WTF? Are websites that show radiation levels in the US being blocked?

[garybeck]

I have heard multiple reports that independent websites that show radiation levels in the US are being blocked. One report I just read said that only people who are in areas potentially affected by Japan are having trouble (west coast).

One of the sites is http://www.radiationnetwork.com/

I am on the east coast and I can see it fine. But two of my friends on the west coast haven't been able to access this site all day.

the map looks like this:


(I took a screenshot and put it on my server. if you can see my screenshot but have trouble with the http://www.radiationnetwork.com/ URL, you might be blocked.

WTF? Is this just a coincidence? Who would want to block access like this? Who has the ability to block access to websites?

[whatchamacallit]

1. I'm in LA and it works for me (nt)

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Their ISP I am in the West Coast and I can see it fine

By the way it takes anywhere from 7-10 days to get here... and it should be minimal.

[PufPuf23]

3. No problem with access and near CA coast.

Bookmarked. Thanks.

[bananas]

4. Works for in San Diego - maybe it was overloaded earlier.

[jemsan]

26. Worked fine for me to in San Diego.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. We'll know...

...after Peter King does an extensive study.

[DearAbby]

6. I had trouble earlier...I believe it may be caused by traffic

I am in Colorado. I finally got onto the site.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Maybe its radiation causing the block.

Either that or an acute case of paranoia. :shrug:

[bananas]

8. Liberty Belle said the Weather Service has been muzzled

so this is something to keep an eye on.
She's a journalist in San Diego east county: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4770383&mesg_id=4770480

[Butch350]

35. I'm employed by the "NWS"

and there is no muzzling of sorts. You shouldn't spread unfounded rumors. It's scares people who don't understand.

[Cleita]

9. Get your geiger counters now!

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=geiger+counter

They used to be the rage back in the fifties when the US was testing H-Bombs in Nevada.

[slackmaster]

15. Victoreens suck. If you really want a rad meter, pay up for a Ludlum model 3.

With the good pancake detector that picks up alpha, beta, and gamma.

[Cleita]

17. Ludlum model 3 coming up!

http://www.uic.edu/depts/envh/RSS/SurveyMeters.html

[Matariki]

10. Not to offend, but your subject line may be a bit paranoid and hysterical.

I'm on the westcoast and can see the link just fine. It's possible that the site is getting overloaded by many people checking it.

[Lord Magus]

13. Not to mention being BS.

Yeah, people panicking for no reason and overloading the server is a more likely explanation.

[Hannah Bell]

11. washington state, i see it fine. thanks for the link. site closest to me read

35 when you caught it yesterday, now at 28 1 pm pacific daylight time 3/15.

[FSogol]

12. Opens fine for me. n/t

[Journeyman]

14. Use this site to verify your fears before posting them . . .

Down for Everyone. . . or just me?

http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/


Quick verification of internet availability.

[99th_Monkey]

16. I was wondering the same thing

yesterday I had found this streaming live TV channel to "ground zero" press/situation room, where Japanese officials were taking turns making various announcements and updates on the situation at the nuclear facilities. This morning when I tried to go there however, all I got was "page not found" message. Now I don't even remember the link, unless I scroll back into my computer history, which I may try to do still.

Anyway, I think your concern is probably well placed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. Was it this link?

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html

This is the one I use most of the time.

[99th_Monkey]

29. Not sure, but cool. Thanks for the link. ~nt

[fittosurvive]

18. This image provides a more realistic view of where the next tragedy is likely to occur.

[meow mix]

20. +rec

[pokerfan]

30. posting from Washington State

I fell into a burning ring of fire...

[Keith Bee]

19. I'm surprised Arizona's radiation level isn't higher

That would explain a lot.

[DFab420]

21. At least we aren't being sensationalists....

The website works fine.

It might be slow or down due to traffic. Where did you read your "report" about websites being down??


With all the mania and horribleness going on right now do we really need to be running around screaming about "the man" and his conspiracy to block our information and to give us all radiation poisoning?


Next time, try.. "Hey I heard people are having issues with these websites..Can anyone confirm?"

instead of running into a crowded room and yelling fire.

[garybeck]

23. whatever dude.... don't shoot the messenger

at a time when the EPA has clearly engaged in covering up what happened with the BP spill, telling people the beaches and fish are safe while independent testing shows otherwise, this is fair game. especially considering that two of my good friends can't access the website and they told me that their friends are having trouble too.

also I received this forwarded by Mark Crispin Miller, who has on multiple occasions sent me valuable and correct information that is not being reported in the media:

From Dave Griscom:

Cesium-137, a gamma ray emitter, is the worst. Fortunately, what
arrives in the U.S. is likely to be highly diluted and may not be a
great health problem ...unless a large amount of dust containing Ce-137
is aspirated or gets into the food chain (it's chemistry is the same as
that of potassium).

However, if the government continues to block web access to prevailing
ambient dose rates near where you live, you should seek alternative
means of finding out (like buying a Geiger Counter).

I'm not making this shit up... and I don't really appreciate the condescending tone of your post... in case you haven't noticed, in today's world we have to check on things ourselves and not rely on CNN. That's all I was doing. If you notice, the OP subject was a *question*.

Let me ask you a question... considering our federal government's history of covering shit up, if there was a question about nuclear fallout, would you trust the NRC, EPA, or CNN to tell you the truth?

Have a nice day.

[DFab420]

24. You are correct in saying it was a *question*

Just like.. "Is Obama secretly a radical terrorist?" or "Is it true drinking water from a fountain will KILL YOU??" are questions. But questions formed in a way to already establish a point of view.


Also if you really believe the government is spending it's time blocking access to reliable news, how about the fact that there isn't reliable news because this is an unprecedented case?


LIke that giant fall out map that everyone was waving around? Fake.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/technology/fallout.asp

And your two good friends? Again that sounds just as circumstantial as if I said I had hundreds of thousands of "good friends" who didn't have any issues accessing it at all.

All I was saying, is that a chicken little approach to posting isn't constructive.

[garybeck]

28. excuse me but...

comparing my question to "will drinking water kill you" or "is obama a terrorist" is a huge stretch. there is no precedent for these far-fetched ideas. in contrast, the EPA and federal government is failing us MISERABLY at this moment in the gulf and telling people the beaches are safe and the fish are good to eat. The reality is that it is not, and people who follow the advice of the government are getting sick. there even have been EPA representatives on the beach threatening to arrest people if they sample the water or sand. the administration underestimated the amount of oil that leaked throughout the entire process. they are also failing to inform us about the dangers of GMOs. So there is a significant precedent and it is not far fetched to consider the possibility they would fail and misinform us here. I didn't pull this out of the air, it was based on my experience and that of my friends and confirmed by a source that I consider to be reliable (Mark Crispin Miller).

I don't see the use in attacking someone for raising a question that is based on precedent. Maybe we should all just shut up, bury our heads in the sand, and go back to work so the rich can get richer.

I have learned to question authority. If people are ostracized for questioning authority, here at DU, then things are worse than I thought.

[Richard D]

22. I'm in L.A.

It was off all morning but is working now.

Here's another one that will be online shortly (from Santa Monica): http://www.enviroreporter.com/2011/03/radiation-station/

[flamingdem]

33. The guy seems to have it inside so I question how useful it is

but maybe he'll make a buck from the thousands tuning in!

[Bluenorthwest]

27. Jaysus, God, if we ever have an emercency here, this shit will

be very harmful, and will cost lives. I'd consider it coldly, the hysteria. And I mean coldly.

[Codeine]

31. Works fine here.

Dial the hysteria down a notch, folks. It doesn't help.

[joshcryer]

32. Best part about that map? Much of the radiation is coming from coal plants.

:rofl:

[Snoutport]

34. The numbers just went up by 4 or 5 and then they all went back down to the previous #s

i just pulled it up and the numbers on the west coast were up into the 30s and then all of them changed back to the same numbers that were there and hour ago.

why did they jump up and then go back?

[Gold Metal Flake]

36. West LA monitor live

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-radiation-monitoring-from-west-la