NY Times in Fukushima: “It’s all lies” from gov’t about radiation — They are forcing us to come back and live 10 miles from leaking nuclear plant — “This is inhumane” — “I want to run away, but… we have no more money” — Radiation still 300% previous levels
Published: April 28th, 2014 at 10:08 am ET
|
New York Times, Apr. 27, 2014: Ever since they were forced to evacuate during […] Kim Eunja and her husband have refused to return […] for fear of radiation. But now they say they may have no choice. […] government and national news media have trumpeted the reopening of Miyakoji as a happy milestone […] many residents tell a darker story. […] [Fukushima Daiichi] is still leaking radiation […] The government has declared that the stipends […] will end next March, when temporary housing will also begin to be closed. Villagers who move back before then will receive a $9,000 bonus from Tepco […] Experts […] say the evacuees will feel increasing pressure to go back from a government that wants […] to limit criticism of the powerful nuclear industry. […] Tepco refused to comment, beyond saying that it had so far paid out $36 billion […] the government says that Miyakoji is safe. […] On a recent trip here, radiation measured up to 0.23 microsieverts per hour, about three times preaccident levels […] Experts admit that they know little about the health effects of long-term exposure to low-dose radiation.***
Yukei Tomitsuka, mayor of Tamura (administers Miyakoji): “Tepco is being so stupidly unfair […] We are the victims. Should we have to go hat in hand to Tepco to ask for more money?”
Teruhisa Maruyama, lawyer, Support Group for Victims of the Nuclear Accident: “This’s inhumane and irresponsible […] The national government knows that full compensation could add up to big money, enough to raise public doubts about the wisdom of using nuclear power in Japan.”
Kim Eunja, operator of area restaurant: “The government and the media say the radiation has been cleaned up, but it’s all lies […] I want to run away, but I cannot. We have no more money.”
Satoshi Mizuochi, who helps his wife Kim at restaurant: “They want to say that everything is back to normal so they can keep their nuclear plants […] Failing to compensate us for our losses is a way of pressuring us to go back.”
Yoshikuni Munakata, retired Daiichi worker: “Compensation payments force us to come back.”
***The Times repeats the often heard statement that experts “know little about the health effects of long-term exposure to low-dose radiation”. Yet, independent experts say otherwise:
- Gundersen: “Assumption… this radiation is really so hard to measure that it does not count anymore… the data indicates that just the opposite is happening”
- Senior Scientist: “The connection between ionizing radiation exposure and increased cancer risk is very well established… there’s radiation in the environment that wasn’t there before, people are exposed, that will cause additional disease”
Published: April 28th, 2014 at 10:08 am ET
|
eals with burning lungs and non-stop
time the Japanese government and the rest of world deserve an honest assessment of the disaster.
northern coast, the Meteorological Agency said. If necessary, the agency will issue a tsunami advisory at around 3 a.m. Thursday, or a tsunami warning much earlier. Tsunami are forecast to reach the Pacific coast of Hokkaido around 5 a.m., coastal areas of the Kanto eastern region around 6 a.m. […]
An Oklahoma family is devastated after a police officer shot their family pet for simply jumping the fence and getting loose.
Cali, a 2-year-old pit bull had escaped from the yard and had been reported by neighbors to be running loose in the neighborhood. When police and animal officers arrived, Cali evaded the officers, who then decided that the only way to handle the situation was the kill the dog.
Officer Brice Woolly shot one round into the neck of Cali, who was still breathing after the first shot. The police officer then instructed the animal control officer to finish the job.
A neighbor present when the shooting occurred claims Woolly seemed to take delight in downing the dog and overheard him saying to the animal control officer, ”Did you see the way its collar flew up into the air when I blew it’s head off? It was awesome!”
The neighbor also heard Woolly coach the animal control officer on how to fill out the report to avoid trouble. ”We are just going to write this up in the report as the dog tried to attack me and you and others in the neighborhood,” Woolly told the other shooter, according to the neighbor’s account.
Cali’s death is also not the first time, or even the first time this month, that Officer Woolly used deadly force on an animal because it was ‘aggressive’ and the owner could not be located. On March 14, Woolly shot a dog twice. The owner of that dog was never found.
Despite the questions in the case, the Ardmore Police Department claims the matter has been closed and that Officer Woolly acted within the line of duty in shooting the dog.
Local residents and animal lovers, however, disagree. A petition that has already garnered over 17,000 signatures on Change.org is calling for Woolly’s firing for his cruel action. A peaceful rally is also planned for March 29 to protest Cali’s killing by Officer Woolly.
Photo Credit: Facebook/Justice for Cali