Saturday, March 19, 2011

16. Japan Finds Contaminated Food Up to 90 Miles From Nuclear Sites

The government said Saturday that it had found higher than normal levels of radioactive materials in spinach and milk at farms up to 90 miles away from the ravaged nuclear power plants, the first confirmation by officials that the unfolding nuclear crisis has affected the nation’s food supply. While officials played down the immediate risks to consumers, the findings further unsettled a nation worried about the long-term effects of the damaged nuclear power plants.



The Tokyo Electric Power Company, with help from the Japan Self-Defense Force, police officers and firefighters, continued efforts to cool the damaged reactors on Saturday to try to stave off a further fuel meltdown and stem the radiation leak. The latest plan involved running a mile-long electrical transmission line to Reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to try to restore power to its cooling system. About 500 workers from the utility connected the power line on Saturday. They were checking the cooling system, which has been disabled since the earthquake and tsunami hit more than a week ago, and hope to try to restart it on Sunday. If this incident still happened among Japanese, I think there are a lot of Japanese people will be effected in the future. If Japan export these products, it will effect others country as well. In the final, this will be another global problem. 







http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/world/asia/20japan.html?_r=1&hp

Friday, March 18, 2011

15. Dozens of Protesters Are Killed in Yemen



Yemen’s pro-democracy protests exploded into violence on Friday, as government supporters opened fire on demonstrators in this capital, killing at least 45 people and wounding more than 200. The bloodshed failed to disperse the angry throng of tens of thousands of protesters, the largest seen so far in a month of demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mr. Saleh declared a state of emergency shortly after the shootings, denying that security forces had been involved and promising a full investigation. The state news agency said the state of emergency would last 30 days.


Since the protests happened in Egypt, some of Africa country have started to do the same thing as what was just happened in th Egypt in February.  Ten thousands of Yemeni request Mr. Saleh quit office. A lot of protests gathered near the University of Sana's square.  Yemen security forces opened fire on demonstrators, to stop them from marching, causing the square killed at least 41 people. After the incident, yemen's interior minister MaSuLi put the toll at 25, and announced a curfew. This incident just like what PLA did to Chinese university students in June 4th, 1989. Because of the difference from system of countries, that is why demonstration is always happened. The problem is what kind of way should government use for stopping the demonstration. As this case, Yemen forces fired on their own country's people, this is why others country has started opposed Yemen's action. 


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19yemen.html?_r=1&hp

14. Japan’s Meltdown and the Global Economy’s






Japan level 9 earthquake on Richter Scale, the damage continues to grow. Miyagi prefectural police made the judgement that the earthquake and resulting tsunami will certainly lead to thousands of people died on March 13th.  Tokyo stocks market has started to slumped on March 14th. The Japanese central bank currently has injected 7 trillion to stocks market urgently. 


The earthquake disaster in Japan suffered heavy losses to the Japanese mainland, it will also affect the international political and economic situation in the future. People will worried about  the global economic recovery which is just re-stabilize. In addition, China, Japan, South Korea and India leading the Asian Regional Economic Integration in East Asia and will thus speed up in the process, the U.S.dominance in East Asia will be weakened. First, because of the disaster , Japan's GDP  will be drastic shrinkage in short term, as theworld's third largest economy and the largest debtor in the Japanese economy has shrunk, is bound to drag on the growth of global economic. Second, commodity prices is continuing to rise on the previous basis. However, the Bank of Japan through the "print money"way to carry out earthquake relief and reconstruction.  from the appreciation of the channel is bound to lead to return to the yen depreciation cycle, which contribute to global over-expansion.Third, countries have to review or suspend the nuclear program, and even nuclear power plant shutdown, the short term is bound to increase pressure on global energy supply, as previously in the East and North Africa the situation has dramatically pulled up international oil prices to oil prices as a sign of the energy crisis.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/business/18norris.html?ref=business

13. Obama Warns Libya on Allied Action



President Obama told Col. Muammar el-Quddafi on March 18th to carry out an immediate cease-fire and stop all attacks on Libyan civilians or face military action from the United States and its allies in Europe and the Arab world. In one of his most forceful statements as president, Mr. Obama said that his demands were not negotiable: Colonel Qaddafi had to pull his forces back from Libya’s major cities or the United States and its allies would step in. The president said that he was forced to act because Colonel Qaddafi had turned on his people and had shown, Mr. Obama said, “no mercy on his own citizens.”


The Libyan government announced a cease-fire just hours after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution authorizing military action against Colonel Qadaffi to protect Libyan civilians. But rebel spokesmen said government forces attacked several locations on March 18th. On March 18th, United Nations Security council decided to establish a "no-fly zones" in Libya,  hope Libya's recently situation will be stable as soon as possible, and also avoid the armed conflicts upgrades and more serious humanitarian crisis. The conflict between countries is always happened.  In fact, I do not think the bill that United Nations Security Council decided is not quite good, because considering the currently special cases  of Arab countries and the Au's concerns and position with Libya. Just let them handle this, the better way is we do not step in as America. 




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19libya.html?_r=1&hp

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

12. U.S. Calls Radiation ‘Extremely High’ and Urges Deeper Caution in Japan



The chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave a significantly bleaker appraisal of the threat posed by Japan’s nuclear crisis than the Japanese government, saying on Wednesday that the damage at one crippled reactor was much more serious than Japanese officials had acknowledged and advising Americans to evacuate a wider area around the plant than the perimeter established by Japan. The announcement marked a new and ominous chapter in the five-day long effort by Japanese engineers to bring four side-by-side reactors under control after their cooling systems were knocked out by an earthquake and tsunami last Friday. 


There has already three explosions of Japanese nuclear plant by March 16th. The Japan emperor said in the speech through television to all Japanese, this unprecedented huge earthquake that many people were killed, and many people lost their home. "The number of victims in continuing to rise, exactly how many people were killed, and we don't know yet, I feel very heartache." Although, lots of countries had sent their rescue teams to Japan for helping. The nuclear plant was effected very gravely. However, we also can see Japanese are very strong, although there are so many people have lost their family or their relative, they still help others people to rescue the victims. I think Sendai and the cities which was effected by Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Plant, Japanese will rebuild these cities as they were. 





http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world/asia/17nuclear.html?_r=1&hp

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

11. Japan’s Nuclear Crisis, Earthquake and Tsunami

March 11th 1: 46  in Canada time, there is 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami near Maurizio, Japan. Triggered large collapsed houses, airport flooded, railway, paralysis, nuclear power plant explosion caused by volcanic eruption, heavy casualties. Japan, the Pacific island in 72 hours, experienced "life and death" baptism
【图片特刊】日本震后72小时全记录
 There were already 4700 Japanese died and almost 10,000 missing during the earthquake and Tsunami by March 14th. This earthquake is one of the most biggest in Japan's history. After earthquake, stocks-market was effected a lot; and Japanese cannot get water or food in supermarket; these thing let Japan lost 10 trillion. After Earthquake, Japan Nuclear power plant also was effected a lot during these few days, and even the nuclear power was reveal as well. The earthquake has triggered the Tsunami as well, the photo which is above showed the scene which is after the Tsunami in Sendai.







http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/latest-updates-on-japans-nuclear-crisis-and-earthquake-aftermath/?scp=2&sq=japan%20earthquake&st=cse

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

10. Even in Wealthy Town, Schools Feel Pinch




This wealthy New York suburb prides itself on its public schools. Class sizes are small. Students can choose from an array of subjects not offered everywhere. Teacher pay ranks among the nation’s highest. And voters long approved high real estate taxes to pay for it all. But even here — as in other affluent enclaves — corners are being cut, bringing home the wrenching debate that has caused turmoil in so many other communities. What some really fear is that the cuts will continue. 


According to this news, the great depression strongly effected American society, even in the school. As we know, schools always have money to operate because public schools can get money from government for operation. However, the depression happened again; therefore, all the western countries are in a big problem. Therefore, schools cannot get any funding from government. Now, I really hope that Americans can walk out the shadow of depression as they did in the 1920s. 




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/business/09bronxville.html?hp