Tag Archives: obama

Fukushima, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence: Radioactive Tritium leaking from U.S. nuclear reactors

A year long study of U.S. government documents, by the Associated Press, has revealed that radioactive tritium is leaking into groundwater.

Documents show that at least 48 nuclear plants in the U.S. have, or are, leaking tritium.  Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen.  The report comes from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

At least 37 of those leaks exceeded government safe levels for drinking water.

It’s not just tritium that’s leaking from U.S. nuclear reactors; cesium and strontium are also leaking.

Strontium 90 was found leaking at Indian Point nuke plant north of New york City.

Cesium 137 leaked from Fort Calhoun nuke plant in Nebraska.  By the way, that reactor was just shut down because the Missouri River is flooding it.

There’s much more about the leaks from U.S. nuke plants in the AP report.  Maybe this explains the increase in cancer rates over the past decades?

Like I said before: Everyone living near nuclear reactors in the United States should make plans to get away.

Fukushima, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence: U.S. Nuclear Reactors disasters waiting to happen

The Associated Press spent a year going over government documents concerning the safety of U.S. nuke plants; the conclusion is that a disaster of epic proportions is very likely.

The reason is that U.S. officials, like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, have been relaxing safety standards just so the aging nuclear reactors could be re-licensed.  In other words, what the AP found was that if today’s U.S. nuclear reactors were required to meet 1970s safety standards, most would fail.  The most common problem at the nuclear plants are leaking valves.

Recently, one Senator from Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, tried to say the U.S. nuclear industry had a record of safe operations.  However, the NRC, even with it’s relaxed safety standards, has filed more than 200 safety alerts since 2005.  In 2008 the NRC admitted that 70% of potentially dangerous situations resulted from relaxing of standards in order to get the plants re-licensed.

Another surprising find, the Associated Press noted that not a single serious investigation into the safety of nuclear plants has been officially undertaken, not even by the NRC.  It appears what government, and the nuke industry corporations have been doing, is trying to find ways to re-license reactors without meeting safety standards!

Here’s the modus operandi of U.S. government, and the corporations running the nuke plants:  Old parts fail causing accidents, or jeopardizing re-licensing.  Instead of ‘coming up to compliance’, corporations work with government agencies to ‘dumb down’ existing safety regulations.

Another revelation: Most U.S. nuclear plants were supposed to be replaced with brand new plants, once their original 40 year licenses expired.  That never happened.

What’s the motivation behind the scandal?  Billions and billions of dollars being made by providing almost 20% of the United State’s electricity, using outdated and cheaply maintained nuke plants.

There is so much more in the AP report.  Everyone living near nuclear reactors in the United States should make plans to get away.

U.S.

Obama has worst Veto record since Garfield

According to Smart Politics at the University of Minnesota, President Barack Obama has the worst veto record since President James Garfield in 1881.

Obama has vetoed only two bills since becoming President; a stopgap appropriations bill on December 30, 2009, and a housing foreclosure bill on October 7, 2010.

So it looks like Obama is the most Congress/Corporate America friendly President in the past 130 years!

International, Opinion, U.S.

Taliban on the offensive, Obama lied again, our military leaders are in a state of denial

In March 2011, The Taliban (aka Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) declared another spring offensive (aka Operation Badar, after a Mujahideen leader killed in 2003) against all foreign occupiers, and locals they view as supporting the foreign forces.

“…I can report that thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals….But there is no question we are clearing more areas from Taliban control, and more Afghans are reclaiming their communities.”-President Barack Obama, December 2010

Not only did Obama claim the Taliban were on their way out, but so did the Western media.  Many U.S. and U.K. mainstream media outlets stated that the Taliban were on their way out because so many of their leaders had been killed or captured.  Some media claimed that the Taliban were in a state of “shock” from the relentless attacks by U.S. and NATO forces.  Mmmm, the current Spring Offensive shows otherwise.

Not only does Obama seem oblivious to the situation in Afghanistan, so do our military leaders:  In January 2011, USA (under U.S. grammar rules USA without periods stands for U.S. Army, just as USAF means U.S. Air Force, and USMC means U.S. Marine Corps) General David H. Petraeus said this about the Taliban: “The sheer losses that they’ve sustained are tremendous. That in and of itself is very significant, and it’s caused enormous stress on the central nervous system of the command and control structure.”

In a February 2011 USA Today (the USA in “USA Today” is actually, legally, a word not an abbreviation.  It does not mean United States of America Today.  If it did there would be periods behind each letter. But it can not because no one can legally use “U.S.A.” in their business name) interview USMC Major General Richard Mills said this about the Taliban: “This is really the heart of the insurgency. I believe they have been beaten.”

USAF Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian recently brushed off the 2011 Taliban Spring Offensive as a “propaganda ploy.”

The latest casualty numbers prove it’s not a “ploy”:  In March 2010 the United States suffered 22 KIA (killed in action), in March 2011 the U.S. lost 24 KIA.

In April 2010 KIAs were 14, but this April U.S. KIAs hit 43.

For May 2010, U.S. KIAs were 31.  For 2011 KIAs are at 21, but there are a few days left in the month, and so far there have been attacks and explosions almost daily in the month of May.

For the whole year of 2010, U.S. KIAs in Afghanistan hit record levels of 44o (by the way that was the year the Obama administration claimed the Taliban were beaten back).  So far for 2011, KIAs are at 126, that’s almost the total for all of 2008.

Of course U.S. WIA (wounded in action) numbers are even higher.  While NATO troops are getting hit as well, it’s obvious by the casualty numbers that the Taliban are targeting U.S. forces.  This goes against the claim that the Taliban are on the run, or are afraid to take on U.S. troops (it’s also an indicator of the massive U.S. personnel presence, compared to NATO forces).

Even United Nations officials in Afghanistan are ignorant of the fact that Afghans have been at war for decades.  Ignorant of the fact that the Afghan people have sacrificed themselves for freedom from foreigners.  Ignorant of the fact that the Afghan people ARE the Mujahideen: “Our mission is to make sure that civilians and Afghan people are not affected by now 11 years of conflict. What we are worried about, and I think every Afghan is worried about, is whether the Afghan people and the Afghan civilians will be again the victims of a long conflict.”-UNAMA statement

The people of Afghanistan know full well they could be killed in the fight for independence.  This isn’t the first, second or third time Afghanistan has been in this situation.  The Taliban (who are Afghans) even warned the Afghan people about being collateral targets in the Spring Offensive: “All Afghan people should bear in mind to keep away from gatherings, convoys and centers of the enemy so that they will not become harmed during attacks of Mujahideen against the enemy.”-Taliban 2011 Spring Offensive Operation Badar statement

Silly Western thinking, leaders in Afghanistan aren’t viewed the same as in the West; as in “cut the head off and the body will die”.  Afghan leaders are only representatives of the Mujahideen, if one gets killed they’ll elect another one, and it definitively won’t stop any of their military action plans.

For the latest casualty numbers, for all coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, go here.

 

International, U.S.

Irish bank bombed as English Queen leaves, Obama greeted by protesters as he arrives

May 22, the day after the Queen of England left Ireland, a Northern Ireland bank was hit by a small bomb.  Three masked men burst into the bank, warning customers they had one hour to leave before the bomb went off. Police say people could have been killed if they were still in the bank when the bomb exploded.

May 23, President Barack Obama arrived in Ireland, where he was greeted by at least one hundred protesters.

“Barack Obama came to power promising change, but in reality he has continued the policies of the Bush era.”-John Molynuex, protester

He is scheduled to visit United Kingdom next, where he will have dinner with the Queen of England (a sure sign that the U.S. is under control of the British Empire).  Thousands of protesters plan to demonstrate outside Buckingham palace while he dines with the Queen.

 

 

 

U.S.

Obama lies about freedom of speech, bans two newspapers from White House

“We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech…”-President Barak Obama, May 19 Middle East speech

Obama talks about freedom of speech, while at the same time bans reporters from being present at White House press briefings.

Reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Boston Herald, are the latest to be banned from the White House.

White House spokesman Matt Lehrich, admits the move regarding the Boston Herald, was a purely personal decision.  Basically Obama didn’t like the editorial decisions of the paper: “I tend to consider the degree to which papers have demonstrated to covering the White House regularly and fairly in determining local pool reporters. My point about the op-ed was not that you ran it but that it was the full front page, which excluded any coverage of the visit of a sitting U.S. President to Boston. I think that raises a fair question about whether the paper is unbiased in its coverage of the President’s visits.”

In other words, Obama was mad that the Boston Herald didn’t make his visit to Boston a front page story!

Regarding the San Francisco Chronicle, reporters were banned after the SFC posted video of a protest in which Obama was heckled (bad a poorly sung song) for failing to come through on many promises, and on the treatment of Army Private Bradley Manning.

The amazing thing, if you watch the video, is that It doesn’t really make Obama look bad.  He wasn’t trying to avoid their questions, or sending his goons to squash the protesters.  So why did he ban the SFC reporter who posted the video?  The official White House response was that the SFC is part of the “print pool”, meaning newspaper reporters should not be making and posting videos!

Wake up people of the United States, Obama is a hypocrite, just like most presidents before him.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Obama to write off $1 billion in Egyptian debt, what about us little people here at home?

President Barak Obama wants to write off $1 billion in debts that Egypt owes the U.S.  Then he wants to give Egypt another $1 billion in credit!

Here’s two reasons taxpayers of the United States should be pissed off:  According to the U.S. Department of State: “U.S. military aid to Egypt totals over $1.3 billion annually.” And: “…the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided over $28 billion in economic and development assistance to Egypt since 1975.”

In other words Egypt is getting a deal that no creditor will give the average U.S. citizen!  Forgive our debts AND give us money?  Obama is playing with our tax money!  Why can’t he use our tax money to give us a break?

International, U.S.

Obama sanctions Syria, Iran

U.S. Treasury Department announced that President Barak Obama has imposed sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and other Syrian officials.

The sanctions also include two Iranian officials.  Also, Obama signed a similar order against at least 10 Syrian officials on April 29.

“As a result of this action, any property in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons in which the individuals listed in the Annex have an interest is blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.”-U.S. Treasury statement

 

 

 

International, U.S.

Obama threatens U.K. against leaving Afghanistan

British military commanders have confirmed that they have been given “blunt warning” from U.S. commanders.  The “warning”, call it a threat, is against the United Kingdom’s planned withdrawal from Afghanistan.

British military leaders say the United States has actually told them to ignore any orders from their U.K. government to withdraw from Afghanistan.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron wants to start drawing down U.K. troops in Afghanistan, starting in July 2011.  British media are reporting that U.S. generals have warned their British counterparts not to follow those orders.  This is another sign that the United States has no intentions of leaving Afghanistan.

One report says the British were told that they could not count on the U.S. to “bail them out” if they began withdrawing their troops.  Another report says British commanders in Afghanistan were told they needed to stay until at least 2014.

President Barak Obama is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military.  If “his” officers are threatening the British it must be at his command.