All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.
U.S.

World War 3, Gun Control/U.S. Civil War Front: Majority of cops opposed to anti-gun laws!

11 April 2013 (10:29 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

According to a survey conducted by pro-cop website, PoliceOne.com, the majority of the current and former cops they questioned do not support anymore new anti-gun laws.

“86 percent feel the currently proposed legislation would have no effect or a negative effect on improving officer safety”

“…92 percent feel that banning semi-automatic firearms, or ‘assault weapons,’ would have no effect or a negative effect on reducing violent crime”

“71 percent support law enforcement leaders who have publicly refused to enforce more restrictive gun laws within their jurisdictions”

“82 percent believe gun buyback or turn-in programs are ineffective in reducing the level of gun violence”

“…80 percent feel that legally-armed citizens would likely have reduced the number of casualties in recent mass shooting incidents”

U.S.

World War 3, Gun Control/U.S. Civil War Front: Gun control is anti-Freedom!

“Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of firearms.”-Wikipedia

“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.“-2nd Amendment, U.S. Constitution

U.S.

World War 3, Gun Control/U.S. Civil War Front: Sheriffs massing to fight new Colorado gun law!

11 April 2013 (10:03 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

More than half of Colorado’s 62 Sheriffs say they will sue the state over the new gun law.  But there are other Sheriffs who are also opposed to the new laws, but will not join the lawsuit simply because they are ideologically opposed to lawsuits.  Those Sheriffs will not enforce the new laws.

What this means is the majority of Sheriff departments in Colorado have split from the state government!

The new law restricts ammo capacity of magazines, and requires background checks on private sales.

 

 

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: A 4th radioactive leak at Fukushima Daiichi!

11 April 2013 (09:29 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1392/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

Now there is a fourth leak at another waste water pond in use at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company reported a pipe connected to a pond leaked 22 liters (6 gallons) before workers discovered it.  They were trying to transfer contaminated water from another pond (in-ground open-air storage tank) that was leaking.

22 liters might not seem like much, but according to TEPCo that 22 liters contained 6.3 billion becquerels of radioactivity!

A couple of days ago TEPCo was ordered to stop using the ponds, after three leaks were discovered.  But, TEPCo pointed out that there is not enough above ground steel tanks in Japan to contain all the radioactive water being generated at Fukushima Daiichi.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

H7N9 update: 38 cases, 10 deaths! KFC sales crashing!

11 April 2013 (09:17 UTC-07 Tango)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission reports five new cases and one death in the H7N9 outbreak.  Two new cases in Jiangsu Province, and three new cases, including the death, in Shanghai.

The 74 years old man that died was confirmed to have H7N9 Wednesday night, but died today.  As with other H7N9 cases, he had been admitted to a hospital with pneumonia.

Chinese health officials say, so far none of the relatives of the sick people are showing any signs H7N9 infection.

Yum Brands, the company that owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, say sales at their Chinese KFC restaurants are crashing. They blame the H7N9 bird flu for scaring customers off from eating chicken.  Sales at Chinese KFCs dropped 16% in March.

However, there is a problem with their blame game for crashing sales: The H7N9 bird flu scare didn’t start until the end of March.  Yum Brands own records show their restaurants in China have been losing sales since January.  In January and February they saw a 20% drop in sales.

International

H7N9 update: China distributes new test for rapidly mutating virus!

11 April 2013 (23:25 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is shipping out 160000 new tests (real-time PCR reagents) for the new H7N9 virus.

It’s hoped the new test will speed identification of new cases.  So far 33 people confirmed infected, nine have died.

International

World War 3, Asian Front: Pakistan & India launch ballistic missiles!

11 April 2013 (23:20 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

On 10 April Pakistan launched a medium range Hatf IV Shaheen-1 mobile ICBM.  No one in the international community seemed upset?

The launch comes after several missile launches by India.  In January India conducted a successful underwater launch of a medium range ICBM.  Then just last month, India tested their new cruise missile, and it failed.

Where was the international condemnation?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3, Economic Front: IMF admits bailouts & austerity not working!

11 April 2013 (23:05 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

“….we do not expect global growth to be much higher this year than last. We are seeing new risks as well as old risks. In far too many countries, improvements in financial markets have not translated into improvements in the real economy, and in the lives of people.”-Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund

At a meeting of the Economic Club of New York, Lagarde divided up the World into three ‘speeds’ of recovery.

Emerging economies are recovering fastest: First Speed.

The United States is in the Second Speed category, but Lagarde warns “…an outstanding issue is that public finances appear unbalanced. Adjustment is too aggressive in the short term, and too timid in the medium term. This adds to uncertainty and casts a shadow on the recovery.”

Apparently Europe and Japan are in the worst Third Speed category.  It is interesting to note that the IMF is behind many of the European bailouts and austerity measures.

 

 

 

 

Fukushima

Cesium levels drop in children, it pays to watch what you eat!

11 April 2013 (22:42 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1392/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

Researchers at the University of Tokyo, Japan, have been tracking about 1400 grade school kids in Fukushima Prefecture.  They want to track radiation contamination as a result of the melt downs at the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi reactors.

Two years later the researchers report cesium levels in children have dropped, but not because of efforts to contain the disaster reactors, but because the residents have been careful about what they eat.

Almost a year after the nuke melt down, a system was in place for Japanese food sellers to test and report radiation contamination of food.  This came at the grass roots level, not at the national government level.  It was pushed by consumers demanding to know if the food they were buying was safe.  Local governments, and even grocery store chains obliged, and it was discovered that indeed many sources of food stuffs were contaminated, despite the national government telling people everything was OK.

The researchers at the University of Tokyo credit the grass roots efforts to identify and avoid contaminated food to the drop in cesium levels in children still living in Miharumachi, which is only 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Fukushima Daiichi.

International, U.S.

World War 3, East Asian Front: North Korea playing mind games with missiles? Travel agencies cancel trips!

11 April 2013 (22:26 UTC-07 Tango 10 April 2013)/30 Jumada l-Ula 1434/22 Farvardin 1391/02 Bing-Chen (3rd month) 4711

“Because of the situation in North Korea, all tours are canceled from now. We will announce when tours begin again as soon as we get official information from North Korea.”-China based travel agency Explore North Korea statement

“We are in constant contact with our partners in North Korea, and they have told us that the North remains open to tourists and have encouraged us to run our scheduled tours.”-U.S. based travel agency Uri Tours statement

ROK and USFK upped security status to Watchcon 2, the second highest level.  However, some analysts in South Korea think the DPRK is playing mind games with their ICBMs: “…the North has been repeatedly moving its missiles in and out of a shed….”

It now appears that North Korea is purposely moving mobile ICBM systems all along their east coast.  One ROK analyst says the DPRK is trying to “fatigue” intelligence gatherers for South Korea and United States.