Tag Archives: ows

Fukushima

One Year Later: Some Fukushima farm animals will be allowed to live

Last year the Japanese government said all farm animals within the 20 kilometer (12.42 miles) radiation no go zone, around Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, had to be killed (if they weren’t already dead).

Now the government says those animals that are still alive can live, provided the farmers do not ship them off to food markets.

This comes after farmers refused to follow through with the order to cull radioactive animals.  Turns out about 700 farm animals are still alive within the no go zone.

Farmers must not breed the animals, or allow them to mingle with new animals that are not contaminated.

ONE YEAR LATER: JAPAN DEVELOPS THEIR FIRST EVER MOBILE PET CLINIC, TO HELP THE HUNDRED OF ANIMALS STILL SUFFERING IN IWATE

ONE YEAR LATER: JAPANESE BAMBOO NOW RADIOACTIVE, 124 MILES AWAY FROM FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI!

Fukushima

One Year Later: Even more Strontium pouring into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima!

April 5, 2012, Tokyo Electric Power Company is admitting that even more strontium 90 is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

TEPCo officials say at least 12 tons of contaminated water poured into the ocean overnight.  They blame it on the usual suspect; leaking pipes!

Around 02:00 the morning of April 5, workers found a joint in a waste water pipe had been disconnected, causing the huge leak.  It took them half an hour to fix it.

This is the third major strontium leak reported by TEPCo, since December 2011.

Business/Economics, International

Class Warfare: David Cameron plays Robin Hood with bank accounts and Charities, another game of smoke and mirrors

April 4, 2012, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, announced that the British government will start raiding bank accounts, officially to fund charities.

The British plan (called Big Society Capital) claims to be targeting bank accounts that have been inactive for more than 15 years.

The British government has realized how bad of an effect their slashing and burning of social programs is having on the general population of the U.K.   So, they’ve come up with this plan of raiding bank accounts, supposedly belonging to wealthier Britons, in order to fund charities now struggling to deal with growing social strife due to the government funding cuts.

There is also a catch to this plan to help the poor, charities must prove they are helping people and that their programs are successful, or else the money stops: “Big Society Capital is going to encourage charities and social enterprises to prove their business models, and then replicate them. Once they’ve proved that success in one area they’ll be able, just as a business can, to seek investment for expansion into the wider region and into the country.”-David Cameron, Prime Minister United Kingdom

To add confusion about the sincerity of the Big Society Capital plan, some bank officials have told inactive account holders not to worry, because if they ask for their money back they’ll get it.

History shows that whenever the elites of Briton put a capitalist spin on social programs they always end in disaster for the poor.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Yahoo confirms, will lay off thousands of employees

“The changes we’re announcing today will put our customers first, allow us to move fast, and to get stuff done…smaller, nimbler, more profitable…We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities.”-Yahoo memo to employees

On March 31, 2012, rumors hit the internet that Yahoo was in trouble and would fire thousands of employees.

April 4, 2012, Chief Executive Scott Thompson revealed they will indeed lay off 2,000 employees.

Thompson said he would reveal more details on April 17.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Australia to allow United States to greatly increase military operations Down Under

Australian military officials gave a clue just how much the U.S. military will increase its presence in the region.

Not only will at least 2,500 U.S. forces be based in Darwin, Australia, but the U.S. Navy will be allowed to use their naval port at Perth.

Asian media pointing out that all the locations the U.S. will be allowed to operate from in Australia, face China, India and Southeast Asia.

Michael Wesley, at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, says Darwin is just outside the reach of Chinese ICBMs.

The Australian government has also revealed that the U.S. could be allowed to operate terror drones from the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

International, U.S.

World War 3: More huge drug busts, dozens more deaths, Mujahideen Spring Offensive rolls on

April 4, 2012, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials claim 227 kilograms (500 pounds) of marijuana was found in Kandahar Province, during a routine patrol.

The day before, in Nimroz Province, aircraft spotted two suspicious vehicles.  A search turned up more than 3,150 pounds (1,430 kilograms) of drugs.  ISAF claims they destroyed the drugs.

ISAF is also reporting four more U.S. led NATO soldiers were killed on April 4.   One was killed in an ambush by Mujahideen in eastern Afghanistan, the other three were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in northern Afghanistan.

As usual ISAF refuses to give even a location where the incident took place: “It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.”-ISAF statement

ISAF is also claiming that U.S. led forces, including Afghan government forces, have killed or captured 14 Mujahideen in the past 24 hours.

Also, on the morning of April 4, in Faryab Province an explosion killed at least five civilians and six U.S. led troops, and wounded about 26 others.

According to local security boss, Abdul Khaliq Aqsai, it was a suicide bomber who attacked a ISAF/NATO convoy, which just happened to be near the provincial governor’s office.  ISAF has not commented.

In Kandahar Province, a local police chief was assassinated, about noon time April 4.  The provincial governor’s office said they do not know who did it.

 

 

 

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Japanese official says some areas of Japan will be radioactive forever. Duh, just ask the people of Prypiat, if you can find them!

About one year ago, Japanese government officials swore to the refugees fleeing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, that they’d be returning home soon.

Not only did that turn out to be a lie, but one official now says some towns will never be inhabitable.

On April 4, 2012, Japan’s reconstruction minister, Hirano Tatsuo, told the Governor of Fukushima Province, and the Mayor of Futaba Town, that because of the storage of highly radioactive waste coming from Fukushima Daiichi, the areas around that waste can never be lived in.

There are areas of Fukushima Province, being used to store hundreds of tons of contaminated water (left over from trying to keep the disaster reactors cool), that are being irradiated by the deadly levels of radiation in the water.

The Japanese media is pointing out that Hirano’s opinion runs counter to the official statements of the government.  The Japanese government continues to promise the nuclear refugees that they will be able to return to all their homes.

Here’s a thought: It’s been proven that Fukushima Daiichi is worse than Chernobyl, and yet, how many people have been allowed to return to Prypiat, the town next to the Chernobyl nuclear plant, 26 years later?  Zero!

Prypiat had nearly 50,000 people prior to the Chernobyl explosion in 1986.  Now it’s a city full of vacant and ghostly skyscrapers.

International, U.S.

World War 3: First unit of U.S. Marines arrives in Australia

Back in November, Peaceprize winner Barack Obama, announced he was sending 2,500 U.S. Marines to Australia.

April 4, 2012, the first 200 U.S. Marines arrived in Darwin, Australia.

Over the next five to six years the United States will send a total of 2,500 military personnel, including artillery and armored units.

This is part of a new U.S. defense strategy, announced earlier in the year, which also plans to make greater use of Australian naval and air force bases.

International, U.S.

World War 3: NATO supply convoy blown up, U.S. led soldiers killed, Afghan police killed

On the night of April 2, 2012, a NATO fuel supply convoy was ambushed and destroyed in Farah Province, Afghanistan.

Six fuel tankers and two escort vehicles were burned to the ground.  No info concerning casualties.

Another evening attack left at least four Afghan police and two civilians dead.

The attack took place in Helmand Province. Officials say Mujahideen launched an attack on a police checkpoint.

During the morning of April 3, in the province of Nangarhar, an explosion wounded at least three people.

Local officials say a vehicle with bodyguards riding in it hit a mine (roadside bomb).

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials say at least two U.S./NATO soldiers were killed on April 3.  One from an explosion, the other from non-combat injuries.

As is SOP (standard operating procedure) for ISAF, they refuse to give any further details.  ISAF officials defer troop details to the “…relevant national authorities.”

For the week of March 25-31, ISAF reported approximately seven instances of U.S./NATO troop deaths.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: China outproducing Exxon Mobil, North Sea major gas leak, Sudan bombs oil rich South Sudan, Iraqi Kurds stop oil shipments, Canada will stop selling cheap oil to the U.S.!

French oil company Total, could lose $2.5 million USD per day due to its North Sea oil rig leak.

The Elgin ocean rig, near Scotland, began leaking natural gas eight days ago.  It’s coming from a well that workers were trying to cap.  The situation in the North Sea now, is similar to the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico blow out.

Workers were evacuated for fear of a huge explosion. There are now reports of “oily sheen” on the ocean’s surface.

According to the North African country of South Sudan, their neighbor Sudan is bombing their oil rich areas, in order to drive off investors from the United States.

Officials from Sudan deny that they are specifically targeting oil wells, but U.S. President Barack Obama asked both sides to avoid targeting oil resources.  The U.S. supported the creation of the new country of South Sudan.

The Kurdish autonomous government in northern Iraq, have stopped oil shipments.  Kurdish officials say the Iraqi government has not made any of the payments promised for past oil shipments.

Iraqi officials responded by stating that the Kurds have not sent all the oil that was promised. However, a payment of $560 million USD is being reviewed.

Iraqi officials also say they have reason to believe the Kurds are illegally selling oil to neighboring Middle Eastern countries.  However, despite such claims of loss from Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraqi oil exports hit 2.13 million barrels per day in March.

The world’s biggest oil producer is no longer Exxon Mobil.  PetroChina is now the number one producer of petroleum oil.

According to Bloomberg, PetroChina is now producing a little more than 2.4 million barrels per day of oil.  Chinese officials say the petroleum company will actually increase its take over of other oil companies around the world, because China’s industries need the oil.

“Look, the very fact that a ‘no’ [a no on Keystone] could even be said underscores to our country that we must diversify our energy export markets. We cannot be, as a country, in a situation where our one and, in many cases, only energy partner could say no to our energy products. We just cannot be in that position.”-Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

Canada has been selling its oil to the United States by at least half the going rate, but Canadian officials say that can’t continue, even if U.S. officials approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Canada will eventually jack up the price for U.S. customers.

“We have taken a significant price hit by virtue of the fact that we are a captive supplier and that just does not make sense in terms of the broader interests of the Canadian economy…”-Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada