The International Atomic Energy Agency is warning about the safety of the 435 nuclear plants throughout the world: 80% are more than 20 years old.
Out of that 43% are between 20 and 29 years old. 32% are 30 to 39 years old. 5% are more than 40 years old.
The IAEA wants UN member countries to co-operate with planned safety inspections, to insure the safety of the old nuke plants.
“We don’t know what’s in the smoke, we don’t know what’s burning, we don’t know the toxicity of it.”-Kim Zander, Police Chief Inspector
For the second day a huge oil fire is raging in Wingfield, South Australia, Australia. It’s a waste oil depot, and the city of Adelaide is being covered with toxic smoke.
More than 100 firefighters worked to control the fire. The fire is still raging but is contained. Word is that it was an accident that started the fire. Homes and businesses were evacuated.
The waste oil depot is owned by Mulhern Waste Oil, who recycles the waste petroleum oils for re-use.
In Brazil, Petroleo Brasileiro SA had shut down operation on their huge Alaska Star oil platform, after it tilted three degrees.
The platform is located over Brazil’s 7th largest underwater oil & gas field (the Albacora field). Petroleo Brasileiro SA is the world’s largest deep water petroleum producer.
The Alaska Star platform is being operated by a contractor. The platform was stabilized after a leak of “drilling fluid” was stopped.
Speaking of Brazil, Chevron is hopeful they will be allowed to resume operations, after the government shut them down because of a huge oil spill last year.
However, Chevron has to convince Brazilian inspectors first: “We are not convinced that Chevron has identified the causes of the accident and that the risks have been mitigated to the satisfaction of Brazilian society.”-Magda Chambriard, ANP
In 2011, 2,400 to 3,000 barrels spilled in the Frade field northeast of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil fined Chevron $28 million. Brazilian officials accused Chevron of trying to hide up the spill: “We believe the accident could’ve been avoided. There was an environmental crime. They hid information and their emergency team took almost 10 days to start acting.”-Carlos Minc, Rio de Janeiro state’s environment secretary
“We are suspended between heaven and earth; the solar panels were a glimmer of hope for us.”-Ali Mohamed Ihrizat, the village head of Imenizil
Hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank will be without electricity, because the Israeli military plans on destroying their green solar panels.
The panels are located in the southern part of West Bank. They were built with the help of international charities, but the Israelis don’t care: “Using the backing of international assistance does not give immunity to violations.”-Guy Inbar, Israeli Defense Forces
The Israelis have control of the area, known as Area C under the 1995 Oslo Accords. They’ve been slowing forcing out the Palestinians and replacing then with Israelis: “The denial of permits for Palestinians on such a large scale raises the fear that there is a specific policy by the authorities to encourage a ‘silent transfer’ of the Palestinian population from Area C.”-Peace Now statement, an Israeli activist group
An unnamed source within the United Nations says this all part of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians: “From December 2010 to April 2011, we saw a systematic targeting of the water infrastructure in Hebron, Bethlehem and the Jordan valley. Now, in the last couple of months, they are targeting electricity. Two villages in the area have had their electrical poles demolished. There is this systematic effort by the civil administration targeting all Palestinian infrastructure in Hebron.”
And finally, which charities built the solar panels? Why Israeli charities!!!
“The panels are not a security threat. It’s a positive project. What do they want? Do they want the people to be more poor? To be more violent?”-Noam Dotan, one of the Israelis who built the solar panels
U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, stated they will continue and increase efforts to effect regime change in Syria and Iran.
“….we’re gonna keep up the pressure with the strongest U.S. sanctions to date and the European Union preparing to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. Tehran must understand that it cannot escape or evade the choice before it: Meet your international obligations or face the consequences.” “…we agreed to keep increasing the pressure on the regime [Syria], mobilizing the international community, tightening sanctions, cutting the regime’s revenues, isolating it politically, diplomatically and economically.”-Obama
Obama also announced that the United States and the evil Red Coats will merge military forces and military industries!!!
“Finally, I’m very pleased that we’re bringing our two militaries, the backbone of our alliance, even closer. As I told David, I can announce that next month we intend to start implementing our long awaited defense trade treaty with the U.K.”-Obama
David Cameron said the uniting of Britain (remember they’re the ones our founders fought against to get our freedom!) and the United States is based on “conviction” rather than “convenience”.
“…there are some countries whose alliance is a matter of convenience. But ours is a matter of conviction. Two states, as I said this morning, united for freedom and enterprise. Working together day-in day-out to defend those values and advance our shared interests.”-Cameron
History shows societies that are driven by ideology (“conviction”), rather than “convenience”, are the most dangerous!
Cameron repeated Obama’s statements on Syria and Iran.
“Regina is a technical pioneer who brought the future of technology to the military during her time at DARPA. She will be a real asset to Google, and we are thrilled she is joining the team.”-Google statement
Regina Dugan is leaving the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for a new job at Google.
Dugan helped create all kinds of new weapons for the so called war on terror, including internet programs to spy on our own soldiers. In December 2011, it was revealed that DARPA will spend $9 million to spy on the emails of U.S. personnel!
It’s called Proactive Discovery of Insider Threats Using Graph Analysis and Learning, or PRODIGAL.
Isn’t it interesting that three months later one of the DARPA officials behind it is now going to work for Google?
And don’t forget Regina Dugan’s own company, RedXDefense. It’s a company totally dependent on military contracts, and totally about control freakism.
“There were talks held between Saudi and the U.S., and the U.S. asked if Saudi could be accommodating once the sanctions take effect in July. And the Saudi response was that it was ready to meet demand in the market if required, but would not like to take part in the politics.”-unnamed Saudi Arabian official
The U.S. demand came at the current IEF meeting in Kuwait. It was at the beginning of that meeting that IEF officials confirmed there was a glut of oil on the markets. So why would the U.S. demand Saudi Arabia increase oil production?
One clue comes from Edward Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee: “If Iran won’t stop saber rattling, and the Saudis won’t eliminate Iran’s leverage by producing more oil, then it’s time to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to send these countries a message that the U.S. economy won’t be held hostage for months.”
But wait, I though the U.S. oil industry is being flooded with oil from Canada and the U.S. state of North Dakota? And why is there this talk of “months”, and “July”?
The European Union’s oil sanctions go into effect in July. But that shouldn’t be too big of a deal, considering Iran has already stopped oil shipments to at least two European countries, and threatens to cut off more oil shipments.
Now, just one day after the U.S. made its demands on Saudi Arabia, the Saudis say they will comply: “…Saudi Arabia and others remain poised to make good any shortfalls, perceived or real, in crude oil supply.”-Ali al-Naimi, Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia
Notice he added “perceived or real”. This means if the U.S. tells them there’s a shortage, even if there isn’t they’ll increase production. This is significant because just days before Saudi officials told Reuters’ reporters that they would increase oil production only if there was an true oil shortage!
Reuters reported that the West vs Iran tensions are getting little attention at the IEF meeting. However, the Iranian representative indicated that the U.S. was using oil simply as a weapon, with no concern about how it affects the average person: “Unfortunately some big countries who are among the major energy consumers, view oil as one of the basic constituents in their military, security and political strategies and use it as a political tool against oil producing countries. Exerting unilateral economic constraints of political instigations is a threat, which jeopardizes free trade and continuity of oil supply in the world.”-Rostam Ghasemi, Oil Minister of Iran
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!
“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.
The London based charity Reprieve, and the law firm Leigh Day & Company, are suing the British Foreign Secretary William Hague. They say they have evidence that the United Kingdom, specifically the Foreign Office, has been directing U.S. terror drone (UAV) attacks in Pakistan.
They claim that Britain’s signals intelligence agency (GCHQ/SIGNIT) are “secondary parties to murder” because they provided information to the U.S. CIA. That information was used to launch drone strikes that have killed hundreds of Pakistanis.
The Idaho Board of Medicine is investigating complaints that Steve M. Skoumal screwed up at least ten autopsies. It was brought to the attention of the Board mainly because the local police questioned the results.
In one case Skoumal, a faculty member at Idaho State University in Pocatello (in Bannock County), ruled three deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. But, local Rexburg police (in Madison County) said that didn’t match with x-rays, or the fact a recently fired gun was found at the scene, or the fact that there were bullet holes in the victims.
Supporters of Skoumal say the police are just upset because he didn’t give them the answer they wanted to hear.
But this case brings up a good point; Idaho does not have standardized, dedicated, official local government coroner services. In many cases families of the deceased have to pay for a pathologist to conduct an autopsy, as one Pocatello doctor/lawyer said: “…people who brought the bodies have to pay for the doctor to do more autopsy or less autopsy.”-Richard Hearns
There is a state code concerning coroners, but in some Idaho counties coroners are elected. In other counties they are hired from local doctors. Officials say the tax revenues are not enough to support a dedicated 24/7 coroner (although taxes are pretty high here).
Skoumal is connected to three high profile cases in eastern and southeastern Idaho: Unsolved Madison County deaths, the death of a Bingham County woman whose granddaughter was prosecuted for homicide, and the 2006 murder of Pocatello High School student Cassie Jo Stoddart (fortunate the murderers incriminated themselves with their own video).
Skoumal is accused of misreading toxicology reports, being unable to determine knife wounds and bullet wounds. One of the complaints filed with the Board of Medicine accused him of not being a pathologist, he admitted he was not a certified pathologist.
It could be another year before the Idaho Board of Medicine holds an Administrative Hearing regarding the complaints.