Possible damage at Fukushima nuclear power plant could cause leak of high levels of radiation Nuclear safety officials in Japan fear the core of a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have cracked, causing a leak of high levels of radiation. Growing uncertainty over the state of the stricken reactor prompted the government to tell people living within a 12-19 mile (20-30km) radius of the plant to consider leaving their homes temporarily. The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said 130,000 residents in the area had been encouraged to leave to improve their quality of life, not because their health was at risk. The nuclear emergency, 150 miles north of Tokyo, has caused severe disruption to business, supply routes and other services in the area. On Thursday, three workers were exposed to radiation after stepping in contaminated water in the turbine building of the No 3 reactor. They were trying to cool the crippled reactor when the accident occurred. “The contaminated water had 10,000 times the amount of radiation as would be found in water circulating from a normally operating reactor,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan’s nuclear safety agency. “It is possible that there is damage to the reactor.” Two of the men received possible beta ray burns to their legs. All three have been transferred to a special radiation treatment facility. Edano said the source of the leak remained unknown. “We are exploring every possibility, but we don’t think this is a new situation, rather that a certain amount of radiation may have leaked from the reactor. This is a possibility that we have been mentioning for some time. “But at this point we don’t know if the radiation is coming from the reactor itself or from another source.” Nuclear officials say the leak may have come from pipes or the reactor’s pool for storing spent fuel rods, which workers have been struggling to cool off since the plant was badly damaged in the 11 March earthquake and tsunami . Officials were preparing themselves for the possibility that the reactor core was damaged in an explosion three days after the disaster that destroyed its containment building. The reactor contains 170 tonnes of radioactive fuel in its core, and is the only one of the facility’s six reactors that contains the potentially more dangerous plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel. Thursday’s accident forced a temporary halt to work on two reactors while technicians check radiation levels. “We should try to avoid delays if at all possible, but we also need to ensure that the people working there are safe,” Nishiyama said. Japan disaster Nuclear power Japan Energy Justin McCurry guardian.co.uk
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Siri Hustvedt’s new novel, The Summer Without Men, deals with many women’s worst fear: your husband leaving you in middle age. Just don’t ask her if she and Paul Auster are having marital problems Recently, the American author Siri Hustvedt received an annoying, if all
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The hip-hop star will be disappointed to learn his new single has not been chosen for Will and Kate’s nuptials in April Finally, sad news for those artistes who were hoping to provide the musical entertainment at the forthcoming royal wedding. For weeks, the competition has been hotting up. Operatic man-band Blake – featuring William’s Old University Friend Jules – have hopefully put out a wedding-themed single called All Of Me, while Snoop Dogg has furthered his case by casting lookalikes of Princes William and Harry in the video for single Wet . Without wishing to make the Windsors seem overly stuffy, LiS wasn’t certain that associating the heir to the throne with a song about vaginal mucus was the best way of securing the gig, and so it has proved. In the latest of its piping-hot royal wedding exclusives, Hello! has gobsmacked the nation with the revelation that the music at Westminster Abbey will be provided by the Choir Of Westminster Abbey, clearly shocking news to anyone who thought the royal couple would chose to go down the aisle to the theme from Steptoe And Son and the Exploited’s Fuck the Mods . LiS looks at Snoop’s crestfallen face and says: there’s always the buffet afterwards! Perhaps Her Majesty would like to hear your song about vaginal mucus there? Celebrity Snoop Dogg Royal wedding Monarchy Alexis Petridis guardian.co.uk
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Josh Halliday speed tests the new iPad against the original, and finds a running theme of small, incremental improvements Josh Halliday Richard Sprenger
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Democracy activist Liu Xianbin has already served 10 years in prison for subversion A Chinese democracy activist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for advocating government change in online articles. The trial came amid a crackdown on activism in China that may reflect government anxiety about unrest inspired by uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. Dozens of well-known Chinese lawyers and activists have vanished, been interrogated, held under house arrest or criminally detained for subversion. Activist Liu Xianbin, who has previously spent a decade in prison, was found guilty of inciting subversion of state power by the Suining intermediate people’s court in Sichuan province after a trial that lasted a few hours, his wife, Chen Mingxian, said. Chinese law says inciting subversion carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, but a court can impose a longer sentence if the offence is deemed particularly grave. Chen said she and Liu’s elder brother were allowed to attend the trial. She said her husband was calm and composed and looked relatively well, but that the judge frequently interrupted Liu and their lawyer’s attempts to present a defence. “The 10-year sentence to me, because we’ve already been through 10 years … is a repeat of the painful process, one in which I can only watch and wait anxiously,” said Chen, who is a schoolteacher. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter. China’s government routinely uses the subversion charge to jail activists it considers troublemakers. It is not the first time Liu has been accused of it. An indictment advice issued by the Suining public security bureau points to articles Liu wrote between April 2009 and February last year that were posted on overseas Chinese pro-democracy websites. Liu was the author of articles that “libelled” the Communist party’s leadership as “autocratic rule” and “on many occasions incited others to subvert the country’s state power and socialist system”, the police notice said, according Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a China-based rights group. In the articles, Liu allegedly also urged the Chinese to “create a strong opposition organisation”, and advocated large street protests, among other things, the advice said. “Liu’s harsh sentence is part of the Chinese government’s growing intolerance towards human rights activism, as reflected in the continued and widespread crackdown on activists following the online call for a ‘jasmine revolution,’” said the group’s research co-ordinator, Wang Songlian. Activists in Sichuan province and elsewhere reported being taken away by police to prevent them from attending Liu’s trial while others were warned against trying to go, Wang said. Liu was a founding member of the China Democracy party and was convicted in 1999 of subversion of state power and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was released in November 2008. After his release, Liu continued to be involved in several high-profile human rights activities, his wife said. He was a signatory to the Charter 08 manifesto, which called for an end to single-party rule and advocated democratic political reforms. Chinese authorities have harassed supporters of Charter 08, and co-author Liu Xiaobo was sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years in prison for incitement to subvert state power. Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel peace prize last year for his democracy activism, an honour that China condemned. Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xianbin are not related. China Liu Xiaobo Human rights Protest guardian.co.uk
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Community worker who lives near proposed nuclear power stations in Lancashire launches unprecedented case The government has ordered an expansion of the UK’s nuclear programme without properly factoring in evidence that nuclear power stations cause an increase in cancer cases in children living nearby, according to a legal challenge in the high court. The case alleges that the energy and climate secretary, Chris Huhne, did not properly review the evidence on cancer when giving the go-ahead for the expansion last year. Lawyers claim the action could delay, or even stop, the programme of new reactors. Rory Walker, a 24-year-old community worker from Lancaster, has won legal aid to launch the unprecedented case. Walker lives close to Heysham where two new reactors are planned, and says he is worried about having children who could suffer an increased risk of leukaemia. “It is folly beyond belief, and almost genocidal, to build new nuclear power stations,” he said. “Nuclear power is unsafe, uneconomic and a dangerous distraction.” Walker’s decision to go to court predates the Fukushima nuclear crisis following the Japan tsunami, though Walker said it has reinforced his fears. He is an active member of the Heysham Anti-Nuclear Alliance , and works on a project to help local people grow more food on a community allotment. Under legal aid rules, he has agreed to contribute 10% of his income towards the cost of the legal action. Walker alleges that evidence from government-sponsored studies in Germany was not adequately taken into account by Huhne. It suggests that young children who live close to nuclear power stations are twice as vulnerable to developing leukaemia. The studies , known as KiKK ( Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von KernKraftwerken ), prompted an investigation by the UK Department of Health , which has not yet been published. Ian Fairlie, a consultant on radiation in the environment , is acting as an expert witness in support of Walker’s court challenge. “If the risks found following the KiKK study were applied to Heysham, infants and young children under five living within 5km would be exposed to increased risks of cancer, especially leukaemia,” he said. Huhne is accused of breaching a 1996 directive from Europe’s nuclear agency, Euratom . Andrew Lockley, a partner with Irwin Mitchell , said: “The fundamental purpose of the Euratom directive is to make sure that a comprehensive and detailed assessment is made before new nuclear reactors are built.” “It does not permit an approach which appears generalised, generic and deferred. Justification requires that the health detriments should be considered and balanced against the economic, social or other benefits which may occur – but this doesn’t seem to have happened here.” The lawyers want a judicial review to rule that Huhne acted unlawfully, and to quash his decisions. A spokeswoman for Huhne at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said: “We are confident that the decisions were rightly and properly made. The safety of our nuclear power stations is the government’s number one priority and the UK has one of the most rigorous and robust regulatory systems anywhere in the world.” She added: “The government have asked the chief nuclear inspector, Dr Mike Weightman , to produce a report on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry.” A spokesperson for the Nuclear Industry Association , which represents nuclear companies said: “This matter is now part of the legal process and we are not therefore in a position to comment.” The government has until the end of the month to make a formal response to the legal action, which will then go to a judge, who may order a hearing in London. Nuclear power Energy Cancer Health Green politics Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk
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At least 65 people reported dead after magnitude 6.8 quake hits Burma near border with Thailand A strong earthquake that toppled homes in north-east Burma has killed at least 65 people, and there are fears the death toll will mount as conditions in more remote areas become known. The quake on Thursday night, measured at a magnitude 6.8 by the US Geological Survey, was centred just north of the town of Tachileik in the mountains along the Thai border, but was felt hundreds of miles away in the Thai capital, Bangkok, and the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Burma state radio announced on Friday that 65 people had been killed and 111 injured in the quake, but was updating the total frequently. It said 244 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries and nine government buildings were damaged. An official from the UN’s World Food Programme said there were many casualties and serious damage in Mong Lin village, five miles (8km) from Tachileik. State radio said 29 were killed there and 16 injured. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that 15 houses collapsed in the town of Tarlay, where state radio said 11 were killed and 29 injured. Another UN official said a small hospital there was partially damaged as well as a bridge, making it difficult to gain access to the town. The newspaper said another two people were killed in Tachileik, including a four-year-old boy. It said a further six people were injured in the town, which is just across the border from Mae Sai in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province. In Mae Sai, one woman was killed when a wall fell on her, according to Thai police, but damage was otherwise minimal. The second UN official said medicine would be sent to the affected areas along with an assessment team in cooperation with the Burma Red Cross Society. Both UN officials spoke on condition of anonymity. Most of rural Burma, which is one of Asia’s poorest countries, is underdeveloped, with poor communications and other infrastructure, and minimal rescue and relief capacity. The government tightly controls information, and in 2008 delayed reporting on – and asking for help with – cyclone Nargis, which killed 130,000 people. The junta was widely criticised for what were called inadequate preparations and a slow response to the disaster. Somchai Hatayatanti, the governor of Chiang Rai province, said dozens of people suffered minor injuries on the Thai side of the border. Cracks were found in buildings in downtown Chiang Rai city, about 55 miles from the epicentre, including a provincial hospital and city hall. The tops of the spires fell off from at least two Buddhist temples. A relief centre was being set up on Friday in Mae Sai. “We are worried that the area might be hit with stronger quakes. There was another quake at 7am this morning,” said Somsri Meethong of the Mae Sai district office, referring to an aftershock. “I had to run again like last night. What we have seen on TV about Japan added to our fear.” Burma Natural disasters and extreme weather guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media While I don’t agree with Ed Schultz for supporting what we’re doing in Libya because I think we just put ourselves in another open-ended bottomless pit with what this military commitment might cost the taxpayers when we’re not taking care of our own at home, I do agree with him and his sentiments in this clip. Republicans carp constantly about creating jobs, but they’ve done little to nothing to take care of the long term unemployed since taking power in the House. Where are the jobs John Boehner? As Ed noted, the attempts by some of the Democrats to get unemployment benefits extended for the long term unemployed are likely going to come with the caveat of more tax cuts for their buddies in big business. And as Ed also noted, when is Boehner going to decide to take some time away from his golf game and start doing something in the House to create jobs here in the United States. I’d like to see all of our politicians finally standing up against the race to the bottom with us competing against sweatshop wages overseas. The only jobs I see Republicans creating are ones where someone needs to work two or three jobs just to get by in the US, or a job by some foreign manufacturer where there aren’t any labor protections and those people work for slave labor wages while their employers enrich themselves.
Continue reading …PBS’s Tavis Smiley Replays Deeply Fawning Interview of Warren Christopher as a Eulogy
March 24, 2011 No CommentIt’s not surprising that PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley would replay an old interview upon the death of Warren Christopher, Secretary of State in Bill Clinton's first term
Continue reading …There’s more to lovemaking than penile-vaginal intercourse, says Pamela Stephenson Connolly I was a widow of 55 and met a 60-year-old widower and we eventually married. I find intercourse painful so we make up for it by cuddling and fondling each other’s sensitive parts. I
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