Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government
17 Mar 2011
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Radiation Plume to Reach Southern California Late Friday 17 Mar 2011 A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific, and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday. The projection, by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, gives no information about actual radiation levels but only shows how a radioactive plume would probably move and disperse.
Feds deploy more radiation monitors in western US 16 Mar 2011 Federal environmental regulators say they are adding more radiation monitors in the western United States and Pacific territories as concerns rise over exposure from damaged nuclear plants in Japan. The Environmental Protection Agency already monitors radiation throughout the area as part of its RadNet system, which measures levels in air, drinking water, milk and rain. The additional monitors are in response to the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.
US Starts Evacuating Americans From Japan --US authorizes evacuations out of Japan and warns Americans not to travel to country 17 Mar 2011 The Obama administration has authorized the first evacuations of Americans out of Japan, and said it will charter aircraft to help U.S. citizens wishing to escape elevated radiation levels in the country. The State Department late Wednesday issued a warning to Americans to avoid travel to Japan and said U.S. citizens in the country should consider leaving. Its authorized departure offers a voluntary evacuation to family members and dependents of U.S. personnel in Tokyo and Yokohama and affects some 600 people.
No worries! The architects (and ultimately, the benefactors) of the nuclear disaster are safe! Foreign bankers flee Tokyo as nuclear crisis deepens --Jet operator: Cost of flying 14 people to Hong Kong from Tokyo was more than $160,000 16 Mar 2011 Foreign bankers are fleeing Tokyo as Japan's nuclear crisis worsens, scrambling for commercial and charter flights out of the country and into other major cities in the region. BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and Morgan Stanley were among the banks whose staff have left since Friday's earthquake and tsunami, and now a nuclear plant disaster, according to industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Get out of Tokyo: Foreign Office tells all Britons to leave toxic radiation zone as Japanese 'lose control' of stricken reactor --French minister: 'Let's not beat about the bush, they've essentially lost control' --Radioactive steam spews into atmosphere from reactor number three --Experts warn that crisis is 'approaching point of no return' as officials run out of options --Officials commandeer police water cannon to spray complex --Attempts to dump water on reactors by helicopter fail --Two more previously stable reactors begin to heat up --Workers battling nuclear meltdown evacuated for hours today after radiation levels increased 16 Mar 2011 The UK government is urging all British nationals to leave Tokyo as soon as possible amid fresh safety fears. The Foreign Office this evening issued a statement recommending that all Britons leave the area for their own safety. At least 17,000 UK citizens live in Japan, the vast majority of them in Tokyo. The plea came as the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan worsened amid concerns of a radiation leak. Frantic attempts to cool down the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant following Friday's earthquake and tsunami had to be suspended after high radiation levels were recorded. Technicians later returned, but it was another setback in Japanese efforts to avoid a nuclear catastrophe.
U.S. forces kept away from Japan nuclear plant area --U.S. Navy advised families on two U.S. bases to limit outdoor activities and shut off external ventilation after detecting higher-than-normal doses of radiation 16 Mar 2011 The U.S. military on Wednesday ordered troops to stay at least 50 miles away from a crippled Japanese nuclear power plant and started prescribed medication ahead of higher-risk relief missions amid growing concerns about radiation. The Pentagon said Japan's escalating nuclear crisis would not stop its massive relief mission, which has seen 14 U.S. warships take position offshore to ferry food and water to survivors of last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
S. Korea checks radiation on arrivals from Japan 17 Mar 2011 South Korea on Thursday started checking radiation levels for people arriving from quake-hit Japan as part of its efforts to better protect public health, the government said. The science ministry and the state-run Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) said residual radiation detection gates have been set up at Incheon and Gimpo international airports that have direct flights to Japan. Both Incheon and Gimpo airports, located near Seoul, currently have two gates each that are able to detect even the minutest traces of radiation.
Japan nuclear plant: Just 48 hours to avoid 'another Chernobyl' 16 Mar 2011 Japan has 48 hours to bring its rapidly escalating nuclear crisis under control before it faces a catastrophe "worse than Chernobyl", it was claimed last night. Nuclear safety officials in France said they were “pessimistic” about whether engineers could prevent a meltdown at the Fukushima power plant after a pool containing spent fuel rods overheated and boiled dry. Last night radiation levels were "extremely high" in the stricken building, which was breached by an earlier explosion, meaning that radiation could now escape into the atmosphere. Tokyo Electric, the owners of the plant, said five workers had been killed at the site, two were missing and 21 had been injured.
More Smoke At Melting-Down Reactor --Radiation Levels 300 Times Normal South of Plant 16 Mar 2011 Smoke or steam was seen again on Thursday morning at three reactors in Japan. A top U.S. nuclear official says there is no water left in one nuclear reactor that is melting down. A Japanese official disputes that report. The Japanese public TV network NHK said more smoke was seen at the Fukushima plant at 7:30 a.m. local time (or 6:30 p.m. ET) at units 2, 3 and 4. NHK also said police armed with firehouse may drive up to the injured reactors and try to flood them with water. Gregory Jaczko, head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told Congress on Wednesday afternoon that unit 4 at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan had no water left in its containment pool, based on information obtained by the U.S.
NRC Chair: "No Water In The Spent Fuel Pool" at Unit 4 16 Mar 2011 The chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission warned this afternoon that all of the water is gone from the spent fuel pool at reactor four of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing “extremely high” radiation levels. “We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures,” NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He suspected a hydrogen explosion occurred in the unit, due to the uncovering of the fuel in the pool.
Fukushima No. 4 reactor's coolant may be boiling, evaporating 16 Mar 2011 Fukushima’s imperiled nuclear plant is now facing another crisis, with authorities there stating a fourth reactor’s nuclear waste is overheating, which could lead to more spent fuel becoming unstable, compounding an already dire situation. After explosions at the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors at Fukushima’s Dai Ichi nuclear facility in Japan destroyed containment buildings, latest reports reveal the growing crisis now includes an unstable situation at its No. 4 reactor.
Japanese Military Choppers Dump Water On Endangered Nuclear Plant 16 Mar 2011 Japanese authorities on Thursday resorted to aerial spraying of water in the latest bid to cool an overheated fuel-storage pool at the stricken Fukushima number 1 nuclear power station, amidst renewed fears of a possible meltdown at the plant, reports said. As part of this, two Japanese military helicopters began dropping water on reactor 3 of the plant located in north-eastern Japan. The attempt to cool the overheated fuel-storage pool comes as continued efforts made by Japanese engineers failed to resolve the crisis.
UN Calls Emergency Meeting as Japan Nuclear Crisis Deepens 17 Mar 2011 The United Nations’ nuclear agency will call an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in Japan as a breach at the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant increased the risk of a radioactive leak. IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano is flying to Tokyo to talk with authorities today and will return for the meeting as soon as possible, he told reporters in Vienna yesterday. It will be the first extraordinary meeting of the agency’s 35-member board since his election to succeed Mohamed ElBaradei two years ago.
US energy chief: don't delay new nuclear plants [even as the old ones are melting down] 15 Mar 2011 U.S. regulators should press ahead with approving construction licenses for new nuclear power plants despite Japan's nuclear crisis, President Barack Obama's top energy official said on Tuesday. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said lessons could be learned from Japan, where an earthquake-crippled nuclear power plant exploded and blasted radiation into the air, but that was not a reason to delay expansion in the United States.
GOP Lawmaker Wants 200 New Reactors Built in U.S. by 2040 --Nuclear power lobbyists try to limit damage from Japan crisis on Capitol Hill 16 Mar 2011 Nuclear power advocates are waging an intense lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill this week in an attempt to limit the political fallout from the reactor nuclear crisis in Japan... Lobbyists with the Nuclear Energy Institute and some of the United States's largest energy firms, including [Obama paymaster] Exelon of Chicago, are holding meetings with key lawmakers and briefings for staff members in an attempt to tamp down talk of restrictions in response to the Japanese [nuclear] disaster. Most Republicans, meanwhile, remain enthusiastic boosters for nuclear power even as they push for spending cuts at the Office of Nuclear Energy and elsewhere. The House budget bill passed earlier this year included more than $330 million in cuts for nuclear waste disposal, safety oversight and other programs, according to advocacy groups. One bill, proposed by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and co-sponsored by more than 50 others, calls for 200 new nuclear power plants by 2040.
Obama's final four bracket: All #1 seeds 16 Mar 2011 For the third straight year, President Obama has made public his NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket, and this year the Democrat has gone conservative: His final four consists of the four number one seeds, Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh. Mr. Obama, perhaps sensitive to charges that he isn't taking risks with his picks, noted in unveiling the bracket that he has never picked all #1 seeds before. For the national champion, Mr. Obama selected Kansas - the same team he chose last year, and one that was upset in the second round on that tournament. He acknowledged that he "got hurt" with the Kansas pick last year but said he expected the team to make it up to him this year and beat Ohio State in the final. [so·ci·o·path –noun Psychiatry. A person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.]
Thousands of seabirds on remote islands near Hawaii killed by Pacific tsunami 16 Mar 2011 Thousands of seabirds have been killed when the tsunami generated by last week's massive earthquake off Japan flooded a remote atoll near Hawaii. At least 1,000 adult and adolescent Laysan albatross, along with thousands of chicks, perished as waves reaching 5ft-tall rolled over the low-lying Midway islands about four hours after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck on Friday. Many drowned or were buried under debris, said Barry W. Stieglitz, the project leader for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuges.
Japan's earthquake death toll set to hit 25,000 as it emerges ANOTHER town has 10,000 people missing --Ishinomaki confirms the huge number of its citizens missing --North Eastern port town was hit by 20ft tsunami 16 Mar 2011 The terrible toll of Japan's double disaster became clearer today as it emerged as many as 25,000 people could be dead. As rescue crews trawled through mile after mile of tsunami-stricken wasteland, officials from the coastal town of Ishinomaki confirmed that 10,000 of their citizens were missing. The unimaginable figure is the same given as in the town of Minamisanriku, also in Miyagi state, which lost around half its population when it was razed to the ground by the 20 foot high wall of water.
Under cover of nuclear meltdown: Pakistan frees CIA contractor after 'blood money' deal 17 Mar 2011 One of the biggest crises between Pakistan and the United States has been defused after a Lahore court released Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor facing charges of double murder, after a blood-money settlement was paid to families of the victims. While the release of Mr Davis cools tensions, after plunging relations to a low point, it is likely to inflame an already enraged Pakistani public and media. Islamist parties took to the streets in protest last night. Each of the two men's families were paid $700,000 (£437,000) by the CIA, senior Pakistani officials told The Independent.
KBR Managers Got Kickbacks From Subcontractor in Iraq, Kuwait, U.S. Says 16 Mar 2011 KBR Inc. managers in Iraq and Kuwait took $45,000 in kickbacks from a dining facility subcontractor from late 2002 through 2003, the U.S. said in a lawsuit. Terry Hall, who was KBR’s regional food services manager for the two countries, and his deputy, Luther Holmes, were accused of violating the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act yesterday in U.S. claims court in Washington. The allegation came as a counterclaim in a 2009 lawsuit against the government by Houston-based Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc., a KBR unit seeking $41 million for an alleged breach of contract.
4 Times Journalists Are Missing in Libya 17 Mar 2011 The New York Times said Wednesday that four of its journalists reporting on the conflict in Libya were missing. Editors said they were last in contact with the journalists, who were reporting from the eastern city of Ajdabiya, on Tuesday morning New York time. And despite secondhand reports that they had been swept up by Libyan government forces, the newspaper said it could not confirm that information.
Saudi sends troops, Bahrain Shi'ites call it "war" 15 Mar 2011 Saudi Arabia sent troops into Bahrain on Monday to help calm weeks of protests by the Shi'ite Muslim majority, a move opponents of the Sunni ruling family on the island called a declaration of war. Analysts saw the troop movement into Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, as a mark of concern in Saudi Arabia that concessions by the country's monarchy could inspire the conservative Sunni-ruled kingdom's own Shi'ite minority. About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain to protect government facilities, a Saudi official source said, a day after mainly Shi'ite protesters overran police and blocked roads.
ACLU: Treatment of WikiLeaks suspect is unconstitutional 16 Mar 2011 The treatment of alleged WikiLeaks leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning is inhumane and violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, the ACLU charges. ACLU executive director Anthony Romero wrote to Defense Secretary Robert Gates Wednesday, claiming that reports Manning is being forced to sleep naked in a military prison is a "gratuitously harsh treatment" that "violates fundamental constitutional norms."
Pentagon: Bradley Manning is not in solitary confinement, but in 'single-occupancy cell' --Pentagon: Manning not being humiliated By Josh Rogin 14 Mar 2011 Pentagon Deputy Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Media Operations Col. David Lapan wrote into The Cable Monday to take issue with our post on the resignation of P.J. Crowley and tell us that alleged WikiLeaks source Private Bradley Manning is not being held in isolation, is not subject to humiliation, and no longer has to sleep without his underwear... Here's what Lapan had to say about Manning's conditions: "Quantico is a military brig, not a prison, and it is not a maximum security facility. Manning, however, is considered a maximum custody detainee. He is not 'under isolation 23 hours a day.' Here are the facts of his pre-trial confinement: PFC Manning is not in solitary confinement. He has a single-occupancy cell, like all of the other detainees..."
NORAD conducting training flights over Washington area 16 Mar 2011 The North American Aerospace Defense Command is conducting another round of training flights over the Washington area between midnight and 3 a.m. Thursday. The exercise, dubbed Falcon Virgo, is designed to hone NORAD’s intercept and identification operations as well as test the national capital region's visual warning system. Civil Air Patrol and Air Force aircraft will participate in the exercise.
Napolitano: U.S. practices for disaster [Right, first there was Bush, now there's Obama.] 16 Mar 2011 The U.S. homeland security chief says the United States regularly practices for large-scale disasters similar to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. "We are constantly practicing using worst-case scenarios to make sure we are as prepared and ready to go in any kind of crisis," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the National Fusion Center Conference in Denver Tuesday, The Denver Post reported. While the focus of the conference was sharing intelligence in communities to prevent terrorist attacks, Napolitano responded to questions about U.S. preparedness for a major disaster.
U.S. Sends Drones to Fight Mexican Drug Trade --Felipe Calderón formally agreed to continue surveillance flights during White House meeting March 3 16 Mar 2011 Stepping up its involvement in Mexico's drug war, the Obama administration has begun sending drones deep into Mexican territory to gather intelligence that helps locate major traffickers and follow their networks, according to American and Mexican officials. The Pentagon began flying high-altitude, unarmed drones over Mexican skies last month, American military officials said... Other administration officials said a Homeland Security drone helped Mexican authorities find several suspects linked to the Feb. 15 killing of Jaime Zapata, a United States Immigration and Customs EnforcementImmigration agent.
Michigan Gov. Signs Emergency Managers Bill, Establishing Virtual Dictatorships 16 Mar 2011 Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a bill giving broad new powers to emergency financial managers appointed by the state of Michigan to run struggling cities and schools, including the ability to terminate union contracts. The Republican governor signed the bill Wednesday, the same day that thousands of union protesters rallied inside and outside the Capitol to protest the bill and others they say are anti-union. Many Democrats and labor unions say it's a state power grab that could set up virtual dictatorships and strip power from local elected officials.
State police arrest protesters after scuffle inside Michigan Capitol 16 Mar 2011 At least four protesters were handcuffed and arrested inside the state Capitol this evening as demonstrations continued against Gov. Rick Snyder's (R-Dirt-bag) budget and legislation opponents say is anti-union. Five others have linked arms and are seated on the glass floor of the rotunda, challenging State Police to arrest them, as well. State Police Capt. Gary Nix said those arrested will be charged with trespassing and some could face additional assault charges... The arrests capped a day when at least 3,000 demonstrators flooded the state Capitol for the biggest and rowdiest protest yet against Gov. Rick Snyder's plans to tax pensions and weaken collective bargaining rights.
'Right to Work' Stalls in Missouri By Mike Hall 15 Mar 2011 With some 500 workers in the Missouri state Senate gallery last night, backers of a so-called right to work bill, were unable to muster enough support to bring the legislation to a vote... Senate leaders said they would not bring the bill back up this week and it was uncertain if it would be on the agenda after the legislature's spring break next week. Last week, more than 5,000 workers rallied in St. Louis against the bill.
New home construction drops 22.5 percent --Commerce Department says housing starts fell to 479,000; lowest level since April 2009 and second-lowest level ever 16 Mar 2011 Builders broke ground last month on the fewest homes in nearly two years, a reflection of declines in home prices and diminished demand that has made it difficult for them to compete. The Commerce Department says home construction plunged to a seasonally adjusted 479,000 homes last month, down 22.5 percent from the previous month.
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