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.
International, U.S.

Military government detains Mubarak & Sons

After weeks of protests, the military leaders of Egypt have detained Hosni Mubarak, and his sons, for questioning.

Mubarak is in a hospital after he suffered a heart attack. Protesters were demanding that the former Egyptian ruler be arrested for corruption.

On April 12 the pro-U.S. military rulers cleared protesters from Tharir Square.  But Egyptians promised an even bigger protest on Friday, if Mubarak was not arrested.

With the detention of Mubarak and his sons, Egyptians say they can now focus on pushing the military leaders to hold elections for a new government.

International, U.S.

Mexico asks for help as Fire hits 200,000+ Acres

NASA photos show, as of April 11, the Coahuila fire has burned at least 300 square miles.  The photo also shows the smoke blowing northeast, towards the Rio Grande (called Rio Bravo in Mexico).  This is contrary to some Mexican reports that say it’s blowing to the southwest (maybe they meant it’s bowing OUT of the southwest). But, the winds have been the main cause of the big fire, and could be changing directions.

“We could have the area under control in about two to two and a half weeks.”-Juan Elvira, Mexican Environment Minister

This has turned into Mexico’s biggest wild fire.  Fire fighting helicopters, and a Boeing 747 water tanker, from the United States are helping.  Mexico is asking Canada for help, as well.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Nissan Leaf won’t start

Nissan is investigating why its electric car, the Leaf, won’t start.  Several customers, in Japan and United States, are complaining that their Leafs won’t start.

Nissan thinks it is related to the air conditioner sensor: “…it will illuminate a warning light on the instrument panel and may cause the vehicle to not restart once it has been turned off.”-Katherine Zachary, Nissan’s North American unit

Fukushima, Idaho

French send experts on dismantling Nuke Plants to Japan

The French company Areva SA is increasing the number of nuclear experts they’ve sent to Japan, to help deal with the Fukushima Daiichi crisis.

Areva SA now has 15 technicians in Japan.  Some of the technicians specialize in removing contaminated water, and dismantling nuclear power plants.

France based Areva is also trying to get a uranium enrichment operation built in Idaho, U.S.A.

Fukushima

Radiation in Pacific Ocean continues to increase!

Despite efforts to stop the contaminated water from spilling into the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and the Japanese government, say contamination levels  just off the Fukushima coast are at highest point so far.

Iodine-131 has hit 88.5 becquerels per liter, 30km (18.6 miles) away from Fukushima Daiichi. Cesium-137 levels continue to climb as well, but are still under Japanese safe limits.

 

 

International

More than 100 evacuation sites, said to be safe, turned into Death Traps

A Kyodo News investigation revealed that more than 100 evacuation sites were swept away by the March 11 tsunami.

Most of the evacuation sites were selected by local governments.  One of the main reasons for selecting the site, even though many were near sea level, is that they were thought to be too far inland for any tsunami.  Not only was the tsunami higher than expected, it reached much farther inland.

International

School manual vague on evacuation plan, hundreds of kids and their teachers died trying to escape

In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, most elementary school students lost their lives, along with all but one of their teachers, no thanks to a vague manual about tsunami evacuations.

On March 11, 70% of students at Okawa Primary School were killed.  10 of the 11 teachers were also killed.  When the 9.0 earthquake hit, teachers knew they needed to get the kids home, so they called the parents to come pick them up.  But time was against them.  Suddenly the tsunami warning sounded.  The teachers looked in a manual to figure out what to do.  The manual simply said “get to higher ground”.

Okawa Primary School is located on the edge of a large river that empties into the ocean.  The only high ground is a steep mountainside that the teachers didn’t think the kids could climb, so they headed for a bridge.  A 70 year old witness said he was amazed, they were going the wrong way!  He ran towards the mountain and survived, only to witness the line of children, and their teachers, get hit by the tsunami.

One problem for the decision making of the teachers was a tsunami survey, which said that any tsunami that reached the school would be less than one meter (3.2 feet) high.  The tsunami that hit the school, on March 11, was 10 meters (32.8 feet) high.  “No one thought tsunami would even reach this area.”-witness


 

Fukushima

Toyota halts European production

Toyota is suspending production at all its European factories.

Plants in Britain, France, Turkey and Poland will be closed for several days on April 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and May 2.

Toyota also said they have yet to decide what they’ll do after that.  The parts supply problem in Japan does not show signs of lessening.  Toyota might be force to continue with sporadic factory shut downs, with all its plants.

Fukushima

Philippines orders all citizens in Japan to leave!

President Benigno Aquino ordered all Filipinos living within 50km of Fukushima Daiichi, to leave the area.  Any Filipinos living outside the 50 kilometers (31 miles) zone, can voluntarily leave.

The Philippine government said they would pay all the costs of bringing their citizens back to the Philippines. Any Filipinos who want to stay are ordered to move to the southern part of the big island of Honshu.

The order came when it was officially announced that Fukushima Daiichi was a level 7 nuke disaster (the highest level).