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16 Mar 2011 10:41

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Biz, World: The single most cringe-worthy quote on Japan you’ll see today

  • Japan has some of its industry curtailed, like auto and steel — but that’s not going to last too long. People are starting to realize that there [sic] economy is not going to be shut down for long — and they’re going to have to start to look for alternative fuel sources.
  • INFA Energy Brokers CEO Brad Schaeffer • Suggesting that Japan will have to switch its energy sources to an alternative source. But Schaeffer means “alternative” in the way one might call a band like Nickelback “alternative” — see, he thinks that Japan should move to oil. “Remember, they need to get their nation back on their feet,” he says. “They aren’t worrying about their carbon footprint so much. They’re thinking we need to get oil here now – so we can get our generators up and running.” While there’s some grain of truth here, we wonder how much of what he’s saying is wishful thinking, seeing that he’s the CEO of an energy-brokering company. Quotes like these? They seriously make us cringe. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 10:29

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World: Japan’s Sendai quake could prove insanely expensive

  • $200 billion the potential cost of the direct effects from the earthquake to Japan, one of the world’s largest economies; power outages could make things worse
  • $626 billion the amount of market value Tokyo’s stock market lost on Monday and Tuesday; it recovered somewhat on Wednesday source
  • » If this is true: This makes this the most expensive earthquake in Japan’s history, handily topping the $100 billion cost of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2011 10:17

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World: Raymond Davis: Murder-suspected CIA contractor freed in Pakistan

Davis, a CIA contractor suspected of killing two men in Pakistan, was let go after their families forgave him. The incident strained U.S. relations with Pakistan. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 23:39

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World: Fukushima update: Radiation briefly reaches one sievert an hour

  • 1,000 the level the radioactivity reached near the Fukushima reactor, in milli-sieverts per hour – which is a new high, by far
  • 800-600 the level the radioactivity fell to not much longer after that, in milli-sieverts per hour; this is still far more than average source
  • » For context: Please check out our various updates here, here, here, and here.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 22:58

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U.S.: Back in the States, Americans raiding geiger counter stockpile

  • cause After last week’s earthquake, a series of nuclear troubles hit the Fukushima reactors and other nuclear reactors throughout Japan. Fukushima most seriously, as we’re sure you’ve read.
  • reaction In the United States, even though the odds are slim to none that the crisis will affect them, sales of geiger counters and potassium iodide have skyrocketed. Has there been a run on tinfoil hats? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 20:55

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U.S.: Wannabe Rockefeller dude charged in really-old murder case


This guy? Not a Rockefeller. Or a rocket scientist. Or even a Woody Allen impersonator. Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, is, however, a suspect in a 26-year-old murder case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 16:20

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World: Video shows town swept away as citizens flee tsunami

  • At the water’s edge: Chilling new amateur video footage of the tsunami that swept away entire Japanese towns and villages. This seems as good a time as any to remind everyone of something we’ve mentioned frequently- if you’re going to donate, first of all, thank you, and second of all, do so intelligently. The idea of people trying to financially exploit natural disasters and human suffering is self-evidently disgusting, and as such informed decisions are important. (EDIT: idroolinmysleep notes that the BBC has a longer version of the clip.) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Mar 2011 15:41

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Politics: The Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor’s legacy of safety concerns

  • Unheeded warning of the day: The Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor’s containment system, produced by General Electric in the 1960s, has been the subject of pointed safety concerns for nearly forty years. Stephen Hanauer, then an official with the Atomic Energy Commission, wrote in 1972 that the Mark 1’s pressure systems posed an unacceptable risk of hydrogen explosion, and should be discontinued. You probably know where this is going- the Fukushima Plant in Japan uses the Mark 1, as do twenty-three American reactors. A critical difference between these and the more highly regarded pressurized water reactors? The Mark 1’s containment vessel is “physically less robust.” So, because apparently this needs saying, don’t skimp on nuclear reactor containment.  source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 15:04

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Politics: In Wisconsin, the Democrats are told they can’t vote

  • They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.
  • Wisconsin’s GOP Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald • On the topic of the fourteen Democratic Senators who left Wisconsin to hold up Gov. Scott Walker’s union-busting bill. Basically, he’s saying that because the Democrats were held in contempt while they were in Illinois, that status will continue until they appear for the next legislative roll call, so they don’t get to vote. If this is allowed, the Republicans gain an obvious, if temporary strategic edge. Namely, if the Democrats want to be, you know, members of a representative body again, they’d have to attend the next roll call, which isn’t until April 5th. Therefore, in addition to the benefit of having a neutered opposition until April, the Republicans can be sure the Democrats will want to attend that particular session- meaning they can prioritize their biggest goals to that same day, ensuring the fourteen can’t go AWOL again without extending their vote-less status. A very Scott Walker April, anyone? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 14:25

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World: Subsequent quakes, aftershocks are keeping Japan understandably nervous

  • 2 more earthquakes struck throughout Japan on Tuesday source
  • » Obviously, they’re softer than the big one. That said, two more earthquakes (there have reportedly been dozens of lesser quakes and aftershocks since the 9.0 cataclysm last week) shook Japan Tuesday, clocking in at 6.1 and 6.2 on the Richter scale. The latter quake struck an area roughly seventy miles south of Tokyo, while the former hit about sixty miles from the Hamaoka Nuclear Plant, which as you might expect made people a little nervous. Hamaoka has, thankfully, been functioning properly and without incident since the quake, but with the myriad of tragedies and fears the Japanese people presently have, we somehow doubt any rumble has the capacity to feel minor anymore. Here’s hoping the ground will stay still for a while.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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