(Note the spin: energy policy was not something to be discovered but a central element of Ypsilanti's campaign.)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

I don't like him, but most Germans do. (The same situation as in 1998 with Schröder.) Below the IMO best photo from the SPIEGEL ONLINE photo album, for capturing his demeanor, despite (or just because?) of the lot of black.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

The nuclear waste scandal involving leaky drums of "radioactive liquor" at a storage facility in a German salt mine called Asse II keeps growing. Commentators see consequences not just for some federal politicians, but also for Germany's ongoing nuclear debate.

 DDP
Barrels of radioactive waste in the former salt mine have leaked and threaten groundwater in Lower Saxony.

It's not enough that 130,000 barrels of radioactive waste are sitting rusted and leaking in a converted Lower Saxony salt mine. But it turns out that the severity of the problem, which this week has developed into a full-blown scandal, has long been known -- and was overlooked by state environment ministers. As early as 2006, researchers mentioned "radioactive liquor" in a report on the Asse II salt mine to state officials, according to a regional newspaper called the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.

Apparently, the supervising mining authority, wich also knew of the conduction of radioactive liquids from the research into the dump chamber, learnt that the conduction of radioactive liquids requires an official permission only earlier this year.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

It is a monument visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. On Sundays, some travel from nearby Madrid to lay wreaths at the site. But just what the memorial, known as the Valley of the Fallen, stands for is not entirely clear.

Officially, it commemorates everyone who died in the Spanish Civil War, fought from 1936 to 1939. But the Valley of the Fallen monument, a vast complex dominated by an enormous granite cross, also contains the mausoleum in which the body of General Francisco Franco, Spain's fascist dictator, is buried. It was built using the slave labor of political prisoners.

Indeed, the Valley of the Fallen has recently come to symbolize a Spain still scarred by its civil war and almost four decades of Franco's iron-fisted regime. Some, though, have begun picking at that scab. This week, a Spanish judge began collecting information with an eye toward creating an accurate list of those killed during Franco's dictatorship. In doing so, he has turned up the heat on a long-simmering national debate.

"This is great news for the families of victims," Emilio Silva told SPIEGEL ONLINE. Silva is head of the nonprofit Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (AMHA), which has excavated 120 mass graves since 2000 containing the remains of around 1,200 people.

Names and Dates

Judge Baltasar Garzon, who sits on Spain's National Court, sent official requests this week for information on Franco victims to various government archives, city halls and the Catholic Church -- and to the keepers of Franco's tomb. He wants details including victims' names and the dates and circumstances of their deaths.

Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) confirmed that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is planning government intervention to back troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee said in a statement Saturday that Mr. Paulson "intends to use the powers that Congress provided it" in a law passed in July to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stable and functioning. But Mr. Frank said he didn't "know the details of the proposed interventions," and a Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) -- Asif Ali Zardari secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections on Saturday, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago.

The controversial front-runner swept a poll among lawmakers to become the 14th president in Pakistan's short but turbulent history , taking power in the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state and frontline US "war on terror" ally.

"Democracy talks and everybody hears," Zardari , who had been the clear favourite, said in a short television broadcast hailing his victory in which he pledged to respect the sovereignty of parliament.

The statement was a barbed reference to the nearly nine-year rule of Pervez Musharraf, who as an army general made controversial changes to the country's constitution, including the power to dismiss parliament.

<...> I've long expected the Republican Party to resolve this conflict in its social vision by moderating its stance on abortion. Politically, pro-life absolutism has never made much sense. A significant element within the GOP--libertarians, economic conservatives, Barbara Bush--favor leaving Roe v. Wade alone. A majority of the country agrees. Meanwhile, the percentage of people on either side of the debate who say they'll vote only for a candidate who shares their views on the subject has been steadily shrinking. Since Lee Atwater's heyday, pragmatic Republicans have been trying to figure out how the party can become a "big tent," making room for a pro-choice as well as a pro-life faction. Until recently, the modernizers included John McCain himself, who in 1999 said, "Certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." That was only one of several attempts on his part to evolve his position. If Roe ever were repealed, there would follow a fight in every state about whether to ban abortion by statute. Politically, this could be the best thing to happen to liberals since the New Deal.

But renewed evangelical dominance of the Republican Party in the George W. Bush years has pushed McCain in just the opposite direction--to the point of letting Phyllis Schlafly revise the abortion plank in the party's 2008 platform, which eliminates language "rejecting punitive action against women who have an abortion." It explains how McCain ended up with a wildly underqualified running mate in Sarah Palin, instead of his preferred pro-choice veep picks, Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge.

NEW YORK (AFP)--Boeing machinists took to the picket line on Saturday as they launched a strike that has halted production and could cost the U.S. aerospace giant more than $100 million per day.

Boeing's (BA) 27,000 machinists, who represent 16% of the company's workforce, began picketing in the wee hours of the morning shortly after the failure of last-ditch contract talks.

It is the fourth strike of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in the last two decades.

NEW DELHI -- The 45 nations that supply nuclear material and technology worldwide removed a major obstacle on Saturday to the passage of a landmark nuclear deal between the United States and India.

The organization, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, agreed to lift a ban on nuclear trade with India after three days of acrimonious talks in Vienna, overcoming opposition from countries fearful that it could set a dangerous precedent. India has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has sharply criticized Russia's actions in its conflict with Georgia, and its attempts to control oil and gas supplies.

Speaking in Italy Saturday Cheney accused Moscow of threatening to use energy supplies as a "tool of force and manipulation."

Cheney was addressing an economic conference following his visits to Azerbaijan and Georgia. The two countries are critical links in a U.S.-backed plan for an energy corridor to move oil and gas from Central Asia to Europe, bypassing Russia.

The vice president also visited Ukraine.

Growth is slipping, stocks are down 40 percent, and foreign stock market investors are fleeing. Businessmen blame the ruling coalition for failing to make reforms.

Eh...

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

The first post-war elections in Angola have been transparent and credible, the head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) says.

"The SADC mission congratulates the people of Angola on peaceful, free, transparent and credible elections which reflect the will of the people," SADC mission chief John Kunene told a press conference on the second day of voting in Angola after a chaotic start Friday.

IT ALL started so promisingly. Angola's first election in 16 years was hailed as a high-tech success waiting to happen, with more than eight million people electronically registered and sophisticated technology to support the ballot.

But within hours of the polls opening on Friday, international observer missions started referring to "chaos" and "disaster" and yesterday the National Electoral Commission (CNE) was forced to reopen the vote after delays stopped many from registering their ballot.

Legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn played the last match of his career on Tuesday night in a farewell match in Munich. With his old club Bayern Munich holding the German national team to a draw, the night was less about the result than about emotions and the celebration of an extraordinary career.

As we love or hate him:

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

The island of Greenland is a bit on the sides of all that. In a smaller way, however, Greenland too will bring you and itself benefits from climate change! Here's how:

The Copenhagen Post: Iceberg in a bottle

Greenland plans to sell bottled water sourced from icebergs

The bottled water market is stronger than ever, promising the consumer the purest water from natural springs. Greenland could soon be joining familiar brands like Evian, Aquafina and Volvic by producing its own bottled water.

The abundance of glacial water is the perfect opportunity to join the global market, which is expected to be worth more than 445 billion kroner by 2011.

Market research from a number of large cities in the US and Japan has revealed that there is interest in Greenlandic water, with potential consumers viewing it as clean and original.

Head of the project Dorthe Lund Kaack told Berlingske Tidende newspaper that Greenland will begin producing bottled water from an island spring next year, but bottled iceberg water will follow.

Via TreeHugger

The Wrestler has won the coveted Golden Lion for best picture at the Venice film festival.

The film stars Mickey Rourke as a has-been professional wrestler pitifully loath to throw in the towel. It marks Rourke's return from acting obscurity.

Sumo Headlines and Sumo News - Japan

The Toshi-yori Group ... met yesterday to hold an emergency meeting in light of the news that second drug tests for Roho and Hakurozan came back positive. The group discussed the stance Kitanoumi Rijicho [boss of the Sumo Association] has taken despite the second test that points to the Russian brothers' usage of marijuana. The group demanded that an emergency meeting be held on September 8th by the board of directors to determine a punishment of the two rikishi before more test results are revealed later that day. During the meeting, Otake-oyakata[ = stablemaster] read a written statement from Roho where the Russian maintained his innocence, but as the oyakata read the letter, he was heckled by another unnamed oyakata who shouted out "That's enough! Stop right there!" Otake-oyakata and the other oyakata stared each other down creating an uneasy feeling in the room.

Remember: this is Japan, and this is the elders of Sumo, who are supposed to be the best examples of polite decency.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

The fragrance used to mask bad metro smells in Paris isn't strong enough for the Berlin commuter rail. Transportation authorities have started sniff tests in a project to give the S-Bahn a new, refreshing odor.

Berlin's communter trains smell of many things, not all of them pleasant: wet umbrellas, body odor, unwashed dogs, kebab and currywurst, sometimes spilled beer or schnapps.

But that may change. German rail, which runs the Berlin commuter train -- or S-Bahn -- system has announced plans to lace the S-Bahn with its very own de-odoring odor. "A relevant test is being prepared," rail spokesperson Burkhard Ahlert told the Berliner Zeitung Thursday.

The smell of kebab and currywurst!... People have problems, ha. What about urine, unwashed homeless people and alcoholics, puke?...

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The rock group Heart, angry that its '70s hit "Barracuda" is being used as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, is taking aim at the Alaska governor.

 The song, a nod to the "Sarah Barracuda" nickname Palin earned on the basketball court in high school, was dusted off for her appearance at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on Wednesday.

Heart singers Ann and Nancy Wilson said a "cease-and-desist" letter has been sent to the Republicans asking them not to use the song.

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," according to a statement issued late on Thursday on behalf of the sisters.

The McCain campaign said it had obtained the appropriate licenses to play the song.