Tag Archives: u.s.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Credit Rating of United States trashed, kind of

Today, April 18, Standard & Poors downgraded the long term credit rating of the U.S., to a negative rating!

“More than two years after the beginning of the recent crisis, U.S. policymakers have still not agreed on how to reverse recent fiscal deterioration or address longer-term fiscal pressures.”-Nikola Swann, Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s is one of three major agencies that evaluate government and corporate debt.  The S & P analysts think the division between Democrat and Republican law makers is too far apart for them to make any real progress in dealing with the country’s public debt.

Investors with the Dow Jones reacted by dropping the industrial average by 200 points in the first half hour of trading.

The downgrade of the U.S. follows the downgrading of Ireland’s banks, as well as several other international financing issues.   Even though S & P dropped the U.S. credit rating to “negative”, they still maintain a AAA/A-1+ rating on U.S. sovereign debt.

Long term debt, money borrowed from financial institutions, is debt that will take more than ten years to be paid back.  Sovereign debt refers to government bonds.

 

 

Fukushima, Idaho

Idaho robot succefully measures Radiation in Reactors

NHK reporting that the robot sent by the Idaho National Laboratory has measured radiation levels inside reactors 1 and 3.

The robots were sent to Japan to help deal with the damaged Fukshima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The max radiation level inside the Reactor 3 building is 57 millisieverts per hour, while max level in Reactor 1 building is at 49 millisieverts per hour.  The readings were taken on the first floor of the buildings.

Normal safe limits, for nuclear employees, are 100 millisieverts, but the Japanese government raised it to an emergency limit of 250 millisieverts.  Even at the emergency limit, a worker would exceed it within four and a half hours of exposure.

They will check Reactor 2 building next.  NHK video

International, U.S.

U.S. Air Force sends help to fight Mexican Coahuila Fire

About 30 USAF reservists, from Colorado, headed to Texas on April 16.  They will be using their C-130 Hercules transports to drop fire retardant on the Coahuila fire in Mexico.   That fire is the largest fire in Mexico’s history, as of April 16 it was within 96.5km (60 miles) of the Texas border.

The USAF is also using C-130s to fight the largest fires in Texas’ history as well.

 

 

Fukushima, Idaho

Robot from Idaho now working at Japan Nuke Plant

Robots from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are about to start work in the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Originally developed to assist with high-risk reconnaissance and the disposal of explosives and hazardous materials, The TALON has been modified for its new job.

The INL is also supplying Japan with radiation-sensing packages for Japanese robots, and a four person team to provide training and advice.   NHK video

Fukushima

Chernobyl clean up still a work in progress, 25 years later! Nuke disasters never end!

Japanese media recently listened intently to officials describing their plans to deal with the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.  If the Japanese are expecting a specific time line, they shouldn’t hold their breath.  Clean up of the Chernobyl nuke plant, in Ukraine, is still ongoing, 25 years later.

The current phase of clean up, for Chernobyl, involves building a new radiation proof containment building for the damaged reactor.   The graphite fueled reactor is still emitting high levels of radiation.

In 1986 the Soviets (Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union then) buried the reactor in sand, lead, concrete and boric acid.  Then they built a concrete tomb around the building.   But that’s not enough, over time the tomb is breaking down.

The new containment building is an 18,000 ton metal arch, 110 meters (360 feet) high, 200 meters (656 feet) long and 257 meters (843 feet) wide.  They have recently laid the concrete pad for the building, it’s more than one meter (3.2 feet) thick.

The lesson is that when you’re dealing with a nuclear disaster, it’s never ending.

 

Fukushima

What really matters is how long you’re exposed to Radiation, one Japanese town hit with 17,000 millisieverts!

Cumulative exposure to radiation is a real killer.  The Japanese town of Namie has a cumulative (build up over time) of radiation at 17,000 millisieverts.

The official acceptable exposure rate, for people in Japan, is 1,000 microsieverts, per year.  A millisievert is 1,000 times more than a microsievert, and Namie has hit 17,000 millisieverts since the reactor buildings exploded, in about four weeks.

Cumulative exposure refers to how many times you’ve been exposed to radiation, or, how long you are continuously exposed.  Certain radioactive isotopes build up in your body over time, they don’t go away, so the more times you’re exposed the worse it is.

Fukushima

U.S. offers Unmanned Helicopter to remove Nuclear Fuel Rods

The K-Max has been offered to help remove spent fuel rods from damaged fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.  The helicopter is remote controlled.

The helicopter will help set up large cranes, that will be used to remove the fuel rods.

The offer was made by Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, in late March.

U.S.

3 Days, 185 Tornadoes, 18 Deaths

The United States has been hit with 185 tornadoes, in the past three days.  18 people have been killed.

Seven people died in Alabama.  Four people died in North Carolina.  Another seven died in Arkansas.  Officials say the death toll could go higher.  Many people were killed by falling debris.

 

International, U.S.

Iran building border fence, to stop drug trafficking and terrorists

Iran is building a fence along its Pakistani border.  They say since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan drug trafficking has increased, along with anti-Iranian terrorists.

Iran has spent U.S.$700 million, in the last two years,  fighting drug trafficking and U.S. supported terrorist.  They also claim that a Pakistani based group known as Jundollah, has been conducting terrorist operations against Iran for years.

The new fence will be built in the mountainous regions, where it is difficult to maintain a sizable border patrol force.

 

International, U.S.

Iraq says Gates lied about Iraq asking U.S. to stay

“Mr. Maliki rejected Gates’ demand, saying that Iraq will deal with the issue based on the security pact (signed between Washington and Baghdad).”-Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraqi Government Spokesman

Iraqi officials say they did not ask the United States to keep troops past the 2011 withdraw date, in fact they say U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates “demanded” that U.S. troops stay.  According to Iraqis Gates made the demand directly to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

On April 7, Gates went to Iraq and made comments to U.S. troops that made it sound like the Iraqis wanted U.S. forces to stay.  Gates even made it sound like the Iraqis needed to hurry up and decide: “If folks here are going to want us to have a presence, we’re going to need to get on with it pretty quickly in terms of our planning.”

Iraqi officials now say that Gates’ visit was solely to push them to ask for the U.S. troops to stay.  There are reports that Kurds in northern Iraq asked U.S. forces to stay, but under the current U.S. security pact with Iraq, only the Iraqi parliament can ask U.S. forces to stay.  Even Kurdish officials agree with that: “It is not related to Iraq’s Kurdish officials and they have no role in the US forces’ stay or exit. It is up to the central government to decide on the issue.”-Sabah Barzandi, member of the parliament of Iraq’s Kurdistan region

Since Robert Gates made his statements, Iraqis have been demonstrating against the U.S., and direct attacks on U.S. bases have increased.  Today, April 16, thousands of Iraqis protested in Baghdad.  There were so many that officials had to open up sports stadiums to the protesters: “We have specified Al-Shaab, Kashafa and Zawraa stadiums as permitted sites for demonstrations in Baghdad…”-Major General Qassim Atta