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23 Mar 2011 13:33

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World: Scuba-capable Japanese man saves wife, mother

  • problem Hideaki Akaiwa was at work when the dual threats of earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan. He went home to find his neighborhood was under ten feet of water, his wife and mother nowhere to be found.
  • solution Akaiwa strapped on scuba gear and swam some 200 yards through debris (his estimate) to his house, where he found his wife. He found his mother that way, too, in the 2nd floor of another home. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2011 10:42

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U.S., World: FDA’s Fukushima food ban: Not really that big a deal

  • scary The FDA just limited the import of food from the area of Japan near the Fukushima nuclear disaster, days after officials discovered radiation in some foods, including milk and spinach. A lot of people have been freaking out over this.
  • not scary However, this almost assuredly isn’t a big deal — only four percent of our imported foods come from Japan, and the ones we usually eat from the country are things like fish, which weren’t significantly affected by Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:49

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World: China, South Korea strictly checking Japanese food

  • China and South Korea wary of radiation in food: Some countries (and even individual restaurants) that import food from Japan are concerned about the possibility of radiation contamination. The Japanese government has assured their citizenry that the radiation levels detected in milk, spinach, and some water is not enough to do rapid or lasting damage, though they’ve imposed a freeze on food from that region. China and South Korea want to look into the matter themselves, though, absent the responsibility of keeping the Japanese citizenry from being stricken with panic, which their government obviously has. That seems reasonable enough. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Mar 2011 13:23

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World: Power lines connected at Fukushima Daiichi, not turned on yet

  • Power lines up in all six Fukushima Daiichi reactors: Which is great sounding news, but they’re not out of the woods yet. There are a number of implications to this, mainly that cooling systems can be turned back on, thus pumping water back into the reactors and preventing a meltdown of the fuel rods. However, the power hasn’t yet been switched on, as engineers fear that the pumps, damaged as they are, could cause an explosion if activated abruptly. That aside, this news is a credit to the bravery of the workers who stayed at the plant. We hope the government gives them truly first-class care once this is over, it’s the only moral thing to do. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 15:53

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World: Food-borne radiation detection prompts call for ban, general fears

  • worrisome Radiation has been detected in milk and spinach from areas surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, causing World Health Organization officials to call for a ban on food coming from that area.
  • zealous An upscale restaurant in Taiwan known as Peony, which specializes in Japanese cuisine, has gone to some length to prove their culinary purity: diners are offered radiation meters to check their food. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 14:53

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World: Smoke and steam cause day-long delay at Fukushima Daiichi

  • The hope for Fukushima The prognosis for Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been thought to be improving in recent days, as efforts to install new power lines to the facilities, and thereby restart the cooling pumps, have been going well. Reactors 5 and 6 now both have cooling (those units are storing already spent fuel rods, not active ones).
  • Today’s smoke-fueled Delay A plume of dark smoke was recently seen rising from Reactor 3, over a pool of spent fuel rods. Reactor 2 also seemed to have white steam rising. While the cause of the plumes is not known, officials say they see no spike in radiation, though workers have been evacuated and work halted until tomorrow. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 00:00

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Politics: Max Headroom: Glenn Beck, Lawrence O’Donnell ignore Japan for pettiness

  • Meanwhile, while Glenn Beck and Lawrence O’Donnell are arguing/agreeing about whether or not the Japan nuclear crisis is going to end the world (it’s not), thousands have been killed, thousands more are currently without a roof over their head, and millions more could face electricity issues for months after the Japan quake seriously damaged the power grid. Good to see they’re keeping things in perspective by arguing over who’s right. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Mar 2011 12:30

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World: Survivors still getting rescued in Japan, nine days after the quake

  • In case you need a reminder of the concept of keeping hope alive, watch this. These are people who got rescued NINE DAYS after the quake. And one of the people, an elderly woman named Sumi Abe, was 80. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:42

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World: Japan finds more radiation-laden foods, limits their sale

  • bad As we reported yesterday, a number of food items from the region near Fukushima — including milk and spinach — had high levels of radiation in them, leading to considerable concern in Japan.
  • worse Now, more foods have tested positive for radiation — including canola and chrysanthemum greens. Now, Japan has restricted sales of food from anywhere near Fukushima. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Mar 2011 11:22

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World: Japan quake: A massive death toll, with thousands more missing

  • 8,450 the official death toll from the quake so far
  • 12,931 the number of people still missing over a week after the quake
  • 118,000 support personnel are on the ground assisting in the recovery source
  • » A huge relief budget, still not enough: The city of Sendai, which is roughly the center point of the quake and Tsunami, has gathered an extra budget of roughly $220 million. Even that will likely not be enough. “No one believes this will be enough to cope with reconstruction,” said a Sendai city spokesperson. “This disaster will cause severe damage to city finances.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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