Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Daily News Drop. We’ve got another great batch of stories for you today so let’s get started!

Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Continues Because of our media’s short attention span, the calamity that was the near meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is very nearly forgotten. The problem remains, however. A recent test has shown not only a lethal level of radiation, but the highest recorded amount to date. It appears that the leak is anything but contained.

Right Wing Extremists Inspire Norway Killer Looking back at the tragedy in Oslo, Norway, it seems next to impossible to try and understand the motivations of Anders Brevik. We do have a rare insight into his psyche, a 1,500 page manifesto that he wrote in which he explains his political reasons for his killing spree. Blaming the downfall of Norway and Europe on the Feminist Movement and Multiculturalism, Brevik depended heavily on American Islamophobic writers, Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes and Pam Geller. As easy as it is to write Brevik off as a lone nut, it’s imperative to look at what this hateful language can inspire. Freedom of Speech is a wonderful Constitutional protection, but it does not extend to calls to violence.

Koch Brothers-Funded Group Attempt to Suppress Voters Americans for Prosperity, an organization best known for their bankrolling of the initial Tea Party protests in the Summer of 2009, is heavily funded by the incredibly wealthy and conservative Koch Brothers. They are back in the news in the highly contentious Wisconsin Recall election. There have been reports of absentee ballots sent to registered Democrats by Americans for Prosperity that have the incorrect return date on them – a date two days after the election is over. This appears to be anything but an honest mistake, and Wisconsin Democrats have filed a complaint because of this act of voter suppression.

Israel Offers Border Talks… If PA Drops UN Bid The Palestinian Authority is currently waiting for a vote by the United Nations that would recognize an independent Palestinian state. This is completely unacceptable to both Israel and the United States. To try and coax the PA out of their search for UN approval, Israel stated that they would be willing to hold negotiations if the PA drops their petition to the United Nations. This is nothing more than blackmail. The UN would assuredly vote in favor of the independent Palestinian state, and Israel appears to be willing to do anything to prevent that from happening.

Obama’s Obsession with Independents, who aren’t Actually that Independent A really interesting piece by The New Republic. Statistics tell us that Independents are large percentage of the electorate, and look to be the portion that swing elections to either Republicans or Democrats. Because of this, Barack Obama has had an almost unhealthy obsession with appealing to Independents – always rhetorically pushing for ‘compromise’ and ‘bi-partisanship.’ When you delve further into the actual beliefs of these Independents, they really are individuals who have an ideological preference but just don’t have a party label. Thus, playing to center doesn’t actually do anything to endear Obama to them. Actually choosing a side and governing with convictions would be a much more effective strategy.

Romney Announces Legal Advisor – Robert Bork Robert Bork, a conservative Folk Hero, was a nominee for the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan that was rejected by the Senate for his extreme conservative views. Mitt Romney, trying to increase his credibility to conservatives, has made Bork an Advisor to his campaign. Some of Bork’s views – he thought that the Civil Rights act a ‘principle of unsurpassed ugliness,’ favors bans on both pornography and contraception as well as acceptance of gender discrimination – are very concerning. They not only remind you why Bork wasn’t confirmed to be in the Supreme Court, but also should concern you that this man will be the individual advising Romney on judicial nominations.

Why Abstinence-Only Doesn’t Work Ohio teens are given Jolly Ranchers, and then told not to eat them – that they will taste better if they wait to eat them. So begins abstinence-only sex education. One out of four Americans are taught using this method. Rather than explain what safe sex is and why it’s important, teenagers are told to just not do it at all. Unsurprisingly, telling teenagers not to do something isn’t that effective. Rather than metaphorically sticking your fingers in you ears and pretending that teens aren’t having sex, actually educating them how to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STIs would much more likely achieve the desired result.

Why The NBA Lockout is Here to Stay With the NFL ending their 18 week lockout, it’s easy to forget that another major sport is also embroiled in a labor dispute. The NBA remains in lockout and an end does not look to be in sight. One major roadblock is the unquestionable force that is NBA Commissioner David Stern. Ruling with almost complete authority, owners and players alike seem to be afraid of him. His intransigence when it comes to what will eventually be what will save the league, revenue sharing, might be the cause of the end of his de facto dictatorship of the league. Until this power relationship is changed, no progress seems possible.

Thanks again for reading and staying informed. Keep reading and sharing all of the blogs on the site and I will be back again tomorrow with more news!

Sources: Slate, Alternet, The Raw Story, Al Jazeera English, The New Republic, Think Progress, The Nation, Edge of Sports