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.
Idaho

Idaho teachers use public property to promote their personal politics

“Those whose certificates are suspended or revoked can no longer be employed by an Idaho public school.”-Tom Luna, Superintendent of Public Instruction

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna, is warning educators they could lose their jobs if they continue to use public property to promote their personal politics.

Luna claims his office has received reports that teachers are using school district emails to campaign against the state’s new education policy.  He also claims (and I have a daughter in school who can testify to this) that teachers are “proselytizing” in the classroom concerning political activities, and using students as political couriers.

A teacher who does so is in violation of state policies, and could result in losing their job, or teaching certificate.

State Legislator Brian Cronin thinks Luna is threatening the teachers: “I think the superintendent is using fear and intimidation to stifle the opposition.”

Other education officials say Luna’s statement came after his office got flooded with complaints from parents: “We’ve received phone calls and emails with complaints from parents and legislators and others about this happening in their schools and we wanted to send a reminder to school districts about this provision in the code of ethics. It really honestly was a reminder because we’ve received so many phone calls.”-Melissa McGrath, Department of Education

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Flooding along Mississippi adds to Global Food Crisis, and threatens U.S. economy

Voice of America reporting that farms along the Mississippi flood zones are destroyed.  Some farmers were able to harvest some of their crops before the flooding.

Many farmers did not have crops to harvest, but were about to plant, and now that’s not going to happen: “…this is unprecedented because of the amount of water that is backed up and out over areas that normally do not flood.”–Randy Ouzts, Horizon Ag

One of the biggest U.S. exports are crops.  The harvest is shipped to New Orleans, on barges that sail the Mississippi river.  Ouzts says getting the harvested crops out could be a problem: “The issue we are having at the moment is wheat delivery, and also fertilizer and fuel deliveries, and the problem is loading.  The facilities were not built to accommodate this much water.”

Fukushima, International

All nuclear reactors in Germany fail safety tests!

“It remains the case that a way must be found for us to leave nuclear power behind as soon as possible.”-Norbert Rottgen, Environment Minister

Because of the ongoing nuke disaster reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, Germany ordered ‘worst case scenario’ testing of all its nuclear plants.  They all FAILED!

The report was published by Der Spiegel.  It was discovered that all of Germany’s nuke plants lack the “required safety features” to withstand a level three disaster.   Not only that, but four of the plants failed simulations involving small aircraft crashing into them.

The highest safety standard rating for nuclear plants in Germany, is a level three rating.  The report says most of the plants can’t even meet level two safety standards.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Boeing & Airbus claim victory in WTO case

Depending on which media source you read, Boeing won its World Trade Organization case against Airbus.  Depending on which media source you read, Airbus won its World Trade Organization case against Boeing.  Yes, that’s the idea.

Both Airbus and Boeing are declaring victories in their WTO case against each other.

U.S. officials say the ruling helps Boeing: “This definitive victory will benefit American workers who have had to compete with a heavily subsidized Airbus.”-Tim Reif, general counsel for the U.S. Trade Representative

Airbus officials say the WTO ruling upheld European loan subsidies: “…government loans are a legal instrument and that none of the government loans made to Airbus over the past 40 years were prohibited…”

Boeing reps said this is a “definitive victory” for the United States, but Airbus said “This is a big win for Europe.”

Who’s right?  The WTO looked at the allegations line by line, and voted line by line, basically splitting the difference.  So both sides think they won, when in reality they broke even.

Business/Economics, International

Parts supply problem forces Honda to lay off 400 employees

Honda announced they will have to lay off 400 workers at their factory in Brazil. The problem is lack of parts.

Originally Honda was going to reduce production, at their Brazil plant, for 12 days.  Now it’s cutting production for a full month, and reducing payroll by 12%.

The ongoing parts supply problem was caused by the March 11 disasters in Japan, which revealed the weak link in the “just in time” supply policy for Japan’s (and even the world’s) industries.

Fukushima

City in southern Japan hit with radiation!

For the first time since the nuclear disaster started in Japan, the city of Osaka has detected cesium contamination.

Osaka is about 560 km (348 miles) from the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.

City officials say that between 01 April and 02 May, low levels of cesium 134 & 137 were detected in rain water, and dust.

Opinion

Ronin planets existing without Suns, ancient Sumerians were right

NHK reports Japanese astronomers have discovered what they call “floating planets”.

At least ten floating planets have been discovered using an observatory in New Zealand.  The planets have mass equal to the planet Jupiter, yet they exist outside any solar system, and apparently don’t need to orbit a star.

The discovery could back up the ancient Sumerian myths that describe a rogue planet (and its “companions”), with the mass of Jupiter, plowing its way through our solar system, resulting in the creation of the planet Earth.

The Vikings also have a myth about the end of days when the great wolf will seemingly swallow the sun and moon. Could these Ronin planets be the wolf?

I call these planets ‘Ronin’, meaning without master (referring to the Japanese astronomers, and that the planets don’t need a sun).