Iranians Evacuate City Located Near Nuclear Site

 

The Mullahs have ordered the 1.5 million population of Isfahan to flee from the city because pollution has now reached emergency levels. At least that's their story.

Isfahan is also the site of one of Iran major uranium conversion sites, where yellow cake is processed to make Hexafluoride gas used in gas centrifuges. It also processes uranium oxide (which can be used to fuel reactors of a different type than the ones Iran has or to not the type Iran is constructing or to separate out plutonium for nuclear weapons using a fairly easy chemical process) and metal, mostly used in the cores of nuclear bombs.

And there have been previous reports that the nuclear facility has been leaking radioactive material.

There was also an unexplained explosion at the plant in 2011 that was reported to have done damage to the Isfahahn facility.Since no IAEA inspectors have been allowed in, there's no guarantee as to how safe the plant is or what precautions have been taken. Remember Chernobyl?

Of course, there's also the possibility of sabotage.

In any event, Iran's regime is not noted for honesty either to its people or the outside worlds, and I doubt they would go to the trouble and expense of evacuating a large city unless something fairly bad had happened.

Isfahan has always been a nuclear accident waiting to happen anyway. Aside from every thing else, the plant sits on an active earthquake fault line, one that has destroyed the city of Isfahan something like half a dozen times ion recorded history.

Obama And Ahmadinejad Agree - Israeli Concerns Over Iran's Nukes Are Just 'Noise'

President Obama had an interesting '60 minutes' interview that was fairly revealing, likening Israel's concerns over Iran's nuclear weapons program and the threat of genocide as noise he tries to ignore.

 Here's a transcript:


STEVE KROFT: “How much pressure have you been getting from Prime Minister Netanyahu to make up your mind to use military force in Iran?”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Well—look, I have conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu all the time. And I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon, because it would threaten us, it would threaten Israel, and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race.”

STEVE KROFT: ”You’re saying, you don’t feel any pressure from Prime Minister Netanyahu in the middle of a campaign to try and get you to change your policy and draw a line in the sand? You don’t feel any pressure?”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “When it comes to our national security decisions—any pressure that I feel is simply to do what’s right for the American people.And I am going to block out—any noise that’s out there.

Now this is an interesting way of looking at it. This is the same president who justified going to war and spending a billion dollars in Libya on the grounds of 'preventing genocide' at the hands of Moamar Khaddaffi's troops. Apparently there are different rules for Israel where President Obama is concerned.

Also, that bit about national security decisions and 'doing what's right for the American people'. Aside from the fact that President Obama's decisions, such as they are where the Middle Est is concerned have been absolutely awful and deeply flawed, let's remember that Iran refers to America as 'The Great Satan' and Israel as 'The Little Satan'. President Obama has already attempted  to signal to Iran that America no longer supports Israel in the conflict between the two countries and in the event of hostilities, as long as Iran refrains from attacking U.S. interests and facilities in the Persian Gulf such as bases and ships, Israel is on its own. That bit of attempted appeasement has already been rejected by the Iranians.

Does President Obama really think it will stop with the Jews?

Oddly enough,in an interview with the Washington Post’s David Ignatius published today, Iran’s anti-Semitic President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used exactly the same term when describing concerns that the Israelis have raised over Iran's nuclear weapons program:

IGNATIUS: “I want to ask as my first question the one every citizen of the world would like to ask today: What is the chance of a war in Iran that would result from an Israeli attack on your nuclear facilities?”

 AHMADINEJAD: “I have spoken about this topic at length, previously. We generally speaking do not take very seriously the issue of the Zionists and the possible dangers emanating from them. Of course they would love to find a way for their own salvation by making a lot of noise and to raise stakes in order to save themselves. But I do not believe they will succeed. Iran is also a very well recognized country and her defensive powers are very clear.”

You have to wonder, do they have the same speechwriters?

I actually think I have a pretty good idea of President Obama's mood right now. He considers the entire matter of Iran's nukes to be a distraction from his main interest, which is getting re-elected. To him, it really is noise he'd rather not be bothered by just now.

 He simply wants the status quo to stay the same until after the election, so he's  more than willing to ignore everything that tells him otherwise and relegate it to the "noise" category while he sticks his fingers in his ears and goes "la-la-la" at the top of his lungs.

Given the president's track record on intel in the Middle East lately you could be forgiven for thinking that anyone dismissing warnings from the Mossad as 'air' is being extremely foolish. But then, this president has not been known for either  his willingness or ability to learn on such matters.

Report: Iranians Have Completed Cleanup Of Nuclear Site To Hide Weaponization Evidence

Back in February of this year, International Atomic Energy (IAEA) officials deflared their desire to inspect Iran's top secret Parchin facility after reports of military nuclear related activity. Needless to say, Iran refused to let IAEA inspoectors anywhere near it.

But what they did do was to engage in a massive cleanup of the site to 'sanitize ' it and hide the evidence of what they'd been engaged in.

According to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) report, published with new satellite imagery, the Iranians have finally completed what must have been a major operation to hide whatever they had going on at Parchin:







The latest image shows massive cleanup efforts. The entire area surrounding the buildings appears to have been bulldozed, covered, and flattened.

According to ISIS, the work began in March, right after the IAEA first requested access. Now that it's finished, I'm sure the Iranian regime might allow an inspection of Parchin....in exchange for a suitable quid pro quo, of course.

This is the equivalent of a murderer or drug dealer offering to let the police search his home or place of business to 'prove his innocence' after he's had months to make sure no evidence is going to be found.

Meanwhile the centrifuges keep spinning, and talks that continually go nowhere keep going.

If I were the Iranians, based on what's happened to date I would see no reason not to keep heading for nuclear weaponry. When it comes to the west, they have literally gotten away with murder for years, and if I were the mullahs I'd certainly see no reason things might change anytime soon.

Except, of course, for those irritating Jews in the 'Zionist entity' north of them.

They might conceivably turn out to be a problem.

Japan Quake Update: Nuke Rods melting, Tide Of Bodies Washed Ashore

Japanese officials confirmed Monday that nuclear fuel rods appear to be melting inside the three reactors whose cooling systems were damaged by Friday’s earthquake.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday that "although we cannot directly check it, it's highly likely happening."

There was a huge explosion at Unit 3 in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in northeastern Japan; it had been under emergency status since the hydrogen blast at Unit 1 at the plant on Saturday. Edano repeated that the Unit 3 reactor’s inner containment vessel was intact, and that a Chernobyl-style meltdown was unlikely.

Over 500,000 people have been evacuated from the area, and the Japanese government has been issuing iodine tablets as a preventative against radiation sickness.

The death toll is officially at 10,000 and could go considerably higher. Many of the casualties came not from the earthquake itself, but from the subsequent tsunami.On the coastline of Miyagi prefecture, which which was essentially Ground Zero for the tsunami, a Japanese police official said 1,000 bodies were found scattered across the coastline that returned to shore with the tide. The Kyodo wire ,reported that 2,000 bodies washed up on two shorelines in Miyagi.

In a macabre twist, funeral homes in the area have run out of caskets and body bags, and crematoriums are unable to handle the large number of bodies being brought in for funerals.

"We have already begun cremations, but we can only handle 18 bodies a day. We are overwhelmed and are asking other cites to help us deal with bodies. We only have one crematorium in town," Katsuhiko Abe, an official in Soma, told The Associated Press.

In response, the Japanese government on waived a rule requiring permission first from local authorities before cremation or burial to speed up funerals, according to Health Ministry official Yukio Okuda.

"The current situation is so extraordinary, and it is very likely that crematoriums are running beyond capacity," said Okuda. "This is an emergency measure. We want to help quake-hit people as much as we can."

Millions are still without power for the fourth day.According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, over 430,000 people are living in emergency shelters or with relatives, while another estimated 24,000 people are still stranded.There are major shortages of foodstuffs and supplies not seen in Japan since the end of WWII.



It is remarkable ( but not to those whom know the Japanese) that with all the devastation and disruption, the bonds of Japanese society and civility still are holding together. People are pitching in to help out as they can, sharing what they have and working to survive together as a community.

There has been little if any looting or criminals attempting to take advantage of a situation like this for their own profit when law enforcement is stretched thin and people are vulnerable, and it amazes people. British journalist Ed West actually 'went there' and asked the question outright...why no looting?

It's actually quite simple, to my mind. In the end, culture matters.

Living together on an island with a largely homogeneous population, the Japanese over the centuries have evolved cultural norms that prize civility, cohesiveness and group co-operation. Simple decency is an admired trait and honor, shame and personal responsibility for one's actions - the concept of 'giri', duty to oneself and to society - are still pervasive forces.

It's why the crime rate in Japan ( and even among Japanese communities abroad) is ridiculously low comparatively, although Japan definitely has its criminal class.

And it's also why the Japanese will pull together and get through this.

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Japan Quake UpDate: Over 2,000 Dead, Nuclear Reactors Failing

The news from Japan continues to be grim.

According to the Kyodo Wire, the death toll has already topped 2,000 and their are thousands missing.Huge aftershocks continue to rock the area.

The civil authorities have entirely lost track of four commuter trains, and the speculation is that they may be trapped and covered by rubble.

The biggest problem the Japanese face right now is with their nuclear reactors. Japan is heavily dependent on nuclear power, and the huge quake has caused several reactors to lose their cooling functions.

Think of it like your car's radiator...your coolant keeps your engine from overheating, and if there's a leak in a hose or the system stops working, your engine overheats and your car ceases to run. With a nuclear reactor, what happens is that the core melts down, and instead of steam radiation leaks out.

This is somewhat similar to what happened at the Russian plant in Chernobyl, except there, the problem was caused by poor Soviet engineering,lousy maintenance and inferior materials and workmanship rather than an 8.9 earthquake.

The chief problems are at the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, where six reactors are experiencing cooling failure. An explosion Saturday at the No. 1 plant destroyed the roof and the walls of the building housing the Plant No. 1's reactor container.

While the steel container held, a great deal of radioactive vapor was released into the atmosphere, and a number of workers and bystanders are being treated for radiation poisoning.




Tokyo Electric Power is attempting to cool things down by filling the reactor with sea water and pouring in boric acid to stabilize things.

The Japanese are claiming that a Chernobyl-style meltdown has been averted, and that radiation levels are dropping.

The quake and tsunami actually shifted the main island of Japan by 8 feet and shifted the Earth on its axis by nearly four inches.

"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

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Japan Quake And Tsunami Update..Hundreds Dead, Tsunami Warnings In Hawaii, Pacific Coast

Japanese Authorities have reported that 200 to 300 bodies have been found in the city of Sendai, the closest major city to the quake's epicenter. Another 110 were confirmed killed, with 350 people missing.

Frankly,I'm surprised the death toll has been this low so far.

The massive 8.9 quake is the largest in Japanese history, and the fifth largest recorded since 1900.It was followed for hours by more than 50 aftershocks, many of them greater than 6.0.

Here's a couple of statistics for you. This quake was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that struck New Zealand late last month. "The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month's worth of energy consumption" in the United States, U.S. Geological Survey Scientist Brian Atwater told The Associated Press.

Tsunami warnings are in force in virtually the entire Pacific coast. The first waves hit Hawaii in the early-morning hours Friday.

Officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger.

President Barack Obama issued a statement saying that the U.S. is ready to assist Japan. "The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy."

China's Premier Wen Jiabao offered aid as well, issuing a statement expressing "deep sympathy and solicitude to the Japanese government and the people".

The government of Israel also offered aid to Japan. Israeli foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman immediately directed Israel’s ambassador in Tokyo, Nissim Ben- Sheetrit, to offer any aid to the Japanese government that it may need in dealing with this tragedy. The Israelis have highly trained crews with experience in rescuing people from rubble, and amazed reporters and aid missions from other countries with the efficiency of their mobile field hospitals and rescue operations in Haiti.

Japan is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, and many plants automatically shut down when the quake hit. The Japanese are working on getting them online again, but millions are still without power.

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Major 8.9 Earthquake In Japan

Northwest Japan was hit with a massive earthquake just a short time ago, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes, triggering a 13 foot tsunami that violently swept away cars and other objects in its paths and shutting down phone lines and transportation in many parts of the country.

The quake was originally thought to be a 7.9 magnitude on the Richter scale but was later upgraded to 8.9.

There are an estimated 4 million people in Tokyo without power, and Japan's nuclear plants have been shut down.At least six deaths have been reported, mostly in Fukushima prefecture north of Tokyo, while dozens of injuries were reported in a wide range of areas such as Miyagi Prefecture and central Tokyo, according to the Kyodo Wire.

Tokyo's major airports halted flights and the city's trains have been halted, including the shinkansen bullet train service.

This was the fifth largest recorded earthquake since since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Service, larger than the 7.9-magnitude Tokyo quake in 1923 or the 6.3 trembler that just hit Christchurch, New Zealand.

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