The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is sending a team of experts to a nuclear power plant in the state of Virginia, that was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake on August 23.
The North Anna nuclear power station is about 20km (12 miles) away from the epicenter of the strongest quake to hit the east coast state in 114 years.
The NRC now admits the plant had experienced tremors that exceeded the level it was designed to withstand.
“We are afraid that the resolution could push the most radical Syrian opposition forces to more active operations to topple the government. Just because of that, we categorically do not accept the aims our Western colleagues try to attain with that resolution.”–Vitali Churkin, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations
Russia, as well as China, have stated that they oppose any UN Security Council resolution against Syria.
Russian officials say they have information that the United States, and European Union, will sidestep the UN Security Council, because they can not get enough votes of support for their planned attack on Syria. Instead it is highly likely that the U.S. and EU will use language under NATO rules to justify an attack on Syria. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is not part of the United Nations.
Bank of America announced that it wants to sell half its stake in the lucrative China Construction Bank. Why? B of A needs cash now!
Bank of America hopes to get $8.3 billion from the sale. B of A will still hold 5% of China Construction Bank.
Tropical storm Talas, directly south of Japan, is heading right for the center of the nuclear damaged island nation.
It’s predicted that by 29 August 2011 Talas will be a category 1 typhoon. Japan is still recovering from the 11 March 2011 quake and tsunami. Also, the damaged nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi could get hit.
The Virginia earthquake shutdown at least one nuclear power plant, but Hurricane Irene could hit dozens more.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has sent personnel to the Brunswick nuclear plant, on the North Carolina coastline where Irene is expected to make landfall.
NRC regulations call for nuclear reactors to be completely shut down several hours ahead of the arrival of hurricane-force winds of 75 mph or greater.
There are at least seven nuclear power plants in the projected path of Hurricane Irene.
More than one year ago, the city of Adelanto, California, sold their prison to GEO Group. The Adelanto Community Correctional Facility was being used to house state prisoners.
City officials say they got a promise from GEO that the former city prison guards would be hired. City officials also thought the prison would be reopened shortly. One year later those former city paid prison guards are still unemployed.
GEO is remodeling the prison, because it is now going to be used as an immigrant detention center. It’s been renamed the Adelanto ICE Procesing Center East & West. GEO wants to start taking in immigrants by August 2011, but doesn’t expect the new detention center to be completed until August 2012.
GEO also runs the Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility, in Adelanto. GEO Group is the second largest for profit prison corporation in the United States. GEO run prisons have histories of violence and sexual assaults.
Florida based GEO Group, got slammed by hundreds of Goodyear, Arizona residents, after GEO attempted to convince local authorities to let them build a new prison.
The Arizona Department of Corrections wants a new 5,000 bed prison. They’ve picked 5 possible locations. The prison will be run by a contractor, for 20 years.
So far several cities have indicated their desire to be the location of the new prison, but one city, Goodyear, made it clear they did not want a GEO run prison in their back yard.
It wasn’t just the people of Goodyear, but several businesses, and organizations as well. The list includes Duncan Family Farms; the Litchfield elementary school district, along with the city of Litchfield Park; property developers Sunbelt Holdings and Robson Resort Communities; and Sub-Zero refrigerator manufacturer.
A GEO representative tried to convince the Goodyear council that the prison could bring in an annual payroll of up to $51 million to the community.
Mayor Georgia Lord responded: “A prison does not grow anything but more prisoners.”
Along with the 5,000 bed prison, GEO is trying to get Arizona to build a smaller 3,000 bed prison in San Luis, near Yuma.
“The decision to give control of an immigration center in Scotland to a company with so many allegations against them in relation to human rights shows a staggering lack of judgment. The Scottish people will be horrified by this decision.”-Anas Sarwar, Glasgow Central MP
The GEO Group, a corporation that manages part of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (GITMO), and manages several private prisons throughout the U.S., has won a contract to run the Dungavel immigrant removal center, in Scotland.
GEO has a record of sexual assaults against prisoners, and their own employees.
Recently guards at South Texas Detention Complex have been accused of forcing women prisoners to have sex with them, or they will be deported.
In 2007, Texas canceled a $9 million contract with GEO, and closed the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, after it was revealed that the children were sexually abused.
One prisoner at GEO’s Willacy County prison, also in Texas, was beaten to death last year.
In October, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against GEO, claiming the company permitted sexual harassment of female employees at their Central Arizona Correctional Facility.
Even Australia stopped doing business with GEO. Contracts were canceled after a series of scandals over rioting, racial abuse of detainees, and sexual assaults on women and children.
Dungavel immigrant removal center was established in 2001, to hold asylum seekers whose applications were rejected. The U.K. Border Agency overseas the operation of the center. Amazingly British officials are happy with GEO’s track record: “We are satisfied that GEO have delivered this as a tried and tested formula.”-U.K. Border Agency spokesman
GEO officials say their track record has nothing to do with their performance: “No custodial or detention system is immune to incidents and challenges inherent in the management of offender populations, and it would be unfair to judge an organization’s record based on individual incidents rather than its overall record.”-Walter MacGowan, Managing director of GEO UK
Google has agreed to pay $500 million in fines, for running illegal Canadian pharmacy adds.
The U.S. Department of Justice, said it is illegal to mail prescription drugs from outside the country. Many of the Canadian online pharmacies did not require a prescription either.
Google officials admit they knew what they were doing could get them into trouble, so they set up a fund to pay any fines, if they were caught.
The Germany auto industry has seen skyrocketing sales this year, mainly in China and India. But a Center Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, study predicts dire sales in the near future.
CAR boss Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, says the growing debt problems of Europe, United States, and even Japan, will eventually drag down the world economy. He predicts a “significant fall in growth” for the German auto industry.
Germany has the strongest performing car makers in the world. According to the Center of Automotive Management, VW holds 1st place, Daimler 2nd, and BMW holds 4th place (Korea’s Hyundai holds 3rd).
However, Center of Automotive Management predicts German car sales in China will soon drop off. So far Germany has seen 20% to 30% sales gains year after year. CAM analysts believe that in the near future German car makers will be lucky to see 5% sales growth in China and India.
5% sales growth will not be enough to make up for predicted loses in other markets (like the U.S.): “The gains that will be made in China and India won’t be able to compensate for the slight losses in other markets.”-Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Center Automotive Research