Serious levels of Radiation detected in Tokyo

Serious news from Fukushima and as usual completely ignored by mainstream media and authorities.
Radiation expert Dr. Chris Busby says that huge quantities of radiation - 10¹³ or 10 trillion becquerels per hour - are still being released from Fukushima.
This is down slightly from some of the radiation levels observed in March but given that the Fukushima crisis has continued for months, Fukushima dwarfs Chernobyl in terms of radiation released.

Busby brought sophisticated radiation testing equipment to Japan, and says that the radiation from one sample from Tokyo was higher than existed inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone.




According to wide-spread but unsubstantiated rumors, Fukushima workers say that the ground under the plant has cracked, and radioactive steam is being released from the cracks.



And another interesting piece of news from the prestigious scientific journal Nature notes:

Shortly after a massive tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 11 March, an unmanned monitoring station on the outskirts of Takasaki, Japan, logged a rise in radiation levels. Within 72 hours, scientists had analysed samples taken from the air and transmitted their analysis to Vienna, Austria — the headquarters of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an international body set up to monitor nuclear weapons tests.
It was just the start of a flood of data collected about the accident by the CTBTO's global network of 63 radiation monitoring stations. In the following weeks, the data were shared with governments around the world, but not with academics or the public.

Cyprus energy disaster: what to expect when energy crunch hits

The international media has ignored a real energy crisis developing in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the story itself is quite surreal and symptomatic of how dire and fast the situation can develop when an energy crisis hit a country.
For the majority who never heard of this story which was decently covered only by BBC for few days let us do a recap:
On the 11th of July flames from a small fire on the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base near Zygi reached 98 containers of explosives that were being stored on the base.
The resulting explosion killed 13 people, 12 of them immediately, including Captain Andreas Ioannides, the Commander of the Navy (Cyprus's most senior naval officer), and the base commander, Lambros Lambrou. Also killed were four navy personnel and six fire-fighters, while a further 62 people were injured. The explosion severely damaged hundreds of nearby buildings including the island's largest power station, responsible for supplying over 60% of Cyprus' electricity.
As a result, much of Cyprus is without power and rolling blackouts have been initiated in order to conserve supplies.
The 98 containers of Iranian high explosives where seized in 2009 and since then were sitting calmly under the scorching sun of Cyprus at the naval base right next to the power plant.
No comment on the total stupidity of leaving explosives under the sun next to a strategic energy hub with temperatures that reach 45 Celsius in summer.
The more interesting part though is the current situation with an entire country lacking electricity with rolling blackouts running wild and with remaining old power plants struggling to cope, just today the other remaining power plant suffered a failure and technicians are scrambling to avoid a disaster.
It could take up to 1 year, to rebuild the destroyed power plant supposed the government is able to find 1 billion Euro they do not have at this moment, and it will be interesting to see what damage a prolonged energy crisis can do to a country.
Cyprus is in a dire economical situation with industry and services paralysed by the lack of electricity, there are no scheduled black-outs so there is no telling when lights will be off and no planned working activity is possible, motorists are facing the greatest risk at crosslights and emergency services are in complete chaos.

Cyprus economy is in a state of emergency comparable to 1974 and is facing an imminent EU bailout. 
Cyprus Central Bank governor Athanasios Orphanides warned yesterday: "To avoid the worst, including admission into (a) support mechanism and all that that entails for the economy ... further and more drastic measures must be taken immediately,"
Cyprus was already under market pressure because of its links to debt-laden Greece, and following the tragic explosion economists have warned the island could face a bill of up to €1 billion just to reinstate electricity supplies.
"Weighing all the facts, the unfavourable international environment, the difficulties in resorting to external borrowing and the additional economic impact from the recent events, I believe the economy is in a state of emergency, comparable to that of 1974," Orphanides said, referring to the Turkish invasion and its aftermath.
Cyprus is unfortunately set to become the first reality laboratory for an energy crunch crisis, worth keeping an eye on this small Mediterranean island in the following months.

Another downplayed nuclear accident: Fort Calhoun, Nebraska

A new hidden nuclear disaster could be in the making in Nebraska. It seems the situation at the Fort Calhoun, Nebraska nuclear power plant is getting of some concern. Missouri River flood waters have penetrated the last ditch water-filled wall, and have surrounded the  containment buildings and other vital areas of a Nebraska nuclear plant.


As Reuters reports:

"The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said the breach in the 2,000-foot (600 meters) inflatable berm around the Fort Calhoun station occurred around 1:25 a.m. local time. More than 2 feet (60 cm) of water rushed in around containment buildings and electrical transformers at the 478-megawatt facility located 20 miles (30 km) north of Omaha."
Naturally, the severity of the situation is being downplayed by the NRC, very much the way Tepco and Japanese authorities pretended the Fukushima situation was under control, until it was uncovered that there had been plant meltdown within hours of the tsunami: "Reactor shutdown cooling and spent-fuel pool cooling were unaffected, the NRC said. The plant, operated by the Omaha Public Power District, has been off line since April for refueling."





More from Reuters:

Crews activated emergency diesel generators after the breach, but restored normal electrical power by Sunday afternoon, the NRC said.

Buildings at the Fort Calhoun plant are watertight, the agency said. It noted that the cause of the berm breach is under investigation.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko and other officials planned to visit the site on Monday.

Jaczko will also visit the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Nebraska, another facility that has been watched closely with Missouri River waters rising from heavy rains and snow melt.