Radiation levels remain high near nuclear meltdown site | HealthyCal. By Chris Richard, California Health Report An aerial shot of the Santa Susana Field Lab. Source: U.S. Department of Energy More than half a century after a partial nuclear meltdown near Los Angeles, a federal study has found ground radiation levels nearly 1,000 times higher than agreed-upon standards for mandatory cleanup. The 1959 partial nuclear meltdown at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory ranks as the third worst nuclear accident ever, releasing up to 100 times more radioactive iodine into the atmosphere than at Three Mile Island. In 2010, the U.S. Of these, the EPA reported that 75 exceeded “radiation trigger levels,” the point at which the state and federal agencies had agreed remediation for contamination by radioactive cesium, strontium and other materials would be necessary. In a survey of land around the former reactor site, the U.S. The EPA goal for remediation at that land use was either .06 picocuries or a reduction to “background” – naturally occurring – levels.
Related posts: New form of DNA discovered in humans. A new type of DNA has been discovered in human brain cells. The DNA, called 'microDNA', has implications of the scope of the human genome project and may offer new clues for research into genetic diseases. Recent scientific research, reported in the journal Science, indicates that the human body cells contain a hitherto unidentified type of DNA. These have been described as "microDNA" and the paper suggests that they could be missing pieces of DNA from chromosomes. The research group were from the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina. The research team discovered a small circular DNA molecule occurring outside the chromosomes in mouse and human cells.
Read more... The implication of the finding is that the research project to map the human genome may, in fact, not be giving the complete picture of the genetic code of humans. World’s largest “plastic” particle detector takes shape. DHS-Funded Taser Drone Launched in Texas. UAV used against insurgents in Afghanistan can incapacitate suspects from abovePaul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Monday, October 31, 2011 -- A Department of Homeland Security-funded surveillance drone deployed against insurgents in Afghanistan that can also be used to tase suspects from above has been unveiled by the Montgomery County Sheriff's office and will be operational within a month.
"At $500,000 a pop, Montgomery county spent $250,000 to get the UAV. The rest was covered by a Department of Homeland Security grant," reports KBTX.com. Although its initial role will be limited to surveillance, the ShadowHawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, previously used against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and East Africa, has the ability to tase suspects from above as well as carrying 12-gauge shotguns and grenade launchers.
A video clip of the drone shows off its impressive maneuverability as it tails a suspect attempting to evade capture with sophisticated object tracking technology. The firehose Daily. With This Stealth Jet, Russia Hopes To Be A Superpower Again. Please support our site by enabling javascript to view ads. MOSCOW – Russia is desperate for the world to think of it as a superpower again. Last week, Vladimir Putin — the country’s once and presumed future president — proposed the formation of a “Eurasian Union” among former Soviet states. The move was widely seen as a challenge to the West, and a push to reestablish Moscow’s former empire. Putin floated his idea in the context of an unprecedented Russian military renaissance.
That all might sound formidable. From Russia: Another billionaire stands up to the Kremlin With its sharply swept-back wings and dart-like profile, the T-50 is the first significant Russian aviation design not derived from the former Soviet Union's amply-stocked military cupboard. But the big question is, does Russia have the manufacturing wherewithal to make it happen? Moscow doesn't lack determination. Russian defense spending has increased tenfold since Putin came to power in 2000. So far, the T-50 has struggled. Ex-warlord emerges as kingmaker after Liberian vote. By Agence France-PresseFriday, October 14, 2011 23:30 EDT Notorious ex-warlord Prince Johnson, who was filmed ordering his men to cut off the ears of dictator Samuel Doe two decades ago, has emerged as a surprising kingmaker in Liberia’s presidential election. Placing a strong third with half the polling stations tallied, the 59-year old former rebel leader looks like the man to court in a run-off election, which could prove sticky for new Nobel Peace Prize winner and incumbent president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
At his home in Monrovia, a large compound ringed by tall ochre walls topped with barbed wire, Johnson cuts a grandfatherly figure – far from the young general in army fatigues who took a bite out of Doe’s ear before tossing it over his shoulder. Goats and chickens roam the yard, and stone lions guard his house and a large palava hut, their teeth bared.
“No, I don’t want to jump the gun, no, that’s my trump card, I hold my trump card,” he tells AFP, laughing. “What video?” Scientists discover new form of superhard carbon. A new form of superhard carbon discovered by scientists could have advantages over diamonds (Image: Swamibu via Flickr) Carbon is the fourth-most-abundant element in the universe and comes in a wide variety of forms, called allotropes, including graphite, graphene, and the hardest natural material known to man, diamonds. Now scientists have discovered a new form of carbon that is capable of withstanding extreme pressure stresses previously only observed in diamond. Unlike crystalline forms of carbon such as diamonds, whose hardness is highly dependent upon the direction in which the crystal is formed, the new form of carbon is amorphous meaning it could be equally strong in all directions.
A team including scientists from Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science started with a form of carbon called glassy carbon. Because, unlike diamonds, the structure of the new allotrope is not organized in repeating atomic units, it may hold potential advantages over diamonds. Italy's latest downgrade sharpens its debt crisis | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 06.10.2011. As if Italy didn't have enough problems with its high unemployment, mountain of debt, stalled economy and a leader more focused on his legal troubles than on guiding the country. Now the credit rating agency Moody's has downgraded the country from Aa2 to A2 and is forecasting a negative outlook.
As a result, Italy's already dangerously high borrowing costs to help pay off its debt will likely rise. And that may put the finances of Italy and Europe in further jeopardy. Moody's evaluation of Italy was not optimistic It's the second downgrade for Italy in less than a month. "The Italian government is working with its utmost effort to achieve its objectives on the state budget. Last month, Italy's government put in motion an austerity plan worth 54 billion euros ($72 billion). Banks to face difficulties Moody's cited a lack of confidence among investors in the country as a reason for the downgrade. Italy's banks may face new difficulties, with higher borrowing costs.
Elections in Poland focus as much on religion as economy | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 06.10.2011. Polish voters are set to elect a new parliament on Sunday, with the role of the Catholic Church in politics expected to take center stage alongside the country's economic future. An opinion poll released on Thursday by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily showed Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centrist, pro-market Civic Platform party ahead with 31 percent, a comfortable lead over the main opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice, which 18 percent support. But the biggest unanswered question is how the smaller parties will fare, and with which one Civic Platform may be able form a coalition government. The growing anticlerical Palikot's Movement, formed recently by controversial business tycoon Janusz Palikot, won 10 percent of voter support in the poll.
Palikot's party is running on a controversial platform of social and economic liberalism Palikot became notorious in Poland's conservative circles because of his outspoken attacks on the church. The anti-Catholic party The pro-Catholic party. Strong solar storm reaching Earth. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center -- the nation's official source of warnings and alerts about space weather and its impacts on Earth -- issued a warning for a strong, G3 geomagnetic storm on Earth resulting from a significant explosion from the sun's corona Saturday morning (Sept. 24, 2011). G-scale solar storms range from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). Impacts have arrived on Earth, jolting the planet's magnetic field and triggering strong "geomagnetic storming" in some regions.
Saturday's coronal mass ejection -- a burst of charged particles and magnetic field that streamed out from the sun at about five million miles an hour -- delivered a glancing blow to the planet. If it had been directed straight at Earth, the geomagnetic storming could have reached "severe" to "extreme" levels. Geomagnetic storms on Earth can impede the operation of electrical grids and temporarily damage radio and satellite telecommunications. Once Again, The eXiled Exposes Koch Hypocrisy - FishbowlLA. US has wasted $30bn on Iraq and Afghanistan contracts, report finds | World news. An Iraqi worker cleans raw sewage at Rustumiya ruined sewage plant. Photograph: Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images The US government has wasted more than $30bn (£18.3bn) on private contractors and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade – more than 15% of the total spend – according to a bipartisan group charged with examining the issue.
The figure, described as "sobering but conservative", illustrated the need for significant law and policy changes to avoid such waste in the future, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan said. The body, set up by a Senate vote in 2007 to mimic the work of a post-second world war commission that investigated waste, will submit its report to Congress on Wednesday. However, some details of its findings were revealed by the co-chairs of the eight-member commission, writing in the Washington Post. A Pentagon spokesman said the department was "well aware of some of the deficiencies over the years in how we have worked contracts".
Serbian military call-up notices spark fear and anger. Fear and anger is spreading among young Serbian men as the Defence Ministry in Belgrade has begun issuing call-up papers telling people to join the military reserves and report for basic training. It is not clear how many have so far been served papers but the Belgrade Helsinki Committee for Human Rights said an "undetermined number of men" had been given notice to report for basic military training.
Tensions in neighbouring Kosovo have been heating up recently although it's unclear at this stage if the tensions and the military call-ups are linked. There have been several violent disputes over border crossings recently between Kosovo and Serbia and tensions have been running high, reports Radio Free Europe. The Committee has already pleaded for Serbia and Kosovo to put aside its differences and aim toward the primary goal of joining the EU. Read more... Forces within molecules can strengthen extra-long carbon-carbon bonds. @shankargallery.
JON STEWART: Larry Summers, By Unanimous Consent, Is An A**hole. Japan trade minister quits over nuclear remarks. By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Japan’s trade minister resigned on Saturday after remarks he made regarding nuclear radiation in the country prompted public outrage, weekend reports say. Fears of radiation in Date, Japan Officials in Tomoko Akiha's hometown of Date, Japan, say radiation levels in her neighborhood are higher than normal but not hazardous unless they stay that high for many years. Ms. Akiha, a mother of two, isn't convinced. Yoshio Hachiro stepped down from the country’s eight-day-old government, led by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Hachiro had participated in a Thursday visit to the region around the site of the country’s March nuclear disaster, from which tens of thousands of people had been evacuated.
He also described the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility as an area of death, which many people regarded as insensitive to the evacuees, reports say. Reuters/Kyodo /quotes/zigman/198664/delayed/quotes/nls/tkecf Volume: 7,918. India to topple Japan as world's 3rd-largest economy. Rishi Shah, ET Bureau Sep 20, 2011, 07.00am IST NEW DELHI: India might become the world's third largest economy in 2011 by overtaking Japan in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) measured according to the domestic purchasing power of the rupee, otherwise called purchasing power parity. India is now the fourth-largest economy behind the US, China and Japan. Numbers from 2010 show that the Japanese economy was worth $4.31 trillion, with India snapping at its heels at $4.06 trillion.
But after March's devastating tsunami and earthquakes, Japan's economy is widely expected to contract while India's economy will grow between 7% and 8% this fiscal. "India should overtake Japan in 2011 to become the third-largest economy in the world at purchasing power parity," said Sunil Sinha, head of research and senior economist at Crisil. IMF forecasts show India and Japan neck-to-neck in 2011, but the disaster in Japan has brought the event forward.
UPDATE 1-Portuguese household deposits hit record despite austerity. OPEC Says Producers Will Cut Back Once Libya Output Recovers.