Pilots in the Basement

Here is an interesting article, explains that CNN and other news outlets really try to make "something out of nothing". The picture painted in the early days of the Malaysian air mystery so wanted the pilot to be this grand conspiracy --- hmmm. I hope we all have learned something from this.

OMG!!!!!!!!

I just finished reading A Livelihood in Nuclear Waste, Under Threat. This is the most socially irresponsible article having to do with nuclear waste that I have ever read!

First, it is written in the style of novel and not a news article and second........

“People keep asking, ‘When do you think they’ll let us be back at work?’ ” Rick Fuentes was quoted as saying.

The WIPP  plant was closed because it was a health risk to the workers and the people living in the area. Do we really care more about our work then we care about ourselves?

I don't know if Mr. Fuentes was speaking for himself or for the United Steelworkers union where he serves as a chapter president. But if that is the United Steelworkers stance I would suggest they really look out more for their employees and work to clean up this nuclear waste mess.

The questions should not be "Will I have a job?" - rather "Will I have a life?"

I hate to sound like a broken record, but.....

The Callaway Nuclear Energy Plant ( I refuse to call it "Callaway Energy Center ) is seeking a twenty year extension from the NRC on its operating license and public hearings are now being held by the NRC as they take this matter under consideration.

Here is a link to an article which ran in The Fulton Sun yesterday. Let me excerpt a portion of that article which for me is of great concern.

For Missouri Coalition for the Environment Safe Energy Director Ed Smith, the way the Callaway plant stored its used nuclear fuel rods was of greater concern.

As nuclear fuel is used and irradiated in a reactor, the radioactive rods left behind are stored on-site in deep pools of water, which the NRC's website nrc.gov states cools the fuel and shields workers from radiation. Though the spent fuel is typically moved to dry storage after five to 10 years in the pools, the Callaway plant's pool is expected to be at capacity by 2020. 

Smith cited another NRC study related to the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania that stated "even a small spent nuclear fuel pool fire could leave 9,400 square miles uninhabitable and displace 4.1 million people," and that based on his understanding of the regulations, the NRC was basing its spent fuel storage standards on outdated research conducted by the NRC before large-scale fallout events such as the Fukushima nuclear disaster brought on by the 2011 tsunami in Japan. 

"I'm curious what the plan is for six years from now," Smith said. "They're not going to have a national repository for spent fuel ready in six years, I guarantee that."

For the life of me I don't know why people don't get it. What we do with our spent nuclear waste is a number one priority, or should be. Yet everyone goes on their merry way continually ignoring this basic fact.

You do not add more waste until you find a safe and permanent solution to handling the nuclear waste we currently aren't dealing with.

Further on that subject here is a good article from the New York Times (hat tip to friend Keith for sending it on to me) which talks a bit more about Nuclear Waste From New Mexico Lab May Go To Texas.

Remember folks the waste they are talking about in this instance is "barrels of plutonium-contaminated clothing, tools, rags and other debris". This gives you a good idea just how toxic this stuff is.

"Removing waste from the mesa in Los Alamos before fire season is critical to ensure safety in the greater Los Alamos community," Udall said in a statement Thursday. "I'm pleased we have a temporary solution that will ensure there will not be any significant disruption in cleanup efforts."

We can't give up on this people. "Temporary" is not a solution. 

 

A Sunday Poem

My Lover the Sea

I am that child with the round, dirty face
who on every corner bothers you with his
"can you spare a quarter?"
I am that child with the dirty face
no doubt unwanted
that from far away contemplates coaches
where other children
emit laughter and jump up and down considerably

I am that unlikeable child
definitely unwanted
with the round dirty face
who before the giant street lights or
under the grandames also illuminated
or in front of the little girls that seem to levitate
projects the insult of his dirty face

I am that angry and lonely child of always,
that throws you the insult of that angry child of always
and warns you:
if hypocritically you pat me on the head
I would take that opportunity to steal your wallet.

I am that child of always
before the panorama of imminent terror,
imminent leprosy, imminent fleas,
of offenses and the imminent crime.

I am that repulsive child that improvises a bed
out of an old cardboard box and waits,
certain that you will accompany me.

- Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990)

Cuban revolutionary poet & author, exiled in NYC under Castro

Pissed Off

This Penn State thing pisses me off. Today I was reading an article about an interview with Sandusky’s wife where she claims her husband is innocent. Fine, stand by your man…………… but then she goes on to say how the victims were manipulated. “Once lawyers came into the case………….there was money.”

Excuse me, but before the first letter of the first allegation was written it was about money - money that was and would be coming into Penn State to be exact.

I think Jerry Sandusky got what was coming to him, but sadly all the people at the university that allowed for this to continue without letting it be known and helped  to cover it up are equally to blame.

And if you don’t think there weren't many private discussions that went on with the regents and the president of Penn State and with Coach Paterno you are very naive.

When a child’s life is ruined by sexual abuse even innocent bystanders should pay a price if they knew about the crime and did nothing to stop it. And if your precious football program is going to suffer monetarily then tough shit.

I say shame, shame on Penn State officials and shame on Mrs. Sandusky for even insinuating that the victims were in this case manipulated by money.

And to end the article by saying “the case shattered Penn State’s storied football program” is an insult. Not one mention of the lives of the children that were shattered. 

Come on people, give me a break.

Fukushima - March 11, 2011 – The Anniversary of the beginning but not the end

Fasting For Fukushima

In the beginning there was so much talk, the usual media crews were sent in to cover the “Breaking News”.  And almost as quickly as they came across the waters to the island nation of Japan they left, quietly and not even leaving a wake.

The story isn’t finished but continues to grow and now in addition to the radiated steam being the story, add to that the cover ups and lies which has spread from Japanese companies and government to our own U.S. government.

Here are a snippet of stories you can read to see what is happening three years later.

# # #

Miles O’Brien Takes PBS Fishing for Radiation at Fukushima:  http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/09/miles-obrien-pbs-fishing-radiation-fukushima/

"Miles O’Brien's first piece took us on a terrifying “post apocalyptic” tour inside Fukushima. His third and final piece will air Tuesday, March 11, the third anniversary of the beginning of the Fukushima disaster."

Documentary Spotlight: The Horses of Fukushima 

http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/26/the-horses-of-fukushima/

“Less than 20 km away, 40 horses miraculously survived the tsunami. But when the government commanded people to evacuate the disaster zone, many of the horses were left behind to starve.”

PBS Takes Us on a Terrifying ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ Tour Inside Fukushima 

http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/02/pbs-post-apocalyptic-tour-fukushima/

“Or, as PBS puts it, the nuclear “apocalypse” along the coast of Japan, daily pouring 300 tons of lethal isotopes into our ocean eco-system. This brave and fascinating excursion into Fukushima’s innards features footage of the infamous Unit Four spent fuel pool, where Tokyo Electric is trying to bring down extremely radioactive fuel rods whose potential killing power is essentially unfathomable.”

Leaked Emails Expose NRC’s Cover-Up of Safety Concerns Days After Fukushima Disaster

http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/10/leaked-emails-nrcs-fukushima/

“According to a report from NBC, a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) campaign to reassure people about nuclear safety standards coincided with agency experts consistently presenting similar questions behind the scenes. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, NBC acquired a string of March 2011 emails that clearly show the cover-up.”

March 11 - Remember Fukushima-Daiichi

UNPLUG NUCLEAR!

On March 11, Beyond Nuclear will join with many other organizations from around the country to remember those suffering as a result of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster. Please help to Unplug Nuclear Power (and fossil fuels, too, of course) by using as little grid-supplied electricity as possible on that day. Our action is designed to send the message to the utility companies that we refuse to accept nuclear power any longer.

What a small price to pay to send a message and to remember this terrible disaster. The ramifications from three years ago and still ongoing. Let's not forget and make a move to show that nuclear power is not the only answer to our power needs.

• Be conscious of your own energy usage. Remember conservation is not a dirty word.
• We have choices: wind, solar, tidal & wave power to name just a few.
• Remember spent nuclear waste needs to be safely and permanently stored. Starting now!
• Start living wisely, not as a glutton.
• Be kind - to your fellow man and to our home, the Earth.

Meet my little friend, Oscar.

Well they did it and it wasn't so bad after all. Oscar Night 2014 is now history and hopefully it won't be long and I will be able to see all those grand and not so grand movies on the small screen.

Of the movies I have actually seen my favorite for story and acting was "Blue Jasmine", my kind of film, edgy, dark and enough meat in the script to make you think. I enjoyed "The Butler" because it reminded me of an age I remember growing up in. And because as the film ended I just broke down in tears, really for all of us.

"Dallas Buyers Club" was good, Mathew did a great job, but probably someone else could have handled the script and done the same good job. "Captain Phillips" was good but not great and actually the only movie I went out to a theater to see.

I haven't seen "12 Years a Slave", "Her", "Philomena" and "Nebraska" but I will. Like any sweet treats you don't want to devour them all at once.

Not sure about "Wolf" but you can never tell maybe ten months from now I will find it on my HBO channel. As for "Gravity" I will pass on it even if free popcorn was involved.

The television extravaganza went well this year I thought, I never switched channels once. I thought the acceptance speeches for the most part were very good and thoughtful, delivered by grownups which is always refreshing.

So there you have, my take on Oscar Night. Oh and I loved the selfie Ellen did. Very appropriate since "selfie" was just inducted into the Oxford Dictionary as the new word for the year. Congratulations, Self. Go ahead stand up and thank the many people who helped you get this honor.