Tag Archives: disaster

Fukushima

One Year Later: Potential wild fires threaten to spread even more radiation, Japanese firefighters concerned!

Apparently people are starting to realize another threat within the 20km No-Go Zone around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant; wildfires.

There are no firefighters within the No-Go Zone, and outside the zone there is not sufficient water in the piped systems for firefighters to hook hoses up to.

On March 13, 2012, area firefighters held a drill to prepare for a possible wildfire inside the No-Go Zone. They had to use tanker trucks and helicopters to bring in water.

The firefighters also had to wear radiation suits, and take radiation readings.  The fear is that a wildfire within the No-Go Zone would spread more radiation by burning up contaminated plants and buildings.

International, U.S.

World War 3: England will “bomb the hell out of” Scotland, if it wins independence!

“If that were to happen what alternative would England have but to come and bomb the hell out of Glasgow airport and Edinburgh airport.”-Fraser of Carmyllie, spineless Tory who is against independence

Fraser gave a speech in Edinburgh warning that if Scotland became totally independent of England, the English would use their traditional military reasoning and conclude that Scotland was now open for use as an anti-English base.

Don’t laugh, if you know history (and many people don’t) that reasoning was the same used by England’s Winston Churchill to massacre the neutral French navy in Algeria!  In fact, it was that attack that influenced Japanese plans for attacking the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor.

To try and calm any English fears, the Scottish National Party is proposing that an independent Scotland would allow English bases to remain on their territory!

International, U.S.

World War 3: Afghan riots continue, Afghan soldier killed, Afghan Senators united against U.S., Afghan police kill Afghans

“With the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers.”-Zabihullah Mujahid

Afghan college students began protesting in Nangarhar Province. Hundreds of protesters hit the streets of Jalalabad.

Senior Afghan officials visited villages to try and calm things down, instead they were attacked. One Afghan soldier was killed, and one soldier was wounded along with a military attorney.

“Today, the Kandahar governor was trying to explain to the villagers that he was only one soldier [referring to U.S. soldier], that he was not a sane person and that he was sick.  But the people were just shouting and they were very angry. They didn’t listen to the governor. They accused him of defending the Americans instead of defending the Kandahari people.”-Abdul Rahim Ayubi, a Kandahar politician

Two of the officials that were attacked are brothers of President Hamid Karzai.

In the Afghan senate unanimous  calls for action against the United States, and accusations against Human Rights organizations.  Senators pointed out that little is being said by human rights organizations, including the UN’s Human Rights Commission.  Human rights organizations are quick to condemn Syria, but where are they regarding the genocide being committed by the U.S. in Afghanistan?

Other Afghan senators said the U.S. will face the same fate as the former Soviet Union.

As this is going on, Afghan police, led by U.S./NATO/ISAF forces, have killed two Afghans and detained seven.  The Afghan Interior Ministry says it was the result of five separate operations in the past 24 hours.  They took place in Kabul, Helmand, Uruzgan, Logar and Khost provinces.

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Government/Corporate Incompetence: Nebraska could have suffered Nuclear disaster last year, workers jury rigging new parts, according to NRC

March 13, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a preliminary report on last year’s fire at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska.  It shows corporate incompetence that could have led to disaster, if the plant hadn’t already been shut down.

The nuclear reactors had been shut down for maintenance, and were shut down longer than planned because of  flooding from the Missouri river.

The incompetence comes from a incorrectly installed electrical breaker panel, which began to smolder and eventually ignited.  The breaker panel was not designed for the existing switches, and was mickey moused to fit.  The result was that grease built up in the panel, overheated and caught fire.

There is more incompetence, in that the NRC learned that workers had noticed a burning smell coming from the panel at least three days before the fire broke out!

The NRC also discovered that the warning siren system for people living nearby is faulty, and there is no back up warning system in place!

This is proof that the greatest danger involving nuclear plants, are the corporations operating them!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: Japan sanctions Iranian bank, move could backfire on Japan’s already disintigrating economy

On March 13, 2012, the Japanese government imposed sanctions against another Iranian bank, the 21st since last year.

It’s called Bank Tejarat, and is the third largest in Iran.  There’s just one problem, most of the deals involve Iranians buying Japanese products, not the other way round!

In 2011 Iranians bought U.S.$1.65 billion worth of Japanese industrial products. The majority of those transactions went through Bank Tejarat.  What this means is that in the name of trying to maintain good relations with the United States (after announcing $10 billion deal to dump U.S. bonds for Chinese) the leaders of Japan have possibly destroyed any chances of economic recovery.

As usual Japanese leaders are masters of understatement: “There may be a slight impact, but we believe that it is now most important to carry out international cooperation.”-Koichiro Gemba, Foreign Minister of Japan

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Canadian economy getting punched hard because they’ve pumped out too much oil

“If you don’t think this is a big issue, think again!”-Andrew Potter, CIBC World Markets

Canada has pumped out so much oil, that it’s losing money.  Plus it has to compete with the flood of oil coming out of North Dakota. The result is that Canadian heavy and light oil is now selling for about $10 to $30 under what U.S. West Texas Crude is selling for.

“…we actually have a contraction because there’s just too much of the stuff.”– Peter Tertzakian, ARC Financial Corporation

What it means is that energy industry companies are going to lose Canadian$18 billion every year until at least 2013!  Canadian provinces will lose tax revenues of  Canadian$5 million per day!

“That hurts…doesn’t include corporate taxes, which will get affected, too.”-Jack Mintz, University of Calgary School of Public Policy

Canadian oil analysts are hoping their situation stabilizes by 2013/2014. But it will be painful, one analysts said cash flow for the energy industry will drop at least 20% in 2012.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: IEF backs up claims by Exxon Mobil; there is plenty of oil

“Even now the market is well supplied. New fields are being discovered. There are new areas where sources are being developed. The sources of supply are spreading and this will change the politics of oil.”-Aldo Flores- Quiroga, IEF Secretary General

One more authoritarian voice joins in to say there is not a lack of oil, oil prices are only going up because of those damn speculators!

Well not just because of the speculators.  Officials with the International Energy Forum, also said that the oil industry needs new investments, and big profits, in order to exploit the new sources of oil, to the tune of $700 billion every year!

Last week the CEO of Exxon Mobil said the same thing, that there was plenty of oil in the pipeline, but he did directly blame the speculators on the high prices.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Government Incompetence: Speaker of the House reveals why U.S. Congress can’t get anything done

The following statements are from John Boehner’s interview with the Wall Street Journal:

“My problem is not with our 89 freshmen, my problem is with a few senior members who—they always want more. They always want more than what you can produce….[Nancy Pelosi] went through the same problem with her side.”

“We got 435 members. It’s just a slice of America, it really is. We got some of the smartest people in the country who serve here, and some of the dumbest. We got some of the best people you’d ever meet, and some of the raunchiest. We’ve got ’em all.“

“I told them they have ocular rectitis. That’s when your eyes get confused with your butt, and it develops into (an unnecessarily fecal) outlook on life.”

When asked what was behind political scandals, money or sex, Boehner replied: “Rarely is money an issue.”

 

International, U.S.

Government Evil: It’s official, United Nations says the United States tortured whistleblower Bradley Manning

“What is torture for? It’s really a way of getting false confessions. That’s what it does. That’s what it’s for.”-Daniel Ellsberg, former RAND Corporation employee turned anti-government activist

The UN special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, has formally accused the U.S. government of torturing one of their own citizens!!!

After 14 months of investigation, Mendez concluded that the arrest and detention of whistleblower, U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, involved cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment!

Manning has been in military prison since 2010.  It included nearly 11 months of solitary confinement: “I conclude that the 11 months under conditions of solitary confinement (regardless of the name given to his regime by the prison authorities) constitutes at a minimum cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of article 16 of the convention against torture. If the effects in regards to pain and suffering inflicted on Manning were more severe, they could constitute torture.”

Manning was also forced to spend nights standing naked.  Yeah, real good example of being a beacon of hope to the World, United Police States of America!

Mendez says the U.S. Department of Defense fought his 14 month investigation every step of the way, never co-operating, and never allowing him to interview Manning (which is also a violation of international law).  Mendez believes one reason the U.S. tortured Manning was to get information they could use to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Business/Economics, International

One Year Later: Abandoned Japanese fishing boat makes it way back home

A ghostly reminder of the March 11, 2011, Mega Quake and tsunami that hit north eastern Honshu, Japan, made its way back home.

The boat belonged to a fisherman from Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture.  Otsuchi is one of the coastal towns devastated by the tsunami.  The fisherman did not survive the monster tidal surge, but his boat amazingly did.

Nearly one year after the disaster the ravaged boat was found drifting, more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) away, on the other side of Japan, in the Sea of Japan (aka East Sea).  It was returned to the fisherman’s son, who lives in Kamaishi City.

The son said he intends to repair the boat and go fishing.