New Doozies From Clif High

Included this week:  A free to download podcast about this week's baited Mid-East outrage(If you think this situation smells funny, you aren't alone..) along with a brief synopsis of different types of manipulation.   

The other nugget is an You Tube broadcast from an Italian translator who no longer works with The Vatican translating The Old Testament. 

Cryptically generic enough?  Listen for yourself. 

It might be a light posting night, as I feel compelled to take another look at not only Clif's work, but some information regarding the Dogon.  We'll see.

International, Geo-Political Oh SNAP!

Syria Arrests Turkish Army General in Aleppo.  Maybe he's on "foodie" vacation.  There's better hummus in Syria, donchaknow..  Fars News Agency:


TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian Army announced that it has recently apprehended a Turkish general who commanded the terrorists trying to seize control of Aleppo.



According to an informed source in Syria, the Turkish general was arrested during the Syrian Army's clashes with the terrorists in Aleppo.


News reports said that the Turkish general has been taken to Damascus for further interrogations.


Earlier, Turkish media also reported that Syria has detained 40 Turkish military officers in different parts of the country, and said that efforts to release them have failed.


Turkey along with the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been supporting terrorists and rebel groups in Syria and have practically brought a UN peace initiative into failure to bring President Assad's government into collapse.


Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.


Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.


The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.


In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

Turkey is rapidly becoming Gladys Kravitz or Iago of the middle east.  There's probably going to be some blowback for this set of shenanigans.  Coupled with the insurgents targeting Christians, might the West be backing the wrong horse?

New York Times Acknowledges that Syrian Opposition Is Targeting Christians and Other Minorities

It must be nice to consistently act without thinking..  Washington's Blog:

Why Are Americans Supporting a “Humanitarian” War Where Minorities Are Being Targeted by Terrorists?



Everyone from the Vatican to priests on the ground in Syria have reported that the Syrian opposition is persecuting Christians.

Now even the New York Times is starting to report the truth:

Syria’s 2.3 million Christians, constituting about 10 percent of the country’s population, have generally known a more privileged existence under the Assad dynasty than even the Shiite Alawi sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
***
As the rebellion became suffused with Sunni militants sympathetic to or affiliated with Al Qaeda, Christians recoiled.


A churchgoing Syrian told me that he used to see himself primarily as “Syrian” and that religious identity, in political terms, was an idea that never occurred to him — until an opposition gang attacked his family earlier this year in Homs. “It’s a label they pinned on us,” he said. “If their revolution is for everyone, as they keep insisting it is, why are Christians being targeted? It is because what they are waging is not a struggle for freedom, and it’s certainly not for everyone.”


As Saudi Arabian arms and money bolster the opposition, the 80,000 Christians who’ve been “cleansed” from their homes in Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan in Homs Province in March by the Free Syrian Army have gradually given up the prospect of ever returning home.


The rebels’ conduct has prompted at least some Sunnis who had supported the rebels and once-wavering Syrians to pledge renewed loyalty to Assad. Many who once regarded the regime as a kleptocracy now view it as the best guarantor of Syria’s endangered pluralism.
***
This is the work of the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia,” he added, referring to the ultra conservative Sunni sect.


Repeated attempts by Free Syrian Army fighters to destroy a shrine to Sayyida Zeinab, the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad revered by Shiites, have not yet caused the area’s Sunni minority to flee — many Shiites here have refused to blame their Sunni neighbors for the rebels’ crimes.


Over the past week, more than a dozen Syrians — chiefly Alawi and Christian, but also a handful of Sunnis — affirmed to me their determination to pick up arms to defend Assad.


The seeming indifference of the international community to the worsening condition of Syria’s religious minorities — and the near total absence of censure of the opposition forces by the Western governments arrayed against Assad — is breeding a bitter anti-Americanism among many secular Syrians who see the United States aligning itself with Saudi Arabia, the fount of Wahhabism, against the Arab world’s most resolutely secular state.
***
Washington is aware of the scale of the problem. As early as June 2011, Robert Stephen Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, briefed his counterparts in Damascus about Al Qaeda’s penetration of the opposition forces. By still ploughing ahead with its support for Saudi Arabia’s effort to destabilize Syria, Washington, far from assisting Israel or weakening Iran, is helping to fuel a humanitarian crisis that will come back to haunt the United States.

The fact that so many Americans – including progressive liberals – still support a “humanitarian war” where minorities are being targeted and Al Qaeda has somehow become our closest ally shows the power of modern propaganda.


What?  The Syrian opposition isn't a bunch of rag-tag good guys fighting the good fight?  But that narrative is so heartwarming!  Can't we still pretend it's true?

New Wujo, New Goro

Stuck inside staying out of summer blast furnace?  Download Clif's latest audio wujo for free!  Goro Adachi has a mini-report on the multi-contextual aspects of last week's mass shooting.  Clif's report is about 40 minutes, and Goro's report takes about 10 to 15 minutes to read, but both have some thoughts you can chew on all day long..  Enjoy!

Two missing after two RAF Tornados crash in Moray Firth

Maybe this is nothing, but because the Conspiro-web is alight that Russia downed these planes of UK airspace, here's the official story.  BBC.  Excerpts:

Two people have been picked up by helicopter after two RAF Tornado jets crashed in the Moray Firth.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Tornado GR4s, which have a pilot and navigator, were from RAF Lossiemouth, on the Moray coast.
The RNLI said Wick, Invergordon and Buckie lifeboats were searching for two missing crew south of Wick.
The MoD said one of the aircraft had been seen in the water and the other was classed as "missing".
Aberdeen Coastguard was alerted to the incident at about 13:50.
An RAF helicopter picked up two people and flew them to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
The three lifeboats have been searching an area 25 miles (40km) south of Wick, in the Beatrice oil field, for the two crew who remain missing.

Background:  Two Russian Bombers Caught Invading European Airspace  From August of 2011.


Tensions are rising..

[Photos] Demonstration of 200,000 people occupied official residence against nuclear restart

From Fukushima Diary.  The Japanese are waking up and finding their voice.  45 thousand people came out for the last demonstration, 11 thousand the time before.  Let's go!-Ja-pan!!  Excerpts, with photos at the link:

The organizer states 200,000 people joined the demonstration. People who joined commented it was more than 4 times as before. Last time, 45,000 people joined.



Actually, most of the people collected information from the internet to join the demonstration, it was very difficult to count how many people took part in.


It's kind of hard for the Japanese media to ignore 200 thousand of their fellow screaming countrymen, isn't it?

Here's The Thing About Fukushima..

I've been bothered by the total, universal lack of interest from Society regarding all things Fukushima.  This is an ongoing nuclear emergency, and..  Crickets.  No global protests, no "It's Day 473"-type broadcasts, much less wall to wall or even continual coverage.  No outrage.  No real reaction.  So very little news, but evidently enough to quench collective curiousity. 

There are many valid reasons for this phenomenon, and I think these reasons are contributive and re-enforce each other, curtailing the drive for knowledge, encouraging silence.  Of those, I'll focus in on Denial.

In the case of Fukushima, Denial due to fear is one part, but Denial due to inability to fully process and understand the implications of this disaster, even a very little bit, is as important than fear.  The continual, contaminating effect of radiation is incomprehensible to a large swath of our population, not to mention the implications of a Reactor 4 catastrophic event.  Or radiation from Reactors 1, 2, or 3 reaching the water table.  These crises loom so large, yet we continue on, oblivious to what could very well happen, and what is happening now.  If I can't see radiation, then it must not really exist, right?  Maybe you can call someone on your cell phone to have them help you figure it out!

A contributing factor to the Global Disaster Malaise that is Fukushima?  Short answer:  People can't wrap their heads around the implications, so they ignore it. 

More implications are becoming apparent.  Soon, there will be more.  And then, those implications will be next to impossible to ignore, anymore..

Clif's Latest Dispatch: The Gift Of..

Shit.  The gift of shit.  Halfpasthuman.  Excerpts: 

Into everyone's life, shit happens. When the shit happens in your life, be aware that this is universe providing you the necessary precondition for transformation.


By rejecting the process of transformation which is triggered by the shit reaching too damn high, you are sticking your chin out as far as you can, and inviting Fate to bitch slap the shit right out of you.

You see, the shit must go. That is how universe works. It piles shit up to the rafters as a method of forcing us lazy pie eaters to get out of our kitchens and deal with the transformation, that we know, deep in our gut, is required.

Universe does not provide us with what we want. It gives us what we need.
..
Universe rewards courage. It removes obstacles, smooths the path, and brings additional opportunities, once courage is demonstrated. By embracing Destiny, one can avoid Fate. The difference is the intent to recognize, and harmonize with the 'gift of shit' from universe. The ability to harmonize grows over time and is not a prerequisite to universal process. It is the decision, apparently, to take all that comes from universe as grist for our personal mill of transformation, that changes the experience from fate to destiny. Thereafter it is keeping to that decision that is necessary. No small task. Beyond that, the ability to listen to universe, and effectively harmonize, are skills that grow over time with failure (success rarely teaches anything).


This is true both personally and collectively.

Universe rewards courage, both personally and collectively. Paradoxically, in order for the populace to have courage collectively, the individual must have it, and be prepared to demonstrate it. Once demonstrated by one individual, courage runs through a populace like flame through brush. This is what scares the QE (quivering elites). This is why they work so hard to manage the flow of shit to coincide with their schedule of things....as they are aware that even shit will ignite if you pile it deep enough.


The shit has been piled this deep on this planet before. The evidence shows that those ancient peoples denied their Destiny and were consumed by Fate.
It is our turn now..

Great post.  Be sure and read the whole thing at the link.  There's a special toy surprise waiting for you..!

Syria Shoots Down Turkish Jet; Ratchets Regional Tension Way Up..

The crisis in Syria just got decidedly hotter.  Syria says it shot down Turkish air force jet   NDTV.  Excerpts:

Ankara, Turkey: Syria said Friday it shot down a Turkish military plane that entered Syrian air space, and Turkey vowed to "determinedly take necessary steps" in response.  It was the most clear and dramatic escalation in tensions between the two countries, which used to be allies before the Syrian revolt began in March 2011. Turkey has become one of the strongest critics of the Syrian regime's brutal response to the country's uprising.  Late Friday, Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said the military spotted an "unidentified aerial target" that was flying at a low altitude and at a high speed.
"The Syrian anti-air defenses counteracted with anti-aircraft artillery, hitting it directly," SANA said. "The target turned out to be a Turkish military plane that entered Syrian airspace and was dealt with according to laws observed in such cases."   Turkey issued a statement Friday night following a two-hour security meeting led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Syrian forces downed the plane and that the two Turkish pilots remain missing.
It said Turkey "will determinedly take necessary steps" in response, without saying what those actions would be.  "Following the evaluation of data provided by our related institutions and the findings of the joint search and rescue efforts with Syria, it is understood that our plane was downed by Syria," the statement said, without providing other details.  Relations between Turkey and Syria were already tense before the downing of the F4 plane on Friday.


Turkey has joined nations such as the U.S. in saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down because of the regime's brutal suppression of the uprising in his country. Turkey also has set up refugee camps on its border for more than 32,000 Syrians who have fled the fighting.  Syria and Turkey have expelled each other's ambassadors and Syria has accused Turkey of supporting Syrian opposition and even allowing Syrian rebels to operate out of Turkish soil. Turkey strongly denies the allegations.

Syria now takes the lead in the category "Global Flashpoint/Global War."  Also, could Syria and Turkey actually be geo-political "frenemies?"

Chin Up, Fukushima: At Least A Super-Typhoon Isn't Barreling Directly Towards You!

Models for Typhoon Guchol have tracked significantly west, so that's great news!  Now the only thing we have to worry about regarding Fukushima is..  Everything else.  Here's the roundup..

Report: Algae is bio-concentrating radioactive material in Japan cities — Sucking in radiation from walls and asphalt — Strontium may be absorbed most.

Local Official: Radiation dose is increasing with rainfall around Fukushima plant — “I don’t expect level of contamination will decrease this year”





“Oh, very high!!” NHK: Serious radioactivity accumulation causing hotspots in center of large city(Koriyama) up to 300,000 Bq/kg (VIDEO)

(Now They Tell Us) "Miscommunication" Prevented Radiation Monitoring on March 12 Last Year





Happy Summer, everyone!

Fukushima Triple Shot Is Not A Drink..

1.  Mystery Continues: Professor theorizes black substance on roads is actually radioactive particles — “Phenomenon occurs even in regular soil containing no cyanobacteria” — All roadside dirt can have high radiation, regardless of color.  Enenews  Excerpts:


There are two major theories on why the cyanobacteria in the black soil has such high levels of radiation, but nothing has been confirmed.



One theory posits that the radiation becomes concentrated in the cyanobacteria. There is scientific evidence that cyanobacteria absorbs cesium, but confirmation has yet to be made on whether such radiation concentration has occurred in the cyanobacteria found in the black soil samples.


Hayakawa’s theory is that the high radiation levels are due to radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear accident that was pushed by rain and wind and accumulated along roads. He believes that the phenomenon occurs even in regular soil containing no cyanobacteria.


According to Hayakawa’s theory, all dirt along roads is capable of recording high radiation levels, regardless of the color of the soil.


2.  Good news/Bad news:  Tepco: New 60-ton cover on top of Unit No. 4 fuel pool installed (PHOTOS) /[JNN live camera] Red light between reactor 4 and 3


3.  BREAKING: Typhoon Guchol to cross Tokyo and then on to Fukushima - this could be it!  Maybe..  This is a good thread to refer back to, as they'll keep up with the typhoon's direction until it hits Tokyo and Fukushima, or veers off onto another course in real time.  Remember, this is a model, but couple the storm's potential with this little nugget:  Fukushima worker “Tepco is having difficulty to increase tanks because of poor ground”  Fukushima Diary.  Excerpts:


Related to this article..Possible uneven settlement of reactor 4



Tepco postponed the construction to increase tanks for the contaminated water.


They were planning to start the construction in July but it will be postponed to August.
Tepco explains it is for the construction scheduling and there is still enough capacity of the tank, but actual Fukushima worker, Happy11311 tweeted like this below

I think the construction of the new tanks is behind the schedule and it’s not for what Tepco explained. I think that’s because of the ground. They are taking time to build the base of the tanks.



Typhoon-style rain on already unstable ground will make the ground more or less stable?

Deformed fish is served at Japanese Sushi bar(s?)

You're cute; I'm gonna call you Blinky!  Coming to a downscale restaurant near you..  Fukushima Diary.  Excerpts(and video):

Mr. Homma [Twitter], a Japanese fisher in South Chiba talked on a Ustream radio on 6/2/2012.  He has been fishing offshore of Chiba cape and Tokyo Bay for 4 years and a half.



He talked, he fished deformed fish at least twice a week.


Especially, deformation of fish living in or on seabed can be observed frequently, such as flatfish.


Deformed Japanese sea bass and Japanese amberjack, which are on the top of the food chain can be seen often too.
..
He also states, those deformed fish are highly contaminated. He measured near 700 Bq/Kg from bass last Monday.

..
When fish is distributed, the name of fishing port is concealed. He warns his friends about fish from Kanto area, but because a lot of people live on fishing, he can not announce the details of the problem.



From his explanation, deformed fish are sold unusually discounted. Discount Sushi bars called Kaitenzushi buy them to serve.


Image of Kaitenzushi. (Conveyer belt Sushi bar) Kaiten means rotate. Sushi is rotating on the belt and guests pick up and eat them. Because the Sushi is not fresh in the system, it is known to be cheap Sushi restaurants.


Mr. Homma is afraid of being fired, but he doesn’t want to conceal the actual situation.



He commented, we must face the truth.

This fish tastes like purple!  Maybe the ever optimistic Japanese will create new recipes around these new types of "nature's bounty."  Pass the wasabi, please!  I want superpowers!

CDC Claims ‘Zombie Virus’ Not a Real Thing as Cannibal Attacks Continue

Hi; Welcome to 2012, where the headlines are "real" and the stories freaktastic!  Hockey masks as hot fashion accessory for the Very Afraid in 3..  2..  
Gawker.  The whole thing:

The Department of Health's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today issued an official statement denying the existence of a "Zombie Virus" following a recent spate of incidents involving people behaving in a zombie-like manner.


"CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms)," the agency's spokesman, David Daigle, told the Huffington Post.

The denial comes on the heel of multiple zombie-esque events throughout the country and the world, as well as a rash of ominous occurrences across the state of Florida leading up to last Saturday's face-eating attack.

Despite the CDC's reassurance, another case of man-eat-man was reported in Staten Island yesterday, as one diner patron bit off the eat of another customer in the midst of an altercation over which TV channel to put on.

"He chewed his ear - he must have been hungry," an eyewitness told the New York Daily News. "He must have been reading about that cannibal down in Miami or something."

The CDC just last year created a website dedicated to "Zombie Preparedness." Alleging to be an "entertaining way to introduce emergency preparedness," the campaign specifically singled out the "zombie apocalypse" as a "kind of emergency" Americans should prepare for.

I love entertainment and mixed messages, and "Zombie Preparedness" sounds amazing!  Do It!  Prepare NOW!  Website For Entertainment Only, Run!  Sharpen your axes!  Relax--It's a comic book!  What the hell are you doing still reading this?  RUN!

I'm dizzy with entertainment already!

It's Cooked And We're Boned? No. It's Boned And We're Cooked!

New photos show what remains of No. 4 reactor building’s eastern wall  The top photo shows how much progress TEPCO's cleanup has made.  Cleaner?  Yes.  Sturdy?  For now..

The fact Spent Fuel Pool/Reactor 4 remains standing is the only thing standing between us and global catastrophe.  Earthquakes happen almost daily.  There's enough material here to contaminate..  Everything, eventually.  And there's a good chance a quake will come along sooner rather than later, thereby causing civilization to effectively end.  

I, for one, are doing things I will miss when they become unavailable.  Went to a movie tonight.  I haven't been in a theater in two years.  Small crowd, no one talked..  It was really nice! 

I will be, in the very near future, doing more items on my Fukushima Bucket List.  Small, accessible activities I love.  Up next, Thai or Indian, and frozen custard.  Jogging outdoors.  A day of photography.  Asking ______ out.  This really is the time, friends.  There might not be any more.   Don't say no one ever told you.. 

I Keep Crawling Away, But The Zombies Keep Pulling Me Back..

The meme gains cohesion.  Presented as a grouping of events, whatever this is is ominous.  How many more high profile attacks happen before mass hysteria begins?

Zombie Instances, May 2012   Reports of flesh eating bacteria included.  Clinically described Super Crazy.

Is this what happened?  Scientist accused of playing God after creating artificial life by making designer microbe from scratch - but could it wipe out humanity?  Unintended consequences, much?  (Found this through Godlike Productions.)

Unrelated, but included for the shocking brutality and Drama:  Mailing body parts?  This guy's a psychopathic attention whore, but he's no zombie.  And he seems to be escaping much faster with more success than his fellow murderous weirdos.

Girlfriend: 'Miami Zombie' may have had voodoo spell that made him chew off a man's face  If he's close to who she describes, I bet this tragedy would be devastating.  Tampa Bay Times.  Excerpts:


The man being depicted by the media as a "face eater" or a "monster" is not the man she knew, she said. He smoked marijuana often, though had recently said he wanted to quit, but he didn't use stronger recreational drugs and even refused to take over-the-counter medication for simple ailments like headaches, she said. He was sweet and well-mannered, she said.


Eugene's girlfriend has her own theory on what happened that day. She believes Eugene was drugged unknowingly. The only other explanation, she said, was supernatural — that someone put a voodoo curse on him. The girlfriend, who unlike Eugene is not Haitian, said she has never believed in voodoo, until now.

"I don't know how else to explain this," she said.

Possible Zombie Outbreak? Or Mass Hysteria?

Germany Walks Away From Greece

This is going to be a nasty break up.  Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:

Preparing for Greece’s exit from the Eurozone has been picking up momentum and has reached critical mass—on the way to a fait accompli. Still unspeakable in public discussion last year, it has become a routine topic at all levels of government. While everyone at the very top still hues to the line that Greece should stay in the Eurozone, out of the other side of the mouth comes the but—especially since the focus is on Spain, the real problem, the one problem that the Eurozone will have trouble digesting.


Even if it could digest bailing out Spain or losing Spain, the next step up, Italy, due to its size, is beyond bailout and would cause the Eurozone to fracture into its component pieces—unless the ECB decides against all treaty limitations and stiff German opposition to monetize directly and without qualms any sovereign debt that needs to be monetized. And even that would tear up the Eurozone because Germany and a handful of other countries would refuse to be tied to that kind of loosey-goosey management of their currency.

There are political realities in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel, slipping in the polls, is trying to decipher the scribbles on the wall. Her people, who vacation in Greece more than any other people, have handed her some clues: 60% said they wanted Greece out of the Eurozone, a jump from November when an already shocking 49% had wanted them out, according to a ZDF Politbarometer poll released Friday. Only 31% wanted Greece to remain in the Eurozone, down from 41% in November, with 9% not giving a hoot.
And:
But the next big battle may actually revolve around keeping Germany in the Eurozone: 50% of the respondents saw more disadvantages than advantages, up from 43% in February; only 45% saw more advantages, down from 51% in February. The more costs and risks rise for Germany, the more this number is going to skew away from the euro. A scary trend for Eurozone bailout freaks. And suddenly Germans woke up to the headline, "Greeks Pay less Taxes"—taxes being a sore subject for Germans who pay out of their noses to get their welfare-state budget into balance. For a debacle without equal, read.... The Confiscation Conundrum in Europe.



"The notoriously tax-sinning Greeks paid their government even less than before," the article began unnervingly. Turns out, Reuters had gotten two anonymous “senior” finance ministry officials to talk: Greeks were refusing to pay their taxes in euros in anticipation that they could soon pay them in drachmas, albeit with minor penalties. And lacking a government, they wanted to wait for the outcome of the next election on June 17, which hopefully would produce a government, any government. And so tax revenues in May were on track to drop 10%. Outside of Athens and Thessaloniki, tax revenues would fall between 15% and 30%. First capital flight then quiet bank runs, and now a refusal to pay taxes to a government they don’t have, in a currency they might not have much longer.... The Greeks are preparing for a reversion to the drachma, and they're trying, very understandably, and very smartly, to protect whatever they can—which, of course, simply speeds up the process of reverting to the drachma.

Forced to answer, I'd say that by July 1st, Greece's Eurozone exit will be the foregone conclusion.  Momentum in Greece's June 17th election is swinging towards anti-austerity Syriza, and they won't hesitate to drop the hammer on all prior agreements. Bank runs have already begun, and will most likely intensify.  Greece's collapse will also effect non-E.U. countries like Romania and Bulgaria.  Greece's exit also hastens Spain and Italy's demise.  Further chaos in Greece really could get this whole party started.  Yeah.  By July 1st, things should be coming to a boil. 

Buy canned goods and water!

Uh-Oh: Former Japanese Industry Minister Admits Fukushima's Beyond Bad

All quotes from Banri Kaieda, Japan's Industry Minister during and after the Fukushima event.  Presented here these two stories from ENews regarding his recent testimony. Japan’s Ex-Industry Minister: Neutron radiation is degenerating reactors — Admits he was playing a role when saying nuclear plants were safe, and Former Top Official at Hearing: Told that all 6 Fukushima reactors would ‘explode’ if workers left plant — Entire eastern Japan might be lost.  Chilling.

[...]

In June, [Banri Kaieda, the industry minister during the early stages of the Fukushima nuclear accident,] declared that nuclear power plants were safe and said he would approve the restarts of nuclear power plants, with the exception of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.


But [yesterday May 17, 2012] he told the Diet investigation panel that he did not believe all plants were problem-free, partly because reactors degenerate due to neutron radiation.


Still, he defended his decision to allow operations to resume at nuclear plants, saying he had a “role to play as industry minister.”
[...]
Kaieda said on May 17 that [Tepco Chairman Tsunehisa] Shimizu told him on the phone that TEPCO would evacuate from the Fukushima No. 1 plant to the Fukushima No. 2 plant. [...]
Kaieda asked industry ministry officials what would happen if all TEPCO employees deserted the plant. Kaieda said he was told: “It would be disastrous because not only the No. 1 to No. 4 reactors but also the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors would explode.”


Kaieda then discussed the issue with other Cabinet ministers who were at the prime minister’s office. He said they reached the conclusion: “A (total) withdrawal would lead to a disaster, in which the entire eastern Japan might be lost. We have to ask workers at the plant to hang in there although we feel sorry for them.”
[...]
There.  He admitted he lied, and said TEPCO feels sorry for the workers.  Don't you feel better now?

First Day With The New Hands, Hans?

Stupid, klutzy Germans, makin' my taint hurt..  Apocalypse now? German drops Mayan magical skull owned by Himmler... and it could mark the end of the world on 21-12-12  The Daily Mail UK.  Excerpts:

If the world ends on December 21, blame a German butterfingers who dropped a volcanic rock skull once owned by SS overlord Heinrich Himmler in his laboratory this week.



According to legend, the Mayan skull, which was stolen from Tibet by the Nazis and imbued for believers with magical powers to enable mankind to survive an apocalypse, fell and chipped during a photo shoot.


For some, this is a catastrophe that foretells the end of the world, but others advise us to keep calm and carry on.


Apocalypse soon: For some, ancient Mayan calculations indicate the world will end on December 21, 2012


'It was probably put down somewhere a bit wobbly,' an eyewitness told a German newspaper.
 'Suddenly it crashed to the floor. A big piece broke off the chin. It's really tragic.'


Thomas Ritter, an historian who owns the skull, said it was given to him by the family of a former British soldier present at the 1945 arrest of Himmler, who ran the Gestapo, the SS and the extermination programme which murdered six million Jews.


He added that he believed its accident wouldn't 'anger the Gods' and that the world will still be turning on December 22.


The skull is 1,000 years old and one of the legendary Mayan skulls that belonged to the lost, ancient race of Mexico, which were said to be infused with magical powers.


The 3lb skull is made of volcanic rock and, according to Ritter, was seized by SS men sent on an expedition to Tibet between 1937 and 1939 to look for the lost city of Shangri-La.


Ritter said: 'The Nazis were convinced that 13 such skulls existed and that whoever owned them would have control of the world.'


Himmler died on May 23, 1945 using a poison capsule hidden in his mouth to take his life.

88 - Neuschwabenland, the Last German Colony   Fictional figment, overstated importance, the last Nazi bulkhead?
The first sentence of this post is an homage to a very talented teller of stories, my friend Kirk  That anecdote changed my life!  Thank you for that, bub..

The Latest Popo Info..

Volcanic debris from Popocatepetl volcano closes Mexico airport.  Terra Daily via  The Extinction Protocol.  Excerpts:

Ashes from Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano forced officials to close the airport in nearby Puebla for some 14 hours, to allow for cleanup after it spewed out heaps of ash and rock. The Puebla International Airport was able to reopen Wednesday after dozens of workers cleared its runways of volcanic ash that posed a risk to departing and arriving aircraft, said officials. The airport’s closing caused just one cancellation, a flight to Houston, Texas early Wednesday, said Puebla’s civil protection director Jesus Morales. Since Popocatepetl came to life several weeks ago, it has spewed gas and glowing rock as much as one mile (1.6 kilometers) beyond its crater, and has intermittently belched out water vapor and ash.
..
The city of Puebla lies in the shadow of the volcano about 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the federal capital Mexico City. The country’s second highest peak, Popocatepetl, means ‘smoking mountain’ in the indigenous Nahuatl language.


The distance between Popocatepetl and Mexico city is 43 miles, so the airport was about eight miles away.  This was just a burp, but volcanic activity is increasing.  Continuing..

Even More Nuclear Hotness, Or: Thanks Again, Japan! Again!

C'mon Japan;  pull it together.  You've already had your share of radioactive shenanigans.  Course correct, please..  Maybe you could try affirmations on your mirror..  Something about not killing the world with negligent nuclear use and storage practices might be a big help..  "I'm Japan!  People like me!  I can and will  handle nuclear substances safely!"

Update on Petrochemical Complex Fire: 2nd Explosion in the Morning of April 22, Depleted Uranium Containers Safe  In the nuclear fashion world, Depleted Uranium is the new Plutonium!  EX-SKF.  Excerpts:

FNN News says there are about 3,400 containers of depleted uranium at the plant, but according to Mitsui Chemical there is no damage to the containers.

From the original report..

(UPDATED) Explosion at Petrochemical Complex in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Radioactive Waste Stored at the Complex

Mitsui Chemical's petroleum complex in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture had an explosion and a fire at about 2:20 AM on April 22, 2012, according to Yomiuri Shinbun (4/22/2012). Several people were injured, and window glass broken in wide areas.


Someone on Twitter has dug up information from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that lists companies that have radioactive waste on the premise. Mitsui Chemical's complex in Yamaguchi Prefecture is one of them. According to the MEXT data from 2009, the complex has 3,379 containers of nuclear waste.

Mitsui Chemical:  Your new choice for nuclear slapstick.