Falling Space Junk

Huge Defunct Satellite to Plunge to Earth Soon, NASA Says From Space.com. Excerpts:


Heads up! That's the word from NASA today (Sept. 7) given the impending re-entry of a 6.5-ton satellite through Earth's atmosphere.
The huge Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere in an uncontrolled fall in late September or early October. Much of the spacecraft is expected to burn up during re-entry, but some pieces are expected to make it intact to the ground, NASA officials said.

The U.S. space agency will be taking measures to inform the public about the pieces of the spacecraft that are expected to survive re-entry.


Well, thanks for that, NASA.  I'm gonna go buy a helmet.

Clone, Robot, Or Long Lost Twin? Takin' All Bets!

Clearly, one is much more cartoon-y and hilarious, and one is an actual cartoon character.  Tragically, it's the cartoon character who stays true to his convictions, and is, quite possibly, smarter than his non-animated counterpart. 

Not to be out done, Romney continues his transition to caricature every time he speaks, so we've got that to look forward to..  Thanks, Mitt.  In these tough times, sometimes all we have are the laughs you give us.  Corporations are people?  That's comedy gold, my friend..

I'm Expanding The Lighter Portions Of My Postings.

Not that the doom is any less important or urgent, but I need to temper my immersion with lighter fare.  So don't be surprised to see more music and maybe some comedy clips.  Music and laughter are important right now.  Our collective circumstance remains the same, and it'll be there when you get back.  So make some time for quality time with your headphones.  Make some time to laugh.  Let it all go for five minutes.  Then, maybe, another five.. 

Here's some music I picked especially for you..

And some comedy, too..

Despite The Ongoing Efforts To Cover Up The Scope Of The Disasters, New Videos Prove That All Is Not Well At Fukushima … Or The BP Oil Spill Site

Brought to you by the Liberal Media.  Ahh, Boink!  There IS NO Liberal Media!  From Washington's Blog.

As they are changing web addresses, the videos might not come up with the link.  Just in case, here they are. 

Two catastrophes, both with Global Implications, occurring simultaneously, both essentially unhindered by anyone, putting the entire planet in peril:  What's Newsworthy in that? 

Yup.  This is totally "Universe B."  No doubt.

Big UFO’s Formation at Night over Denver Colorado – Sep 5, 2011

From The Truth Behind The Scenes.  Compelling videos.  Whether it's Time Traveling, Dimensional bleedthrough, Military something or other, or old fashioned UFO's, something(plural as singular) is happening above us. 

It's probably not good to form concrete beliefs as to what will come.  This probably won't turn out the way any of us might think it will.  Remain Mentally Flexible.  Remember to Tuck and Roll.  And of course, continue to Look Up.

Electrified Bacterial Filaments Remove Uranium from Groundwater

From Scientific American.  Found it on Godlike Productions.  Thank you!  Excerpts:

Hair-like filaments called pili enable some bacteria to remove uranium from contaminated groundwater. The discovery, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could aid in the development of radioactivity clean-up technologies.



Some bacteria, including a species called Geobacter sulfurreducens, are known to get their energy from reducing — or adding electrons to — metals in the environment. When uranium dissolved in groundwater is reduced in this way, the metal becomes much less soluble, reducing the spread of contamination.

Researchers have been trying to find out how the process works. They suspected that the pili might be the answer, but because G. sulfurreducens produces pili only in certain environments, the process has proved tricky to study.
..
Reguera and her team were then able to show that the pili greatly increase the amount of uranium that G. sulfurreducens is able to remove. Without pili, the bacterium reduces uranium within the cell envelope, but this poisons the cell in the process. When pili are present, however, most of the precipitation occurs around the pili, which extend away from the cell. This provides a greater surface area for electron transfer, say the researchers, as well as keeping the radioactive uranium at a safe distance.

I don't mean to hurry you Scientifical types, but we got a little thing happenin' here, and we could use a whole lot of hair like filaments right about now..

Neon Indian-Soundtrack For The Infinite NOW..

So you might say to me(maybe; you never know):  "Hey Man!  Where can I find the killer, trippy, poppy, fun dance music I'm so needing at just this moment in my life?"  To which I'd say:  "Look no further!"

Yeah.  That's exactly what I'd say.

Enson Inoue Reveals Covert Trip to Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

What a strange and amazing story this has turned into!  On August 28th, this guy shows up on the Fukushima live cam, prompting speculation about who he was, what he was doing, and what message he was trying to convey(Be sure to read the comments at the link.).  Turns out, he wasn't a TEPCO employee, but Mixed Martial Arts Champion turned Real-Life Superhero Enson Inoue. 

Inoue has traveled to the Fukushima quake/tsunami zone nine times, feeding stray animals, visiting evacuees, and spending his own money to buy them much needed supplies.  He also made the acquaintance of a contractor working at the plant, and snuck in with a driver and another friend.  And, evidently, made his way to the front of the live cam.  And this visit is not at all the focus or purpose of his visits.  Check out his video diary of his experiences.  The magnitude of the earthquake/tsunami's devestation becomes clearer through his observations, and through his reactions to miles upon miles of the destroying event's aftermath.

To finance his efforts, he makes and sells some really nice bracelets on his site here.  Enson Inoue is my new hero.  He had fame and money.  He didn't have to do anything other than live his Rich Athlete Lifestyle.  Yet, he's chosen to give of himself in ways most of us would not even consider.  His example is a light in these darkest of times.  Thank you, Mr. Inoue, for choosing your chosen path.

Hurricane Katia is not a problem, future Maria will be and she is right behind her

From Kevin Martin's The Weather Space.  After following his predictions for several years through posts on Godlike, I can tell you that Kevin's not like the other Meteorologists:  He's better.  Let's hope he's wrong, but go ahead and pay attention, anyway.  Ok?  Thanks.

Big Doin's Afoot..

Turkey expels Israeli ambassador, suspends military ties with Israel over flotilla raid  Tick.  Washington Post.  Excerpts:

Turkey says it is expelling the Israeli ambassador and cutting military ties with Israel over the country’s refusal to apologize for last year’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

And:

Davutoglu also said Turkey was suspending all military agreements signed between the former allies, saying “it is time Israel pays a price.”

This is not a positive turn of events.

New evidence of a massive oil slick near Deepwater Horizon site   Story and video from Raw Story.  Excerpts:

A California nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of wildlife has discovered what seems to be a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico near the area of the original Deepwater Horizon spill.

In a flight over the Gulf Tuesday, OnWingsOfCare.org founder and pilot Dr. Bonny Schumaker spotted an oil slick that stretched for nearly 10 miles.

Last week, two Louisiana State University men took a boat into the Gulf and returned with video evidence of large blooms of crude oil swelling up to the water’s surface where the doomed oil rig once hovered.

BP had firmly denied that the well is continuing to leak.

“None of this is true,” they said in a statement.

New Data Supports Previous Fairewinds Analysis, as Contamination Spreads in Japan and Worldwide  The latest video from Arnie Gundersen.  From accompanying article:

Newly released neutron data from three University of California San Diego scientists confirms Fairewinds' April analysis that the nuclear core at Fukushima Daiichi turned on and off after TEPCO claimed its reactors had been shutdown. This periodic nuclear chain reaction (inadvertent criticality) continued to contaminate the surrounding environment and upper atmosphere with large doses of radioactivity.

In a second area of concern, Fairewinds disagrees the NRC's latest report claiming that all Fukushima spent fuel pools had no problems following the earthquake. In a new revelation, the NRC claims that the plutonium found more than 1 mile offsite actually came from inside the nuclear reactors. If such a statement were true, it indicates that the nuclear power plant containments failed and were breached with debris landing far from the power plants themselves.

..

Third, the burning of radioactive materials (building materials, trees, lawn grass, rice straw) by the Japanese government will cause radioactive Cesium to spread even further into areas within Japan that have been previously clean, and across the Pacific Ocean to North America.

Burning contaminated materials.  What could possibly go wrong?  Fukushima:  37 degrees North Latitude.  Southern Missouri:  36 degrees North Latitude.  Being globally down wind from Fukushima is awesome.

The Imminent Failure Of The Eurozone Excerpts from Zero Hedge.

Japan, and the E.U. are declining. That is, about one-sixth of the world's population is losing ground. These big economies are the ones that lead the rest of the world, including China. Countries like China, India, and Brazil, depend on the health of the big economies to keep buying their products and commodities so they can grow and generate wealth for their citizens.

What is especially concerning is the blow-up that is about to happen in Europe. It is not something that is happening "over there." In a world that is so interconnected financially and by trade, a sinking Europe is everyone's concern.

Their problems are much the same as ours with a twist. Their governments and central banks have also pursued reckless monetary and fiscal policies and now, effect is following cause. They have more or less followed the same policies as has the U.S., much to the same end. They spent large, engaged in Keynesian fiscal stimulus in a bailout attempt, ran up huge debts and deficits, and their economies are in decline.

The twist is the European Monetary Union (EMU), known as the eurozone. It is as if here in the U.S. there was no federal government and each state was truly sovereign, but there was a Federal Reserve Bank. Some states spend more than others, funding deficits by borrowing huge sums to support programs their citizens wanted. The profligate states want the Fed to buy their debt and float them loans created out of thin air, or otherwise they will go belly up and they will take down many states' banks. The responsible states know they will be stuck with the bill.

Even Goldman Sachs Secretly Believes That An Economic Collapse Is Coming  Before It's News.  Excerpts:

Goldman Sachs is doing it again. Goldman is telling the public that everything is going to be just fine, but meanwhile they are advising their top clients to bet on a huge financial collapse. On August 16th, a 54 page report authored by Goldman strategist Alan Brazil was distributed to institutional clients. The general public was not intended to see this report. Fortunately, some folks over at the Wall Street Journal got their hands on a copy and they have filled us in on some of the details.

It turns out that Goldman Sachs secretly believes that an economic collapse is coming, and they have some very interesting ideas about how to make money in the turbulent financial environment that we will soon be entering. In the report, Brazil says that the U.S. debt problem cannot be solved with more debt, that the European sovereign debt crisis is going to get even worse and that there are large numbers of financial institutions in Europe that are on the verge of collapse. If this is what people at the highest levels of the financial world are talking about, perhaps we should all start paying attention.

There is a tremendous amount of fear in the global financial community right now. As I wrote about the other day, the financial world is about to hit the panic button. Things could start falling apart at any time. Most of these big banks will not admit how bad things are publicly, but privately there is a whole lot of freaking out going on.

I don't know about anyone else, but all this Big Picture Doom is actually having the opposite effect.  The closer we get to whatever will ultimately happen, the calmer I get.  Strange, but much much emotionally lighter, that's for sure..  Have a great weekend.

Massive Wave Of Lawsuits To Be Filed By The US Against America's Biggest Banks As Soon As Tomorrow

War were declared.  From Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:

In a move that could either send BAC stock limit down overnight or send it soaring (we are still trying to figure out just what is going on here), the NYT has broken major news that the US is preparing to go nuclear on more than a dozen big banks among which Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, in an attempt for Fannie and Freddie to recoup $30 billion if not much more. The lawsuit is expected to hit the docket in the next few days: "The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims." Now, taken at face value, this would mean that Bank of America can kiss its ass goodbye as unlike the Walnut Place litigation, this will take place in Federal Court where Article 77 is not applicable. Yet there is something that gives us pause: namely logic, captured by the following words: "While I believe that F.H.F.A. is acting responsibly in its role as conservator, I am afraid that we risk pushing these guys off of a cliff and we’re going to have to bail out the banks again,” said Tim Rood, who worked at Fannie Mae until 2006 and is now a partner at the Collingwood Group, which advises banks and servicers on housing-related issues." In other words: if the banks are sued, and if justice prevails, the end of the world is nigh and cue TARP 2 - XXX. Now where have we heard that argument over, and over, and over before.

And:

Bottom line: the gloves are coming off, and while we want to believe that this is the final nail in BAC's coffin (Quinn Emanuel is counsel for the FHFA), we do have a nagging feeling that the US will not purposefully do everything in its power to destroy its banking sector.

This feels like most of the real action here is currently and will continue to be Back-Channel, without fanfare, yet momentous, and then, finally, announced or disclosed, without further comment.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Radiation Above Chernobyl Evacuation Limits Found In Tokyo  Video from Russia Today via You Tube.

Warning To U.S. - Japan To Burn Radioactive Debris - Gunderson  This sounds like a great idea.  Video from Fairewinds via Before It's News.

Small earthquake swarm detected at Iceland’s Katla volcano

NASA’s Red X: Why Does It Come Up In A ‘Comet Elenin’ Search?

UFO Sightings in Bronx NY on Aug 26, 2011

Government crackdown in Syria widens- more deaths reported as violence escalates

August 27, 2011

Gandhi on ending injustice: Speak the truth because Truth is God

Fukushima Cesium Leaks 'Equal 168 Hiroshimas'

"Medicinal marijuana oil made from cannabis buds, when ingested thrice daily, for two months, will destroy leukemia and cancer cells.  Here is just one study which shows the results:"

Only 2% of welfare applicants in Florida failed drug tests 

Mysterious apocalyptic sounds are being heard around the world

Leonor Exploring Libyan Archeology - Leptis Magna

Scientists: Oil fouling Gulf matches Deepwater Horizon well (photo gallery, video)  Recent history repeats..

UFO Over Motorway In Broad Daylight

Sighting close to the spot where 'freaked out' BBC reporter saw 'craft'  From The Sun.  Check out the video. 

They comin'!

They comin'!

They comin'!

Japan Update, August 19, 2011

Fukushima radiation alarms doctors  Al-Jazeera  Found it on Godlike Productions.  Excerpts:

Scientists and doctors are calling for a new national policy in Japan that mandates the testing of food, soil, water, and the air for radioactivity still being emitted from Fukushima's heavily damaged Daiichi nuclear power plant.

"How much radioactive materials have been released from the plant?" asked Dr Tatsuhiko Kodama, a professor at the Research Centre for Advanced Science and Technology and Director of the University of Tokyo's Radioisotope Centre, in a July 27 speech to the Committee of Health, Labour and Welfare at Japan's House of Representatives.

"The government and TEPCO have not reported the total amount of the released radioactivity yet," said Kodama, who believes things are far worse than even the recent detection of extremely high radiation levels at the plant.

There is widespread concern in Japan about a general lack of government monitoring for radiation, which has caused people to begin their own independent monitoring, which are also finding disturbingly high levels of radiation.

And:

Recent readings taken at the plant are alarming.

When on August 2nd readings of 10,000 millisieverts (10 sieverts) of radioactivity per hour were detected at the plant, Japan's science ministry said that level of dose is fatal to humans, and is enough radiation to kill a person within one to two weeks after the exposure.

10,000 millisieverts (mSv) is the equivalent of approximately 100,000 chest x-rays.

It is an amount 250 per cent higher than levels recorded at the plant in March after it was heavily damaged by the earthquake and ensuing tsunami.

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), that took the reading, used equipment to measure radiation from a distance, and was unable to ascertain the exact level because the device's maximum reading is only 10,000 mSv.

TEPCO also detected 1,000 millisieverts (mSv) per hour in debris outside the plant, as well as finding 4,000 mSv per hour inside one of the reactor buildings.

And:

Jyunichi Tokuyama, an expert with the Iwate Prefecture Agricultural and Fisheries Department, told Al Jazeera he did not know how to deal with the crisis. He was surprised because he did not expect radioactive hot spots in his prefecture, 300km from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

"The biggest cause of this contamination is the rice straw being fed to the cows, which was highly radioactive," Tokuyama told Al Jazeera.

Kamada feels the Japanese government is acting too slowly in response to the Fukushima disaster, and that the government needs to check radiation exposure levels "in each town and village" in Fukushima prefecture.

And:

More than 11,000 tonnes of radioactive water has been released into the ocean from the stricken plant.

"Those radioactive elements bio-concentrate in the algae, then the crustaceans eat that, which are eaten by small then big fish," Caldicott said. "That's why big fish have high concentrations of radioactivity and humans are at the top of the food chain, so we get the most radiation, ultimately."

Magnitude 6.3 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN  USGS.

Twi from Ex-SKF..

Radioactive Beef Conundrum: High Level Cesium Detected from Beef Not Fed with Radioactive Rice Hay

Oops. There goes the lifting of the shipping ban for Fukushima.

So where did the cow get the dose of radioactive cesium? Air? Water? No one knows, because everyone in the government and the producers have been looking only at radioactive rice hay.


From NHK News Japanese

 

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, radioactive cesium in the amount exceeding the national provisional limit has been detected from the beef from a cow raised in Fukushima Prefecture. This meat has been stored at a meat processing facility, and according to the investigation so far the cow was never fed the radioactive rice hay. The national government was going to lift the shipping ban on meat cows in Fukushima Prefecture today (August 19) but instead has instructed the Fukushima prefectural government to continue to halt shipping for the time being and conduct further investigation.

Now that they can't blame radioactive hay, what will they do?  What will those still in denial cling to?  People are starting to realize this monster is much, much bigger than they wanted to believe..

 

Another "Baseless Rumor": Cicadas in Japan This Summer Have Been Awfully Quiet

 

This is one of those bits of information that people in Japan have been exchanging on the social media since the beginning of summer: "I don't hear cicadas this year".

A typical summer in Japan is hot and humid (except in a few lucky places like Hokkaido), and the air is filled with the "singing" of cicadas.

But this year, people report that cicadas are either extremely quiet or totally silent in large part of Japan. The exception seems to be the Kansai area, but almost everywhere else people say they don't hear cicadas, and it's been a strangely quiet summer.

It is quite possible that it's been like that every year and people have started to pay heightened and nervous attention to the nature around them after the nuclear accident.

But some people have started to post the photos of cicadas they've found this summer. No wonder they don't "sing". Again, it is quite possible that cicadas in Japan have been malformed for a long time and people have just started to notice, and it's nothing to do with radiation.

Maybe, but they're probably related.

Hiroshima to Fukushima, Finishing the Job  Veterans Today via Rense.  Excerpts:

What’s more: the atomic reactors spilled their burning guts into the basements and there is evidence the melted reactor cores are still “reacting” 160 days out. Shutting them down is mostly just plain impossible. The burning, radioactive gates of hell are still open wide. Breathe deep everyone. Breathe your own poisoned Fuku tainted air.

I like articles like this as they make me feel less hyperbolic.  Good morning!

Japan Update, August 18, 2011

Cracked Fukushima: Radioactive steam escapes danger zone  Found it on Godlike Productions.  Video from Russia Today via You Tube.  Scary.

Fukushima I Nuke Plant Worker: No Steam Gushing From Cracks, But There Are Many 10-Plus Sieverts/Hr Locations  Ex-SKF.  Excerpts:

The anonymous Fukushima I Nuke Plant worker whom I featured before several times tweets on the information, yet to be substantiated, related by an independent journalist Kota Kinoshita on his blog on August 15. Mr. Kinoshita related the information only because he had heard the similar information from his government source.

What is that information? That there is steam gushing out of cracks on the ground, and that there are 6 locations that exceed 10 sieverts/hr radiation.

..

About locations that exceed 10 sieverts/hr:

In Mr. Kinoshita's blog:

[The same worker] also told [his contact] that there are 6 locations that exceed 10,000 millisievert/hr [10 sieverts/hr], unlike what TEPCO has announced.

Fukushima worker's tweet:

I think that is true. But those are the locations that have been measured. I think there are many more.

Mr. Kinoshita's blog has this bit of "rumor" from his worker at the plant

There are several cracks on the ground near the Containment Vessel, and the steam is coming out from them, not on a regular basis but sporadically.

Wait, does that mean the floor of the reactor building is cracked? He doesn't say which reactor.

And Fukushima worker has another tweet that says:

 

In the reactor buildings of Reactors 1, 2 and 3, there are many spots that measure even higher [than 10 sieverts/hr] and we can't go near them.

 

Now granted, this is speculation and hasn't been confirmed.  Keeping with TEPCO's previous information dribs and drabs, we should have confirmation when the Southern Hemisphere is thoroughly contaminated three to six months from now, long after the Upcoming Event..

Oil Rising from Macondo Well: BP Hires Fleet of 40 Shrimp Boats to Lay Boom Around Deepwater Horizon Site

From The Stuart Smith Blog.  British Petrolium's catastrophe:  The gift that keeps on giving--and by giving, I mean destroying..  And by gift, well, I'm just being a sarcastic dick.  Excerpts:

No, this isn’t a post from last year. Oil from the Macondo Well site is fouling the Gulf anew – and BP is scrambling to contain both the crude and the PR nightmare that waits in the wings. Reliable sources tell us that BP has hired 40 boats from Venice to Grand Isle to lay boom around the Deepwater Horizon site – located just 50 miles off the Louisiana coast. The fleet rushed to the scene late last week and worked through the weekend to contain what was becoming a massive slick at the site of the Macondo wellhead, which was officially “killed” back in September 2010.

The truly frightening part of this development, as reported in a previous post (see below), is the oil may be coming from cracks and fissures in the seafloor caused by the work BP did during its failed attempts to cap the runaway Macondo Well – and that type of leakage can’t be stopped, ever.

..

Fresh oil is surfacing all over the northern quadrant of the Gulf of Mexico. Reports of slicks that meander for miles and huge expanses of oil sheen that look like phantom islands are becoming common, again. Fresh oil, only slightly weathered, is washing ashore in areas hit hardest by last year’s massive spill, like Breton Island, Ship Island, the Chandeleurs and northern Barataria Bay. BP has reactivated its Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) program to handle cleanup.

..

The fifty-thousand-dollar question, of course, is where is all the new oil coming from?

One theory: The Macondo Well site, located just 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, is still leaking untold amounts of oil into the Gulf. Some argue that the casing on the capped well itself is leaking. Others believe oil is seeping through cracks and fissures in the seafloor caused by months of high-impact work on the site, including a range of recovery activities (some disclosed, some not) as well as the abortive “top kill” effort.

In January 2011, a prominent “geohazards specialist” wrote an urgent letter to two members of Congress..  suggesting that the Macondo site is leaking oil like a sieve.  Here’s an excerpt from that letter (see it in its entirety at link below):

There is no question that the oil seepages, gas columns, fissures and blowout craters in the seafloor around the Macondo wellhead… have been the direct result of indiscriminate drilling, grouting, injection of dispersant and other undisclosed recover activities. As the rogue well had not been successfully cemented and plugged at the base of the well by the relief wells, unknown quantities of hydrocarbons are still leaking out from the reservoir at high pressure and are seeping through multiple fault lines to the seabed. It is not possible to cap this oil leakage.

BK Lim, the letter’s author, has more than 30 years of experience working inside the oil and gas industry for companies like Shell, Petronas and Pearl Oil.

More from Mr. Lim’s letter:

The continuing hydrocarbon seepage would have long term, irreversible and potentially dire consequences in the GOM (Gulf of Mexico)…

 

The letter is dated Jan. 14, 2011 – and we’ve been seeing more and more evidence that the scenario Mr. Lim describes is indeed taking place deep below the Gulf’s surface.

There's more, but you get it..  Ahh, the Good Old Days of 2010, where all we had to worry about was a massive environmental tragedy, lackadaisical corporate response and responsibility, and invisible government intervention/action. 

It's good to see that we as a planet learned from our mistakes and everything turned out all right.

Possible Republican On Republican Vote Fraud? Won't Somebody Think Of The Children?

Bachmann Rigged Iowa Poll by Buying "At Least" 4000 Votes  If this is indicative of the upcoming 2012 nomination process, hang on!  The ride's gonna be fantastic, and really funny!  From Domas Jefferson.  Excerpts:

Bachmann, who finished with 4823 votes, narrowly beat second-place finisher Congressman Ron Paul who collected 4671 votes.

The Ames poll, although important because of the early significance of Iowa in the primaries, is nonbinding and unscientific.

AFP reported that "It has been criticized as playing too heavily in favor of candidates that are well financed, since their campaigns can buy the $30 tickets for their supporters to attend and presumably vote in their favor."

The Ames event was considered to be a Republican fundraiser, yet Bachmann's campaign bought and "handed out at least 4,000 free tickets to supporters."

Therefore, Bachmann appears to have rigged the vote at a minimum direct cost of $120,000 to her campaign. (The problem with this statement is there is no information comparing ticket purchases of other campaigns to Bachmann's.  I would field a guess, though, as to Ron Paul's supporters buying most, if not all their own tickets, without help from Paul's campaign.  But I don't know that for sure, as there is no information supporting my theory, or to the contrary, either..)

Another anomaly with the vote surfaced this morning when it was discovered that 218 votes went unaccounted for. In other words, these votes were in the overall tally but not registered to any of the candidates.

One would think the media would attempt to uncover the discrepancy given the razor thin 152-vote margin between Bachmann and Paul. However, so far, they've been content to call her the "queen" of the event.

Bonus:  When you click the link and read the whole article at the site, feast your eyes on what might be the funniest political photo I've ever seen. As long as Bachmann is in, we'll be getting these wonderful Kodak Moments, probably daily!  Bachmann deserves hilarity-based scorn not because she is a woman or a Tea Partier.  She is laughable because she is a clown and aggressively talky.  She can't help herself, and people can't help laughing.

The Republican Party could forever be written off as Criminally Insane, save for Ames' second choice(and possible/probable winner), Ron Paul.  The MSM narrative is "Ron Paul always wins straw polls, but can't win an election."  That was 2008, 2009, and 2010.  2011/12 might be different, as this could be the cycle where people realize Paul was right much more than he was wrong, and much more right than anyone else running in either 2008 or 2012. 

He is thoughtful, articulate, and honorable.  He is in no way a clown.  And, for the moment, he's second right out of the gate.  Hopefully, his message can be heard over the bleating and tomfoolery of the Bachmann ass clown posse.  We'll see, but I think it's gonna be a great trip down!

Top ten myths about introverts

From Carl King Creative via Above Top Secret.  Excerpts:

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

 

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.
 

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

 

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

 

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

 

Good list.  Check it out in its entirety.

Japan Update, August 12, 2011

Clusterfukushima  Washington's Blog.  Excerpts:

Arnie Gundersen notes that there are currently lethal radiation levels at Fukushima, that even higher measurements are to still come, and that the nuclear core has leaked out and is on floor like a pancake working its way down.

And nuclear regulators only thought about worst case scenarios only involving a single nuclear plant. They totally ignored the fact that power loss to complexes of nuclear reactors - like the cluster of 6 reactors at Fukushima - could lead to multiple simultaneous meltdowns.

And then there's a cluster of cover ups.

As the New York Times reports:

In interviews and public statements, some current and former government officials have admitted that Japanese authorities engaged in a pattern of withholding damaging information and denying facts of the nuclear disaster — in order, some of them said, to limit the size of costly and disruptive evacuations in land-scarce Japan and to avoid public questioning of the politically powerful nuclear industry. As the nuclear plant continues to release radiation, some of which has slipped into the nation’s food supply, public anger is growing at what many here see as an official campaign to play down the scope of the accident and the potential health risks.

And:

Meltdowns at three of Fukushima Daiichi’s six reactors went officially unacknowledged for months. In one of the most damning admissions, nuclear regulators said in early June that inspectors had found tellurium 132, which experts call telltale evidence of reactor meltdowns, a day after the tsunami — but did not tell the public for nearly three months. For months after the disaster, the government flip-flopped on the level of radiation permissible on school grounds, causing continuing confusion and anguish about the safety of schoolchildren here in Fukushima.

And:

The timing of many admissions ... suggested to critics that Japan’s nuclear establishment was coming clean only because it could no longer hide the scope of the accident.

Japan government prepares plan to flee Tokyo  ABC News (Australia) via Rense.  Excerpts:

Japan is considering the possibility of creating a back-up capital city in case a major natural disaster, like the March 11 earthquake, strikes Tokyo.

A new panel from Japan's Ministry of Land and Infrastructure will consider the possibility of moving some of Tokyo's capital functions to another big city, like Osaka.

Osaka it is, then.

Radioactive Beef Consumed in School Lunches in 296 Schools in 12 Prefectures in Japan  Ex-SKF.  Excerpts:

According to the ministry, as of August 9, the meat from the cows that may have eaten radioactive rice hay was used in school lunches in 278 elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, and special education schools, and 18 kindergartens, in 20 cities and towns in Japan. 127 schools in Yokohama City used it, so did 53 schools and kindergartens in Gifu City [in Gifu Prefecture], and 30 schools and kindergartens in 4 cities in Miyagi Prefecture. The schools are mostly located in eastern Japan, but 40 schools in 4 cities in Mie, Shimane, Kagawa Prefectures also used the meat.

30 schools were able to test the remaining meat, and radioactive materials were detected at 8 schools. Of the 8 schools, two schools - a special education school for students with disabilities in Miyagi Prefecture and an elementary school in Chiba, had the meat that exceeded the provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium), testing 1,293 to 649 becquerels/kg. The municipalities say the amount of contaminated beef per person is small, and it won't affect the health.

Japan's Foreign Minister: Stop Claiming Food is Safe  Japan Times via Before It's News.  Excerpts:

Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto has committed an about-face on policy by telling his ministry to refrain from vouching for the safety of Japanese food.

The ministry stance changed after radiation-tainted beef was found to have been sold to consumers nationwide, sources said.

The contaminated meat is coming from cattle that were fed rice straw contaminated with cesium isotopes ejected by the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Japanese Utilities Select Nuclear Power As Energy Of Future - Questions About The Integrity Of Japanese Officials - Safety is important but the advancement of nuclear power must not be slowed  Lucas Whitfield Hixson.  Comprehensive. 

Strong 5.9 quake jolts Japan disaster zone  Raw Story.  Excerpts:

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake shook northeast Japan Friday, jolting the area devastated by a quake and tsunami in March, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning.

The quake hit at 3:22 am (1822 GMT Thursday) at a depth of 38 kilometres (24 miles), with its epicentre 18 kilometres from Iwaki city in Fukushima prefecture, the United States Geological Survey said.

..

Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the crippled plant, said it had noticed no additional problems resulting from the latest quake, which also shook buildings in Tokyo.

Study says nuclear fuel at Fukushima reactor possibly melted twice  Mainichi Daily News.  Excerpts:

Fuel inside one of the reactors at the crippled nuclear complex in Fukushima Prefecture, which was believed to have been kept cool at the bottom of the pressure vessel after its core suffered a meltdown, has possibly breached the vessel after melting again at the bottom of the vessel, an expert's study showed Monday.

The study by Fumiya Tanabe, an expert in nuclear safety, said most of the fuel at the No. 3 reactor may have fallen into the containment vessel underneath, and if so, the current method used to cool the reactor would need reviewing, which could force the plant operator to revise its schedule to contain the five-month-old disaster.  (My how time flies when you're doomed!)

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. earlier said the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors' cores are assumed to have suffered meltdowns, although the melted fuel is believed to be kept cool and solidified at the bottom of each reactor pressure vessel after water was injected into the vessel as an emergency measure.