This week: Tim Shorrock is an American investigative journalist whose ties to Japan go deeper than most of his colleagues. He grew up in Tokyo, and has Japanese relatives still living there. For much of the 1980's Shorrock reported on Asia from Japan, following closely Japanese political figures, and financial intrigues in the then-ascendant leader of the Asian Tiger economies.

Tim Shorrock in the first half.

 

Listen. Hear.

 

More than a month after Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami waves that killed tens of thousands, the Fukushima nuclear facility, still in meltdown mode, is spewing radioactive wastes into the sea and atmosphere. Every effort to contain the disaster has so far fallen short, and while the corporate and state media outside Japan seem content to let the story die on the back pages, it remains an environmental cataclysm that won't disappear simply because we fail to pay attention.

Tim Shorrock is an American investigative journalist whose ties to Japan go deeper than most of his colleagues. He grew up in Tokyo, and has Japanese relatives still living there. For much of the 1980's Shorrock reported on Asia from Japan, following closely Japanese political figures, and financial intrigues in the then-ascendant leader of the Asian Tiger economies.

Tim Shorrock in the first half.

And; the future of Canada's nuclear industry has made no inroads into the current federal election debate. You can thank the Canadian media and their too cosy relationship to power for that failure. The fact is: Canada has one of the world's most concentrated media, where revolving doors see former reporters like Peter Kent and Carol Taylor transit from the news desk to party hustings, while State media darling, Peter Mansbridge receives invites to Bilderberg Group conferences to hob nob with the global elite. But old media may be losing its stranglehold on the information every expert will tell you is the first necessity of a properly functioning democratic state.

Janni Aragon is a political science professor here at UVic. She specializes in gender politics and feminist theories, international relations, (with a special emphasis on US politics) and youth politics and the growing role of social media in issue oriented campaigns and elections.   

Janni Aragon and Canadians finding a way around the information gatekeepers in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with what's going on on Victoria's streets and beyond. but first, Tim Shorrock and Japan's (predictable) nuclear nightmare.