Japan is battling to avoid a wider nuclear catastrophe after fresh explosions today at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant may have damaged the suppression (pressure control) chamber in reactor no 2. View Larger MapGreen Action of Japan reports:
Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2
http://kinkyu.nisa.go.jp/kinkyu/2011/03/post-94.html
Updated 2011/03/15 08:09
NISA is reporting the status of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2
At 6:10 am this morning, TEPCO reported that there was an explosive sound from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2. This explosion might have caused damage in the suppression chamber (pressure control chamber)(*).
An independent reading of radiation levels near the Fukushima plant by a Japanese magazine editor and a group of journalists reveals a completely different picture from what is being reported in the mainstream media.
The Green Action group reports that yesterday five members of the Japan Visual Journalists Association (JVJA) and Ryuichi Hirokawa, editor-in-chief of the Days Japan magazine, arrived at Futaba Town where the Fukushima Daiichi reactors are located (the plants are located in both Okuma Town and Futaba Town) to undertake independent monitoring measurements.
There is no truth behind an sms message making the rounds that radiation has hit the Philippines and may affect other Asian countries.
Meanwhile, Japanese officials have played down health concerns after a third reactor at Fukushima lost its cooling system. But the US military has moved away from the area after one of its aircraft carriers detected low-level radiation 160km offshore, reports the BBC.
According to ABS-CBN:
MANILA, Philippines – There is no truth to text rumors that radiation from a nuclear plant in Japan has reached the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Monday.
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad raises important questions about the RM50 billion MRT project, which is being rushed through hastily.
In one month, what have we learned about the Klang Valley MRT?
It has been approximately 1 year since MMC-Gamuda presented their unsolicited MRT proposal to the cabinet. More importantly, it has been one month since the public display for the Sg. Buloh – Kajang line of the Klang Valley MRT project began. In this past month, we have learned a great deal about the plans for the MRT – including the proposed route, station locations (including detailed drawings), station & train designs, and even the feeder bus system.
A second explosion has struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, raising fresh fears of emissions of radioactive gas.
Such radioactive releases could last months, according to The New York Times:
As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
Lee Chong Wei has triumphed at the All-England badminton tournament edging past his nemesis Lin Dan 21-17, 21-17 in an explosive final, one of the most absorbing in recent times.Lee Chong Wei - Photo credit: BWF This was a different Chong Wei, who in the past had invariably capitulated to Lin Dan in major finals. This time he displayed a rare tenacity that surprised his opponent.
Berita Harian has made global news – for the wrong reason.
It published a cartoon on the tsunami in Japan that has been widely seen as appallingly distasteful and insensitive.
Soaring property prices have made it difficult for working Malaysians to afford a home of their own.
Enter the new ‘My First Home Scheme’, introduced by the government. Under the scheme, those below 35 with a monthly income of less than RM3000 may sign up for 100 per cent housing loans repayable over 30 years. But can working Malaysians cope with that repayment schedule?
A huge explosion has hit a nuclear power plant in Japan after yesterday’s massive quake sparking fears of a meltdown. Now, do we really want to opt for nuclear energy in Malaysia?
The plant lies in Fukishima, only 250km northeast of Tokyo. Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant’s reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it, reports the BBC. The evacuation zone has now been extended from 12km to 20km.
A massive 8.9 quake and huge tsunami have struck northern Japan, triggering a wider tsunami alert around the Pacific rim.
2036: A contact in the Philippines reports that 19 provinces in north Luzon are on high alert. Tsunami waves have already reached the vicinity and more waves are expected to hit. No reports of casualties.
With a dam reportedly having broken in Fukushima prejecture, washing away homes, and Japanese authorities monitoring the nuclear plants, one question arise: Do we still want to go ahead with a 100-storey tower, nuclear power plants and more dams of our own in Malaysia?
A tsunami warning is in effect for Japan, Russia Taiwan, Yap, Philippines, Marshall Is., Belau, Midway Is., Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Johnston Is., Solomon Is., Kiribati, Howland-baker, Hawaii, Tuvalu, Palmyra Is., Vanuatu, Tokelau, Jarvis Is., Wallis-futuna, Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Fiji, New Caledonia, Tonga, Mexico, Kermadec is, Fr. Polynesia, Pitcairn, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Antarctica, Panama, Honduras, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru.
1730: A contact in the Philippines says they are on a Level 2 alert there and the critical watch-out period is between now and 7.00pm (Malaysian/Philippines time).
The tsunami is also expected to reach Hawaii at just after 3.00am (Hawaii time)/9.00pm (Malaysian time)
Over in Japan:
Inside one home when the quake struck:
The ending of this animated version may be different from George Orwell’s classic, but it is no less compelling.
If the sound on this version is too faint, try this copy.
Another grave development, again in the Batu Lanchang area. This is for a project involving terrace and bungalow houses and a low-cost component, a high-rise block.
A private family graveyard, Kam Cementry, at Lorong Batu Lanchang, Lot 54, Section 5, is at risk, and 56 graves, the oldest dating back 180 years, could be exhumed. With speculation driving up property prices, it is not surprising that developers want to capitalise on prevailing market prices. Unhappy descendants have taken legal action. But the MPPP, for its part, claims that all procedures have been followed in the development application.
Well, well, well, what can I say? Shahnaz A Majid, the estranged wife of Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib, the son of Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, is seeking RM300 million as her share of assets in a divorce settlement and RM100 million in compensation.
Few Malaysians may have heard of him but that in no way takes anything away from the towering stature of the legendary Penan leader, Along Sega, who passed away on 2 February 2011.Along Sega and his grandson, perched on a tree stump, witnessing logging activities - Photo courtesy of Ngo/Greenpeace
He was an outspoken leader of the Penan’s struggle against the timber firms that encroached into native customary rights lands from the 1980s.
What are a few of the reasons for the BN, or should we say Umno, winning seven of the last eight by-elections?
Here’s something I wrote for Asia Times:
Umno bounces back in Malaysia
By Anil Netto
PENANG – The political tide that earlier rolled against Malaysia’s ruling United Malays Nasional Organisation (Umno)-led coalition appears to have turned again in its favor, raising the prospects for possible early polls.
Gerakan central committee member Dr Hsu Dar Ren has quit the party on the third anniversary of the 8 March 2008 watershed general election.
The reason? “Not so much because of the party itself, which has a good ideology and many good members and many good friends, but more because of the dominance of Umno over everything else within the coalition,” he said.
“I am sick of race-based politics and Gerakan is actually getting further and further away from realising its ideology of building a fair and equitable society.”
The head of both the municipal councils in Penang are now women with the appointment of urban planner Maimunah Mohd Shariff as the new president of the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.
Today happens to be International Women’s Day. So this is good news to mark this day.
Butterworth and BM and other parts of the mainland really need someone to look carefully at urban planning. I hope the MPSP will do something about the entire beach-front of Butterworth (particularly the mess along the ironically named Pantai Bersih), the poor condition of drainage, and the lack of green spaces for recreation.
The Tanjung Bunga Residents Association is seeking legal clarification over what it claims is the “illicit modification” of the Penang Structure Plan.
They are seeking a declaration that Tanjung Bunga lies in the ‘Secondary Corridor’ and not in the ‘Primary Corridor’ of development under the Structure Plan.
So, my source in Pas was accurate in his predictions for both these polls.
On the eve of polling (5 March, 10.28pm – see Coveritlive below) he had predicted a BN win by 3,500 votes in Merlimau (actual 3,643) and a BN majority of 2,500 in Kerdau (actual 2,724).