It is Friday night tomorrow, but I do not know how much fun we can have with all the news coming down (covered below). Requests always welcomed though.
Short post as there is too much going on and I want to follow things this evening.
On Japan
I have no special understanding of the issues involved at the troubled nuclear plant. My feeling is that if something was going to happen, and I mean worse than what already has, it would have happened by now. Let's hope the new power line can be in place so that the material can be controlled.
What about the earthquake and tsunami damage? While all the talk has been about how Japan will rebuild and how they will pay for it (No one wondered about Haiti for some reason..) not much sympathy has been shown for the stoic Japanese people. I cannot fathom what it feels like. One minute you live on the sea and all is well and the next the earth moves and the ocean becomes an enraged force that sweeps your town, your friends, your family out to sea, never to be seen again. Find words for that.
No Fly Zone Resolution
Tonight the UN which usually cannot authorize stopping genocide (Rwanda has no oil I guess) somehow found a way to pass a resolution authorizing a "No Fly Zone" over Libya.
It is not clear as yet who will be doing the enforcing, this Wall Street Journal article was thin on details (understandable) but there was this section which is a little strange for a No Fly Zone:
Options included using cruise missiles to take out fixed Libyan military sites and air-defense systems, according to these officials. Manned and unmanned aircraft could also be used against Col. Gadhafi's tanks, personnel carriers and infantry positions, with sorties being flown out of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in the southern Mediterranean.Did not know tanks could fly.
Conflict is always dangerous for the known and unknown. I have mixed feelings on this. I would like to see Gadhafi go, but where does it end? I would like to see more British and French forces in on this and not just a US show. We shall see what happens but this is very serious and deserves your attention.
Right now the Japan disaster is consuming the news speak and headlines, and rightly so. Libya will now command attention when bombs start dropping. Ok. It is at times like this that sneaky, nasty players like Russia, China, and especially Iran like to make some kind of major move, going quiet and unnoticed. These are dangerous times.
Saint Patrick's Day
Just load it and go:
Have a good night.
I just wanted to have one comment.
ReplyDeletehey, here's 2. BTW on japan, they are flailing terribly. Noone questions their bravery - but the utilities organization and ability to respond to emergencies is a mess. Potentially incompetent - along with the government, who did not set up an emergency command center until Wednesday. Understand the disaster was so big that it was boggling, but the Japanese Nuclear Agency not having a command center for 5 days? And why have they not brought every portable gen set and cable reel to the site? They seem to be waiting for a new power line to be run...for which they will need transformers etc. (which could be damaged). Portable generators can produce voltage at the level of the motors to be driven in-plant w/o needing additional transformers. Which is no guarantee that anything works inside those plants due to mechanical damage, fuel melting, etc. About the one positive thing that can be said was they got one of U6's emergency diesels running and they say they are supplying power to U5 and U6. This hopefully can be used to recharge batteries, get spent fuel pool cooling going and at least reduce this down to 4 plants. This is not to throw rocks at them, but to point out the obvious, which is that they are flailing badly. The water drops were a joke. I saw someone comment today that it was better than nothing. Ridiculous and stupid comment - it was nothing and could never be more than nothing due to the volume of water needed, the fact that it has to collect in the spent fuel pool - and it won't do a damn thing to cool the reactors. It did manage to expose pilots to rad dose though. They'd have been better off trying to drop a hose into the cavity and connecting other end to a pump sucking on the ocean. And why were fireman standing there guiding hoses and picking up dose (causing them to have to back out?) There are simple apparatus available to put the hose in place once it is aimed how you want it. Then they could back off to a low dose area. They even had to bring in a ladder truck later to get flow higher up. Which tells me noone told the firemen how high they had to spray the water. WTF are these people doing. I feel sorrow for these workers desparately trying to hold things together w/ apparently incompetent leadership. That pisses me and is what should piss off anyone else that cares. -- gravestone
ReplyDeleteI'm not too worried about a meltdown at a nuclear plant. That can be dealt with rather easily. But people freak out when they hear nuclear meltdown, which is what is happening. And the media panic mongering isn't helping much.
ReplyDeleteI'm far more concerned about the loss of power and the disruption of utilities and delivery services. We're talking about millions of people who need electricity, food, water, medicine, sewage. This disaster is far from over, and the loss of life will be horrific.
You're right about sneaky, nasty players positioning themselves to take advantage of the situation. But it doesn't come from this disaster. It comes from a total lack of American leadership.
We're in for a rough couple of years. The repercussions of this event and others will have long lasting effects that have yet to unfold.
For Friday Night Entertainment, I recommend Bob Dylan, "Shelter From the Storm," at the Hard Rain concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsyqQmnI0gc
Thanks Gravestone. You do have the creditials on this, so I appreciate the comment.
ReplyDeleteHey gawains,
I agree things are not being thought about right now in a longer term sense.
Hey! this video looks good. wonder what video cam you used ;) just wondrin...
ReplyDeleteextenze