Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:36 PM
1 comments
You're hearing about them less this time, partly because Japan is a much more advanced society than Haiti, and partly because most of the work they're doing on the ground is not minute-to-minute-life-and-death surgery (unfortunately, many of the victims were swept out to sea). But the IDF is the only one of more than 40 delegations who volunteered to come to Japan to help with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami who actually showed up. And they're performing surgery in a country that has a law forbidding foreigners from performing surgery! Here's the story from the Toronto Star (usually a strongly anti-Israel newspaper) (Hat Tip: NY Nana). Arriving a couple weeks after a four-storey wall of water swept away more than half of Minami-Sanriku’s 16,000 people, the 50-member medical team isn’t dealing with emergencies.I wonder if any of the countries pushing for a 'Palestinian state' that has a theology that includes replacing Israel has thought about who will help their country the next time the disaster strikes and 'Palestine' - God forbid - sits in the middle of the Levant.
Instead they’ve set up a clinic with expertise not easily found in rural Japan — gynecology, urology, pediatrics, ophthalmology. Given the gasoline shortage, an obstetrical team has been visiting pregnant women in the scattered emergency shelters, ultrasound in hand.
One of Merin’s colleagues, Dr. David Raveh, writes movingly in his blog about the director of the town’s old-age home who appeared at the clinic with her Japanese doctor, two weeks after the receding wave sucked at her legs.
“What strength she had, to overcome the wild shearing force of waves, holding onto a pole,” he writes.
She thought nothing of the cuts on her legs, tending instead to the elderly residents. Now her jaw and neck were tense, her doctor told him.
“I cut him short after his second sentence, my eyes widening. Tetanus, I said decisively to her doctor.”
To each of these patients, the Israelis’ presence must offer some solace. But the greater work being done is diplomatic, Merin says.
“There was a law in Japan that stated non-Japanese people were not allowed to treat the Japanese on their ground,” Merin says. “Hopefully, this will open their minds, that countries should assist one another.”
The Israeli mission follows the Jewish concept of tikkun olam — to repair the world. But Merin has his own personal reasons for helping. In 1942, the Nazis entered a Polish village and loaded the Jews onto boxcars bound for the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Sensing their impending doom, one couple slipped their 8-year-old son off the train. A Catholic woman living in one village over hid him in her cupboard for 18 months.
“Once the war ended, he got out and eventually went to Israel. He got married and had three sons. I’m the second,” said Merin, 50, who has four children of his own now.
Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:28 PM
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Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:24 AM
0 comments
An IDF delegation has arrived in Japan and has set up a clinic.The city where the IDF field clinic is being established is attracting many displaced persons and the IDF aid delegation is currently distributing and setting up the medical equipment in order to have the field clinic operational. The field clinic will feature:The set up looks a bit less Spartan than Haiti, but at least in Haiti they weren't contending with radiation.
- X-ray
- Pediatrics ward
- Surgical ward
- Maternity and Gynecological wards
- Otolaryngology (Ears, Nose and Throat)
- Optometry department
- Laboratory
- Intensive Care Unit
- Pharmacy
Seven Japanese nationals who speak Hebrew joined the delegation today in order to provide translation services and serve as liaisons with the local population. A preliminary meeting was held today between the medical officers of the delegation and the representatives from local medical services. Tomorrow, a meeting is scheduled with the community leaders in the area.
Radiation levels in the area where the IDF aid delegation has deployed are being followed carefully by experts from the Atomic Energy Commission and by experts from the IDF Medical Corps in order to ensure that there is no danger posed to delegation members or patients in the area.
Labels: earthquake, IDF, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:33 AM
0 comments
Could there be a connection between the crisis over Japan's nuclear facilities and Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon? Several weeks before the Fukushima accident, Japanese deputy minister for foreign affairs Bessho Koro visited Tehran to meet with Iranian Foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi and carry the message of a pro-Iran Japan (after all, if it's profitable, why not?):Hmmm. Read the whole thing.The Japanese deputy foreign minister said Japan supports Iran's nuclear energy program and added that Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. He went on to say that Tokyo is determined to develop ties with Tehran. Salehi and Koro also discussed the latest regional developments and called for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries in all spheres.What exactly are the latest regional developments? Iran suppressing democratic protests? The threat of Iranian-funded terrorism taking hold in the new chaos facing the Middle East? Gaza firing Iranian rockets on Israel? Where exactly are the regional developments that create an environment conducive between anything resembling the 21st-century world with one of the most oppressive and unstable regimes on the planet?!
And here's what was in the works last February (via Israel Matzav):
Politico: Japan emerges as key player on IranUnder the alleged compromise fuel swap deal that Japanese diplomats quietly briefed U.S. officials on earlier this month, some 70% of Iran’s low enriched uranium stockpile would be moved to Japan, according to what one Washington source, speaking anonymously, was told by the Japanese. Japan would then take responsibility for the stockpile, and ensure the delivery to Iran of fuel rods for nuclear medical use.If there were any plans in the works for Japan to supply Iran with fuel rods for "medical use", the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis "wiped them off the face of the earth", so to speak. In the Politico article, there's an interesting fact mentioned that creates an eerie connection between the future of Egypt and the latest nuclear crisis:
Labels: earthquake, Fukushima nuclear power plant, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:28 PM
2 comments
DigitalGlobe has released a new commercial satellite image of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear site in Japan taken at 10:55AM local time on March 17, 2011. Steam continues to vent out of the top of the Unit 3 reactor building. Steam also appears to be continuing to vent out of the side of the Unit 2 reactor building.Hmmm.
The roof of the Unit 4 reactor building appears different than it did in the March 16, 2011 image. While the paneling on the roof of the building appears intact in the March 16, 2011 image, it appears that only the skeleton of the roof frame is left in the March 17, 2011 image. While it is possible that the varying angles of the images is affecting the appearance, the difference appears significant enough to indicate a structural change. It is unclear how the roof structure changed. With only a skeleton frame on the roof, it may be easier to deliver water to the spent fuel pond to Unit 4 from above.
Labels: earthquake, Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:39 AM
0 comments
Dr. Michael Allen, an expert on nuclear reactor meltdowns, talks about some of the worst case scenarios in Japan (Hat Tip: Instapundit). The worst of the worst could come if Japan can't come up with a way to sufficiently cool down the reactor fuel cores. That has reportedly become increasingly difficult with workers evacuating the sites -- at least temporarily -- because of high radiation fields.I've heard a lot of reports of Japan using helicopters to get water into the reactors and cool their cores. What I don't understand is why they're not using the water-tanker planes that were used for the Haifa forest fire here a few months ago.
"These things play out over a long period of time, longer than people would think," Allen said. "You have an earthquake that lasts maybe a minute, a tsunami that lasts maybe 15 minutes. But these things could go on for months. You could lose all six of the reactors."
If workers are unable to get additional cooling water into the reactor vessel, the molten fuel core will collapse into the water in bottom of the vessel. Eventually the heat from the decaying fuel would boil away the water that's left, leaving the core sitting on the vessel's lower head made of steel.
Should that happen, "It'll melt through it like butter," Allen said.
That, in turn, would cause a "high-pressure melt injection" into the water-filled concrete cavity below the reactor. Because the concrete would likely be unheated, the reaction created by the sudden injection of the reactor's ultra-hot content would be immense, he said.
"It'll be like somebody dropped a bomb, and there'll be a big cloud of very, very radioactive material above the ground," Allen said, noting that it would contain uranium and plutonium, as well as the fission products.
Should these events happen, the best outcome would be if the winds are blowing east and push the radioactive plume over the Pacific Ocean, he said. "It (the radioactivity) will fall out in the ocean and everything will be fine," he said.
The worst case, Allen said, would be if winds pushed a radioactive cloud south toward Tokyo and Japan's highly populated cities. If that were to happen, he said, the consequences would likely be greater than the 1986 accident at Chernobyl, where an entire area of Ukraine had to be evacuated because of the radioactive conditions that increased the risk of developing cancer.
Should these events happen, the best outcome would be if the winds are blowing east and push the radioactive plume over the Pacific Ocean, he said. "It (the radioactivity) will fall out in the ocean and everything will be fine," he said.
The worst case, Allen said, would be if winds pushed a radioactive cloud south toward Tokyo and Japan's highly populated cities. If that were to happen, he said, the consequences would likely be greater than the 1986 accident at Chernobyl, where an entire area of Ukraine had to be evacuated because of the radioactive conditions that increased the risk of developing cancer.
Labels: earthquake, Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan, nuclear meltdown, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:45 PM
3 comments
Ouch.Labels: earthquake, Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:42 AM
1 comments
I think it's time for a tsunami to wash the utterly failed Ehud Barak out of Israel's government. Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Barak said that as that September deadline nears "we stand to face a diplomatic tsunami that the majority of the public is unaware of," Barak said, adding that there was "an international movement that may recognize a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders."This is what Ehud Barak was doing while the latest five victims of his utter failure as a leader and as defense minister were being buried in Jerusalem.
"It's a mistake not to notice this tsunami. Israel's delegitimization is in sight, even if citizens don't see it. It is a very dangerous situation, one that requires action," the defense minister said, adding that "diplomatic initiative" would "reduce risks down the road."
Barak also leveled what could be construed as indirect criticism of the diplomatic policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that "for the last two years we haven't tried to put the core issues on the [negotiations'] table."
"Israel must say it is willing to discuss security borders, refugees, and Jerusalem and then it could have a chance," the defense minister said, adding that in the event that this initiative would fail, then "the other side would take the blame."
The defense minister also called on opposition leader and Kadima chairperson Tzipi Livni to join the cabinet immediately in order to promote the peace process. According to Barak, "an election at this point is a bad option."
Labels: Ehud Barak, epic fail, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:44 AM
2 comments
Japanese authorities said Sunday that efforts to restart the cooling system at one of the reactors damaged by Friday's earthquake had failed, a major setback in the struggle to contain what has become the most serious nuclear power crisis in a quarter century.Read the whole thing.
Officials said utility workers released "air containing radioactive materials" in an effort to relieve pressure inside the reactor, even as they raced to bring several other imperiled reactors under control.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said officials were acting on the assumption that a meltdown could be underway at that reactor, Fukushima Daiichi's unit 3, and that it was "highly possible" that a meltdown was underway at Fukushima Daiichi's unit 1 reactor, where an explosion destroyed a building a day earlier.
Hours before he spoke, authorities began evacuating more than 200,000 residents from a 12.5-mile radius around Fukushima Daiichi and another nuclear power complex, made preparations to distribute potassium iodide pills, and warned people in the vicinity to stay inside and cover their mouths if they ventured outdoors.
Federal safety agency officials said that as many as 160 people had been exposed to radiation from the plants. "Only the gravest danger would justify an evacuation at such a moment," said Peter Bradford, a former commissioner at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
...
The Nuclear Energy Institute said that the incident at Fukushima Daiichi had been given a rating of 4 on its 7-point International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, lower than the 5 earned by the 1979 Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania and the 7 earned by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
But many experts said it was too early to reach conclusions while new information was emerging.
Labels: earthquake, Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:45 AM
1 comments
Omri Ceren catches Barak Obama with his foot deep - really deep - in his mouth. President Obama sent his condolences to the people of Japan over the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake, and declared that the United States stands ready to offer aid because of the “unshakeable” (sic) bond between the two nations.How did the teleprompter come up with that one?
Labels: Barack Obama, earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:17 PM
0 comments
Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:16 PM
2 comments
Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:42 PM
0 comments
1. If the “nuclear emergency” at the power plant that is failing to cool its core gets worse, it will be the end of the renewed talk in the United States and elsewhere about the use of nuclear power, just as Three Mile Island ended the new construction of nuclear plants in the United States and Chernobyl slowed the progress worldwide.Just flipping through my Twitter I've seen a story of a boat disappearing with over 100 people on it and of several populated islands being washed away.
2. At the dawn of the new millennium, in the wake of the 2004 tsunami and Katrina and now this earthquake-tsunami, the world is being reintroduced to the kind of feeling of powerlessness in the face of natural occurrences that characterized the human race from the dawn of time until the modern scientific era seemed to indicate we could control conditions that had formerly buffeted humanity.
Wow....Labels: earthquake, Japan, tsunami
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:53 PM
3 comments
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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