Pressure continues to rise at #1

By | | ,
Leave a comment

If these graphs are trustworthy, then there are two still-developing situations, although both are moving slowly, and neither looks like an emergent problem in the short term. But in dealing with previously damaged systems, all bets are off.

The pressure in the core of Fukushima Daiichi number one continues to rise, while the drywell pressure falls. The rising pressure is disturbing even though it is just approaching 1,000 kPa, which is about ten atmospheres. We have seen these vessels performing well in excess of 6,000 kPa, and at the rate the pressure is rising, that would be weeks from now even if it continued in a linear fashion, which is unlikely. So as a raw amount of pressure, it is not alarming, but the fact that it … Continue reading →

Data shows Fukushima 1-3 probably intact

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Contrary to my previous post, it seems, the third unit at Fukushima 1 is intact. There are serious issues, but this data tells a tale of fluctuating pressure in #3 drywell after the explosion, which would not be possible if the lid had been blown off. Instead it would look like #2, which is a nightmare. That one definitely breached, as the pressure in the core vessel and the drywell have not budged from 1 atmosphere since the explosion.
Part of the deal in speaking frankly is admitting mistakes, and I was wrong about #3 popping its cork. Now we just have all the rest of them to worry about.

Continue reading →

Is this the lid of Fukushima 1-3's primary containment?

By | | ,
Leave a comment

I can’t prove it but I think the lid of Fukushima 1-3 is lying atop the wreckage where it landed after being blasted 400 feet straight up in a spew of reactor guts.

Explosion of #3 directed straight up, and forcefully so. This happens when “up” is the easiest direction to go, which would be the case if the lid gives way while the walls hold together.

You can see crap raining down from that plume. Big heavy crap. I said *at the time* that the object on the left was the primary containment lid.

The footage of the 1-3 (second) explosion is shot from the south-west. The tower in the foreground is aligned with the corner of the #3 building from the camera’s perspective. The big … Continue reading →

… Priceless

By | |
Leave a comment

I won;t say much about this. But imagine if the whole MSM were motivated to make mountains out of this molehill. You know; the way they do with Republican presidents.

Story and pic here: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//110325/481/urn_publicid_ap_org4f5e66f76c6043fab3de0d477ff216c6/

Sigh…

By | |
Leave a comment

For once, it really does seem to be messaging. I’ll assume for the sake of argument that within Operation Odyssey Dawn the lines of command are clear and smooth. British missiles hitting a building in one of his “residential” compounds hardly qualify as proof of an assassination attempt, as there is every possibility that various facilities serve purposes other than those advertised, cf. “Baby Milk Factory”.

I wanted a No-Fly Zone, so I won’t shellack the President for going along with one, and in fact I wanted it far earlier than it came. I’l let that go too, for now.

If the president had gotten ahead of this and said that American involvement will be limited in scope and duration to a “tip of the spear” penetration and … Continue reading →

Praise for the Obama Doctrine… a work in progress

By | | ,
Leave a comment

I’ll be brief here.  I would like to extend compliments to the Obama administration for taking action and declaring some controlling principles.  I have plenty of criticism which can be seen all over my blog and elsewhwere, but that is not this post.  I believe that the price of admission to a gripe session includes a willingness to take Yes for an answer, and proposals for shared success, not just criticisms.  I’m not sure where I’ll wind up on this putative doctrine of President Obama’s, and I’m not sure what it will turn out to be, but my first impression is that it’s a step in the right direction.  So I take this opportunity to give credit where due.

The President has ordered U.S. military aircraft to evacuate … Continue reading →

Free People Get Along

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Two posts which caught my eye mere minutes apart, thanks to Twitter and the exertions of those more knowledgeable than myself.

The first is from Commentary magazine, “the flagship of neoconservatism.”

Commentary Magazine

The UN will not, in a billion years, fire off so much as a water pistol to help dislodge Qaddafi.  Among UN Security Council Members are China and Russia – autocracies with every reason to see popular liberation movements suffocate.

This is a critical point, and while I had not even considered the slow-moving and short0sighted UN as possibly helping in this instance, neither had I considered the real reasons that nothing will happen on that front.   In that article, the author comes out in the pages of America’s leading … Continue reading →

Is Obama's Policy of Weakness Intentional?

By | |
1 Comment

Face it.  President Obama’s plainly stated view is that the United States is not exceptional, is just another nation among many, has no special role in the world, has no moral authority to use force beyond its borders.  He feels that a uni-polar world is one threatened by the sole superpower, not the rogue states and stateless actors which now abound.   It is not unreasonable to think that his policy decisions would conform to this view, and in fact, be designed to hobble exceptionalist policy now and down the road.

America is presented with multiple crises where desperate people cry for liberation from oppression.  Our involvement would not only help those people, but would help repair our reputation as straight shooters with a plainly stated goal of … Continue reading →

Hal Rogers Must Go

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Why is Hal “laying off Federal employees is bad” Rogers still calling the shots in Appropriations?  It is time for him to stand aside or be shoved.  He can still represent his district, but he is the wrong man at this time to head House Appropriations.  Wrong attitude, wrong priorities.

Hal Rogers is a SIXTEEN TERM Washington big spender whose nickname is the “Prince of Pork”.   I do not begrudge this man his honorable service, but it has come to an end.  He is careening rapidly into the disreputable portion of his career, and we CANNOT AFFORD HAL ROGERS anymore.

Question: If Hal Rogers gets the cane, who would take over the House Committee on Appropriations? 

Answer:  I don’t care.

Continue reading →