Tag Archives: ows

Fukushima

One Year Later: Fire & new radiation leak at Fukushima Daiichi!

14 August 2012, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) said a new radioactive water leak has been found, coming from Reactor 4.

This morning a worker found a 350 square meter (1,148 square feet) room on the first floor of the reactor building flooded, about one centimeter (0.39 inch) deep.

The water is contaminated with 77,000 becquerels per milliliter of cesium.

TEPCo officials think the water might be coming from a pipe that is transferring contaminated water from Reactor 3 to a storage tank.  The pipe runs next to Reactor 4 building.

Also this morning, workers discovered a fire in a water pump.  The pump is used in a building that is used for filtering contaminated water.  They used fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate Evil: 90% of Too Big to Fail banks’ lawsuits falsify credit card debt!

The following are quotes from U.S. state judges, attorneys and federal government officials regarding the Too Big to Fails’ lawsuits against debtors:

“I would say that roughly 90% of the credit card lawsuits are flawed and can’t prove the person owes the debt.”-Noach Dear, civil court judge Brooklyn, New York

“Our concerns center on the fact that debt collection lawsuits are a pure volume business. The documentation is very bare bones.”-Tom Pahl, Federal Trade Commission

“I do suspect flaws, but there is little I can do.”-Harry Walsh, superior court judge Ventura, California

“This is robo-signing redux.”-Peter Holland, Consumer Protection Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

The quotes came from a New York Times article

Idaho, U.S.

Idaho getting smoked! State health officials concerned. Firefighter killed in action! Flying boats join battle.

13 August 2012, while the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center isn’t reporting any new fires, that doesn’t mean the rest of the state isn’t on fire.

On 12 August 2012, more than 11 wildfires across the state burned at least 500 square miles (804.6 kilometers).

Today, things are so bad in the Boise foothills that a DC-10 Very Large Tanker (VLT) has been called in.  The Ourada Ranch Fire grew 70 acres (28.3 hectares) in less than one hour!

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In northern Idaho, a firefighter lost her life when a tree fell on her.  Anne Veseth was fighting the Steep Corner Fire, near Orofino, on 12 August.  Fire officials are investigating.

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is concerned about the amount of smoke in the air, all across the state. On 12 August health officials raised warnings, saying it could be days before the heavy smoke clears out.

The smoke is not just from wildfire in Idaho, but from huge fires in northern California and northern Nevada. Officials say weather and geography are playing a big part in smoking out Idahoans: “…when you get stagnant conditions, no wind, no real movement, everything just kind of sits on top of the whole area…”-Mike Toole, DEQ

Idaho, International, U.S.

4th annual Eastern Idaho Scottish Games, Chubbuck Days

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11 August 2012 wasn’t just the annual Chubbuck Days festival, at Cotant park, it was also the 4th annual Eastern Idaho Scottish Games Heavy Athletic Event!

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www.eastidahoscots.org

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence: U.S. Navy collides with Japanese oil tanker in Persian Gulf

12 August 2012, on the same day that Japan announced it was sending minesweepers to join the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf, a USN destroyer collides with a Japanese oil tanker.

It happened in the middle of the night, near the Hormuz Strait.  The USS Porter is badly damaged and must be repaired.  No injuries were reported. The USN is investigating why the crew of the USS Porter did not see the huge Japanese oil tanker.

There has been no word about damage to the tanker.

Japan had recently allowed the government backing of insurance for Japanese tankers carrying Iranian oil, as a way to get around U.S./European sanctions.  Japan also discussed with Iran the possibility of using Iranian insurance companies.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 08 Aug – 11 Aug. Seven U.S. Marines killed in one day! Cops killing cops. British government facing criminal charges over U.S. “kill list”. USAID now targeted. Battles increasing! Mujahideen weapons coming from Germany & United States!

11 August 2012

In Nimroz Province, an Afghan national cop killed 11 of his fellow policemen.  The provincial governor says the killer cop was recognized as a member of the Mujahideen, and was killed.

In Balkh Province, the principal of a girls’ school was assassinated.  She was shot in her house, her husband, and father in law, found her when they returned from the local Mosque.  Balkh Province is considered one of the more stable Afghan provinces.

The Afghan Defense Ministry says five Afghan soldiers were killed, 16 wounded, in battles with Mujahideen in the provinces of Kunar, Paktiya, Logar, Maidan Wardak and Herat.  Nine Mujahideen were captured.

In the United Kingdom, attorneys have petitioned the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) regarding information given to the United States. That info was used to put together the infamous “kill list”, aka Joint Integrated Prioritized Target List (JIPTL): “Our client’s case suggests that the establishment and maintenance of the ‘killing list’ is not in line with the U.K.’s duties under international humanitarian law.”-Rosa Curling, attorney

10 August 2012

In Helmand Province, three U.S. Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) personnel were shot and killed by an Afghan employee working on the base they were stationed at.  Ignorant media referred to the Marines as Special Forces, which is normally the term used for U.S. Army Green Berets.  The shooter has been arrested.

Also in Helmand, earlier on the same day a local police commander invited four (U.S./British media says it was three) MARSOC personnel to his house to discuss security issues. Instead it was an ambush and the Marines were killed.  The police commander escaped.

Also in Helmand, British officials reported one of their occupying troops was shot and killed while on patrol.

Also in Helmand, six family members were killed, five wounded, after they drove over a mine.

Also in Helmand, ISAF claims to have captured a “leader”.

ISAF also reported: “An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today.”

In Ghazni Province, two cops were killed, three wounded, after they drove over a mine.

09 August 2012

In Kunar Province, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officer was assassinated by suicide bombers.  Three other officials, and a civilian were also killed.  A U.S. State Department official was wounded.

In Laghman Province, an Afghan government soldier shot at occupying forces. He was killed when they returned fire.

In Uruzgan Province, an Australian Digger was wounded during a battle with Mujahideen: “The soldier received a gunshot wound to the lower left leg when the combined force element came under small-arms fire from insurgents.”– Australian defence statement

In Kunruz Province, local officials reported major battles between Afghan government forces and Mujahideen.  They did not give exact numbers but reported many killed and wounded. The battles actually started the day before.

08 August 2012

In Farah Province, three civilians killed, three wounded, after the mini-bus they were in drove over a mine.  Local officials say Mujahideen launched an attack right after the explosion, wounding a policeman.  Police claim they killed three Mujahideen and wounded two others.

ISAF stated: “Three International Security Assistance Force service members died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan today.”

ISAF also claims to have captured yet another “leader”, in Helmand Province.

In Maidan Wardak Province, local officials reported major battles.  Mujahideen attacked a security check post on Kabul-Bamiyan highway, as well as a NATO supply convoy.  No word on casualties.

In Kunar Province, suicide bombers attacked occupying NATO troops.  A local hospital official said at least one person was killed, three wounded.  Other reports say that at least three occupying personnel were killed.

A German newspaper, Express, reported that many weapons taken from Mujahideen are made in Germany.  Another report explained that Germany has been sending the Afghan government weapons for their military and police, however, at least 4,500 of those guns have disappeared from Afghan government control.  Not only that, but at least one third of the hundreds of thousands of U.S. weapons shipped to the Afghan government have disappeared!

While ISAF reported an 11% increase in Mujahideen attacks on occupying forces, the United Nations reports an overall 15% decrease in attacks upon civilians. However, the UN says that when looking at specifically attacks on civilians, that are blamed on Mujahideen, there is actually a 53% increase!

 

 

International, Opinion, U.S.

World War 3: Egypt & Israel at war in the Sinai! U.S. increases military aid to Egypt! But who are they fighting?

12 August 2012

Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, has “retired” the top two Egyptian military commanders; Chief of Staff Sami Enan and Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi, one week after the 05 August 2012 insurgent attack against Egypt and Israel.

In the latest battles taking place on the Egyptian/Israeli border, Egyptian security forces claim to have killed at least seven insurgents, and captured a cache of weapons including mines and anti-aircraft missiles.

However, one village leader says the claim of killed insurgents is doubtful: “There were no bodies found or transferred to local hospitals.”-Ahmed Sallam, resident of El Arish

The locals say the insurgents are not from the area, although Egyptian officials believe that some of the insurgents are Egyptians and Palestinians.

In another incident, three Egyptian cops were killed, four wounded, when their vehicle flipped over as they were chasing insurgents.

Some people think Bedouins (nomads) are behind the attacks against Egyptian forces.  There have been cases of weapons being brought in from Libya, after the U.S./European led insurgency ended in that country, and ending up in the hands of nomads.

One villager who saw the 05 August 2012 insurgent attack said: “Whoever did this was very well trained.”-Abu Asma, witnessed insurgent attack on Egyptian border post

Egypt is now building up ground forces in the Sinai, specifically mechanized infantry operating YPR 765 armored personnel carriers (APC).  The military action is being called Operation Eagle 2.

An Israeli media source said United Nations Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) troops were attacked, however, MFO officials say no such attack took place.

11 August 2012

Unconfirmed media reports said that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had crossed into Sinai by several hundred meters. This might be connected with the Amnesty International report the day before.

U.S. media reports said that the Obama administration has promised the new Egyptian government increased military assistance, as well as: “…police training, and electronic and aerial surveillance…” The New York Times

10 August 2012

Egyptian military leaders accused three members of Hamas (some reports say five) of training the insurgents who conducted the 05 August attack against Egypt and Israel.

There are reports that Egyptian troops are randomly arresting Bedouins and Palestinians in the Sinai. The police chief of the village El Arish found teenaged Palestinians in his jail. He told reporters he had no authority: “He belongs to the army now.”-Mohamed Suleiman

Other reports say men as old as 72 years have been arbitrarily arrested. Many of the older men arrested had been political prisoners under the U.S. supported Mubarak regime.

Egyptians in the Sinai say the Egyptian army seems to be putting on a show: “We thought they were chasing someone, but their arms [weapons] were directed up and we didn’t see who they were fighting with. We couldn’t find any bodies or signs of battle after they left.”-witness from al Toumah village

Also, Amnesty International released a report saying Israel was using the insurgent activities in the Sinai as an excuse to stop illegal immigration, by sending IDF troops into Egyptian territory to round up what the IDF claims to be “infiltrators”.

Amnesty International says such IDF tactics have been going on for months, and they have swore statements from IDF troops as proof: “…was taken to a briefing given by reservist soldiers who served at the border site before him, who told him of a new procedure to stop ‘infiltrators’ by stationing soldiers hundreds of meters inside Egypt in order to stop them before they arrive at the border.”

08 August 2012

“The problem is that at present neither Israel nor Egypt know enough about who the enemy is, where he is situated, who his handler is and who is paying him.”-Alex Fishman, Yediot Aharonot daily

Egyptian military claimed their helicopters killed 20 insurgents, however, local villagers said that any insurgents in the area had already left by the time the helicopters showed up.

Israel handed over the bodies of those insurgents involved in the 05 August attack. The identities of the attackers are not being made public.

“…Israel is taking advantage of such attacks, using them as justification to push measures that serve the state’s security vision for the border triangle……the perpetrators are serving Israeli interests by undermining Egyptian security and providing Israel with pretexts to justify the way it deals with Palestinians.”-Al-Monitor

06 August 2012 

“The armed forces have been careful in the past months and during the events of the revolution not to shed Egyptian blood…but the group that staged yesterday’s attack is considered by the armed forces as enemies of the nation who must be dealt with by force.”-Egyptian military statement

“Israel and Egypt clearly have a shared interest in maintaining a quiet border. But when talking about the security of Israeli citizens, Israel must and will rely only on itself.”-Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

“We hope this will be a fitting wake up call for the Egyptians to take things in hand on their side more forcefully.”-Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister

One Israeli media source said the “wake up call” for Egypt was known about by the Israeli government well in advance of the 05 August attack: “Israeli intelligence had information on the planned attack, which allowed the military to have helicopters in the area to strike the vehicle, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Monday……Israel had shared the intelligence with Egypt in advance of the attack…”-Jewish Telegraphic Agency

 05 August 2012

Insurgents attacked an Egyptian border post, killing 16 Egyptian soldiers.  The attack came while they were eating dinner. For some reason no guards were posted on that night.  Even though local villagers ran to see what was going on, no military or police forces responded for at least an hour.

The insurgents stole an APC, drove one mile into Israel, where they were blown up by Israeli forces.

An Israeli official blamed the attack on Iran: “Iranian backed terrorists again [?] struck at our Southern border today killing 15 Egyptian guards and attempting to massacre Israeli civilians.”-Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.

My thoughts are that this whole thing is a set up!  The groups behind this (right wing religious nut jobs in the U.S., Israel and Egypt) are trying real hard to push Israel and Egypt into a full blown war.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Top 5 U.S. banks ordered to make living wills, two years ago! 9 Too Big to Fails now have living wills!

10 August 2012, Reuters published an exclusive report revealing that U.S. banks were ordered to make “living wills”, because of an expected economic collapse!

The order came from the privately run Federal Reserve Bank, and the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  The 2010 order was targeted at five U.S. national banks: Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

Both the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government indicated that there was no way to save the banking industry in a full blown economic collapse: “…make no assumption of extraordinary support from the public sector…”

The Reuters’ report explained that living wills for corporations are not the same as bailouts/recovery plans.  In the living will the too big to fail bank is basically finished, but directs how any remaining assets shall be liquidated (sold off) in order to prevent a total collapse of the banking/finance system.

Already, nine international banks have submitted their living wills to the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

 

International

World War 3: Russia heats up new arms race, will expand air force by 1,600 new military aircraft

“We are talking primarily about providing our forces with state-of-the-art modern technology.”-Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

11 August 2012, at the 100th anniversary celebrations for the Russian air force, Vladimir Putin announced that at least 1,600 new military aircraft will be purchased through 2020. That’s in addition to existing air force planes.  Putin also said existing aircraft will be upgraded with the latest technologies.

Russia will spend and estimated $620 to 720 billion USD on expanding and upgrading their air force.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Japan sends navy to Persian Gulf

12 August 2012, two Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) mine sweepers left for military exercises with the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf.

The Uraga and Hachijo will join the USN for mine sweeping operations that begin on 16 September.  20 other navies will take part in the operation.

About 90% of Japan’s petroleum comes from the Persian Gulf area, through the Strait of Hormuz.