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

No progress at Fukushima Daiichi?

Latest press conference from Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

Officials still not sure about water levels at the reactors & spent fuel pools.  Deciding if radiation levels are low enough to fly recon aircraft over to take photos.

Officials still evaluating the effects of yesterday’s water dropping & spraying.

Workers still struggling to get new power lines hooked up to the plant.  Power panels on reactors need to be replaced. Radiation levels on site still a problem.

Priority and progress of work affected by number of workers, radiation levels, and other factors.

Help from the United States is appreciated, and specific requests have been made.  Reports say U.S. Secretary of State Clinton announced that coolant specifically for nuclear reactors is in short supply.  Japanese officials say they will have to continue using water  (which is not optimal).

Business/Economics, Fukushima, U.S.

GM joins Toyota in reducing U.S. production

General Motors (GM) has announced that due to auto parts shortages, caused by the disasters in Japan, they will have to shut down some production in the United States.

A GM plant in Louisiana is the first to be closed, for a week, as a result.

Toyota had announced that it would slow production in its U.S. factories. Officials say production will not be affected at their engine plants. Instead of closing plants altogether, Toyota has eliminated overtime work.

Ford says so far their U.S. operations are not affected, Honda said the same thing.

International, U.S.

With attention focused on Japan, U.S. closer to War with Libya

While most American’s attention has been focused on the disasters in Japan, the governments of the United States, France and several other countries, have been pushing for military action against Libya.

The first step towards that has been accomplished, with the UN (United Nations) passing a security resolution which will result in air strikes against Libyan government troops; a no fly zone.

The Libyan government has been making progress against rebels in the past week.  Rebels watching the UN Security Council, cheered at hearing the results of the voting.

French officials say action could begin within hours.  France, United Kingdom (Britain), United States and one or two unnamed Arab countries, are said to be ready to take part in enforcing the no fly zone.

Opinion, U.S.

Preparing for Disaster

How do you prepare for natural disaster?

First you need to know what kind of natural disaster/disasters is/are most likely in your area.  Tornado, flood, earthquake, hurricane, volcano, wild fire?  All the above?

Second you need to figure out the chances of your survivability, based on the level of the disaster.   Example:  I live about 130 miles (222km) from the super volcano at Yellowstone National Park.  The last time I read about the expected eruption (a massive explosion) of Yellowstone, I learned that I live within the “kill zone” of 200-600 miles.  However, the rest of North America would be subject to the highly toxic, and abrasive, ash cloud.

That is an extreme example, but geologist keep saying a catastrophic eruption of Yellowstone is overdue.

The next step is: Do you have the ability to prepare?  The main problem in a capitalist society is money.  I do not have the amount of money it would take to prepare to survive the catastrophic eruption of Yellowstone, given how close I am.  The best I can do is prepare to survive the ash cloud (seal doors & windows, wear respirator, along with the usual stockpile of survival goods).  People will say, move!  That takes money as well, and I currently do not have enough money to even move (thank you Corporate America!).  I spent a decade “going where the jobs are”, but after I did some math, I realized that I had lost money with all the moving (I never made enough to make itemized deductions on my taxes, so no deduction for moving. And, one company I worked for actually reneged on its promise to pay my moving expenses).

The best that most people can do, is to prepare as if they will end up on the periphery of a natural disaster.  Stock up on food (mainly canned and dry), water, medicals and fuel, these are the basics.  Do not discount having a gun, just be sure you know how to use it.  And one last thing, if you have pets/livestock you need to make preparations for them as well.

 

Fukushima, Opinion

Lesson from Japan; you can never prepare for Mother Earth

Not only can you never be prepared enough for Mother Earth, but you can not rely on your government for help.  Time after time, natural disasters through out history proves this.

It is clear that any disaster preparations in Japan, prior to the 9.0 quake/tsunami, were not enough.  In several coastal towns the sea barrier walls did not stand up to the tsunami.   Previous ideas of how long people would have before a tsunami would hit, after an earthquake, were shattered.  There are coastal towns that have signs demarcating where the expected limits of any tsunami would be, but it’s now clear the tsunami blew past those expected limits.

It is also clear that the national government is not prepared for something like this, but we have to remember it is dealing with the nuclear disaster as well.  As a result, local governments are being burdened with dealing with the natural disasters, and many local officials are saying they are not equipped to do so. Local governments had expected the national government to handle such large natural disasters.  This is not a good sign for the rest of the world because Japan had always been looked up to as a shining example of disaster preparedness.

The residents of coastal towns and cities, that can be considered the ground zeros of the tsunami, could have never prepared enough.  Stocking up on food and water,  medical supplies, or any other item considered essential for survival, is a waste of time because it was all swept away by the floods.  Everything was destroyed.  However, in the periphery of the disaster, where many of the emergency shelters are, it is clear that preparations were not enough, as they have started running out of food, water, heating fuel and medical supplies.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t prepare.  People outside the disaster areas are now dealing with food, water and fuel shortages.  This is an example of why everyone, everywhere should have a stockpile of food, water and fuel.  You never know, you might just survive that big disaster, and that’s when you’ll need the basic necessities.

Clearly disaster preparedness in Japan shows signs of underestimating potential disasters, overestimating the effectiveness of preparations, and overestimating any government assistance.

Fukushima

U.S. Military ready to evacuate military families from Japan

There are dozens of U.S. military bases on Honshu, with thousands of dependents.  At this point the evacuation order is voluntary, it’s called “military-assisted voluntary departure.”

The plan involves taking military dependents to Korea.  Because the it is a voluntary evacuation, commercial flights would be used.  There is a potential for thousands of people wanting out, in that case they will start using military transports.

Potassium Iodide pills are being shipping in, mainly for JSDF troops, and U.S. personnel involved in fighting to keep Fukushima Daiichi plant cool.

Technology

Russia to Create Multi-Use Cards: ID, passport, debit, insurance all in one

President Medvedev has ordered the creation of a multi-use card, that will act as ID, passport, insurance, drivers license and debit card.

The cards will contain micro-chips.  It’s part of a plan for a “…better digital culture…”.  A new national payment system will be created, so people can use the IDs for bill payments.

The system could cost Russia $5 billion, and it’s hoped to get it up and running by January 2012.

Fukushima

Hospitals in Tsunami area need Help, Shelters not prepared

Believe it or not, there are still hospitals full of patients, in the tsunami hit areas.

A doctor at one hospital said he is physically exhausted.  After struggling to survive the tsunami, he has been working non stop at the local hospital.  The first floor of his hospital is useless, being covered in mud.  Medications are running out.  Only now are rescue volunteers reaching his hospital.

In other areas, where people had to be taken out of their hospitals, there have been deaths, due to hypothermia.  Elderly patients, who were soaking wet from the flood, and cold, died in an emergency shelter (2 one the evacuation bus, 12 in the shelter).  Shelter officials say they could not keep them warm.  A chronic problem with the emergency shelters is that they do not have sufficient heating. It is apparent that they were relying on outside electrical power, which is gone. This is another example that contradicts the international belief in Japan being the best prepared for natural disaster.  Other “shelters” are nothing more than schools.

Shelter officials, and hospital personnel, say the most critical problem now is lack of medication, especially for people with chronic medical problems, like diabetes.