Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kesP0IZggww&feature=player_embedded

► http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/satelliteworld/pacificoceansatellite_larg...
► http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/PacificSatellite.aspx?animate=true
► http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1766
radiation monitoring realtime usa:
http://www.blackcatsystems.com/RadMap/map.html
secondary radiation monitoring site:
http://www.radiationnetwork.com/

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/obam-m17.shtml

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu reiterated the Obama administration’s commitment to nuclear power, despite the calamitous events in Japan, at hearings before congressional committees March 15 and 16. “The American people should have full confidence that the United States has rigorous safety regulations in place to ensure that our nuclear power is generated safely and responsibly,” he told a House subcommittee Tuesday, adding, “The administration is committed to learning from Japan’s experience as we work to continue to strengthen America’s nuclear industry.”

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2011/03/18/petraeus-outlines-indefinite-afghan-occu

General Petraeus, the top US military commander in Afghanistan, told Congress that the occupation of the Central Asian country would go on indefinitely, amidst reports of sharply increased civilian casualties.

Link: http://revolutionarypolitics.com/?p=4941

Faced with a Congress hostile to even slight restrictions of Second Amendment rights, the Obama administration is exploring potential changes to gun laws that can be secured strictly through executive action, administration officials say.

Link: http://revolutionarypolitics.com/?p=4953

In January, Jeff Clark of Casey Research’s BIG GOLD advisory set out to get opinions from some of the smartest, most accomplished investors in the gold industry – where is the gold price going to go, how volatile will the markets be, what’s the outlook for precious metals stocks? Read on for some of the most insightful answers you’ll see anywhere…

Link: http://theintelhub.com/2011/03/17/cover-up-in-canada-radioactive-leak-into-lake-ontario/

With all the focus placed on the Japanese radiation leak as well as the toxic plume of radioactive particles (possibly containing uranium and plutonium) heading for the United States, another potential disaster is receiving virtually no attention.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/17/us-support-for-nuclear-power-drops-poll/

An increasing number of Americans have real concerns about the safety of atomic power after a massive earthquake and tsunami sparked fears of a catastrophic meltdown at a Japanese nuclear plant, a poll released Thursday showed.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/17/228-republicans-vote-to-defund-npr/

Legislation to bar federal funds from being spent on National Public Radio passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday, although its ultimate prospects of becoming policy looked doubtful.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/17/republicans-like-wisconsin-governor-more-than-gop-presidential-hopefuls/

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is more popular among Republicans than the top GOP presidential aspirants, according to a poll released on Thursday. The Republican governor unleashed a wave of protests in Wisconsin after pushing to curb state workers' union rights. On March 11, Walker signed a bill that was rammed through the Wisconsin Legislature to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Link: http://www.truth-out.org/danger-spent-fuel-outweighs-reactor-threat68551

Years of procrastination in deciding on long-term disposal of highly radioactive fuel rods from nuclear reactors is now coming back to haunt Japanese authorities as they try to control fires and explosions at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1367039/Eight-new-jobs-gone-foreign-workers-past-year.html

More than 80 per cent of the jobs created last year were taken by people who were not born in this country, official figures revealed yesterday. In 2010, employment rose by 210,000 compared with the previous year, but 173,000 jobs went to those born in countries from Poland to Pakistan.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8386246/US-food-price-rise-is-steepest-in-decades.html

Food prices in America soared at their fastest rate since the 1970s last month, a sharp reminder of the pressures facing the majority of consumers in the US. Corn for sale in Washington. The cost of producing finished foods jumped 3.9pc last month from a year earlier, as harsh winter weather exacerbated the already increasing price of many basic ingredients used in food.

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-17-japanradiate17_ST_N.htm

The Japanese government's radiation report for the country's 47 prefectures Wednesday had a notable omission: Fukushima, ground zero in Japan's nuclear crisis. Measurements from Ibaraki, just south of Fukushima, were also blanked out.

Link: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/news/local/chibrknews-dont-take-potassium-iodide-state-advises-20110317%2C0%2C4737667.story?track=rss

Potassium iodide and Geiger counter sales spike after Japan disaster Potassium iodide and Geiger counter sales spike after Japan disaster The Illinois Department of Public Health is cautioning state residents not to take potasium iodide as a preventative medication against possible radiation fallout from Japan's nuclear generating plant crisis. Anyone doing so "could be putting thier health at risk due to side effects," said department director Dr. Damon Arnold. Potassium iodide is a non-prescription drug that can be used to protect the tyroid gland from expected exposure to higher radiation levels. It cannot protect other parts of the body, the department said in a news release.

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/indian-point-report-2011-3?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business+Insider+Select&utm_campaign=BI_Select_031711

The U.S. nuclear industry is facing yet another worry today, with a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists suggesting that there's been a leak at the facility since "at least 1993 (via Zero Hedge)." The leak is in a lining that is meant to provide protection in the event of an earthquake. There is solar power, and wind power, and the unlimited electricity in the atmosphere discovered by Tesla, and there is also Hydrogen power, but they, the rich and powerful who enslave humanity will not let us have those forms of energy because they are too cheap too plentiful and too clean, and they don't produce enough profit for our masters.

Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54890

A global nuclear disaster potentially worse than Chernobyl may be under way in Japan as hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel are open to the sky, and may be on fire and emitting radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27702.htm

Although U.S. officials condemned Bahrain’s use of deadly force against unarmed protestors on Wednesday, experts say the Obama administration is reticent to support the people because the Bahraini monarchy best serves U.S. regional interests. Critics accuse the U.S. of employing a double-standard – reluctant to oust the monarchy in Bahrain but more than willing to encourage Libyans to topple Moammar Gaddafi.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

General David Petraeus Betray-us has previously said US online psychological operations are aimed at 'countering extremist ideology and propaganda'. The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/the-korean-war-the-unknown-war-4312/

The Korean War, a.k.a. the “Unknown War,” was, in fact, headline news at the time it was being fought(1950-53). Given the Cold War hatreds of the combatants, though, a great deal of the reportage was propaganda, and much of what should have been told was never told.

Link: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/7092

30,000 Amazon Indians were enslaved, tortured, raped and starved in just 12 years during the rubber boom, according to a historic report submitted by Irish investigator Roger Casement, 100 years ago today. Agents of the company rounded up dozens of Indian tribes in the western Amazon to collect wild rubber for the European and American markets. In a few short decades many of the tribes were completely wiped out. Much of the detail of this horrific episode has been forgotten, but for the descendants of the rubber boom survivors, the reality of the continuing ‘rainforest harvest’ is impossible to ignore. 
The uncontacted Indians seen in stunning new footage last month are likely to be descended from rubber boom survivors, whilst nearby another ‘rainforest harvest’ is being played out on uncontacted tribes’ land. Illegal loggers, driven by the high value of endangered woods, are pushing further into their remote forest homes.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/17/serious_danger_of_a_full_core

Fears of a full-scale nuclear reactor meltdown are increasing as Japanese authorities use military helicopters to dump water on the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The water appears to have missed its target and failed to cool the plant’s reactors and spent fuel rods. “The walls of defense are falling, with the melting of the cores, the collapsing of the—we’re expecting the collapsing of the vessels. And then, with these damaged containments, these are all open windows to the atmosphere,” says Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear. Some experts say U.S. reactors are safer than those in Japan. But investigative journalist, Karl Grossman, notes a 1985 report by the National Regulatory Commission acknowledged a 50 percent chance of a severe core accident among the more than 100 nuclear power plants in the United States over a 20-year period.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/weir03172011.html

US media have been widely and repeatedly reporting on the awful March 11 murder of three small Israeli children and their parents. While no one yet knows who committed this act, reports presume that the murderers were Palestinian, and for this reason the incident is receiving major attention. Various heads of state, including President Obama, have condemned it.

Link: http://www.counterpunch.org/hallinan03172011.html

In the Greek town of Aphidal, people have stopped paying road fees. In Athens, bus and metro riders are refusing to cough up the price of a ticket. On Feb. 23, 250,000 Greek protesters jammed the streets outside the nation's parliament. The international Federal Reserve bankers want more and humanity will give it to them.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/03/17-8

Wisconsin Republican state Senators, fresh from passing draconian anti-labor and privatization legislation, jetted into Washington, D.C., Wednesday night to collect tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from the one constituency group that approves of what Governor Scott Walker and his GOP allies are doing: corporate lobbyists. In a fascist corporate dictatorship the people are powerless and all their protesting is meaningless. Imagine protesting against Hitler.

Link: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/17-6

YAMAGATA, Japan - Emergency workers seemed to try everything they could think of Thursday to douse one of Japan's dangerously overheated nuclear reactors: helicopters, heavy-duty fire trucks, even water cannons normally used to quell rioters. But they couldn't be sure any of it was easing the peril at the tsunami-ravaged facility.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-17/tokyo-passengers-trigger-u-s-airport-detectors-n-y-post-says.html

Radiation detectors at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare airports were triggered when passengers from flights that started in Tokyo passed through customs, the New York Post reported. Tests at Dallas-Fort Worth indicated low radiation levels in travelers’ luggage and in the aircraft’s cabin filtration system; no passengers were quarantined, the newspaper said.

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703818204576206373350344478.html

The United Nations Security Council authorized military strikes on Libya Thursday evening, and U.S. and European officials said air attacks against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces were possible "within hours." The Pentagon was already fine-tuning military options for "serious" strikes against ground and air targets should the White House order them, said U.S. defense officials. Options included using cruise missiles to take out fixed Libyan military sites and air-defense systems, according to these officials. Manned and unmanned aircraft could also be used against Col. Gadhafi's tanks, personnel carriers and infantry positions, with sorties being flown out of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in the southern Mediterranean. More war for oil, blood for oil, death for oil. What a high price the world pays for Americans to drive their cars.

Link: http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/world/7574.html

Suggesting that levels of radiation leaks from the stricken Fukushima plant are being grossly underreported by Japanese authorities, a Swedish government agency told Reuters today that not only will the radiation reach North America, but it will subsequently cover the entire northern hemisphere.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/2011317645549498.html

Libyan leader warns the people of Benghazi his army is coming with full force and there will be "no mercy". Air strikes have been reported from the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, and fierce clashes elsewhere, as forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continued their offensive against opposition forces. In a radio address on Thursday, Gaddafi called pro-democracy fighters in Benghazi "armed gangsters" and urged residents to attack them.

Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/2011317131348571552.html

CIA contractor and former Blackwater employee Raymond Davis flees Pakistan after killing two men in a murky mission. Raymond Davis killed two Pakistanis, enraging many in a country already suspicious of US intervention. The case of Raymond Davis has all the trappings of a 21st century spy novel. It is a story of murder, prison and clandestine payments, starring a burly former US Special Forces soldier tangled in a murky web of intelligence agencies, competing diplomats and – differentiating his case from Cold War spy sagas – shady private military contractors.