The Failures of Laissez Faire Libertarianism, Deregulation, and Free Markets

March 20, 2011 · Posted in General Economics · Comment

Nuclear Power in Japan; Prescient Voices From the Past Catch Up With the Present

March 16, 2011 · Posted in General Economics · Comment

I thought I’d reference some older snippets from articles that I found with background and warnings about nuclear reactors and power companies in Japan, some of them eerily prescient …

An LA Times article from 1988 explains how government intervention has incentivized the production of nuclear energy in Japan:

Strong financial resources, combined with government-set rate structures that guarantee a “fair return” of 7.2% on capital investment, largely insulate the nine major power companies from the economic woes that have bogged down nuclear plant construction in the United States.

Furthermore …

Hirose maintains that numerous minor accidents and operational problems over the past several years have gone largely unreported in the mainstream news media. Though shutdowns are rare, he believes these incidents belie the industry’s safety claims and foreshadow an eventual disaster on the scale of Chernobyl or Three Mile Island, in Pennsylvania.

Tamai, the industry federation official, rejects such criticism. Japanese nuclear plants have the best safety record in the world, he contends, with fewer than one-tenth the number of shutdowns of other countries and an enviable 76% average rate of operation.

To correct “distortions” advanced by Hirose and others, the federation has spent more than $5.6 million on newspaper advertising since this year’s Chernobyl anniversary in April, trying to reassure people that Japan’s water-cooled nuclear reactors are far safer than the graphite reactor in Chernobyl.

August 2004, Four workers die in Japanese nuclear plant accident:

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters: “We must put all our effort into determining the cause of the accident and to ensuring safety.” His government would respond “resolutely, after confirming the facts.”

However, a review of the events leading up to the accident and the history of other nuclear industry incidents over more than a decade reveals that far from “ensuring safety”, the government, together with the self-regulated nuclear power companies, is squarely to blame for the horrific deaths and injuries suffered at the KEPCO plant.

KEPCO admitted this week that the burst pipe had not been checked in the 28 years since the nuclear reactor began operating, even after a maintenance sub contractor notified it of the urgent need for inspection in November 2003. Further reports emerged that up to 17 such pipes at up to 10 other nuclear power plants operated by KEPCO throughout Japan have never been inspected.

March 2006, Nuclear reactor ordered shut by Japanese court:

A district court yesterday ordered the first shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Japan, saying the country’s second-largest reactor has a high risk of causing accidents and leaking radiation if an earthquake strikes, media reports said.

July 2007, Japan nuke plant leak bigger than thought:

The malfunctions and a delay in reporting them fueled concerns about the safety of Japan’s 55 nuclear reactors, which have suffered a string of accidents and cover-ups. Nuclear power plants around Japan were ordered to conduct inspections.

The plant in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, 135 miles northwest of Tokyo, eclipsed a nuclear power station in Ontario as the world’s largest power station when it added its seventh reactor in 1997.

The Japanese plant, which generates 8.2 million kilowatts of electricity, has been plagued with mishaps. In 2001, a radioactive leak was found in the turbine room of one reactor.

The plant’s safety record and its proximity to a fault line prompted residents to file lawsuits claiming the government had failed to conduct sufficient safety reviews when it approved construction of the plant in the 1970s. But in 2005, a Tokyo court threw out a lawsuit filed by 33 residents, saying there was no error in the government safety reviews.

Environmentalists have criticized Japan’s reliance on nuclear energy as irresponsible in a nation with such a vulnerability to powerful quakes.

“This fire and leakage underscores the threat of nuclear accidents in Japan, especially in earthquake zones,” said Jan Beranek, a Greenpeace official in Amsterdam. “In principle, it’s a bad idea to build nuclear plants in earthquake-prone areas.”

July 2007, Japanese nuclear reactor under-designed for earthquake?

An earthquake off the western coast of Japan yesterday hit a nuclear plant with more than twice the jolt that the plant was expected to have to handle. The shock seems to have done little immediate damage, but has raised concerns about whether Japan’s nuclear plants are designed to withstand the kind of shaking they are likely to experience.

May 2009, Delays at Japan’s ill-fated nuclear plant:

“The failure to produce vitrified waste with domestic technology shows that Japan’s reprocessing technology is 10 to 20 years behind Europe and the United States,” Koide said.

The source at the Rokkasho plant agrees with Koide. “We have to accept that we were too optimistic from the beginning,” he said. He also said that JNFL should change its policy, whatever it takes, to solve the difficulties with the current furnace at Rokkasho.

One possible solution would be to use French technology, but the Japanese government is bent on developing its own technology and unlikely to choose that option. If the plant suspends operations for more than three years, as the source at Rokkasho suggests, then the situation will be more serious as Japan’s nuclear power policy is premised on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel at the plant.

May 2010, Japan reactivates repaired nuclear reactor:

The BBC said the accident that forced the shutdown resulted in no injuries and no release of radiation, but coming just two years after starting operation raised concerns about the safety of the plant. The plant’s operators were criticized for concealing the extent of damage to the reactor, the BBC said.

May 2010, Japan restarts controversial nuclear reactor

The proportion of the country’s energy generated from nuclear plants is to increase to 50 per cent from the current one third, and the utilization of the power plants is to increase from 60 per cent to 90 per cent of their generating capacity.

Monju is already decades behind its original schedule, and the government has so far poured some 900 billion yen (9.7 billion dollars) into the project.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency expects to spend another 23 billion yen a year on the fast-breeder programme in the coming years. The government wants to complete the development of a commercial fast-breeder reactor by around 2050.

As always, the best thing we can do to ensure a safer future for ourselves and our offspring is listen to those who saw things coming before everyone else suddenly became an expert on the causes of such earthshaking events.

Tags: Interventionism, japan, nuclear power, subsidies

Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster; Nikkei Down Over 16% in 2 Days

March 15, 2011 · Posted in Global Economics · Comment

The NYT reports Japan Faces Potential Nuclear Disaster as Radiation Levels Rise:

The No. 3 reactor building of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant burned Monday after a blast following an earthquake and tsunami in this satellite image.

Japan’s nuclear crisis verged toward catastrophe on Tuesday after an explosion damaged the vessel containing the nuclear core at one reactor and a fire at another spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to the statements of Japanese government and industry officials.

In a brief address to the nation at 11 a.m. Tokyo time, Prime Minister Naoto Kan pleaded for calm, but warned that radiation had already spread from the crippled reactors and there was “a very high risk” of further leakage. Fortunately, the prevailing winds were sweeping most of the plume of radioactivity out into the Pacific Ocean, rather than over populated areas.

The sudden turn of events, after an explosion Monday at one reactor and then an early-morning explosion Tuesday at yet another — the third in four days at the plant — already made the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl reactor disaster a quarter century ago.

Right now the Nikkei is down 10.5 percent after already having dropped over 6 percent yesterday …

Tags: japan, nikkei, nuclear crisis

Atlas Shrugged – The Movie

March 14, 2011 · Posted in Philosophy · Comment

Worshipers of the Grand Lady of philosophy are eagerly awaiting Part 1 which opens on April 15th …

Here is an interview with the producer on Freedomain Radio:

In a world full of crises, turmoil, disasters, protests, tyranny, wars, lobbyism, middle class destruction, favoritism, bailouts, taxes, and indebtedness, a world where all these factors are leading up to their inevitable culmination, the timing for the movie to this prescient, epic, brilliant, gripping, and deep story could not have been better.

Enjoy it! =)

Tags: atlas shrugged, ayn rand, movie

Disaster Upon Disaster – Japan’s Inevitable Plight

March 13, 2011 · Posted in General Economics · Comment

While Japan’s quake is a disaster of enormous proportions, it pales in comparison to its impending fiscal tsunami. Bloomberg writes …

Prime Minister Naoto Kan is also preparing a fiscal response, deploying about 200 billion yen left over from the budget for the fiscal year ending March 31 and planning a supplementary budget. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said it would take beyond the end of this month to compile the additional package.

Opposition leader Sadakazu Tanigaki told reporters in Tokyo yesterday he proposed to Kan a temporary tax to help fund the relief effort, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said later that such a step cannot be ruled out.

The central bank set up a task force after the temblor, and pledged in a statement March 11 to ensure financial stability and said it will do everything it can to provide ample liquidity. The BOJ extended 55 billion yen to lenders over the past two days to ensure cash was on hand for withdrawals by survivors.

…

[Finance Minister] Noda said the nation’s growing debt load would not impede its rescue effort. Standard and Poor’s downgraded Japan’s credit rating to AA- in January and Moody’s Investors Service lowered its outlook on the nation’s Aa2 grade to negative from stable last month.

“We are going to do everything we can” Noda told reporters in Tokyo on March 11 after the quake. “The fiscal situation can’t be a constraint to addressing this natural disaster.”

The idea of creating paper and computer entries in checking accounts out of nowhere is a damn lazy non-answer. It’s all the more tragic in light of the magnitude of the underlying disaster.

That this event would be used as an excuse to pile on to Japan’s staggering national debt is such a predictable pattern that it warrants no further comment.

For sure the quake could become a welcome scapegoat to blame for Japan’s debt crisis which is now coming full cycle, akin to Germany’s high public debts being blamed on its reunification or the US financial crisis being blamed on the collapse of Lehman …

Tags: earthquake, japan, public debt, quake

Atheism, Religion, and Teaching Methodologies VS Conclusions

March 13, 2011 · Posted in Philosophy · Comment

Some follow up on my last clip …

Tags: atheism, indoctrination, religion

Chinese Production Engine Begins to Stutter; Surprise Trade Deficit Reported

March 10, 2011 · Posted in Global Economics · 4 Comments

Bloomberg writes China Reports Surprise Trade Deficit as Export Growth Slumps:

China reported an unexpected $7.3 billion trade deficit, the biggest in seven years, buttressing the government’s case against U.S. arguments for faster gains in the yuan.

Exports rose 2.4 percent in February from a year before, the least since 2009 as Lunar New Year holidays disrupted shipments, and imports climbed 19.4 percent, customs bureau data showed today. Central bank adviser Li Daokui said that the full- year trade surplus will shrink from the 2010 level.

Yuan forwards dropped after today’s release as investors pared bets on the appreciation of China’s currency against the dollar. Premier Wen Jiabao aims to spark domestic demand and reduce the role of exports in the economy through wage increases, rather than the exchange-rate gains sought by the Obama administration.

The plot thickens. China’s unsustainable government credit/inflation induced distortions of market forces cannot be stretched much further it seems.

Faber may have been spot on with his predictions about China crashing within 9-12 months.

This is the development I also expected in terms of what could potentially precede a Yuan crash, which it contrary to what virtually the whole world is expecting right now.

As I said in 2009 already (albeit prematurely, granted)

The truth is: There is no decoupling. The Chinese economic miracle is a mirage, a very popular one to be sure. If it is China the world is banking on to lead a recovery, then the world is royally screwed.

It’s been papered over so far. It can’t be papered over forever.

Everyone is in love with the Chinese story. Everyone has huge expectations of China. Nobody considers the possibility that their politicians might be making the same mistakes ours’ are making.

Such an imbalance between expectations and reality usually ends badly.

May those who don’t know any better make it through the impending hangover …

Tags: china, china growth, inflation china

God, Religion, Congregations, and Churches – The Supply Chain of Religion

March 6, 2011 · Posted in Philosophy · Comment

Tags: church, god, religion

Unions, Bargaining, Morality, Egypt, and Liberal vs Republican Bullshit

March 6, 2011 · Posted in Politics · Comment

Tags: collective bargaining, Politics, public sector unions

Collective “Bargaining” “Rights”, Public Union Thugs, and Unfunded Liabilities

March 4, 2011 · Posted in General Economics · 3 Comments

FDR on Collective Bargaining

For what it’s worth, here is an actually semi-intelligent statement from Franklin Roosevelt :

All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.

The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations.

Particularly, I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place in the functions of any organization of Government employees.

A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable.

It’s about “Bargaining”? Really Guys … !? :)

Public Unionism Just Another Subset of Bigotry

Right up there with wars, patriotism, religion, racism, etc. you can find public sector unionism.

I found this unsurprising anecdote from a recent event very instructive, it’s from Mish’s blog:

President Obama is the Slave Master

Please consider the following quote heard recently at a tea party in Denver.

… They are trying to distract you to make you think that what they are all about is the right thing. In reality you’re just a pawn to them, a pawn that the Democratic Party and Barack Obama are using to keep them in power. This is a form of slavery. Liberals are enslaving themselves. Barack Obama is their slave master and they are doing his bidding for him. They don’t see it that way but that’s how it is.Was it a white racist who said that?

No it wasn’t. It is the man waving the Gadsden flag in the following image.

That is Leland Robinson, 51, a Denver native. He was hounded and harassed in Denver by an aggressive woman in a purple SEIU shirt who told him …

“You’re an entrepreneur, so you don’t work. You don’t know what work is until you get into an educational area. … You’re uneducated, unethical, immoral, and you don’t know what life is. That’s your problem. Why don’t you go behind that fence where you belong? Why don’t you go back with your own kind?”

Another woman in red made further racial comments “I asked you a question: Do you have any children? That you claim, that you claim.”

A bystander asked “What did you mean when you said does he have any children that he claims?”

To which the lady in red replied: “Because he’s such a free spirit and an entrepreneur, I would assume that he’s not supporting children.”

Those damn lazy, good for nothing entrepreneurs, all they do is get paid for by voluntary customers for voluntary services! How is that helping anybody?!

I think it might be instructive for public union boot licking liberals out there to look at so that they can understand how closely tied union thug mentality and other forms of bigotry are and will always be. Oh, and I know, this was of course an isolated incident and there will always be bad apples who … bla bla bla. Sure, suuuuuure =)

Public sector unions today are kicking and screaming. The day of reckoning has finally arrived and changes are bound to come that will put these thugs in their place, at least for a little while.

Their record in terms of service done to society is dismal to say the least.

All Public Sector Unions Have Accomplished over Decades is to Bankrupt States and Municipalities

This is an informative map from last year already about the level of underfunding in the different states …