Japanese nuclear crisis continues

This video says about itself:

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. [includes rush transcript]

Japanese authorities yesterday stepped up their increasingly desperate efforts to prevent a catastrophic meltdown of spent fuel rods and reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant: here.

An unprecedented speech delivered by Japanese Emperor Akihito on Wednesday underscores the severity of the crisis facing the ruling Democratic Party government and the entire political establishment: here.

‘We have been betrayed’: Mayor of town near stricken Japanese nuclear plant claims his people have been ‘abandoned’: here.

“Underestimating the Seriousness of the Problem”: Experts Urge Japan to Raise Nuclear Alert: here.

The Japanese earthquake disaster could well be the catalyst that sets off a new stage in the global financial breakdown that began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008: here.

The nuclear crisis in Japan has prompted a re-examination of the safety net for nuclear power in the United States, with former regulators and safety advocates warning that gaps in the nation’s regulatory armor could leave Americans similarly vulnerable to disaster: here.

Slogan of General Electric, Builder of Japanese Reactor, Should be “We Bring Bad Things to Life”: here.