Higher Levels of Fukushima Cesium Detected Offshore, Pacific Ocean

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Scientists monitoring the spread of radiation in the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear accident report finding an increased number of sites off the US West Coast showing signs of contamination from Fukushima. This includes the highest detected level to date from a sample collected about 1,600 miles west of San Francisco. The level of radioactive cesium isotopes in the sample, 11 Becquerel’s per cubic meter of seawater (about 264 gallons), is 50 percent higher than other samples collected along the West Coast so far, but is still more than 500 times lower than US government safety limits for drinking water, and well below limits of concern for direct exposure while swimming, boating, or other recreational activities.

Ken Buesseler, a marine radiochemist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and director of the WHOI Center for Marine and Environmental Radioactivity, was among the first to begin monitoring radiation in the Pacific, organizing a research expedition to the Northwest Pacific near Japan just three months after the accident that started in March 2011. Through a citizen science sampling effort, Our Radioactive Ocean, that he launched in 2014, as well as research funded by the National Science Foundation, Buesseler and his colleagues are using sophisticated sensors to look for minute levels of ocean-borne radioactivity from Fukushima. In 2015, they have added more than 110 new samples in the Pacific to the more than 135 previously collected and posted on the Our Radioactive Ocean web site.

“These new data are important for two reasons,” said Buesseler. “First, despite the fact that the levels of contamination off our shores remain well below government-established safety limits for human health or to marine life, the changing values underscore the need to more closely monitor contamination levels across the Pacific. Second, these long-lived radioisotopes will serve as markers for years to come for scientists studying ocean currents and mixing in coastal and offshore waters.”

The recent findings reported by Buesseler agree with those reported by scientists who are part of the group Kelp Watch and by the team of Canadian scientists working under the InFORM umbrella. While Buesseler’s work focuses on ocean chemistry and does not involve sampling of biological organisms, the InFORM scientists have done sampling of fish and have not seen any Fukushima cesium in fish collected in British Columbia.

Almost any seawater sample from the Pacific will show traces of cesium-137, an isotope of cesium with a 30-year half-life, some of which is left over from nuclear weapons testing carried out in the 1950s to 1970s. The isotope cesium-134 is the “fingerprint” of Fukushima, but, with a 2-year half-life, it decays much quicker than cesium-137. Scientists back calculate traces of cesium-134 to determine how much was actually released from Fukushima in 2011 and add to it an equal amount of cesium-137 that would have been released at the same time.

Working with Japanese colleagues, Buesseler also continues to independently monitor the ongoing leaks from Fukushima Dai-ichi by collecting samples from as close as one kilometer (one-half mile) away from the nuclear power plants. During his most recent trip this October they collected samples of ocean water, marine organisms, seafloor sediment and groundwater along the coast near the reactors. Buesseler says the levels of radioactivity off Fukushima remain elevated – some 10 to 100 times higher than off the US West Coast today, and he is working with colleagues at WHOI to try to determine how much radioactive material is still being released to the ocean each day.

“Levels today off Japan are thousands of times lower than during the peak releases in 2011. That said, finding values that are still elevated off Fukushima confirms that there is continued release from the plant,” said Buesseler.

Buesseler will present his latest findings on the spread of Fukushima radiation at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco on Dec. 14, 2015. (See “Higher Levels of Fukushima Cesium Detected Offshore,” news release originally posted HERE)

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Research: Islam Really Is the World’s Most Violent Religion

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Together with a number of research assistants, the Danish linguist Tina Magaard spent three years examining the texts of the ten largest religions. The purpose was to investigate whether any of the religions incite violence.

The conclusion was clear: “The texts of Islam are clearly distinct from the other religions texts as they, to a higher degree, call for violence and aggression against followers of other faiths. There are also direct incitements to terror. … Moreover, in the Qur’an there are hundreds of invitations to fight against people of other faiths.”

The verses are in black and white and without mitigating context. One of the verses that deal with non-Muslims is: “So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks until you have inflicted slaughter upon them.” (Qur’an 47: 4) . . .

Islam is not only the world’s most violent religion in writing. A huge study, based on in-depth interviews with 45,000 subjects, confirms that it is also the world’s most violent religion in practice.

The study shows that Islam is the only religion in the world in which people become more violent, the stronger they believe in their religion. (Read more from “Research: Islam Really Is the World’s Most Violent Religion” HERE)

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Former Senators Say U.S. Has Left Dangerous Power Vacuum Around World

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The world needs the U.S. to lead — and not just from behind — according to a report by two influential former senators, who argue that political pressure on the Obama administration from the far left and far right for America to disengage from the world has created a power vacuum that unpredictable and unsavory actors are all too eager to fill.

“An increasingly brazen China, revanchist Russia, volatile North Korea, and ruthless Islamic State collectively underscore the need for more, not less, American leadership abroad,” write former Sens. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat turned independent, in “Why American Leadership Still Matters,” a 40-page report being released Thursday through the American Enterprise Institute.

While the center-right think tank may be known for its hawkish positions, Mr. Kyl, who served from 1993 through 2013, stressed in an interview the need for both parties to come together in understanding America’s vital position in the world.

Despite his former National Journal ranking as the fourth most conservative senator on Capitol Hill, he lamented how biting partisanship increasingly trumps honest debate on foreign policy.

“All too often in recent years, partisanship has been the driving force rather than ideological considerations,” he said, suggesting that the disagreement between isolationists and interventionists on both sides of the aisle could be healthy — if it did not lead so often to partisan smearing of the other side. (Read more from “Former Senators Say U.S. Has Left Dangerous Power Vacuum Around World” HERE)

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EuroParliament President: Christians Not Safe in Our Continent

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In a high-level meeting on religious persecution in Brussels, the President of the European Parliament (EP) said that Europe cannot afford to continue ignoring the fate of Christians, who are “clearly the most persecuted group” in the world.

In Wednesday’s meeting, EP President Martin Schulz said that the persecution of Christians is “undervalued” and does not receive enough attention, which has also meant that it “hasn’t been properly addressed.”

Schulz’s concerns were echoed by EP Vice President Antonio Tajani, who warned that Europe sometimes “falls into the temptation of thinking we can ignore this task,” referring to the protection Christians throughout the world who suffer persecution.

Speakers cited the work of Open Doors, a human rights organization that monitors the persecution of Christians, noting that 150 million Christians worldwide suffer torture, rape and arbitrary imprisonment. Christians in Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Pakistan, North Korea and Nigeria are among those hardest hit.

The Open Doors report for 2015 found that “Islamic extremism is by far the most significant persecution engine” of Christians in the world today and that “40 of the 50 countries on the World Watch List are affected by this kind of persecution.” (Read more from “EuroParliament President: Christians Not Safe in Our Continent” HERE)

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Watch for U.S. Recession, Zero Interest Rates in China next Year

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The outlook for the global economy next year is darkening, with a U.S. recession and China becoming the first major emerging market to slash interest rates to zero both potential scenarios, according to Citi.

As the U.S. economy enters its seventh year of expansion following the 2008-09 crisis, the probability of recession will reach 65 percent, Citi’s rates strategists wrote in their 2016 outlook published late on Tuesday. A rapid flattening of the bond yield curve towards inversion would be an key warning sign.

“The cumulative probability of U.S. recession reaches 65 percent next year,” Citi’s rates strategists wrote in their 2016 outlook published late on Tuesday. “Curve inversion will likely come more quickly than the consensus thinks.” (Read more from “Watch for U.S. Recession, Zero Interest Rates in China next Year” HERE)

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Germany Just Confirmed Everyone’s Worst Fears About Syrian Refugees

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Islamic extremists in Germany are using food, shelter and the religion of home as bait as they fish the wave of Syrian refugees entering Germany for new converts to radical Islam.

“They start by saying, ‘We will help you live your faith,’” Torsten Voss of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency told the Wall Street Journal. “The Islamist area comes later — that is, of course, their goal.”

German officials said that refugees who want to attend mosques in search of familiar surroundings are, increasingly, attending those frequented by Islamic extremists. German officials told the Journal that they already know of at least 100 instances in which Islamic extremists known to the authorities have tried to establish contact with refugees.

“I’m afraid that anti-Americanism, anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism will be on the rise,” said Der Tagesspiegel editor in chief Malte Lehming. “We have very limited educational tools to change that. Syria is one of the most anti-Israel countries, influenced by Iran and helped by Hezbollah.”

More than one million Syrian refugees are expected to enter Germany in the next year. The radicalization of Muslim refugees has taken on a new urgency in Europe after disclosure that at least one of the terrorists participating in the Paris attacks entered Europe in the mass of Syrian refugees. (Read more from “Germany Just Confirmed Everyone’s Worst Fears About Syrian Refugees” HERE)

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Secret U.S. Hostage Held by Taliban Allies

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A group of Islamist militants aligned with the Taliban has been holding an American man hostage for more than a year, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with his case, which has not been reported previously.

The disclosure of another American hostage raises questions about how many Americans are being held abroad—and what the U.S. government is doing to recover them. The Obama administration has been working to streamline its hostage rescue efforts, which critics say have suffered from a lumbering bureaucracy that hasn’t kept family members fully informed about their loved ones. How effective those efforts have been is unclear.

The Daily Beast is not publishing the man’s name or many details about him at the request of his family and administration and law enforcement officials, who are concerned for his safety. The man is said to be held by the Haqqani network, a Taliban-aligned group that operates along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Previously, The Daily Beast had agreed not to write anything at all about the hostage. However, on Monday, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a leading critic in Congress of the Obama administration’s hostage rescue and recovery policies, wrote a public letter to President Obama in which he noted that “there are still Americans in captivity in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.”

The only other American known to be held in that region is Caitlin Coleman, who was kidnapped along with her husband, Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, while traveling in Afghanistan in 2012. Coleman had a child while in captivity, multiple U.S. officials have said. (Read more from “Secret U.S. Hostage Held by Taliban Allies” HERE)

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Iraqis Think the U.S. Is in Cahoots with the Islamic State, and It Is Hurting the War

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On the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State, suspicion of the United States runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing U.S. helicopters airdropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion.

Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion — one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis — that the United States is supporting the Islamic State for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting U.S. control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and, perhaps, its oil.

“It is not in doubt,” said Mustafa Saadi, who says his friend saw U.S. helicopters delivering bottled water to Islamic State positions. He is a commander in one of the Shiite militias that last month helped push the militants out of the oil refinery near Baiji in northern Iraq alongside the Iraqi army.

The Islamic State is “almost finished,” he said. “They are weak. If only America would stop supporting them, we could defeat them in days.”

U.S. military officials say the charges are too far-fetched to merit a response. “It’s beyond ridiculous,” said Col. Steve Warren, the military’s Baghdad-based spokesman. “There’s clearly no one in the West who buys it, but unfortunately, this is something that a segment of the Iraqi population believes.” (Read more from “Iraqis Think the U.S. Is in Cahoots with the Islamic State, and It Is Hurting the War” HERE)

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State Department ‘Troubled’ by Moscow’s Move Against Soros Groups

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The U.S. State Department says it is “troubled” by Russia’s decision to ban two of liberal billionaire George Soros’ pro-democracy charities and label the organizations a threat to national security.

“Today’s designation of the Open Society Foundations and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation as so-called ‘undesirable’ organizations will only further restrict the work of civil society in Russia for the benefit of the Russian people,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday. “This action is yet another example of the Russian Government’s growing crackdown on independent voices and a deliberate step to further isolate the Russian people from the world.”

A spokesperson from Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said the activities of the fund are threats to state security and the Russian constitution, Radio Free Europe reports.

The Open Society Foundations said in a statement on its website that it was “dismayed” by the decision . . .

Prosecutors started investigating the charity fund in July after Russian senators flagged a list of 12 groups that required a closer look over their supposed anti-Russian activities, RT reports. (Read more from “State Department ‘Troubled’ by Moscow’s Move Against Soros Groups” HERE)

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China Plans to Launch Carbon-Tracking Satellites Into Space

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China plans to launch satellites to monitor its greenhouse gas emissions as the country, estimated to be the world’s top carbon emitter, steps up its efforts to cut such emissions, official news agency Xinhua said on Monday.

News of the plan comes as more than 150 world leaders arrived in Paris for climate change talks and Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama said they would work together towards striking a deal that moves towards a low-carbon global economy.

According to the Xinhau report, the country’s first two carbon-monitoring satellites will be ready by next May after four years of development led by Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics and Physics, part of China’s Academy of Sciences . . .

If successful, it would be the world’s third country to send satellites into orbit to monitor greenhouse gases, coming after Japan which was the first country to do so in 2009, followed by the United States last year.

The satellites will be key for expanding research into emissions – currently, China is only able to collect data from the ground, whereas the probes will also monitor oceans, which make up 71 percent of the world’s surface. (Read more from “China Plans to Launch Carbon-Tracking Satellites Into Space” HERE)

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