More than 2 years after it began, Fukushima nuke disaster not even close to being over

Reuters: Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an “emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country’s nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.

Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution, he said.

Tepco’s “sense of crisis is weak," Kinjo said. “This is why you can’t just leave it up to Tepco alone" to grapple with the ongoing disaster.

“Right now, we have an emergency," he said.

The Fukushima Daiichi incident began in 2011. It’s still happening today. Tell me again how “safe and clean" nuclear energy is the key to the future. When an industry creates waste so toxic it must be buried in the heart of a mountain, calling it “clean" is a joke. And when we look at the ongoing disaster in Japan, “safe" is quite a punchline as well.

[photo by IAEA Imagebank]

Stories to Watch: 7/10/11

I kind of want to grill out tonight, but it's supposed to rain. Should I risk it? I just might. Now here's the news...


Not content with taking away workers' rights in Wisconsin, Gov. Walker also decides to steal their pensions.


More of the GOP"s idea of "shared sacrifice"; Boehner wants to scale back spending cuts in order to protect tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. We can give up less in order to pay for a free ride for Wall Street types, because that's fair. Steve Benen detects a lack of leadership on the speaker's part.


The White House responds to the news with a statement saying, "[W]e cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts. We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well, and we believe the American people agree." expect whiny cries of "SOCIALISM!" any second now.


Proof that conservative blogger Don Surber is a dumbass: he sees the Bachmann pledge story as an attempt by commies and the Administration and George Soros to sabotage her campaign. Buddy, if there's one person the left wants running against Obama, it's Shelly Bachmann. I wouldn't be surprised if some lefties are donating to her.


High levels of cesium -- 4.6 times normal -- have been detected in beef from Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. This as reports come in that the country has been hit by another major quake.


Finally, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell restates his belief that stopping an Obama reelection is the "single most important thing we want to achieve." Not jobs, not the economy, but politics. I repeat what I said last week; if you think the GOP is working for you and you aren't a billionaire, then you're a chump.

Related articles

• Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul Forge Tentative Relationship (huffingtonpost.com)
• McConnell says 'a big deal' is off the table (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads (huffingtonpost.com)
• Quake jolts northeast Japan, no reports of damage (windsorstar.com)

Stories to Watch: 3/20/11

Dark, cold, dingy, rainy day here -- in other words, spring. I don't have to go out and shovel rain though, so I'll take it. Now here's the news...


Libya isn't likely to be a protracted action, but it's worth noting that it is war and, like every other war we've been in in my lifetime, it's without a formal declaration of war. Liberals in congress ask what's up with that. Meanwhile, John McCain -- who throughout his congressional career has never voted against military action -- thinks President Obama waited too long. No declaration of war = unconstitutional. No vote by the UN Security Council = illegal. This war may still be unconstitutional, but it's apparently become way too legal for John McCain's liking. Then again, no matter what Obama did, McCain would be against it. His sore-loserism requires no less.


Things in Syria aren't so great either.


Nor Bahrain.


Nor Yemen.


Where things stand at the nuke plant in Fukushima Prefecture at the moment.


Finally, with the economy still in recovery and still high unemployment, House Republicans focus on the things that really matter -- like voting to affirm that "In God We Trust" is our national motto. That whole "E Pluribus Unum" thing reeks of collectivist socialism, I guess. The next time a Republican tells you the party is focused on jobs, grab your sides, fall to the floor, and laugh like a lunatic.