http://www.portfolio.hu/en/economy/concealed_study_shows_hungarys_nuclear_deal_with_russia_causing_massive_losses_paper.27340.html

Concealed study shows Hungary's nuclear deal with Russia causing massive losses - paper
February 7, 2014, 2:10 pm

Hungary’s government does not want to disclose the detailed estimates for the Paks nuclear reactor construction project because these forecast rising electricity prices and massive losses, local daily Népszabadság reported on Friday.


Changing agenda

The newspaper reminded that the expansion of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant was oddly taken off the agenda of a meeting of Parliament’s Commission on Sustainable Development on 10 December, as the government majority argued the discussion of the matter was not timely. Then members of the commission received an invitation for a meeting on 16 December that said they would be informed about measures to be made to maintain the capacities of the Paks NPP.

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The paper said the cancellation has to do with the assumption that "revealing MVM’s figures would have caused disturbance even among governing party MPs before the final vote on bill of the Orbán-Putin agreement."

Bad deal?

It added the report for the MVM does not paint a positive picture on the project because "in case of a 2,000 billion forint investment cost - if the state-owned energy company finances it from its own resources - would result in a producer price of 22 forint per kilowatt hour in the new blocks. At HUF 3,000 billion this would lead to a HUF 33 per kWh electricity price, which is obviously unacceptable in view of the HUF 16 per kWh free market price."

According to the cited study, if capital costs did not exceed HUF 3,000 bn and the interest expenses and related costs of the development (network development, new reserve block, etc.) were to be paid by taxpayers, the production price would still come in at HUF 25/kWh. This would boost local electricity prices by more than 10% and - including the accompanying investments - cause losses to the tune of HUF 1,000 billion.

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Kids Read To Sheltered Cats And Everyone's Heart Collectively Melts
By Erin Chack @ErinChack

The Animal Rescue League of Berks County, P.A., has a program called "Book Buddies" where children volunteer to read to sheltered cats. And it just might be too cute for the internet to handle. Via http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/1xd1ww/my_local_rescue_has_a_program_called_book_buddies/

http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/1xd1ww/my_local_rescue_has_a_program_called_book_buddies/

My local rescue has a program called Book Buddies where kids read to sheltered cats to sooth them (i.imgur.com)
submitted 1 day ago by dagorlad
1027 comments
[hr]
This is at Berks Animal Rescue League in Berks County, PA.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-06/japan-gets-its-very-own-fox-news.html

Japan Gets Its Very Own Fox News
By William Pesek Feb 6, 2014

You know your reputation in North Asia has hit rock bottom when a dictator who recently executed his uncle thinks you’re dangerous. Kim Jong Un’s comparison of Shinzo Abe to Adolf Hitler should prompt a moment of solemn reflection for Japan’s leader.

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South Korea is equally enraged by Abe’s questionable grasp of history. Last September in Seoul, President Park Geun Hye snapped at U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel when he encouraged her to improve ties with Abe’s Japan, a fellow U.S. ally. “If Germany had continued to say things that inflicted pain, while acting as if all was well, would European integration have been possible?” Park asked Hagel. “I think the answer is no.” Park reportedly lectured Hagel about Abe’s “total absence of sincerity.”

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Late last year, as Abe was rushing a chilling government secrecy bill into law, he was also packing the board of governors of NHK -- akin to a Japanese BBC -- with like-minded conservatives. The 12-member board is appointed by parliament, but influenced heavily by the prime minister’s wish list. Among Abe’s picks were novelist Naoki Hyakuta (who sparked a firestorm this week by claiming that the brutal Nanjing Massacre never happened); Michiko Hasegawa, who says women’s place in society is at home raising kids; and Director-General Katsuto Momii, who’s now Japan’s answer to Fox News honcho Roger Ailes.

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“We cannot say left when the government says right,” Momii told reporters, arguing that it’s “only natural” for the network to follow official government narratives.

Actually, no, it’s not. The media in a democracy exists to police governments, even those largely footing the bill. Instead Abe now has his own Fox News-like propaganda arm to propagate and reinforce his views. And the costs of this mindset are already becoming apparent.

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