Tag Archives: food

Fukushima

One Year Later: Prosecutors to launch criminal investigations into Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster!

25 July 2012, after a final government initiated, independent investigation report was filed, NHK (nippon housou kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is reporting that Japanese prosecutors will now accept and investigate criminal complaints regarding the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The final report basically said that it is not clear that the nuclear disaster was caused by the natural disasters on 11 March 2011, in fact, in an earlier report the investigators said it was a “man made” disaster.

The final report also blamed the ongoing disaster on gross negligence, both by corporations and the government!  This is why Japanese prosecutors are now accepting criminal complaint cases.  Of course corporate officials, and government officials, deny such gross negligence.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Radioactive village fenced off! Rice fields left to contamination!

Midnight 16 July 2012, a ceremony was held as Iitate Village, in Fukushima Prefecture, was officially fenced off.

Iitate is now divided into three zones, based on radiation levels.

In the most radioactive area only people with homes in the area are allowed in, but only for a few hours and never overnight!

This is the beginning of government efforts to manage decontamination efforts, more than one year after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident began.

However, 85% of Iitate is woodland and rice fields, and the government has not announced any plans to decontaminate those areas.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Evil & Global Food Crisis: Monsanto found guilty of poisoning farmers! New study confirms Roundup destroys soil, reduces crop nutrition!

“I am alive today, but part of the farming population is going to be sacrificed and is going to die because of this.”-Paul Francois, victim of Monsanto’s LASSO 384

In February 2012, for the first time, a French court found Monsanto guilty of chemically poisoning a farmer who used an herbicide called LASSO 384. The active ingredient is called Alachlor.

This is the first court case that directly links Monsanto’s products with illnesses.

In 2004 the farmer suffered sever neurological problems that included memory loss, stammering and headaches, after using LASSO.  In 2007 the French government banned LASSO.  France has the largest agricultural economy of the European Union.

In 2003 Monsanto quietly paid a settlement of $700 million USD to victims of poisonings in Anniston, Alabama.

To add to the court cases, a recent study found that Kanup 480 SL (aka Roundup) actually destroys the soil it’s used on.  No shit Sherlock!!!  I’ve worked in landscaping for long enough to see the damage it causes to soil, and actually got in trouble with my bosses for refusing to use Roundup!

The study was published in Current Microbiology, and says the active ingredient, glyphosate, destroys beneficial microorganism that live in the soil, and results in crops with less nutritional value!  (I wounder if this has anything to do with mass colony collapse in bees?)

For example, the microorganism used in yogurt, Lactobacillus cremoris, has actually disappeared in areas where Roundup was used extensively.  The study also said such destruction occurres with much lower doses of Roundup, than what is recommended by Monsanto.

But it was discovered that many farmers end up using more and more Roundup, year after year, to fight the growing number of super weeds.  The results are huge tracks of farmland that are producing crops with very little nutrition!

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Evil: Mystery disease killing children in Cambodia? Remember Vientam’s Kanup/Roundup/Monsanto disaster?

05 July 2012, Cambodian health officials have turned to the UN World Health Organization for help in finding out what is killing their children.  A similar thing happened in Vietnam.

In Vietnam the mystery disease was made public in April this year.  It looks like a case of villagers incorrectly using a Monsanto product called Kanup 480 SL (Roundup in the United States).  The villagers had never used herbicides prior to a chemical company sale person tricking them into using the Roundup.

Now, Cambodian officials are reporting the deaths of at least 61 children.  The deaths began in April of this year.  Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, neurological problems and severe respiratory problems.  Officials say it is not contagious, implying it is not a virus or bacteria.

Cases have been reported in 14 Cambodian provinces.  At this point health officials are treating this as a traditional disease.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence One Year Later: 600 page report blames ongoing nuclear disaster on idiots in government! Faulty construction of disaster reactors blamed!

“The accident was not a natural disaster but was obviously a man made disaster.”-Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission

On 05 July 2012, the results of a months long Diet (Japanese parliament) investigation into the ongoing nuclear disaster at the General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power factory, places blame squarely on Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo), and the government.

The report also stated that failings in management began years before the  March 2011 disaster.

The report criticizes government response to the nuclear disaster.  The former prime minister who was in charge last year, Kan Naoto, gave a typical Japanese political response, agreeing with parts of the report and refuting other parts.

The report said that construction of Fukushima Daiichi was not up to earthquake standards, as claimed by TEPCo. The report says the nuclear disaster might have actually started with the earthquake, not the tsunami.

Government and corporate leadership only made things worse: Self serving attitudes of leaders resulted in willful negligence, both in the construction of the nuke plant, and the disaster response.

There were plenty of opportunities for TEPCo to upgrade Fukushima Daiichi with stronger construction and better safeguards.

In the first hours of the disaster the government interfered at different levels, causing confusion within corporate chains of command.

The government also confused the general public, by giving reports that conflicted with media reports. In some cases government reports outright contrasted with events watched live on Japanese TV  (I remember watching live on the internet as the tsunami swept over three story buildings, then heard a government official saying the waves were only 3 meters tall!!!)!

The government issued confusing evacuation advise, in some cases people actually evacuated into areas being contaminated with radiation. The report suggests that government leaders were trying to avoid taking full responsibility for the disaster by making evacuations voluntary, and using terms like “just in case”.

Another issue was the announcement of radiation danger zones long after the nuclear disaster began. The report says the government had radiation data for a whole month before hand, and could have declared the danger zones much sooner.

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) began in December 2011, interviewing 1,167 people, including former government and TEPCo officials.   The NAIIC is planning “…to make an English version of the final report to show it to the world.”-Kurokawa Kiyoshi, lead investigator

Japanese version of report here.

 

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Fresh water fish more radioactive than salt water fish! More proof that you need lots of salt in your diet!

03 July 2012, the Ministry of Environment in Japan discovered that fresh water fish are more susceptible to radiation contamination than salt water fish.

From December 2011 to February 2012, they sampled fish from rivers, lakes and eight locations in the Pacific Ocean.  Fresh water fish were much more contaminated than salt water fish.

In a river north of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, goby fish were found with 2,600 becquerels per kilogram of cesium!  The highest readings of cesium in salt water flounder and bass were 260 becquerels per kilogram.

The researchers speculate that the salt in the ocean water absorbs much of the radiation, and then the fish excrete it (the concept is similar to the idea of taking iodide pills after a nuclear accident).

Radiation ends up being concentrated in the bodies of fresh water fish.

ONE YEAR LATER: LEFT BEHIND; FUKUSHIMA PETS STILL WITHOUT HOMES, NEW KITTENS FOUND NEAR NUCLEAR PLANT

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Japanese government collasping over tax increases! DPJ turning against their own Prime Minister!

02 July 2012, 52 members of Japan’s Diet (parliament) have resigned over the sales tax increases called for by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

The prime minister and the lawmakers who quit are part of the same political party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).  One of the lawmakers to resign is Ichiro Ozawa, who helped found the DPJ. He’s forming a new political party to challenge the government.

The members who left occupied positions in both houses of the Diet.  If the DPJ were to lose 55 members in the more powerful Lower House, then the DPJ would not be able to stop any recall of the prime minister.  The Lower House of the Diet appoints the Japanese prime minister, he is not elected by the general public.

Yoshihiko Noda is the sixth prime minister in the past six years.

Fukushima

One Year Later: Record level radiation at Reactor 1, Fukushima Daiichi! Proof of near full blown melt down!

27 June 2012, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) reporting highest radiation levels yet inside Reactor 1 of the GE (General Electric) designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power factory.

Using endoscopes and dosimeters on 26 June 2012,  TEPCo employees detected 10,300 millisieverts per hour inside the reactor!  That level will kill you in less than an hour!

That level of radiation was picked up 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) from a pool of water.   At 4 meters (13 feet) above the water 1,000 millisieverts per hour was detected (which is ten times more than Reactor 2 or 3).

TEPCo officials say the high radiation levels from Reactor 1 are because the reactor was closer to a full blown runaway melt down, than any of the other reactors.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: You can now call Reactor 4 the Leaning Tower of Fukushima!

25 June 2012, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) announcing today that they discovered, last month, that the outer walls of the building housing Reactor 4 are tilting!

TEPCo officials claim the building is still structurally safe! The third floor has the most extreme tilt, at 4.6 centimeters (1.8 inches).

Reactor 4, of all the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, has the largest number of spent fuel rods located in a giant pool at the top of the building, housing more than 1,500 fuel rods. TEPCo says there is no worry about the spent fuel pool  as it is supported by central pillars, and not the outer walls.  (how many times has TEPCo made such statements that became famous last words?)

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 19 June – 22 June. Dozens killed in hotel attack! Increased attacks on women & children! Increased attacks on Afghan forces! U.S. troops killed! So much for the U.S. occupation stabilizing Afghanistan!

22 June 2012

Afghan Mujahideen attack the Spozhmai Hotel in Kabul city, at least 12 people killed (six cops and six civilians).

Kabul police say the attack began late night, 21 June 2012.  They claim they rescued 20 hostages, but there are dozens more inside: “It would be very easy for police to kill them, but we are afraid because there are civilians, including women and children, trapped inside. We are waiting for daylight.”-General Mohammad Zahir, Kabul police

Mujahideen claim they attacked two hotels, killing at least 25 people including 14 “high profile” elitist Afghans.

21 June 2012

ISAF admits a U.S./NATO helicopter went down in eastern Afghanistan, calling it an emergency landing.  However, reports out of Khost Province say a U.S. helicopter crashed and burst into flames.

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, says Mujahideen attacks on Afghan troops have increased: “Every day we have at least 20 to 25 casualties, every day at least 20 to 25 of our youths are making the sacrifice for this country and are being killed!”

A United Nations article says that official documentation of women and children, who suffer from violence, show an increase in violence.  However, there is no baseline because official documentation of such violence was started only a few years ago.

The UN article does say that the ongoing war (should read U.S. occupation) is actually making things worse for women and children.

The UN article was published last week.  Today, 21 June 2012, the Afghan government reports several violent domestic crimes in the past few days.  They include the violent rape of an 8 year old, the rape of a 7 year old, and the torturing of a 6 month old and the mother, apparently all in the same province.

20 June 2012 

A suicide bomber kills at least 21 people. Major Martyn Crighton, of NATO, said the attack was against a U.S./NATO checkpoint in the city of Khost.  The U.S. embassy confirmed that three of those killed were U.S. personnel.

It was the third day in a row that U.S. forces were targeted.  According to iCasualties.org, 208 U.S. led occupation personnel have been killed so far this year, 152 being U.S. personnel.

While the city of Khost was attacked, another explosion hit eastern Khost Province. A suicide bomber attacked a U.S./NATO convoy.  Local hospital officials say at least 18 people were killed and 36 wounded.

At least eight people were killed, four wounded, in Logar Province, after a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew up. Local officials believe the bomber was attempting to join the attack on the U.S./NATO convoy in Khost Province.

In Kunar Province, local officials claim a U.S./NATO airstrike killed at least 21 people.

In Faryab Province, local officials say they stopped four suicide bombers from carrying out their attacks.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claim they captured yet another “leader”, this time in Paktiya Province.  ISAF also claims to have captured a “leader” from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, in Badakhshan Province.  A “facilitator” was arrested in Kandahar Province.

19 June 2012

ISAF reports a U.S. led occupation troop was killed in southern Afghanistan: “Initial reports indicate that seven insurgents launched an attack on a NATO installation and initially were successful in breaching the outer security perimeter.”

Provincal officials from Kandahar say Mujahideen attacked a U.S. base in Kandahar, wounding at least 10 U.S. personnel.  Mujahideen claim they killed or wounded 40 U.S. personnel, and that 17 Mujahideen were wounded in the attack.

Also in Kandahar Province, a Afghan military checkpoint was attacked by men wearing Afghan police uniforms.  At least seven people were killed.

In Kunar Province, a U.S. assassination drone crashed while providing air support to Afghan and U.S. forces on the ground.

In Helmand Province at least 8 people were killed, five wounded, when they drove over a mine.

In Bamiyan Province, 46 school girls were poisoned.

ISAF says more “leaders” captured in Helmand and Paktia provinces.

President Karzai fires the boss of the Academy of Science, and the boss of Social Affairs and Human Science Department, after they tried to publish a book that was racially slanted against non-Pashtuns.  One ethnic group was actually labeled as being thieves and liars, and a threat to Islam.  Pashtuns are the dominant ethnic group of Afghanistan.