NRC: No Suspension of Fukushima-Style Nuclear Reactors

Andrea Germanos Common Dreams
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a Director’s Decision Friday rejecting an appeal by environmental watchdog groups to suspend operations at the nearly two dozen reactors in the United States that have the same containment system as the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan. Greenpeace charges the NRC is “backing off post-Fukushima fixes at reactors around the country due to fear that added regulatory costs would topple more nuclear plants."

'American Sniper' Is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize

Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone
It always looks bad when you criticize a soldier for doing what he's told. It's equally dangerous to be seduced by the pathos and drama of the individual soldier's experience, because most wars are about something much larger than that.

The History of Vaccines

From the beginning of experimentation over one thousand years ago to the creation to modern vaccination techniques, millions of lives have been saved from deadly diseases. This motion graphic created for Carrington College is an excellent explanation of how vaccines have changed the practice of medicine forever.

'Alabama' John Coltrane and Martin Luther King

The composition "Alabama" was released in 1963 shortly after the horrific murder of four little girls in a church in Birmingham, AL. Some jazz writers claim that the tune is not about these four girls. Steve Rowland disagrees and thinks that Coltrane might have based his composition on Martin Luther King's moving eulogy. See what you think!

Love Letters to Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins reads "fan mail" he has received from some of his not-so-great admirers. Parental Discretion Advised.