Thursday, March 17, 2011

Breaking News Thus. March 17, 2011

The situation in Japan continues to unfold and the full extent of the disaster is yet to be fully grasped.
The Middle East rocks on the edge of a meltdown of it's own as well. Keep your eyes open and stay informed. I again recommend the forums linked at the bottom of this post for up to date information and insight from a preparedness point of view.
And now for the News.
NPR: Living In The Atomic Age: Remember These Images? : Classroom With Gas Masks, 1950s

Here is a  group of links from rj.
Great information! visit rj at Global Glass Onion!
Saudi Arabia orders radiation tests on all Japan imports
Radiation checks on Japanese food imports (Video)
Italy restricts the import of Japanese products, introduces checks for radiation
Radiation-free certification required for Japan food imports from April 15 (Malaysia)
India monitoring food import from Japan for radioactive contamination
Shanghai to scan Japanese food, cargo for radiation
Hong Kong Moms Empty Shelves of Japanese Baby Formula Amid Nuclear Scare
Get out of Tokyo: Foreign Office tells all Britons to leave toxic radiation zone as Japanese 'lose control' of stricken reactor --French minister: 'Let's not beat about the bush, they've essentially lost control' --Radioactive steam spews into atmosphere from reactor number three --Experts warn that crisis is 'approaching point of no return' as officials run out of options --Officials commandeer police water cannon to spray complex --Attempts to dump water on reactors by helicopter fail --Two more previously stable reactors begin to heat up --Workers battling nuclear meltdown evacuated for hours today after radiation levels increased 16 Mar 2011
 
Japan nuclear plant: Just 48 hours to avoid 'another Chernobyl' 16 Mar 2011 Japan has 48 hours to bring its rapidly escalating nuclear crisis under control before it faces a catastrophe "worse than Chernobyl", it was claimed last night. Nuclear safety officials in France said they were “pessimistic” about whether engineers could prevent a meltdown at the Fukushima power plant after a pool containing spent fuel rods overheated and boiled dry. Last night radiation levels were "extremely high" in the stricken building, which was breached by an earlier explosion, meaning that radiation could now escape into the atmosphere. Tokyo Electric, the owners of the plant, said five workers had been killed at the site, two were missing and 21 had been injured.

Japan’s English-Language News Station





TheAtlantic: How Bad Communication Is Undermining Japan's Crisis Response
Reuters: Mizuho: ATMs stop working across Japan, cause unknown
(Reuters) - Mizuho Bank (8411.T) said that all of its automatic teller machines (ATM) throughout Japan and its Internet transaction system have stopped working on Thursday, after computer glitches disrupted $7.3 billion worth of transactions over the previous two days.
WashingtonPost: State Dept., Pentagon offer to evacuate family members from Tokyo
YahooNews: Panic buying of salt sweeps Beijing, parts of China in wake of Japan nuclear crisis
Alphaville: The situation in Tokyo, a view from the ground
ZeroHedge: Tokyo Exodus Part 3: ATM Shutdowns, Power Outages Put Citizens On Edge, Gold Hoarded In Evacuation Preparations
US Navy News on twitter has just posted this.
100 Nuclear, Biological, Chemical firefighting suits delivered frm USS GeorgeWashington to Gov of Japan this morning for Fukushima.
RawStory: 83-year-old Japanese woman escaped tsunami on bicycle
USAToday: Japan nuclear situation 'deteriorating,' U.S. ambassador says



NYT: Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume
17 Mar 2011 A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific, and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday. The projection, by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, gives no information about actual radiation levels but only shows how a radioactive plume would probably move and disperse.(thanks rj)
Reuters: U.S. forces kept away from Japan nuclear plant area
(Reuters) - The U.S. military on Wednesday ordered troops to stay at least 50 miles away from a crippled Japanese nuclear power plant and started prescribing medication ahead of higher-risk missions amid growing concerns about radiation.

Protests in the Middle East
Reuters: Saudi Shi'ites protest, support Bahrain brethren
(Reuters) - Saudi Shi'ites marched in the kingdom's oil-producing east Wednesday, demanding the release of prisoners and voicing support for Shi'ites in nearby Bahrain, an activist and witnesses said.
Time: No More Protests? Egypt's Army Cracks Down
ZeroHedge: Let The Bombing Commence: UN Imposes "No Fly Zone" Over Libya
NPR: In Libya: Rebels Fight Back, But Gadhafi's Forces Largely 'Unstoppable'
YahooNews: Thousands rally in Iraqi holy city to support Bahrain Shiites; lawmakers demand aid
BusinessInsider: BAHRAIN LIVE: Iran Will Respond With "All Power And Potentials At Its Disposal To Halt The Oppression Of The People Of Bahrain"
Time: Silent No More: The Women of the Arab Revolutions
WashingtonPost: Bahrain arrests opposition leaders as crackdown intensifies
A tent city in the heart of Bahrain’s capital was wiped away Wednesday after the government dispatched troops against pro-democracy demonstrators in defiance of U.S. warnings.

Financial News 
MyBudget360: Federal Reserve wild financial beast of Maiden Lane  
How the Fed silently helped Hilton and Waldorf properties for the benefit of JPMorgan while placing the cost on working and middle class Americans.
USAToday: Tea Party activists irked over fiscal representation in House
Bloomberg: Yen Reaches Record High Against Dollar on Repatriation Demand
WSJ: ‘Charlie Sheen’: Secret Silver Investor?
Reuters: FX markets deal Japan another blow
If FX moves were measured on the Richter scale, this one would be a monster
BBC: China suspends nuclear building plans
BusinessInsider: A Complete Guide To Japan's $200 Billion Disaster And How It Will Affect The Global Economy
MSNBC: Hitting another bank's ATM? Fees are rising
Chase is testing fees of $4 and $5 for non-customers who use its ATMs
Reuters: Geithner says Congress must raise debt limit

Peak oil and Energy News
FCNP: The Peak Oil Crisis: Protests, Tsunamis & Deficits by Tom Whipple
TreeHugger: Heinberg Claims Middle East Turmoil Could Create Economic Disaster
OilPrice: Peak Oil Confronts Peak Idiocracy: What to Do?

Environmental News
and this from our friend rj!
Radioactive Waste Piling Up at Savannah River Site:
The 310 square mile Savannah River Site is located close to several major cities, including Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; as well as Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston, South Carolina. The site is owned by the Department of Energy's Savannah River Operations Office and managed by Westinghouse Savannah River Company. The facility was built in the early 1950s to produce plutonium and tritium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal. More than a third of U.S. weapons plutonium and almost all of its tritium was produced there. The federal government has stored the high level radioactive waste produced at the plant on site in 51 massive underground tanks with the aim of retrieving it and moving it elsewhere for safe storage. Although the liquid wastes can be drawn out and removed, the Energy Department's method for removing the most radioactive sludge out of the tanks has proven unsafe and alternatives are being explored.

they say it wont get into the water supply...
 RawStory: Swedish firm applies to bury nuclear waste amid protests
NationalGeographic: Tiger Parts Seized in Raid on Malaysia Restaurant
NationalGeographic: Rhinos Continue to Die, Even as South Africa Steps Up War on Poachers 
Ecologist: The film that stood up to banana giant Dole over pesticide poisoning (and won) 

Food and Water
prnewswire: U.S. Food Expert Says Japan's Tragedy Will Benefit U.S. Food Suppliers

Police State, Big Brother, Surveillance
RawStory: Exclusive: Military’s ‘persona’ software cost millions, used for ‘classified social media activities’

Science and Technology
UniverseToday: The Supermoon Illusion FoxNews: NASA Finishes First Map of Moon's Craters
(Gorgeous Pictures!)

Medical and Health
ScientificAmerican: Rwanda Investigating Adult Male Circumcision sans Anesthesia
A new system is said to enable a bloodless procedure, in which an elastic mechanism is clamped on the penis foreskin, desiccating it for removal after a week
RawStory: Haiti cholera epidemic to hit 800,000: study

Wikileaks
RawStory: Treatment of accused WikiLeaks source ‘cruel and unusual’: ACLU

Other News
CSMonitor: Angry squirrel terrorizes Vermont town
A neighborhood in Bennington, Vt., is under siege following a series of attacks carried out by a gray squirrel.
WikiHow: How to Walk in a Swamp
RawStory: Republican lawmaker blames 11-year-old victim of alleged gang rape
TheAtlantic: Map: The 12 States of America
CSMonitor:  Why House Republicans are rushing to slash NPR funding
House Republican cohesiveness splintered in a key vote earlier this week, but NPR funding – long a target for conservatives – is almost certain to restore a picture of GOP unity.
WashingtonPost: Report: ‘Device’ explodes outside Potomac home
Police are investigating an explosion — possibly of some type of device — outside a Potomac mansion Wednesday night, according to WTOP.
The blast blew out a window and damaged a room in the home, but no one was injured, the radio station reports. No one was home at the time.
Firefighters noticed an unusual smell when they arrived at the scene in the 9200 block of Ingleside Drive shortly after the blast, which occurred around 9:15 p.m. They called a hazardous materials team to investigate.
KVIA: Mysterious Woman Gives Away Hundreds Of Dollars To Random Shoppers
El Paso Texas Big Lots!
USAToday: MINNEAPOLIS
Officials say a fiery blast in south Minneapolis was a natural gas line explosion, and there are no known injuries.

The Forums 
TinfoilPalace: Alarming magnetic field changes signal major quake for West Coast
TinfoilPalace: Rainbow Cloud over Everest.

TheOilAge: Michigan governor wants emergency powers.
TheOilAge: Japan heading back into recession
Hubberts-Arms: 8.8 EARTHQUAKE NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Hubberts-Arms: Twin Meltdowns: Saving the Japanese People & the U.S./EU Economies
SilentCountry: U.S. is evacuating from Japan
SilentCountry: Buh Bye Middle Class
the idiots who voted these sociopaths into office
are now gonna PAY PAY PAY

the trap has been sprung
NO whining bitches
your gonna get what you think you wanted

1 comment:

  1. something else i should have mentioned about that savannah river nuclear site where they have those 51 montrous casks of too hot to handle nuclear waste stored underground: it's near the site of 1886 charleston earthquake, second only to the new madrid quakes of 1811-12 among the largest quakes east of the rockies

    ReplyDelete