Japan Quake Damage Mounts; Reactor Watched

[TexTushHog]

More bad news from Japan. There has been a third explosion and it's not clear from current reports that it hasn't breached the primary containment vessel of the No. 2 reactor.

This explosion, reported to have occurred at 6:14 a.m., happened in the “pressure suppression room” in the cooling area of the reactor and inflicted some degree of damage on the pool of water used to cool the reactor, officials of Tokyo Electric Power said. But they did not say whether or not the incident had impacted the integrity of the steel containment structure that shields the nuclear fuel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/wo...uclear.html?hp

I get the impression that the operators are either 1) way behind the curve on this and are just shooting in the dark on all of this; or 2) that shit is a lot worse than they have let on.

[TexTushHog]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Soviet aircraft turbines left the west in the dust.

Their torpedoes are still the best in the world.

They lead the world in both high temperature and high pressure physics.

Take off the "God Bless the USA" blinders and see the real.

Once the last two space shuttle missions go later this year, the U.S. will be relegated to hitching a ride into space with the Russians. We will have no -- zip, nada, not one -- rocket that is capable of carrying men into orbit.

[pjorourke]

But we have Cowboy Poetry festivals.

[TexTushHog]

LA Times story is not reassuring at all. Makes it sound worse than the NYTimes story.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,2212206.story

Edited to add:

Now the NYT is reporting that 750 out of 800 workers at the plant have been evacuated for their own safety. The poor SOBs amongst the 50 who drew the short straw are left trying to keep their finger in the dike, one supposes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/wo...uclear.html?hp

It sounds like it's gone from bad to worse to near critical. Pulling workers who were apparently previously needed to keep the damned thing under control is a pretty big clue of what they expect to happen next.

[gnadfly]

Originally Posted by WTF

Actually that is not true.

Wow. Great comeback. Care to quote any examples? Rockets exploding on the launchpad. Warnings not to fly Aeroflot. Subs rusting in port and unusable because they are poorly built...on and on and that was with Pravda to squash any bad news. Where are those great Soviet cars? I'm waiting for one of those well researched WTF links. Can I have Honey BBQ sauce on it?

If the Russians are so great at high pressure physics, etc why did they invite the major oil companies in to help with exploration, pipeline etc? Wow. My guess is that profit was a motive too. Wasn't it one of those advanced torpedoes that caused the Kursk to sink?

[Mazomaniac]

Originally Posted by gnadfly

Wow. Great comeback. Care to quote any examples? Rockets exploding on the launchpad. Warnings not to fly Aeroflot. Subs rusting in port and unusable because they are poorly built . . .

Hmm, let's see.

Challenger Disaster

American Airlines fined $24M for repeated violations of safety rules

Entire F-35 fleet grounded due to mechanical problems

Yep, them Russians got nothin' on us, do they now?

If the Russians are so great at high pressure physics, etc why did they invite the major oil companies in to help with exploration, pipeline etc?

Maybe your question would be clearer if you can explain how high pressure physics and petroleum engineering are related. Last I checked they weren't.

And since the Russians are so horrible at big engineering projects perhaps you can explain why we let them build major weapons systems for us.

Wasn't it one of those advanced torpedoes that caused the Kursk to sink?

Probably. Just as it was one or our advanced torpedoes that probably sank the USS Scorpion and one of the British advanced torpedoes that probably sank the HMS Sidon.

Yep, them Rooskies could never touch our technology.

LOL.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[Mazomaniac]

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

It sounds like it's gone from bad to worse to near critical.

If the report of a fire in one of the spent fuel ponds is correct then, as Camille would say, they're fooked.

Ain't no way to deal with that which doesn't involve a major release of nasty shit.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[I B Hankering]

Gilbert Gottfried Fired as Aflac Duck After Insensitive Japan Jokes



By Tracey Harrington McCoyMar 14th 2011 10:30PM




After tweeting a string of insensitive jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, comedian Gilbert Gottfried lost his gig as the voice of Alfac's duck mascot, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

"Gilbert's recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac," Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said in a statement Monday. "There is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times."

"Aflac will immediately set plans in motion to conduct a nationwide casting call to find a new voice of the iconic Aflac Duck," the statement continued.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Aflac does about 75% of its business in Japan. The company plans to donate about $100 million to disaster relief.



http://www.popeater.com/2011/03/14/g...d-fired-aflac/

[I B Hankering]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

Hmm, let's see.

Challenger Disaster

American Airlines fined $24M for repeated violations of safety rules

Entire F-35 fleet grounded due to mechanical problems

Yep, them Russians got nothin' on us, do they now?

Maybe your question would be clearer if you can explain how high pressure physics and petroleum engineering are related. Last I checked they weren't.

And since the Russians are so horrible at big engineering projects perhaps you can explain why we let them build major weapons systems for us.

Probably. Just as it was one or our advanced torpedoes that probably sank the USS Scorpion and one of the British advanced torpedoes that probably sank the HMS Sidon.

Yep, them Rooskies could never touch our technology.

LOL.

Cheers,
Mazo.

I am not claiming that anything you have written is incorrect. Nor, am I claiming you cannot find more (BTW, I know I can also). I'm just offering additional information to keep things in perspective.

India rejects Russian aerial tankers over poor maintenance

NEW DELHI, May 26 [2009] (RIA Novosti) - India has dropped Russia from a $1-bln tender to supply six aerial tankers for the Indian Air Force due to poor after-sales maintenance services, the Hindustan Times cited the air force chief as saying.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090526/155093776.html


Russian Air Force to get 34 warplanes rejected by Algeria

Published: Tue January 13th, 2009 via: RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Air Force will receive later this year 34 modern MiG-29 SMT and MiG-29 UBT fighter jets that Algeria refused to accept under an earlier contract, a Russian Defense Ministry source said on Tuesday.

Russian arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport had signed a $1.3 bln contract to deliver 29 one-seat MiG-29SMT fighters and six two-seat MiG-29UB fighters to Algeria in March 2006 as part of an $8 billion military cooperation agreement.

However, after receiving 15 MiG fighters, Algeria refused further deliveries in May 2007. It then froze all payments under contracts with Russia in October 2007, requiring that Moscow first take back the 15 MiG-29s due to their "inferior quality."

http://air-attack.com/news/article/3...y-Algeria.html



Russian submarine K-141 Kursk

Kursk sailed out to sea to perform an exercise of firing dummy torpedoes at the Pyotr Velikiy, a Kirov-class battlecruiser. On August 12, 2000 at 11:28 local time (07:28 UTC), there was an explosion while preparing to fire the torpedoes. The only credible report to date is that this was due to the failure and explosion of one of the Kursk's hydrogen peroxide-fueled torpedoes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian...ne_K-141_Kursk

The Russian Northern Fleet Nuclear submarine accidents

K-19 [“The Widow Maker”]
The first nuclear accident to occur on a Russian submarine was on the Northern Fleet's ballistic missile submarine K-19 (Project 658 - Hotel class). On July 4, 1961, during exercises in the North Atlantic, a leak developed in an inaccessible part of the submarine K-19's primary cooling circuit. The leak was specifically located to a pipe regulating the pressure within the primary cooling circuit. The leak caused a sudden drop in pressure, setting off the reactor emergency systems.


Other nuclear submarine accidents include:
K-8
K-219
K-278 (Komsomolets)
K-11
K-27
K-140
K-429
K-222
K-123
K-314
K-431
K-192 (formerly K-131)
K-3
K-47

http://spb.org.ru/bellona/ehome/russia/nfl/nfl8.htm

[Mazomaniac]

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

I am not claiming that anything you have written is incorrect. Nor, am I claiming you cannot find more (BTW, I know I can also). I'm just offering additional information to keep things in perspective.

Thanks Hank. Keeping things in perspective is exactly what we need to do here.

As I've said before around here, one of the great problems America has had over the last half decade is the belief that we're #1 in everything. That's how we got our ass kicked in automobiles, electronics, steel, etc, etc, etc. We spent so much time braggin' on ourselves that we let the rest of the world slip by us.

Just look at Gnad's chief example - petroleum engineering. Yes, we used to be #1 in that field. Not any more. Nowdays the Norwegians are the tops in off-shore technology and the biggest oil field equipment supplier is the Dutch conglomerate Schlumberger. America is losing its edge in every field precisely because people can't keep it in perspective. They're too busy waving the flag to realize that the rest of the world aren't idiots living in huts.

I absolutely agree that the Russians - partly because of their economy and partly because of their system - had serious issues with implementation. That doesn't mean their national IQ was below 60. If the Russian had had access to the kind of wealth available in the US they would have given us a run for our money. Now that they (as well as the Chinese) are working under a financial system where they can get that kind of funding we had better learn quick that there ain't no free ride for the US anymore.

People like Gnad love to think that only Americans have the smarts needed to get things done. He's going to be sorely surprised when he end ups working for a Chinese, Russian, or Indian guy some day.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

If the report of a fire in one of the spent fuel ponds is correct then, as Camille would say, they're fooked.

Ain't no way to deal with that which doesn't involve a major release of nasty shit.

Cheers,
Mazo.

yeah, things are clearly heading south. IAEC now rates this mess a 6 - versus 7 for Chernobyl and 5 for TMI.

Come to think of it fooked may not cover it.

[Marshall]

http://www.businessinsider.com/japan...no-risk-2011-3

I wonder how many people would read this if it was put under their nose.....

[charlestudor2005]

Originally Posted by Marshall

http://www.businessinsider.com/japan...no-risk-2011-3

I wonder how many people would read this if it was put under their nose.....

Read??? Surely you jest, when we have a reliable source such as FoxNews able to tell us this.

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by Mazomaniac

As I've said before around here, one of the great problems America has had over the last half decade is the belief that we're #1 in everything. That's how we got our ass kicked in automobiles, electronics, steel, etc, etc, etc. We spent so much time braggin' on ourselves that we let the rest of the world slip by us.

Just look at Gnad's chief example - petroleum engineering. Yes, we used to be #1 in that field. Not any more. Nowdays the Norwegians are the tops in off-shore technology and the biggest oil field equipment supplier is the Dutch conglomerate Schlumberger. America is losing its edge in every field precisely because people can't keep it in perspective. They're too busy waving the flag to realize that the rest of the world aren't idiots living in huts.

I absolutely agree that the Russians - partly because of their economy and partly because of their system - had serious issues with implementation. That doesn't mean their national IQ was below 60. If the Russian had had access to the kind of wealth available in the US they would have given us a run for our money. Now that they (as well as the Chinese) are working under a financial system where they can get that kind of funding we had better learn quick that there ain't no free ride for the US anymore.

People like Gnad love to think that only Americans have the smarts needed to get things done. He's going to be sorely surprised when he end ups working for a Chinese, Russian, or Indian guy some day.

Cheers,
Mazo.

Yes, the unions and environmentalists [leftists] have done a great deal of damage to the well being of the American people......Russia screws things up because their political IQ is less then 60.......America is still great, but it's not because we're better or smarter people....America is great because its people have been more free to pursue their own self interests....Thank Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, Madison and Jay for that.......God Bless the United States of America!

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

Read??? Surely you jest, when we have a reliable source such as FoxNews able to tell us this.

The liberals I know aren't much for reading....they are in touch with their feelings and emotions though