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Russia

Russia's Nuke Plants: A Disaster Waiting To Happen?

A new report by Russian atomic power agency Rosatam paints a grim picture of the country's aging nuclear power plants, which are ill-prepared for earthquakes and other natural phenomena.

Russia is hoping its nuke plants don't go the way of Chernobyl (above) disaster
Russia is hoping its nuke plants don't go the way of Chernobyl (above) disaster

Worldcrunch NEWS BITES

Understaffed, poorly designed and in disrepair, Russia's nuclear power plants may well be ticking time bombs, a report acquired this week by Switzerland's Le Temps suggests.

The report, authored by the Russian nuclear agency, Rosatam, says the country's nuclear facilities suffer from 31 serious security flaws. Among other things, Russia's atomic energy plants are ill-prepared for the type of natural disasters that recently affected the Fukushima plant in Japan. Designers did not take into account the risk of earthquakes when planning the facilities in Russia, according to the Rosatam report.

What is even more worrying is that some of Russia's nuclear facilities were modeled on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which exploded in April 1986 releasing large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere. In addition, most of the nuclear plants don't have automatic shutdown mechanisms, which are supposed to function whenever a natural catastrophe takes place. The cooling systems in several plants have many weaknesses, and overall, Russian nuclear plants lack safety inspectors and qualified maintenance and repair staff, the Rostama report revealed.

Le Temps received the scathing Rostama study fromBellona, a Norwegian environmental organization. The report has been sent to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. In commissioning the report, says Ole Harbitz, head of the crisis commission for the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (Statens strålevern), President Medvedev demonstrated that he is taking the risk of natural disasters more seriously following the Fukushima accident.

Read the full article in French by Antoine Jacob.

Photo - Timm Suess

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Society

Is Disney's "Wish" Spreading A Subtle Anti-Christian Message To Kids?

Disney's new movie "Wish" is being touted as a new children's blockbuster to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary. But some Christians may see the portrayal of the villain as God-like and turning wishes into prayers as the ultimate denial of the true message of Christmas.

photo of a kid running out of a church

For the Christmas holiday season?

Joseph Holmes

Christians have always had a love-hate relationship with Disney since I can remember. Growing up in the Christian culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, all the Christian parents I knew loved watching Disney movies with their kids – but have always had an uncomfortable relationship with some of its messages. It was due to the constant Disney tropes of “follow your heart philosophy” and “junior knows best” disdain for authority figures like parents that angered so many. Even so, most Christians felt the benefits had outweighed the costs.

That all seems to have changed as of late, with Disney being hit more and more by claims from conservatives (including Christian conservatives) that Disney is pushing more and more radical progressive social agendas, This has coincided with a steep drop at the box office for Disney.

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