American manipulation of world events for better or ill

Notes 78

The risks of nuclear power in Japan and at Yucca Mountain. There’s no failsafe system.
Japan faces serious radiation leak from quake

By Press Jay Alabaster And Todd Pitman, Associated Press –
TAGAJO, Japan – Radiation spewed Tuesday from a crippled nuclear power plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan in a dramatic escalation of the 4-day-old catastrophe that prompted the government to tell people within 19 miles (30 kilometers) to stay indoors to avoid exposure.
In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from the three reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in one of the hardest-hit provinces in Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.
"The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said.
He warned there are dangers of more leaks and told people living within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid potential health risks from the radiation.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said a fourth reactor at the complex was on fire and more radiation had been released.
"Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower," Edano said.
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The difference state and local politics made in the recovery effort in Louisiana

U.S. shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis
By Jeff Mason And Tom Doggett – Thu Mar 17,
WASHINGTON (Reuters) –The U.S. military has ordered its forces to stay 50 miles away from the plant, the Pentagon said. There are at least 55,000 members of the U.S. forces in Japan and offshore assisting the relief operation.
"All of us are heartbroken by the images of what's happening in Japan and we're reminded of how American leadership is critical to our closest allies," Obama said in Washington.
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For good or ill, the U.S. government interferes in covert and overt ways to influence elections in the Americas and around the world—often not in favor of democracy
Why U,S Government has reason to be worried about nuclear news from Tokyo
Bungling, cover-ups define Japanese nuclear power

By Yuri Kageyama, Ap Business Writer –
TOKYO – Behind Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sits a scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses.
Leaks of radioactive steam and workers contaminated with radiation are just part of the disturbing catalog of accidents that have occurred over the years and been belatedly reported to the public, if at all.
The legacy of scandals and cover-ups over Japan's half-century reliance on nuclear power has strained its credibility with the public. That mistrust has been renewed this past week with the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. No evidence has emerged of officials hiding information in this catastrophe. But the vagueness and scarcity of details offered by the government and Tepco — and news that seems to grow worse each day — are fueling public anger and frustration.
"We don't know what is true. That makes us worried," said Taku Harada, chief executive of the Tokyo-based Internet startup Orinoco. Harada said his many American friends are being urged to leave the capital while the Japanese government says the area is safe, probably to avoid triggering panic.
"Everything is a secret," said Kei Sugaoka, a former nuclear power plant engineer in Japan who now lives in California. "There's not enough transparency in the industry."
In 1989 Sugaoka received an order that horrified him: edit out footage showing cracks in plant steam pipes in video being submitted to regulators. Sugaoka alerted his superiors in the Tokyo Electric Power Co., but nothing happened — for years. He decided to go public in 2000. Three Tepco executives lost their jobs.
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The reality is “whistleblowers” are not loved by the power establishment regardless of who is in power or what the laws are. They are detested as disloyal and they are punished. The Public Good be damned.
Top lawmaker protests 'whistle-blower' demotion

By Press Ted Bridis, Associated Press –
WASHINGTON – The Homeland Security Department demoted a senior career employee who confidentially complained to the inspector general that political appointees were improperly interfering with requests for federal records by journalists and watchdog groups.
The new Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigating those practices told the Obama administration that the decision "appeared to be an act of retaliation" and warned, "Obstructing a congressional investigation is a crime." The department responded that it had done nothing wrong.
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Forget the Somali pirates who only hold hostages for money.The truth is there is a conflict between the U.S. and its allies and those who would oppose its world view. The U.S. is the largest exporter and profiteer of military weaponry in the world—to places like Baharain and Saudi, Arabia and Guatemala and Honduras and places in between. And they get help in crippling their competitors from places like Israel.

Arms from Iran: A Rash of Intercepted Shipments

By Karl Vick / Jerusalem – Thu Mar 17
The fall of Hosni Mubarak not only left Iran with one less enemy, it also loosened Egypt's control of the Sinai Peninsula - the preferred route for smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian enclave is ruled by Hamas, the militant Islamist group that Iran funds and arms. Iran is evidently eager to exploit opportunities in the Sinai.
On Tuesday, Israeli commandos boarded the container ship Victoria in the Mediterranean. Opening containers listed on the manifest as holding lentils and cotton, the Israelis found 2,400 mortars, 67,000 Kalashnikov rounds, and a half dozen C-704 land-to-sea missiles and radar systems to guide them. There were instruction books in Farsi, the language of Iran. The vessel had previously stopped in Syria, Iran's major ally in the region, and was on its way to the Egyptian port of Alexandria.
"The assumption is that Iran is always trying to smuggle more weapons,'' says Miri Eisin, a retired Israeli colonel with a background in intelligence. "They don't have any incentive not to smuggle weapons."
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South Africa says can't hold Aristide hostage

By Michelle Faul, Associated Press –
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa said Thursday it cannot hold former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide hostage if he wants to return home, and actor Danny Glover jetted into the country to escort him back after seven years in exile.
"What I should stress is that we are not sending former President Aristide to Haiti. He was given the passport by the government of Haiti and we can't hold him hostage if he wants to go," Chabane was quoted as telling a news conference.
Glover, the chair of TransAfrica social justice forum, asked why former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier could return to Haiti unhindered and not the twice democratically elected Aristide.
"People of good conscience cannot be idle while a former dictator is able to return unhindered while a democratic leader who peacefully handed over power to another elected president is restricted from returning to his country by external forces," Glover wrote on the TransAfrica Forum website.