Twitter Stream-Key Word: "Radiation"

http://twitter.com/#search?q=radiation

In this day and age of fast-moving news one of the ways to keep up to speed on developments is Twitter.  By using keywords you can track what is being said "out there" about different topics.  You do have to sift through the chaff to find out useful material, but occasionally you'll come across things right as they're breaking which could be important in a disaster situation.  Above is the link to searching for "radiation" for those who are not familiar with Twitter but want to see if my suggestion might be useful for them. 

Japan on 'maximum alert' because of nuclear plants

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.35c2caa5efa0e183b7b38a2d0e2b7f40.191&show_article=1

As I state on the episode that will post tonight I think there is still much more to unfold in the nuclear crisis in Japan.  Notice how almost daily there are new developments and how the media reports swing back and forth between "contained" and "meltdown".  It seems it will be some time before the complete truth emerges from this monumental disaster. 

Will war in Libya cause other rogue states to go nuclear?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/03/29/will_libyan_war_push_rogue_states_to_nuclearize_bush_obama_iran_iraq_north_korea_109376.html

File this under serious "unintended consequences". 

Radiation from Japan detected in seaweed, water off of Vancouver

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Radiation+detected+seaweed+rainwater+risk+humans/4516888/story.html#ixzz1HvfIvap8

I think the "experts" are probably correct at this point about the radiation hazards being fairly minimal to those located thousands of miles away from Japan.  However, the fact that both officials and the media are so strongly giving the "there's nothing to see here" treatment to the still unfolding developments surrounding the reactor meltdowns in Japan does raise my tinfoil antenna just a little.  I pointed out to my wife how certain buzzwords were being employed in several of the newspaper articles ("tiny", "minuscule", etc.) referring to radiation and both of us thought it was concerning. 
I think there is a lot more to go on this story and I will continue to try to provide my honest assessment without being too alarmist.

Chip's Technical Issues... Arrgh!

As mentioned on the CMFSP podcast site (http://chipmonk.podbean.com/2011/03/22/technical-issues-arrgh/ ) I'm trying to deal with issues of my internet being down.  For that reason I'll likely be offline with both the podcast and the blog most of this week but should resume normal operations as soon as it is corrected.
Thanks listeners and blog followers! :)

Solar Still Plans

In today's episode I discussed building solar stills as a way of gathering water.  To make it easier to understand the concepts I talked about I'm linking to a few diagrams of solar still systems below:

UN Approves 'No Fly Zone'-- What next?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/authorize-strikes-libya-gadhafi-vows-offensive/story?id=13159976
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hai_LDJ3haCfqrI_RQnRsch_ZJyQ?docId=17288846129044d9a0983d74a9788044
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/libya-united-nations-air-strikes-live

Not sure how I feel about this considering who Kaddafi is and the things he's done, but this would have certainly been much more effective two weeks ago.  What it likely means is that there are going to have to be boots on the ground to enforce this and an enhanced potential for terrorist attacks in Western nations (read about some of Kaddafi's threats to the West in the above links).  Not what the world needs considering the ongoing problems in Japan...  Buckle up! 

This is why I did the episode entitled "Buy... Food... Now!"

Japan nuclear fears prompt panic-buying around world

As nuclear panic began to spread around the world, supermarkets and pharmacies thousands of miles from Japan ran out of anything and everything rumoured to prevent radiation poisoning.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8388379/Japan-nuclear-fears-prompt-panic-buying-around-world.html

(Note: This article is specifically looking at "anything rumored to prevent radiation poisoning, but if the radiation gets into food supplies imagine the run on 'safe' food produced before this disaster: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704396504576204922061456148.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLETopStories .  A quote I've been seeing quite a lot lately says "It's better to be a year early than a day late".  No question...)

Now why would Japan black out the radioactivity readings closest to the nuclear plants?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-03-17-japanradiate17_ST_N.htm

Hmmm...  Why would whoever is running the emergency operations at the Fukushima reactors not want to make those readings available?  Bueller?  Bueller?  Now of course it could merely be coincidence but take a look back at every nuclear disaster or near-disaster in history (Bikini Atoll, early Soviet nuke subs, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc.) and notice what they all have in common: Early disinformation about what was occurring followed by (at least in some cases) drastic repercussions.  Let's hope and pray that is not what is happening here.

Potential Cascade Subduction Mega-quake

The events in Japan have really caused my wife and I to take a look at the potential for a major earthquake in our region and in our efforts to find more information about the subject we came across this video.  For my listeners in the Pacific Northwest this might be something well worth your time to watch.

1989 Article Title-"How a Tokyo Earthquake Could Devastate Wall Street and the Global Economy"

http://www.scribd.com/doc/50850211/ML-Tokyo

Eye-opening and prophetic....  Definitely worth reading and then contemplating how the rise of globalism makes this even more accurate. 

So much still happening in Japan...

... That Chip has been trying to determine where all of this is going to end up.  As I said in yesterday's podcast, I consider any explosion at a nuclear reactor to be a bad thing so when 4-6 are having problems it really gets my notice.  For that reason, I didn't post much yesterday after the previous day of multiple links, etc. but I'm watching developments and will be sharing my thoughts here and on the podcast as things continue to unfold. 

For the moment here are things to keep an eye on:


More smoke coming from reactors: http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/78678.html
More runs on Potassium Iodide: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/15/drug-stores-report-sudden-increase-potassium-iodide-sales/
More runs on radiation detectors: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/03/15/from-tokyo-to-calif-radiation-tracking-gets-crowdsourced/
French say Japan hiding what's really going on: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366670/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Radiation-soars-Fukushima-nuclear-plant.html
And on top of all that, food prices jump to their highest level since 1974: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wholesale-prices-up-16-pct-on-apf-3777454020.html?x=0&.v=1

This is not "pessimism porn" folks, this is the world we live in as of today.  Be prepared.

A new map about radiation dangers to North America

The prior map that was circulating online might well be a hoax, but the following one is from the Daily Mail paper in the UK.  While the story it is including in seems perhaps a bit alarmist, I can't think of anything good about two reactors experiencing explosions so maybe there is indeed much more to what is happening than the media or "experts" will predict:

From: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/14/article-1365781-0B2B79A700000578-902_634x410_popup.jpg

For my fellow Pacific Northwesterners

http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/25992672-41/earthquake-cascadia-oregon-coast-emergency.html.csp

If you look at the fact that 3 of the 4 corners of the Pacific area have had massive earthquakes in recent years (Indonesia 2004, Chile last year and now Japan) we could be in for a mega disaster of our own in the very near future.  I'm glad that this article recommends more than the three-day basic disaster supply (three weeks of supplies are mentioned towards the end of the article).  Think about it...  If you had three days there in Japan right now you'd be running out as of today.  Quite a wake up call for all of us!

Looking for Potassium Iodide/Iodate tablets?

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-finns-iodine-blasts-japanese-nuclear.html

Even in places Finland (see above link) we're seeing a run on certain supplies as people take seriously the threat of radiation release from the events in Japan.  As I'll discuss on tonight's episode I went out and about yesterday to see what the "lay of the land" was as far as peoples' response to Japan here on the Oregon coast and it was eye-opening.  At one health food store that was all anyone was talking about (both customers and clerks), and they were recommending people get kelp supplements to deal with the radiation issues as not one place I went had "potassium iodide/iodate" in any form and many online vendors were running out.
Just another reminder about why "preparation" means "preparing in advance of a crisis" not when it is occurring or after it happens.
Stay safe!  (BTW...  Last I knew, this site still had some supplies available, although I don't know a lot about their operation but they seem pretty legit: http://www.ki4u.com/ )

Red Cross Guide: "How to Shelter in Place"

http://www.redcross.org/images/pdfs/code/How_To_Shelter-in-place.pdf

Again, not to stoke worry or unnecessary concern over what is unfolding in Japan, but it never hurts to have as much information available to you as possible.  Above is the link to the Red Cross guide dealing with how to "Shelter in Place".  I hope you won't need it but that it might be comforting to have that knowledge available regardless.

Some of the tsunami damage in Chip's state

http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2011/03/southern_oregon_tsunami_damage.html

This is obviously nothing on the level of what happened in Japan as far as damage, but illustrates the power of this disaster regardless.  The town of Brookings is a place I used to visit often.  The last time I was there, my wife and I were walking on the beach and discussed "Hey, what would it be like if there was a tsunami here?"  Four hours after we left, there was an earthquake out to sea and a tsunami warning.  It really made us think, and now here is visceral evidence of the power of nature and why people prepare.

Real-time (updated every 3 minutes) US/Canada Radiation Map

James Wesley, Rawles has linked tonight to a useful web site relating to radiation levels in the US and Canada.  If we do start to see radiation drift over here from the events in Japan this might be a very useful site to check out frequently.  The link is here: http://www.radiationnetwork.com/RadiationNetwork.htm
Also of possible use is the following map of the Northern Pacific jet stream: http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=npac_250
Hopefully none of this will be needed, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Not to be alarmist... But...

I haven't been able to determine the original source of this graphic (ie. who is "Australian Radiation Services"?), but with all the breaking news about the potential nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan it's at least worth looking at and analyzing the below map.  Most of what we're hearing about this part of the Japan disaster seems to be coming from anti-nuke folks, so I'm not certain how much credence to give some of what is being said, but if there is any validity to any of this then we might be in some trouble.
Notice the fallout patterns from this graphic which seems to represent an absolute worst-case scenario:

(NOTE: Some folks seem to be of the mind that this is a hoax, which is highly possible: http://theorstrahyun.blogspot.com/2011/03/millions-of-americans-will-not-be.html )

While most indications are the above map is probably a fake there are other sites discussing the potential for fallout to reach the Western US, including Mr. Alex Jones (whom I don't always give much credence to): http://www.prisonplanet.com/if-there-were-a-reactor-meltdown-or-major-leak-at-fukushima-the-radioactive-cloud-would-likely-be-blown-out-towards-the-us-west-coast.html

My initial thoughts on the Japan disaster

       

    
  
Podcast Powered By Podbean
    

   
For some reason I can't get this episode to post properly on my podcast site, so I decided to post the link here until I figure things out.  Let me know if anyone has problems with downloading or listening. 

Japan Earthquake upgraded to 9.1?

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Tsunami_warning_center_raises_magnitude_of_Japan_quake_to_91.html

That would make it the fourth most powerful on record.  Wow. 

Another separate earthquake near Nagano?

I don't have a link on it yet, but CNN is right now stating that another possibly separate earthquake of around 6.2-6.6 magnitude just struck a different part of Japan.  In addition, a volcano erupted quite a distance away in Indonesia.  This is one of those days when I wish I didn't live so close to the "Ring of Fire": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire

Earthquake after-effects in Japan: Nuclear plant problems?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/japanese-earthquake-stokes-nuclear-fears-damaged-power-plants/story?id=13114181

Nuclear Scientists Warn of 'Very Serious' Radioactive Event if Japanese Reactor Not Cooled

Another reminder of why people prepare.  Hopefully they'll figure this out before it becomes another Chernobyl...  I just heard on the news that they are releasing radioactive material to relieve some of the pressure.  This could get serious folks.   

Chip and Co. Under Tsunami Watch

Thanks to those of you who have contacted me about the tsunami.  We're on top of it and where we are at the moment is a place where we should be safe whatever happens.  They've closed schools in our region and are recommending evacuations from the coast here.  We are monitoring the situation along with letting it be a wakeup call to us about how things can happen at any time.  Most importantly of all, our prayers are with those people hardest hit in Japan. 

Stocks fall off the cliff today

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^DJI

Was it Moody's downgrading Spain's credit rating (possibly a big deal), Saudi Arabia firing on protesters (definitely a big deal), Libya (possibly a huge deal depending on how it ultimately unfolds) or just the general malaise that surrounds anything connected with the global economy?  It's hard to say, but the DJIA dropped below 12,000 today loosing a couple hundred points (about 228 was the final tally), and NASDAQ and S&P followed suit.  I no longer consider the Stock Market to be much of an indicator about anything, but it is certainly worth keeping an eye on for the insight it gives into what the major money holders are thinking about the world economy.

Major Earthquakes in Japan, China

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Japan+earthquake&fr=fp-tts-349&fr2=ps
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search?cs=bz&p=China+earthquake&fr=fp-tts-349&fr2=ps

Two major earthquakes have hit Japan in the past couple of days (7.3 and 6.3 on the Richter Scale) and now a big one strikes China with at least 100 dead.  Let's hope and pray the loss of life is minimal, but like I so often say these events are a reminder that disaster can strike at any time and it's good to do all you can to prepare yourself and your family. 

Project Gunrunner: ATF inflating gun-smuggling statistics or something else?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/09/project-gun-runner-scandal-border/

[Edited] I realized after I posted this that people should wait to see what the truth is behind this brewing scandal before making judgments. Read the article and come to your own conclusions (believe it or not CBS News has really been leading on this story, although I didn't link to them here so you'll have to go to their site to find out what they've uncovered...)

North Korea readies EMP weapon

http://abcnews.go.com/International/electronic-warfare-north-korea-nears-completion-electromagnetic-pulse/story?id=13081667

To understand why this could be a big deal down the road, go back and listen to my podcast episode about the dangers of EMP.  Then consider the likelihood that North Korea, or any other power (say Iran for example) would ever use such a weapon against any of their enemies.  If you come to the realization that this could be a concern at some point then learn all you can on how to deal with the immediate after-affects of such an attack, as well as the long term ramifications. 

Billionaire returns money to investors... Another bubble about to burst?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110308/ap_on_bi_ge/us_icahn_investors

I haven't quite gotten my brain around what this might or might not mean, but it's something worth keeping an eye on for its possible relation to market conditions.  Since the "Flash Crash" of last May I've had this niggling suspicion in the back of my mind that another bubble was on the verge of bursting, but it remains to be seen if that's going to happen (I certainly hope not) or if I'm just being overly concerned.  Let's hope it's the latter of those two options.  

Warnings against over-reliance on GPS

http://www.france24.com/en/20110308-scientists-warn-dangerous-over-reliance-gps

While GPS can be a great tool (or just a fun one if you're into Geo-caching) if you get to the point of depending too much on technology you could get yourself into trouble.  For that reason I have pretty much deferred on being part of the GPS generation preferring instead to acquire map-reading and orienteering skills that will work when all else fails.  I'm not saying you shouldn't take advantage of GPS and similar technologies, but merely that you also have a Plan 'B' in case they fail.

Chip's Survival Seminars (Coming to your area soon?)

I wanted to make a request to my listeners for assistance in something I'm on putting together.  In short, I am gearing up for several 1-day survival/preparedness/disaster readiness seminars around my region or even multiple parts of the country if the interest is there.  If you would be willing to help out with organizing a seminar on survival topics in your city or town (perhaps at a meeting room at your library or something similar) I would be interested in possibly traveling there and sharing a presentation on various survival themes and preparedness topics.  If you would would like to help in bringing Chip to your area please contact me by email at chipmonksurvivalpodcast@gmail.com.  They will be (at least I am working to make them such) unique and interesting multimedia presentations designed to equip people who attend with knowledge to begin or enhance their survival journey.
(NOTE: I would need to at least be able to cover the cost of my travel so there would probably be a nominal charge for attending, or at least a suggested donation, but it would be fairly minimal considering the overall economy.)
Thanks folks!

Should the US impose limits on food exports?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/07/economists-urge-obama-overreact-high-food-prices/

According to the article: "Leading advocates for the world’s poorest and hungriest are urging President Obama not to “overreact” to recent spikes in food prices, particularly by imposing export bans on U.S. agricultural products."  It will be interesting to see if things get to the point where loud voices start calling for limits on food exports if shortages start to become noticeable here in the US.  That could create quite a food crisis worldwide if it were to transpire...

Gallup: New Unemployment Rate Surges to 10.3%

http://www.gallup.com/poll/146453/Gallup-Finds-Unemployment-Hitting-February.aspx

Just like clockwork you have various media sources claiming that a drop in jobless claims is a big deal.  However, logic tells us that at some point companies just run out of people to get rid of so of course job losses are going to peak at some point.  For that reason, the "new jobless" rate is not the major statistic to me, but rather the new jobs/job openings rate.  Which is, sad to say, not good.  Add in the surging gas prices (which some informed people predicted even back in 2005 could cause another recession) and there doesn't appear to be a lot of positive economic news on the horizon.  I truly hope the economy turns around, and am not a doom-and-gloomer.  But I am a realist.  And the reality is still very concerning, to say the least.

2 US Service members killed, 2 injured in Germany by gunman

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/europe/03frankfurt.html?hp

...And it appears that the shooter yelled "Allah Akbar" immediately before firing.  Hmmm....  I wonder what that tells us about this killer?  Fort Hood, anyone? 

Small nuclear war could reverse global warming? Um, okay...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/110223-nuclear-war-winter-global-warming-environment-science-climate-change/

"Even a regional nuclear war could spark "unprecedented" global cooling and reduce rainfall for years, according to U.S. government computer models.

Widespread famine and disease would likely follow, experts speculate."

 On today's episode I talked a little about "Black Swan" events.  I would say that this very nearly qualifies.  And the scary thing is considering all the countries in the world that possess nuclear arsenals, including some unstable ones (Pakistan, I'm looking at you!) the likelihood of something like this taking place is higher than any of us want to admit.  So, obviously it's the sort of thing that you try to anticipate what the aftereffects would be and plan accordingly.  In simple terms, that means prepping for prolonged periods of cooling as well as ways of mitigating "famine and disease" (Obviously your ability to grow your own food would be impacted by the changes in weather pattern, so learning how to grow things under difficult conditions could be very important). 

Oil and Gold prices surging due to events in the Middle East

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/businesspro-us-markets-commodities-idUSTRE7207RH20110301

Gas prices are soaring in our region and almost everywhere else from what I can tell.  And if you don't think that fuel costs will impact the "economic recovery" then you are in for a rude awakening.  With US Naval assets heading to position themselves off the coast of Libya there could be some pretty major events unfold in the very near future.  I'd say $140 per gallon oil might be on the horizon.... Or more...  Definitely worth keeping an eye on the ongoing situation throughout the Middle East. 

Flooding and tornados in the US Midwest

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2011/03/01/tornadoes-tear-parts-midwest/?test=latestnews

It's my belief that no matter where you live in the world you are at risk for at least one type of natural disaster that can strike your region.  There are certainly places that are quite a bit safer than others from certain types of events most of the time, but even then you can have surprises.  For example, you can assume that if you live in San Francisco you are more susceptible to earthquake problems than someone living in Arkansas--until Arkansas gets hit by an earthquake as happened a couple of days ago!  However, it's safe to say that at some point every part of the world is going to be impacted by something from time to time, at least in a historical sense.  We had a tornado recently in Oregon's Willamette Valley, which is unusual to say the least, but the Midwest is frequently affected by these cyclonic storms.  Thus, if you live in that region (or other similarly-affected locales) you should especially have a plan to deal with the aftermath of the types of disaster described in the article above.