Extend and Pretend: Japanese Government to Permanently Return Residents in Evacuation-Ready Zone Outside 20 Kilometer-Radius

Remember the Naraha-machi mayor who wanted to re-start Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant as soon as possible and have the final reprocessing plant in his town as the "post-nuke" plan for the town? It seems like he's getting his wish.

As soon as the national government receives plans from the municipalities on how they will re-open the public services in their towns, that will be good enough for the government to lift the designation of the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" and have all the residents back to their homes.

Never, ever mind that the area's radiation level is anywhere near safe not just for children and young mothers but for anyone.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (8/9/2011):

政府は９日、首相官邸で原子力災害対策本部（本部長・菅首相）の会合を開き、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所事故に伴う「緊急時避難準備区域」について、一括解除する方針を決定した。

The Nuclear Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters (headed by Prime Minister Kan) held a meeting on August 9 and decided to lift the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" designation all at once.

　実際の解除は対象となる自治体がまとめる復旧計画が出そろう今月下旬から９月上旬に行われる見通しだ。

It will be done when the municipalities in the designated zone submit their recovery plans, which are expected sometime between later this month and the early September.

　緊急時避難準備区域は同原発の２０キロ・メートル以遠の地域で、対象は福島県南相馬市、田村市、広野町、楢葉町、川内村の５市町村。緊急時の避難準備や子供などの自主避難を呼びかけている。同本部によると、５市町村は遅くとも９月上旬までに学校や医療機関の再開時期を明示した復旧計画を策定する。計画がそろい次第、政府は指定を解除し、住民の帰宅を実現させる。菅首相は会合で「避難も大変だが、避難から帰るのもそれ以上に大変なことがある。各省庁しっかり連携してほしい」と指示した。

The "emergency evacuation-ready zone" has been set in areas outside 20-kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and includes 5 municipalities - Minami Soma City, Tamura City, Hirono-machi, Naraha-machi, and Kawauchi-mura. The residents in the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" in these municipalities are to be ready to evacuate in a nuclear emergency, and they have been encouraged to voluntarily evacuate children. According to the Nuclear Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, the 5 municipalities are to submit the recovery plans to the government by early September at the latest with details on when the schools and medical facilities in their municipalities will re-open. As soon as the government receives the plans, it will lift the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" designation and let the residents return. During the meeting, Prime Minister Kan instructed the ministries and agencies involved to cooperate closely to assist the residents in returning from evacuation.

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Extend and Pretend Greek Version: Greece says debt 'absolutely sustainable'

Not just in the US or Japan, but a truly global phenomenon. And always blame greedy foreign bankers for everything.

From AP (4/20/2011):

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's finance minister said the crisis-hit country can deal with its mountain of debt and insisted that renewed access to bond markets is still possible in 2012 despite spiraling borrowing costs.

"I believe that Greece's debt is absolutely sustainable ... But that is based on the implementation of the (2011-2015) adjustment program," George Papaconstantinou said Wednesday.

Papaconstantinou spoke as the country's borrowing costs remained high on speculation that Greece will have to restructure its debts. The difference between the interest rates on Greek and German 10-year bonds is over 11 percentage points, a staggering difference given the two countries use the same currency and operate in the same interest rate regime.

The Greek government has repeatedly denied it is considering such a move and has promised to forge ahead with an ambitious privatization program worth euro50 billion ($71.5 billion) through 2015 that has already run into strong union opposition.

Union are planning a general strike May 11, while a powerful electricity workers' union warned Wednesday it was considering rolling strikes ahead of that date.

Papaconstantinou again denied that restructuring is on the cards.

"It is a very interesting debate but we don't care to join in," he said. "(Restructuring) would carry great dangers for the economy, (pension) funds and households."

The spike in Greek borrowing rates, he argued, was due to a "cacophony" of conflicting statements by European finance officials on the restructuring issues. High borrowing costs have locked Greece out of bond markets.

The finance ministry later said it had asked prosecutors to investigate whether brokers for an unnamed foreign investment bank bear criminal liability in connection with market movements Wednesday at the Athens Stock Exchange -- which dropped 2.62 percent -- and the Greek bond market.

The article continues.

More on Greek debt from Zero Hedge:

Greek 2 Year Bonds Now Yielding Record 22%, Price On 10 Year Bonds 59 Of Par

Just a quick reminder that the world continues to burn: the yield on the Greek 2 Year bond has just climbed to 22%, an all time record. The actual price is 74.25%. And far more jarringly, the 10 Year is 59 cents on the euro. A 40% haircut is now effectively priced in by the market.

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Extend & Pretend: A Matter of National Security

by Gordon T. Long of Tipping Points.

A must read for us "small people" so that we can anticipate what is to come, prepare, and survive. (Emphasis is mine below.)

"There is something seriously wrong in America. We all sense it, but few in the mainstream media are willing to touch it or can effectively articulate it within the public’s sound-bite oriented attention span.

"It isn’t just about the remnants of the financial crisis; it isn’t the protracted jobs recession and slow recovery; it isn’t the trillions of dollars in deficit spending; it isn’t the degree of rampant financial malfeasants. It is something deeper which reaches into the soul of who we are as a people and society. It will soon be the central theme to your investment strategy and financial security.

"On the surface it might appear we have lost our optimism about the future and our confidence that America is still the ‘beacon on the hill’ that countries around the world admire and look to for leadership. Though our children mouth the platitudes taught by older generations, they ring hollow in the hallways with video surveillance, motion detectors and metal detectors when recite by them. The high minded ideals seem misplaced in unemployment lines where they stand with freshly minted advanced degrees in hand, huge education debts and little hope other than the faint possibility of a non-paying internship position.

"It isn’t that the American people have changed. Our government has changed."

National Security-Research Paper

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