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.
Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 24-25 June 2013. Gold prices too low??? Again, school & health care cuts!

Evil mortgage foreclosure company EC Closing/Cal-Western Reconveyance now bankrupt.  No tears shed!

In Tennessee, a judge has ruled that the state government can proceed with axing 200 jobs!  The Tennessee State Employees Association said the state failed to give proper notice.

The Germany based JK Products & Services factory in Arkansas is closing.  123 employees affected, at least 85 to be laid off.  Production is being moved to Germany.  In Conway, Starstruck Video and Wonderland Flea Market closed after 21 years in business.  A recent legal ‘incident’ was the final straw.

After 40 years, the Christian God can’t stop the Chesnutt Furniture store from closing in Alabama.  The owner blamed the bad economy.  The building is actually owned by the First Baptist Church, and they’re tearing it down to make room for a parking lot.

In Pennsylvania, Stacy’s of York now bankrupt.  The supplier of plants to retail markets is being sold.

The Christian God can’t stop Saint Elizabeth Medical Center, in New York, from eliminating 50 jobs and closing a medical/surgical unit.  Officials blame reduced Medicaid/Medicare payments.

In West Virginia, Putnam County Health Department laid off 13 employees.  The department is in such debt that it hasn’t paid its rent!

Pocketful of Rye jewelry and local art collectibles store shut down in New Hampshire. The owner said she had to focus on her real job with corporate America.

In Indiana, the Indianapolis Public Schools laid off 109 people!  More could be on the way.  Officials blame lack of students: “We are not going to be able to eliminate the $30 million budget deficit and maintain the current buildings that we have. Because we just don’t have the students to support that.”-John Althardt

In Illinois, Jean’s Hallmark in Lemont closed.  It’s part of Hallmark’s plan to close stores across the U.S.

Too Big to Jail Bank of America laying off 411 people in Texas!  In Longview, CDs and More closed down. The owner is pissed at the digital generation: “It’s sad. It’s bittersweet. I’m fed up with it, and I’m sad to see it go….everybody’s downloading their stuff. They’re putting the small guy out of business.”-Tom Shomaker

Another mega law firm lays off 60 people.  Weil, Gotshal & Manges basically said there is no economic recovery: “We must now make the adjustments we avoided over the last few years to position the firm to continue to thrive.”

In Arizona, the oldest dance club in Scottsdale closed down.  Axis-Radius is being turned into a beer/concert hall.

The World’s largest gold miner, Canada based Barrick Gold, laid off 55 employees in Utah and Nevada.  They claim gold prices are too low!!!

After 45 years in business the Continental Greek Restaurant & Pastry Shop closed in Washington.  It’s the third Greek restaurant to close in the past 12 months.  The owners wanted to retire.

In California, the 44 years old Sea D Sea dive shop closed in Redondo Beach.  The owner said the bad economy and his poor health forced him to retire.  Evil Verizon Corporate Resources Group laid off 57 people in Irvine.  And non-profit Dignity Health laid off 464 people!

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Fukushima

Food Crisis: Think Tuna prices are high now? Red Sea Tuna now extinct!

23 August 2013 (00:07 UTC-07 Tango)/16 Shawwal 1434/01  Shahrivar 1392/17 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

“We are currently experiencing some of the most severe supply shortages that the tuna industry has ever faced.”-Unnamed fish supplier in a memo to a Rhode Island restaurant in 2012, trying to explain why prices are going up

On 22 August 2013, Japan’s Fisheries Agency warned they will order a reduction in allowed bluefin tuna catches by their fishing industry.  In March 2013, there were reports that the Japanese news media almost ignored a study by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the Northern Pacific that said not only have tuna populations been falling for decades, the population decline has snowballed towards extinction!

The latest survey estimates that today’s Pacific bluefin tuna population has crashed by 96.4% over the past few decades, and current catches could guarantee extinction: “Over 90% of the catch is juveniles, caught in nursery and spawning areas. Literally, the zero to three year age class, so they’re being caught on their spawning grounds before they can reproduce, with no catch limit, and gee whiz, we’re at 3.6% of the original population. I wonder why?”-Amanda Nickson, Pew Environment Group

In fact, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Ministry of Fisheries Affairs has reported a loss of 70% in its Red Sea fishing industry. Fishermen say it’s partly due to the extinction of Red Sea tuna caused by pollution: “The entire expanse of sea lying between Jeddah and Qunfuda is polluted and has resulted in the depletion of the fish resources and the total disappearance of tuna.”-Abdullah Al-Sayed, a fisherman in Jeddah.

Even the cheap generic brand of canned tuna could become unaffordable. Tuna packed in veggie oil has already gone way up because veggie oil prices have skyrocketed!

Even the cheap generic brand of canned tuna could become unaffordable. Tuna packed in veggie oil has already gone way up because veggie oil prices have skyrocketed!

It should matter to Japanese because tuna is king of sushi.  It’s estimated that the Japanese eat 80% of the tuna caught around the World!  Japanese have been hearing about this for awhile, but maybe they haven’t noticed that since 2007 some tuna sushi has been replaced with different fish (some reports mentioned deer meat).

But Japanese fish mongers have seen for years a decline in available tuna in the fish markets, resulting in higher prices every year.  In January 2013, a 489 pounds bluefin tuna sold for a record $1.76 million USD in Japan!

(don’t forget to add the incredible amount of deadly radiation that’s been pouring into the northern Pacific from Fukushima Daiichi, since 2011:  Pacific bluefin tuna transport Fukushima-derived radionuclides from Japan to California)

It’s not just bluefin that’s disappearing, it’s other tuna as well.  Today, the latest global tuna catch records show that only 18-thousands metric tons of tuna were caught last year, it hasn’t been that low since the 1980s.

Vietnam just reported that its fishing industry is having a hard time catching tuna, their exports are down as result.

An official with New Zealand’s Secretariat of the Pacific Community recently blamed lack of government management and monitoring of fishing industries: “…this is done country by country, different countries are doing different things and taking different approaches to their management and data collection. Some are focusing more on the tuna fishery….that’s being lost to the countries because the fishery wasn’t managed sustainably. We know that many of the main centers around the Pacific, the main urban centers, there is a shortage of fish and people are needing to go further to catch fish, or in some countries they are trying to bring in fish from other locations in the country, so we know there is over fishing occurring…..management is to include the monitoring so that you actually have an idea of what’s happening in the fishery…”-Lindsay Chapman

India has just lifted its trawling fishing ban, many people in India hope it will bring fish prices down, because the industrial fish farms just could not produce enough fish to offset the lack of wild caught fish due to the trawling fishing ban.  Not only are tuna prices way up in India, so are sardine prices.

What was that about “teach a man to fish”?

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Gross incompetence! TEPCo finally trying to stop 15-thousand tons of leaks, that it knew about more than 2 years ago!

23 August 2013 (20:35 UTC-07 Tango 22 August 2013)/16 Shawwal 1434/01  Shahrivar 1392/17 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

Two and a half years ago I wrote about radioactive water flooding into tunnels under the GE designed disaster reactors at Fukushima Daiichi.  I wrote about it because Tokyo Electric Power Company officials publicized it.   Turns out they haven’t done a gott damn thing about it, until today!!!!

Today TEPCo officials announced they are finally going to try and stop the estimated 210 metric tons per day of contaminated water flowing through a tunnel under Reactor 2, from getting to the Pacific Ocean.  TEPCo says that the reason they waited so long is because they didn’t think the water was pouring into the Pacific Ocean, well, it turns out it is!

So add that 21o tons per day to the previously announced 300 tons per day, then add that to the newly discovered storage tank leaks and you’re talking about more than 1-thousand tons per day of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean for the past two and a half years!   But it’s probably more, read on!

By the way, when I first wrote about radioactive water pouring into tunnels under the reactors more than two years ago, coupled with the fact that independent sources had discovered strontium contamination, I said that was a sign of melt down.  A year later TEPCo admitted melt downs had occurred.  These guys are supposed to be experts trained by General Electric???

But wait there’s more!  TEPCo says in all the tunnels under Fukushima Daiichi there’s at least 15-thousand tons of highly contaminated water, possibly pouring into the Pacific Ocean!!!

International, Technology

New bogus emails stealing your digital info!

22 August 2013 (11:09 UTC-07 Tango)/15 Shawwal 1434/31 Mordad 1391/16 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

Japan’s National Police Agency warning of new emails delivering viruses to your computer, viruses that grab all your digital info.

In Japan 210 incidents targeting 5-thousand companies involved in the defense, aerospace and nuclear power industries have been reported, so far this year.

Individuals are being targeted as well.  33 individual cases reported so far this year, compared to only two last year.   The bogus emails are disguised as online job applications or product questionnaires.

Police are once again telling individuals to not click on any links on emails you got from unknown sources.  Companies have been advised to keep computers that get emails from the general public separate from in-house computers.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: Leaking tanks update, 100 millisieverts per hour leaking from seams!

22 August 2013 (09:45 UTC-07 Tango)/15 Shawwal 1434/31 Mordad 1392/16 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

“The quantities of water they are dealing with are absolutely gigantic. What is the worse is the water leakage everywhere else, not just from the tanks. It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. Nobody can measure that. It is much worse than we have been led to believe, much worse!”-Mycle Schneider, nuclear analyst in BBC interview

Inspections of storage tanks in Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor 4 tank farm show the bolted together tanks are leaking radiation, even if they’re not leaking water!  The inspections were ordered by Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) after the 19 August discovery of a massive water leak.

The 300 metric tons of highly contaminated water that is now suspected of pouring into the Pacific Ocean, came from just one of the 350 Reactor 4 storage tanks.

On another Reactor 4 storage tank they discovered that the seams of the bolted on panels are emitting 70 to 100 millisieverts per hour of radiation!  The safe limit for nuclear industry workers in Japan are set at 50 millisieverts per year!  And here’s the rub on this latest discovery; the exterior of the tank is dry, and has not leaked any water.  This means that deadly radiation is escaping from the tank seams, and when it rains it runs off into the Pacific Ocean.  Each tank holds 1-thousand metric tons of contaminated water, and many have no external way to gauge the water level.

And don’t forget the new leak they discovered yesterday, at a different tank farm!

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: 30 trillion becquerels of radiation floods Pacific Ocean! Could be worse, TEPCo admits they keep no records!

22 August 2013 (21:40 UTC-07 Tango 21 August 2013)/15 Shawwal 1434/31 Mordad 1392/16 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

After two and a half years of playing dumb, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) has revealed that 10 trillion becquerels of deadly strontium, and 20 trillion becquerels of cesium, have flooded into the Pacific Ocean since May 2011!  The new report does not include March and April 2011!

Actually, anyone who’s been following my postings about Fukushima Daiichi (going all the way back to March 2011) should not be surprised.

The amount could be much higher as TEPCo officials admitted to Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority, in an emergency meeting on 21 August, that they have not kept any official records of radiation emissions or contamination!!!  The NRA official responded by saying “So, you rely on the memory of your workers?”

Becquerel is an internationally accepted measurement for a unit of radioactivity, equal to one nuclear decay or other nuclear transformation per second.  Named after Antoine Henri Becquerel.

The becquerel (Bq) replaced the curie (Ci) measurement system.  Curie is a non-internationally accepted way to measure radiation, named after Marie and Pierre Curie.  One Ci equals 37-billion Bq (37 gigabecquerels GBq).

1-thousand Ci of a radioisotope can produce serious health effects after only a few minutes of exposure.  30 trillion Bq is the same as 30 terabecquerels (TBq).  30 TBq equals 810.810 Ci.

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Major U.S. employer slashes health insurance for 15000 people, blames Obama Romney Care!

21 August 2013 (16:58 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Shawwal 1434/30 Mordad 1391/15 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

“This change is consistent with the way many large employers are responding to the costs associated with the Health Care Reform legislation.”-UPS memo to employees

United Parcel Service (UPS), a major employer in the United States, has canceled insurance policies for spouses of employees.   15-thousand spouses now have no health insurance!

UPS officials told Kaiser Health News that the Obama/Romney Care is actually causing health care/insurance costs to skyrocket, and they can not afford to provide insurance to so many people.

Another reason for the drop of 15-thousand people from the UPS provided insurance plan, is that UPS officials said the Obama/Romney Care law claims everyone will end up being covered anyway.  But, UPS said it will continue covering spouses who don’t work, or who work for companies that do not provide insurance.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: NRA holds emergency meeting, says TEPCo has failed! U.S. news media behind the 8 Ball on reporting severity!

21 August 2013 (16:35 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Shawwal 1434/30 Mordad 1392/15 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) held an emergency meeting, led by the NRA’s Fuketa Toyoshi.  In the meeting NRA officials blasted Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCo) failure to handle the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

Fuketa basically declared TEPCo’s efforts to be a failure, and that TEPCo’s latest plans to stop ongoing leaks will also fail!

I noticed that only now is the U.S. main streamer media reporting on the massive leaks, which were reported in the Japanese media on 19 August.  The U.S. media is also making it sound like this is a new leak, when in fact it has been ongoing since the beginning of the disaster two and a half years ago!!!  Oh, and don’t forget about the ‘new’ leak discovered today!

And have you heard anything from the U.S. main streamers about the Fukushima children suffering from radiation caused thyroid cancer?

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: IAEA says it will help Japan fight the losing battle at Fukushima Daiichi!

21 August 2013 (16:20 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Shawwal 1434/30 Mordad 1392/15 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has responded to Japan’s request for help regarding the expanding nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi!

The IAEA says it is ready to help.  The IAEA has offered help before, but it wasn’t until after the 19 August leak that Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority finally asked for help.

Fukushima

More Fukushima Fallout: New leak contaminating Pacific Ocean!!! TEPCo admits storage tank leaks have been ongoing, dosen’t know how much has escaped!

21 August 2013 (16:09 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Shawwal 1434/30 Mordad 1392/15 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

“If a leak occurred in one tank, we should assume that the same thing could happen at other tanks as well.”-Tanaka Shunichi, Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA)

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) has revealed yet another radiation leak pouring into the Pacific Ocean!  The new leak was found in a runoff ditch about 50 meters (164 feet) from a contaminated water storage tank farm (complex), located on a hillside.  This is not in connection to the discovery on 19 August of a massive leak coming from the Reactor 4 tank farm.  TEPCo admits that this new leak is draining into the Pacific Ocean.  The water tested at six millisieverts per hour of radiation.

In another example of corporate incompetence,  TEPCo admitted they have not been monitoring leaking contaminated water storage tanks at the Reactor 4 tank farm!  Awhile back they knew about 350 1-thousand metric tons capacity tanks were leaking, but they dealt with it by building a short retaining wall around the tank farm, and then they basically forgot about it!

That is until 19 August when underpaid and undertrained workers discovered a 300 metric tons leak outside of the retaining wall!   Now workers, under guidance of the NRA, have confirmed at least four of the 1-thousand metric tons capacity tanks are leaking!

“The water is believed to contain thousands of trillions of becquerels of radioactive substances.”-NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has now declared the leaking storage tanks near the GE designed Reactor 4 to be a Level Three Incident, which is considered a “Serious incident” on the zero to seven level international Nuclear Event Standard.  The NRA is now asking the International Atomic Energy Agency for help!

The contamination detected on 19 August was at 100 millisieverts per hour!  The safe limits for nuclear industry workers in Japan are set at 50 millisieverts per year!

Here’s some more examples of incompetence: Many of the water tanks have no way of gauging how much water is in them, which would make it easier to know if they were leaking, and by how much!  The tanks are not welded, they consist of steel panels that are bolted together! Realize that TEPCo simply built a retaining wall around the tank farm, because they knew the tanks were leaking, another question is how much of that leaked water held withing the retaining wall has seeped into the ground, and for how long?

In a bid to gain some confidence, TEPCo officials announced that their Vice President, Aizawa Zengo, will take direct command of the ongoing nuke disaster.  Aizawa’s office will be moved to Fukushima Daiichi.