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, Idaho, U.S.

Idaho RadNet 2 Days Behind, confusing info!

I’ve been checking the Idaho RadNet web site and have gotten frustrated because it’s become clear Idaho DEQ is not updating the site. I checked it today, 08 April 2011, @ 11:00AM Mountain Time, and the RadNet posting is still for 06 April 2011.

Recently the Associated Press reported how the RadNet monitors are not reliable.

On top of the Idaho RadNet web site not being updated, the text portion seems to be the same as it was last week, or, Idaho is still getting hit with iodine-131 and xenon-133.

The numbers that RadNet posts are in Beta counts per minute, which is how a Geiger counter reads. The problem, reveled by University of California Santa Cruz professor, Daniel Hirsch, is that there are no set universal standards regarding how much radiation exposure is “bad”.

One source says they consider 100 counts per minute as “bad”. Well, if you look at the Idaho RadNet web site, you’ll see counts as high as 300. However, if you try to use the RadNet web site explainer pages, to figure out if you’re safe or not, you only get more confused.

 

Fukushima, U.S.

Don’t trust EPA RadNet radiation monitoring, No set standard in Radiation Exposure Limits

“The monitoring system isn’t functioning fully.”-Daniel Hirsch, University of California Santa Cruz

Hirsch said that EPA is too slow in releasing data about the radiation from the nuclear accident in Japan.  Some RadNet monitoring systems have been offline for months.

The Associated Press, quoting the Environmental Protection Agency’s own website, said as many as 20 of the RadNet sites were down. Also, 38% were under “review”.  When a RadNet site is under review, it means that the officials are doubting the readings.

Daniel Hirsch pointed out that radiation exposure standards from one government agency to another are different, which adds to the problem of letting people know if they are at risk or not. It also explains why some “experts” disagree with other “experts” about the dangers from Japan. There is no set standard for radiation exposure!

This explains a lot of the confusion in Japan during the first two weeks of the nuclear disaster. I remember watching press conferences where it seemed  officials from one agency contradicted officials from another agency. You’d think when it comes to nuclear power there would be a set universal standard regarding radiation exposure!


Business/Economics, International

While the U.S. economy stagnates, Chile’s grows 7.2%

Chile’s economy continues to awe outsiders. For the month of February, 2011, Chile’s economy grew by 7.2%.

Chile’s Central Bank said it’s due mainly to exports. The top export from Chile is copper. Right now copper is trading for $10,000 per ton.

Other exports helped Chile: Fruit, timber and fishing.  Chile also got a boost from it’s transport industries.

The down side is inflation. The Central Bank says it’s inevitable that with such explosive growth inflation will follow.  Currently inflation in Chile is at 4.3%.

Business/Economics, International

If eating well is a sign of a good economy, then Venezuela is doin’ fine

From 1998 to 2008 Venezuelans increased their caloric consumption by 55.5%. That’s according to a study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Also, between 70-75% of the food is produced locally. It reflects Venezuela’s focus on increasing domestic production.

Venezuela also has a law that says the government must keep three months worth of food, for an estimated 27 million people, stocked up for emergencies.

International, Opinion

40,000 Mexicans protest Drugs War

“We urgently need to restore dignity to this nation and fight violence with education, culture, poetry and employment.”-Javier Sicilia, son was killed last week

In Mexico City at least 40,000 people protested the drugs war, pointing out that most deaths make no sense as they are mainly innocent bystanders, or people who have no proven connection to drug dealing, or the government.

Recently mass graves were found. They did not contain the bodies of drug gang members, or the Mexican military or police, but of migrant workers.  A similar mass grave was found last year, again migrant workers were the victims. The Mexican government said a drug gang was responsible. Why would drug gangs want to massacre migrant workers in Mexico?  Are they afraid they’ll take their jobs?

To the people of Mexico, this so called drugs war launched by a pro-Bush President, is looking more and more like a war on everyday civilians.

Fukushima, U.S.

U.S. nuke plant not safe

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission studied the safety of nuclear plants in the United States. The Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Pennsylvania is not safe from a natural disaster.

The report says if a power loss occurs for a long time, fuel rods in the reactor could be damaged, releasing radioactive isotopes within two days.  It is the same General Electric design as Fukushima Daiichi.

Not surprisingly, Congress told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to double check their findings.

International

Woman died trying to save Kindergarten students, school was supposed to be safe

According to NHK, A kindergarten school, in Miyagi Prefecture, was supposed to be safe from tsunami, according to an official tsunami danger zone map. The official map was wrong.

When the 9.0 quake hit on March 11, school officials knew a tsunami was coming, but they though they were safe.  In fact, they kept the children at school because their homes were actually closer to the ocean than the school.

Parents were called to come and get their kids, if they wanted. All the children were loaded onto buses, to wait for their parents.  When it became clear that the tsunami was going to sweep over the school, teachers began grabbing kids off the buses. One girl was pulled off in the nick off time, by her hair. She watched as the tsunami swept away her friends still on the bus.

One of the buses was found at a house. The woman of the house tried to save the kids on the bus. They scrambled for the 2nd floor of the home. 17 children were saved, but two kids died along with the woman.  Their bodies were found in the yard. The house was filled with items washed in from the school.