Disasters Of State

Boycott Israel & you won’t get aid donations, Hurricane Harvey victims told

"The city of Dickinson, Texas, told individuals and businesses on Monday that they are now accepting applications for 'grants from the fund generously donated to the Dickinson Harvey Relief Fund' for storm damage repair. In order to apply for the grant, however, applicants must agree to a number of clauses, one of which is asserting that they do not boycott Israel. The clause stems from a Texas law passed in May, which became effective on September 1, that requires all state contractors to verify in writing that they are not participating in boycotts of Israel."

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“We Can’t Wait for Government”: Pop Star Daddy Yankee Saves Puerto Rico

"Puerto Rican native and pop star Daddy Yankee delivered what FEMA, and the government of Puerto Rico could not. He gave $100,000 in assistance to feed the people whose homes were destroyed, who were left without power or water after the hurricane struck over a week ago."

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Japan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

"The chief of Japan’s nuclear watchdog chided the operator of the Fukushima plant Thursday for its inability properly to explain problems, which he said was inflating fears around the world. Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, said information given by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) on the level of radioactive contamination was 'scientifically unacceptable'. Tanaka’s comments come after TEPCO announced it had detected a hotspot with a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour. TEPCO has confirmed that a reading of 2,200 millisieverts per hour would be enough to kill a person in a matter of hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan nuclear agency says Fukushima water leak risk exaggerated

Fukushima ‘not under control’ – TEPCO official refutes PM’s assurances

"A senior TEPCO official contradicted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by saying the radioactive water leakage at the crippled Fukushima plant is not under control. The official, Kazuhiko Yamashita, was asked his opinion of comments by Abe regarding the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 'I think the current situation is that it is not under control,' Yamashita said at a hearing in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday before further apologizing for the leaks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima ‘not under control’ – TEPCO official refutes PM’s assurances

NJ Causes Bridge Jam With Unannounced Lane Closures For ‘Study’

"Police and elected officials in Fort Lee, N.J., say they weren't given warning that the Port Authority planned to reduce the number of local access lanes directly from Fort Lee to the bridge from three to one—causing traffic to back up in the borough—and are still puzzled by the official explanation that the agency was conducting a study of traffic patterns. After the two local lanes handling Fort Lee traffic were closed, cars and trucks quickly clogged streets used by local travelers to reach the bridge and New York City. Local officials said the backup led to long delays for Fort Lee buses traveling for the first day of school Monday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNJ Causes Bridge Jam With Unannounced Lane Closures For ‘Study’

Grid Down Acapulco: “There’s Nothing to Eat”

“Though the government would like us to believe there is rarely looting or panic in the aftermath of a disaster, the fact of the matter is that within 72 hours of any serious crisis people will lose it.  Case in point: Acapulco, Mexico.  … Continue reading →

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Ex-cops get new trial in post-Katrina bridge shootings

"A federal judge tossed the convictions of five ex-New Orleans police officers accused of shooting an unarmed family and firing on others as they tried to flee the flooded city. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt issued a 129-page ruling that cited a lengthy list of 'egregious and inflammatory' comments made online by at least three Justice Department officials. One of the top federal prosecutors in the case questioned how the officers were issued badges in a comment posted on a newspaper website just minutes before jury selection began, according to the ruling. Prosecutors are forbidden under Justice Department policies from making public statements that could influence the outcome of a case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-cops get new trial in post-Katrina bridge shootings

Fukushima leak is ‘much worse than we were led to believe’

"They are worried about the enormous quantities of water, used to cool the reactor cores, which are now being stored on site. Some 1,000 tanks have been built to hold the water. But these are believed to be at around 85% of their capacity and every day an extra 400 tonnes of water are being added. 'The quantities of water they are dealing with are absolutely gigantic,' said Mycle Schneider, who has consulted widely for a variety of organisations and countries on nuclear issues. 'What is the worse is the water leakage everywhere else - not just from the tanks. It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. Nobody can measure that.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima leak is ‘much worse than we were led to believe’

Fukushima Radioactive Plume To Hit The US By Early 2014

"The first radioactive ocean plume released by the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster will finally be reaching the shores of the United States sometime in 2014, according to a new study from the University of New South Wales — a full three or so years after date of the disaster. Many researchers, and also officials from the World Health Organization, have argued that the radioactive particles that do make their way to the US will have a very limited effect on human health — as the concentration of radioactive material in US waters will be well below World Health Organization safety levels. But needless to say, there is some debate on this matter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFukushima Radioactive Plume To Hit The US By Early 2014

Yosemite fire prompts state of emergency in San Francisco

"It’s 150 miles from San Francisco to Yosemite, but the 200-square-mile wildfire that’s edged into the national park has prompted California Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for the city hours away. That’s because more than 2.6 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area receive water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite. The fire threatens some 5,500 residences. More than 2,700 state, federal and local firefighters from around the nation had joined the fight against the Rim Fire by Friday evening, and large air tankers battled the blaze from above, but dry weather, rugged terrain, and gusty winds limited efforts to carve out containment lines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYosemite fire prompts state of emergency in San Francisco