Six In The Morning

Around the Fukushima plant, a world left behind

 

By Chico Harlan, Published: November 20

Namie, JAPAN – Eight months ago, people left this place in haste. Families raced from their homes without closing the front doors. They left half-finished wine bottles on their kitchen tables and sneakers in their foyers. They jumped in their cars without taking pets and left cows hitched to milking stanchions.

Now the land stands empty, frozen in time, virtually untouched since the March 11 disaster that created a wasteland in the 12-mile circle of farmland that surrounds the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Syrian Baath Party building ‘hit by rockets’ in Damascus

If confirmed it will be the first insurgent attack reported inside the Syrian capital since an eight-month uprising began

  Reuters

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 November 2011  

At least two rocket-propelled grenades hit a ruling Baath Party building in Damascus on Sunday, residents said, in the first insurgent attack reported inside the Syrian capital since an eight-month uprising began against President Bashar al-Assad.

The attack occurred hours after an Arab League deadline for Syria to end its crackdown against protesters passed with no sign of violence abating, and Assad remained defiant in the face of growing international isolation.

Tibet rocked by wave of self-immolation

Chinese oppression leads Buddhist monks to resort to desperate protest

ANDREW BUNCOMBE    SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2011

A young Tibetan monk who recently escaped from western China has revealed the repression and censorship that drove five of his friends to set themselves on fire in desperate acts of protest. He was present in the aftermath of one of the fatal self-immolations.

The 17-year-old, who asked to be identified as Dontik, said the wave of immolations – at least nine Buddhist monks and two nuns have so far set themselves alight this year – was driven by a growing sense of helplessness among Tibetan youth. He said he too had considered setting himself on fire but claimed he lacked sufficient “courage”.

Spain election: Rajoy’s Popular Party predicted to win

Voters in Spain are heading to the polls in an election expected to bring in a new conservative government to tackle the country’s finances

The BBC   20 November 2011

Opinion polls have given the centre-right Popular Party, led by Mariano Rajoy Brey, a clear lead over the governing Socialist Party.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero – who is not standing for re-election – called the election amid concerns over the economy.

Mr Zapatero has led Spain since 2004.

With slow growth and almost five million unemployed, the economy has been at the heart of the election campaign.

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 Hiking the Redwoods with California’s ‘Squatchers’

A Passion for Bigfoot

By Philip Bethge

The plaintive howl echoes through the forest sounding like a muffled “whoop, whoop, whoop.” Brandon Kiel pauses to listen in the dark, holding his breath for a moment before drawing air into his lungs.

Once again, Kiel cups his hands in front of his mouth and imitates the call: “whoop, whoop, whoop.” The sound echoes back through the night, but all else is silence. Bigfoot isn’t answering.

“The season is favorable,” Kiel says, with a touch of disappointment. “But it’s always possible that the animals are not in the area.” The blueberries are ripe, and the calves of the Roosevelt elk, one of Bigfoot’s favorite foods, haven’t matured yet.

Kenya finds cleaner government is just a keystroke away

Kenya is promoting cleaner government by computerizing many of the tasks that used to be handled by bureaucrats – who might seek bribes to expedite requests.

By Scott Baldauf, Staff write

Kenya is an economic engine for East Africa, but its rise on the global stage has long been stunted by corruption.

Now, though, it’s making progress against the old-fashioned scourge through new-fangled IT. The solution is simple, but powerful: Remove bureaucrats through “e-government.”

“We started asking, How can we reduce the human interaction between businessmen and state workers, so we can reduce corruption?” says Jane Joram, senior deputy registrar general at the Company Registrar Office. “Now you can file your application online and you can pay online. That means no more bribes.”