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, Idaho

What Global Warming? Idaho Potato farmers running out of time, cool weather adding to Global Food Crisis

It’s June 11, and potato farmers in Ashton, and Driggs, Idaho, have been hoping for warmer, dryer weather.  They can’t plant potatoes in wet, cold ground: “This season has been especially hard because every time we are about to get into the fields for a couple days it rains us out. It takes sometimes five to 10 days to dry up in good enough shape in preparation for planting.”-Dennis Fransen, potato seed farmer

Potato seed farmers are at the bottom of the potato farming chain.  Commercial potato farmers rely on the seed farmers for their new crop.  Bigger potatoes are sent to the commercial farmers to grow even bigger.  The small potatoes are kept for ‘seed’ for the next planting.  This year, because of the wet, cool weather it looks like most of the seed crop will be the small type, that commercial farmers don’t want.

 

Idaho, International

What Global Warming? Cooler weather delays East Idaho road construction, What Economic Recovery? Lack of funds will reduce Idaho road construction

“Every time we tried to schedule something, we had a storm come through. With the temperature and the moisture, you just can’t do it.”-James Orner, Idaho Transportation Department

Temperatures are finally warming up in eastern Idaho, and ITD officials hope to get ongoing road construction finished, and start new ones.

But just as the weather is warming up for ITD, funding is running out: “In the next few years, we’re going to see a rapid decline in the amount of construction that’s going to be available because there’s less funding available. With gas prices going up, people are driving less, and it’s affecting our revenues.”-Corey Krantz, Idaho Transportation Department

Funding for ITD comes, in part, from state gas taxes.    

U.S.

Obama has worst Veto record since Garfield

According to Smart Politics at the University of Minnesota, President Barack Obama has the worst veto record since President James Garfield in 1881.

Obama has vetoed only two bills since becoming President; a stopgap appropriations bill on December 30, 2009, and a housing foreclosure bill on October 7, 2010.

So it looks like Obama is the most Congress/Corporate America friendly President in the past 130 years!

International

Government Incompetence: Germany back to blaming sprouts for E Coli, no evidence

“The whole thing is a big scandal.  People were very unsettled.  Every day something different was announced.  Now I hear on the radio that it was the sprouts.  But people were even buying less fruit.  That is simply insane.’’ Riza Cetinkaya, Berlin grocer who says sales have dropped 70%

Out of frustration the German health officials are back to blaming sprouts for the deadly e. coli outbreak.  The problem is that they are simply guessing, again.

Officials say the sprouts are the ‘most likely’ source, but at the same time admit the produce has tested negative for e. coli.

How did they come to their conclusion?  They made a map showing the concentration of infection cases, then basically concluded that the sprout farm near the center ‘must’ be the source.  Police detectives know you can’t rely solely on lines drawn on a map.

Consumer Protection officials then announced that they had found a contaminated container of sprouts, in the trash can of a family that is infected.  The officials concluded that it was ‘proof’ that the sprouts were the cause.  Is it possible the sprout container itself is the source of contamination?  Remember e. coli is spread by contact with fecal matter, or animal/human waste.  What else was in the trash can?

One government official, Reinhard Burger, of the Robert Koch Institute, admitted that the window of opportunity to link fecal waste and contact with produce, was gone.  So all officials can do now is guess.

The sprout farm, in Lower Saxony, has been shut down and sealed off.

 

Fukushima

Fukushima Daiichi radiation levels continue to climb, workers exposed to high levels!

Stabilization work at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been temporarily halted, once again, because of high radiation levels.

Reactor 3 began emitting levels above 100 millisieverts per hour.  The government raised the safe limit from 100 to 250 millisieverts per hour, but workers at the damaged nuke plant refused to implement the higher limit.

Tokyo Electric Power Company sent nine workers into Reactor 3 on 10 June 2011.  TEPCo said they are trying to limit workers to just 9 millisieverts per hour.  After only 20 minutes the radiation levels far exceeded the original 100 millisieverts limit!

High radiation levels have made stabilization work almost impossible.  TEPCo has acknowledged that it will take much longer to get the plant under control.

Two workers have tested positive for as much as 678 millisieverts of radiation.  The National Institute of Radiological Sciences confirmed the exposure.  The two men were in the control rooms of reactors 3 & 4, when Reactor 1 blew up on 12 March 2011.  A third man is undergoing testing.

Fukushima

Cesium contamination building in Japan, tea harvests contaminated!

In Shizuoka Prefecture, about 300 km (186 miles) away from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, cesium contamination has continued to build up.  Now tea production has been halted.

On 10 June 2011, cesium levels on tea leaves hit 679 becquerels per kilogram.  The official limit is 500 becquerels.  The local government ordered a halt to tea shipments.  Tea is Shizuoka Prefecture’s main industry.

Last month cesium levels were 460 becquerels.  The latest readings show cesium is continuing to be spewed by the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.

 

 

Fukushima

Strontium 90 more widespread than first thought!

Japanese Science Ministry has finished a survey of Fukushima Prefecture.  They were looking for evidence of strontium 90, they found plenty.

Strontium 90 is created during nuclear fission.  It has a half life of 29 years, and can cause bone cancer.

Samples were taken at 11 locations, all 11 tested positive.  The furthest location from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant, that tested positive, is Fukushima City at 60 km (37 miles) away.  The highest reading was 250 becquerels per kilogram, at Namie City.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Beige Book shows New York, Philly, Atlanta and Chicago Slow Down

The big bank known as Federal Reserve released its “Beige Book” of economic conditions (aka Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions).  Four districts of the United States show a slow down in economic activity.

Activity in the New York (district 2), Philadelphia (district 3), Atlanta (district 6) and Chicago (district 7) regions are slowing down.  The Federal Reserve blames the down turn on everything from the March 11 disasters in Japan, to a weak housing market, to increasing food and energy prices.

Their are 12 Federal Reserve districts in the United States.  The Beige Book will be presented at a Federal Reserve meeting on June 21.

Fukushima

Radiation spreading in Japan, Evacuation Zone could be expanded

Two Japanese cities outside the current evacuation zone, now have radiation levels above safe limits.

Date and Minamisoma cities show increasing radiation levels, prompting calls for evacuation by the residents.  Government officials say they are working quickly on the possible expansion of the evacuation zone.

International, Opinion

Government Incompetence: Germany gets it wrong with deadly E Coli. Could it be a modern day Typhoid Mary?

First Germany blamed Spanish cucumbers; wrong!  Then Germany blamed locally grown sprouts; wrong!  Now Germany is facing a lawsuit by Spain, and German vegetable growers are tossing tons of fresh produce in the trash.  On top of that people are still dying!

By June 8, 25 people in Germany, and one person in Sweden had died.  More than 2,600 people in Germany are sick.

A new twist; back to cucumbers.  This time German health officials say they’ve found traces of the new strain (similar to 0104:H4) on cucumber leftovers belonging to a family that was among the first to get sick.

Here’s an issue: E. Coli (Escherichia coli) does not originate on vegetables!  It comes from the intestines of animals (humans included).  Vegetables would only get infected if they came into contact with infected fecal matter (i.e. crap).

Some possibilities:  Vegetables were for some reason being shipped along side products containing infected fecal matter?  Some Fertilizers used on crops contained infected fecal matter?  How about someone infected didn’t do a good job of cleaning themselves up after taking care of business, and, didn’t wash their hands thus spreading their particular strain of E-Coli to others, by handling produce being eaten by a lot of people (a modern day Typhoid Mary)?  Maybe German officials should be looking at people who handle fresh produce prior to it being sold to consumers (specifically someone who handled cucumbers)?