Japan Bodies Of Two Nuclear Workers Found Killed & Missing Since Quake

HO/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Two Bodies Found At Stricken Nuclear Plant


The bodies of two Japanese nuclear power workers killed by the tsunami which wrecked Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant more than three weeks ago have been recovered an official with the plant's owner said Sunday. The plant workers had been missing since the epic March 11 earthquake and tsunami .

Their remains were found last Wednesday but had to be decontaminated before they could be returned to the families.

The men's remains were found in the basement of the turbine building at the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, an official with the Tokyo Electric Power Company told reporters Sunday.

The pair -- identified as Kazahiko Kokubo, 24, and Yoshiki Terashima, 21, both members of the utility company's operations management department -- were working in that building when the 9.0-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami struck. The disaster caused damage throughout northeastern Japan, including at the power plant, which is on the Asian nation's eastern coast about 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

One of the workers was found floating in a pool of water in the basement, the utilty company official said. Both appeared to have suffered multiple traumatic injuries and severe blood loss.

The bodies were found Wednesday, but the power company did not disclose the news until late Sunday morning.

Tokyo Electric officials explained the information was delayed in getting out because it took time to notify victims' families and discuss how to announce the news.

Company Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata offered condolences for "the loss of two valuable lives."

"It is deeply regrettable that we lose two employees who were trying to protect the safety of the power plant from the earthquake and tsunami," he said in a statement.

Later, Katsumata reiterated Tokyo Electric's vow that every effort is being made to address the crisis at the nuclear plant and this such a situation will never happen again.

"We swear never to repeat this tragedy," he said, "and we making a full effort to resolve the situation as soon as possible." [CNN Tokyo]

Japan Dog Rescued Found Floating On Roof Three Weeks After Tsunami

A story of survival is lifting spirits in Japan.

A dog found floating on the roof of a house that washed away in Japan's devastating tsunami has been rescued after three weeks at sea.

A small dog was spotted by the Japanese Coast Guard in the Pacific Ocean, about a mile off the coast of Japan.

The dog was spotted on a roof in the middle of a floating island of debris off the coast of Japan  that probably was swept out to sea by the receding tsunami.

The dog was frightened by the helicopter and hid under the roof, forcing rescuers to descend onto the debris pile to try and lure it out. Once on the roof, rescuers had hoped to find more tsunami survivors living inside the house but after tearing the roof open, it was found to be empty apart from the dog.
But the helicopter ran out of fuel before rescuers could reach the frightened animal.

A nearby coast guard boat took over the rescue attempt and eventually saved the dog several hours later.

Despite being out at sea for apparently three weeks, the dog appeared to be in fair condition.

The dog was not wearing a collar. So for now, the dog has a new home aboard the Japanese coast guard ship. Rescuers are hoping the dog will be able to lead them to its owners.

 Photos of dog found stranded on debris: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/slideshowajax/156786/dog-founded-stranded-on-debris-at-sea.slideshow

Mother Captures The Magical Moment A Rainbow Forms Over Her Young Son's Head

Stunning: Avena Singh was taking pictures at a botanical garden when a rainbow formed

It is without doubt the picture of a lifetime: a rainbow forming in all its colourful glory as a young boy looks out over the rocks and out to sea.

Avena Singh realised she only had seconds to capture the image as she and her three-year-old son explored the Shore Acres State Park in Oregon. But she managed to fire off a quick photograph before the splash from a wave caused the incredible effect to disappear before their every eyes

Mrs Singh, 35, a college worker and amateur photographer from Oregon, was thrilled when she viewed the photos later to see she had recorded the scene in full technicolour.
'The park is only a few miles from our home and the weather report was for high waves so I knew there was going to be some spectacular shots. The sun was out and the waves were absolutely huge,' she said. 'I had noticed remnants of rainbows once in a while when the waves crashed and was trying to capture them with little success. A couple of photographer friends were with me and got my son, Rishabh, to pose as the waves hit. 'After they took their photos they turned away. I was standing right behind my son and saw the rainbow bend right over him. It was astonishing. I started snapping photos madly hoping to capture it all.

'The remnants of the wave just fell straight down, and the rainbow disappeared as quickly as it had come. My son stood perfectly still in complete awe of what he discovered, his very own rainbow.

'After I took the photo, I realised my friends had been too busy chatting to notice what happened. I was overjoyed when I uploaded the images to my computer and was able to see them in all their glory, it was something I could never replicate.'

She added: 'It felt amazing. Having my son be right in the middle only made it more special. My children are everything in the world to me and had my son not been there it still would not have been as special.' [dailymail uk]


 

Japan Admits It Has Lost The Race To Save The Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Japan has finally conceded it has lost the battle to contain radiation at four of its crippled reactors and they will be closed down and be entombed in concrete

The battle to save the Fukushima nuclear power plant now appears lost as the radioactive core from Reactor No. 2 has melted through the containment vessel and dropped into the concrete basement of the reactor structure. This is "raising fears of a major release of radiation at the site," reports The Guardian, which broke the story.

Fukushima Reactors to Be Entombed in Concrete
After a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11 crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, the Japanese government has finally conceded it has lost the battle to contain radiation at four of the plant’s reactors and they will be closed down.

Details of what that will entail have yet to be revealed, but according to Bloomberg, Japanese officials are looking at ways of entombing the Fukushima reactors in concrete.

The government hasn’t ruled out pouring concrete over the whole facility as one way to shutting it down, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a press conference today in Tokyo.

The dramatic announcement that the four reactors, including a partial meltdown of fuel in the No. 1 reactor building are out of control and will have to be decommissioned was made yesterday by Tsunehisa Katsumata, the chairman of the electric company (TEPCO) operating the nuclear complex.

The reason for the admission of total defeat is that TEPCO knew the battle to keep the fuel rods in the troubled reactors cool could not be won. While workers, who were being paid vast sums of money to brave high radiation levels have averted the threat of a total meltdown by injecting water into the damaged reactors for the past two weeks, “the risk to [them] might be greater than previously thought because melted fuel in the No. 1 reactor building may be causing isolated, uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions, Denis Flory, nuclear safety director for the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], said at a press conference in Vienna. [via Bloomberg]”

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said however, there’s no possibility of uncontrolled chain reactions. Still, [via Kyodo News] Secretary Edano said Japan and the IAEA agreed that “they would not rule out the possibility of the situation worsening.”

Radiation levels continue to remain extremely high at the Fukushima plant, with water around the reactors emitting a highly dangerous 1,000 millisieverts per hour. Radioactive iodine rose to 4,385 times the regulated safety limit yesterday from 2,572 times on Tuesday.[wallstreetpit.com]

Has Japan 'lost the race' to prevent a total nuclear meltdown?
Nuclear fuel apparently melts through the bottom of a container at one of the Fukushima reactors, heightening fears of a major meltdown.

The disaster at Japan's troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is getting worse: Trace amounts of plutonium have been found in the soil outside the plant, the seawater outside the reactors has radioactive iodine-131 at levels 3,355 times above what's considered safe, and, according to former GE nuclear safety researcher Richard Lahey, Japan appears to have "lost the race" to save reactor 2 from a full nuclear meltdown.

Here, a brief guide to the unraveling situation:

How has Japan "lost the race"?
The nuclear cores of four reactors have partially melted, officials believe, but in reactor 2, "the indications we have... suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the [steel containment] pressure vessel" and onto the cement floor, Lahey tells The Guardian. That would escalate the radiation contamination, but even in a worst-case scenario, "it's not going to be anything like Chernobyl."

Where are the leaks coming from?
Experts aren't sure, but the highly radioactive water in tunnels and basements at the plant, and plutonium in the soil, are worrisome. There's "a complex cacophony of different sources that could have contributed to the leaking water," says nuclear engineering expert Robin Grimes. The most likely are cracks in reactor core vessels, or runoff from the water being used in the last-ditch efforts to keep the cores from melting. Journalist Martin Savidge says the radioactive water in the tunnels is probably responsible for the toxic seawater, since the only obstacle in its path is "sandbags to block drainage pipes."

Is anyone still there?
Yes. Japanese workers are reportedly being offered up to $1,200 a day to brave the potentially deadly conditions at the plant. They are sleeping over a lead-lined sheet in an earthquake-proof building. "The working environment is very tough," acknowledged Kazuma Yokota, head of the nuclear inspection office. Not working is Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) President Masataka Shimizu, who was hospitalized Tuesday for dizziness and high blood pressure. Tepco Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 71, took the reins.

What will happen to the plants?
When the crisis is contained, at least four of the reactors will be permanently mothballed, Tepco says. Japan's government has called for all six reactors to be shut. In the meantime, the company is exploring ways to contain radiation leaks, including spraying resin on the ground to trap the radioactive particles, and covering the reactors with a special sheet. Japan is also talking about bringing in tanker ships to store the radioactive water pumped from the site.

Is there any good news?
The radiation in the ocean is expected to disperse and become harmless, and the plutonium levels in the soil are not high enough to harm humans, at least not yet. Also, the Japanese government hasn't been sugarcoating the problem, as widely feared, according to Greenpeace. The anti-nuclear group sent scientists to Japan specifically to keep the government honest, but "there is no contradiction between Greenpeace data and local data." [theweek.com]

Japan Pays 'Suicide Squads' Fortunes To Work In Stricken Nuclear Plant

Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are being paid vast sums of money to brave high radiation levels.
Is it worth risking life and limb for a job to help the greater good, just for a paycheck?

*Four reactors at stricken plant to be decomissioned
*Subcontractors offered £760 a day - 20 times going rate - to brave radiation levels but some refuse
*One expert who designed reactor says race to save reactor two is 'lost'
*Radiation levels in sea water 3,335 times higher than normal
*Readings are almost three times worse than last week
*Unmanned drone photographs plant from the air amid health fear for pilots

Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are being paid vast sums of money to brave high radiation levels - as experts warn that the race to save the facility has been lost.

Subcontractors are reportedly being offered up to 100,000 yen a day (£760) - 20 times the going rate - but some are still refusing the dangerous work.

Radiation levels are still extremely high at the plant, with water around the reactors emitting a highly dangerous 1,000 millisieverts per hour. 

There are also fears that the plant is leaking more radiation as sea water around the plant was found to contain levels 3,335 higher than normal - almost three times higher than last week.

In a further development, an expert who helped design the plant said today that the race to prevent reactor number two melting down had been lost.
 The plant's operators also said today that the four reactors that suffered explosions will be shut down for good once they are under control - and could be sealed in special material to keep radiation in.

Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling-water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at Fukushima, told the Guardian that he believed nuclear fuel had melted and burned through the reactor floor in unit number two.

That would expose the core to the atmosphere, risking more serious radiation leaks.

He told the Guardian: 'The indications we have, from the reactor to radiation readings and the materials they are seeing, suggest that the core has melted through the bottom of the pressure vessel in unit two, and at least some of it is down on the floor of the dry well.

'I hope I am wrong, but that is certainly what the evidence is pointing towards.'

The major worry is that the lava-like radioactive core will react with the concrete floor in Unit Two, sending radioactive gasses into the atmosphere.

Fortunately, though, the plant is flooded with seawater which will cool the material quicker than normal, reducing the amount of gas released.

According to the Independent newspaper, subcontractors have been offered the huge daily rates to take part in the containment efforts.

Former worker Shingo Kanno said: 'They know it's dangerous so they have to pay up to 20 times what they usually do.'

The seasonal farmer and construction worker turned down offers of work. 'My wife and family are against it because it's so dangerous.'

There has been widespread speculation in Japan that the levels of radiation workers face could ultimately prove lethal.
 A new evacuation zone is now being considered by the Tokyo Electric Power Company which could mean another 130,000 people have to evacuate.

Seawater outside the crippled nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan was found to contain 3,335 times the usual amount of radioactive iodine - the highest rate yet and a sign that more contaminated water was making its way into the ocean, officials said today.

Readings on Friday found levels were 1,250 times higher than normal.

The amount of iodine-131 found offshore 300 yards south of the power plant did not pose an immediate threat to human health, but was a 'concern', said Hidehiko Nishiyama, of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

He said there was no fishing in the area. 'We will nail down the cause, and will do our utmost to prevent it from rising further,' said Mr Nishiyama.

The power plant has been leaking radiation since the March 11 tsunami slammed into Japan's north east, knocking out power and back-up systems crucial to keeping temperatures down inside the plant's reactors.

Residents within 12 miles have been evacuated, while those up to 19 miles have been urged to leave as radiation has made its way into vegetables, raw milk and water. Last week tap water as far away as Tokyo, 140 miles to the south, contained levels of cancer-causing iodine-131 considered unsafe for infants.

Radiation from the Fukushima leak has been also detected across Britain this week. The Health Protection Agency revealed that radioactive iodine had already been discovered 5,500 miles from the stricken plant in Oxfordshire and Glasgow.

Experts said the levels were 'minuscule' and posed no health risk to Britons. However, its arrival highlights how far radioactive material can travel on the winds - and how vulnerable Britain would be if there was a serious release of radiation thousands of miles away.

The government acknowledged yesterday that its safeguards had been insufficient to protect the plant against the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

'Our preparedness was not sufficient,' chief Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said. 'When the current crisis is over, we must examine the accident closely and thoroughly review' the safety standards.

Highly toxic plutonium was the latest contaminant found seeping into the soil outside the plant, Tepco said. Safety officials said the amounts did not pose a risk to humans, but the finding supports suspicions that dangerously radioactive water is leaking from damaged nuclear fuel rods.


Workers succeeded last week in reconnecting some parts of the plant to the power grid. But as they pumped in water to cool the reactors and nuclear fuel, they discovered numerous pools of radioactive water, including in the basements of several buildings and in trenches outside.

The contaminated water has been emitting many times the amount of radiation that the government considers safe for workers. It must be pumped out before electricity can be restored and the regular cooling systems powered up.
That has left officials struggling with two crucial but contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out contaminated water.

Officials are hoping tanks at the complex will be able to hold the water, or that new tanks can be trucked in. The Nuclear Safety Commission said other possibilities included digging a storage pit for the contaminated water, recycling it back into the reactors or even pumping it to an offshore tanker.
Yesterday three workers trying to connect a pump outside the Unit 3 reactor were splashed by water that gushed from a pipe. Though they wore suits meant to be waterproof and protect against high levels of radiation, Mr Nishiyama said the men were soaked to their underwear. They quickly washed it off and were not injured, officials said.
 Last week, two workers were hospitalised with burns after they waded into highly radioactive water that reached their knees while wearing ankle-high protective boots. They have been treated and released.
Nikkei, Japan's top business newspaper, called it 'outrageous' that Tepco had been slow to release information about trenches outside the reactors filled with contaminated water, one just a few inches (10cm) from overflowing. [dailymail.co.uk]

Dire Living Conditions Add To Misery Of Japan's Nuclear Plant Heroes

Following on from reports of yet ANOTHER earthquake tonight of a magnitude-6.4 quake jolting northeast Japan http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/29/c_13803788.htm reports are surfacing regarding the grim living conditions of the Nuclear plant heroes as the emergency workers struggle under harsh conditions to control and stabilize the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.


Tokyo (CNN) -- They sleep anywhere they can find open space -- in conference rooms, corridors, even stairwells. They have one blanket, no pillows and a leaded mat intended to keep radiation at bay.

They eat only two meals each day -- a carefully rationed breakfast of 30 crackers and vegetable juice and for dinner, a ready-to-eat meal or something out of a can.They clean themselves with wet wipes, since the supply of fresh water is short.

These are the grueling living conditions for the workers inside Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. They've been hailed as heroes risking their lives by braving high levels of radiation as they work to avert a nuclear meltdown.

But until now, the outside world has known little about the workers' routine.

Tuesday, safety inspector Kazuma Yokota, who spent five days at the plant last week, spoke with CNN about the plight of the 400 workers staying in a building within 1 kilometer (.6 miles) of Reactor No. 1. Japanese officials ordered mandatory evacuations for everyone else within 20 (12.4 miles) kilometers of the plant.

The workers look tired, Yokota said. They are furiously connecting electrical cables, repairing instrument panels and pumping radioactive water out.

They work with the burden of their own personal tragedies always weighing heavy.

"My parents were washed away by the tsunami, and I still don't know where they are," one worker wrote in an e-mail that was verified as authentic by a spokesman for the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the Fukushima plant.

"Crying is useless," said another e-mail. "If we're in hell now, all we can do is crawl up towards heaven.'

But they are doing it all with the kind of determination required in a task with such high stakes. There's no room for plummeting morale and the workers are not showing any signs of spirits flagging, Yokota said.

However upbeat the workers are, there's no denying the conditions are beyond difficult.

"On the ground at the nuclear power plant, the workers are working under very dangerous and very hard conditions, and I feel a great deal of respect for them," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Tuesday.

The workers spend three days on site and go off for one. They start their work day at 8 a.m. and go for 12 long hours.

Last week, three men who were laying electrical cable in the turbine building of the No. 3 reactor stepped in tainted water, exposing themselves to high levels of radiation. Tokyo Electric apologized and said their exposure might have been avoided with better communication.

Radiation alarms went off while the three men were working, but they continued with their mission for 40 to 50 minutes after assuming it was a false alarm. They were hospitalized after it was determined they had been exposed to 173 to 181 millisieverts of radiation -- two of them with direct exposure on their skin. They were later released.

By comparison, a person in an industrialized country is naturally exposed to 3 millisieverts per year, though Japan's Health Ministry has said that those working directly to avert the nuclear crisis could be exposed to as much as 250 millisieverts before they must leave the site.

The incident also prompted further criticism of Tokyo Electric and how well it is safeguarding the workers.

Yokota said the power company hoped to improve living conditions for the workers by moving them to another facility. Edano said officials also hope to find replacements in order to relieve the workers at the plant.
 

Until then, they will continue as the faceless heroes in Japan's tragedy, the nation's only hope of thwarting further disaster.

The Ugly Truth About Fukushima

On The Brink Of A Mega Disaster!

Japan nuclear disaster may turn out 10 times worse than Chernobyl as Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Worsens.

Despite all the desperate efforts by world governments to downplay the severity of the release of radioactive material from Fukushima, world radiation sensors are revealing the ugly truth about the Fukushima catastrophe that the nuclear industry doesn't want you to know.

We thought we'd seen the worst in nuclear power plant accidents with the partial meltdown of a reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in the former Soviet Union in 1986. But what is happening at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northern Japan will likely surpass Chernobyl, if it hasn't already.

All along we’ve known that we’re not getting the full story. The information the public do get from officials is contradictory. The truth is Japan's nuclear crisis is most perilous since Chernobyl. The “situation is very grave & serious”.

The radioactive fallout is now as much as 73 percent of the daily radiation emitted from Chernobyl following its meltdown disaster.

Japan's damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

Because Fukushima continues to leak radiation into the environment, its total radioactive output may yet exceed that of Chernobyl. There's certainly a lot more fuel at Fukushima than there ever was at Chernobyl: 1,760 tons of nuclear fuel versus just 180 tons at Chernobyl.

So Fukushima has ten times the amount of fresh and spent fuel as Chernobyl. And it's still spewing radiation every second. The food and water in Japan is already contaminated, the oceans are radioactive, the air is radioactive, neutron beams are jetting out of the nuclear

facility, it's raining yellow water, workers are being hospitalized with radiation burns, and still the nuclear industry says stop worrying... it's all safe!

No wonder there is so much confusion with regard to the true situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Facility!

Clearly, Japan is a natural, nuclear, human and social disaster as radiation from the nuclear plant is spreading across oceans and continents. Truly a very disturbing local crisis with global implications.

Fukushima is quickly rising to the top of the list of the world's worst nuclear disasters.

It only leads me to wonder: How much worse is this going to get? We were told just this week that the reactors had their power restored, that the crisis was over, remember? The mainstream media has already blown past this story and doesn't express much concern at all over the situation. Yet this Fukushima catastrophe is quickly moving into the top position as the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster -- even as the media plays it down!

Fukushima may yet out-Chernobyl Chernobyl!

So where does all this radiation end up? Well, according to the Japanese and American governments, it all just magically fades away and there's nothing at

all to worry about. But NaturalNews readers know better: This radiation ends up in the food, in the water, and circulating throughout the environment. Where will this end? No one knows for sure. But if there's one thing we've all learned from watching Tokyo this past week, it's that the time to get prepared is right now! The immediate crisis is far from over. [mathaba.net/news]

This is no longer a regional event. This is a global challenge. The radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors is now a part of our global ecosystem.

For a status report: Reactor-by-reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant click here

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/japan.nuclear.status/

A MUST READ: Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Truth: Locally Chernobyl

http://www.science20.com/alpha_meme/fukushima_nuclear_reactor_truth_locally_chernobyl-77331

Nuclear whistleblowers: Stop lying about Fukushima
http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/nuclear-whistleblowers-stop-lying-about-fukushima

Melted fuel rods cause radiation spike at Japan nuclear plant - govt.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110328/163241738.html

It is not a question of whether or not a nuclear disaster will occur in Japan , it is a question of when it will occur, and if catastrophic enough, perhaps nothing can be done to contain it. Here's to praying that an equally devastating nuclear accident like Chernobyl can be prevented.

The Entire World Is A Revolving Wheel

Everything Goes Around & Changes

The world is like a spinning wheel.

Everything turns around and changes. Everything is

revolving and changing from one thing to the next, from top to

bottom and bottom to top.

This world is a turning wheel, where above is below and below is above. This is the spinning wheel, the revolving wheel, things changing from one state to another. These transformations are the level of the redemption.

 

We are living our life on the rim of a spinning wheel. The Great Wheel of Life turns and turns. Round and round it turns, faster and faster. Everything goes around and changes.

In life seasons change just like our circumstances

Good times turn into tough times and back again

We live through years of plenty and years when things are lean

Times of carefree happiness and times of challenge and struggle

Days when we are top of the World and days when it all comes crashing down

But while our circumstances may change, our essential worth does not

What matters is not how much we have but what we choose to do with it.

Life is a cycle and it's really challenging to know what is going on around us

The circle is not infinite, as many conclude. The circumference ends when it repeats itself. Therefore, the entire world is a revolving wheel, and everything goes around and changes.

Times change. The wheel of fortune never stops spinning. The thing to remember, is that change is constant in the Universe, and tough times do not last. The forces of change in the Universe will bring a change in circumstances if we follow the Above and keep moving.

Thousands Of Beetles Swarm Surfers Paradise - Australia

Picture of beetle invasion in Surfers Paradise. Sent in by reader Norman Herfurth.

A SWARM of water beetles is wreaking havoc across the Australian Tourist Mecca

THOUSANDS of beetles are swarming Surfers Paradise in a never before seen phenomenon that has stumped local scientists.

The water beetle invasion captured on amateur youtube footage shows the large black beetles swarming around lights and dropping to the footpath on The Esplanade last night.

Watch Beetles Swarming Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQGABy-hqo8

Watch Beetles Swarming Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAqyLbeOhwc

Griffith University entomologist Professor Clyde Wild said he had no definitive explanation for the rare phenomenon. ''I've never seen swarms of these like this before, why they are at the beach front escapes any explanation I can think of,'' Prof Wild said. ''You might see two or three on any given night - this is literally thousands. They haven't come out of the sea, they live in fresh water and live on larvae, or eating other insects.''

Prof Wild said he would be less surprised if the invasion had occurred in areas that had recently flooded. ''If there was masses of flowing water, a lot of habitat, it would make more sense. But it hasn't been that wet on the Gold Coast so it's a very curious phenomenon. They can fly very well, kilometres, but if for instance they were breeding in a river, or a swamp that had dried up, I can't see the connection as to why they would relocate to the beachfront.''[goldcoast.com.au]

Three Of The Fukushima Fifty Rushed To Hospital With Radiation Poisoning

Hospital: Medical workers in protective gear gather around an ambulance taking two of the Fukushima workers to hospital

*Panicked Tokyo residents clear shop shelves of bottled water
*Men stood in irradiated water which seeped through protective gear
*Tokyo convenience stores all but run out of bottled water
*Families with babies get three half-litre bottles of water a day for each infant
*City officials appeal for calm
*Death toll rises to 9,700 while missing number 16,500

Three of the Fukushima Fifty have been rushed to hospital with radiation poisoning as they battle to save Japan's crippled power plant from nuclear meltdown.
Fumio Matsuda, a spokesman for the nuclear safety agency, said the three workers, two in their 20s and one in his 30s, came face to face with the danger they had all feared when contaminated water came into contact with their skin at the Fukushima Dai-chi plant.
Officials said they were standing in irradiated water in the No.3 reactor when it somehow seeped through their protective gear, causing them to be contaminated with a level of radiation almost twice as high as the accepted 'safe' limit.

'This is a very regrettable situation,' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yudio Edano said later today as he described the sketchy details he had received from the plant.
'They were in a basement area of the No.3 reactor, standing in water that was irradiated,' he said.
Mr Matsuda said the workers were exposed to radiation levels of up to 180 millisieverts, which is less than the maximum 250 millisieverts that the government is allowing for workers at the plant.
About two dozen people have been injured since the plant began leaking radiation after suffering tsunami damage on March 11


Meanwhile anxiety over the safety of Tokyo’s tap water continued amid fears it has been contaminated by radiation seeping from the plant.
New readings showed the levels had returned to safe in Tokyo, but were high in two neighbouring prefectures - Chiba and Saitama.

'The first thought was that I need to buy bottles of water,' said Tokyo real estate agent Reiko Matsumoto, mother of five-year-old Reina. 'I also don't know whether I can let her take a bath.'
The Fukushima plant has been leaking radiation since the March 11 quake and tsunami knocked out its crucial cooling systems, leading to explosions and fires in four of its six reactors.
Workers doled out bottled water to Tokyo families today after residents cleared store shelves, forcing many shops to start rationing goods including milk, toilet paper, rice and water.
Anxiety over food and water supplies surged when Tokyo officials reported yesterday that radioactive iodine in the city's tap water was above levels considered dangerous for babies over the long term.

After setbacks and worrying black smoke forced an evacuation, workers were back inside today, said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Government spokesman Yukio Edano sought to allay fears over the tap water readings.
'We ask people to respond calmly,' he said at a briefing today. 'The Tokyo metropolitan government is doing its best.'
Households with infants will get three, half-litre bottles of water for each baby - a total of 240,000 bottles - city officials said, begging Tokyo residents to buy only what they need for fear that hoarding could hurt the thousands of people without any water in areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.


Nearly two weeks after the magnitude-9 quake, some 660,000 household still do not have water in Japan's north east, the government said. Electricity has not been restored to some 209,000 homes, Tohoku Electric Power Co said.
The figures were a reminder of the grim humanitarian situation that hundreds of thousands continue to face in the wake of twin disasters that are proving to be the most costly natural disaster on record.
Damages are estimated at up to 309 billion US dollars, the government said.

 The number of dead and missing continued to rise: 9,700 dead, with another 16,500 missing, Japan's police agency said today. The figures that may include some overlap.
Hundreds of thousands remain homeless, squeezed into temporary shelters without heat, warm food or medicine and no idea what to call home after the colossal wave swallowed up communities along the coast and dozens of strong aftershocks continued to shake the nation.

Fears about food safety began to spread overseas as radiation seeped into raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips, grown in areas around the plant.[dailymail.co.uk]

The Error Of War

A number of follies that people used to believe in, such as

human sacrifice, have been eradicated.

But the error of war has not been eradicated.

People use their wisdom to make a weapon that can kill

thousands of people at a time. But can there be any greater idiocy

than destroying many lives for nothing?

JUST NOW: Three Strong Earthquakes Rock Eastern Japan

UPDATE 9.33pm (AEST): A THIRD large earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan tonight.

A SERIES of strong earthquakes rattled northeast Japan today, keeping residents on edge more than a week after a devastating tremor and tsunami battered the region.

The 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of  15km, about  568km northeast of Tokyo, at 6.44pm (8.44pm (AEDT), according to the US Geological Survey.

The tremor followed a 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 6.19pm (8.19pm AEDT). That quake struck at a depth of 27km 131km from the city of Fukushima in northeastern Japan.

Earlier, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 26km, some 312km from Fukushima, where workers continue to battle to contain radiation leaks from a stricken nuclear reactor.

No tsunami warnings or damage from the quakes have been reported.

Earlier today, radiation levels 1600 times higher than normal were recorded as far as 20km away from the Fukushima nuclear plant, according to International Atomic Energy Agency figures cited by the Kyodo News agency.[heraldsun.com.au]

'Fukushima 50' Cut Off From Family

The Faceless Heroes Of Japan

The nuclear power plant workers known as the 'Fukushima Fifty' have been isolated from their families to prevent news of difficult conditions leaking out, it was claimed.

A family friend of one of the workers - the team battling to control the crisis at the power plant - said that email and phone access had been cut and one man had been unable to speak to his wife for days.
 
The move comes after one of the Fifty texted his wife in Japan saying that drinking water at the plant was running low, adding: "I feel like I'm coming down with something." [newsonjapan.com]

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has 180 workers in protective gear, working in crew shifts of 50 (dubbed the Fukushima 50), who are using fire hoses and other equipment in a desperate attempt to keep reactor cores and spent fuel pools filled with water.

Little is know about these workers, except for the few whose relatives have spoken to the Japanese media.

These men are repeatedly enduring high doses of radiation and are under alot of risk  for the sake of saving their country, the Fukushima nuclear plant and themselves. For days now, these men have worked tirelessly and selflessly in order to keep the reactors cool and to prevent a catastrophe. The workers wear protective clothing and breathing masks, but the suits are effective only against alpha radiation. They offer much less protection against deadly gamma rays that would be emitted from melted fuel.

These fifty  plant workers technically ‘on suicide mission’ to battle a major nuclear meltdown are sacrificing everything for the greater good, refusing to back down in the face of adversity or even certain death.

What keeps them there is duty, commitment and bravery!

The worlds thoughts and prayers are with these selfless brave men, their families and the rest of the people of Japan.

The workers might be faceless heroes for the moment, but their bravery has won them the admiration of many Japanese and the international community. 

The Fukushima 50 are the real heroes on the world stage.

Japan On The Verge Of A Nuclear Apocalypse?

 

The Most Serious Challenges Humanity Has Ever Faced

The only nation ever to suffer the effects of nuclear war now faces a nuclear catastrophe of unknown scope and unforeseeable consequences, following one of the biggest earthquakes in history and the resulting tsunami. Humanity now faces a deadly serious challenge coming out of Japan -- the epicenter of radiation, as the situation continues to worsen at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant.

Events in Japan over the past week have rekindled nuclear anxieties that have remained largely dormant for an older generation and will likely give a new generation a new fear to contemplate.

In the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake, a nuclear reactor was fractured and radioactive material has been leaking into the atmosphere. Japan is racing against time to cool the overheating reactors. The cooling problem is particularly critical. The nuclear level is severe. The situation grave, as the level of radiation in the atmosphere soars - an alarming worry for Japan and its citizens.

 This is one of the most serious challenges humanity has ever faced. The situation is an apocalyptic nightmare and it is only getting worse.

Here is a simultaneous catastrophe beyond human comprehension: At least six nuclear reactors in various states of collapse, out-of-control, and in partial meltdown, and at least one even more deadly spent fuel pool overheating and burning, amidst the apocalypse from the original Richter 9.0 earthquake, the Richter 5.0 and 6.0 aftershocks, the Tsunami, the massive death toll, the lack of emergency vehicles and spreading radioactivity, the fires, the melting Spent Fuel Pools -- they are not "screening" radioactive releases which, in any case, are now uncontrolled.

How is this particular nuclear apocalypse defined?
Earthquakes and after shocks + tidal wave = tsunami. Aged Nuke Plant + loss of coolant, fires, explosions + the pox of plutonium and other phenomena that create massive radioactive emissions = chemical pollution = fear. Contradicting information= denial too obvious to ignore + politics, racism, greed = perfect formula for a potential nuclear apocalypse.

Japan raised the nuclear alert level at Fukushima from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents, making this nightmare just two “points” away from Chernobyl! The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency referred to this awful disaster as a “race against the clock,” so that’s comforting. Since this tragedy began last Friday, 6,405 people have been reported dead and approximately 10,200 are still missing. Also, miserable weather and heavy snowfall has basically made Japan the saddest place on Earth. [BBC]

There’s no undoing damage that’s already done. But to avert a tragedy of large scale proportions we must be honest, proactive, have an effective internal flow of information & practice rapid crisis response. Above all else we must be responsible human beings being consistent in communicating honestly and effectively for the safety, health and good of all living beings.

We are all in this together. We each must look out for and protect one another. The safety of the public is paramount. We should not support those causes that openly contradict our values. We must not stand by while our neighbors blood is shed. We all share personal duties and  responsibilities and we all have an obligation to protect each other and society from danger and harm.

We were created to make this world a better place - not just to avoid making things worse. Human beings have a duty to hold themselves accountable for their actions We have an obligation to take responsibility for how we treat our planet, and how we treat each other. We need not debate the issue of human responsibility and culpability. We are all bound by ethical and moral responsibility. This includes delivery of truth & being accountable for it.

We are responsible agents for each other and our planet, every day of our lives. From a bad situation we can turn it into a good one. In the World's hour of an unprecedented crisis, the international community is duty-bound to clean up and permanently fix this catastrophe and turn it into a controlled, bearable, survivable situation to move forward and learn a very valuable lesson to never make the same mistakes again.

We may not be able to control natural disasters, but we are the masters over our own human disasters. Let us help protect what is most valuable to us. It is up to us to change our destiny for the good and better. 

Tomorrow is not in our hands; yesterday will never come back, and all we have to change our destiny for time and eternity, is now.

Let's pray for the people of Japan and for the welfare of the World and all of its inhabitants.

Loyal Dog In Japan Refuses To Leave Injured Friend

Dog's Loyalty Even In A Time Of Disaster

Is this Japan's most faithful dog?

A heartwarming & touching video of a dog who refuses to leave an injured canine friend lying in the rubble in the aftermath of disaster in Japan has been making the rounds on YouTube and social networking sites. These two dogs have captured the world’s attention.

Watch video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3TM9GL2iLI

After surviving the tsunami the dog's refusal to abandon its injured friend is the ultimate show of love & loyalty.

Reporters came across the animal shivering & disoriented just sitting loyally beside his injured & weakened canine buddy standing guard, whilst filming the destruction wreaked by Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast Japan. The protective dog is approached by a Japanese news crew as his badly injured companion lies nearby. The pair were rescued by vets from Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support and are receiving veterinary care in the city of Mito.

Unity, Order & Dignity Amidst Japans Humanitarian Disaster

ATTITUDE & PERSPECTIVE


Following the aftermath of last weeks cruel combination of natural disasters the result of a massive earthquake & tsunami & the growing fears of a nuclear meltdown, the immense scale of the disaster in Japan wrought by last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami has become clearer in the last few days. The current nuclear plant situation is critical. The risk of a nuclear accident remains as experts continued to work on preventing three reactors at the ageing Fukushima atomic plant from overheating. A state of emergency was also declared at the Onagawa nuclear power plant because of high radiological readings as a cloud of radiation is spreading from Fukushima. "They've lost control", the French claim Japan is hiding the full scale of the nuclear disaster.


"As these words are written, there are several dozen workers still at work in the bowels of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, bravely doing what they can to keep the reactor cores cool. Though no one likes to dwell on this fact publicly, these workers likely are sacrificing their own lives — or much of them anyway — to radiation poisoning, so that millions of their fellow citizens will be safer. It is a selfless, noble instinct we see expressed in Hollywood movies and ant colonies. But how often do we see it exhibited by real human beings?" - Jonathan Kay - nationalpost.com


The northeast of Japan has become a virtual ghost town in the last week with streets normally full of people  now practically empty and has become eerily quiet & what once was cities full of daily bustling life have turned into a deserted wasteland. Entire towns on the country’s north-east coast were wiped out by the 10-metre high wall of water, some small towns entirely destroyed -  four nuclear plants at risk of a meltdown.
Towns are flattened, there is only a few buildings standing and it's just a mass of twisted debris.
There is an ongoing danger from further aftershocks. Hundreds have struck since Friday, including 30 with a Richter scale magnitude of 6 or higher. About 1.5 million households remain without water supplies and 2.5 million have no power. Overnight temperatures are near-freezing, making the situation even more difficult for survivors, while basic foodstuffs and petrol are in short supply in the affected areas.


This is the first time the world has dealt with a humanitarian crisis of this proportion. Born out of a simultaneous earthquake, tsunami, and a looming high probability of a nuclear catastrophe - the result of this natural calamity.


From the rubble & debris will arise new world order that would forever change the course of history.
With crisis comes change. From one end of the globe to the other no one is immune to crisis. A global age has in turn led to a global crisis, a crisis that will require a global response as well. What matters most is what we are, and NOT what we have.The need for human aid is urgent. About 450,000 people are in emergency accommodation with 9,500 people still unaccounted for out of a population of 17,000. A lack of fuel and extremely cold weather in the areas hardest hit by Japan's earthquake and tsunami is proving to be among the biggest challenges for aid organisations as aid agencies rush to Japan's Humanitarian front the crisis deepens. Millions of people in Japan's devastated northeast, traumatized survivors  were spending a fourth night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures whilst  toiletsoverflow in overwhelmed shelters. A tsunami has destroyed the physical structure of Japans tsunami-ravaged coastal  regions but it has failed to break the peoples physical & mental morale.


Remarkably, despite the extreme conditions in parts of Japan which include power cuts and a lack of food and clean water & amid the massive despair the people have remained peaceful, with no reports of looting or violence. There is order & dignity amid quake hardship.


Scores of people are lined up at stores in an orderly fashion awaiting rations. These lines organised by themselves with no need for order as this has been instilled in their society from a very young age. No ones complainig. There is a sense of orderly community. The Japanese have been raised to be strongly disciplined & live by strict principles.


People are being fair with their rations and not going back for second helpings, people are helping each other & sharing equally. There is a sense of civility and community. They have a true sense of national character of being bought up to be orderly - ruled by strict authority, rules & conformity. This is the make up of stability that keeps the Japanese together, united & dignified.  Their sense of survival is  relying on each other, holding on to hope. the entire nation is putting forth its best effort to save all suffering people. In unity is strength.


If one were to conceive of how an ideal society would respond to collective tragedy, this is more or less how one would imagine it. Japans qualities are extraordinary and deeply impressive by how Japan's society operates with a sense of national character to see people who have survived, and are suffering from the biggest disaster, encourage themselves to live for tomorrow. This is so courageous. The world appreciates the extraordinary sense of collective discipline being exhibited by the nation as a whole. The country has equally valuable lessons to teach us about the human capacity for composure and courage in the face of epic tragedy. Never give up hope. The bravery amidst disaster is a model for us all!