Archive for March, 2011
JAPAN: THREE NUCLEAR REACTORS MAY BE MELTING DOWN
March 14th, 2011Via: CNN: A blast at a nuclear reactor and a series of problems at a neighboring one led to a brief spike in radiation levels outside Japan’s troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Monday, triggering even greater fears that dangerous radiation could add to the country’s devastation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said he was not […]
Japan Has Asked for IAEA Help with Nuclear Emergency
March 14th, 2011Via: Montreal Gazette: Japan has officially asked the UN atomic watchdog to send a team of experts to help in the current nuclear crisis, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said Monday. “Today, the government of Japan asked the agency to provide expert missions. We are in discussions with Japan on the details,” […]
Army Recruits Prisoners to Make Body Armor
March 14th, 2011Via: Wired: Building parts for Patriot missile systems was just a warm-up, apparently, for a government-owned company that relies on federal inmates making as little as 23 cents an hour. On Wednesday, the U.S. Army announced that it handed Federal Prison Industries a no-bid, nearly $20 million contract to build body armor. It’s the latest […]
Germany: Nuclear Disaster ‘Will Have Political Impact as Great as 9/11’
March 14th, 2011Via: Der Spiegel: The nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant following Friday’s earthquake and tsunami has led to anxious questions in Germany about the safety of its own nuclear reactors and is putting the government under intense pressure to rethink its decision to extend plant lifetimes by an average of 12 years. German media commentators […]
Rush to Fix Quake-Damaged Undersea Cables
March 14th, 2011Via: Wall Street Journal: Asia’s major telecom operators scrambled Monday to eliminate the impact on their operations from damage to several submarine cables following the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Many operators were reporting some disruptions in Internet access, though the partial restoration of service was accomplished by rerouting traffic over undamaged cables and […]
Saudi Troops Arrive in Bahrain as Protests Escalate
March 14th, 2011Via: Christian Science Monitor: Amid concerns of a Shiite uprising in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia sent troops to support the Sunni monarchy. Bahrain’s opposition denounced the move as an ‘occupation.’ Saudi forces have reportedly arrived in Bahrain to reinforce its police, who clashed with protesters yesterday in an escalation of the month-long Shiite-led protests calling for […]
Anonymous Airs Bank of America Emails for Wikileaks
March 14th, 2011Via: Daily Tech: The emails detail what seems like suspicious actions at Balboa (and by proxy, Bank of America). The unit makes most of its money from placing mandatory insurance policies on liens, such as home mortgages, farm loans, etc. The insurance policy increases the amount the mortgage holder has to pay in escrow. It […]
‘Store Shelves Empty in Tokyo’ [???]
March 14th, 2011Via: Reuters: Commuters and residents of the Japanese capital faced confusion and uncertainty on Monday over the supply of food and energy after Friday’s devastating quake and tsunami which crippled a nuclear power plant. Some store shelves were emptied and many train lines were shut down as Tokyo commuters returned to work after a weekend […]
U.S. Navy: 7th Fleet Repositions Ships After Low Level Radioactive Contamination Detected
March 14th, 2011Update: Relief Operations Resume Via: U.S. Navy Twitter Feed: Relief ops have resumed north of Sendai. Watching winds closely & will move ships, aircraft as nec to avoid windline frm Fukushima. —End Update— Via: U.S. Navy: From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs PACIFIC OCEAN (March 14, 2011) – The U.S. 7th Fleet has temporarily repositioned […]
Implications of Japanese Earthquake
March 14th, 2011J writes: Kevin, Would you comment on what the situation in Japan means for the rest of the world. I have been trying to get my head around what has happened, and what is still happening, but I’m not able to do it. Millions of Japanese are without water, food and electricity. Some of the […]
