TEPCO: Removal of Melted Nuclear Fuel Rods at Fukushima May BEGIN in 10 Years IF Technology is Invented to Do It …

… and if another catastrophic earthquake doesn’t sink Japan into the Pacific first.  So to all the Einsteins and Edisons, put your thinking caps on …

“A roadmap toward decommissioning of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant indicates that the removal of melted nuclear fuel rods at the plant may begin in 10 years.

NHK has obtained the mid- and long-term roadmap which was presented when officials from the operator of the Fukushima plant, government officials in charge of nuclear safety, and manufacturers of nuclear reactors met last week.

The draft roadmap drawn up by the government’s Nuclear Safety Commission and Tokyo Electric Power Company says they tentatively set a target date to begin removing fuel rods that melted and fell to the bottom of the reactor.

The work is considered to be the most important phase in the decommissioning process. The roadmap indicates that removal will start in 2021 if technology essential for the work has been developed before that.”  Read more.

Ten Workers Enter Reactor 3 For 9 Minutes and Get 5.3 Millisieverts of Radiation – “6 TEPCO employees and 4 TEPCO affiliate company employees went to the reactor building of the Reactor 3 on July 8 afternoon. 2 TEPCO employees entered the building, measured the radiation at the location where the nitrogen injection hose would be installed (55 millisieverts/hour), and put a temporary coupler on the metal pipe that would be used for nitrogen injection. For that 9-minute job, they received 5.34 millisieverts radiation.” Read more.

Japan: Radiation Levels Many Times the Government Limit Found in Meat Circulating on Japanese Market

By Nicholas Ito – “Tokyo (CNN) — A Japanese health official downplayed the dangers Tuesday after cesium contaminated meat from six Fukushima cows was delivered to Japanese markets and probably ingested.

Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of consumer affairs and food-safety, said he hoped to head off any overreactions.

‘If we were to eat the meat everyday, then it would probably be dangerous,’ Hosono said at a news conference Tuesday. ‘But if it is consumed only in small portions, I don’t think it would have any long-lasting effects on the human body.’

The meat, delivered late last month, has made its way to consumers and most likely has been ingested, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday evening. This was preceded by another recent discovery of radiation in the meat of 11 cows delivered to Tokyo from the same farm.

The discovery was made when Tokyo’s office of health and welfare investigated six deliveries made at the end of June from a Fukushima farm. So far, radiation has been confirmed from three out of the six cows. In one case, radiation reached 3400 Becquerels, which is about seven times the limit set by the government.

When the Fukushima Prefectural Government, on Monday, investigated the farm from which the meat was delivered, cesium was found in cattle feed such as hay, with radiation levels as much as 57 times higher than the ceiling set by the Japanese government.” Read more.

US: Defense Department Authorizes Sale of 125 M1A1 Tanks and Other Weapons and Equipment … to Egypt

Oh, don’t worry friends, the United States should go ahead and sell all the state-of-the-art military equipment that a post-Mubarak Egypt wants.  Obama is the Commander-in-Chief, and he knows what he’s doing.  It doesn’t really matter much that the Muslim Brotherhood will likely be playing a pivotal leadership role in a ‘new-and-improved’ Egypt later this year.  I mean, these are the kind of people that take care of each other. They’re harmless, peace-loving folks.  They even condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden.  If that’s not pro-life, I don’t know what is.  And they only think they own the world, so it’s not like they really do or anything, or that they’ll suddenly attack the Jewish state without a just cause. They just simply want to end the peace treaty with Israel.  No biggie.  And it isn’t as if they’ll be imposing Sharia Law upon the people of Egypt overnight, that’ll be done over time in phases.  And as for all that talk about the Caliphate and a global Islamic state, hey come on.  That won’t be established today, it can wait till tomorrow.   I mean, really, the Muslim Brotherhood is just a peaceful bunch of guys.  It doesn’t make a difference that they’ve voiced support for Iran’s nuclear ambitions, or defended Hitler and nuclear terror, because their official motto says nothing about all that stuff.  Instead, ‘Allah is our objective, the Prophet is our leader, the Koran is our law, Jihad is our way, and dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Allahu akbar!’ …

“While everyone in Washington was concentrating on the debt crisis this week, the Obama administration attempted to slip through a questionable arms deal that requires serious scrutiny. Though it got little attention, the Defense Department officially notified Congress on Friday that it was authorizing the sale of 125 M1A1 tanks to Egypt as well as other weapons, equipment, parts, training and logistical support. While most of the military sales to Egypt have sailed through without objection in the more than 30 years since it signed a peace deal with Israel, this is the first such sale since the fall of the Mubarak regime earlier this year. Which is exactly why the sale ought to be held up until the unsettled situation in the most populous country in the Arab world is better understood.

Congress has 30 days to register its formal objections to the proposed sale. That it should do so is imperative. The reasons for a delay are not complicated.

In the wake of Mubarak’s fall from power, the Egyptian military seems to have retained a firm grip on power. But the army seems intent on sharing power with a resurgent Muslim Brotherhood movement that threatens the foundation of the relationship between the United States and Egypt. Since the 1979 Camp David Accords, the Egyptian military has gotten all the high-tech and expensive equipment it wanted so long as it was clear their new toys would not be used to threaten or attack Israel. But as Egypt lurches toward the election of a new government that will probably be made up of Islamist elements, that peace is in jeopardy.”  Read more.

Hawaii: Crater of Hawaii Volcano Bulging, ‘What Happens Next is Anyone’s Guess’

“The bulging Pu`u `Ō `ō crater on the east rift zone of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is putting on a show, and there is no telling what could be next.

This USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory video shows a timelapse sequence taken from a thermal camera on the rim of Pu`u `Ō `ō crater.

The movie spans from May 26 to today and shows the rising level of the lava lake in the crater.

Things appear to be going slow in the first part of the movie, which shows the eruption during the month of June. You can see the level of the lava lake rises primarily due to overflows building the steep levee walls higher.

Scientists say sources within Pu`u `O`o crater are feeding that lava lake.

But its in the last portion of the movie where things get really interesting. From about July 1 to today, geologists say much of the rise of the lava lake has been due to uplift of the crater floor, carrying the lava lake upward. This uplift has been especially pronounced over the past few days, shown by the final few moments of the movie.” Read more.

Indonesia: Bomb Explodes Prematurely and Kills ‘Teacher’ in ‘Bomb-Making Class’ at Islamic School

So here we have someone teaching students how to make bombs at an Islamic Madrassa to be used against the police, and the police have to ‘persuade’ the school officials and students to let them investigate?  Who is the real authority in Indonesia?  Police, professors or pupils?

By ALI KOTARUMALOS – “JAKARTA, Indonesia – A man reportedly trying to show students how to make explosives was killed by a homemade bomb inside an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, police said Tuesday.

School officials and students have prevented police from entering the building since Monday’s explosion, local police spokesman Lt. Col. Sukarman Husen said.

But they discovered the body of the suspected bomb maker, a 30-year-old man identified only as Firdaus, on a bus Tuesday as it tried to leave the school compound, he said.

Eleven people have been taken in for questioning, Husen said, adding that police also confiscated a number of arrows and machetes.

Husen said the bombing victim was a treasurer at the school, but media reports alleged he was a former bomb trainee in the Philippine region of Mindanao. According to TVOne, he was killed in an unintentional explosion while training students about bomb-making.

Police are still persuading the school officials to let them enter the compound, Husen said.

National Police Spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said the explosion was suspected to be from a homemade bomb being prepared to attack the police.” Read more.

Experts Keep Cose Watch on Vanuatu’s Increasingly Active Ambae Volcano

“Geohazard experts in Vanuatu have set up extra monitoring equipment around the increasingly active Ambae volcano.

A geohazard technical advisor with the Vanuatu government Sylvain Todman says nearby villagers are worried about the volcano’s increasing explosions and ash falls.

He says a team’s been dispatched to keep an eye on the volcano over the next week and seismic sensors have been set up on the east and west of the island.

‘It’s one of the most dangerous volcanoes on Vanuatu and there are many people around this volcano and the activity could increase very fast so we need to be as close as possible to notice any change in the activity.’

Sylvain Todman says the volcano’s level of activity may be upgraded from level one to level two which means people living within a five kilometre radius would have to move.” Source.

UK: Hundreds of Fish Found Dead at Scarborough Lake

“AS many as 200 fish have died at a Scarborough lake after being starved of oxygen.

The fish were left desperately gasping for air at Scarborough Mere after the lake’s oxygen levels plummeted following the recent weather.

Firefighters yesterday pumped gallons of water back into the site’s Match Lake to increase the air flow.

Environment Agency bosses confirmed the changeable atmospheric pressure was the cause with tests showing the lake’s air level was just 20 per cent oxygen after the heavy downpours.

In contrast, The Mere’s sister lakes had 132 per cent and 118 per cent oxgyen respectively.

Andy Maccalaugh, junior match secretary for Scarborough Mere Angling Club, said the lake would be closed for three days while water pumps – including one borrowed from Wykeham Lakes – worked to aerate the lake.

He said: ‘The fish were coming to the surface gasping for air.'” Read more.

Kansas – Hundreds of dead fish found at Arma City Pond – “ARMA — Hundreds of fish turned up dead in the Arma City Pond Friday morning. The kill is not unusual in the hot summer months, said District Fisheries Biologist Rob Friggeri, and he and his assistant, Logan Martin, scooped the dead fish out of the water Friday afternoon. What happens, he said, is that oxygen levels go down as the water heats up, which plays havoc with the fish. In the pond are grass carp, channel catfish, bluegill, largemouth bass and red-eared sunfish.” Read more.

Update: ‘An International Laughing Stock’: UN Appoints North Korea to Head Conference on Disarmament; Canada Boycotts

Viva la Canada!

Update July 12, 2011: Canada boycotts UN body over North Korea Appointment – “Canada is boycotting a UN body dedicated to disarmament to protest against North Korea being named its chair, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced Monday.

The Conference on Disarmament, where UN members negotiate disarmament and other arms control agreements, is heavily focused on the prevention of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament.

‘North Korea is simply not a credible chair at this United Nations body. The regime is a major proliferator of nuclear weapons and its non-compliance with its disarmament obligations goes against the fundamental principle of this committee,’ Baird said during a call with media to make the announcement.

‘North Korea’s chairmanship undermines the integrity of both the disarmament framework and of the United Nations, and Canada simply will not support that.'” Read more.

June 30, 2011: The stupidity and nonsensical appointment by the Useless Nitwits knows no bounds.  Next thing you know they’ll elect let’s-stone-women-to-death Iran to their women’s rights commission.  Oh, they did that already, too?

By ANNE BAYEFSKY – “On Tuesday, the United Nations again made itself an international laughing stock – except perhaps to the American taxpayers who continue to foot 22 percent of the bill – by appointing North Korea chair of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament. That would be the same North Korea that, according to an article this week by Senator John Kerry, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has ‘twice tested nuclear weapons … is developing missiles to carry them … has built facilities capable of producing highly enriched uranium for more nuclear weapons’ and has defied a U.N. arms embargo by exporting weapons and sensitive technologies to rogue regimes…

North Korea assumes the Conference chairmanship by being the next state in the alphabetical rotation of the 65 members, which include five nuclear weapons states and 60 other countries such as Iran and Syria. North Korea will preside over the Conference for a four working-week period.” Read more.

North Korea threatens a ‘sacred war’ on neighbor – “North Korea threatened yesterday to launch ‘a retaliatory sacred war’ against South Korea for alleged slander as the two sides held rare talks on a stalled joint tourism project. A Pyongyang government spokesman accused the South Korean frontline army units of displaying slogans slandering the North’s ‘army, system and dignity’ and said they are ‘little short of a clear declaration of war.'” Read more.

North Korea-Iran Nuclear Cooperation – “The release of U.S. diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks and North Korea’s revelations about its uranium enrichment program have raised concerns about North Korea’s proliferation activities, especially to Iran. ‘Most illicit nuclear programs depend very heavily on procurement networks, and North Korea has invested heavily in these supply networks,’ says Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia nonproliferation program at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.” Read more.