French Nuclear Research Body Warns: "Radiation Risks No Longer Neglible"; Samples Taken From More Than 30km From Fukushima Show Radiation Levels Higher Than Chernobyl; Lightbulb In My Head On Earthquakes; Fed Paints Itself Into Corner Redux; High Radiation Detected Outside "Exclusion Zone"; Greece Debt Restructuring Imminent; Silver At $42;

Update 1: It looks like Japan is coming to reality with the situation ahead - Kyodo news is reporting "Japan may raise nuke accident severity level to highest 7 from 5." When they raise it that high, you know it's time to run to the hills.


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Shortly after the Fukushima catastrophe, certain so-called paid "experts" began showing up on various main stream media channels discussing how the US, and more specifically the West Coast, would not have to worry about radiation contamination saying somehow the radioactive isotopes of Cesium and Iodine would "dissipate" and have a "negligible" impact on human health (needless to mention other media circus clowns touting radiation as "healthy" for you). Today, CRIIRAD, a French radiation research institute published their findings on the so-called "negligible" radiation and the findings don't look good. Not only has radioactive iodine been detected across all parts of Europe, they recommend pregnant women and children "avoid consuming vegetables with large leaves, fresh milk and creamy cheese." There is no need to take iodine tablets just yet, but if certain Europeans on the other side of the Atlantic are being told to scratch dairy and green leafy vegetables off their menus, what should Americans who have received levels of radioactive iodine 131 that "are 8-10 times higher" than in Europe do? It's a must read article.

Another alarming study conducted by the Kyoto and Hiroshima Universities this week showed soil samples from more than 30 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant are as much as 400 times the normal levels of radiation. Samples from 5 different locations outside the 30 kilometer zone showed cesium 137 at levels "between about 590,000 and 2.19 million becquerels per cubic meter". For reference, residents who lived in areas surrounding Chernobyl where cesium 137 levels exceeded 555,000 becquerels per cubic meter were not permitted to stay. Perhaps this is why the Japanese gov't has just now increased the "danger zone" out to 30km. Why has it taken so long and why have they resisted expanding the zone? We wonder if it has anything to do with all those big factories, from Nissan to Panasonic being located there... say it ain't so!

The Fairewinds website which has become a staple around here, doesn't disappoint today with another excellent video from Arnie Gundersen demonstrating how the Fukushima fuel rods shattered and melted. Must watch if you're a science buff. Explains why radiation levels are so high and why Japanese officials are keeping quite. And here is a handy dandy geiger counter map keeping track of radiation across Japan.

Some time ago when I stumbled upon the NASA SOHO website, I conjured up a theory that our powerful sun, which has become very active recently and spews billions of tons of particle energy in the general direction of the earth, is responsible for earthquakes here on earth. Initiated by reader response in the comment section, I wrote last Friday that due to a recent coronal eruption on the sun, an earthquake greater than 6.0 magnitude should occur sometime between then (Friday April 8th) and Wednesday the 13th. Interestingly, we had two greater than 6.0 since then - a 6.1 on Saturday and 6.6 just today. Maybe there is something to this. I will try to update the CME of the sun and keep track of earthquakes here. Still waiting for the big one in California. Is this warning of an imminent big one?

In the meantime, keep your eyes on an imminent Greece debt restructuring. As I said with Portugal's bailout, it's only a matter of time. Even Spain, although officially "Too Big To Save," will be requesting a bailout very shortly - in as little as 1-3 months. Unsustainable bond yields equals bailout or bust. It is that simple. Of course, silver being at $42 now indicates more trouble ahead. We were joking about adding an extra zero to silver's $40 price target which was breached Friday, but at the same time, nothing these days surprises us anymore. Can't wait to see the next round of quarterly reports from all the big companies that rely on parts from Japan. Should be worth an extra 500 points on the DOW - which brings us back to a few articles we  published over one month ago. One entitled "Think You're Paying Too Much At The Pump Now?" said you can expect to pay $3.80 a gallon for regular by April 1st. The same article showed our $40 silver target will be reached shortly by a $2 jump in the price of silver in a single day and a possible $50 target if things continued as they were - it did, they are, the economy is screwed. The second article, entitled "Painting The Global Economy Into The Corner" highlighted the problem Dr. Deficit created back in 2008 with his unofficial mandate of saving the stock market at all costs. In short, the good Doctor has but only a few weeks remaining before the coffee can he kicked down the road comes rolling back as a lead filled oil barrel. Have you ever painted yourself into a corner? Try it sometime, for fun.