Japan sells first fish caught since nuclear crisis because of persisting fears about radiation -

Japan sells first fish caught since nuclear crisis because of persisting fears about radiation - 




The first seafood caught off Japan’s Fukushima coastline since last year’s nuclear disaster went on sale Monday, but the offerings were limited to octopus and marine snails because of persisting fears about radiation.


Octopus and whelk, a kind of marine snail, were chosen for the initial shipments because testing for radioactive cesium consistently measured no detectable amounts, according to the Fukushima Prefectural (state) fishing cooperative. They were caught Friday and boiled so they last longer while being tested for radiation before they could be sold Monday.


Flounder, sea bass and other fish from Fukushima can’t be sold yet because of contamination. It was unclear when they will be approved for sale as they measure above the limit in radiation set by the government. The government is testing for radioactive iodine as well, but its half-life is shorter than cesium and thus is less worrisome.


“It was crisp when I bit into it, and it tasted so good,” said Yasuhiro Yoshida, who oversees the seafood section at York Benimaru supermarket in Soma, which sold out of about 30 kilograms (65 pounds) of the snails and 40 kilograms (90 pounds) of the octopus that had been shipped to the store.


The March 11 earthquake and tsunami last year left the coastlines of northeastern Japan devastated, and displaced tens of thousands of people. Entire towns were contaminated by the radiation leaking from Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where three reactors went into meltdowns.


Read more - 
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1216654--japan-sells-first-fish-caught-since-nuclear-crisis?bn=1

Grieving mother given bill to clean street after son killed by a drunken driver -

Grieving mother given bill to clean street after son killed by a drunken driver - 

A grieving mother told a South Carolina court Tuesday she was slapped with several bills, including one to clean the street, after her son was killed by a drunken driver last year.
WYFF reports Loretta Robinson spoke of the emotional and financial toll her son Justin Walker's death had on her as the driver Anna Gonzales, who is an illegal immigrant, pleaded guilty in the case.
Robinson told the judge she has been unable to work due to the emotional impact of her son's death, and can't pay the bills she keeps receiving from the accident even though her son was not at fault.
"I had to pay to have the vehicle towed," she said according to WYFF. "I had to pay for the vehicle removed and to clean up the street from Justin's blood on the ground."
Robinson said the $50 bill to clean the street stung the most.
"First of all, having to open the mail and look at the charge to the deceased, Justin Darryl Walker -- the deceased! It's just a hard thing to deal with in the context of your child," she said according to WYFF.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/25/mom-slapped-with-bill-to-clean-street-after-son-killed-by-illegal-immigrant/?test=latestnews

STUDY: Posting On FACEBOOK As Enjoyable As Sex... - Sharing Comparable To Enjoyment From Sex, Food -

STUDY: Posting On FACEBOOK As Enjoyable As Sex... - Sharing Comparable To Enjoyment From Sex, Food -  




Food, sex and Facebook posting views. It’s what your brain likes best.


The reward given by a person’s brain when a Facebook posting of theirs is viewed, liked and commented on has proven to be comparable in pleasure to the response from food and sex, according to a recent Harvard University study.


The research, which was published last month in an edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that social media outlets give way to an increased rate of “self-disclosure.” The increase in “self-disclosure” leads to a spike in the amount of dopamine produced based on the pleasure or anticipation of a reward as a result of a social-media post being viewed, according to the research.


The study, which hints at Facebook’s role in the study but never directly cites the social-media giant, discovered “that humans so willingly self-disclose because doing so represents an event with intrinsic value, in the same way as with primary rewards such as food and sex.”


Diana Tamir and Jason Mitchell of Harvard’s Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab studied how people would react when given the choice between a small cash reward for answering factual questions and a lesser reward for giving their own views and opinions on a subject. According to the study, a majority of the participants decided they’d rather talk about themselves.


“Just as monkeys are willing to forgo juicy rewards to view dominant groupmates and college students are willing to give up money to view attractive members of the opposite sex, our participants were willing to forgo money to think and talk about themselves,” the researchers wrote.


Read more - 
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/06/23/study-facebook-sharing-comparable-to-enjoyment-from-sex-food/