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, Opinion, U.S.

Obama says U.S. will no longer be in charge of Odyssey Dawn, Yet who runs NATO? More Lies

Operation Odyssey Dawn is, according to President Barack Obama, going to be handed over to NATO on Thursday, April 1 (don’t be surprised if it’s an April Fools prank [heh, April Fools, Thursday is actually March 31]),  so that the United States will no longer be in charge of attacking Libya.  But who is in charge of NATO? The United States!

Already Obama has lied about U.S. involvement in Operation Odyssey Dawn, being just days, not weeks. When the official hand over to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) takes place on Thursday, it will be a week and a half since the coalition military action began. Remember, Obama swore to Congress it was only going to be “…days, not weeks.”

What about NATO? First of all, the United States created NATO in 1949. The United States has been behind the push to expand NATO since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.  By the way the Soviet Union was why NATO was created, so why is NATO still around 20 years after the Soviet Union ceased to exist? Because the United States wanted to keep it around.

Who runs NATO, literally? The United States. United States Navy Admiral James Stavridis is the current military commander of NATO.  In other words; Obama is NOT handing off control of Odyssey Dawn, it is still under the control of the U.S.

By the way, this is why French President Sarkozy did not want NATO to take over. So far each “coalition” member has been doing their own thing. No real coordination.  Sarkozy did not want France to lose direct control of their military action against Libya. By Sarkozy is the one who pushed everyone to pass the UNSCR 1973.

A Pentagon spokesperson explained that the real reason to turn things over to NATO, was money. The U.S. doesn’t have the money to continue most of the actual military action. By shifting to NATO, most of the military action will carried out, AND PAID FOR, by other members of NATO.  NATO will still be run by the United States.

Now what about the name of this military action against the Libyan government?  “Operation Odyssey Dawn”:  Odyssey means a very long trip. Dawn usually refers to the start, or beginning, of something.  Mmmm, beginning of a very long trip? Can you say Freudian slip?

Lies, lies and more lies!

Fukushima, Idaho

Idaho not reporting any Radiation from Japan

As of 28 March 2011, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is not reporting any increase in radiation levels in Idaho, on their RadNet site.

Also, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare believes that currently the risk of high radiation levels, from Japan, is still low.

The IDHW has a Japan situation page that lets Idahoans know about monitoring, food safety and FAQs like; “Should I start taking Iodide?”

(don’t take iodide unless you’re real close to a nuclear disaster ’cause to much iodide is bad for you)

 

 

Fukushima

Reactor turbine rooms like Radiators on a Car, and it’s time to change the fluid

Officials are struggling with the latest set back at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant; flooded turbine rooms.

The turbine rooms are where the coolant is cooled, basically giant heat exchangers, or radiators. The problem is that the rooms have flooded with water that has mixed with fuel rods in the reactor cores, making the water highly contaminated.  Before they can do anymore work they have to get the water out.

Tokyo Electric Officials were thinking of pumping the contaminated water into the turbine condenser (it’s like a radiator on a car), but, oh yeah, the condensers already have water in them.  The contaminated water is so bad that it’s basically nuclear waste. You can’t just let it drain out into the ground water , or ocean.

So they are trying to drain the condensers, and then pump the contaminated water into the condensers. They’ve already begun on reactor 1 turbine room. Reactor 2 turbine room has radiation levels of 1,000 millisieverts per hour. TEPCo officials don’t know when they can attempt to drain reactor 2 turbine room because of the radiation levels.

They’re also dealing with a tunnel/trench found under the reactors, and found filled with contaminated water.

Fukushima

“Grand Vision” reconstruction of Japan will rely on Clean Green Energy

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, says the “Grand Vision” of reconstructing Japan will include clean energy.

Edano made it clear that reconstruction planning is on the back burner due to the current disaster, but that clean energy will be one of the “pillars” of the plan.

He mentioned bio-fuels and solar power, as being examples of the type of clean energy that will be used.

Fukushima

Evacuation Preperations Ramping Up in Japan, Condition Dire

Japanese Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, says people living in the nuclear disaster zones are in “…dire condition…”, and a Disaster Management Special Task Force is being created, for evacuations, and decontamination.

The task force will prepare to begin accepting evacuees, and establish decontamination sites.

Also, temporary housing will be established for the thousands of people that will be affected.

 

Fukushima

Cesium-137, watch out

A U.S. nuclear expert, in Japan, stated that no one should get to worried about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, until cesium starts showing up.

Cesium (aka Caesium) is the main reason people can not live near Chernobyl, even 25 years after that disaster. The expert said cesium was spread all over, and in huge amounts, by the Chernobyl reactor melt down. Cesium-137 has a half life of 30 years.

Cesium-137, and many other cesium isotopes, are used in nuclear power plants (as well as other applications, like dirty bombs).

Has cesium been detected following the Fukushima Daichi disaster? Yes. The University of Nevada has detected cesium-137 between 17-21 March.  The levels were small, but they represent the early days of the nuclear disaster in Japan, things have gotten worse since.  On 29 March, South Korea reported that they have detected cesium-134 & 137.

Cesium builds up in soil and plants. Cesium ingested by people can kill. Tests were done on dogs, and it killed them within three weeks.

Besides Chernobyl, there was another nuclear disaster involving cesium.  It did not involve a nuclear power plant. It was outdated radioactive medical cesium chloride, in Brazil in 1987.  Four people were killed, 245 were contaminated, by a thimble sized amount.

Fukushima

Japanese Government creating task force for Long Term efforts to contain Nuclear Disaster

Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio said they are putting together a task force, to focus on the LONG TERM care of workers fighting the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.

They will also provide rest shelters, basically mobile homes, so the workers will have a place to live.

Edano also said they will have to begin replacing the workers currently struggling to contain the nuclear disaster.

Fukushima

Edano says Plutonium serious concern

Despite nuclear experts downplaying the detection of plutonium around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japanese Cabinet Secretary, Edano Yukio, says the situation is extremely serious.

Edano said that two of the samples showed a type of plutonium that could have only come from nuclear fuel rods. The Japanese government believes this is more proof that fuel rods are, or have, partially melted.

 

 

 

International

Last Geisha survives Tsunami, again

She survived fire bombings by the United States during World War 2, she survived three smaller tsunamis, and she survived the March 11 tsunami.

“But this tsunami was the worst of all.”-84-year-old, TSUYAKO Ito

The recent tsunami destroyed most of her belongings.

“I found a car and a dead body in my house.”

Ito says her first memory, from when she was a child, is of her mother carrying her, and running from a tsunami. She became a Geisha at the age of 12, after her father became to sick to work. Ito lives in the steel town of Kamaishi. She says she is the last Geisha in Kamaishi.

Even at 84 she still has, or had, clients: “The hardest thing was that a lot of my fans passed away.” (due to the tsunami)

Ito wants to work until she is 88: “…I still have my performing skills and spirit. This is my pride. Even a tsunami cannot take them from me.”


International

Aid for Japan not being distributed fast enough, it’s all in the Logistics

International help is pouring into Japan, but, according to officials, distribution is slow because some of the help is not adequate for the needs, or, relief personnel are not prepared to accept the help.

The Foreign Ministry has accepted contributions of personnel, including rescue teams, from at least 21 nations, territories and international organizations. Also, it has accepted aid supplies from 26 countries.

You can’t blame the Japanese for the slow distribution of aid, some countries are slow on getting the help to Japan. For example: Singapore took eight days, after their announcement of support, to actually send aid. And that’s not to bad, getting huge amounts of aid out can be a logistical nightmare.

Add to that, the recipient country has to have personnel in place, ready to accept the aid.  Many countries, and aid organizations, that want to send help say they have to wait until the get the go ahead from the Japanese government.

So, next time you hear how much aid your country is sending to a disaster area, realize that it’ll likely take weeks before it actually gets there.