CHRIS HARRIS -- MAJOR UPDATE ON FUKUSHIMA NEWS BLACKOUT AND CURRENT PLUTONIUM MOX 4 COOLING POOL JAN 4TH 2012 ACCIDENT AFTER JAN 1ST 2012 EARTHQUAKE ...
Russia, which has weapons contracts with Syria worth $5 billion, is increasingly resisting international pressure to punish its ally. Yesterday it did not deny a report of a recent arms shipment.
Anti-Syrian regime protesters chant slogans and flash the victory sign as they march during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria, near the Lebanese border, Tuesday. Syria's powerful ally Russia said Wednesday it would block any attempt by the West to secure UN support for the use of force against the regime in Damascus, which is under intense international pressure to end its deadly crackdown on dissent.
Russia is digging in its heels against international action that would punish Syria's regime for its brutal crackdown on a popular uprising that has moved into its 11th month.
Pro-Syrian regime protesters, wave a giant portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a demonstration to show their solidarity for their president, at a central square in Damascus, Syria, last week.
Not only will Russia veto any sanctions put before the United Nations Security Council, where it is one of five veto-wielding members, it also looks set to continue supplying billions of dollars worth of Russian arms that Syria has contracted to buy. And it will not halt friendly Russian gestures toward the regime of Bashar al-Assad, such as this month's visit of Russia's only operational aircraft carrier to the Syrian port of Tartous.
As the death toll for Syria's popular uprising has risen to more than 5,000 in recent months, international leaders have called for more punitive sanctions against the Assad regime. But Russia's opposition to such measures has toughened in part due to increasing suspicions of Western intentions, and in part due to growing fears that Russia could lose its oldest and most important Middle Eastern ally through Western-sponsored regime change in Syria.
Some analysts add that Russia's own bubbling political instability has sharpened the Kremlin's traditional resistance to any precedents that seem to mandate outside interference in a sovereign country's internal affairs.
"Russian leaders view Syria as our major ally in the Middle East, with whom we have good political, military, and economic ties," says Alexander Golts, a military expert with the online newspaper Yezhednevny Zhurnal. Mr. Golts suggests that with Vladimir Putin almost certain to return as president in March, foreign policy experiments involving greater cooperation with the West that occurred under President Dmitry Medvedev are probably a thing of the past.
"Putin has a real paranoia about colored revolutions. He reads such [pro-democracy rebellions] as a result of Western conspiracies," he says. "The attitude is, we're not going to be fooled any more."
In his annual press conference Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebuffed concerns about a reported delivery of Russian ammunition for Syria's armed forces this month by saying: "We don't consider it necessary to explain or justify ourselves, as we are not violating any international agreements or any [UN] Security Council resolutions."
UN sanctions would cost Russia $5 billion in arms sales
Russia's official arms export corporation, Rosoboronexport, declined to detail the extent of weapons contracts with Syria today. Its press secretary, Vyacheslav Davidenko, merely echoed Mr. Lavrov by insisting that "Russia will do nothing in violation of UN sanctions. If there aren't any, then we are free to supply any goods or services," to Syria, he says.
But according to the independent Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) in Moscow, Syria is Russia's seventh-largest customer in a global market that yielded almost $8 billion for Rosoboronexport in 2009. Sales to Syria over the past decade have amounted to about 10 percent of Russia's total weapons exports.
Russia vows to block Western intervention in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) – Syria's powerful allies in Russia vowed Wednesday to block any Western attempts to intervene militarily in Syria as Damascus fights off an increasingly chaotic 10-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad.
The support came as Assad was showing fresh confidence that he can ride out the uprising with the help of a small — but influential — set of friends in Russia, China and Iran.
Iran also gave Syria another boost Wednesday. According to Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency, with the commander of Iran's Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, said Assad's government enjoys public support and won't collapse.
Assad, a 46-year-old authoritarian leader who inherited power from his father in 2000, has made two public appearances last week, where he vowed to strike back with an "iron hand" against the "conspiracy" behind the uprising. Assad has rarely turned up in public during the uprising, and his appearances showed he was still firmly in charge.
But protesters show no sign of retreat despite the brutal military crackdown that the U.N. says has killed more than 5,400 people since March. And the uprising is turning increasingly militarized as more frustrated regime opponents and army defectors arm themselves and fight back against the regime.
The comments by Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov were one of Moscow's strongest statements of support yet for Assad. As one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Russia can veto any Council resolution that would authorize military intervention in Syria.
"If some intend to use force at all cost … we can hardly prevent that from happening," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow. "But let them do it at their own initiative on their own conscience. They won't get any authorization from the U.N. Security Council."
Lavrov said his country's draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution on the violence in Syria, which was circulated at the U.N. on Monday, aimed to make it explicitly clear that nothing could justify foreign military interference. However, Western diplomats said the draft fell short of their demand for strong condemnation of Assad's crackdown on civilians.
Russia has been a strong ally of Syria since Soviet times when the country was led by the president's father Hafez Assad. Nevertheless, Russian officials last fall hosted prominent Syrian opposition leaders in Moscow in a bid to sponsor talks.
Lavrov's comments made clear that Russia's position on intervention in Syria has not changed.
"Russia has a number of interests which would be protected by ensuring that there is no external interference in domestic developments in the country," said Anthony Skinner, associate director at Maplecroft, a British-based risk analysis company. Russia sells weapons to Syria and the country's Tartous port gives the Russians a foothold in the Levant region.
But Skinner said the Russian support is not grounds for Assad to feel more secure in his position.
"If you look at the overall longer term dynamic, it's not something that he should draw any confidence from," he said. "As we have seen with autocrats throughout the region, they at times live in an alternative reality and they have to project an image of strength confidence and power," he said.
Syria's regime has grown increasingly isolated over the past 10 months as it waged a brutal military crackdown on an anti-government uprising inspired by the Arab Spring revolts across the region. The U.N. says the violence has killed more than 5,400 people since March.
The Security Council has been unable to agree on a resolution since the violence began because of strong opposition from Russia and China, another permanent, veto-wielding member of the Security Council. In October, both countries vetoed a West European draft resolution backed by the U.S. that condemned Assad's attacks and threatened sanctions.
Russia has sold Syria weapons systems in the past, including the advanced surface-to-air Strelets system, and its warships already had been calling on Syria's northern port of Tartous.
The Syrian opposition and Western countries have also accused Iran, Syria's closest ally in the Middle East, of assisting the regime in its crackdown.
A senior Obama administration official said Tuesday that a recent visit by the commander of Iran's powerful Quds Force to Damascus is the strongest sign yet that Washington's arch foe Tehran is supplying weapons to aid Assad's crackdown.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron also said Iran and Iranian-backed Islamist group Hezbollah in Lebanon are supporting Syria's violent crackdown on the uprising — accusations that both have denied.
As diplomats debated, opposition activists said Syrian troops shelled the mountain resort town of Zabadani near the border with Lebanon, which has come under the control of army defectors. They said living conditions were deteriorating there after six days of a military siege.
There have been several other instances when the opposition or defectors have gained control of a town or city, but ultimately the Syrian military recaptured them.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Zabadani was hit with heavy machine gun fire early Wednesday.
A resident and activist in Zabadani described the town as a "war zone." He said dozens of anti-government army defectors are deployed at the entrances to prevent any attempt by forces loyal to Assad to storm the area.
The man, who identified himself only as Fares for fear of government reprisal, told The Associated Press by phone that the town was shelled with mortars shortly before noon Wednesday. He added that two security buildings inside Zabadani are still under government control but there have not been any clashes with the forces there.
Fares said food is running out and fuel for heating is very scarce in Zabadani, where it snowed earlier this week.
The anti-Assad revolt, which began as a peaceful uprising by mostly civilian, unarmed protesters has turned increasingly militarized in recent months with growing numbers of army defectors who clash with troops.
The Observatory said there were also clashes between defectors and regular troops in the northwestern province of Idlib, near the border with Turkey. It added that security forces shot dead a civilian in the province. At least 10 civilians and several defectors were killed in fighting in Idlib and shooting in the central city of Homs Wednesday, according to activists.
The Russian foreign minister also addressed reports that a Russian ship had recently delivered munitions to Syria in violation of a European Union arms embargo. He said Russia doesn't feel a need to explain or offer excuses.
Lavrov said Russia was acting in full respect of international law and wouldn't be guided by unilateral sanctions imposed by other nations.
"We haven't violated any international agreements or the U.N. Security Council resolutions," he said. "We are only trading with Syria in items which aren't banned by international law."
Lavrov accused the West of turning a blind eye to attacks by opposition militants and supplies of weapons to the Syrian opposition from abroad.
"They are dodging the main question: Why we should keep silent about the extremist opposition's actions against administrative buildings, hospitals, schools?" He urged the West to use its contacts with the opposition to pressure activists to refrain from violence.
He said that arms supplies to the Syrian opposition are "unacceptable and absolutely counterproductive because it only fuels more violence."
Assad's government blames the violence in Syria on terrorists and armed gangs that it claims are part of a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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By Lénaïc Vaudin d'Imécourt | Thursday 19 January 2012
On 23 January, the Foreign Affairs Council is set to adopt a new round of sanctions against Iran and Syria. An embargo on imports of Iranian crude oil should be put in place by 1 July, a freeze will be imposed on the assets of the country’s central bank and further restrictions on petrochemicals and gold will be established “to reduce Iran’s ability to fund its nuclear programme,” said David Lidington, UK minister for Europe. As for Syria, the Council should decide on adding at least 22 persons and eight entities to the list of those already subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban, bringing the total number of people targeted by the EU to 108 and the number of entities to 38.
Compromise
While the member states' foreign ministers should agree on an Iranian oil embargo, its starting date has yet to be confirmed, as the member states have diverse interests. Greece, for example, is strongly dependent on Iranian oil, with almost half of its oil imports originating in Iran. The country wanted the embargo to be put off for at least one year, a diplomat said, but other member states, such as France, Germany and the UK, have been pushing for the restrictions to start as soon as possible, ie in a few months. Spain and Italy, two other member states heavily dependent on Iran’s oil, are looking for ways to impose the ban without it affecting their economies. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been mentioned as possible sources of new oil imports to counterbalance the effects of losing the Iranian crude. Libya was also cited as a potential supplier. A compromise proposed by the Danish EU Presidency would see the oil embargo enter into force on 1 July. Ministers are likely to accept this compromise on 23 January.
Silence from UN Security Council
“Silence from the UN’s Security Council is outrageous while the ongoing repression in Syria is causing a large number of casualties,” a French Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman said, on 18 January. According to the UN, the repression in Syria has already caused over 5,000 casualties in less than ten months. Russia had proposed a draft resolution regarding President Al-Assad’s regime in December 2011, and it took the country over a month to consider other members’ suggestions as it only just proposed a new draft to the Security Council. But according to the French government, supported by Germany and the UK, the new document is "far from answering the reality of the current situation in Syria”. Russia has stated that it disagreed with the EU's strategy to impose sanctions on Syria, Moscow’s long-standing ally. “We will not support any sanctions” against Damascus, said Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign affairs minister, adding that the country was ready to use its right of veto as a permanent member of the Security Council. Moscow is also opposing sanctions against Iran.
Iran warns region against "dangerous" stance on Hormuz
A security personnel looks on at oil docks at the port of Kalantari in the city of Chabahar, 300km (186 miles) east of the Strait of Hormuz January 17, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi
By Tulay Karadeniz
ANKARA | Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:14pm EST
ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister warned Arab neighbors on Thursday not to put themselves in a "dangerous position" by aligning themselves too closely with the United States in the escalating dispute over Tehran's nuclear activity.
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if pending Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its lifeblood energy sector, fanning fears of a slide into wider Middle East war.
European Union foreign ministers are expected at a meeting on Monday to agree an oil embargo against Iran and a freeze on the assets of its central bank, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, confirming diplomatic leaks.
Saudi Arabia, the world's No. 1 oil exporter, riled Iran earlier this week when it said it could swiftly raise oil output for key customers if needed, a scenario that could transpire if Iranian exports were embargoed.
"We want peace and tranquility in the region. But some of the countries in our region, they want to direct other countries 12,000 miles away from this region," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in English during a visit to Turkey.
The remark was an apparent reference to the alliance of Iran's Arab neighbors with Washington, which maintains a big naval force in the Gulf and says it will keep the waterway open.
"I am calling to all countries in the region, please don't let yourselves be dragged into a dangerous position," Salehi told Turkey's NTV broadcaster.
He added the United States should make clear that it was open for negotiations with Tehran without conditions. He referred to a letter Iran says it received from U.S. President Barack Obama about the situation in the Straight of Hormuz, the contents of which have not been made public.
"Mr Obama sent a letter to Iranian officials, but America has to make clear that it has good intentions and should express that it's ready for talks without conditions," he said.
"Out in the open they show their muscles but behind the curtains they plead to us to sit down and talk. America has to pursue a safe and honest strategy so we can get the notion that America this time is serious and ready."
The United States, like other Western countries, says it is prepared to talk to Iran but only if Tehran agrees to discuss halting its enrichment of uranium. Western officials say Iran has been asking for talks "without conditions" as a stalling tactic while refusing to put its nuclear program on the table.
IAEA CHIEF SAYS MUST ALERT WORLD ABOUT IRAN
The International Atomic Energy Agency chief said it was his duty to alert the world about possible military aspects to Iran's nuclear campaign, keeping the heat on Tehran ahead of a rare visit by senior IAEA officials for talks on January 29-31.
"What we know suggests the development of nuclear weapons," he was quoted as saying in comments published in the Financial Times Deutschland on Thursday. "We want to check over everything that could have a military dimension."
An IAEA delegation, to be headed by Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts, is expected to seek explanations for intelligence information indicating Iran has engaged in research and development applicable to nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies wanting bombs, saying it is refining uranium only for electricity generation and medical applications.
Salehi said on Wednesday that Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, was in touch with world powers to reopen talks that he expected to be held soon.
Washington and the EU quickly denied this, saying they are still waiting for Iran to show it wanted serious negotiations addressing fears that it trying to master ways to build atom bombs behind the facade of a civilian nuclear energy program.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said after meeting Salehi that all sides were willing to resume talks but the time and place need to be settled. "I will tell Ms. Ashton about the talks today," he told reporters, referring to the EU foreign policy chief who represents the powers on Iran.
"We have always said we are ready for dialogue," France's Juppe told reporters in Paris. "Ashton has made concrete offers, but sadly until today Iran has not committed transparently or cooperatively to this discussion process."
He added: "It's for this reason that to avoid an irreparable military option we have to strengthen sanctions."
Iran has wanted to discuss only broader international security issues, not its nuclear program, in meetings with the powers held sporadically over the past five years.
"RED LINE"
Iranian politicians said Obama had expressed readiness to negotiate in a letter to Iran's clerical supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"In this letter it was said that closing the Strait of Hormuz is our (U.S.) 'red line' and also asked for direct negotiations," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted lawmaker Ali Mottahari as saying.
Washington declined to comment on whether Obama had written to Khamenei.
The stage was set for international oil sanctions against Iran when Obama signed legislation on December 31 that would freeze out any institution dealing with Iran's central bank, making it impossible for most countries to buy Iranian crude.
Diplomats said the EU's 27 member states were still mulling details such as when an embargo would start. They were looking into a grace period that would end in July to help some debt-ridden EU states that rely on Iranian oil to adjust to a ban.
"On the central bank, things have been moving in the right direction...," an EU diplomat said. "There is now wide agreement on the principle. Discussions continue on the details."
CHINA DEFENDS OIL TRADE WITH IRAN
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao defended his country's extensive oil trade with Iran against Western sanctions pressure in comments published on Thursday. Nevertheless, he said, Beijing firmly opposes any Iranian effort to acquire nuclear weapons.
The last talks between Iran and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - along with Germany stalled in Istanbul a year ago, with the parties unable to agree even on an agenda.
The six have also failed to agree on a common line in their approach to Iran, a lack of unity that led to a watering down of four earlier rounds of U.N. sanctions adopted since 2006.
An IAEA report in November lent weight to concerns that Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon, and Tehran is shifting enrichment to an underground bunker in a mountain fortified against air attack.
Israel, which is believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal but sees Iran's nuclear ambitions as a mortal threat, and the United States have not ruled out military action as a last resort to prevent an atomic "breakout" by Tehran.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday that any decision about an Israeli assault on Iran was "very far off."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the last-ditch military option mooted by U.S. and Israeli leaders would ignite a disastrous, widespread Middle East war. Russia also opposes the new push for oil sanctions, calling it counterproductive.
(Additional reporting by Ramin Mostafavi in Tehran, Chris Buckley in Beijing, Phil Stewart in Washington, Alexei Anishchuk in Moscow, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem and Fredrik Dahl in Vienna; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Peter Graff)
Tehran has warned its Gulf neighbours that it would be "dangerous" for them to join a western-led effort to isolate Iran, with the warning coming as a meeting of European ambassadors in Brussels failed to agree on the details of an EU oil embargo.
The EU permanent representatives council had been due to agree a far-reaching sanctions package including a phased embargo on oil imports from Iran and a freezing of the assets of the country's central bank.
But Greece refused to agree to a Danish proposal to begin the oil embargo on 1 July, calling for more time to enable it to complete existing contracts with Iranian suppliers and find new ones.
The ambassadors will work through the weekend in an effort to complete a deal before foreign ministers meet on Monday.
The sanctions package includes a freeze on European assets belonging to the Central Bank of Iran, with loopholes to allow non-oil trade to continue. Britain is also pushing for a partial asset freeze on an Iranian private bank.
Iran – which already faces US sanctions on the global financing on its oil trade, effective in June – focused its attentions yesterday on trying to persuade Gulf Arab states not to co-operate with the western isolation campaign.
Speaking in Turkey, the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the US was looking for allies in the region and added: "I am calling to all countries in the region – please don't let yourselves be dragged into a dangerous position." Salehi left it unclear whether he was referring to military operations or actions on the oil market.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia angered Tehran by suggesting that, in the event of an embargo, it could supply Iran's Far East customers. Iranian officials have said in the past that they would view any such step as a hostile act.
Japan, which buys 22% of Iran's oil exports, said it would cut its purchases but would seek a waiver from the US sanctions in order to continue to buy some Iranian crude.
Salehi claimed Tehran had received a letter from Washington trying to persuade Iran to enter into negotiations on its nuclear programme, which western governments believe is aimed at building nuclear weapons or at least the capacity to make them.
"Mr Obama sent a letter to Iranian officials, but America has to make clear that it has good intentions and should express that it's ready for talks without conditions," he said.
"Out in the open they show their muscles, but behind the curtains they plead to us to sit down and talk. America has to pursue a safe and honest strategy so we can get the notion that America, this time, is serious and ready."
The White House has denied sending a letter, but there have been US reports that Washington sent a message to Tehran through unspecified channels, warning it not to go through with threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, the 20-mile wide opening to the Gulf, in retaliation for oil sanctions.
Salehi said Iran was ready to resume talks in Istanbul with a six-nation group of negotiators which broke down a year ago. However, the office of Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief who represents the negotiating group, said she had not received an answer to her invitation to Tehran last year to restart the discussions.
European diplomats argued that Salehi was trying to give the impression that Iran was open to talks without committing it to negotiating over its nuclear programme.
Iran has also invited inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency to Tehran on 29 January.
The IAEA has yet to officially confirm the two-day visit because it is seeking some assurances over what will be on the agenda.
NutriMedical provides a comprehensive, free online directory of various medical conditions. To learn more about a specific condition select on a letter below to get started. You will have the opportunity to view helpful documents and power point presentations.
Yesterday, I carried a story on a crash between a French Air Force Mirage and a Royal Saudi Air Force F-15. The story confirmed that the Saudi pilot and the two French pilots were safe. Little additional information was available. Today, I am able to report that the two-seat Mirage was in fact either a French Air Force Mirage 2000-D or a 2000-N. Both aircraft, in their later variants are virtually identical and are used for the long-range nuclear strike role by the French Air Force.
This begs the question, is NATO preparing to ‘go nuclear’ in the coming General Middle East War against Iran and Syria? There are hundreds of allied fighter-bombers available in the Middle East that can hit targets in Iran and Syria. Why bring in the specialized long-range nuclear capable Mirages?
Currently, within the last week or so, the following battle forces have been assembled by NATO in the Middle East. A massive war armada is sitting just south of the Strait of Hormuz, it consists of three US Navy super-carrier battle groups: the USS Carl Vinson; the USS John C. Stennis; and the USS Abraham Lincoln. Each battle group generally has four or five Aegis air defense cruisers and destroyers, and usually one to three other destroyers and/or frigates, plus a large support ship and one or two hunter-killer nuclear submarines.
Additionally, there are up to three other large flat-tops, US Navy assault carriers and their battle groups. These include the USS Makin Island with its USMC Harriers and various Marine attack and assault helicopters. The Makin Island has the capability to off load Marine amphibious assault crafts and its battle group is accompanied by the USS New Orleans and the USS Pearl Harbor, both very powerful assault ships capable of launching large numbers of Marine amphibious crafts.
Additionally, the French Navy has brought in its top-of-the-line nuclear carrier, the Charles DeGaulle, with its battle group. The British Royal Navy has added to its local fleet its most powerful warship the Type 45 Air Defense Destroyer the HMS Daring. The combination of the French carrier and the US super-carriers means that fully one-third of all the nuclear powered aircraft carriers on Earth are now assembled near the Strait of Hormuz!
In addition to all of this, the US Army has rushed into Kuwait three combat brigades. Two are powerful mechanized brigades (one from the First Cavalry Division; the other from the MN National Guard) and the third is a Army aviation brigade with its vast numbers of attack and assault helicopters.
Thousands of USAF troops were airlifted into Israel along with the most advanced anti-missile technology that America has over the last two weeks.
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Both Russia and China have been very vocal in opposing any new war in the Middle East. However, Russian warnings have been very clear, stating that any attack on Tehran would be considered an attack on Moscow. To make this point crystal clear, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces have suddenly begun a ‘High Alert Drill’ according to RiaNovosti this “drill” involves the latest and most dangerous nuclear-armed Russian ICBMs. [Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces are holding a series of exercises to practice putting road-mobile missile systems on high alert, SMF spokesman Col. Vadim Koval said.
The exercises involve Topol (SS-25 Sikle), Topol-M (SS-27 Sickle B) and Yars (RS-24) mobile systems stationed in central Russia and Siberia.
“SMF units armed with Topol, Topol-M and Yars road-mobile missile systems will practice patrolling, camouflaging and launch preparation procedures during high alert drills from January 16 to February 3,” Koval told reporters on Monday.]
While the world’s attention is on the GOP Presidential race and the Eurozone crisis war clouds are gathering in the Middle East and the entire planet is at risk. A risk that is greater than that it faced almost half a century ago with the Cuban Missile Crisis.
NATO Drilling For Nuclear Attack On Iran and Syria? ~ link ~ My article on Alex Jones Inforwars.com, thanks Alex. Stirling
Netanyahu pressuring Europe to embargo Iranian Oil ~ link ~ Dear old Bibi 666 Netanyahu, you can always count on him to do everything he can to drive the entire World to its destruction with Armageddon! Stirling
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that he was putting pressure on European countries to immediately impose an embargo on Iranian oil, and not to delay it until July.
Speaking to reporters during his visit to Holland, Netanyahu also said that Iran has already decided to become a nuclear state. He said that action should be taken before it is too late, and that sanctions on Iran must be intensified.
Netanyahu: Iran has decided to become a nuclear state - Action needed before it is too late ~ link ~ There are several things operating here. First, this is a Spiritual Battle and Netanyahu represents the most evil force possible. He will plunge the entire World into a new global war with 21st Century weapons of mass destruction. Secondly, Bibi is facing a new political defeat in the coming Israeli election and his time to start a war is limited. Thirdly, this is not about any Iranian nuclear program. Iran already has a world-class global strategic WMD program based on its Advanced Biowar program; she may well have purchased up to six nukes along with long-range cruise missiles from the Ukraine some years ago. This is about tiny Israel dominating the entire Middle East at any cost. I have said for about twenty years that Bibi is the one that will ignite the World with WWIII and Armageddon, it looks like I am correct. Stirling
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday night, Jan. 19 that Iran had decided to become a nuclear state. He urged action before it was too late to stop Iran completing the construction of a nuclear weapon. His statement at the end of a visit to Holland gave Gen Martin Dempsey, on his first visit to Israel as Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the message he will be asked to take back to President Barack Obama. It also contradicted Defense Minister Ehud Barak's statement that Tehran had not yet decided to go nuclear.
Netanyahu has kept the Iranian cards close to his chest. His statement therefore caught wrong-footed the Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who in the last 48 hours had asserted that Iran had not yet decided whether to build a nuclear bomb and there was still time for US-led sanctions to work.
Netanyahu, Louis XIV and Israel's 'greatest enemies' ~ link ~ The mind of a evil madman at work.
Stirling
Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu has expressly denied saying to Jerusalem Post’s editor Steve Linde that Haaretz and the New York Times are Israel’s two greatest enemies. If Mr. Netanyahu says so, we must believe him. After all we cannot join people like Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, Nicholas Sarkozy and a number of other world leaders who have said that Mr. Netanyahu is, let’s say, not always one hundred percent reliable.
Mr. Linde now says that his original statement was his personal interpretation of a private conversation. The original statement is reported to be: “Netanyahu said, ‘You know, Steve, we have two main enemies'. And I thought he was going to talk about, you know, Iran, maybe Hamas. He said, ‘It’s The New York Times and Haaretz.’ He said, ‘They set the agenda for an anti-Israel campaign all over the world. Journalists read them every morning and base their news stories … on what they read in The New York Times and Haaretz.’ ”
Lord Stirling's Fifes & Drums ~ link ~ Music page ~ link
Royal Burgh of Stirling Pipe Band at Stirling Castle ~link ~ Official site ~ link
Lord Stirling's book: Cash For Peerages - The Smoking Gun ~ link
True Believer Album by Jeff DeVillez (iTunes) ~ link
Color code for this site:
Red= Very high importance and/or danger; if yellow or black lettering or black background is used, extreme importance and/or danger; if lime green lettering is used = 'oh shit'.
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SOPA: US backers end support for "anti-piracy" bill ~ link ~ This bill was never really about "anti-piracy", it was always a fascist attack on freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and a free and open alternative news media on the Internet. See what the masses can do when they try!!! WE ARE MANY, THEY ARE FEW! Stirling
Eight US lawmakers have withdrawn their backing from anti-piracy laws, after "blackout" protests on thousands of internet sites.
Two of the bill's co-sponsors, Marco Rubio from Florida and Roy Blunt from Missouri, are among those backing away.
Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and blog service WordPress are among the highest profile sites to block their content.
NATO Drilling For Nuclear Attack On Iran and Syria? ~ link ~ My story as carried by Activist Post. Thanks Activist Post, and thanks to Mike at WhatReallyHappened.com for linking to it. Stirling
NATO Drilling For Nuclear Attack On Iran And Syria ~ link ~ My story as carried by Rense.com, thanks Jeff. Stirling
'Qatar fosters anti-Syria terrorism' ~ link ~ Reading this, I am reminded of Lord Acton's famous saying, "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely". The Emir needs our prayers. He has gone off the deep end. The war that he is pushing would mean the end of his nation, and his rule, money, and most likely life, but he is too blinded by evil to see it. Stirling
A Syrian daily has accused Qatar of arming and funding terrorist groups inside Syria, days after the Qatari emir called for deployment of Arab troops in the country.
The call for deployment “falls within the framework of the negative role played by Qatar since the start of this crisis [in Syria]…through the financing of armed groups,” the Tishrin daily wrote on Wednesday.
It added that Qatar could instead “help Syria get out of its crisis…by stopping its financing of armed groups and the trafficking of weapons” to the terrorists.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani had in an interview aired on Sunday urged the deployment as alleged means of stopping, what he referred to as, deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Sheikh Hamad is the first Arab leader to publicly call for such deployment.
Iran War Could End Life On Earth ~ link ~ Actually, based on the Book of Revelation, I think that only 2/3 of all humans would die, but this is based on Jesus Himself returning to save us from this great evil. Stirling
A former American official has warned that the United States wants to blame Israel for Washington's possible war on Iran that could end life on earth.
US warnings to Israel for not attacking Iran is to avoid responsibility for the war Washington has prepared, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts wrote in an article on Global Research.
"If the war gets out of hand, and if Russia and China intervene or nukes start flying, Washington wants the blame to rest on Israel, and Israel seems willing to accept the blame," Craig Roberts said.
Kill the Bill: Internet-ional 'Stop SOPA' day sweeps the Web ~ link ~ This is about the future of mankind. The evil globalists control most of the world's mainstream news media. In America fully 96% of all mainstream news media is effectively controlled by the globalists and most news organizations are headed by hard-core Zionists. The alternative news media and the freedom on the Internet is the one tool of truth that the masses have. Some nations, such as mainland China, have managed to censor the Web, but the Internet is free most places. It needs to stay that way! Stirling
SOPA: Don't Just Protest - Get Even ~ link ~ Check out the list at the link. Stirling
The entire reason why SOPA's authors and supporters have the money, influence, and power to put forward draconian bills like this in the first place is because of our daily patronizing of their corporations and the goods and services they provide.
SOPA supporters include the US Chamber of Commerce, the MPAA, and many of the mega-corporations Americans, and indeed people around the world, support on a daily basis. The key to stopping SOPA and the watered-down feigned "concession" that will surely followis to undermine the unwarranted power and influence of the corporations and financiers backing.
If Americans withdrew their support from these corporations -- if theaters were left empty, if Pepsi and Coke were left collecting dust on the shelves of an empty Wal-Mart -- bills like SOPA would not exist, let alone have a chance to be passed into law.
Below is just one letter signed by just one group of these corporations and organizations. Boycott, put out of business, and replace these corporations with local alternatives.
HAARP and How Fukushima Radiation Beamed Down To Australia ~ link ~ This is one that you should read all of at the link. HAARP, High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program is based on Tesla technology and is part of Scalar Warfare. There is evidence that it caused the horrible Haiti earthquake, and most likely the Fukushima earthquake also. Its use may be a key part of the coming End Times in the Book of Revelation. Stirling
Iran signs own death warrant ~ link ~ Take the time to read this all at the link, among other things it deals with Scalar Warfare. Stirling
As a result of the success of these secret and hidden wars with Iran, which is a real world power, not an empty shell like Iraq, it is clear that the successive American war-making Presidents usually choose hidden, covert ways to kill and maim lots of people and destabilize whole countries and regions. In fact, that is the name of the game for the huge American “Chaos Agency,” the CIA.
A leading contender for the weapon to destroy Iran is the War Department’s ability to wage a hidden war utilizing the Earth’s own processes against Iran. That includes such war making capabilities as turning off or amping up monsoons; guiding typhoons, hurricanes and tornadoes; producing huge amounts of precipitation; generating bone numbing cold; droughts; and triggering earthquakes.
But, the simple fact is that Iran’s premier Russian Nuclear Power Reactor at Bushehr isn’t fully turned on yet after more than 35 years of construction.
The Iranians and Russians are afraid to turn it on and run the billion watt reactor at full power. They have every reason to be scared. Bushehr sits obscenely astride the convergence of three geologic fault lines.
Netanyahu I, Queen of Iran ~ link ~ Strange title to this article, to understand it you need to read all of the short article at the link. Stirling
In Armageddon’s Trigger I made a strong argument for Netanyahu being a warmonger. “Netanyahu is desperate. A guillotine was placed for his personal use on Tel Aviv and he is unable to solve the social problems that led to its being put there. I was told by a reliable source that he is reluctant of using the guillotine. Discrimination and racism are also raising their ugly head, most notoriously with recent words by Shlomo Maoz. Until he uttered them, he was the main economist of Excellence Nassua, a prominent Israeli investment company. Among other pearls, he said that Bank Leumi is a ‘white bank’ and that the Supreme Court is an ‘Ashkenazi Court.’ Netanyahu keeps issuing terror scares, some of them have been even commented upon here, most recently in Military Rabbinate Plans Third Temple. Truth is simple; if Netanyahu does not undermine representative government, representative government would undermine him and the entire Israeli oligarchy. The only way he can undermine it is by creating such a dire situation that people would accept every abuse and violation of their rights. In other words, Netanyahu needs a war.”
Netanyahu is a Moral Jew; he shares the education and morals described above. Thus, he wouldn’t hesitate to become a modern version of Queen Esther, replacing ancient Persia with modern Iran, in a desperate attempt to become Netanyahu I, Queen of Iran.
Military Rabbinate Plans Third Temple - Flashback ~ link
Iran's Al Qods cells for Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait to hit oil and US targets ~ link ~ As always with this type of story from Israel, where does the truth lay and where does the False Flag ops begin? Stirling
In the past 48 hours, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey have alerted Washington to intelligence reports of Iranian Al Qods Brigades operatives heading their way for attacks on oil installations and American targets. The alert was accompanied by a query about how the US intended to respond to the approaching menace.
A senior counterterrorism source told debkafile sources on Wednesday, Jan. 18 that the Iranians are setting Turkey up as an example to show the US and their Middle East antagonists what they can expect when Tehran lets the Al Qods Brigades loose against them.
Abortive plan for Arab Invasion of Syria ~ link ~ But one should think of the possibility of a military confrontation. The plan prepared by Qatar or governments such as the US, France and Britain are not formulated to be actually implemented, but its main purpose is to show the inability of the Arab League to resolve the crisis in Syria. Similarly, the plan for dispatching Arab observers to Syria is not meant to be implemented successfully, but its ultimate goal is to admit defeat and move on to the next plan, that is, sending Arab troops to Syria. This project will be nipped in the bud because it is not executable. Syria will not accept the plan and Arab governments also cannot afford to execute it. Following the failure of this plan, the third stage will begin by the official request of the Arab League from the United Nations. It certainly would be non-Arab military intervention in Syria.
Are Western governments willing to repeat the story of Libya and go to war with the Syrian army and establishment? The Libyan army had been destroyed even before the NATO troops attacked Libya and Muammar Gaddafi placed it under the command of the units which were run by his sons. One other factor must be taken into account. Arab League's Secretary General Nabil el-Arabi stated that Western governments will not be involved in military intervention in Syria, because Syria has no oil to cover Western governments' war expenses like Libya. The next factor is the upcoming presidential election in the United States and France, which will cause the White House and Elysée Palace not to afford to enter a new war and thus impose additional costs on their current crisis-ridden economic situation.
Perhaps creating a safe corridor for the delivery of military aid to Assad's opposition can be considered as the only means through which the Turkish army can intervene in Syria. Several European ministers have already expressed the idea of constructing such a corridor. The success of this project depends on several factors the most important of which -- after Ankara's agreement -- is creating a large rift between the Syrian army and governmental organizations.
'Oil Plot': US embargo on Iran targets Europe?~ link ~Tehran believes that Washington is trying to deal a blow to debt-ridden Europe by forcing it to join its embargo on Iranian oil imports. Doing so would be “suicidal” for Europe, Iran says. On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the US wanted to drag Europe into joining the sanctions imposed in December because it would make the EU less competitive, reports the Iranian TV channel, Press TV. The diplomat called on Europeans not to act as America’s client and instead to pursue their own interests in the conflict.
Meanwhile, Iran’s OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said it would be “economic suicide” for Europe to join the sanctions amid the crisis. “Regarding the economic crisis in the eurozone, imposing any sanction on Iran's oil will push European countries into a deeper crisis,” Khatibi said as quoted by Mehr news agency. “The European currency is already under pressure because of debt and financing problems facing some of its members.”
Iran oil ban means economic suicide for Europe ~ link ~ The Global Banking Cartel does not have a problem with that, not at all. Stirling
Another NATO Proxy War Begins: Rebels Attack Military Base in Syria ~ link ~ In what is becoming Western foreign policy déjà vu, another disgruntled segment of a Muslim nation's population, armed by NATO, has taken offensive military action against their government.
VOA News reports that "rebels of the Free Syrian Army fired rockets and machine guns at an air force intelligence complex in the Damascus suburb of Harasta early Wednesday."
The news came from a "German-based spokesman" although there was no independent confirmation of the attack which reportedly killed 11 people.
Israel Plans Major Gaza War ~ link ~ The more the war whores create war, the more insecure Israel becomes and the more "need" for more war. The long term path for security and prosperity for Israel is to have a strong defense force, but to create peaceful conditions in the Middle East, to be a good neighbor, and to make itself a source of peaceful prosperity for its neighbors. Stirling
Most Syrians back President Assad, but you'd never know it from Western media ~ link ~ Suppose a respectable opinion poll found that most Syrians are in favour of Bashar al-Assad remaining as president, would that not be major news? Especially as the finding would go against the dominant narrative about the Syrian crisis, and the media considers the unexpected more newsworthy than the obvious.
Alas, not in every case. When coverage of an unfolding drama ceases to be fair and turns into a propaganda weapon, inconvenient facts get suppressed. So it is with the results of a recent YouGov Siraj poll on Syria commissioned by The Doha Debates, funded by the Qatar Foundation. Qatar's royal family has taken one of the most hawkish lines against Assad – the emir has just called for Arab troops to intervene – so it was good that The Doha Debates published the poll on its website. The pity is that it was ignored by almost all media outlets in every western country whose government has called for Assad to go.
UK spied on Russians with fake rock ~ link ~ This kind of thing happens every day on all sides. Stirling
Attack on Iran won't be an easy walk - Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov ~ link ~ Especially if they see their civilization and people at grave risk of being destroyed. That is when they will use their global strategic WMD, their MAD Counter-Force, their Advanced Biological weapons. Stirling
Ron Paul slams Senator Graham on NDAA support during floor speech - video ~ link
Internet Blackout highlights failure of American politics ~ link ~ America use to work, before the global banksters took over everything. Stirling
Hungary faces "ruin" as EU loses patience ~ link ~ Bullshit! Hungary is close to doing an 'Iceland' and telling the EU and the IMF and the Global Banking Cartel to go to Hell. Good for Hungary! Stirling
Stiglitz says European austerity plans are a 'suicide pack' ~ link ~ The Global Banking Cartel does not have a problem with that, not at all. They have spend a lot of money and time setting this all up. They must have spent a fortune getting all the European political whores in line. Their Grand Strategy has to do with the introduction of a global currency and then with their global high-tech slave state, the satanic New World Order. Stirling
"The answer, even though they see over and over again that austerity leads to collapse of the economy, the answer over and over [from politicians] is more austerity," said Mr Stiglitz to the Asian Financial Forum, a gathering of over 2,000 finance professionals, businessmen and government officials in Hong Kong.
"It reminds me of medieval medicine," he said. "It is like blood-letting, where you took blood out of a patient because the theory was that there were bad humours. "And very often, when you took the blood out, the patient got sicker. The response then was more blood-letting until the patient very nearly died. What is happening in Europe is a mutual suicide pact," he said.
Pressure Israel, Not Iran - Israel has an Arsenal of 200-300 nuclear weapons ~ link ~ I find the repeating of these years old numbers of Israeli nukes to be outrageous. The real numbers are apt to be somewhere between over 600 to 1,000 or more nuclear weapons of all types from single stage low yield atomic bombs to multistage thermonuclear H-bombs to 3rd and 4th generation micro-nukes (like the ones they used on the World Trade Center during 9/11). Even Pakistan has a single plant that is kicking out 50 Plutonium based bombs a year. The Israelis, the then West Germans, and America at about the same time, decades ago, invented the laser enrichment process for U-238. At the time it was said that it meant that they could make bombs in their basements. The truth is, Israel is almost certainly second or third on Earth in nuclear weapons. Stirling
CHRIS HARRIS -- MAJOR UPDATE ON FUKUSHIMA NEWS BLACKOUT AND CURRENT PLUTONIUM MOX 4 COOLING POOL JAN 4TH 2012 ACCIDENT AFTER JAN 1ST 2012 EARTHQUAKE ...
The purpose was to take the first look into Unit 2 be remote camera in order to assess the damage. Steam and Radiation fogged the camera lens to the point that no clear pictures were provided by the flexible camera. Cold Shutdown should not have Steam.
See pics
One thing for sure - nothing is clear as far as the status of any of the Fukushima Units 1 through 4.
Responses to Enformable.com's FOIAs. The Responses are huge Data Dumps. Lucas Whitefield Hixson is doing an incredible job sorting them out. (I assist him ferret out the important nuggets). The Daily Kos also picked up this series.
This shows that there was an immediate clampdown on information to the press. Please read and note that there was a struggle between the NRC and Hillary Clinton. Hill wanted to "not panic the people" while NRC (I think Jazckso is a real scientist, after all - more about the Coup d' etat in the NRC later . . . ) recommended evacuation of a 50 mile zone early on.
Still, the NRC wanted control and issued a Hush Order. All information to the media MUST come through the NRC Spin machine.
Further, the Hydrogen Explosions were WAY outside anyone's previous analyses for this type of accident. We had mentioned that we were in uncharted waters and now there is proof.
THEY KNEW UNIT 4 Spent Fuel Pool was Dry - General Area Dose Rate - 30 Rads/Hour!
January 18, 2012
6 Unit was in a refueling outage at the time of the event and core was off loaded to the SFP
First fire in the reactor building was a small generator lube oil fire. IAEA reports that fire was put out at 2200 EDT, March 14.
Radiation levels 150-1000 mrem/hour at 1000 EDT on March 16. 2011. at site -gate. (Site gate is same for each unit.)
Second fire began at 1645 EDT, March 15, 2011 in reactor building. Fuel reported to be uncovered.
Radiation level outside Unit 4 reported to be 30R/hour following second fire.
High radiation dose rates measured between Units 3 and 4, source is suspected to be the Unit 4 spent fuel pool.
The spent fuel pool’s ability to retain water is in doubt, no steam – likely dry.
With respect to heat transfer, the entombment should be built in such a way that lower and upper vents would.allow heat removal through air convection. If the entombment is to pour some type of materials directly on the molten core or spent fuel in dried pool, it depends on the material. The staff believes, the environment is probably too hot for the concrete to cure. The other option may be the use of sand with boron frits which could turn into glass if added at the appropriate temperature. This would immobilize the radionuclides but longer cooling time might be required.
The staff believes it might be prudent to wait for longer cooling time in order to allow the removal of core and spent fuel debris in the pool similar to the TMI recovery.
Another option might be the use of a filtered flexible confinement barrier around the core and the spent fuel pool.
Meraj Rahimi
Chief of Criticality, Shielding, and Dose Assessment Branch Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguard U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
As promised, I researched the 8X Background Radiation spike in Brisbane Austrailia. It is possible that there is a new Contamination Mechanism from Fukushima that we haven't analyzed yet. The first article has an interesting viewpoint.
My viewpoint is that the path is even simpler than the video shows. Contaminated water pumped out of Fukushima (overflow) into the calm water near the plant could have been blown airborne. Just a theory.
Either way, I believe it came from Fukushima.
Also, more quakes near Fukushima accompanied by damage to the flimsy makeshift cooling systems.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2012
Massive Radioactive Cloud Engulfs Brisbane Australia; Troubling Implications For US West Coast
On January 8th 2012, a massive cloud of airborne radioactive material measuring 8 times greater than background radiation hit near Brisbane Australia. Despite nearly 20 mile per hour winds, the contamination was detectable for more than four hours.
The radioactive fallout blew in from the ocean, and the location in question happens to be at a stagnation point for ocean currents capable of transporting radioactive contamination from Fukushima.
IF the source of the contamination was radioactive ocean water from Fukushima, the implications are massive troubling not only for Australia but more so for the entire Western coast of the United States.
COMMENT: Shortly after a water borne release from Fukushima, if the wind conditions are right, then it is possible that contaminated droplets became airborne. This is a new release/contamination path that I haven't seen discussed elsewhere. We were supposed to plan for all such contamination mechanisms. This could be a new one. Wind acting across an area of water is known as Fetch. If the wind is turbulent enough and the area is large enough, then it surface waves form. The waves, if contaminated with Fukushima run-off, then it is quite possible that contaminants have become airborne.
Also, maybe Japan is dumping Megafloat or other storage tanks. I don't know.
COMMENT: This blog from the Sunshine Coast Computer Club, inc. discusses how its members actually take contamination readings. They posted a graph drawn to scale, would be twice as high as it is shown (to save space, it was shrunk down). Graph Attached "radiation-spike-080112".
Brief large spike in local background radiation. What caused it?
This spike in radiation was detected on the 8th January 2012, on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. The wind direction was NNE at 22degrees. Geiger Counter Alarm starting going off at around 6.30 pm. Raised radiation levels lasted until around 9.45 pm.
The Gammascout Geiger Counter alert alarm was set to go off at .50 uS/Hr, and to record data every 10 minutes. I was shocked to hear the Geiger alarm going off. Visual observations showed actual peaks reaching .80 uS/Hr. Even though this chart of the downloaded 10 minute interval recorded data is not showing the true peaks that occurred, it is still dramatic.
If the maximum visual observed peak had been recorded, the peak on this chart would be over twice as high!
The beginning of the chart would be considered average background for our area. Background radiation levels here, with 4 years of recorded data to refer to, has averaged around .10 uS/Hr. The background radiation level was peaking 8 times above average during this event!
Either some of the radioactive fall out from Fukushima has briefly reached us, or there is some seismic activity N/NE of our location in the Pacific Ocean which has released a spike in radon gas. Just a theory.
The dramatic drop in background reading just before the spike is also interesting. Anyone have any ideas?
I promised members that I would post any unusual radiation data, I just didn’t expect to be doing this so soon.
I have since had a report from someone in New Zealand. He detected .33 uS/Hr. He had wiped down a small area of a wet car, and then tested the cloth. He indicated that this was above their normal background level. This was 2 days after my report.
“Hello Peter!
I carried out a swab of a car windscreen after our first rain in weeks. I’ve been doing this every so often out of curiosity after seeing many videos on youtube showing results.Well, after 4-5 weeks of northerlies, and no serious rain (as well as stinking hot weather) a quick swab test of 0.4m^2 of windscreen yielded 0.33 microSieverts per hour … outside background here averages 0.12 microSieverts per hour …
Using the front foil, it appeared to be alphas and betas …
What ever you were detecting blew this way, and precipitated in the rain.
I’m in Dunedin NZ. Almost 46 South
Best Regards and Wishes,”
Potrblog have gone to a lot of trouble, and put a detailed youtube video analysis of the Caloundra radiation spike event on the Internet. These people have done similar analyses of American radiation fallout events. This is their theory.
A radioactive cloud lingering off the Sunshine Coast on Sunday was not dangerous, according to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
Caloundra IT manager Peter Daley picked up the cloud’s radioactivity on his Geiger counter, a device that measures ionizing radiation in the atmosphere.
The reading was taken at 6.30pm and measured 0.80 microsieverts, which is eight times over the average level of radiation in the atmosphere. [...]
TEPCO Photo Gallery Showing Damage and Leaks from Makeshift Cooling Systems
See:
Leaking Tank 120110_01t
Leaking Tank 120110_02 - Looks like Quake damaged Flanged surfaces. Tank not meant to be shaken like that.
Leaking Spent Fuel Pool Cooler Unit 4
Leaking Spent Fuel Pool Cooler Unit 4 120108_01t - Can you get close enough to Re-Weld this? No. Can you take the Cooler out of service for any length of time before Spent Fuel Pool heats up? No.
Flimsy Makeshift Systems showing signs of wear already.
spent fuel cooler unit 4
OTHER LEAKS AND DAMAGE to Makeshift Systems Please See:
Water leakage (freshwater) from a hose of the water desalinations (reverse osmosis membrane system) near the concentrated water storage area at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (188KB)
Alarm activation "FLOW DIFFERENCE LARGE" at SFP Cooling System of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 (76.2KB) Indicates a Large Leak somewhere. Highly contaminated water.
Unit 3 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Swelling of Water Injection Hose to Reactor
The operation of the cooling systems for the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities and contaminated water treatment systems at the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daininuclear power plants temporarily came to a halt Tuesday afternoon due to power transmission trouble, their operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The spent fuel cooling and water treatment operations resumed later in the day, TEPCO said.
Source: Kyodo News
COMMENT: So there are still issues with Power Supplies at Fukushima. Possibly due to more earthquakes. We discussed that flimsy makeshift systems are no replacement for the real-thing, however, I don't know what else there is to do at this point.
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On Friday the 13th the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant Declared an Unusual Event when it lost offsite power (known as a LOOP, Loss of Offsite Power). I only found out by looking at the Event Reports on NRC.gov (See Event Report . They were off yesterday in observance of MLK Day and did not update their website until this morning.
COMMENT: This is a highly unusual event, especially since there was no severe weather in the area at that time. The good news is that both Emergency Diesel Generators Worked and Offsite Power was Restored approximately 3 hours after the LOOP. The bad news is that we don't know what caused the disruption of Switchyard Power.
Was there a CME in progress? Was the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System - that controls the Switchyard Breakers) hacked?
The Wolf Creek Switchyard is typical of many nuclear stations in that multiple offsite power lines from different circuits feed the plant's onsite power systems. (See Attached Drawing 2_5 Electrical.pdf)
According to the Wolf Creek FSAR (Final Safety Analysis Report, which is their license) Section 8.1.4.1.1 the Offsite Power System is highly reliable and meets the following (so what went wrong):
8.1.4.1.1 Safety Design Bases
SAFETY DESIGN BASIS ONE - Electrical power from the power grid to the plant
site is supplied by two physically independent circuits designed and located so
as to minimize the likelihood of simultaneous failure.
SAFETY DESIGN BASIS TWO - Each of these independent circuits has the capability
to safely shut down the unit. The first preferred circuit, which is connected
to the startup transformer, has the capacity to supply the startup and all the
auxiliary loads (both group 1 and group 2 simultaneously) of the unit.
SAFETY DESIGN BASIS THREE - The second preferred power circuit, which supplies
power to the ESF transformer, has the capacity to supply all the safety-related
loads of the unit.
SAFETY DESIGN BASIS FOUR - The loss of the nuclear unit or the most critical
unit on the grid will not result in the loss of offsite power to the Class IE
busses.
According to the Wolf Creek FSAR Section 8.2.1.1, Transmission Network:
There are three 345-kV lines connecting the Wolf Creek 345-kV Substation to the
area transmission system. The three lines are as follows:
a. Wolf Creek-LaCygne 345-kV Line:
58 miles long, connecting to the LaCygne Steam Electric
Station which has three additional 345-kV lines.
b. Wolf Creek-Rose Hill 345-kV Line:
98 miles long, connecting to the Rose Hill Substation
southeast of Wichita. Rose Hill Substation has two
additional 345-kV connections.
c. Wolf Creek-Benton 345-kV Line:
90 miles long, connecting to the Benton Substation
northeast of Wichita. Benton Substation has two
additional 345-kV lines, one of which is to the Wichita
345-kV Substation, near the Gordon Evans Steam Electric
Station.
The above 345-kV lines do not share common rights-of-way, do not have any
crossovers, and are not in close proximity of one another, except in the
immediate vicinity of the switchyard. In those areas, the design is such as
to maintain clearances as required by the National Electric Safety Code (4).
Further, it describes that No One Line Failure Should Remove ALL OFFSITE POWER. Why did Wolf Creek Lose ALL OFFSITE POWER??
If one of the three 345-kV lines faulted, the breakers located at Wolf Creek Substation (Figure 8.2-5) would trip, deenergizing the line.
Any one of the two remaining incoming 345-kV Transmission lines at Wolf Creek Substation can carry the total ESF load required for safe shutdown by controlled switching of
the Wolf Creek substation breakers, providing a separate transmission line feeding each ESF transformer.
Comment: This means that there should have been no Loss of Offsite Power due to any one or two of the three power supplies. In my opinion, this narrows the cause down to AT LEAST Breakers Breakers 345-70 and 345-40 (See Attached Drawing 2_5 Electrical.pdf). Possibly Breakers 345-50 and 345-60 also opened. The Specific Reactor Trip Signal would be the Reactor Coolant Pump Undervoltage Trip. From FSAR Chapter 7 (See Attached Table 7.2-1 Sheet 2 Item 12.).
The Wolf Creek Generating Station remains off-line after being shut down Friday because of a loss of off-site power and workers are investigating the cause of the power loss.
“The plant is still down and we are in the process of evaluating and understanding what happened,” said Jenny Hageman, communication specialist for the plant. “We know that we had a breaker fail, but we need to understand why that caused the loss of off-site power.”
As a result of the power loss and shutdown, officials at the nuclear power plant declared a Notification of Unusual Event, the least serious of four emergency classifications defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to a press release.
While the occurrence is rare, the plant’s safety-related equipment reacted in the way it was designed, with both diesel generators automatically powering up.
“The plant responded as designed and the emergency generators started and supplied power to the safety systems that are necessary to keep the core cool,” Hageman said. “We are in the process of restoring power to non-safety-related systems and we are still investigating and understanding what happened, so the plant is still down.”
Hageman would not speculate on when the plant will be up and running again.
“We are working diligently and around the clock to do what we need to do to get the plant back online,” she said.
Wolf Creek’s owners, Kansas City Power & Light Company, Westar Energy and Kansas Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. will use other generating facilities they own or will purchase power from other utilities while Wolf Creek is shut down, the release stated.
BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) - The operators of the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant say a loss of off-site power prompted an automatic shutdown at the northeast Kansas facility. The shutdown happened Friday afternoon. Wolf Creek officials say the plant's two emergency diesel generators automatically started, supplying power to all safety-related equipment.
Plant officials declared a "notification of unusual event," which is the lowest of four emergency classifications defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Wolf Creek is owned by Kansas City Power & Light Co., Topeka-based Westar Energy and the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative. During a shutdown, the companies rely on other generating plants they own or buy electricity from other utilities.
COMMENT:
Wolf Creek Generating Station is Kansas’ only nuclear power plant. It is located in Coffey County, Kansas, just northeast of Burlington, about 55 miles south of Topeka, 90 miles southwest of Kansas City and 120 miles northeast of Wichita.
The following articles (with my comments) are related to the Big Picture of the effects of Fukushima on the Industry. Those who actually work at the plants including Managers (i.e., Joe) and operators, field engineers, and maintenance personnel, know beyond a shadow of a doubt that much more is needed to prevent a Fukushima here in the US. The Bean-Counters must not dilute the strategies down to an ineffective blend of meaningless actions. All the recommendations that we have discussed on your program are now becoming the mantra of those plant personnel. The Bean-Counters and the NRC are apt to white wash the recommendations.
After Fukushima, US Nuclear Industry To Unveil New Safety Plan Jan 13, 2012
COMMENT: Members of the Nuclear Industry have been commenting on this. Many comments include the necessity for additional equipment, training, and personnel (just as we have discussed 9 months ago!).
--Nuclear Energy Institute to brief regulators on proposal Friday
--Plan includes portable pumps, batteries stored in multiple locations
--Industry seeking assurances that plan will satisfy NRC
By Ryan Tracy
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. nuclear industry, seeking to show it is proactively improving safety nearly 10 months after Japan's nuclear crisis, will present regulators on Friday with a new plan to deal with prolonged power outages caused by natural disasters.
The plan is an effort to influence the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it considers what new requirements to impose on the 104 operating U.S. nuclear reactors. Changes have been in the works since an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year, leading to the release of dangerous radiation and putting U.S. nuclear safety under a spotlight.
U.S. operators are ready to invest in equipment that will provide an additional layer of safety, an official at the industry's main trade group, the Nuclear Energy Institute, told reporters Wednesday. The new, portable water pumping systems would keep nuclear fuel cool if an "extreme event" knocked out existing cooling and backup systems, as occurred at Fukushima.
COMMENT: They aren't as fast as us, but it is a step in the right direction.
The industry is seeking assurances from the NRC that it won't face additional requirements on the same safety issues later if it moves forward voluntarily now.
"This is just something that we believe we should be doing," said Adrian Heymer, who is in charge of the Institute's Fukushima regulatory response team. "But we want to get some credit for it."
The proposal is likely to face scrutiny from nuclear watchdogs, in part because it involves portable equipment that wouldn't be subject to the strictest NRC standards and wouldn't be installed as part of a mandatory NRC rule.
Heymer said the industry's proposal would be implemented by 2015, but predicted a formal rule would take longer to finalize. The industry is also developing "quality controls" to ensure the equipment is up to snuff, and the NRC could still set standards for the equipment and inspect it, he said.
COMMENT: It will take a lot longer than that, trust me
A key feature of the industry's proposal: Heymer said the new backup systems could keep nuclear fuel cool for three days or more.
The Fukushima plant lost power for several days after an earthquake and tsunami knocked out both the surrounding electrical grid and its backup generators. Without power, the plant couldn't operate water pumps that keep nuclear fuel from overheating.
U.S. plants also rely primarily on the electrical grid, backed up by diesel generators, to operate the cooling systems. Without those two power sources, the plants can only cope for 4 to 8 hours.
COMMENT: Remember that we used the official lingo, "cope" many times on your program. The elapsed time that a plant can survive or cope with a total loss of power has to be lengthened significantly past 8 hours. Anything less than a week is absurd.
The industry is now proposing two or three additional sets of equipment on each plant site, including portable pumps and battery packs. The equipment would be staged at more than one location on each plant, ready to be scrambled if needed.
COMMENT: Often we discussed the need to implement Severe Accident Mitigation Strategies that include Diverse and Multiple sources of Electrical Power and Pumps with sources of water. These have to be staged in such a manner that a single event would not wipe them out. Also, additional Operators trained and at-the-ready need to be hired and fully equipt.
"We're going to have a preset strategy, with operations and personnel trained to implement" that strategy, Heymer said. He said it was too soon to provide an estimate of the cost of the plan.
On Friday, the trade group will present the plan to NRC staff at a public meeting.
COMMENT: I truly hope that the Industry listens to those who actually work at the plant other than the opinions of the Bean-Counters. The industry wants to do less than what should be common sense, the Regulators do not want to irritate the Industry by introducing sweeping regulations. The plant personnel are for doing the right thing even if it is difficult.
During Fukushima, a Control Room Operator begged his colleagues to stay and fight instead of running away from the radiation. Because of his actions, they did make a difference and also heightened their chances of radiological illnesses in the future. It was the right thing to do.
COMMENT: China is ready to Re-start its aggressive Nuclear Plant Construction Program after waiting for Fukushima Reports. Leading US nuclear power supply network, Exelon is chomping at the bit to export technology to the Chinese. Exelon does NOT have a pristine track record regarding maintaining and operating its fleet of nuclear power plants.
BEIJING—Worries in China about the safety of nuclear power could create extensive new business opportunities for Western companies.
China slowed an ambitious expansion of nuclear power earlier this year, suspending approvals of new nuclear plants after the March disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Now, Chinese officials appear to be preparing to restart the country's multibillion-dollar effort to become one of the world's largest producers of nuclear power, with a new emphasis on safety. That would likely mean a greater reliance on Western reactor technology and plant-management methods—and on Western providers of nuclear equipment and services, which have struggled for a place in this state-dominated industry.
The Fukushima incident spurred an official review of China's safety standards. It isn't clear what conclusions that review will reach; China's National Nuclear Safety Administration and the country's major state-owned nuclear companies haven't replied to requests for comment. But industry officials and legal experts say Beijing could lift its suspension of approvals for new nuclear plants when it releases a report on the review, possibly by year's end.
Officials also are likely to phase out CPR-1000 reactors in China more quickly than they had planned to, according to people familiar with the review. Before Fukushima, China had planned to build dozens of these older-model reactors, based on French technology, which lack some of the safety features incorporated in newer technology. In particular, they don't have the passive safety systems that might have helped prevent the Fukushima accident in Japan.
Westinghouse transferred AP1000 technology to China as part of a 2007 deal to sell the country four reactors. Beijing is working to create its own reactors based on the technology, but Westinghouse says it will profit in China in the future partly through providing fuel and services to the country's growing reactor fleet [COMMENT - Iran may be unwanted competition to the fuel supply industry]. Any increase in AP1000 construction could mean new business for the company.
The Fukushima disaster may also affect plant-management standards in China, where Western companies are looking to parlay their experience in managing plants into consulting and training business. Experts say a lack of experienced regulators and plant operators is among the biggest obstacles to improved nuclear safety in China, and Fukushima appears to have crystalized those concerns for government authorities and state-owned nuclear companies.
In November, Chicago-based ExelonCorp. said it would provide consulting and training services to an arm of state-owned China National Nuclear Corp. The agreement is a significant opening up for CNNC, one of China's largest nuclear companies, to Western ideas. In recent years the company—which is responsible for the development of military nuclear capabilities for the People's Liberation Army in addition to its role in China's commercial nuclear program—has lobbied the government against embracing the foreign AP1000 plant technology.
Exelon hopes it can build on the CNNC deal with additional business in China, says Thomas P. Mundy, president of Exelon Nuclear Partners, the unit that provides the consulting work.
COMMENT: Is Exelon qualified to teach Safety Management to lesser developed nations? Here are some events that actually occurred recently at Exelon Plants:
Oyster Creek
Event # 219-2009-003 - Reactor Shutdown Caused by Loss of Cooling to the Main Transformer
Event # 219-2009-005 - Reactor Scram Following a Transmission Line Lightning Strike
Event # 219-2009-006 - EDG #1 Inoperable due to Failure of its Output Breaker to Close
Dresden
Event # 237-2009-005 - Unit 2 Reactor Recirculation Drain Line Pressure Boundary Leakage
Event # 237-2009-007 - Reactor Protection System Nonconformance to a Design Standard
Quad Cities
Event # 265-2011-001 - Loss of Unit 2 Essential Service 480V Bus
Peach Bottom
Event # 277-2011-001 - High Pressure Coolant Injection System Inoperable due to Leaking Cooling Water Header Relief Valve
Limerick
Event # 352-2011-003 - High Pressure Coolant Injection System Turbine Control Valve Failed to Fully Close during Testing
Byron
Event # 454-2007-002 - Technical Specification Required Shutdown of Unit 1 and Unit 2 due to an Ultimate Heat Sink Pipe Leak
Event # 454-2011-001 - Unit 2 Emergency Diesel Generator Inoperable for Longer than Allowed by Technical Specifications due to Inadequate Work
Event # 455-2011-001 - Unit 2 Emergency Diesel Generator Inoperable for Longer than Allowed by Technical Specifications due to Inadequate Work
Braidwood
Event # 456-2009-002 - SI System Containment Sump Isol. Valve 1SI8811B Failed to Stroke Full Open due to Torque Switch Fail
Event #
456-2010-001 - ReactorTrip Due to Water Intrusion in Breakers Causing Circulating Water Pump Trips and Resulting in Trip
Event #
457-2008-001 - 2A ESW Train Inoperable due to Strainer Fouling from Bryozoa Deposition and Growth - FY08
Event #
457-2010-003 - ReactorTripCaused by PhasetoGround Faultofa FailedCrossoverDamper/DeionizerAssemblyDue to an Inadequate
Event #
457-2011-002 - Auxiliary Feedwater System Inoperability due to Additional Asiatic Clam Shells in Essential Service Water Supply Piping
COMMENT: Exelon wants to "teach" the Chinese how to do it safely. I believe that there is a maturity level associated with safe nuclear power operation. Exelon is barely on the cusp of achieving that level. I hope they listen to those who actually work at the plant instead of teaching the Chinese the ways of the Bean-Counters.
Exelon owns and operates
Braidwood Generating Station
Byron Generating Station
Clinton Power Station
Dresden Generating Station
LaSalle County Generating Station
Limerick Generating Station
Oyster Creek Generating Station
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station
Quad Cities Generating Station
Three Mile Island
Zion Station
An Aside Note:
2008: Obama chief political strategist David Axelrod worked for Exelon, largest nuclear plant owner in US — NEI chairman is Obama donor
COMMENT: Radioactive Manufactured Goods make it to Bed, Bath, and Beyond Stores. Tissue Boxes made from Cobalt 60 has been detected. It is quite possible that the source of this Cobalt 60 is from the Fukushima Spent Fuel Pools.
Maybe Fukushima contamination introduced into the manufacturing realm:
Tissue holders pulled from stores in NY, elsewhere
By CRISTIAN SALAZAR | Associated Press – Thu, Jan 12, 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — Metal tissue holders contaminated with low levels of radioactive material may have been distributed to Bed, Bath & Beyond stores in more than 20 states including New York, federal regulators said Thursday.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre said the home products company had pulled the tissue holder from its stores.
He said there is little to no risk to human health — but it's better to avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.
"If someone has one of these, they could receive a small radiation dose from it," he said. For example, he said someone keeping one of the boxes on a vanity in the bathroom and spending about 30 minutes a day near it for a year would receive the equivalent of a couple of chest x-rays.
"There's no real health threat from these, but we advise people to return them," he said.
Authorities said the tissue holders contain manmade cobalt-60, which is used in medical devices and for other industrial applications.
COMMENT: Here is the link to the NRC Bulletin on the radioactive merchandise. It doesn't state the origin of the material, however, it is possibly Japan. . . . Cobalt 60 is a byproduct of Spent Fuel.
Agreement State
Event Number: 47575
Rep Org: CALIFORNIA RADIATION CONTROL PRGM
Licensee: TATARA GROUP/NU STEEL
Region: 4
City: TRUCKEE State: CA
County:
License #:
Agreement: Y
Docket:
NRC Notified By: JOHN FASSELL
HQ OPS Officer: CHARLES TEAL
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
AGREEMENT STATE
Person (Organization):
MICHAEL VASQUEZ (R4DO)
DANIEL HOLODY (R1DO)
ANGELA MCINTOSH (FSME)
SCOTT MOORE (OIP)
Event Text
AGREEMENT STATE REPORT INVOLVING DETECTION OF CONTAMINATED MATERIAL
The following information was received from the State of California via email:
"Two [2] packages set off radiation alarms at Truckee, CA truck scales. Both packages indicated Cobalt 60. One package read 5.7 mr/hr and the other indicated 6.1 mr/hr using a Victoreen 450 CHP. The packages were enroute to Bed Bath and Beyond in Santa Clara and San Jose.
"The shipment was authorized to proceed in a separate trailer to the Sacramento [the shippers] yard at 8200 Elder Creek Road where the shipment will be secured awaiting RHB inspector to determine the contents and disposition of the material. Surveys were requested of the CHP to document ALARA during this shipment.
"Shipment contained four Model DR9M Dual Ridge Metal Boutique (Kleenex box holders). Contact reading 6.5 mr/hr, One foot 0.85 mr/hr with a Victoreen 450P ion chamber."
The shipment originated in India with a port of entry at Newark, NJ and was shipped via common carrier to its final destination in California.
CA 5010 #: 010512
COMMENT: Although it is difficult to prove that this Cobalt 60 contamination is from Fukushima, the massive Spent Fuel Pool explosions and subsequent airborne and waterborne releases of Activated Products from the Spent Fuel make Fukushima a likely candidate. Heaven help us if it is now contaminating manufactured materials.
From the Argonne National Lab near Chicago, concerning the production of Cobalt 60:
Artificial Pollution Sources :
Cobalt-60 is produced be neutron activation of components of nuclear reactors; these components are made of various alloys of steel that contain metals that can absorb neutrons and produce cobalt-60(1). Cobalt-60 can also be produced in a particle accelerator(1). Trace amounts of cobalt-60 are present in the environment worldwide due to fallout from past atmospheric nuclear weapons testing(1). Cobalt-60 may be released to the environment from nuclear reactors and facilities that process spent nuclear fuel, especially hardware associated with the spent fuel(1). Cobalt-60 may be release to the environment through discharges of low-level aqueous radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants(5). The highest annual discharge of cobalt-60 from the AEA Witfrith reactor in Dorset, UK was 20 TBq in 1980-81(2). Between 1986-90 approximately 270 GBq of cobalt-60 was discharged into the Rhone River in liquid wastes(3). Total releases of cobalt-60 to the atmosphere from the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina between 1968 and 1996 were 0.092 Ci(4). Total releases of cobalt-60 to streams from the SRS between 1954-95 were 66 Ci(4). Cobalt-60 is used in brachytherapy to treat various types of cancer(1). In this application, cobalt-60 is contained within a sealed source, and the release of cobalt-60 to the environment would be expected to be minimal(SRC).
[(1) Argonne National Laboratory/EVS. Human Health Fact Sheet, August 2005. Cobalt. Available at: http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/cobalt.pdf as of Nov 3, 2005. (2) Cundy AB et al; Environ Sci Technol 33: 2841-49 (1999) (3) Beaugelin-Seiller K et al; J Environ Radioact 24: 217-23 (1994) (4) DOE; Assessment of radionuclides in the Savannah River Site. Environmental summary DE-AC09-96SR18500 . WSRC-TR-98-00162 (1998) (5) ATSDR; Toxicological Profile for Cobalt. April 2004. Dept Hlth Human Service, Public Hlth Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry pp. 207-264 (2004) ]**PEER REVIEWED**
