Breaking: 7.1-magnitude quake in Japan triggers tsunami warning 09 Jul 2011 A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit Japan's northeastern coast on Sunday, prompting a tsunami warning for the area still recovering from a devastating quake and killer wave four months ago. The quake hit at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT), and a warning of a possible tsunami was issued for most of the northeastern coastline. The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan's main island, Honshu, at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers).
Tokyo Electric Says Nuclear Cooling Uninterrupted by Quake 10 Jul 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported cooling operations at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant were proceeding without interruption after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the region today. The utility, known as Tepco, is assessing the impact of the temblor at the plant and its other facilities in the region, Satoshi Watanabe, a spokesman, said by phone. Tsunami advisories, which indicate the possibility of surges up to 50 centimeters (20 inches), were issued for Japan's Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures by the Japan Meteorological Agency after the quake, which measured as strong as four on the Japanese intensity scale of one to seven.
Nuke crisis panel to question hundreds of people --Hearings may be open to the public only if senior officials from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. agree 10 Jul 2011 An independent panel investigating the causes of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant plans to hear from several hundred people. Panel head Yotaro Hatamura, who researches human error, said during the second gathering of panel members Friday that intensive investigations will be carried out until the next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 27.
Radiation Found in Japanese Cattle 09 Jul 2011 The Tokyo metropolitan government said Saturday that elevated levels of radioactive cesium were detected in a herd of cattle from Fukushima prefecture, marking the first time that radiation has been found in domestic livestock since the start of the nuclear crisis in March. The level of radioactive cesium detected in the group of 11 cattle exceeded Japan's safety standards by three to six times, a Ministry of Health spokesman said. All cattle originated from the same farm in Minamisouma, which is in close proximity to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken Daiichi nuclear plant, he said.
Tepco Says 3 More Workers Exposed to Radiation Exceeding Limit 07 Jul 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said three more workers at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant were exposed to radiation exceeding the government's annual limit. The male workers, in their 20s, were exposed to levels beyond the limit of 250 millisieverts, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility known as Tepco, told reporters in Tokyo today. Under Tepco rules, a worker exposed to more than 200 millisieverts will be sent to other Tepco plants or offices, Hajime Motojuku, a spokesman for the utility, said by phone.
Radiation probe finds risks at Ohio nuclear plant --Four workers at Perry Nuclear Power plant exposed to higher radiation levels than normal 08 Jul 2011 Nuclear plant workers in Ohio violated several safety regulations and had to avoid a 6-foot-deep hole in the floor when increased radiation levels forced them to flee their work area in April, federal regulatory officials said in a preliminary report. Four workers at the Perry Nuclear Power plant on the shores of Lake Erie were exposed to higher radiation levels than normal on April 22 while they were attempting to remove a monitor that measures nuclear reactions. Plant officials failed to appropriately evaluate the radiological hazards associated with the removal process, which is a violation of regulations, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in an inspection report released Thursday.
Jellyfish invasions shut down three nuclear power plants 07 Jul 2011 Seems like jellyfish are the latest critics against nuclear power use. Earlier this week a nuclear power plant on the coast of Israel was forced to shut down due to a jellyfish clog in their cooling system. Two weeks before this incident, two separate countries had coastal reactors which were clogged similarly. These events are sparking speculation on whether this is a growing trend driven by
climate change global warming. The string of jellyfish surges began with a reactor in Shimane, Japan, and in a week's time two nuclear reactors on the Scottish coast were also crippled by jellyfish in the cooling system. The Scottish Torness nuclear power plants, as well as the Japan and Israel plants pull cold sea water to creating cooling pools for the reactors within.
US Congress votes against proposal to cut aid to Pakistan 09 Jul 2011 The United States House of Representatives has voted against two amendments proposing to slash the two-billion-dollar US aid to Pakistan... Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) moved the amendments to the Defence Appropriations Act for the fiscal year 2012. The first amendment, which proposed slashing 1 billion dollars from the funds that the US government gives countries that have partnered in helping it in the war
on of terror, failed in a 131-297 vote. The second amendment proposed a cut of 1 billion dollars in funds that the US gives to
Pakistan for its efforts in counter-insurgency activities mercenaries, terrorists, and drug lords.
Karachi: 'Shoot on sight' orders as violence soars 08 Jul 2011 Security forces in the Pakistani city of Karachi have been ordered to shoot on sight to stem violence in which 80 people have been killed since Tuesday. Pakistan's biggest city is virtually shut down. Many shops, schools and offices are closed and there is hardly any traffic on the streets. The government says it has deployed an extra 1,000 troops.
18 mortar shells fired at NWA from Afghan side --Sources: Shells fired from across border landed in Pakistani territory twice in past 24 hours 09 Jul 2011 Eighteen mortar shells fired from Afghanistan fell in Pakistan's border area in North Waziristan Agency on Friday but no damage was caused, official and tribal sources said. Pakistani security forces retaliated by firing 29 mortar shells in the direction from where the mortar shells came from Afghanistan.
Mission accomplished! Shell, Iraq to Sign Initial $12 Bln Gas Deal -Official 08 Jul 2011 Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Iraq have settled most pending legal issues that have delayed a $12 billion gas deal for more than two years and an initial pact could be signed mid next week, a senior Iraqi oil official said Friday. Since the signing of an initial agreement in 2008 to begin negotiations on the project, the Iraqi oil ministry has been working to finalize a joint venture between its South Gas Co., Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. to capture and exploit the huge volumes of gas flared from three giant southern oil fields, Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna Phase 1.
Iranian officials put on travel blacklist by UK, US and Canada 08 Jul 2011 Britain, the US and Canada have approved a new round of travel restrictions targeting the Iranian regime, including members of the judiciary and prison officials. The British foreign secretary, William Hague, said on Friday that the punitive measures were aimed at individuals [allegedly] associated with Iran's nuclear programme as well as those [allegedly] involved in the violation of human rights in the country.
120 foreign activists detained by Israel 09 Jul 2011 Some 120 foreign activists were being held in Israeli jails Saturday, awaiting possible deportation, after arriving at Tel Aviv's airport over the weekend as part of a solidarity mission with the Palestinians, a government official said. Others who managed to get through Israeli border controls traveled to the West Bank where some joined a demonstration against Israel's separation barrier. The Palestinians oppose the barrier as a land grab because it frequently juts into the West Bank, swallowing Palestinian farmland and properties.
Reporter Seeks to Avoid Testifying 08 Jul 2011 Lawyers for a New York Times reporter argued Thursday that the First Amendment should shield him from having to testify at the trial of a former C.I.A. officer accused of leaking classified information. "A reporter should be the last resort, if even at all, not the first resort" when the government puts on a criminal case, Joel Kurtzberg, a lawyer for the reporter, James Risen, told Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of Federal District Court here. Prosecutors subpoenaed Mr. Risen to testify at the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, who they say was a source for a chapter in Mr. Risen's 2006 book, "State of War."
CIA in CLG Website Logs II --CLG Sunshine Project update 09 Jul 2011 Here are a few .govs and .mils from the CLG website logs Friday. For more on the Nosey Parker of the Universe that is the US government, see: 'CLG Under Surveillance.' AntiSec, do your thing!
City Council Votes for Armed Guards to Patrol Newark Fast-Food Joints at Night 08 Jul 2011 Newark's city council voted Thursday to require all late-night restaurants that serve less than 20 people at a time to have an armed security guard posted from 9 p.m. to closing. The vote comes less than two months after veteran Newark police officer William Johnson was gunned down standing at the counter of a fast-food restaurant in New Jersey's largest city waiting for a slice of pizza. He was off-duty at the time and not the intended target of the drive-by shooting.
Jury Rules in Favor of KBR in High-Profile Rape Trial 08 Jul 2011 A jury in federal court Friday found in favor of defense contractor KBR Inc., determining that the company had not defrauded a former employee and that she had not been sexually assaulted by a co-worker. The plaintiff in the civil case, Jamie Leigh Jones, had claimed that KBR, a former Halliburton Co. unit, had tolerated an environment hostile to women that, she claimed, led to her rape by a colleague, Charles Bortz, in 2005 while they worked together in Iraq.
Speaker Boehner abandons comprehensive debt deal 09 Jul 2011 The White House and Republican leaders had been negotiating recently over a comprehensive deal that would produce $4 trillion in savings, hoping to avoid defaulting on the nation's debt GOP hostage-taking ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling. On Saturday night, House Speaker John Boehner abandoned the deal, saying a mid-size package of reforms that do not include any kind of increase in taxes on anyone is the only politically viable solution, The Washington Post reports. [Right, so Obusha gives away Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, to please his GOP/Wall Street overlords. That's Obama's idea of a 'deal.']
I Really Hated Bush but Obama is Actually Worse --Facebook page started by disgusted leftists! 09 Jul 2011 As Citizens for Legitimate Government (http://www.legitgov.org/) has asserted on numerous occasions, Barack Obama has out-Bushed Bush.
US unemployment at highest level in '11 08 Jul 2011 The US economy has generated lower than expected jobs over the past month, pushing unemployment to its highest level this year -- 9.2 percent. The US Labor Department reported on Friday that the payrolls expanded by 18,000 in June. The unemployment rate was up one percent from May's rate of 9.1 percent, The Financial Times reported. The data was significantly lower than the 105,000 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll, and show the lowest net job gain since September 2010.
IMF approves 3 bln euro loan for Greece: reports 08 Jul 2011 The International Monetary Fund has approved a 3.2 billion euro ($4.5 billion) loan for Greece as part of emergency assistance for the country, according to media reports late Friday. The IMF approval had been expected after euro-zone finance ministers earlier approved their portion of a 12 billion euro installment of a 110 billion euro aid package for Greece.
James Murdoch could face criminal charges on both sides of the Atlantic 08 Jul 2011 James Murdoch and News Corp could face corporate legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic that involve criminal charges, fines and forfeiture of assets as the escalating phone-hacking scandal risks damaging his chances of taking control of Rupert Murdoch's US-based media empire. As deputy chief operating officer of News Corp – the US-listed company that is the ultimate owner of News International, which in turn owns the News of the World, the Times, the Sunday Times and the Sun – the younger Murdoch has admitted he misled parliament over phone hacking, although he has stated he did not have the complete picture at the time.
Murdoch axes paper, British PM's aide faces arrest 07 Jul 2011 A former senior aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron faced arrest on Friday over his alleged role in a phone-hacking scandal that prompted Rupert Murdoch to close Britain's biggest selling Sunday newspaper. In a startling response to the scandal engulfing Murdoch's media empire, the British newspaper arm of News Corp announced it would publish the 168-year-old News of the World for the last time this weekend.
Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93 09 Jul 2011 Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 93. Her death was confirmed by Chris Chase, Mrs. Ford's biographer. The news of her death at Eisenhower Medical Center brought statements of condolence from President Obama, former Presidents George Bush, George W. Bush [sic] and Jimmy Carter, and Nancy Reagan, the former first lady.
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