Scottish prosecutors have requested an interview with defected Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, a move hailed by relatives of those killed in the air disaster. (Middle East Online, March 31) Koussa, former head of Libyan intelligence and until recently a member of Moammar Qaddafi's inner circle, arrived in the UK March 30 and said he was defecting. Popularly known as the "Envoy of Death," he was secretary of the Libyan People's Bureau in London—equivalent to Tripoli's ambassador—in the '80s. He was declared persona non grata by Britain after two Libyan opposition figures were murdered in London and he told the media that the policy of eliminating "stray dogs" would continue. Campaigners also hold him responsible in the 1984 slaying of Yvonne Fletcher, a London police officer who was apparently shot from inside the Libyan embassy while trying to control a crowd of anti-Qaddafi protesters (mostly Libyan ex-pats) who had gathered there. (The Guardian, March 31) Libyan rebels have arrested a man suspected in the Fletcher murder, one Omar Ahmed Sodani, who worked under Koussa at the embassy, and campaigners want him to face trial in UK. (The Guardian, March 25)

The anti-imperialist left is confused and divided on Libya—running a spectrum from vulgar responses that loan comfort to Qaddafi's propaganda, to more serious attempts to seek out a neither/nor position. But even commentaries in the latter category still dodge the question of what are the world's responsibilities to the Libyans as Qaddafi turns his guns on his own people. Especially since the West supplied much of that firepower, this question must concern us. Defense Industry Daily informed us March 3 that Libya has been notably armed by Franceover the past decade, while continuing to deal with its old mainstay Russia.

Three workers received burn lesions on their legs when they were exposed to highly radioactive water in the basement of the turbine building at reactor Number 3 at Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant March 26, but news accounts were typically confused. Various sources put the radiation level the three had been exposed to at anywhere between 170 and 6.000 millisieverts (per hour, presumably), with 250 being the permissible level for workers. Some sources also said the workers likely suffered "beta ray burns." Two of the workers have apparently been hospitalized after the three underwent examination at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba Prefecture. White smoke was again seen over the plant that morning. Officials said new readings showed Tokyo’s tap water was back to radiaiton levels acceptable for infants, but elevated levels were now detected in the neighboring prefectures of Chiba and Saitama. (NHK World, NHK World, March 26; AP, WSJ, March 25; AP, March 24)

Republicans going in for the kill on public radio were notoriously dealt a coup by the secretly taped sting interview given by NPR top fundraiser Ronald Schiller to undercover conservatives posing as potential donors from a non-existent Muslim group. Both Ronald and NPR executive Vivian Schiller (no relation) stepped down in the aftermath—part of an almost uniformly craven response on the part of public broadcasters and liberals in general. Those who aren't retreating are merely crying foul. Among lefty commentators, Jason Linkins on Huffington Post March 14 charges that "deceptive editing" made Ron Schiller's comments seem worse than they really were. That strikes us as somewhat beside the point. It would also be a little beside the point to complain about how widespread this game of "gotcha" has become (the left having pulled off similar stings of Scott Walker and Sarah Palin), and the effect this is having on our intellectual climate—although it is pretty funny to watch right-wing websites and left-wing websites each complaining that the "biased" media are giving coverage to the other side's stings at the expense of their own. But there are some far more serious points here that nobody seems to get.

A Statement of Continued Resistance by the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade
 —in Exile

"Freedom of the press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose."
— George Orwell

NucNet, "The Nuclear Communications Network," citing the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), reports March 15 that following the explosions at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, "damage is suspected to unit 2's inner or primary containment vessel (PCV)." Additionally, "spent fuel storage pool at unit 4 has been on fire with radioactivity being released directly into the atmosphere." TEPCO apparently told JAIF that the fuel pond fire has now been extinguished. But wire reports indicate that the fire in reactor Number 4 is getting worse.

Two more reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan are reported to have lost cooling functions March 15, as technicians continue their struggle to contain what threatens to become a meltdown. Reactors Number 5 and Number 6 now appear to going out of control, with rises in temperature recorded. This follows explosions at reactors 1, 3, and 2 since March 12, as well as a fire now reported at reactor Number 4. Technicians have now lost control of all six reactors at the plant. Additionally, the water in the plant's waste fuel storage pool may be boiling due to loss of coolant, officials said.

In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation from the three stricken reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has reached the danger zone: "The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out." Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano added: "Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health." He urged residents who have not heeded evacuation orders to close their doors and windows and not wear clothing that has hung outside. A fire is also reported in Fukushima Dai-ichi's reactor Number 4, which means that four of the plant's six reactors are in crisis. (Globe & Mail, DPA, March 15)