Tag Archives: health

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Evil: Mystery disease killing children in Cambodia? Remember Vientam’s Kanup/Roundup/Monsanto disaster?

05 July 2012, Cambodian health officials have turned to the UN World Health Organization for help in finding out what is killing their children.  A similar thing happened in Vietnam.

In Vietnam the mystery disease was made public in April this year.  It looks like a case of villagers incorrectly using a Monsanto product called Kanup 480 SL (Roundup in the United States).  The villagers had never used herbicides prior to a chemical company sale person tricking them into using the Roundup.

Now, Cambodian officials are reporting the deaths of at least 61 children.  The deaths began in April of this year.  Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, neurological problems and severe respiratory problems.  Officials say it is not contagious, implying it is not a virus or bacteria.

Cases have been reported in 14 Cambodian provinces.  At this point health officials are treating this as a traditional disease.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence One Year Later: 600 page report blames ongoing nuclear disaster on idiots in government! Faulty construction of disaster reactors blamed!

“The accident was not a natural disaster but was obviously a man made disaster.”-Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission

On 05 July 2012, the results of a months long Diet (Japanese parliament) investigation into the ongoing nuclear disaster at the General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power factory, places blame squarely on Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo), and the government.

The report also stated that failings in management began years before the  March 2011 disaster.

The report criticizes government response to the nuclear disaster.  The former prime minister who was in charge last year, Kan Naoto, gave a typical Japanese political response, agreeing with parts of the report and refuting other parts.

The report said that construction of Fukushima Daiichi was not up to earthquake standards, as claimed by TEPCo. The report says the nuclear disaster might have actually started with the earthquake, not the tsunami.

Government and corporate leadership only made things worse: Self serving attitudes of leaders resulted in willful negligence, both in the construction of the nuke plant, and the disaster response.

There were plenty of opportunities for TEPCo to upgrade Fukushima Daiichi with stronger construction and better safeguards.

In the first hours of the disaster the government interfered at different levels, causing confusion within corporate chains of command.

The government also confused the general public, by giving reports that conflicted with media reports. In some cases government reports outright contrasted with events watched live on Japanese TV  (I remember watching live on the internet as the tsunami swept over three story buildings, then heard a government official saying the waves were only 3 meters tall!!!)!

The government issued confusing evacuation advise, in some cases people actually evacuated into areas being contaminated with radiation. The report suggests that government leaders were trying to avoid taking full responsibility for the disaster by making evacuations voluntary, and using terms like “just in case”.

Another issue was the announcement of radiation danger zones long after the nuclear disaster began. The report says the government had radiation data for a whole month before hand, and could have declared the danger zones much sooner.

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) began in December 2011, interviewing 1,167 people, including former government and TEPCo officials.   The NAIIC is planning “…to make an English version of the final report to show it to the world.”-Kurokawa Kiyoshi, lead investigator

Japanese version of report here.

 

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Fresh water fish more radioactive than salt water fish! More proof that you need lots of salt in your diet!

03 July 2012, the Ministry of Environment in Japan discovered that fresh water fish are more susceptible to radiation contamination than salt water fish.

From December 2011 to February 2012, they sampled fish from rivers, lakes and eight locations in the Pacific Ocean.  Fresh water fish were much more contaminated than salt water fish.

In a river north of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, goby fish were found with 2,600 becquerels per kilogram of cesium!  The highest readings of cesium in salt water flounder and bass were 260 becquerels per kilogram.

The researchers speculate that the salt in the ocean water absorbs much of the radiation, and then the fish excrete it (the concept is similar to the idea of taking iodide pills after a nuclear accident).

Radiation ends up being concentrated in the bodies of fresh water fish.

ONE YEAR LATER: LEFT BEHIND; FUKUSHIMA PETS STILL WITHOUT HOMES, NEW KITTENS FOUND NEAR NUCLEAR PLANT

Idaho, U.S.

Pocatello Charlotte Fire update: 100% contained, fireworks for 4th of July, seed for rebuilding community!

02 July 2012, the Charlotte Fire was declared 100% contained.  The Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center will turn control over to the city of Pocatello Fire Department at about 22:00 hours Monday night.

Pocatello city officials also lifted the fireworks ban, but only for 04 July 2012, and only from 12:00 hours to 00:00 hours.  Also, not every part of Pocatello is cleared for fireworks so check with police.  The city of next door Chubbuck has also lifted their fireworks ban for the 4th of July, from noon ’till midnight.

Bannock county has purchased $2,500 worth of grass and wildflower seed, to help affected residents start rebuilding their properties. Because the fire hit hilly areas, the seed will be needed to prevent mudslides and flash floods.  Contact Pocatello fire officials for details.

fire fighters call Pocatello a War Zone!

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate Evil & Investor Evil: U.S. drug maker hit with record fine for fraudulent claims on Paxil, Avandia and Wellbutrin! Stock price shoots up!

02 July 2012, GlaxoSmithKline reportedly pled guilty to fraudulent activities involving the drugs Paxil, Avandia and Wellbutrin.  The company is being fined a record $3 billion USD!

The U.S. Department of Justice says the pharmaceutical giant claimed the drugs could be used to treat conditions and/or people for which they were not approved!

Paxil is meant for adults only, but was sold for use in children! The antidepressant Wellbutrin was sold as a weight loss drug!  GlaxoSmithKline was also accused of failing to report safety data, concerning the diabetes drug Avandia, to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration from 2001 to 2007.

Also, under a type of probation, for the next five years company executives could lose their bonuses to the government, if any employee is caught conducting fraudulent activity.  As well, sales reps will no longer be paid based on total sales, but on the quality of their job performance.

Interestingly, when news of GlaxoSmithKline’s guilty plea was heard investors jumped on the company’s stock driving the price up!  Why would an ‘honest’ investor want to buy stock in a company who admits to fraud?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? European unemployment rate holds on to record highs! Austerity policies to blame! Trilateral policies in motion!

02 July 2012, the European Union (EU) statistical office released unemployment data from its member countries.  Record high rates persist.

For the month of May, Spain set a new record of 24.6%! Unemployment for Spanish people under 25 years of age hit 52.1%!  For perspective, that’s more than 5.6 million people out of work in a country with a population of 46 million people!

Portugal at 15.2%, Italy at 10.1%.  In total, the number of people unemployed in the EU reached 17.6 million, an increase of 88,000 from April to May 2012!

Greek numbers are months behind, but their report for March shows an increase in unemployment, to 21.9%!  Unemployed Greek youths are also at 52.1%!

EU officials noted that the greatest increase in unemployment are in member countries that have harsh austerity policies (cut spending, increase taxes, which are publicly stated policies of the Trilateral Commission).

 

 

Idaho, U.S.

Boise, Idaho, fire fighters call Pocatello a War Zone! Charlotte and 10 Mile Pass fires still listed as active. New Marsing Fire. Fire agencies not reporting all fires!

“It’s always sad to come into an area that looks like a war zone, with so many homes that have been devastated.”-J.D. Ellis, Battalion Chief for Boise Fire Department

01 July 2012,  fire fighters from Boise, Idaho, commented on the Charlotte Fire in Pocatello (in southeastern Idaho), saying the geography and vegetation are quite different from what they’re used to in their area of the Gem State.

“It’s been kind of…a learning experience to evaluate the structures and see which ones survived and which ones didn’t survive and try to identify factors between the two.”-J.D. Ellis, Battalion Chief for Boise Fire Department

As of 01 July 2012, the Eastern Idaho Interagency fire map still shows three active fires in southeastern Idaho: Charlotte, Stockton and 10 Mile Fire.

Faint smoke from the 10 Mile Pass Fire, east of McCammon, Idaho, 29 June 2012, about 17:00 hours.

Charlotte Fire reported as burned 1,038 acres (420 hectares) contrary to what national agency reports say.  Stockton Fire is at 1,210 acres (489.6 hectares) and the 10 Mile Fire (aka Ten Mile Pass Fire) is at 1,188 acres (480.7 hectares).

28 June 2012, early stages of Stockton Fire, which actually started north of Banida, Idaho, despite what the media reports say. Farm equipment is blamed.

The 10 Mile Fire reportedly was caused by a agricultural controlled burn that got out-a-control.

28 June 2012, Charlotte Fire as viewed from south of McCammon, Idaho.

Near Boise, in western Idaho, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is fighting a fire that’s burned 1,500 acres (607 hectares) so far.  It started 30 June 2012, it’s southwest of Marsing, near Jump Creek Road.  Like the majority of fires in Idaho, officials believe it’s human caused.

I could not find the Marsing Fire listed on any interagency maps. The USDA Forest Service Active Fire Mapping Program lists only the Charlotte and Ten Mile Pass fires.

The National Interagency Fire Center is also days behind updating their fire reports.

On 01 July 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned of “critical” fire conditions throughout the Pacific Northwest, due to extremely dry air and windy conditions. Humidity levels expected to be as low as 8%!

Idaho’s history includes some intense fire fighting years, starting with the 1910 Great Fire (aka Big Blowup or Big Burn), and then most recently the fires of 2007.  Some fire fighting ‘experts’ are already calling 2012 a record year for the numbers of fires in Idaho.

BLM officials are blaming the decades long drought. Lynn Ballard, southeastern Idaho USDA Forest Service official, says a lot of autumn vegetation (they like to call them “fuels”, which also applies to anything that burns) dried out during the dry winter.  With the snow melt and few rain storms during spring came more vegetation growth, but that dried out quickly.  The result is lots of tinder dry brush, and now we’ve got hot and extremely dry weather.

While the mainstream U.S. news media has been reporting lightning as the main causes of wildfires around the country, not so in Idaho.  The overwhelming majority of Idaho wildfires have been human caused, by accident or on purpose.

Federal officials say prior to 2003 most Idaho wildfires were caused by lightning, the increase of human causes they blame on ignorance: “There’s a multitude of things that can lead to a human caused fire, so people just need to be cognizant of the things that they’re doing, of things that have heat that…could start a fire.”– Lynn Ballard, USDA Forest Service

Charlotte Fire 80% contained. Vulture/desperate contractors already descending. 

 

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Japanese government collasping over tax increases! DPJ turning against their own Prime Minister!

02 July 2012, 52 members of Japan’s Diet (parliament) have resigned over the sales tax increases called for by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

The prime minister and the lawmakers who quit are part of the same political party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).  One of the lawmakers to resign is Ichiro Ozawa, who helped found the DPJ. He’s forming a new political party to challenge the government.

The members who left occupied positions in both houses of the Diet.  If the DPJ were to lose 55 members in the more powerful Lower House, then the DPJ would not be able to stop any recall of the prime minister.  The Lower House of the Diet appoints the Japanese prime minister, he is not elected by the general public.

Yoshihiko Noda is the sixth prime minister in the past six years.

Idaho, U.S.

Some examples of how hot & dry it is in southeastern Idaho

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Some people might think local officials are being a little too cautious with their control over who has access to the Charlotte Fire burn area, at the south end of  Pocatello.  But, it really is so dry out their that I wouldn’t be surprised if the cause of the fire was spontaneous combustion of tinder dry field grasses (I’ve seen it happen in hay stacks).

I recently got my city of Chubbuck, Idaho, water bill for 08 May 2012 to 05 June 2012.  It shows you what you used the previous year.  For the same time in 2011 I used 4,000 gallons (15,141.6 liters). Yet, for 2012 I used 13,000 gallons (49,210.35 liters), a 9,000 gallon increase!  And I was really trying to conserve, but I have a large yard with a victory garden and the amount of water I used in May was just barely enough to keep most plants from dying.

I have a pear tree and several plum trees, and for the first time in more than a decade they have no fruit!  My Golden Delicious apple tree has not even half the amount of fruit it normally does.

Two of my three grape vines returned to dormancy two months ago, and have only now started to come back, after tons of water was flooded onto them.  One of my two blackberry vines died.  My normally over productive raspberry vines are now struggling, with only two raspberries visible.

My huge decades old pine tree stopped dropping pine cones a month ago.  This is normal when you get into dry summer months, but since my pine tree is located in the middle of my back lawn it usually drops cones throughout summer because it gets enough water when I water the lawn.  This year I’ve been flooding sections of the lawn, including around the pine tree, due to how dry the grass is getting, and yet no pine cones.

By the way, lawn grass is the most inefficient plant on the planet, and yet our incompetent municipality leaders create laws forcing us to maintain a grass lawn, for the sake of property values!  And then they jack up our water/sewer/trash rates!!!

For example: In 1998 I swear I was paying a basic water/sewer/trash rate of $38.00 USD per month (not counting the per thousand gallon water charge). In 2010 it was more than $77.00.  Now, in 2012 the basic water/sewer/trash rate is more than $92.00!!!

Between 1998 and 2002 water conservation actually helped keep my water bill down, but at this point none of my water saving efforts are paying off, because the city has jacked up the basic services rate so high!  And you can’t conserve too much because then the city hits you with violation of beautification codes!

The city of Chubbuck actually has employees driving around neighborhoods in “code enforcement” vehicles, giving out warnings.  If warnings are not heeded the city brings in landscapers and sends you the bill.

Another sign of how hot and dry it is: Laundry.  I hang my laundry to dry outside in summer, it so hot/dry that a full load is dry within 20 minutes or less.  That’s much less time than if I used the dryer in the house.

How about southeast Idaho reservoir levels?

Devil Creek reservoir, north of Malad City, Idaho, off Interstate Highway 15, 29 June 2012. Two months ago it was full.

Deep Creek reservoir, east of Malad City, on Idaho State Highway 36, 29 June 2012. Two months ago it was full.

Idaho, U.S.

Pocatello Charlotte Fire update: 80% contained. Vulture/desperate contractors already descending. 19 fireworks cases despite ban! Respect for dead pets found in fire.

“Today is the day we are really going to attack this fire.”-Lorin Nielsen, Bannock County Sheriff

01 July 2012, Sunday morning press conference reporting 80% containment of Charlotte Fire, in Pocatello, Idaho.

Today is a critical weather day, a red flag warning is in place until 21:00 hours.  About 40 fire fighting trucks and 150 personnel are hoping to fully contain the fire by Monday morning.

The city of Pocatello, and Bannock County, banned fireworks, yet there were 19 fireworks case calls over night.  Police stated no tolerance was applied to those caught.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Pocatello residents with gas BBQs with lids can continue to use them.

Hot spots and flares up still occurring within the center of the burn area. There were problems in the Mink Creek area, but law enforcement has resumed escorting residents into that area.

State and local officials expressed concern over the number of looky loos trying to get into the burn area.  Also, construction contractors, who’re either vultures or just desperate for work, have already been pestering those people who’ve suffered lost or damaged property.  County officials are warning people of fraudulent contractors.

Fire fighters are reporting finding dead pets in the burn area, they are leaving them in place and covering them with towels.

Bannock County Humane society is giving away food for dogs and cats to victims of the fire.

Charlotte Fire 50% contained. No return home