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CNN...
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New nuclear reactors set to be OK'd for Georgia
By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoney
February 8, 2012: 3:33 PM ET
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to approve the construction of two new reactors at Georgia's Vogtle plant, seen here. It would be the first new construction license for a reactor granted in over 30 years.
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) --
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The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to approve licenses to build two new nuclear reactors on Thursday, the first approvals in over 30 years.
The reactors are being built in Georgia by a consortium of utilities led by Southern Co. (SO, Fortune 500) They will be sited at the Vogtle nuclear power plant complex, about 170 miles east of Atlanta. The plant already houses two older reactors.
Spokespeople for Southern Co. and the NRC were quiet on the matter Wednesday ahead of the vote set for Thursday at 1 PM ET. If approved, NRC staff would likely issue a construction and operating license within the next few days.
Although new nuclear reactors have been built in this country within the last couple of decades -- the last one started operation in 1996 -- the NRC hasn't issued a license to build a new reactor since 1978, a year before the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania. The reactors that have opened in the last decades were approved before 1978.
The combination of the Three Mile Island incident and the high costs of nuclear power turned many utilities away from the technology.
There are currently 104 operating nuclear reactors at 64 plants across the country that provide the nation with roughly 20% of its power. Half are over 30 years old.
The utilities building the new Vogtle reactors submitted their application seven years ago. Prep-work at the site has been under way for some time, but the actual reactors can't be built until NRC issues the final license.
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How close is your home to a nuclear plant?
The new reactors are a Westinghouse design called the AP 1000. Together they are expected to cost $14 billion and provide 2200 megawatts of power, according to a spokesman for Southern Co. That's enough to power 1 million homes.
The plants are being built with the help of a conditional $8.3 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. The loan guarantee is part of DOE's broader loan program that has been criticized for backing companies like Solyndra, the bankrupt maker of solar panels.
The Southern spokesman said the loan guarantee, combined with other regulatory measures, enable the project to receive cheaper financing that will ultimately save ratepayers $1 billion.
The first reactor is expected to come online in 2016 and the second one in 2017, according to Southern Co.
The AP 1000 is the newest NRC-approved nuclear reactor. This would be the first one built in the United States, although four are already under construction in China, said Scott Shaw, a Westinghouse spokesman.
Critics have said the containment walls of the AP 1000 aren't strong enough to withstand a terrorist attack, but Shaw says they were redesigned after September 11, 2001 and have held up during simulations.
He also said the design's passive cooling system makes it much safer than older designs. The AP 1000 uses gravity and condensation -- not electricity -- to cool the fuel rods.
It was the loss of electric power that led to the meltdown of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi reactors following the tsunami in 2011.
Still, a coalition of nine mostly regional environmental groups say the current design is not safe. They are asking the NRC to delay its decision Thursday until they can file a challenge in federal court.
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First Published: February 8, 2012: 2:20 PM ET
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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to approve the construction of two new reactors at Georgia's Vogtle plant, seen here. It would be the first new construction license for a reactor granted in over 30 years.
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New nuclear reactors set to be OK'd for Georgia
By Steve... more
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Hi All
Ideas are a dime a dozen i know. But some ideas can have a beneficial effect on humanity and who am i to hold a idea for ransom for some personal value my ego deems necessary, when the good of a idea may have such sweeping change as to preserve a life. Who am i but an idea man?
http://theideamanworldchangecomingtoyou.blogspot.com/Hi All
Ideas are a dime a dozen i know. But some ideas can have a beneficial effect... more
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The history of forcing fluoride on humans through the fluoridation of drinking water is wrought with lies, greed and deception. Governments that add fluoride to drinking water supplies insist that it is safe, beneficial and necessary, however, scientific evidence shows that fluoride is not safe to ingest and areas that fluoridate their drinking water supplies have higher rates of cavities, cancer, dental fluorosis, osteoporosis and other health problems. Because of the push from the aluminum industry, pharmaceutical companies and weapons manufacturers, fluoride continues to be added to water supplies all over North America and due to recent legal actions against water companies that fluoridate drinking water supplies, precedent has been set that will make it impossible for suits to be filed against water suppliers that fluoridate. There is a growing resistance against adding toxic fluoride to our water supplies, but unfortunately, because fluoride has become "the lifeblood of the modern industrial economy"(Bryson 2004), there is too much money at stake for those who endorse water fluoridation . The lies of the benefits of water fluoridation will continue to be fed to the public, not to encourage health benefits to a large number of people, but to profit the military-industrial complex. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/bizzareweird/43055-the-fluoride-conspiracy-the-greatest-case-of-scientific-fraud-of-this-centuryThe history of forcing fluoride on humans through the fluoridation of drinking water... more
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The Art of Bleeding produces ego-destabilizing programs on safety and medical education for both live and video presentation. Often staged from an actual ambulance, our performances utilize a perturbing mix of cartoonish costumes, puppets, vintage educational films, animation, and thinly veiled medical fetishism to create a sort of “paramedical funhouse” in which the groping ego may ultimately experience TRUE SAFETY CONSCIOUSNESS....The Art of Bleeding will present their “magic ambulance theater” show titled Halloween Highway 2, at the Steve Allen Theater - Los Angeles, on October 28, 29 and 30, 2011 starting at 8 PM each evening. http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/bizzareweird/43019-art-of-bleeding-ambulance-show-The Art of Bleeding produces ego-destabilizing programs on safety and medical... more
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worrg
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3 months ago
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JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas announced an agreement on Tuesday to exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for five years, a deal brokered by Egypt that seemed likely to shake up Middle East politics at a time when the region is immersed in turmoil.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told his nation in a live address on television that the soldier, Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who was captured in June 2006 at the age of 19, could be home “within days,” ending what has been widely seen in Israel as a national trauma.
In Damascus, Syria, Khaled Meshal, the political leader of Hamas, said in a televised address that the negotiations had been “very, very difficult” and called the deal “a national accomplishment” that augured well for the Palestinians, who he said hoped to “cleanse the land, and liberate Jerusalem, and unite the Palestinian ranks.”
It was unclear what drove the two to accept a deal that had been on the table for years. But both stand to benefit politically and had reasons to distract attention from the efforts of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, as he circles the globe seeking votes for his bid to gain United Nations membership for a state of Palestine.
Egypt played a central role in the deal, helping bolster its international standing at a time of growing internal political strife as well as strains with Israel, which has seen its relationship with Egypt deteriorate since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. Just last month, an Egyptian mob attacked Israel’s embassy and its diplomatic staff was evacuated.
Mr. Netanyahu, whose cabinet voted 26 to 3 in favor of the prisoner swap, said he felt it important to move on the deal now, given what he called the “storms” in the Middle East.
“With everything that is happening in Egypt and the region, I don’t know if the future would have allowed us to get a better deal — or any deal at all for that matter,” he said. “This is a window of opportunity that might have been missed.”
An Israeli official said on Tuesday that Israel had sent a letter of apology to Egypt for the deaths of several of its troops by Israeli forces chasing Palestinian militants into Sinai in August.
Many aspects of the agreement were not revealed, including the names of important Palestinian prisoners expected to be released. But Israeli journalists said after an intelligence briefing that Marwan Barghouti, a top leader of the Fatah group sentenced to five life terms and seen as a possible successor to Mr. Abbas, would not be freed. Mr. Meshal said that the total would be 1,027, among them 315 prisoners serving life sentences and 27 women.
According to Israeli television, Israel would first release 450 prisoners as Sergeant Shalit is sent to Egypt, possibly in a week. Two months later, the television said, the remaining prisoners would be released. None of the details could be confirmed officially.
Sergeant Shalit was seized in a cross-border raid by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in June 2006 and taken into the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which rejects Israel’s existence, is regarded by much of the West as a terrorist organization. It won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and took full control of Gaza in 2007, routing the Palestinian Authority forces loyal to President Abbas of Fatah, Hamas’s rival. Since then, Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza to isolate Hamas, although it has eased many restrictions on imports.
A prisoner exchange deal for Sergeant Shalit had seemed close in late 2009, but the talks collapsed. Israel and Hamas each blamed the other. Israel had balked at releasing some of the prisoners demanded by Hamas, including those convicted as planners and perpetrators of some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in recent years.
Another stumbling block was Israel’s fear of letting some of the prisoners back into the West Bank where they might engage again in violence. Previous intelligence chiefs lobbied strongly against such a move.
But the chiefs of all three Israeli intelligence agencies — Mossad, Shin Bet and Military Intelligence — have been replaced in the past year and those objections were partly overcome, according to Israeli officials and analysts. In the current deal, only some prisoners were expected to be permitted into the West Bank.
Amnon Zichroni, an Israeli lawyer who has worked on such issues, told Israel Radio that one reason for the shift was that violence was a less popular form of protest against Israel in the West Bank today, and, he said, “there are increasing efforts to minimize any form of terrorism as a form of resistance.”
Despite efforts to renew peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, there is little optimism regarding success. The prisoner exchange, assuming it is carried out, seems likely to increase the popularity of Hamas among Palestinians as well as that of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party in Israel, perhaps temporarily sidelining Mr. Abbas.
For years, Israelis have embraced the Shalit family, with many viewing the abducted soldier as, in effect, their own son.
Tens of thousands of Israelis joined the Shalits in the summer of 2010 for parts of a 12-day march from the Shalits’ home in northern Israel to Jerusalem to publicize their son’s plight. Since then, the parents have spent many days in a tent near the prime minister’s residence to draw attention to their son.
Mr. Netanyahu said he had telephoned the Shalits earlier in the day to tell them he was bringing their son home.
“When I took office I took it upon myself, as a personal mission, to bring Gilad home to his family,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
He said he had told his negotiators to hold the talks “under the guidelines important to Israel: the need to bring Gilad home and the need to keep Israel’s citizens safe.”
For Palestinians, the plight of thousands of their sons in Israeli prisons has been equally traumatic, and the possibility of their release drew enormous attention.
In Gaza, night had fallen when the news of a possible exchange began to circulate. Usama Sarhan, 34, a night security guard in a grocery store in Gaza City, expressed guarded optimism as he headed off to catch Mr. Meshal’s address on television. Wary because a deal had been reported to be close previously, he said that if the prisoner trade succeeded, it would be “a victory for Gaza.”
Later, thousands poured into the streets in Gaza and the West Bank in celebration.
Ismail Haniya, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, said at a public rally outside the parliament building in Gaza City that Hamas would begin preparations to receive the prisoners, but gave no indication of timing.
Among those celebrating on the streets was Bahaa al-Madhoun, a Hamas official, whose family was waving a Palestinian flag from their car as he drove past honking motorcycles and trucks blaring music.
“This is a huge happiness for the Palestinian people, that their prisoners are being released from prisons,” he said. “The Palestinian people have been waiting for that for years. The resistance won, and the Palestinian people won.”
SEE FULL-STORY
Anthony Shadid contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon; Stephen Farrell from Gaza; and David D. Kirkpatrick from Cairo.
A version of this article appeared in print on October 12, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Deal With Hamas Will Free Israeli Held Since 2006.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/world/middleeast/possible-deal-near-to-free-captive-israeli-soldier.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas announced an agreement on Tuesday to exchange more... more
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The Fossil Fuel and Natural Gas industries have launched an all out publicity blitz to skew the conversation around the highly controversial practice of Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking). Their targeted commercial spots on Fox, CNN, MSNBC and other channels during the main news casts are insidious in how they seek to make the sheep feel good about being lead to slaughter. The spots expertly lull viewers into a feeling of safety, security, and hope by focusing on 'creating jobs' and having 'energy independence' and enough energy to last for '100 years'. They FAIL to mention a few, pesky details that might dampen public opinion and get in the way of the 3 trillion dollars the fossil fuel industry stands to make in the process.
Comedian and satirist Julianna Forlano hosts this special edition of The Ironic News Report. Watch it while you can! (Like before it gets suppressed for being true.)
http://youtu.be/acBDTpZ2aLEThe Fossil Fuel and Natural Gas industries have launched an all out publicity blitz to... more
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The Fossil Fuel and Natural Gas industries have launched an all out publicity blitz to skew the conversation around the highly controversial practice of Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking). Their targeted commercial spots on Fox, CNN, MSNBC and other channels during the main news casts are insidious in how they seek to make the sheep feel good about being lead to slaughter. The spots expertly lull viewers into a feeling of safety, security, and hope by focusing on 'creating jobs' and having 'energy independence' and enough energy to last for '100 years'. They FAIL to mention a few, pesky details that might dampen public opinion and get in the way of the 3 trillion dollars the fossil fuel industry stands to make in the process.
Comedian and satirist Julianna Forlano hosts this special edition of The Ironic News Report. Watch it while you can! (Like before it gets suppressed for being true.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acBDTpZ2aLEThe Fossil Fuel and Natural Gas industries have launched an all out publicity blitz to... more
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Clever chap shows how easy it is to jack your luggage before taking a flight. Here is a break into and reseal a locked suitcase demonstration.
Demonstrating how easy it is to break into and reseal a locked suitcase using a pen. Unfortunately, suitcases are insecure and generic locks are not able to protect you. Tampering and resealing can happen in seconds! Ensure this does not happen to you. http://www.securesentinel.com.au
Please keep in mind that you are legally responsible for the content of your luggage. Even if you are a victim of luggage tampering, the content of your suitcase is your own responsibility. And the blame for any elicit content, regardless of how it got there, will be towards you.Clever chap shows how easy it is to jack your luggage before taking a flight. Here is... more
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NERT, or Neighborhood Emergency Response Team is a free service provided by the San Francisco Firefighters to help train the public in how to deal with emergency and disaster related situations. Other cities have Community Emergency Response Team classes, but San Francisco, being a bit different focuses on the type of disasters we are most likely to encounter. I haven’t heard of a hurricane ever hitting San Francisco, but earthquakes are up there at the top of the list and this is a good way to get training on what to do in case you’re hit by one or any of the other problems that could crop up with or without an earthquake such as fires, medical emergencies, etc.NERT, or Neighborhood Emergency Response Team is a free service provided by the San... more
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Ladder Training is mostly useful when we are working at heights. Because when we are working on a high level we have to think about perfect works and also think about safety. For that, some of companies and some groups provide training in related work. It is a perfect courses established to provide perfect training with the correct methods to learn ladder use with the proper type of protection tool. In ladder safety training you will learn some basic safety terms about how to work using a ladder at height and also you will learn how to take a safety position, climb on it and inspect a ladder and also give you knowledge about how to handle a ladder and to know about ladder capacity.
As a natural and logical extension of its activities, the Ladder industries operates a national training course for users, supervisors and managers wanting to equip themselves with the knowledge, skills and confidence which is necessary to use ladders legally and safely. You have to be familiar with some objectives when you are working on a height. The usage of a correct ladder depends on a place also on visually inspection of the ladder and its related parts before use of the work and after the use of it.
These courses includes some contents like understanding the measure between fall arrest and control, the importance of accurate place, perfect knowledge about the method of correct fitting, usage and inspection of fall protection equipment, securing leaning ladders and using fall protection parts, appreciate the standards for roof safety and the danger might be avoided. Procedure for portable ladders onto a roof, Safety transfer techniques from a ladder to a pitched roof using fall protection and most important is self rescue Techniques from a Leaning Ladder.
This course is a mix up of theory and practical. In these installation techniques will be mentioned and also give a chances for all to show their knowledge in practice. Using extensive knowledge of height safety and expertise in specialist safety critical manufacturing, has allowed us to develop a substantial premium range of ladder safety products. They will have a good knowledge and a correct understanding of the principals of using a ladder safely and also understand the risks when using ladders and Step ladder safety and will be able to put into practice safe procedures when using them. After completion of training course candidates have confidence and technical competence to work at height.Ladder Training is mostly useful when we are working at heights. Because when we are... more
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Concept vehicles like Terreform's Hug n' Kiss land car, Gordon Murray's T.25 & the Libert-E electric scooter are just some of the highlights from this year's Urban Mobility segments that inspire you to think about the future of urban transportation and challenge you to explore your world consciously. Check out another innovative new vehicle, Scion's iQ, which is turning concept into reality in this week's Urban Mobility.Concept vehicles like Terreform's Hug n' Kiss land car, Gordon Murray's... more
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Carolyn Lorrain Wilson, 55-year-old woman from Guilderland, New York, has been accused of molesting an 11-year-old girl she was babysitting. Police is also investigating claims that she abused at least one other child too.
Wilson was last week and is charged with second-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Police said the abuse occurred at Wilson's residence at the Park Guilderland Apartments. It is unknown if she was affiliated with the child in any way.
Despite claims of being a reverend, Wilson is not known to be affiliated with any church.
Police is also investigating claims Wilson had inappropriate contact with a 6 year old boy.
http://femalesexoffenders.com/fso/index.php/the-news/390-guilderland-woman-might-have-abused-6-year-old-boy-tooCarolyn Lorrain Wilson, 55-year-old woman from Guilderland, New York, has been accused... more
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b2r
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The 'radioactive orchestra' uses data from the gamma decay of atoms as the foundation for electronic music composition ..... 'Radioactive orchestra', a web-based musical interface resultant from a collaboration between sweden's royal institute of technology (KTH) and nuclear safety and training institute (KSU), is designed to render aurally the processes of atomic gamma decay. KTH professors arne johnson and bo cederwall and doctorate karin andgren envisioned and developed the project, which was formalized by electronic artist kristofer hagbard into an interactive web interface for data exploration and sound track generation..... http://www.freeturbine.com/index.php/news/general-music-news/item/the-radioactive-orchestra-creating-music-from-the-sound-of-radiationThe 'radioactive orchestra' uses data from the gamma decay of atoms as the... more
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worrg
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6 months ago
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In an interview with the Daily Beast, hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger talked about recent safety problems that have been discovered throughout the airline industry.
He also talked about the House version of a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which proposes $4 billion in cuts to FAA funding over the next four years.
"I would say you have to be very careful," Sullenberger told the website. "It's very difficult to cut the budget that much and not have an effect on safety."In an interview with the Daily Beast, hero pilot Chesley "Sully"... more
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Trains in Japan are such fun. The Japanese are serious about not being late for work, obviously. What you don't see are all the passengers falling out the doors on the other side. I think the attendants thought they did a really good job getting everybody on board.
Try this on any subway in Brooklyn... OK!! Who FARTED? Fock that, I'll walk!Trains in Japan are such fun. The Japanese are serious about not being late for work,... more
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CAPTION: Police bust an operation that "recycles" cooking oil collected from the sewer.
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Okay, the Chinese are getting more and more out of control with their toxic food products. We all have heard about the melanine in infant formula which causes kidney stones in infants...it is getting systemically worse in China.
In a wedding party of 500 people, half were taken to the hospital after (what they think) was pork raised with excessive corticosteroids to increase the growth and growth rate.
The Chinese are making cooking oil out of oil discarded by restaurants into sewers, scooping it up from the sewer.
It goes on and on...
Worse, the whistleblowers in China are locked in prison or have to flee the country because of threats.
And, of course, our FDA isn't even testing targeted food items from Japana after Fukushima....they certainly aren't going to inconvenience the Chinese by inspectnig their products.
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http://tinyurl.com/3tm6sct
China wrestles with food safety problems
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By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times
Sun Jun 26 2011 5:35 PM
Reporting from Beijing-- It was a wedding the guests would never forget. Everybody of consequence in the village had been invited to a banquet to celebrate the marriage of the son of one of the wealthiest families. Fifty tables groaned under a lavish spread of dumplings, steamed chickens, pork ribs, meatballs, stir fries, all of it exceptionally delicious, guests would later recall.
But about an hour into the meal, something seemed to be wrong. A pregnant woman collapsed. Old men clutched their chests. Children vomited.
Out of about 500 people at the April 23 banquet in Wufeng, 286 went to the hospital. Doctors at the No. 3 Xiangya Hospital in nearby Changsha, capital of Hunan province, blamed pork contaminated with clenbuterol, a steroid that makes pigs grow faster and leaner. Consumed by humans in excess quantity, it can cause heart palpitations, nausea, convulsions, dizziness and vomiting....
...It hasn't helped. If anything, China's food scandals are becoming increasingly frequent and bizarre.
In May, a Shanghai woman who had left uncooked pork on her kitchen table woke up in the middle of the night and noticed that the meat was emitting a blue light, like something out of a science fiction movie. Experts pointed to phosphorescent bacteria, blamed for another case of glow-in-the-dark pork last year.
Farmers in eastern Jiangsu province complained to state media last month that their watermelons had exploded "like landmines" after they mistakenly applied too much growth hormone in hopes of increasing their size.
Such incidents cut to the quick of the weaknesses in China's monolithic one-party system. Chinese authorities are painfully aware that people will lose confidence in a government that cannot give them assurances about what they eat. They are equally aware that tainted foods could cause what communist authorities fear most: social unrest.
"Food safety concerns the people's interests and livelihoods, social stability and the future of socialism with Chinese characteristics," is how the Supreme Court put it in its notice last month accompanying the announcement of the death penalty.
The government's efforts are looking frantic....
...It's doubtful, however, that anybody will heed the regulation — China is famous for promulgating laws that are never enforced. There is no equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: A myriad of different agencies reporting to various ministries, including the Agriculture Ministry and Health Ministry, tend to kick responsibility from one to another. Offenders are not usually prosecuted until something goes badly wrong, as in the baby formula case, in which two people were executed.
The incentive to cheat is greater than ever before, with inflation at its highest level in nearly three years. Food prices in May were up 11.7% from last year, and flooding this month is expected to push them even higher....
...To make some breeds of fish mature more quickly, aquatic farmers feed them ground-up birth-control pills, which cost virtually nothing because of China's strict limits on family size. In April, authorities in Hefei province busted businesses that were selling a glaze that makes pork look and smell like more expensive beef — bad news in a country with more than 20 million Muslims....
..."The profit margin is bigger than drug trafficking if you add the lean pork powder to the pig food," said Zhou Qing, an author and dissident, who has styled himself as China's equivalent of Upton Sinclair, whose 1906 novel, "The Jungle," exposed the horrors of the U.S. meatpacking industry.
In 2006, Zhou published a book about the Chinese food industry that would extinguish the heartiest appetite. He wrote about foods tainted with pesticides, industrial salts, bleaches, paints and, especially nauseating, imitation soy sauce made from clippings swept up from hairdressers' floors, sold for 5 cents per pound and sent to factories that extract from it an amino acid solution. Zhou wrote that fish farmers confessed to pouring so many antibiotics and hormones into their ponds that "they never eat the fish that they farm."
Although Zhou's book has been published in 10 countries — it sold 50,000 copies in Japan alone — it is not available in China. After failing to get the book in shops, receiving threats from police and getting beaten up by thugs, Zhou left China in 2008. He now lives in Germany.
"In China, the reflexive desire to cover up and hide has trumped transparency and the need to protect public health," said Phelim Kine, a researcher for Human Rights Watch.
The poor treatment of whistleblowers makes it nearly impossible for a consumer movement to take root. The Health Ministry went so far as to announce this month that it would set up a blacklist of journalists who were deemed to report irresponsibly on food safety issues.
Last year, He Dongping, a professor of food sciences at Wuhan Polytechnic University, in Hubei province, published results of an investigation into the recycling of discarded cooking oil, which was being scooped out of sewers outside restaurants, reprocessed and then sold at a fraction of the cost of fresh cooking oil. He found that one in 10 restaurants in his area bought the recycled oil, even though it was known to contain a carcinogenic fungus.
Afterward, the professor was reprimanded by the university and ordered not to speak again about cooking oil. Contacted this month, he hung up when told the caller was a foreign journalist.
Even victims are punished if they complain too loudly. Zhao Lianhai, an advertising executive who led a campaign for safer baby formula after his son developed kidney stones as a result of the melamine-tainted baby formula, was sentenced in November to 2 1/2 years in prison for "inciting social disorder."
As a result, people are often too frightened to speak up. More than a dozen who were contacted about their experience at the wedding in Wufeng begged not to have their full names used. They said their medical bills had been paid by the local government and the newlyweds' parents, who were connected to the local Communist Party branch. They said they never got answers about what had happened.
"We asked many times, but there were no answers. The doctors wouldn't say. So we stopped asking," said one woman, adding nervously before hanging up the phone, "Don't tell anyone I told you this."CAPTION: Police bust an operation that "recycles" cooking oil collected... more
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Jim Barry of CEA is a technology expert. Here he talks shop regarding the latest technology for your vehicle from safety to keeping the kids entertained on the road, and showcases innovative and cool new gadgets for the road. Video by CEA.Jim Barry of CEA is a technology expert. Here he talks shop regarding the latest... more
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Los Angeles Times...
Japan says it was unprepared for post-quake nuclear disaster
In its report, Japan says, it needs to revise its nuclear safety preparedness and response in light of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crisis. It also says the damage and radiation leak were worse than previously thought.
associated press
June 8, 2011
tokyo —
— Japan acknowledged Tuesday that it was unprepared for a severe nuclear accident like the tsunami-generated Fukushima disaster and said damage to the reactors and radiation leakage were worse than it previously thought.
In a report being submitted to the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, the government also acknowledged reactor design inadequacies and a need for greater independence for the country's nuclear regulators.
The report says the nuclear fuel in three reactors probably melted through the inner containment vessels, not just the core, after the March 11 earthquake, and the tsunami knocked out the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's power and cooling systems. Fuel in the Unit 1 reactor started melting hours earlier than previously estimated.
The 750-page report, compiled by Japan's nuclear emergency task force, factors in a preliminary evaluation by a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency and was to be submitted to the IAEA as requested.
"In light of the lessons learned from the accident, Japan has recognized that a fundamental revision of its nuclear safety preparedness and response is inevitable," the report says. It also recommends a national debate on nuclear power.
The report says the "inadequate" basic reactor design — the Mark-1 model developed by General Electric — included the venting system for the containment vessels and the location of spent fuel cooling pools high in the buildings, which resulted in leaks of radioactive water that hampered repair work.
GE declined to comment on the specific conclusions of the report.
Hundreds of plant workers are scrambling to bring the crippled reactors to a "cold shutdown" by early next year and end the crisis. The accident has forced more than 80,000 residents to evacuate from neighborhoods around the plant.Los Angeles Times...
Japan says it was unprepared for post-quake nuclear disaster... more
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The social ad campaign will be seen on 100 billboards in Moscow, the number of billboards in other cities is not announced. The PSA billboards will have a user created image that won in the social media contest run by the Safe Internet League, a Russian non-commercial organization aiming to fight dangerous content in the Internet. The ad contains a slogan "Went online and didn't come back" and an image of a 6 y.o boy.
http://publiciti.ru/en/news/5safety-online-parents-responsible-for-kids-browsing-new-rostelecom-campaign-in-moscow61The social ad campaign will be seen on 100 billboards in Moscow, the number of... more
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