"Morning Papers" - Its Origin

The Rooster
"Okeydoke"


To place the Japanese radiation leaks into perspective, it is probably not the worst mess in the world.  I do believe the USA still leads that category with "The Hanford Nuclear Area" in Washington State. 


Hanford was the beginnings of the USA nuclear program and today it is the largest contaminated area in the country.

It is by far the equivalent to the clean up required in Japan and it may be Japan's problem is far less in scope in relation to actual contamination to lands. 

The Hanford facility is actively being managed by the USA Department of Energy with its own website that provides trous to the public.

Website (click here)

The thing is this, just because there are three backup water systems now doesn't mean they would provide any more safety than what is occurring in Japan.  Japan's problem is due to flooding and power outage, not simply water supply.

Washington's Hanford nuclear plant has more backup  (click here)

The Northwest's single nuclear-power plant near the Hanford nuclear reservation is the same general type as those stricken in Japan, but has more backup systems and is more than a decade newer, utility officials say.

By Sandi Doughton

Seattle Times science reporter

...The Columbia Generating Station, at the Hanford nuclear reservation, was built to handle a magnitude 6.9 earthquake, said Rochelle Olson, spokeswoman for Energy Northwest, which operates the reactor. "We are designed to withstand the maximum projected earthquake or other natural disasters in our area," she said.
Like the damaged Japanese plants, the Hanford reactor is a boiling-water design from General Electric. Commissioned in 1984, the plant is larger and newer than the Japanese reactors, some of which date to the early 1970s.
Three additional emergency-cooling systems provide a cushion those plants lack, Olson said....

The Hanford Site was for perfecting nuclear weapons.  There are two huge rivers available for hydroelectric power within reasonable distance to believe an 'consumer' power could be provided otherwise.  It was the site where nuclear weapons for the USA were perfected and where they were moved to test sites and planes for deployment.

I understand the at least one of the water cannons in use in Japan is robotic.  That's interesting, considering the manufacturer is the same one that keeps messing up nuclear facilities otherwise.

Nuclear Safety Violations Arise in Washington State (click here)

Capitol News Connection
December 8th, 2008

Seattle, WA - Bechtel may have to pay a fine of up to $385,000 for producing inadequate piping in the nuclear waste treatment plant they designed. Kristin Brown, a spokesperson for the D-O-E, says the problem could have caused leaks and exposed workers to dangerous substances.

They actually discovered this problem a couple of years ago but they failed to effectively fix it so the thing that they tried didn’t really work," said Brown.

The fine doesn’t amount to much for the engineering giant, which brought in $27 billion in revenues last year. But there’s nothing small about the problems at the Hanford Site, according to Whit Sheard of the nonprofit Pacific Environment. Hanford is the most toxic site in the western hemisphere....

Talk about job security.  The longer it takes, the more cost overruns and the more expensive it gets.  Why don't bids ever matter?  It took Dr. Chu to finally get this mess going well?  Why?

New Weight on the Job (click here)

“mechanical Engineering” – The Magazine of ASME

July 2010 issue

New methods and heavier equipment are expected to hasten the nuclear-waste transfer at the Hanford Site’s tank farms.

By Harry Hutchinson, Executive Editor

The Department of Energy wants the aging tank farms at Hanford cleared of radioactive waste in 30 years.  At the current rate of progress, though, the job will take about a century and a half.
So the contractor is trying something new to pick up speed and finish on time.

The Hanford Site, which produced plutonium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal beginning in the days of the Manhattan Project, occupies 586 square miles in southeastern Washington. Today the site includes old processing plants, groundwater that exceeds safe levels of radioactivity, and high-level radioactive waste held in 149 aging tanks—some more than 60 years old—that lie underground just ten miles from the Columbia River.

There are numerous cleanup tasks in progress at the Hanford Site, but dealing with the 149 tanks has proven to be a slow and stubborn one.

The objective is to remove the highly radioactive waste from the old tanks, which have a single-shell construction, and transfer it to 28 newer, more-secure double-shell tanks nearby, where the waste will safely reside until it can be treated in facilities now under construction.

The tank transfer program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection and is currently overseen by its prime contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, a joint venture between URS Corp. and Energy Solutions, with Areva as the primary subcontractor....

Was that moon last night, like something else, huh?

I have never seen the Moon so white and so brightly lite.

Cool stuff. 

I happens about three to four times in an American's life.  It should happen at least that many times in every populous in the world.

Oh, one last thing.  Does is Hugo taking all this? 

Not the Moon, Libya!

The full moon rises behind the U.S. Capitol Dome (click title to entry - thank you)  in Washington March 19, 2011. Saturday saw the rise of a full moon called a "Super Moon" when it arrived at its closest point to the Earth in 2011, a distance of 221,565 miles or 356,575 km away.

The 'aftershocks' of the groundswell will be substantial in the Middle East, but, peace and freedom usually don't result in more violence and death.

I know this all sounds a bit 'sing songy and silly' but there will be peace in the Middle East.  The sacrifices of the populous is significant and they dearly want this.  They want their lives to be far less threatened by every aspect of living.  They want stability, peace and prosperity, although some of the concept of prosperity lies in their understanding of a 'better quality of life.'

I always thought it would be from a horrible war with potentially millions dead.  But, when realizing the progression this has taken in upholding the value of life, it is completely remarkable. 

Timeline: Yemen unrest (click title to entry - thank you)

Agence France-Presse March 1, 2011

SANAA - Key dates in the revolt in Yemen:

- January 27: Inspired by the overthrow of the regime in Tunisia and a growing revolt in Egypt, thousands of Yemenis protest to demand that President Ali Abdullah Saleh quit after 32 years in power.

- February 2: Saleh says he will not seek a new mandate when his term ends in 2013. He promises reforms and shelves a plan for parliamentary elections that the opposition had denounced.

- 3: Tens of thousands take part in a "day of rage" against the regime. Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party holds a counter-demonstration.

- 16-17: At least five people die in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern port of Aden. In Sanaa, students make daily attempts to march on the presidential palace, but are beaten back by pro-Saleh activists armed with clubs, knives and stones.

- 20: The parliamentary opposition decides to join the protests for the first time since the "day of rage" on February 3.

- 21: Protests continue in Aden, several demonstrators are killed. Unrest also spreads in the Shiite north of the country, at Saada.

In Sanaa, tens of thousands of people hold a sit-in to demand Saleh's departure, but he says he will only leave if voted out....

Looks like the Libyan flag is a new 'babushka' fashion statement.

The African Union is going to be a bit challenged, however, focusing on the humanitarian crisis is helping them cope with the fact their founder 'ain't all that.'  They are also engaged in Somalia fighting those we would coin, 'the bad guys.'  I don't know if they are doing well.  But, there should be a diplomatic mission to invite them to come in from the cold.

I did note some African fighters dead in a report from the New York Times.  They didn't appear to be from Libya.  They might have been sent by The African Union, but, I think that is unclear.

They are still an important voice in Africa. 

African Union demands 'immediate' halt to Libya attacks  (click title to entry - thank you)

 Sat Mar 19, 9:55 pm ET

...Libyan generosity and Moamer Kadhafi's role in the creation of the African Union could explain the continental cautious stand, experts said.

The AU was born in the 1999 Sirte Declaration, named after a summit hosted by Kadhafi in his hometown on the Libyan coast....

AFP – A Libyan woman shouts slogans against strongman Moamer Kadhafi during a demonstration.

There are reports out of Libya that many have died and we have conducted life saving measures.

I do believe this article by The Christian Science Monitor brings up the dangers that lie ahead to be aware of, including, the idea of human shields.  The Quadaffi regime still sits in a place where many people are still vulnerable to his 'workings.' 

Will he remain as a leaders in Libya?  No.  The global community has all but discarded him.  He needs to be removed to a place of justice.  And someday he will be.

..Saturday’s barrage of ship-based Tomahawk (click title to entry - thank you) cruise missiles effectively established a no-fly zone, Joint Chiefs of Staffs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday.

This has allowed US fighters and radar jammers to fly over Libya, continuing the hunt for air defense facilities as well as tanks, artillery, and other Libyan army forces threatening rebel forces and other civilians. US pilots apparently are safe now from the long-range, high-altitude surface-to-air missiles that might have resulted in downed pilots becoming prisoners of war....

I understand from a report the jet noted to be 'downed' was actually a 'New Government' jet piloted by a former Libyan pilot.  He was attempting to protect the 'rag-tag' forces still remaining before it was known The Coaltion had arrived.  Evidently, there is speculation he was shot down by his own military.

He is understood to have hero status.  No sacrifice is being forgotten in a 'spirit' of revolution for freedom and democracy.


Published 23:41 20.03.11
Latest update 23:41 20.03.11

Libya rebel spokesman: More than 8,000 Libyans killed in revolt (click here)

Gadhafi vows a long war as allied forces launch second night of air strikes, targeting any Gadhafi forces on the ground that are attacking the opposition.

By News Agencies

 

...The Arab League had called for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians from Gadhafi's forces but Moussa on Sunday condemned "the bombardment of civilians".

"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," Egypt's state news agency quoted Moussa as saying.

Ghoga said: "Today, when the secretary general spoke, I was surprised."

"What is the mechanism that stops the extermination of the people in Libya, what is the mechanism, Mr. Secretary General? If the protection of civilians is not a humanitarian obligation, what is the mechanism that you propose to us?" he asked....

An F-16 jet fighter flies over a NATO airbase in Aviano, northern Italy on Sunday, March 20. Now that a no-fly zone has been effectively established over Libya, the US-led coalition is freer to attack ground targets.

Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

That is one hell of a jet, isn't it?  That is ours?  Wow.  Is there any inch on the jet that doesn't carry weapons?  Jeeze.

The reason the 'Arab Awakening' has gone this well is because of women. We have witnessed their overwhelming participation.

No one is going to stop this.  No one should.  We need to make in roads with new leadership.  They want a differen quality of life and they do not want more and more violence in their lives.

Muslim women and change  (click title to entry - thank you)

 26 February 2010 - 11:35am

By Asghar Ali Engineer,

Mostly people think Muslim women are oppressed and forced to wear veil and confined to the four walls of their houses. This is mainly because we read every day in papers that Taliban force women into veil, burn down girls schools and always portray them wrapped completely in black cloth from head to foot. This image of Muslim women was further reinforced by the burqa controversy which erupted in France.

This image would be justified if all Muslim women followed the strict dress code propounded by Muslim theologians which was evolved in medieval ages and which they keep on justifying even today. But there is big difference in what is theologically projected and ground reality. It may not be wrong, if I venture to say, Muslim women have been defying theological code for more than a century now....


This is a Wisconsin newsprint. 

The women of the Middle East will lead. 

They will have the promise of life afforded others and they will know how to be a mom, a grandmom and a great grandmom with longevity for all generations and genders. 

Women must continue to move the battlefront (click here)

Published: Sunday | March 20, 2011

...There have also been multisectoral uprising against the oppressive regimes of Yemen, Iran, Bahrain and other territories in the region.
The common theme of all these resistances to patriarchy is the search for what has been described as true democracy.
The commonsense and lay persons' understanding of the term democracy, in both the East and the West, is the idea that equality and freedom are the cornerstones of any society that claims to be democratic in the 21st century.
This world view is rooted in the American President Abraham Lincoln's notion of "government of the people, by the people, for the people".
When the philosophers and rulers of the 17th and 18th centuries formulated their ideas of democracy, they must have forgotten that the people are women, men and children....

The Egyptians have choices to make. How well they make them for PEACEFUL outcomes may determine how benevolent their leadership will be.

The old expression keeps playing into this scenario in the Middle East; "Be careful of what one wishes for, it just may come true."

There is a danger for the people of Egypt if they are lack in discerning the best outcome for PEACE which they demanded.  Being 'responsible' voters has to be as important as being a protester.  The responsibility established during the protests has to be met with the save brevity of the lives sacrificed to achieve that end.

It is a matter of maturity of the electorate and how they are able to discern their 'place' in serious political dialogue that also includes a global view of their responsibility.


Egyptian voters say ‘yes’ to speedy elections  (click title to entry - thank you)

By Richard Leiby, Sunday, March 20, 6:34 PM
CAIRO — Repressed for decades, the Egyptian people have spoken: They want a democratic government to go along with their revolution, and they want it fast....

The Egyptians have the will to elect authority that will not turn against them, nor create hostilities with other nations.  The Egyptians do not want to be another Libya in years to come.

..."I fear the Islamists (click here) because they speak in civil slogans that have a religious context, like when one said he believed in a civil Egypt but at the same time no woman or Copt should run for president," said Samuel Wahba, a Coptic doctor....

Was the oppression leading to the violence? Or was the violence resulting in oppression?

The deadly New Year's bombing at the Coptic church in Alexandria sparks clashes between angry Christians and Egyptian riot police. (Reuters)

The New Year's blast kills 21 and sparks clashes between police and Copts. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accuses foreign elements of involvement in the terrorist attack, which drew condemnation across the Middle East.  (click title to entry - thank you)

...Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak accused unnamed foreign elements of being behind the attack.

"This act of terrorism shook the country's conscience, shocked our feelings and hurt the hearts of Muslim and Coptic Egyptians," he said in an emergency address to the nation. "The blood of their martyrs in the land of Alexandria mixed to tell us all that all Egypt is the target and that blind terrorism does not differentiate between a Copt and a Muslim."

The attack in the ancient Mediterranean coastal city was the latest in a wave of violence against once-resilient Christian communities in the Muslim world, some of which date back to antiquity....

What this article is indicating, very awkwardly and  poorly stated, is bigotry.   Did the allowance of bigotry, religious bigotry, serve the same purpose as racism does in other nations where religionous freedom is invisible for the most part.  With the exception of people like Rep. King that can't discern freedom of religion from criminal intent. 

But, in the Middle East, religion is a commodity and there are 'undertones' that create tensions.  At any rate, oppression is an enemy to a nation's leadership.  Oppression is a 'pressure' to force change and sometimes violently.

I understand there is now rebuilding of the church that was bombed.  If the protestors in Egypt were looking to be more 'discriminating,' full of more hatred, I doubt seriously the church would be rebuilt so much as destroyed.

Mubarak Regime ‘Provoked’ Attacks on Christians  (click here)
By Cam McGrath

...Analysts say there is growing evidence that Egyptian security forces planned attacks on Christian churches and clergy, or allowed them to happen. The apparent purpose of the attacks was to reinforce the idea to sympathetic Western governments that without Mubarak, radical Islamist groups would gain a foothold in Egypt and wage a holy war on its Christian community....
...Egypt has the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Copts, who make up about 10 percent of the country’s 82 million inhabitants, claim they have faced persecution and discrimination in the workforce....
The new Egyptian citizen will have many challenges, including accepting diversity.  The struggle for equality is only beginning and it will take many forms, but, it will proceed in history no different than it has in the USA since its Civil War.  Let's not confuse discrimination within a country with movements for freedom.  They are very different and not a measure of the strength of a new government.
 

In New Egypt, Christians Face Old Discrimination  (click here)

by Steve Inskeep

March 11, 2011

...For the past week, Christians have been waving crosses and shouting at a continuous protest in the center of Cairo. Their story has meshed with the wider anxiety over Egypt's future.
Activist Fady Philip has shouted himself hoarse.
"This is basically for the church, but it's including all of the Christians' requests for everything," he said. "It starts with the church, but it doesn't end with the church."
Historically, Christians have faced discrimination in Egypt. The Christian minority joined the protest against President Hosni Mubarak, but when Mubarak left, and the army proposed changing the constitution, nobody touched the article declaring Islam to be the religion of the state....

The "Freedom Movement" is not about violence. Quadaffi was about violence.

The misperspection by cultures outside the Middle East is profound.  The countries of the region are well established both as trouism havens, but, also places where pilgrimages are paramount to value systems.  It absolutely astounded me when the Shi'ites of southern Iraq were carrying out cultural movements and pilgramages without hesitation. 

The people of the Middle East are tenacious.  They abide in a different light than the timidity that exists at other corners to the world.  Every effort needs to be taken to limit the 'noise' from Libya so everyone else can get on with their day.

The freedom movment is conceived by people that love their countries and insist on economies that will support better quality of life.  This isn't about destruction, it is about rebuilding, openness and most of all EQUITY.

Many in Qatar plan to spend summer in Egypt, Tunisia: Survey (click title to entry - thank you)

Monday, 21 March 2011 03:41

DOHA: Many Qataris and GCC citizens here say that they are planning to visit Egypt or Tunisia next summer as a way of supporting the tourism sector in these countries that remains badly hit by the recent uprising.
The tourism industry in the Middle East in general suffered losses of $2bn, following the political unrest in the region, a senior official of the Arab Tourism Organisation revealed recently. Apparently, Egypt and Tunisia are the two most affected countries.
Responding to a survey conducted by a local Arabic daily, a number of Qataris and GCC citizens expressed solidarity with the mass uprising that led to the fall of the dictatorial regimes in these countries and said they were keen to support their economies, in whatever way possible.
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents said they had plans to visit one of these countries soon while 66 percent of them said they would take up if any promotional offers are available.
Some, however, expressed concern over the security situation in these countries and said they would delay their travel plans until the situation becomes normal.
Asked if they would reschedule their travel plans next summer to visit any of the two countries, more than 66 percent responded in positive....

The Arab Awakening started long before the first PEACE REVOLUTION occurred in Tunisia.

While the reaction by Facebook was interesting, it was somewhat unnecessary by the time the protests in Tunisia started. 

Social media was definately pivotal to the PEACE REVOLUTION sweeping the Middle East, but, it's work occured 'leading up to' these moments and not so much 'at the time they broke out.'

The leadership of the countries was reactionary.  The protests were spontaneous and the organization rapid.  Why?  Because everyone was literally 'on the same page' when the momentum took shape.  The worst reaction a nation's leadership can make is to retaliate against an established movement that is unshakable long before it was noted to becomes a reality.

A nation's leaderships reaction should never be to resist in a way that turns on its people, so much as 'recognition.'  To oppress the ESTABLISHED values is only to prolong the 'events of change.'  The communication to move forward was resolved and it has its casualities.  It is not a matter of IF, it is a matter of WHEN and the length of time is dependant upon the continued and futile resistance.

How The Tunisian Government Tried To Steal The Entire Country's Facebook Passwords  (click title to entry - thank you)

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Jan. 24, 2011, 12:01 PM

...Basically, the Tunisian government, through internet service providers, tried to steal the Facebook login info (usernames and passwords) of everyone in Tunisia. They did this through keyloggers, a piece of software that records the keys you hit on your computer.

When Facebook realized this was going on, they quickly switched the entire Tunisian site to https, the encrypted version of the HTTP protocol on which the web is built. (As an aside, we wonder why they don't do this by default for everyone. Https is slower, but it would sitll be more secure.)...

It would seem as though there WILL NOT BE any shortage of oil in the world...

...as Iranian media reports exports to Italy are increased 80% which is against sanctions.  YES? 

I wish the White House would come  up with a comprehensive statement regarding the 'petroleum industry' and its inability to control the speculation surrounding its commodities, espeically when freedom, democracy and economic stability of a global community is at stake.  Does Wall Street have absolutely NO CONSCIENCE what so ever at all? 

But, at any rate, with coalition members extending thoughout the Middle East there won't be excoriating gas prices at pumps anywhere. 

Leaders of all nations involved in the United Nations Resolution 1973 are concerned about the global stability of the economy, the region and their own economic status.  I believe all 'so called' shortages are primarily myth created by immoral speculation by Wall Street.  Certainly, the global community isn't going to allow such speculation to interrupt the economic recovery of nations.

...Data published by Italy's (click title to entry - thank you)  industry group Unione Petrolifera on Wednesday said that Iran's crude supply accounted for 13.3 percent of Rome's total oil imports.

Iran, the fourth-biggest oil supplier to Italy, exported 10.377 million tons of oil to the European country in 2010.

Italy's oil imports increased by 2.2 percent to reach 77.893 million tons last year, the data showed. Rome heavily relies on energy imports as they lack natural energy resources.

The surge in Italy's imports from Iran comes as the United States and its allies have imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's energy sector.

The West accuses Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and used this pretext to pressure the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions against the country's financial and military sectors in June.

The Iranian officials have repeatedly refuted the charges, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has a right to use peaceful nuclear technology....

In my hearts of hearts, I have to believe the coalition includes 'agency' of Arabia because of the hostilies of the Iranian Nuclear Program.

The quake that rocked the Middle East.

This was one of the missiles targeting miliary 'movement' against civilians in Libya.


I said it was going to be nothing like the citizens of Libya were ever exposed to before.


Look, the Free World does not assassinate other leaders.  Gaddafi was not a target of the airstrikes.  He alone cannot kill civilians in mass numbers. 


The Free World targets military movements toward innocent people.  They target military institations known to be targeting innocent civilians.  I don't believe the language is effective regarding 'the rebels' either.


Whom exactly is the extremist here?

In case one doesn't recognize it, this is Pan Am 103 outside of Lockerbie, Scotland where there is no runway.  Gaddafi is already a known terrorist. 

What's to question here?  If he killed innocent people he'll do it again and again and again.

US: Gaddafi not on coalition target list (click title to entry - thank you)

Air strikes on Libyan troops marching to Benghazi allow rebels to recapture their stronghold.

Dubai:  The United States does not have Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on its 'target list' as Western nations intensify their military action on Libya, a top US military official said on Sunday.
As smoke was seen rising above Tripoli from the direction of Libya's presidential palace, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the US military's Joint Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that Gaddafi not being targeted by coalition air strikes.
Gortney said the coalition acting against Gaddafi, which originally grouped the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, had broadened to include Belgium and Qatar.
Allies halt Gaddafi advance
Explosions and heavy anti-aircraft fire reverberated in Libya on Sunday as allied warplanes continued to patrol the Libyan skies, pummelling the country's air defences for the second day, reports said....

It's Sunday Night

I Shot an Arrow Into the Air (3/3)

I Shot an Arrow Into the Air (2/3)

"The Arrow and the Song" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth,
I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth,
I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow,
still unbroke;
And the song,
from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.