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Actor Jeffrey Wright on Wednesday appeared to warn that when the political left in America “get the power” back from Republicans, “everybody else” should “fucking duck.”

Jeffrey-Wright1-640x480
(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Actor Jeffrey Wright: When We Get the Power, Everybody Else F**king Duck

Jeffrey-Wright1-640x480

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 19: Jeffrey Wright speaks at the premiere of “Westworld” during the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on April 19, 2018 in New York City.
JEROME HUDSON29 May 201915,717
1:52

Actor Jeffrey Wright on Wednesday appeared to warn that when the political left in America “get the power” back from Republicans, “everybody else” should “fucking duck.”

“Message from the @GOP:” Jeffrey Wright began, “There are no principles — not ethical, moral, legal, constitutional, religious, spiritual — NONE. There’s only power. And when we get the power, everybody else fucking duck.”

“Lesson for everybody else: Get the power,” the Westworld star’s message concluded. It came as former Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered remarks at the Justice Department on Wednesday about the conclusion of his election interference investigation.

“If we had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Robert Mueller said, Wednesday echoing the conclusions made in his 800-plus page report. “Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider. It would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge. So that was Justice Department policy. Those were the principles under which we operated.”

“And from them, we concluded that we would not reach a determination one way or the other about whether the president committed a crime,” Mueller said. “That is the office’s final position and we will not comment on any other conclusions or hypotheticals about the president.”

Indeed, Jeffrey Wright was merely among the many Hollywood celebrities who demanded that Congress began to take steps to impeach President Donald Trump

“Robert Mueller shorter: Impeach. The process was designed for this,” Wright said on Wednesday, joining the chorus of Hollywood figures calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson

EntertainmentPolitics

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Poop Patrol: San Fran deploys squads to clear streets of human feces after residents raise stink


FILE PHOTO © Spencer Platt / AFP

Poop Patrol: San Fran deploys squads to clear streets of human feces after residents raise stink
Published time: 15 Aug, 2018 12:06
Edited time: 16 Aug, 2018 09:33
https://www.rt.com/usa/436012-san-francisco-poop-patrols/
Poop Patrol: San Fran deploys squads to clear streets of human feces after residents raise stink

San Francisco has established ‘Poop Patrols’ to deal with human waste that’s contaminating sidewalks in one of America’s wealthiest cities, sometimes making them almost impassable.


Read more: https://www.rt.com/usa/431838-san-francisco-human-feces/

A homeless person in San Francisco Complaints soar as San Francisco drowns in human waste

The city is about to launch the ‘Poop Patrols’ squad to remove man-made feces from the streets, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The task force, made up of five Public Works staffers, will begin patrolling sidewalks “in about a month.”

‘Poop Patrol’ will begin its unenviable work in the afternoon, by which time piles of feces tend to become visible. The poo crew will travel in a vehicle equipped with a steam cleaner. “We’re trying to be proactive,” explained Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. “We’re actually out there looking for it.”

The Chronicle, however, good-naturedly trolled the city official, saying: “We’re all out there looking for it, our eyes are trained on the sidewalks as we walk so as to avoid that awful squishy feeling.”

It looks like the news is coming at just the right time, as around 65 complaints regarding sidewalk poop are made by San Francisco residents every day. Notably, the city, which is known for its skyrocketing housing prices, has only 22 public toilets.

Being part of a multi-million effort called Pit Stop, the toilets are open only until late afternoon or evening. So, at nighttime, there is only one option for homeless people to relieve themselves when urgently required.

Some of the waste also comes from dogs, as their owners fail to pick up after them.

Doing everything we can to make sure sidewalks are clear for pedestrians. pic.twitter.com/iRH3ZITOWg
— Mohammed Nuru (@MrCleanSF) August 13, 2018

Don’t understand why people trash our beautiful city. Please call 911 if you see people dumping. Whomever did this should do some time in jail. pic.twitter.com/aqMUMpPZWN
— Mohammed Nuru (@MrCleanSF) August 13, 2018

Mayor London Breed had been taking unannounced tours to check out the city’s streets before she teamed up with Public Works to establish ‘Poop Patrols.’ Breed said she had “to deal it with myself in front of my home,” which was “not a pleasant feeling.”

Earlier this year, residents pounded city authorities with demands to remove “sh*t, poop and excrement” from public areas. “[A] homeless encampment is blocking [the] sidewalk and creates a health hazard [with] trash and feces. Please move them, and send a cleaning crew. Sidewalk is impassable, forcing pedestrians into the street,” read one municipal complaint.

Photo shows ’20 pounds of feces’ dropped on #SanFrancisco sidewalk 😮💩 https://t.co/vMmr75CFumpic.twitter.com/06RNHQaN8h
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) July 2, 2018

The scale of San Francisco’s human-waste problem was graphically illustrated back in July, when photos of a sizeable plastic bag of excrement that was abandoned on a street corner were circulated on social media.

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A homeless person in San Francisco / Getty Images
https://www.rt.com/usa/431838-san-francisco-human-feces/

Tech hub San Francisco, California is the second-most expensive US city to live in. It’s also awash with human waste. This year, over 16,000 feces-related complaints have been lodged with city authorities.

As of Thursday, there have been 16,022 complaints made about ‘feces,’ and thousands of others made using words like ‘sh*t’, ‘poop’ and ‘excrement’, to San Francisco’s municipal authorities.

“Human feces still not cleaned up despite multiple complaints. How many weeks will pass?” reads one complaint lodged Wednesday.

“Bodily fluids and feces down the whole street, garbage, cloths, food thrown all over sidewalk,” reads another.

“Homeless encampment is blocking sidewalk and creates a health hazard w trash and feces. Please move them, and send a cleaning crew. Sidewalk is impassable, forcing pedestrians into the street,” reported one user, his complaint accompanied with a photo of a tent pitched under a tree in the city’s central Mission district.

San Francisco residents can make non-emergency ‘311’ municipal complaints with the touch of a button, thanks to a website and a mobile app. Complainants can attach photos as proof, and the authorities send a notification when the problem is resolved.

Many of the complaints are connected to the city’s homeless problem. Rent in the city averages over $3,500 per month, pricing out all but the highest earners and creating a city of wealthy tech employees on one side, and a teeming homeless underclass on the other.

San Francisco is beautiful, just don’t mind the giant bags of feces and step over the used hypodermic needles!
— E.Stanley Thurston (@mrgoody_2_shoes) July 4, 2018

There are an estimated 7,500 homeless people in San Francisco at any given time, almost one percent of the city’s 871,000 population. Elsewhere in California, the problem is almost as grave, with more than one quarter of the US homeless population living in the state.

The city’s seedy underbelly leaves behind other forms of hazardous waste too. A February NBC report revealed that in addition to feces, downtown San Francisco is polluted with more garbage and used syringes than some of the world’s poorest slums.

Dr Lee Riley, an infectious diseases expert at the University of California in Berkeley, told NBC reporters that in some parts of the city, the contamination is “much greater than communities in Brazil or Kenya or Italy.”

Getting stuck by a used needle can pass on diseases like HIV and Hepatitis B and C. San Francisco has one of the largest HIV-positive populations in the US, with an estimated 16,010 people living with the disease.

Disturbing survey finds trash, needles, feces littering streets of Nancy Pelosi’s home town. San Francisco has streets covered with garbage, human excrement and hypodermic needles across the liberal city. Discarded needles could cause HIV and Hepatitis B and C, Paradise lost. pic.twitter.com/UVcYL90ZdQ
— Captain Ron (@papaneeed1) June 16, 2018

The extent of San Francisco’s human waste problem was graphically illustrated last week, with photos of a 20-pound bag of excrement abandoned on a street corner going viral. The city received several 311 complaints about the bag, as citizens reported a “strong smell of feces” in the area. One reddit user described the bag as “the most atrocious smell I’ve ever smelled in San Francisco.”

Photo shows ’20 pounds of feces’ dropped on #SanFrancisco sidewalk 😮💩 https://t.co/vMmr75CFumpic.twitter.com/06RNHQaN8h
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) July 2, 2018

Complaints about human waste in San Francisco have skyrocketed, increasing by 400 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to the City. The 311 site and app received over 21,000 reports last year. At the current rate, that figure will be more than doubled by the end of 2018.

The problem is starting to hit the Golden Gate City where it hurts too. This week, a major medical association decided to pull its annual convention out of the city, citing safety concerns.

The convention was expected to draw 15,000 attendees and bring $40 million into the city’s economy, but organizers told the San Francisco Chronicle that members were afraid to walk the streets and felt threatened by open drug use, unchecked mental illness, and threatening behaviour from the city’s vagrant population.

Twitter users have not been shy about their disgust with the city’s problems, with many blaming years of Democrat leadership for allowing the problem to fester.

San Francisco has reached critical mass in the drug, homeless, crime problem. Now major conventions are cancellingc. Participants too afraid to walk alone in the City by the Bay. So sad. Such a beautiful city being run into the ground.https://t.co/GGtecdpY6f
— Kari Lake Fox 10 (@KariLakeFox10) July 4, 2018

How’s that liberal paradise California @TankTopArms? Anyone ready to #WalkAway? Or do they love being taxed to death and the smell of feces? Is the plan still to secede? #CalExithttps://t.co/egB13LzESZ
— DQ 🇺🇸 (@DQuesada) July 4, 2018

San Francisco is actually a pretty nice city…

You know when you remove the large number of homeless camps, drug addiction, poop maps, and trash lying everywhere. pic.twitter.com/bMr0m2Nk4P
— Ashton Whitty✨ (@ashtonbirdie) July 4, 2018

I’m sitting by the dock of the bay, watching the poo roll away | https://t.co/u7aTOMTjnl
— Mike (@Doranimated) July 5, 2018

San Francisco has grappled with homelessness since the 1970s, with the shortage of housing, deindustrialization, welfare cuts, and the gutting of the city’s middle class through high taxes and gentrification all getting blamed for the problem. Attempts to fix the situation have thus far proven unsuccessful. The temporary shelters opened by Dianne Feinstein in the late 1970s were underfunded and buckled under demand, while the aggressive crackdowns of Frank Jordan and Willie Brown in the 1990s and 2000s drew public backlash and alienated the city’s liberal voters. The city has not had a Republican mayor since 1964.

Recently elected Mayor London Breed has faced even more urgent calls to address the issue before business and tourism are scared away for good. Industry leaders have encouraged the mayor-elect to increase police patrols, enforce panhandling laws, and fund mental health services. With tourism bringing in some $9 billion dollars per year, failing to clean up the streets could bankrupt the city by the bay.

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ENENews: “More infant deaths near Hanford: Cemetery blocks filled w/ babies downwind of US nuclear site — Mother: My newborns died in hours… tumors all over, brain disintegrated after massive stroke — ‘Body parts, cadavers, fetuses… nuke industry took in the dead of night'”

Cemetery full of dead babies missing brains next to US nuclear site — Funeral Director: Almost all infants we have died the same way… “that’s pretty much all I see on death certificates” — Few miles from “most contaminated place in hemisphere” — “One of largest documented anencephaly clusters in US history” (VIDEO)

 http://enenews.com/one-largest-documented-clusters-history-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29
Published: March 23rd, 2016 at 10:04 am ET
By

Seattle Times, updated Jan 28, 2016 (emphasis added): How the state is missing chances to find deadly birth defect’s cause… at least 40 other mothers have lost babies to [anencephaly, which result in missing large parts of the brain] in Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties since 2010… one of the largest documented clusters of anencephaly in U.S. history… “Something’s going on and someone needs to tell us,” said [mother Sally] Garcia… Dr. Lisa Galbraith was one of the doctors… In Prosser, the obstetrician oversaw care of Garcia’s pregnancy and others affected by the disorder… “I had a total of four or five babies with anencephaly over the course of two years,” recalled Galbraith… the rate of anencephaly was much higher [than US averages]… Washington health officials… have collected no blood samples, performed no genetic tests and conducted no examination of water, soil… and have no plans to do so… In Texas, just three babies with anencephaly sparked enough outrage to overhaul the state’s birth-defects reporting system.

Seattle Times video transcript – Carlen Majnarich, funeral director: “It’s tragic… It just seems like that’s pretty much all I see on the death certificate is the same diagnosis. And nobody seems to know why. We average close to 100 families a year here in Prosser [a few miles from Hanford]. Almost all the infants that we have have died of anencephaly. It’s just what do you say?”… Sally Garcia (mother who lost her baby to anencephaly): “All these on this side [of the cemetery] are all babies… all babies, starting from right there.”

The Legal Examiner, Dec 31, 2015: [T]he strange eruption of anencephaly cases, which occurs in Washington at a rate almost 5 times as high as the national average, has highlighted a number of government policies that may actually conceal these sort of birth defect “clusters,” rather than help investigate them.

KVEW-TV, Mar 4, 2016: As of November 2015 cases of anencephaly have continued to increase with the current rate at 9.5 per 10,000 live births.

Sara Barron, MS, BSN – American Journal of Nursing, Mar 2016: In the spring of 2012 two babies without brains were born within weeks of each other at the rural hospital in Washington State where I was working… I was stunned when the delivering physician said another patient was expecting the same outcome. After speaking with colleagues at neighboring hospitals, I learned that two other babies with anencephaly had recently been born in the area. In over 30 years of nursing, I had seen only two cases of anencephaly prior to these. I called the Washington State Department of Health and reported a birth defect cluster… RISK FACTORS… Radiation exposure. Popular media and blogs have often linked the Washington State NTD cluster to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Benton County, Washington. Although leaks from nuclear power plants have been associated with a higher rate of anencephaly and other NTDs, Washington State Department of Health investigators point out that the three counties with the highest prevalence of NTDs were both upwind and upriver of the Hanford site, making the nuclear plant an unlikely cause of the 2012 cluster.

  • Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “The Hanford Site… is widely considered to be the most contaminated place in the Western Hemisphere”
  • KOIN: “The biggest, most toxic nuclear waste site in the Western hemisphere”
  • Time: “The largest nuclear clean-up site in the western hemisphere”
  • AFP: “The Western hemisphere’s most contaminated nuclear site“”

More infant deaths near Hanford: Cemetery blocks filled w/ babies downwind of US nuclear site — Mother: My newborns died in hours… tumors all over, brain disintegrated after massive stroke — “Body parts, cadavers, fetuses… nuke industry took in the dead of night”

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ENENews: Scientific American: Plant is in “crisis mode”… fuel has melted through containers — Official: Corium may never be extracted — Gov’t suggests dumping it under Pacific Ocean


Washington Post: “No one knows what to do with Fukushima” — Scientific American: Plant is in “crisis mode”… fuel has melted through containers — Official: Corium may never be extracted — Gov’t suggests dumping it under Pacific Ocean
Published: February 22nd, 2016 at 9:28 am ET
By ENENews
http://enenews.com/wash-post-one-fukushima-plant-crisis-mode-official-melted-fuel-never-be-extracted-govt-suggests-dumping-corium-pacific-ocean?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29


Washington Post, Feb 10, 2016 (emphasis added): Five years after nuclear meltdown, no one knows what to do with Fukushima… one huge question remains: What is to be done with all the radioactive material?… Tepco has built a 1,500-yard-long “ice wall” around the four reactor buildings… however, Japan’s nuclear watchdog blocked the plan, saying the risk of leakage was still too high… [M]ost problematically, there’s the nuclear fuel from the plant itself… “The biggest challenge is going to be the removal of the nuclear fuel debris,” [Akira Ono, Tepco’s Fukushima Daiichi superintendent] said. “We don’t even know what state the debris is in at the moment.”… one of the options the government is considering is building a nuclear waste dump under the seabed, about eight miles off the Fukushima coast… Many groups… staunchly oppose the idea of burying the radioactive material at sea in such a seismically active area. “At some point it would leak and affect the environment,” said Hideyuki Ban, co-director of the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center.
http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/five-years-after-nuclear-meltdown-no-one-knows-what-to-do-with-fukushima-1.393368


Japan Times, Feb 20, 2016: NRA commissioner suggests plan to remove all fuel debris at Fukushima plant may not be best option — A Nuclear Regulation Authority commissioner has suggested that removing all fuel debris from reactors at the meltdown-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant may not be the best option. “I wonder if the situation would be desired that work is still underway to extract fuel debris 70 or 80 years after” the nuclear disaster, NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa told reporters Friday. “There are a variety of options, including removing as much fuel debris as possible and solidifying the rest,” he added… Fuketa said that unlike the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, it is “not realistic” to construct concrete buildings to cover reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant because the situation is different. The commissioner also questioned whether construction of an underground ice wall around the reactor buildings to prevent radioactive water buildup will prove effective.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/20/national/nra-commissioner-suggests-plan-remove-fuel-debris-fukushima-plant-may-not-best-option#.VsvFm_ySjaw


(bags of radioactive waste)
Scientific American, March 2016 issue: Five years ago this month… half of the facility’s uranium cores to overheat and melt through their steel containers… Today the disaster site remains in crisis mode…
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/5-years-later-the-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-site-continues-to-spill-waste/

See also: Nuclear Expert: Simply impossible to remove melted fuel from Fukushima — Corium “has spread all over… could actually have gone through floor of containment vessel” — Only way to deal with these reactors releasing dangerous radiation is to cover in concrete — Will take centuries of work (VIDEO):
http://enenews.com/japan-nuclear-expert-simply-impossible-remove-melted-fuel-fukushima-corium-spread-all-place-could-actually-gone-floor-containment-vessel-only-possible-outcome-cover-reactors-concrete-will-cen

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We’re Toast, Without the Jam!

ENENews:
http://enenews.com/official-report-west-coast-hit-220000000-atoms-liter-iodine-129-rain-after-fukushima-15-million-year-half-life-detected-groundwater-transported-rapidly-japan-west-coast-canada-elevated-lev

Official Report: West Coast hit with 220,000,000 atoms per liter of Iodine-129 in rain after Fukushima — 15 Million year half-life — Detected in aquifer that supplies drinking water to large number of people — “Transported rapidly” to Canada and US — Elevated levels continued for many months
Published: February 17th, 2016 at 8:58 am ET
By ENENews

Tracking the Fallout and Fate of Fukushima Iodine-129 in Rain and Groundwater


Matt Herod, Univ, of Ottawa Ph.D Candidate, Dec 21, 2015 (emphasis added): A recently published paper (by myself and colleagues from uOttawa and Environment Canada) investigates… [Iodine-129] which was released by the Fukushima-Daichii [sic] Nuclear Accident… Within 6 days of the FDNA 129I concentrations in Vancouver precipitation increased 5-15 times… sampling of groundwater revealed slight increases in 129I… The results in rain show an increase in 129I concentrations of up to 220 million atoms/L… 129I anomalies [in groundwater wells], which occurred exactly when the recharge age predicted they would, suggests that some of the 129I deposited by Fukushima was reaching the wells… [P]ulses of elevated 129I occurred for another several months. Elevated 129I concentrations were measured in two wells… indicating that 129I from Fukushima can be traced into groundwater… [M]odeling has shown that 129I can be rapidly transported to the water table…

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015WR017325/full
Scientists from Univ. of Ottawa’s Dept. of Earth Science and Environment Canada (Government of Canada), Dec 2015: The atmospheric transport of iodine-129 from Fukushima to British Columbia, Canada and its deposition and transport into groundwater

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident (FDNA) released iodine-129 (15.7 million year half-life)… The mean pre-accident 129I concentration in rain was [31,000,000 atoms/L]… following the FDNA, 129I values increased to [211,000,000 atoms/L]… [P]ulses of elevated 129I continued for several months…
The 129I in shallow… groundwater showed measurable variability through March 2013 with an average of [3,200,000 atoms/L]… coincident with modeled travel times…
Radionuclides released from the FDNA have been detected across the globe… [R]eleases of 129I and 131I… travel great distances…
The Abbotsford-Sumas Aquifer… spans the Canada–U.S. border between [B.C., Canada and Washington, US] and supplies ∼120,000 people with drinking water…
A pulse of 129I in precipitation with maximum concentrations of [211,000,000 atoms/L] in Vancouver and [221,000,000 atoms/L] at Saturna Island was observed 6 days following the FDNA. A value of [311,000,000 atoms/L] was also measured during the first week of July…
The high 129I concentrations while the FDNA was ongoing are attributed to the rapid trans-Pacific transport of 129I from Fukushima… This response in 129I concentrations shows that radionuclides from Fukushima were transported rapidly from Japan to the west coast of Canada and the US… [Sampling from Washington State], which is a composite of rainfall events spanning 15 March 2011 to 16 April 2011 shows a significantly elevated 129I concentration of [95,000,000 atoms/L]…
There was a spike in 129I concentration observed in the precipitation sample from the period of 1 July 2011 to 8 July 2011 [which] rose to [311,000,000 atoms/L]… a substantially higher concentration than any other sample… As monitoring at Fukushima detected no pulse of 129I in precipitation in July… this spike is likely due to a… nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Modeling of the air parcel back trajectories… for the sampling period shows air mass trajectories from Hawaii, north Japan, and Russia…
The initial increase in 129I concentration at the water table appeared within ∼95 days, with a maximum concentration of [10,500,000 atoms/L]…
In the model cases, 129I reached the water table very rapidly…
Groundwater 129I concentrations in two nearby wells showed minor anomalies over the sampling period which could be due to rapid infiltration of the FDNA atmospheric 129I signal… [M]odeling shows that it was possible for a component of the 129I deposited by the FDNA to be conducted rapidly from the ground surface to the water table… We conclude that it is possible that a fraction of 129I from the FDNA is transported conservatively in this aquifer via preferential flow paths to the water table…

See also: Official in Canada advises public not to drink rainwater coming from Fukushima

http://enenews.com/canada-local-official-advising-residents-not-to-drink-rainwater-after-tests-find-increasing-radioactivity-govt-pressuring-him-to-stop-testing

And: Rain with 20,000,000 particles of Iodine-131 per liter fell on US (VIDEO)

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Report: Wildlife “disappearing” around massive LA gas disaster — Residents: “It’s completely quiet”… birds, butterflies, rabbits, coyotes are missing… all fish in pond found dead — “All of this is gone… Makes me wonder how bad it really is” — Animal with “worst blood” ever seen by doctor (VIDEO)

Published: January 29th, 2016 at 5:38 am ET
By ENENews
http://enenews.com/wildlife-disappearing-around-massive-la-gas-disaster-residents-completely-quiet-birds-rabbits-coyotes-butterflies-missing-all-fish-pond-dead-all-gone-quiet-makes-bad-really-animals-worst-b

Porter Ranch residents report unexplained ailments, behaviors in pets


City News Service, Jan 18, 2016 (emphasis added): Porter Ranch residents report unexplained ailments, behaviors in pets… [A family] lost all 20 of their brightly colored Koi fish after they started dying… [Others] have noticed fewer bird and wildlife sightings.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/22/how-the-porter-ranch-gas-leak-has-upturned-one-familys-life.html
Al Jazeera, Jan 22, 2016: [The Katz’s], parents of five… are living a nightmare… Her pride and joy was her garden and a koi pond. She cries when she recounts how all 20 fish died…“The birds, the butterflies, all of this is gone. It’s quiet now.”
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2015/12/porter-ranch-california–faces-environmental-disaster.html

http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20160123/porter-ranch-gas-leak-leaves-community-struggling-for-solutions
L.A. Daily News, Jan 22, 2016: “We used to see coyotes and animals” [Jennifer Marotta] said. “It makes me wonder how bad it really is.”

http://www.dailynews.com/social-affairs/20160116/pet-deaths-illnesses-evoke-concern-amid-porter-ranch-gas-leak
L.A. Daily News, Jan 16, 2016: [Residents] have noticed fewer bird and wildlife sightings… [Attorney Rex Parris wrote to officials] that pets are ill or disappearing and wildlife, such as birds and rabbits, seem to be disappearing as well from the community… [Sally Taylor’s dog] quickly became lethargic and threw up some 20 times within an hour… “[The vet hospital] said it was the worst blood work the vet has ever seen”… For the Balen family, it’s the sound of birds they’ve missed the most. In late December, they said the absence made their home… “completely quiet… for 10 years… every morning, we wake up to the birds chirping. Not anymore.”

http://abc7.com/news/pets-suffering-from-ailments-amid-porter-ranch-gas-leak/1165623/
KABC, Jan 19, 2016: [The gas leak is] affecting many pets… “We’re seeing probably several hundred total and it’s been going on for around three months now,” [Dr. David Smith at Northridge Animal Hospital] said. Smith said it started shortly after [they] first reported the leak… Smith said he has serious concerns about the health risks for the animals.

Government officials have come up with their own interesting explanations for the disappearance of wildlife:

L.A. Times, Jan 18, 2016: Wild animals may have left the area because of the noise coming from crews attempting to fix the well, [Department of Fish and Wildlife] spokeswoman Mary Fricke said.

Steve Gonzalez, public information officer for the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, Jan 16, 2016: “There is a lot of noise and construction… Typically, animals like coyotes and bears will stay away from loud noises.”

Watch KABC’s broadcast here

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ENENews: From Cynthia McKinney, Former Member of Congress: “The elephant in the room is Fukushima radiation”


Former US Gov’t Official: “The elephant in the room is Fukushima radiation” when it comes to Pacific Ocean animal die-offs… Gov’t has totally failed to inform public about full extent of fallout… Media’s silence is deafening — Mentions coverage by ENENews

Published: October 20th, 2015 at 6:40 am ET
By ENENews
http://enenews.com/former-govt-official-elephant-room-fukushima-radiation-when-comes-pacific-ocean-die-offs-govt-totally-failed-inform-public-about-full-extent-fallout-mentions-coverage-enenews?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29

Cynthia McKinney
After serving in the Georgia Legislature, in 1992, Cynthia McKinney won a seat in the US House of Representatives. She was the first African-American woman from Georgia in the US Congress. In 2005, McKinney was a vocal critic of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina and was the first member of Congress to file articles of impeachment against George W. Bush. In 2008, Cynthia McKinney won the Green Party nomination for the US presidency.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/319053-fukushima-fallout-radioactive-japan/

Excerpts from column by Cynthia McKinney, former member of Congress who served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Oct. 19, 2015:

• In the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power meltdown… the international community has totally failed in keeping the public properly informed and protected from the fallout. Scientists and environmental officials continue to express concern, even now, at the unusual events and wonder about the causes. At the same time, the media present the facts, but fail to make any connection whatsoever to the ongoing state of affairs stemming from the tragic 2011 events at Fukushima. Here are a few recent examples… A September 2015 audio report from Robin Corcoran, biologist from the Kodiak Wildlife National Refuge, confirms local reports that “emaciated” bird carcasses are washing up on Kodiak Island shores… The program concluded by stating that multiple species of birds have declined in number in other Alaska regions… A few days before the Kodiak reports… Josh Saranpaa of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast was quoted as saying, “Every bird we’re seeing is starving to death. It’s pretty bad.” Saranpaa added, “When you see so many starving, something is not quite right out there.”… Julia Reis of the Half Moon Bay Review writes with understatement, “There have been noticeable changes in the Pacific Ocean that have caused difficulties for marine life of late.” Gerry McChesney of the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge says that the die-off has him all the more “baffled” because of the strip of cold water in his area full of food for these birds. In my mind’s eye, I can see McChesney scratching his head as I read that he considers poisoning, starvation, and El Nino as possible causes for the die-off. The article ends with the following comment by McChesney, “We might have to see some other problem in the ocean before we understand what’s causing the die-off.”

• ENENews.com points to the problem of the massive die-off happening from San Diego to Alaska—all along the West Coast of the U.S. It highlights in various reports words like “strange,” “unprecedented,” “crazy,” “worst,” with this iconic quote from The Sacramento Bee: “Our gut tells us there is something going on in the marine environment.”

• [T]he media provide coverage of marine anomalies mentioning global warming, even El Nino and toxic algae, while the elephant in the room is Fukushima radiation. It is this silence that is deafening!… I do want to know why in the face of what appear to be Pacific Ocean die-offs, El Nino is mentioned and not the Fukushima-related elevated levels of radiation. As long as there is a palpable lack of transparency in the mainstream media’s ordinary coverage of extraordinary environmental events, that includes what one senses as a reticence to discuss the obvious, I predict that there will be a proliferation of citizen journalists and citizen scientists seizing upon each piece of new data trying to make sense out of a government-approved narrative that just doesn’t make sense… We should not rely on government officials to tell us the truth about the full extent of Fukushima’s fallout.

See the ENENews report mentioned by McKinney here:
http://enenews.com/mind-blowing-die-seabirds-underway-california-alaska-experts-unprecedented-theyre-dying-im-baffled-every-bird-starving-death-basically-withering-away-catastrophic-molting-observed-due-unknown

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ENENews: Officials now say Fukushima reactor with MOX fuel “leaked directly from containment”


Officials now say Fukushima reactor with MOX fuel “leaked directly from containment” — TV: Contamination of environment was due to “failure of vessel” — Experts: This has caused additional worries because MOX is more “radioactively aggressive” due to plutonium content (VIDEO)

Published: December 18th, 2015 at 7:03 pm ET
By ENENews
http://enenews.com/officials-fukushima-reactor-mox-fuel-leaked-directly-containment-vessel-tv-radioactive-contamination-environment-caused-failure-vessel-experts-caused-additional-worries-tepco-govt-because-mox-ra

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20151217_27.html
NHK, Dec 17, 2015 (emphasis added): [TEPCO] says radioactive fallout that polluted the environment in mid-March of 2011 was likely caused by a leak directly from a containment vessel of the facility’s No.3 reactor. Officials… on Thursday reported their latest findings on what happened at the plant… They concluded that radioactive contamination of the environment between the night of March 14th and the 16th was likely caused not by the vent operations but failure of the vessel. They said the vessel likely lost airtightness due to heat from nuclear fuel, leading to the direct release of radioactive substances into the environment.

NHK transcript, Dec 17, 2015: [TEPCO] said the substances in one of the reactors probably leaked directly from the containment vessel… They suspect the heat of fuel caused the containment vessel to lose airtightness.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2015/1264512_6844.html
TEPCO, Dec 17, 2015: A significant release of steam from the night of March 14 to March 16, 2011 is believed to have been responsible for contamination to the surrounding environment of Fukushima Daiichi. The investigation reports that the primary containment vessels in Units 2 and 3 did likely lose leakage resistant properties by March 15 and had been in a condition where radioactive materials could leak directly from them. It is therefore presumed the environmental contamination outside Fukushima Daiichi during that period was caused by steam leakage directly from the primary containment vessels and not from the vent.

Click to access 151217e0101.pdf


TEPCO, Dec 17, 2015: Leakage and release of a large amount of steam from the Unit 3 Reactor Building — The PCVs of Units 2 & 3 lost the airtightness in the end, which is confirmed by the fact that steam escaped from the Reactor Buildings. Analysis of the behavior of the pressure in the PCVs and the situation at the time of the accident has revealed that the environmental contamination from the night of March 14 to March 16 occurred by steam leakage together with radioactive materials directly from the PCVs not from the vent.

Click to access 118095_Q%20Series%20-%20Nuclear%20Power.pdf


UBS Investment Research (via WikiLeaks), Apr 2011: Of particular concern was Unit 3, because, since September 2010, the plant had been fueled with mixed oxide, or MOx… Use of MOx heightened fuel risk — Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 was fuelled with mixed oxide (MOx), which is about 93% uranium and 7% plutonium. This has caused additional worries for TEPCO and the government, because MOx is more radioactively aggressive. We think national nuclear safety reviews might consider restrictions on its use.

Watch NHK’s broadcast here

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ENENEWS: “Giant whales found piled up dead on west coast beach”

Giant whales found piled up dead on west coast beach — Second largest animals on planet — Official: “It’s never happened… Extremely unusual… Very rare and odd… We want to know why” — Gov’t scientists testing for Fukushima radiation — Backlog at lab due to so many recent deaths (PHOTOS)

 http://enenews.com/disturbing-giant-whales-found-piled-dead-west-coast-beach-official-never-happened-before-extremely-unusual-very-rare-odd-govt-scientists-testing-fukushima-radiation-photos?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29
Published: November 20th, 2015 at 4:55 am ET
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CKNW News Talk 980, Nov 18, 2015 (emphasis added): The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is looking into the death of three fin whales near Bella Bella on BC’s central coast… Paul Cottrel with the DFO says a multiple death like this is extremely unusual. “We just get one or two a year, and usually never in the same area like this, or on the same beach which iseven more rare. So that’s why it’s definitely a very unique situation.” He says all three whales were juvenile males, two of them likely younger than two-years-old… He says there were no bite marks on the carcasses, or any signs of boat strike either. Cottrel says the DFO conducted a necropsy, but found no obvious cause of death.

Global News, Nov 19, 2015: Questions raised after carcasses of 3 dead fin whales found near Bella Bella… “It is very rare and odd that you get three large whales together in one small area,” says Cottrell. “We want to know why it happened, whether it is a natural event, killer whale predation or something else.” Cottrell says, to his knowledge, it has never happened in B.C. before, which is a source for concern. The fin whales are listed as threatened under the Species At Risk Act… and are the second-largest animal on the planet after blue whales. “Any time you get three animals that wash up and die together and it is a threatened species, we are going to work hard to figure out what happened,” he says… “Given the location and where they ended up, all close together, we are thinking that the animals likely live stranded and died there together”…

Vancouver Sun Nov 19, 2015: The recent deaths of three young fin whales near Bella Bella are causing concern after a summer that saw an unusual spike in large whale deaths… “Fin whales are listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, so every animal is extremely important to the population. Seeing three together, obviously it’s disturbing and we want to find out what happened,” Cottrell said. He added that it’s very unusual for baleen whales like fins to die in groups… Samples have been taken from the whales’ stomachs and colons… The results of lab tests may take a while, though, because of a backlog caused by a pulse of large whale deaths this summer along the West Coast of North America. “We’re really working everybody pretty hard, and these three fin whales doesn’t lessen the load at all,” Cottrell said. Four humpback whales were found dead in a single week in B.C. waters in August, and as of this week, five fin whale carcasses have been discovered. One sperm whale and one grey whale have also died this year. Meanwhile, more than 30 large whales have died off the coast of Alaska. Scientists have yet to determine why so many whales have died… Scientists are also testing for radionucleotides to see if radioactivity was a factor.

Coastal Guardian Watchmen Network, Oct 27, 2015: Heiltsuk Guardian Watchmen found this large plastic tote and a tire… near Bella Bella yesterday. Tsunami debris is still arriving…

From last week: “Unprecedented”: Largest animal on earth found dead on West Coast, “very sick… very emaciated” — TV: Food supply is being “killed off… many sea creatures affected” — Expert: Most whales we’ve been tracking for past two years are not doing well… “I think we’re going to see more of this” (VIDEO)

See also: Giant whales found dead up & down Pacific NW coast, scientists ‘baffled’ over surge — 25+ carcasses reported in past month — Gov’t: “Troubling… Definitely a pulse of deaths” — Experts: “Alarming spike… Exceptionally rare to see a dead humpback” — Concerns about unidentified pathogen (PHOTOS)

Published: November 20th, 2015 at 4:55 am ET
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“Something majorly wrong is happening in our oceans”

“Worst Ever”: Alarm over shocking crash of salmon population in Pacific Northwest — “Very frightening… Pathetic… Grave… Disastrous… Non-existent” — Official calls for immediate government action — “Something majorly wrong is happening in our oceans” (VIDEOS)

 Published: November 18th, 2015 at 6:38 pm ET

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http://enenews.com/worst-alarm-shocking-collapse-salmon-population-pacific-northwest-existent-pathetic-grim-disturbing-grave-danger-official-calls-immediate-government-action-majorly-wrong-happening-oceans-vide?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29

Globe and Mail, Nov 12, 2015 (emphasis added): The collapse of major salmon runs in B.C. this fall… prompted First Nations to request “an urgent meeting” with newly appointed federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo. Chief Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, said the disappearance of millions of pink salmon headed for the Fraser and thecollapse of the Adams River sockeye run underscore the need for immediate government action. “Only about 2,000 fish made it back to the Adams River*. That’s supposed to be one of the biggest, most precious runs of sockeye in the world,” he said Thursday. About 1.2 million sockeye were forecast to return to the Adams… No explanations for the failure of the runs to materialize have been given by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans… Mr. Chamberlin said… “This year’s runs have made it abundantly clear that our salmon stocks are in grave danger“…

Globe and Mail, Nov 4, 2015: British Columbia’s iconic Adams River salmon run…appears to have collapsed… Jim Cooperman, president of the Shuswap Environmental Action Society, said thespawning beds… are empty this fall… “It’spretty grim here at the Adams River … it’s quite depressing here really.”… Because the fish mature at four years of age, the runs are on a cycle, which means each one usually reflects the progenitor run that occurred four years before [i.e. 2011]… it is the worst return ever on that cycle; the next lowest year was 1939, when 16,000 fish came back. Mr. Cooperman said the small return represents “a very frightening crash,” and two successive poor years should set off alarm bells…

Salmon Arm Observer, Oct 27, 2015: Sockeye numbers shockingly low… South Thompson sockeye run has been disastrous… No late-run sockeye were observed in upper Adams…Four years ago, late-run salmon were in the millions, sparking hopes of a large return…

CTV, Nov 6, 2015: Alarm sounded after dismal sockeye salmon return to iconic B.C. river

CTV transcript, Nov 6, 2015: One of B.C.’s most important salmon runs just hasn’t happened… The story it’s telling is ugly. (Jim Cooperman, president of the Shuswap Environmental Action Society:) “This is a collapse. This is a crash. It’s very significant.”…What’s missing is the salmon. Normally by this time of year with the spawning over, you’d be seeing a scattering of sockeye carcasses along the Adams River — but today you’re hard-pressed to find a single one… Government biologists say [it’s been] very disappointing.

Global News, Nov 6, 2015: [T]he number of sockeye returning to the Adams River is down sharply from the number originally expected. Now a local environmental group is raising concerns the return may be a sign of even bigger problems. “It was pathetic,” says Jim Cooperman, president of the Shuswap Environmental Action Society.  “That tells me that there is something majorly wrong happening in our oceans… think [of] salmon as the canary in the coal mine… we have some major concerns and it is not just the salmon.”… “We can say the returns are significantly below what we had preseason forecast,” says Stu Cartwright, Fisheries and Oceans Canada… federal authorities don’t know why fewer sockeye returned this year than originally expected.

Vancouver Sun, Nov 3, 2015: The late South Thompson sockeye run has seen far fewer fishthan expected… “In terms of the sockeye return, it’s much more disappointing than people were hoping to see this year,” said Greg Taylor, senior fisheries adviser for the Watershed Watch Salmon Society… “They arrive in the spawning grounds in October, and the numbers they’re seeing are disturbingly low.”… Taylor noted that this is the second year in a row that both the early summer and late summer components of Shuswap sockeye returned at levelswell below pre-season expectations.

Vancouver Sun, Sep 9, 2015: [A] fish expert says this year’s salmon season seems to be non-existent… “I didn’t smoke or can anything this year,” [Ken Ashley, director of the Rivers Institute at the B.C. Institute of Technology] said…

The Province, Sep 10, 2015: “I think we’re looking at the gradual biological extinction of salmon” [said First Nations fish adviser Ernie Crey]… Crey, 66, has been studying the situation for 35 years, first as a member of Fisheries and Oceans Canada… “This year’s run on the Fraser will be one of the lowest returns we’ve seen,” [fisheries scientist Brian Riddell] said…

Watch broadcasts: Global News | CTV

Published: November 18th, 2015 at 6:38 pm ET
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