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

Reactor 1 will be entombed in water, robots to check on progress

Reactor 1, at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, will be filled with water, in an attempt to create a temporary water tomb.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has decided it is the best way to bring the reactor under control.  Robots will be used to check for possible leaks inside the building.  TEPCo wants to fill the reactor core, and then its surrounding containment vessel with water.  It could take until the end of July to accomplish. Currently they are injecting water at a rate of 6 tons per hour, but will increase it to 14 tons per hour.

Business/Economics, International

Ford closing more plants, “just in time” global economic supply system continues to strike

Ford is temporarily closing plants in Taiwan, China, and South Africa.  The Taiwan plant will be closed for about two weeks.  The plants in China and south Africa will be closed for one week.

Ford did not say whether the lost production would be made up later, or if it would adjust its global output forecast for 2011.  The current global economy is not only a threat to the average worker, but the disaster on March 11, in Japan (the “just in time” supply center of the global economy),  showed that is bad for big businesses as well.

Business/Economics, International

Toyota on its way down to number 3, Volkswagen up, blame “just in time” house of cards

Toyota has already lost its number 1 ranking, no thanks to the March 11 disasters in Japan.  Now its heading down to number 3.

General Motors is now the number 1 world producer of cars, not just because of what happened in Japan, but because GM’s sales are taking off in China.  Who’s about to become number 2?  Volkswagen.

VW is expected to produce 7 million cars by the end of 2011, right behind GM.

Japan is now rethinking its “just in time” supply system.  The March 11 disasters reveled the inherent flaw in the system, especially without any back up systems in place.  A “just in time” system is a house of cards, just pull one or two, and the whole house comes down.

 

International, Technology

Iranian reporters show ignorance of military subjects, confuses aircraft with missile

Iranian media continues to release confusing reports on Iran’s military hardware.  Recently they reported on a “sokho-24 missile”.  The article jumps back and forth from calling the “sokho-24” a missile, and an aircraft.

In researching this I realized that what happened is the Iranian journalists confused a military press statement.  The Iranian military had announced that their upgrades to the Sukhoi-24 attack jet had been completed, and that they have successfully launched a new air to ground missile from the Sukhoi-24 aircraft.  The military went on to say that testing with new longer range missiles, launched from the Sukhoi-24, will be next.

The Sukhoi-24 is very similar to the U.S. F-111 Aardvark swing wing attack jet.

 

 

International, Technology, U.S.

Iran loves classic U.S. made cars, who doesn’t?

Iran will be hosting its second classic car show.  The show will open April 28, in Tehran.

It’s not that big, only about 80 classic cars, but for the second effort by Iranian car collectors, it’s good enough.  “Most of the cars are being displayed for the first time. Some have never even been used before.”-Fariborz Ensafi, Touring and Automobile Club

Private collectors will show off German, French and, of course, American automobiles.  Motorcycles and bicycles will also be on display.  The show will run until May 2.

International, Technology

Iran hit with another cyber attack

“However, certain characteristics about the Stars worm have been identified, including that it is compatible with the (targeted) system and that the damage is very slight in the initial stage, and it is likely to be mistaken for executable files of the government.”-Gholam-Reza Jalali, Iran’s Passive Defense Organization

No other details were given.  Iran’s nuclear plant was hit with a computer worm last year.  Iranian officials are blaming the United States and Israel, along with Siemens, for that cyber attack.  Siemens made the computer software for Iran’s nuclear plant, and Iranian officials say the cyber attack would have required knowledge of the computer software.

Fukushima

European scientists saying Nuclear explosion did take place at Fukushima, worse than Chernobyl, “Can’t seal a fissioning reactor”!

Several European scientists are saying there is evidence that a nuclear reaction explosion did indeed take place at Fukushima Daiichi.  They are even saying that Chernobyl was better controlled than what is happening at Fukushima Daiichi.

Professor Tom Burke, founder of E3G, says Fukushima Daiichi is still ongoing, after five weeks, while Chernobyl was “over with” after about two weeks.

Another scientist, Professor Christopher Busby, thinks there was a fission reaction in Reactor 3 spent fuel pool, causing a nuclear explosion. That’s because Reactor 3 has MOX fuel rods, using uranium.  Some evidence of nuke explosion, scientists point to, is the ever increasing radiation levels, and the types of isotopes being found around Fukushima, like plutonium and strontium.

French nuclear officials are concerned about Reactor 4 fuel pool.  That pool had active fuel rods in it.  They were put there after Reactor 4 was shut down for routine maintenance, just before the 11 March disasters.  Tokyo Electric Power Company has admitted, in recent days, that they are having major problems with Reactor 4 fuel pool, as well as Reactor 1 overheating and active fuel rods exposed.

Professor Busby believes there is still fission taking place.  He said it would explain why they haven’t started pouring concrete on the reactors, because: “You can’t seal a fissioning reactor…”.

Fukushima

Japanese health officials admit faulty system to monitor radiation levels!

Officials from the health ministry say Japan needs a better way to predict radiation contamination, especially in tap water.

One example is that experts failed to take into account wind, and rainfall, coming from the direction of the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.  The officials think their discussion, to find ways to improve their system, will last until the end of June.