The U.S. Department of Justice says Japanese tire maker Bridgestone has agreed to plead guilty to bid rigging, and bribing Latin American governments.
It involves giant hoses used to transfer oil from oil tankers to storage facilities.
The illegal practice of bribing and bid rigging went on for ten years, from 1997-2007. Bridgestone admitted that it bribed government officials in Mexico and other Latin American countries to secure deals. They are facing a fine of only $28 million.
16 September 2011, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency says the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could have been avoided.
They say if water injection began four hours sooner there would have been no melt downs.
Anyone who’s been following the situation from day one knows that Tokyo Electric Power Company has dragged their feet on just about everything connected to dealing with the disaster. Especially at the beginning when it seemed that TEPCo officials just refused to believe that anything was wrong!
Of the plant’s six reactors, reactors 1 and 3 suffered meltdowns after losing cooling functions.
Reactor 2 suffered a hydrogen explosion on 15 March, which caused the release and spread of massive amounts of radioactive isotopes.
16 September 2011, ever since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began, waste incinerator sites across Japan have reported high levels of radiation in the ashes of burned garbage and sludge.
The latest tests show three Prefectures still with levels of cesium contamination exceeding safe limits: Iwate, Fukushima and Chiba.
The highest measurement was 144,420 becquerels per kilogram at one facility in Fukushima!
The Japanese Environment Ministry realized that the incinerators reporting high levels of radiation contamination, are storing the garbage outside, where it can be contaminated by airborne cesium. This is also an indicator of just how much airborne radiation is being spread across Japan.
The Environment Ministry has now decided to test all incinerators sites, that store the garbage outdoors.
Read more about incinerator contamination:
Septmenber 14, a man who sued a corporate run Idaho prison, known as “Gladiator School”, for extreme violence and medical neglect, has reached a settlement with Corrections Corporation of America.
CCA is the largest corporate prison operation in the United States, and also has the worst reputation.
Dozens of other inmates across the U.S. are also suing the Nashville, Tennessee, based CCA.
Reports are that CCA wants to settle all cases as quietly as possible, and soon. CCA officials hope to have all cases settled by the end of the week.
The Idaho Correctional Center, run by CCA, is so violent that it’s called “Gladiator School”. Lawsuits claim that guards used inmate on inmate violence as a management tool, and then denied injured prisoners adequate medical care. In one case, security camera video was leaked, showing a prisoner being beaten for hours, while guards watched. That’s your Idaho tax dollars at work folks!
By the way, CCA is a major supporter of the Idaho Republican party!!!
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Central Basin Municipal Water District, a taxpayer funded operation, with elected officials at the helm, essentially created their own ‘news agency’ to make them look good.
Coghlan Consulting Group is being paid $11,000 per month to write ‘news’ stories that make the elected officials look good, in the hopes of getting re-elected: “This is a serious breach of the public trust. If it was known and approved by the board, it could be interpreted as the use of $200,000 of taxpayer funds as a self-promotion to help them stay in office.”-Terry Francke, Californians Aware
The idea of a ‘news agency’ for the water district came from the consulting firm: “All of us know that getting positive news coverage about the agency is a very difficult challenge. The solution? How about our own news outlet.”-Ed Coghlan, Coghlan Consulting Group
The Central Basin Municipal Water District is already being investigated by Los Angeles County prosecutors for possible fraudulent travel expenses.
Three Transportation Security Administration officers in Florida and New York airports, along with two New York police officers, have been arrested for taking bribes from prescription drug dealers.
The bribes were in the form of cash and gift cards. The TSA officers, and the New York cops, face charges of conspiring to distribute, and possessing with intent to distribute oxycodone. Altogether 20 people were arrested.
“I’m not a terrorist. I’m not firebombing any banks.”-Alex Schafer, artist
A Los Angeles, California, artist is constantly harassed by police, because of his anti-bank paintings.
The paintings show major national banks on fire, the artist says they’re hot sellers! “I started the bidding off at 920 bucks and its at $10,100 now.”
The artist also uses slogans like “Bad banks should fail”. Apparently the paintings and the slogans have local police thinking the artist is a terrorist.
Who’s the real terrorists? Since 2008, none of the bank bosses in charge during the mortgage meltdown have done any jail time. Instead, they were the recipients of bailouts and bonuses, while millions of U.S. citizens continue to suffer through foreclosure, unemployment and financial ruin.
“He never followed orders. What makes you think he can deal with children?”-Mother of murdered student, talking about renegade school cop
The mother of an unarmed 14 year old boy killed after a Northside Independent School District of San Antonio, Texas, school cop chased him off school property and shot him, is now demanding justice.
The boy ran after he hit another student. The 14 year old had a history of trouble at the school, but so did the renegade cop.
Police dispatch recordings show the school cop was ordered NOT to chase the 14 year old. He ignored the orders and chased the boy off school property, into a garden shed behind a home, and killed him.
The cop claimed the boy lunged at him, and he shot at close range in self defense. The autopsy showed the boy was NOT shot at close range.
The cop has a long record of getting into trouble himself: 16 reprimands in four years! Suspended WITHOUT pay five times!
Here’s the amazing thing; the police department wanted to fire the renegade cop, but the Northside Independent School District fought to keep the cop in their schools!
The mother of the boy is now suing for civil rights violations, supervisory liability and negligence.
Gakushuin University Professor Yasuyuki Muramatsu, says radioactive cesium on soil and fallen leaves in forests is easily absorbed by mushrooms and edible plants.
On 03 September 2011, wild mushrooms found in a forest in Fukushima Prefecture contained 28,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, far above the national safety limit. A wild boar was also found to have radiation amounts about 6 times the safety limit.
Professor Muramatsu is urging the Japanese government to conduct tests on wild animals and plants.
The U.S. Army is trying to find 14,000 rounds of ammunition missing from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was under the control of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
The ammo is .223 caliber (5.56mm), used in the M16 and M4 weapons.
3,500 people were placed on lockdown after a tip to Fort Bragg leadership. The 1st Brigade Combat Team is also known as “Devils in Baggy Pants”.