Bone People: Are we just along for the Ride ?

At Incoming Bytes  we're interested in everything  even though alternative energy, politics and elections,  the Arab world's self-destruction  and the recent horrific natural  disasters seem to demand attention  at times.

In spite of all of those tragic and ongoing occurrences,  including the Canadian Federal election,  we still like to THINK and ponder  the unknown,   delight in " the universe",   contemplate  "things we've never seen before"   and examine all things unusual.

So, for the curious, here is something new and different to ponder. It has nothing to do with Japan,   radiation, politicos,   elections,  big oil,  or alternative energy.

It is a simple piece of bone, and it's really old.  You'll see why.  It made me wonder.  Is this totally alien?  A dinosaur bone?   Alien means  just means  'unknown', for the record -- I don't have any intention of pretending  it's   related to E.T.  who wanted to phone home ,  or a bone from an  " IncomingBytusichtyosaur"  .  Maybe  we'll have to invent a name for it, who knows?

Will this be the piece of  bone to reveal that on this earth, are we just along for the ride? 
                                                                                                                                   Some time back in 2006  I  was digging a  hole and discovered an  "unusual"  piece of bone.  It really  is unlike anything I've ever seen.   It was found SEALED in undisturbed,  wet reddish clay, sealed perfectly, at a depth of about two feet in soil that has never been cultivated or disturbed.

Maybe it's been there for centuries.
  As you can see in the photo  it is the same colour as the clay,  it was DRY  but  but has since dried out even more.   In this photo, it is shown at  about  3/4 of life-size, and this photo was taken a couple of days after the clay was washed off.    It lacks symmetry and is unlike anything I've ever seen.

Unidentified Bone found in wet clay  (c)2006 r.a. kukkee 

One of the very interesting things about this artifact is that it displays what looks like  osteoporosis  in some areas.  Osteoporosis  is the loss of calcium and mineral, resulting in a   porous, sponge-like bone,  showing many tiny holes from the surface

Some people suggest that only human beings have osteoporosis.  

Maybe that's a clue, or maybe that concept is just debatable. After all, animal bones have calcium in them too.


The visible  marks  on the bone in this picture were found after the clay was washed off.  The visible hole is not mechanically made, but natural, and  round, as are the  smaller,  peripheral holes. The holes  are  neatly chamfered, as opposed to having sharp edges.

This is what the UNDERSIDE looks like,  it has been sitting on the bookshelf for some time,  see the natural colour now ?

Unidentified bone  underside   c 2011  r.a. kukkee

 This is a side view,   notice the sponge-like appearance of the bone.

This view shows more osteoporosis, and the protruding side.  Where a limb connects, we assume ?  All paleontologists  and bone people are invited to comment.

Here's a shot  of  the edge. 

edge--Unidentified bone c 2011 r.a. kukkee

AND another top view  on the shelf.

Unidentified bone c2011  r.a.kukkee

So, PEOPLE,,,,,,any guesses?  Comments?  Know what it is?  

All I know is that it's a cool bone, and I know it's OLD.  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Four Questions? Unbelievable Playground

(c)2011 r.a. kukkee

May 2nd approaches .  With the Canadian Federal election and campaigns in full swing, it is not surprising to see the playground empty. It is not  surprising to see, but difficult to understand  why any leader of any honest political party would  reasonably find it necessary to  "limit" reporters to FOUR questions a day. 

Four questions that are supposed to provide  enough "answers"  that will in turn somehow magically convince 34,000,000 election-exhausted  Canadians that a Conservative majority is deserved after a  problematic minority? 

Would a majority Liberal government be any better?

 Think about it.   We're more than  a bit skeptical.

Is the "Opposition" any better out on the campaign trail?  You guess.   

Here at Incoming Bytes, everyone is allowed to draw their own  opinion at will,  but  the majority of  election-savvy Canadians recognize  that campaigns are artificial events designed to deceive.     This is not just a policy to make an already tightly-scripted,  memorized,  highly-controlled plastic campaign  more effective,  but rather to  guard the fort and keep the  hidden agenda hidden more effectively, so please....the electorate does know better.

All Canadians know that such tools are  official  Party Muzzles  for ANY  politician that is almost guaranteed to make a mistake when tired,   grab someone by the throat,  stutter,  stammer, stammer a horrible gaffe , blow a line, promise the sky,  slobber all over the baby,  say the wrong thing,  stumble into enemy territory, insert both feet into  the foaming mouth, ---and  thereby throw  the "perfect"  political  campaign  off track, out into space, --or more likely,  as we commonly observe,   bury it  up to the hips in  the inevitable pile of crumpets out behind the horse barn. 

Such are political campaigns, nice try, boys.... but they do NOTHING to answer  REAL questions.  Funny,  the truth always comes out. 

We have questions. Real ones.  Not "approved" by the event organizer, changed to suit the campaign manager, or tweaked for an optimal  photo op.

• Just who IS stealing the election here?
•  Who tried to create a coalition in 2004 and is pretending otherwise?
•  Who has the WORST attendance record in parliament? 
• Does ANYONE deserve a majority? 
• Which Political party has NOT been scandalized or corrupted in the last 40 years?
• Who has told the most blatant, willful lies?
• Who has made the most inflated  promises, knowing full well they can not be kept?
• Who is buying the Canadian electorate with their own money? 
• Why do we still have a Senate which does nothing but cost taxpayers more every year? 
• Why are corrupt politicians allowed to collect fat Senate pensions?
•  Why is a  treasonous, regional separatist  party allowed to sit in our House of Commons ? 
•  Why are Canadians subsidizing petroleum companies when consumers are being gouged and gasoline is over $6.00/ gallon?
• Why are we exporting oil to the U.S. of A.  that has it's own GIGANTIC shale oil reserves? 
• Why are Canadian taxpayers subsidizing the oil sands to export that same oil to the USA ? 
• Why are Seniors in Canada forced to live below the poverty level?
• Why are Canadian troops still in Afghanistan? 
• Why are we buying  $150M per copy F35's  with  no engines?  
• Why did we spend a BILLION dollars on the G-20 summit? 
• Who is INTENT on gutting Canada's universal health care system-- perhaps the best health in the world? 
• Why should Canadians  possibly believe a "majority" would do any better, or more honest ?
•  Why is "fear-mongering" being used instead of common sense and logic? 
• Where are YOU taking OUR Canada??

OOPS.....that's more than four questions ----in  less than five minutes, ...imagine that.  hm.................What are we going to do for the REST of the campaign ? 

Let's face it,  in any political forum,  four questions a day doesn't cut it,,,,,,period.

Let's  cut the bull and call it what it really is,  a canned, memorized campaign  intended to  numb the minds of the election-weary electorate so REAL issues will never be addressed.   

Sadly,  it is clear that Canadians have a right to be skeptical.   Canadians have a right to a better, more responsible and more honest government.   
Get out in the playground and provide some good, honest governance, that's what you're being PAID to do. 

I know one thing; as a skeptical  Canadian voter I  have no intention to vote for "the dishonest". 

That's my opinion  and I'm sticking to it. 

Campaign 2011: Off to the Races...and ( yawn.....)

After some minor distractions, we at Incoming Bytes  are once again compelled to discover that the political campaigns in Canada's election are in full swing. The fact is, nothing exciting has happened.  An election?  Really??

The campaigns are already  half over, so now what ?  Nothing is new, or different,  but should we expect it to be?  The Canadian electorate has a right to be skeptical. 


The glorious  "Corporate-Approved"  television debate was held  sans Elizabeth May,  the Green Party leader,  but that didn't seem to make any difference;  the one-on-one's were not exciting anyway,  the counter-attacks were bland to non-existent,  overall, it was dull and  yawn-worthy;   the participants performed much as were expected.  

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Conservative (minority) leader now wants a majority and is offering the saving of Canada from the coalition  and the separatists  and other terrible probabilities,   and is  insisting a majority will result in better government too.
But will it?  Not likely. Is anyone  really convinced?  Isn't that fear-mongering?  It doesn't work. 

Michael Ignatieff, the intellect PM  wannabe  poo-poos the idea of a Conservative majority, saying that Harper et al  cannot be trusted.  He's probably right, for  although all politicians seem trustworthy while campaigning,  no politicians can be trusted once they are ELECTED.  There is a subtle difference.   The Liberal  fortunes in this election are questionable. Polls aren't being nice..that's it.
 
The question the electorate  really should be asking is:
  " WHO can be trusted?"  

The answer must be " Nobody" ;  --and certainly not a "Michael Ignatieff Liberal " government either. 

Liberals promised  to protect Canada's Universal Health Care system--   (well, doesn't EVERYBODY  PROMISE ? )  --but previous Liberal Governments reportedly hijacked a stash of cash from health care and  U I  to help defeat the deficit back in Paul Martin /Chretien days, balance the budget, play games,  fun for all was had, --downloading costs to the provincial governments.  Private clinics seem to be  encouraged,  popping up here and there....how cute.  

The thin edge of ( the USA  private  health care health-care-only for money system )  wedge was smacked into the skulls of Canadians ...imagine that.  Shall we trust Iggy? No.  Shall we trust Stephen, who is on record as being pro-private enterprise in the field of health ?   No.
 
     There is little wonder  Gilles Duceppe and the BLOC  Quebecois  plunk themselves down in plush leather chairs  located in our Federal  House of Commons,  the better to keep an eye on federal scoundrels. 

  Nice office....  C'mon, Gilles,,, you got into the debate as a  special interest representative,  throwing red herrings  around left and right, confusing the issue,   so why can't  you spread candidates far and wide across Canada so you would be a REAL Federal political party, and  some people might even be tempted to vote for you?   What's the matter,  you afraid of losing ?     We think so, but  in the Big Bloc book,  it's better to sit and whine, isn't it, and NEVER have to actually prove you have a better idea, a better system.   Right.  Form your own country.   Ever heard of: 
  "Those who flee oppression oft' flee to oppression of their own?"  
Stranger things have happened.  What if  Gilles did win a majority?    

     Being on location in Ottawa all the time,  the Bloc  can complain, promote the removal of not only Federal  funds,  by blackmail or otherwise, but  help  malcontents,  even encourage in-house  traitors  to  remove the very Province of Quebec itself from Canada..
....*alas..  Gilles and Co. are always content to decorate debates,  sit on comfy  leather, complain,  and  threaten  another referendum.   

A  few tries later later  Gilles has discovered it's quite a lot of  fun and  more profitable  to blackmail Ottawa for big bucks and keep milking the glorious and generous Canadian Cow. 
Imagine that.  No fear of  majority a la Gilles.

It seems that Jack Layton, the New Democratic leader, unhindered by his recent surgery and EXCELLENT medical treatments via the  Universal Canadian Health system  has recovered quite nicely ---whether it was a real hip replacement or not.....or  just a little bit of metal, they say, not a real hip replacement, no matter what sis  said.  Just a slight family misunderstanding, it was. 


Everyone says Jack did very well in the "official debates" ....and  he continues to travel the country, recovering, shaking hands,   smiling and laughing...and progressing surprisingly well in the polls too.  Go figure. The Liberals  and  Michael are nervous, not surprisingly.



As for Elizabeth May, being excluded from the debate doesn't seem to have harmed her positive  attitude  at all. She hasn't got any "seats" yet, but she's got lots of Green and a pretty green platform to stand upon while she watches with interest, deciding which of the parties she should really consider a full  merge with.  Go figure...  "Only in Canada", you say?   (Yawn......)


That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.



 

The Talking Heads Debate : Repetitive Rhetoric, and Ominous Silence

It never fails to amuse observers of politics  how politicians defend their self-perceived  perfect records with the practiced lines of  child actors seeking perfection in a public school play, repeating the same Party rhetoric over and over whilst  accusing  one another of disrespect for Canadians and Democracy and the dignified Process of Governance.
The more likely fact is, political talking heads  collectively seem to increasingly lack any respect for Canadian voters, process,  honesty or  government itself, --and not surprisingly, Canada does not hold a monopoly on that contemporary political  phenomenon.

Politicians  seem to ooze honesty on television  collectively,   but  fail to admit the real  reason they are there,  the  really big issue,  which is not health care,   not  their concern  about Canada being misrepresented  in Foreign Affairs,  not $175M fighter jets, not the military involvement in Libya or Afghanistan,  not the Economy, even though" it's the economy, stupid" , and  certainly not  budgetary concerns including excessive waste spent in  Tony's   cute little Gazebo-infested  Conservative riding  that required  $50M  all at once just to build Gazebos and get "spruced up"  for viewing  by G20 leaders --for at least 15, maybe 20 minutes,   according to the Auditor-General's "not-to-be-trusted report"..... and  she's used to seeing stuff like that,   $2.6B wasted on an inefficient, foolish gun registry,  Multi-million-dollare fake lakes, $10M  long fences  and thousands of riot-equipped police to keep  citizens at bay,   G-8 Billion-dollar boondoggles,  being ruled in contempt of parliament,  Senator crookery  or anything of that "let's avoid that lickety-split"   nature.
We don't address.....well, we don't  REALLY want to address THOSE things on "national debate" night.

The real issue behind the  charade is the  primal driving force, well  hidden ,   which is the maintenance of an old-boy's security web, a  political party mutual admiration society  that behind closed doors,  studies diligently  the mechanics of the Prime Directive of that Society ---which is interpreted  in camera as :
" How do we ensure we're all  getting elected yet again so we get to keep our very big MP Pensions and make sure WE get tucked nice and neatly into the Senate too, even if we're crooks and scallywags ?" 
Perhaps it is written in a "mission statement" somewhere,  maybe on the back of  a brown  envelope containing big wads of cash.

With the "unwanted"  May 2nd election coming upon us fast,  another "National all party debate" was held today, except that all of the party leaders were not allowed to participate,  to wit,  Ms. Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party was excluded simply  because the Green party has not a single seat in the House of Commons;  the outrageous fact that NOBODY is "sitting"  in the House of Commons once an election is called seems to have been ignored,  but we all suspect  Ms. Green Elizabeth May doesn't support big corporations, including the  crabby, nasty   media group  that  excluded her from the DEBATE.
How can we have a debate if all parties are not represented?   Ans:  " Fill debate with Canned Questions, meaningless repetitive  blather, maybe nobody will notice."
Maybe they're all afraid of  Ms. May, she's an astute type, if a bit quirky, or maybe they just don't like green stuff like spinach.
Funny, they managed to  include  Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, wannabe kingmaker supreme,  who is constantly vowing to remove Quebec from Canada even though he knows Quebec can be soon divided up into rather large  enclaves of Canadian loyalists  if Canada should be parted, but he carried on like a trooper anyway. 
      The Harper-Ignatieff mutual admiration and exchange Chapter of the group expressed the strongest disdain  for each other and the other members present,  but Gilles  scuffled away,  and Jack Layton calmly  representing the NDP  kept them busy slip-sliding around.   At times it seemed  Jack  was actually winning the debate with  calm and wit a la crutch,  with  Gilles  crustily  pretending his Bloc representation of Quebec in the Canadian National debate actually makes  a difference in said  National debate.
He scored  one for the Nipper  on  old Harper's  coalition-bent  letter though,  make that Harper's old coalition letter,   no doubt about that one.   Making bed with the Bloc, a paper enemy and pale-faced ghost, it was.  Stephen appeared uncomfortable with that timely reminder.
But, bottom line, no score was noted anywhere  by tired political observers; it's all been seen before, lies,  lies, promises,  loads of sheeple manure, and   Iggy's Liberal  "a chicken in every pot"  promises,  "gotta get after those guns",  ...and ....and.... and nothing has, or ever will  change.

Meantime, out in the real world,  with the Japanese Fukushima disaster now being compared to Chernobyl,  not a word was mentioned.  
Ominous silence. We don't wish to be told we're about to  be glowing in the dark anyway, do we? 

Perhaps we should  blame Ms.  May for that one too after all, she wasn't there to bring it  up.  We can't blame Elizabeth?    Excluded you say?    No  matter.  The Talking Heads have spoken and Canadian Politics is fine and well and predicable as can be. 
That's just as well, Canadians like talking heads,  high taxes, wasteful spending,  crooked politics,  $6.00/gallon gas  and predictability--and we all know nothing is going to change, no matter WHO is elected.
We'll go vote anyway, at least we get to see the neighbours  at the polling station and chat a bit.
That's my opinion  and I'm sticking to it.
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KUDOS to GERMANY - The BELL TOLLS for Nuclear Power

German Utilities say NO  to Nuclear Power

 Perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel after all.  Maybe there is hope for humanity yet. This is the best news I've seen for some time.
Germany wants out of nuclear power.  
Kudos are most definitely due .  A standing ovation is well deserved.  A move towards common sense has been declared.  A move to cleaner energy is afoot - in one of the most highly industrialized nations on earth.

The headline  reads:  

Association of German utility companies calls for abolishing nuclear power by 2020
 Utility companies reportedly want to abolish nuclear power following the total disaster witnessed in Japan.  And so they should.  
North America should also take off the blinders and see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Clean, safe alternative energy is available NOW. 
The German Association of Energy and Water Industries  wants all nuclear power abolished completely by 2020.  The association represents some 1800 utilities,  INCLUDING  many of the operators that currently operate nuclear facilities.   
 TWO of the BIGGEST nuclear operators are "opposed" to this decision.  Why does that not surprise us?
Chancellor Angela Merkel  wants Germany  to eliminate nuclear energy altogether.  It is little wonder, since parts of Germany was polluted by Chernobyl,  which is a mere 900 miles away --and it  remains polluted,  25 years later.  

The question of the day MUST be: 
Where is the leadership in North America?
 Are North Americans supposed to wait until another horrific nuclear disaster strikes closer to home before they act?   Is 2020 soon enough?  We think not.  
 At Incoming Bytes we believe a shutdown of the nuclear industry cannot be fast enough.  Clearly the writing is on the wall when one of the most highly industrialized nations in the world considers nuclear energy too dangerous and has also accepted the fact that safer technology IS available.
Shutting down all nuclear reactors by  2020 is not nearly soon enough, but transition time is realistically required.   

Meanwhile, let us all congratulate Germany for the intelligent and courageous decision to move to clean, functional and efficient  solar, wind, and other  alternative energy sources.  
Nuclear reactors are no longer a reasonable option under any terms of reference.
That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Unlimited Contamination but only Limited Hope ?

The ocean around Fukushima,  Japan is contaminated with radioactivity levels almost unheard of,    at  5,000,000 times the legal limit,(read 5 MILLION times the legal limit)   and even 7,000,000 times the legal limit, the numbers,  which are unbelievable,   change daily depending upon the "engineer's solution to pollution, which is dilution".  
     Water, seaweed, fish,  the --whole works is contaminated, throwing a very large potential  wrench into the future of  the Japanese fishing and seafood industry for many years to come.  Countries are already banning Japanese sea products.
     Clearly fish that are contaminated to the point they are not fit for human consumption  will not only be unsafe for humans, but  unfit for the natural food chain, and in turn,  unfit  to produce and support  offspring, which may undergo mutation; the further up the food chain the contamination goes, the higher the concentrations shall be. 
    Realistically, at  this sad  point in history  there is  no predictable, safe end for this tragedy, there is literally no end in sight to this problem.  We shall undoubtedly  praise God when brave men risking life and limb  stop nuclear leaks, and the world flinches, but looks away as Japan dumps 15,000 tons of radioactive water into the ocean, and will do so again, repeatedly if necessary. Dumping contaminated water will make more room for more cooling water  required, which will in turn become contaminated, ad infinitum,  and we shall be reluctantly  obligated to turn face when they  have to dump THAT too. Humanity will clearly "look away" again and again.
    If such an occurrence happened in the middle of the United States of America, or for example, in Canada, along Lake Ontario, at Pickering, where would WE dump 15,000 tons of radioactive water?  Into Lake Ontario while nobody is looking?  How about at Darlington?  
     Let's face it, it might be a one in 20 MILLION chance of anything happening, but people DO win lotteries.  It therefore becomes a BET, a sickening gamble,  where the nuclear industry bets their safety record against the lives of MILLIONS of Canadians and Americans.   
     Can the the nuclear industry world-wide guarantee there will never be another nuclear incident? Clearly not, therefore they have no moral authority to put our lives on the betting table.  
End of story.
      It seems this should be the final death knell of the nuclear industry, three strikes, you're out;  the only logical, viable, and sensible strategy is to source  energy from clean, renewable sources, wind, solar, hydrogen, and other clean technologies, --but we will not do that, clean technology is not exciting enough or  daring enough to lure big money,  it is not challenging enough to revered, arrogant scientists who pride themselves in challenging, big scientific feats.     Being closer to fools,  sheep that follow  and lemmings that race to jump to their deaths over high cliffs, civilization  will likely continue to ALLOW the dirty nuclear industry to keep polluting, more, and more.    The question is why?  in the old west,  reckless, dangerous people were quickly dealt with by frontier justice.
     There is facing us,  therefore, unlimited contamination at this point, coupled with very limited hope. Why? A lesson has not been learned,  there is already grumbling "commentary" suggesting that a  return to coal and other technologies would "damage the environment" by contributing to global warming, the old 2 degree change in world temperature argument.  Such proponents of nuclear energy suggest shall exploit that myth and  conveniently "save us all"  and avoid that problem by keeping the nuclear industry "alive and well"  even if it is as dangerous as hell."  . 
     At Incoming Bytes we believe building any more nuclear reactors is not a reasonable option under any circumstance; it is not a reasonable option under any terms of reference, since all nations receive sunshine; all nations have winds. 
     Who would be  glaringly  foolish enough  to resurrect coal technology when SOLAR and WIND technology is so easily available?  Who can ignore the fact that Spain, as an example, gets the majority of it's power from solar sources?   
     We can complain endlessly that it takes large amounts of money to build wind generators and solar stations.  It costs money to build a  solar system on your roof  that will run your home and pump clean solar energy into the grid,  and it costs about a million dollars to build a very large wind generator. Shall we conveniently ignore the proven fact that it costs many $BILLIONS to build an unsafe nuclear reactor that is virtually guaranteed to fail at some point in the future? 
The NEW questions for the day are: 
" Where are WE going to dump OUR radioactive, contaminated water?"   Where are we going to dispose of spent fuel bundles?  

       Ans:    NOT in MY back yard, you're not.  

It is not a matter of  "if" we will have to dump some radioactive water, and dispose of thousands of highly radioactive fuel rods.   It's just a matter of WHEN.   
You'll have to figure it out.  The Japanese people have proven that to be the ultimate truth. 
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Which Does Humanity need worse: A Bucket List or Mop and Bucket?

The Light of Hope

   Yes, we are contemplating human folly yet again, as we read more about the ongoing disaster at Fukushima, Japan. Why?   Because as global citizens we are obliged to make ourselves aware what is happening, and not allow ourselves  to be misled or distracted by less than honest propaganda,  red herrings, elections and politics, or manufactured war.


    We have been reading  that scientifically, carefully-measured  radiation levels around the damaged  nuclear reactors continue  to rise  in spite of best efforts  of our  "world-class nuclear community" and others  to contain the problem.  Radiation levels from the four  seriously damaged nuclear reactors, it turns out, are already  more than a bit disconcerting. 
    At over 4300 times the maximum allowable  limit, local sea water is  unimaginably contaminated,  but will optimistically be "diluted",  --or so advises the informed nuclear establishment.  Yet another "out of sight, out of mind" solution is the temptation; dilution, the engineer's dream.  Is everyone  deluded enough to imagine sea life wouldn't  mind a little radiation after all, --is that the message we shall pass to our grandchildren ? 
    Well, all right. Let's  stop it quickly and clean it up instead....  A traditional mop and pail isn't exactly going to do the trick.  How about some wishful thinking, a bucket list ?  All human beings need a bucket list of wonderful plans and objectives to be completed and achieved prior to heading into the Great Beyond.  
    Now "jumpers", brave souls -- volunteers from around the globe, Europe and North America, dedicated, serious men seemingly with a death wish to save humanity itself -- are volunteering to work on  the reactors  to attempt to stem the flow of radiation and clean up.  Reportedly,  water in the tunnels under the reactor is far too dangerous to step  into.  Brave men struggled in Chernobyl, valiantly trying to do the same thing.  They died trying, too.      
In this tragedy, which does humanity need worse, a bucket list or a very large high-tech  mop and pail?  It seems both, but  perhaps a miracle would be more appropriate.  I wonder;  since scientists and technology created the problem,  are creationists obligated to solve it ?  There will be plenty of opportunity to hope and much reason to pray.
  Over in Europe,  wild boars  harvested in the forests of Germany--  over 1500 kilometers (950 miles) from Chernobyl  are now found to be contaminated with Cesium-137,  a radioactive isotope originating from the disaster at  Chernobyl  that  still remains a serious problem after a "mere"  25 years . The mushrooms and plant life eaten by the wild boars are highly contaminated. Radiation levels in the meat of the animals and the plants are reportedly thousands of times higher than normal.  What does that tell us?  Should we  close our eyes to that statistic?  Play ostrich?   Radiation from Fukushima  has already been detected in Canada and the United States. Should we believe our "officials" that say, "nothing to worry about".   Should we allow "officials", unknown to us,  to silently raise "allowed radiation levels" in consumable products, protecting the nuclear industry using a blank cheque written on the health of all of humanity?  At Incoming Bytes we think not. The time for truth has come.

The sad fact of the matter is,  if Chernobyl is any example, neither "bucket list" or high-tech mop & pail  treatment, no matter how well applied, will offer a quick fix for the growing problem in Japan. 
     Let us jest  and contemplate briefly the commandeering of a fix,  a solution, smiling, brave jumpers,  a couple of garden hoses, sprinklers,  a few  helicopter water drops  --and a few more brilliant-devised systems to pump ever more water into the reactors  to keep things cool.   Water IS required for cooling so the damaged reactor cores  won't  overheat, melt down further, releasing ever more radiation in the process of melting and burning.   Burning  releases radiation into the atmosphere rapidly as the nuclear fuel  burns merrily away, hot enough to melt holes in zirconium fuel tubes, casings and steel containment. 
    Pumping more water obviously introduces  more water into the reactor, which  ultimately  becomes contaminated.  More contaminated cooling water.   We don't have to ask where the water will go, do we ?   If it does not evaporate into atmosphere as contaminated steam boiled off from the extreme  heat, it  will  leak out into the sea, and contaminate an even larger volume of  seawater, spreading ever further. 
 An engineered disaster with catastrophic results.  Nature may not forgive.  Salmon  and killer-whales, mollusks and seals, sea-cucumber and starfish alike may be easy to see, glowing in the dark as they mutate to the last individual, for many years. 
 "The deadliest catch" is already being harvested.  The "knowledgeable, educated, wise and informed global nuclear community is harvesting precisely the crop they cultivated.  Out-of-control radiation.  Water or not, at best, it is  a catch-22, and a deadly one.


     What ultimately may be a far darker harbinger of things to come than mere sea-water, radioactive numbers and glowing sea-cucumbers  --is the stark, cold,  right-now, in-your face reality rescuers are dealing with  in the contaminated zone ;  radiation levels in the  exclusion zone are so high that rescuers, in protective gear and equipped with radiation alarms,  cannot remain in the area for long enough to be efficient,  even to do the necessary and grisly job of recovering  now-contaminated bodies of the victims from the endless rubble of that horrific earthquake and tsunami. Cremation of such bodies releases further radiation into the atmosphere.  
    The area may ultimately be so contaminated with radiation that it could be a "no man's land"  for a very long time to come.  The beautiful lands will longer produce milk, agricultural products or  any food fit for human consumption as they have done for centuries.  Fish and seafood from the area will no longer be fit for human consumption.  
 Tokyo is only a couple of hundred kilometers from Fukushima.  Let us not even contemplate that potential future health risk and disaster. Ultimately, humanity must pay the piper for arrogance.

     There is ONE genuine solution for the problem of damaged nuclear reactors and the inevitable nuclear crises that develop from them, but globally, humanity must have the resolve and ingenuity to change  direction, and become hopeful and clever enough to adapt change  universally --and immediately.   
The correct solution is to actually learn from the disasters at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima--and  NEVER build another one. 
--Not in Japan, not in Darlington, Ontario, and nowhere else on the globe either. The price is too high in terms of potential danger, terms of health, and in terms of cost to humanity.  

The truth always comes out.   Nuclear reactors are NO LONGER an option under ANY TERMS OF REFERENCE. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.