Since it began March 11, 2011, thousands of freelancers have reported on the Fukushima-Daiichi triple reactor meltdowns and radiation gusher, the deluge of accidents, leaks, faulty cleanup efforts, the widespread contamination of workers, citizens, soil, food and water, and the long series of cancer studies, lawsuits, and ever-changing clean-up and decommissioning plans. As Japan Times reports last October, “Extremely high radiation levels …
Dennis Normile – Mystery cancers are cropping up in children in aftermath of Fukushima
The March 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused extensive human suffering—evacuations, emotional trauma and premature deaths, disrupted jobs and schooling. What they have not caused, so far, is radiation-related illness among the general public, and few specialists expect dramatic increases in cancers or other ailments. The reactors spewed just a tenth of the radiation emitted by …
Ex-TEPCO Bosses Indicted in ‘Major Step’ for Justice in Fukushima
In what environmental advocates called a “major step” toward justice against corporate crime, three former executives with the Tokyo Electronic Power Company (TEPCO) on Monday were indicted on negligence charges over their roles in the 2011 nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. “I’m full of emotion,” said Ruiko Muto, head of a campaign group that is pushing for a Fukushima trial, during a press …
Juan Cole – Top 10 Signs the US is the Most Corrupt Country in the World
Those ratings that castigate Afghanistan and some other poor countries as hopelessly “corrupt” always imply that the United States is not corrupt. VOA reports : While it is true that you don’t typically have to bribe your postman to deliver the mail in the US, in many key ways America’s political and financial practices make it in absolute terms far …
The Numbers Are Staggering: U.S. Is ‘World Leader’ in Child Poverty – Paul Buchheit
America’s wealth grew by 60 percent [3] in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent [4]. Financier and CEO Peter Schiff said [5], “People don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy.” The 16 million kids [6] on food stamps know what it’s like to go hungry. Perhaps, some in Congress would say, those …