-year-old son asked him, “Do they hate you, Dad?”
Yet they stood together, endured the insults, and passed the bill on to Walker, who signed it the next day.
After years of travel, the probe Messenger finally goes into orbit around Mercury tonight.
Two Democrat leaders in Michigan are facing nine felony charges for election fraud.
It’s okay to murder Jews.
