Christine Milne calls for Australians to support climate change action
Christine Milne, 14 Oct 13 Even Rupert Murdoch’s Daily Telegraph now admits that global warming will put more Australian lives and homes in danger. Join us to stop Abbott from wrecking climate action.
The evidence of the threat of global warming to our lives and health has never been clearer; even the Daily Telegraph admits it. IPCC analysis on the front page of today’s Daily Tele shows that warming is getting more dangerous for all Australians: we’re at risk from heatwaves, extreme fire days, damage to our food and water supply, loss of homes and infrastructure and more.
Tony Abbott wants to tear down everything that we’ve achieved: the Clean Energy Act that’s charging companies to pollute and has already reduced emissions by 7%, $10 billion in clean energy construction investment that’s already building solar plants and wind farms, and much more. But he can’t do it without the Senate.
Take the first step today: join our call to all MPs to stop Abbott wrecking climate action.
Cancer and leukaemia risks to Fukushima’s children and cleanup workers
Fukushima Doctor: Cancer found in over 40 children… We believe it’s related to the nuclear disaster — Physician: Leukemia cases to increase in next few months? (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/fukushima-doctor-thyroid-cancer-found-in-over-40-children-this-is-related-to-the-nuclear-disaster-physician-leukemia-cases-to-increase-in-next-few-months-audio October 11th, 2013
TVR, Oct. 10, 2013: Belarusian therapists help Japanese colleagues to fight radiation […] Japanese doctors continue to struggle with radiation and the consequences of the Fukushima accident with the help of their Belarusian colleagues. Brest endocrinologists are among the best diagnosticians in Belarus. The first and mobile laboratory for thyroid cancer detection appeared in this region. […] Yuko Yanagisawa, therapist, Fukushima Prefecture (Japan): “The Fukushima accident took place two and a half years ago. But we have found thyroid cancer in more than forty children. The official medical community believes that this situation is not related to the radiation effects from the accident, but we disagree with this. Therefore, we came to Belarus to consult local specialists”.
See also: Japan Professor: Fukushima crisis is leading to surge in thyroid cancers… First signs of health catastrophe — NHK: Trend seen in new cancer tests is ‘suspicious’ (VIDEO)
Journal Tribune,, Oct. 1, 2013: [Yuki N. Karakawa, International Association of Emergency Managers] said the disaster at Fukushima will be felt in Japan for a long 
time, and that there will be long-term medical effects – something he claims the country hadn’t put into their planning systems.
Japan not doing safety checks on 40% of nuclear reactor parts exported
Japan nuclear export parts not safety checked: report http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-14/japan-nuclear-export-parts-not-safety-checked/5022020, Japanese local media reports Japan neglected carrying out safety checks on at least 40 per cent of nuclear reactor parts exported over a decade, in the latest controversy to strike its troubled nuclear industry.
The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reports nuclear reactor parts, including pressure vessels which contain the fuel in power plants worth about 51.1 billion yen ($520 million), were shipped to 17 countries, as well as Taiwan, without undergoing safety checks.
Safety checks, entailing simple examinations of documents, were only required for exports tied to loans from the state-run Japan Bank for International Cooperation or guarantees by the public agency Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.
The unchecked parts included reactor pressure vessels shipped to Taiwan in 2004 and control rod drives, which regulate the rate of nuclear fission, supplied to Sweden and Brazil.
The daily says the rest of the exports are thought to have undergone government safety checks before being shipped to China, the United States, France, Belgium and Finland, citing the country’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.
Safety has been a huge concern for Japan’s nuclear industry since a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country’s northeast coast and triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011.
The country has continued overseas sales of nuclear reactor technology, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assuring buyers the industry is among the world’s safest.
Media “experts” are overwhelmingly white and male
If there are plenty of women working as correspondents and reporters, then relatively few female opinion writers and editors, then this indicates a problem in the industry
A study by Women in Journalism earlier this year found that across national newspapers, 78% of bylined front page stories were written by men, and of those quoted as experts or sources in lead stories, 84% were men. The Women’s Media Centre in the United States, on conducting similar research reported that during the 2012 presidential election, 75% of front page bylined articles at top newspapers were written by men and that women made up a mere 14% of Sunday TV talk show interviewees, and 29% of “roundtable” guests. Women in Journalism were quick to highlight one of the most worrying aspects of this imbalance: most stories involving women in the four week period surveyed, portrayed them as either victims or celebrities.
While the gender gap in print is insidious, in broadcast media it’s glaringly obvious
Women in journalism: not a trivial subject, Open Democracy, DAWN FOSTER 14 October 2013 The biggest newspapers in the United States, Britain and Europe still reserve pages of the most serious political and foreign policy analysis for older white men.
Can girls even find Syria on a map? Jill Filipovic’s (tongue in cheek) rejoinder on the Guardian website last month aimed to poke fun at the bias in commissioning opinion pieces on foreign policy issues, noting the heavy weighting towards male bylines on the pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Filipovic’s piece swiftly garnered a huge response online, and an article from Buzzfeed’s Sheera Frenkel, claiming that most correspondents covering the Syrian conflict were women. Filipovic’s central argument wasn’t disputed by Frenkel – the vast majority of opinion writers embraced across the global media continue to be male.
This matters, because it frames the national debate, and in the case of Syria, influences political decision on military intervention, purporting to be a bell-weather for public opinion at large. Continue reading
Poor results from uranium producer ERA
Expected slump in ERA results, THE AUSTRALIAN 13 Oct 13
RIO Tinto’s listed uranium subsidiary Energy Resources of Australia has kicked off the September quarter reporting period for the group on the sour note widely expected by investors.
Output from ERA’s Ranger operation in the Northern Territory fell sharply in the quarter because of the exhaustion of open-cut reserves, restricting operations to the processing of lower-grade stockpiles.
Uranium production plunged 51 per cent to 610 tonnes (1.34 million pounds) from the previous corresponding period…..
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