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.
Fukushima

Government Incompetence: No standardized airborne radiation monitoring in Japan, radiation levels higher than officially reported

After many citizens complained of faulty radiation readings by local governments, Japan is now testing for airborne radiation at one meter (3.2 feet) high, and at more than one location per city/town.

What happened was that citizens groups were conducting radiation readings on their own (you see; never trust the government).  Their readings were much worse than many official readings by local governments.  The citizens were taking readings closer to the ground.  In Tokyo, air borne radiation readings were being taken at only one location, on top of a 19 meter (62 feet) tall building.  Many cities across Japan varied their testing height from 1.5 meters to as high as 80 meters off the ground.

Today, 15 June 2011, Japan’s science ministry started taking readings at one meter high, in 100 locations across Japan.  The results are important: Already they’ve found, in several prefectures, that radiation levels, taken at one meter in height, are twice the levels taken at higher sampling sites.

Citizen groups pointed out that air borne radiation testing should be done at a height where humans activity takes place.  Looks like the People are correct.

 

Business/Economics, International

No more mail service in Canada, no more airline service either? Canadian government getting Police State on Worker’s Rights-Oh Canada you suck!

“They did it with no warning. They trapped the public’s mail. It’s unacceptable.”-Denis Lemelin, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Canada Post shut down all urban mail service today, June 15, after more than a week of strikes by 15,000 postal workers.  Ironically Canada Post officials say the shut down is meant to keep them from losing more money: “The price tag was climbing. It was reaching $100 million. We need to do something to jump start the negotiations.”-Anick Losier, Canada Post spokeswoman

If you’re losing money because workers aren’t at work, how do you make that better by shutting down altogether?  On top of that Union officials say they reached an agreement with Canada Post bosses and were heading back to work, when they were ‘locked out’: “All postal workers were ready to distribute mail across the country.”-Denis Lemelin, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

So from 15,000 striking postal workers to now 48,000 unemployed postal workers because of Canada Post’s lock out.

Add to the postal workers strike the strike by employees of Air Canada.  Today, 3,800 workers walked off the job.  Many travelers are being forced to use other air lines.

What’s the main motivation behind the two huge strikes in Canada?   Retirement benefits: “We’re Canadians. We deserve our pensions. We’ve worked hard for them.”-Loretta Pasqualini, 30 year employee with Air Canada

Air Canada and Canada Post wants to drastically slash worker’s retirement benefits, as well as other things like pay.  Canada Post says they have to cut costs because they’ve been losing money.  They blame the internet (very similar to what’s going on with the U.S. Postal Service).

Air Canada strikers started to leave their picket lines when security/police started taking pictures of them.  Also, the Canadian government is meeting today to come up with a plan that will force workers back to work, and end collective bargaining!

 

Fukushima

Plutonium in more soil samples!

Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that their May soil samples are positive for plutonium-238.

The sample was taken on the compound of the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, on 30 May 2011.  The samples were taken 500 meters away from Reactor 1 building.

This follows claims by university students who found plutonium as part of a class project.

Fukushima

Radiation spreading in Japan, thanks to Mother Nature

NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) discovered, through random interviews with local officials throughout Japan, that cesium is showing up all over, thanks to rain.

22 of Japan’s 47 prefectures (states, or glorified counties) have been testing their soil.  16 found their soil is contaminated with cesium.  Some areas are as far south as Osaka, which is about 350 miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Local officials believe the cesium is being spread by clouds that sweep through the Fukushima area then rain on other parts of Japan.

The area with the highest cesium levels, in their soil, is Fukushima, currently at 447,000 becquerels per kilogram.  Tokyo has 55,000 becquerels.

NHK reported that Japan has no guidelines for dealing with radiation contamination in soil.

 

Business/Economics, International

Iran offering military aircraft overhauling & rebuilding service

When the United States sells military aircraft to other countries, the deal normally requires that the aircraft undergo major overhaul/rebuild by U.S. companies.  Iran is now offering the same service, for U.S., Russian and Chinese built military aircraft.

The Iran Iraq War of the 1980s, along with increased U.S. sanctions, forced Iran to learn how to rebuild their U.S. made war planes.  There are indications that Iran has even built “new” F-14s to replace those lost in the Iran Iraq War.  Iran soon learned how to overhaul Russian and Chinese aircraft during the 1990s.

Iranian air force officials say they will now offer their overhaul/rebuild know how to other countries: “We are able to overhaul the planes of our neighboring countries for them.  We do have this capability as well.”-Hamidreza Goudini, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

Iranian military leaders say the U.S. sanctions are actually good for Iran, because it forced Iran’s industries, military and civilian, to develop much faster than they would have without any sanctions.  As a result Iran is a truly independent nation.

Business/Economics, Idaho

The U.S. IS a Police State: Gold dealers must go through police background check and be fingerprinted

The city of Nampa, Idaho, now requires people who sell precious metals to go through new “licensing” by getting a background check and be fingerprinted by police.  They must also pay a fee for the cost of the new “licensing” procedure.

Nampa officials say the new process will help police with finding stolen property.  Police will start checking dealers for compliance on July 1.

A Boise newspaper gave this police phone number for more info: 208-468-5615

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? The U.S. was lagging behind Europe even before the Credit Crisis

Before the 2007-08 Credit Crunch Crisis the United States was far behind the European Union, when it came to new job creation.

According to a Fortune article, from 1999 to 2008 the EU created 14 million new jobs, while the U.S. created 8 million.

On top of that, once the economy started down the drain the United States lost more jobs than were lost in the EU.  Percentage wise the EU and U.S. are around 9% unemployment (officially, unofficially the percentages are higher), but when you look at actual numbers the U.S. is leading the way down.  As of December 2010, the difference in job losses, between the EU and U.S., are about 7 million.

 

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama spouts the neccesity of higher education, but Middle Class is now officially unable to pay for it

“We’re seeing further differentiation in incomes, with the rich get richer and the poor getting poorer. Meanwhile, the middle class often claims they’re too wealthy to get student aid, yet too poor to afford college.”-Mark Kantrowitz,  FinAid.org and FastWeb.com

President Barack Obama is constantly stumping for higher education as a way to recover the U.S. economy, the problem is most people in the United States can’t afford to go.

According to a CNN/Money report (based on the findings of the College Board), tuition and fees have skyrocketed 130% in the past 20 years, while incomes for the majority of U.S. workers have stayed relatively the same.  By the way a recent IRS report says the same thing about U.S. incomes.

In 2008 median income was $33,000, when adjusted for inflation that means the average person was making $400.00 less than in 1988 (I knew I wasn’t crazy).

In 2008 tuition and fees averaged $6,500 per year, which is 130% more than what they were in 1988.

What happened to financial aid?  Obama ran for president partly on a promise to make more federal aid available.  Didn’t happen.  According to the College Group, the maximum federal aid (which includes loans, which should not be considered “aid” ’cause you have to pay it back) has remained stuck at 1992 levels; only $23,000  (by the way that “aid” is limited, so if you don’t get a ‘four year degree’ in ‘four’ years, which is actually the reality for many, you don’t get anymore federal “aid”).

Two trends have developed as a result: Families hell bent on their kids getting worthless degrees (I have one, from Idaho State University) are getting deeper into debt (isn’t that part of our country’s economic problems?).  The other bigger trend is that people are delaying entry into college, or just saying “forget it, it ain’t worth it”.

Here’s a sobering thought: According to Mark Kantrowitz, the cost of higher education is such that many of today’s college students will still be paying their student loans when their children are college age!  That is a sure sign that college is no longer “worth it”!