Fukushima Disaster : Will Humanity Learn ?

The Light can be Blinding

At times I cannot believe my eyes. The light from the west   is blinding.  I thought I misread the numbers.  
To report to readers of Incoming Bytes  that the  latest news from Fukushima  in Japan  is  good  or getting better  would be deceit,  dishonest and a lie.   To shout "the news is bad"  could be inflammatory, but would probably be a substantial understatement and closer to the truth.  The escaped nuclear dragon in Japan has become even more problematic and dangerous. 
    Levels of radioactive iodine  have been recorded at 3,355 times the legal limit in the sea water close to the failed  Fukushima nuclear reactors.  You know the story, the Magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the tsunami, the reactor system failures. The hydrogen explosions.   Lack of cooling, partial meltdowns,  fuel ponds catching on fire. Radiation. Brave men trying to stop it, reminiscent of Chernobyl 25 years ago.  Dead men walking.  Plutonium was also found. Four of the reactors will have to be scrapped.  The long-term environmental, potentially mutating and death-dealing damage caused by this event may actually be incalculable.  The core of at least one of the six reactors has  partially melted through the containment vessel,  and the reactor  continues to leak highly radioactive water.  The radiation will spread;  the 'engineer's solution to pollution is dilution",  and yes, ultimately it may  be "diluted"  giving lower  readings,  but the fact is, it will still spread far and wide, causing untold damage with  "See no evil" applied.
    Meantime, authorities seem to pretend not to know where the radiation "might be" coming from.   Perfect.  See  no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil.   Problem is, radiation from that source has already reached North American shores.  
  No gamesmanship  is offered here, let us not be gullible and foolish enough to pretend that masked, dignified and profuse  apologies from engineers, specialists,  nuclear facility owners, operators, global nuclear associations or the elected  will ever be enough to reverse the damage from  what is progressing to be one of the worst, if not THE worst  nuclear events in history.  The die is cast. The fat lady is singing horribly. 
    It goes without saying this unbelievable disaster could have been totally avoided by not building these reactors in the first place, let alone engineering and building them in one of the most unstable geological damage-prone areas on the globe. We'll undoubtedly hear about apologies for that, too.  --And about the engineers knowing that a Tsunami could overwhelm the plants.... and...and....ad nauseum.  
    Words are not enough to describe that  arrogant insanity,  but, "wink wink" will take care of it,  everyone politely agrees, it will be 'fine' , after all,   "What do average people know,  they're  just  people, the uninformed,  the 'workers',  the quintessential global citizen more interested in shopping than science,  and they and their opinions certainly don't belong up there in the elite nuclear echelon, --do they?     
 I imagine it is thought behind closed doors that ordinary folk  should clearly have no  say in what happens in their world, the reason being that the impoverished  homo sapiens,  the same  disenfranchised unfortunate once called a hunter-gatherer,  but now  "ordinary citizen "  -- is considered to  lack enough information, knowledge or any ability necessary to  question, interpret, validate,  condemn or criticize  ideas  fabricated and  revered  by nuclear "authorities" as they  brazenly  hold out  " PROOF of Nuclear Infallibility, PROOF of Knowledge", PROOF of Guaranteed Nuclear Safety,  --and thereby being not obligated,  dismiss  any genuine expressions of concern from the common masses. 

The nuclear "elite" further assign grandiose purpose to their treacherous, elitist  billion-dollar  projects as they present circular, incontrovertible justification for doing what they, the  " Elite-Deemed-Knowledgeable and Infallible " arbitrarily choose to do to the environment for profit,  without regard to the potential disasters they and their pet dragons inevitably create for all the world to see, --for all the world to fear--and for all the world to ultimately suffer from.  

That the elite themselves  and their progeny will eventually  become victims of their own greed seems to have been totally overlooked and irrelevant  in the pursuit of greed and technological misadventure.  "No matter". they say.  
    Let us resist the incredible desire to reduce ourselves to name-calling or the use of choppy, unacceptable four-letter invectives, although observing  the seemingly unstoppable,  arrogant stupidity always tempts one to revert to such phraseology, to  point fingers angrily, and to generally raise hell.
    Shall we instead, meekly look forward to the future, hope and pray,  and gently  observe  there is an
"unnecessary, inexplicable, inherent  tendency"  for us  "public know-nothings"  to  criticize  large corporations,  government authorities and their fine projects?   Is that our  Achille's heel, a weakness  in the model we must keep foremost in our minds?  Should we be ashamed of ourselves for condemning that which will destroy us?      
     Nuclear  shakers & movers suggest,  even  insist nothing can go wrong, nothing can go afoul, never a mistake shall be made with their "safe"  poison-bearing projects,  and  loquaciously offer their scientific  reassurance and reasoning, when all evidence glaringly proves  otherwise.  They similarly and simultaneously proffer indignity and wounded demeanor if criticized, however meekly, -even by one of their own, who may have fortuitously  "seen the Light" and realized one can indeed  become blinded by staring into the sun,--the largest nuclear reactor close at hand.  The parallel should not be overlooked.   Never fly too close  to the sun with waxed feathers either. 
     Are the meek and "uninformed"  ever  right? It doesn't matter. They are this time,a  fact clearly demonstrated loudly  yet AGAIN, that in the nuclear industry,if cold, bitter fact is faced, disasters can happen, another incredibly horrific nuclear disaster has happened, and more  nuclear accidents, leaks,  and incidents, both minor and those major "improbable events " will continue to happen.
   Who is listening?  Who shall learn? Will humanity learn? 
  Not to allow ourselves to raise the collective blood pressure of humanity too high,  but current events are bound to be "the PROOF of the Pudding"  when human arrogance becomes a dominant, persistent and uncontrollable factor.  It seems some segments of humanity  must learn everything  the hard way. Apparently Human beings   are not that clever ,  highly educated in nuclear physics and the "art of other nuclear stuff" or   not .   It becomes ever more obvious  that if there is  any way possible to engineer idiocy,  accident and mayhem, environmental catastrophe and hypocrisy,  those seeking profit at the expense of humanity and the environment -- inevitably will do a fine job of screwing things up-without fail. 
    That's enough of that.  The pointed question must  be: 
"Will North Americans  learn from this catastrophe?  Apparently not.
     It is already clear that  Ontario has not learned, and has no intention of halting the nuclear agenda,   for they are still actively holding  the foolish, yet oh-so-classic  'public  pseudo-hearings" on expansion of Darlington. 
  The agenda?   " We're so generously listening to all of you uninformed people  here today who know nothing ..oops,,,,well, it's time for lunch,  this  hearing  is closed now, that should keep all of you environmentalist  idiots quiet now,  --and for the record, we intend to build anything we want, no matter what you said anyway, and no accidents will happen, we guarantee it..."  
Having  met  their social obligation and "justified" their existence with such finesse,   they will then proceed to hatch more death-dealing nuclear reactors at Darlington merely  because they can get away with doing so.   
To wit: Demonstrators objecting to the hearings were  arrested.  Not surprising, and totally predictable.
The radiation contaminating Japan is unacceptable .  Taking ANY chance on contaminating North America  is unacceptable.  Risking the lives of our children, our grandchildren and THEIR grandchildren and all generations to follow is unacceptable, and always HAS been. 

The fact IS, Nuclear reactors are now unacceptable under any term of reference .  

Take that to your "hearings".  

Elections and Political Games: Let's Play " Elections" - and Waste $400M on another Minority

Whaddya mean,  another ELECTION !  **

Not ANOTHER election ! The cat's out of the bag.  
Do tell.   Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his minority government were defeated on Friday so  we "get to go" to the polls on May 2nd.  "  Let's play "Election". 
Why were the Conservatives  defeated?  A vote of non-confidence was brought forward by non-confident Liberals.  A nasty, but predetermined vote.
We're not surprised at all.  Dissolution of the House.  Failure of the Conservatives to maintain the confidence of the House,   get it?  Failure to get along with Jack and Mikey and Gilles  in the playground at Ottawa.   They  "lost the confidence of Canadians" ,  according to Michael Ignatieff, the temporary leader of the Liberals .  Temporary, because his rating as leader is somewhat low and if he doesn't win this election, he'll likely be heading for Harvard. No matter.

So we're having an election, and regardless of cause, effect, or process, there is little else in Canada  more blatantly annoying than being  forced to listen to elected politicians  as they pretend to blame  one another for precipitating an election they equally  swear they do not want. Are we to believe them?  No.
Guess what;   Stop Fibbing,  we all know how it works.   It's a tricky politician's plan to get more  vacation time.   After all, it's  March here in Canada,  it's still cold outside,  and all good politicians  need yet another 6 weeks of  "off-the-trough, fun-sabbatical  quality time,  a.k.a.   a vacation from real work.  The holidays suffered during the winter break from December through to the end of January  were clearly inadequate.
Those same  eager combatants also have expressed a wish to avoid,  at any cost, the  aggregate responsibility of attending to the difficult work of  good governance for our Canada,  the land of frozen beavers, sovereign polar bears and  melting ice packs. No matter.
 Canadians, unbelievably,  in these tough economic times,  are  about to spend  $400,000,000,  and it's  money we should not be throwing away. Break the piggy-banks anyway.
No, it's not going to be spent on anything sensible;  on our behalf,  our political " mystery shoppers"  just bought an election complete with questionable trappings.          
No reason, but would we believe it anyway?  Little credibility seems to reside in Ottawa, perhaps with the exception of a half dozen very specific individuals, but they're too busy mopping the floors to talk to us.
We  will likely end up with yet another  minority government.    The third one, by the way.   Why do we have minority governments?  Non-confidence?  Voter disinterest? Bad weather?   Perhaps another contributing factor is our "unique" party system.   The Bloc Quebecois is allowed to commandeer Federal parliamentary seats without universal representation,  making the achievement of a  majority by other parties much more difficult. That distinct  monopoly seems to be politely ignored as an invisible anchor dragging behind a ghost ship, but apparently has been deemed an acceptable  part of the cost of appeasing Quebec,-- a  political aberration that is unbelievable, inexplicable and  unacceptable to thinking Canadians.
Why complain about it?  Maybe we need another REAL party. Maybe we would vote for Gilles  if they did offer the R.O.C. (rest of Canada) representation, --but alas,  he has no interest in doing so.   Gilles whines for Billions,  and more gifts for Quebec at every opportunity,  --and inevitably, he gets the goodies, so what else is new? 
No matter. On to THIS election that is already hobbled. 
 
 We can only imagine what happened in the House of Commons:

"Mr. Speaker, it seems nobody likes my new budget at all, nobody wants to be nice and play with me,  so don't vote, see if I care,  I'm taking all my toys home,  and if you're nice, you can see it after we win another minority on May 2nd, Mr. Speaker."
 (raucous laughter)

"Mr. Speaker,  we are obligated to listen to a  finance minister from the Honorable member opposite, even if he didn't  buy new shoes,for this important occasion, Mr. Speaker?  But come now,  ..we on this side of the house think the Honorable member across the floor would much prefer to be tossed on a matter of disrespect for Parliament instead of something as boring as a mean-spirited budget, after all..."

"Mr. Speaker, yes, yes,,,,okay,  let's do that instead, --that was a good idea brought forward by the Honorable member across the floor, Mr. Speaker."
(raucous cheering) 
"  Mr. Speaker,   like 34 Million  other Honorable,  vote-weary Canadians,  I'm  a little less skeptical now,  I see there is hope after all,  seeing such perky cut-and-dried  collusion to create the latest reason for an election we all want--er, don't want,  -- and for  the fine posturing, the offended demeanor,  and offensive childish exchanges observed in this House of Commons, all members of the House are to be congratulated for such a fine performance, Mr. Speaker."
(clapping)

"Mr. Speaker, along the same lines, why should we not all just get along and be happy, Mr. Speaker?  After all, Canadians, cold or not, have much to be happy about,  do they not, Mr. Speaker?
This   Honorable member suggests that Canadians should  all be happy and allow their duly elected representatives to  spend $400 million dollars yet AGAIN, especially  for an election all of our  venerable leaders  equally  insist  they do not want, Mr. Speaker, even if  we all know better, --oops,,,...is that camera turned off, Mr. Speaker?" 

"Mr. Speaker,  our committee  recommends that  we turn the cameras back on, clap our hands in unison, sing  "kumbaya",  and pass out out kudos to our political children hauling back huge salaries,  while SENIORS live  in poverty and received  a microscopic raise of  $1.56 Cdn. -- after waiting years,  Mr. Speaker,  because that was, after all, quite a good raise.   In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, our Honorable members will  busy themselves in the last few minutes of Parliament doing important things, like  handing out more  major tax credits to our  huge Corporate interests, Mr. Speaker". 
( cheering )
" Mr. Speaker,  I wish to add that we should additionally  feel all  warm and fuzzy as we celebrate the integrity of our leaders and enjoy watching  official funding  departmental  documents change  magically with black-marker,  and pay particular attention to  enjoying that last moment protocol.  Canadians should be  especially proud of this accomplishment, and celebrate the fact that any departmental document might  be adequately changed by erstwhile Ministers who are not obligated to explain "how or why" documentation is changed,  Mr. Speaker."  

"  Mr. Speaker, one  further  issue of great importance, let us all cheer wildly as we spend UNKNOWN  BILLIONS of dollars on that fleet of nice shiny F-35 fighter jets at over $60M  per copy, a  fighter jet  that cannot fly anywhere near the speed of our own Canadian Avro Arrow,  an aerospace industry that our  Honorable Dief  the Chief  and  fellow  Conservatives  killed inexplicably 50 years ago, Mr. Speaker, at the cost of 14,000 jobs in the aerospace industry, --and  Mr. Speaker, let it be known  that we are still  working diligently  at replacing those jobs  with  wait-positions  and other highly skilled jobs in our job-creation strategy we are so  happily advertising as we speak."   

"The Honorable members should also vibrate with pride as we recall the "Billion dollar G20 security party complete with fake lakes,  Mr. Speaker.  Such clever environmental planning and  spending is required to ensure the integrity of the Canadian dollar is not limited to necessary projects like million-dollar fences or spent foolishly lifting Canadians out of poverty."  
 (raucous laughter)

"Mr. Speaker, we are all Canadians here , so let us truly  jump up and down for joy,  as all of our Honorable members  do their sworn duty to Canadians.  Let us now act like Grade IV students in  a 'do or die' food fight as we fling  stale  bologna sandwiches at each other across the floor of the House.  Mr. Speaker, all Honorable members are reminded to participate vigorously,  shouting  and pointing and jumping up and down with indignity --at least  whilst on camera, for the benefit of their  attentive constituents, Mr. Speaker". 

" Mr. Speaker, finally,  let us encourage all Canadians to express delirious  delight for the coming opportunity to listen to an  endless round of lies, attack ads, accusations,  counter-accusations,  promises, and instructions on how to clothespin their  noses  to the reek of the  endless pile of political manure that will be shoveled with very large, expensive shovels, Mr. Speaker."
-- By the way, do you have any Dijon and mayonnaise  handy up there for our new coalition sandwiches,  Mr. Speaker?"
(Cheering and whacking of  an old, but re-soled  shoe on the desk of the Finance Minister)
 
Let us now be serious.
How fitting, and how predictable the calling of this unnecessary election,  when the  Conservative minority,  a.k.a,  "the  Harper government", as they so aptly "branded" themselves, is momentarily ahead in the polls.   Do the Conservatives  believe  they actually have a shot at a majority simply because they are slightly ahead in meaningless polls?    It is little wonder they  so quickly  thereafter  offered a meaningless budget to ensure it would be rejected by all parties, a budget  specifically offered with no amendments desired, considered, or accepted.
The Honorable Minister of Finance did not put on the traditional "new shoes" so often displayed.  He doesn't seem to get it, does he?  Many seniors live in poverty and cannot afford to install new soles on their old worn-out shoes.

  The fact that the "Harper government"  just been voted "in contempt of parliament,  disrespectful of democracy and parliament",  unethical and dripping with scandal   is almost a moot point in spite of the indignity act played so beautifully by Michael the Harvard man,  Honorable Jack,  Gilles the whiner, and  Elizabeth the Green?  
Haven't the majority of politician incumbents been unethical, dripping with scandal, names besmirched with problems of some kind, at one time or the other,  most notably just before election time?

Watch out. Be forewarned.  On May 2nd, the world will come to a complete halt, the nuclear disaster in Japan won't matter, the war in Libya will halt,  and the earth itself shall stop rotating, while  Canadians drop everything to trundle through the slush and snow,  hold their  noses, and vote for the best of the worst collection of politicians Canada has seen for many years.
After all, isn't that the Canadian way?  As one of my smartest colleagues observes, "We shall see what we shall see." 

**Note:  With thanks,  photo credit courtesy of:     http://iruntheinternet.com/  

MUST WE Contaminate the World with RADIATION? Say NO!

Leading to the Light

      The drinking water supply  in TOKYO,  hundreds of kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, has now been found to be contaminated with radioactive iodine.   Food and milk produced in the disaster area is also  contaminated.  Shipments of all vegetables and farm produce from the agricultural  area have been halted.  The reactors are still spewing radioactive materials. 
      In spite of the   blatant, horrific evidence facing the rich "nuclear industry" in Japan, the North American industry  continues to insist upon building more nuclear reactors as if nothing has happened.

     We believe that any further development of nuclear generating stations  is  not only morally reprehensible but may well be a crime against humanity.   Clean, safe alternatives and technology  ARE available.  If the same billions of dollars were directed at alternative energy sources, much cleaner energy would be harvested without danger or economic loss.

     Must we contaminate the whole world with radiation ? The "industry representatives"  so  innocently  holding the current  "hearings"  to build yet more nuclear reactors at Darlington, Ontario  seem to think so.  Trouble is, they apparently have not been paying attention to the growing disaster in Japan. 
      Greenpeace protesters  holding a demonstration  at the pseudo "hearings" were arrested and will be charged.  
      Is Ontario a police state?  What is wrong with protesting against proliferation of  technology that has the potential to destroy humanity?

                                                   Think about it!  

     There are 11,000,000 human beings  in southern Ontario within range of the  Bruce/Darlington and Pickering reactors and their potential leaks, failures and inevitably, their catastrophes.   What will the "owners and operators " do when that happens?  "Apologize profusely?"   NOT good enough !

      At Incoming Bytes  we object strenuously to any expansion or building of new  nuclear reactors.  The current hearings,  apparently sanctioned by our "leaders"  will clearly be continued with deaf ears,  so let the pointed questions BE:

" Why are hearings for expansion plans in Darlington  being held NOW, at this period of utmost distraction globally, with major disasters world-wide?"  --So nobody NOTICES them?
" Who has GENUINE moral authority to even CONSIDER building  nuclear reactors? " 
" Given the recent accidents, why would ANYONE be  foolish enough to build more nuclear reactors?" 
" Which authority has authorized  GREEDY CORPORATE INTERESTS to  threaten the lives of every human being alive?"
      I really like this question the best :       " Is willful nuclear expansion  a sign of collective human insanity, insatiable  corporate greed, total lunacy,    irresponsible governance, -or proof positive of all of the above ?" 
and finally:  
     " WHICH REFERENDUM has EVER been held to allow such a foolish energy policy to be followed  --and proceed nonchalantly with it, as if "nothing will happen" ? 
 Murphy's law says otherwise.  If it CAN happen, it will.
     Clearly  "something" can happen; let us now ask the people of  Tokyo,  a  " highly responsible,  highly technologically-advanced society that has "SAFE" nuclear reactors, --and  who can NOW, today,   no longer allow their infants to drink the water in TOKYO,  hundreds of kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, because it has been found to be contaminated with radioactive iodine.   It is unfit for infants.  In fact, it is more likely  unfit for human consumption.  Food and milk produced in the disaster area is contaminated with radiation and shipments from the area have been halted.   To make matters worse, the damaged reactors CONTINUE TO LEAK MORE RADIATION. 
       Shall greedy corporate interests and individuals  be allowed destroy our civilization?   MUST we contaminate the world with radiation? Where ARE our political "leaders"  today? Are they leading us, or are they sitting smugly in the pockets of the nuclear industry?
     At Incoming Bytes   we  shall continue to express our opinion and protest blatant foolishness  where discovered  at every possible opportunity.
     Given that the recent nuclear disasters in Japan have proven that nuclear reactors cannot be made fail safe,   we hereby politely and insistently request  that:
       *NO MORE NUCLEAR REACTORS  be built IN      DARLINGTON.  

       *NO MORE NUCLEAR REACTORS be built IN  ONTARIO.

     *NO MORE NUCLEAR REACTORS be built IN NORTH AMERICA.

     The reader is encouraged to post this and similar protests to the nuclear industry's  persistent and reckless assault on civilization in every forum possible.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.