What Is Going On In The Harris Nuke Plant With The NRC???

This is highly unusual, it seems like the NRC wiped out the current staff. Why are two new inspectors going to the plant.  

NRC Announces Resident Inspectors at Harris Nuclear Plant

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in Atlanta have announced that John Zeiler is the agency’s senior resident inspector and Andy Patz is the resident inspector at Duke Energy’s Harris nuclear power plant, located near New Hill, N.C., about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh.

US Navy Institute Procedings: USS Fitzgarald

You got to give them credit, they didn't remove my comment.

Fitzgerald: When A Big Ocean Gets Small

steamshovel2002 • 18 hours ago

(second) One more. Why didn't the Fort Worth investigation include the question of the "extent of cause and condition". An ethical investigation of the Forth Worth based on the security of the USA would have posed this difficult question (siloing information). Did the "Fat Lenard" scandal impair the maintenance and upkeep of the pacific fleet in anyway. I would think that is a serous continued headwind today and the future?steamshovel2002 • 19 hours ago

(First) Check out the pictures of the Fitzpatrick. The Fitz is a rust bucket before the accident. Why wasn't her paint job perfect. She represent the great USA all over the world. The Fort Worth combining gear report might give us a clue with what occurred. The crew demoralized, maintenance issues all around...an indifferent senior staff ashore. The crew was severely impaired. Priorities and resource limitations of any kind are always, always, always immoral. These burdens always on the weak and poor disproportionally. I think the Fitzgerald had severe maintenance issues and many on board components degraded or broken. Too heavy a ops tempo for resources we send them. Not enough Navy ships for the condition of the world. God help us all and our children we send to the fleet, if a prolonged and worldwide war breaks out with our exhausted and broke current fleet? The war clouds are building all around us. Mike Mulligan, Hinsdale, NH USS Lipscomb SSN 685

reply

dantheman steamshovel2002 • 13 hours ago

"Crew demoralized;" "indifferent senior staff ashore"; "I think the Fitzgerald had severe maintenance issues and many on board components degraded or broken;" "Our exhausted and broke current fleet;" "Severe maintenance issues, many on board components degraded or broken."
Harsh statements indeed, Steamshovel. How do U know the crew was demoralized? How do U know senior staff was indifferent? How do U know their are severe maintenance issues? What makes U say the fleet is exhausted and broke?
Are U sane?

Holy Shit, I Know What The Russians Are Doing

reposted from 6/26

The 2.206 administrator says the NRC fixed the problem with her not being able to click on my blog. 

Two problems here.

1) Her integrity is in trouble.

2) The NRC comes to a problem, they fail to fix it emediately.

3) I think she is overloaded and heading to bigger personal problems.


reposted from 6/24

update June 26

I wonder to what extent the Russians can dominate our airways with stories like this. How many secret internet time bombs they got planted all over our government and corporations. 

CNN: Government websites in 3 states hacked with ISIS messages

Did the Russians do this for the ISIS? 

The websites of Ohio Governor John Kasich and other state government agencies were hacked on Sunday with a posting professing love for the jihadist group Islamic State.Ten state websites and two servers were affected, and they’ve been taken off line for an investigation with law enforcement into how the hackers were able to deface them, said Tom Hoyt, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.

reposted from 6/23

Are the Russian reading my blog and thumping the west's nose? 

British Parliament Hit by Cyberattack, Affecting Email Access

By STEVEN ERLANGERJUNE 24, 2017

LONDON — The British Parliament was the target of a cyberattack that left many legislators unable to connect to their email on Saturday as remote access to accounts was disabled as a security measure.

Legislators were made aware of the problem on Friday night, and Chris Rennard, a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, publicized the problem in a Twitter message on Saturday, saying those with “urgent messages” should text him.

Last week, there were reports in The Times of London that the passwords of British cabinet ministers, ambassadors and senior police officers were being sold online after Russian hacking groups gained access.

According to The Times, the stolen data revealed the private login details of 1,000 British members of Parliament and parliamentary staff, 7,000 police employees and more than 1,000 Foreign Office officials.

The National Cyber Security Center, which was set up to protect the country against cyberattacks, said that it would reissue guidance to government departments after being presented with the findings.

The parliamentary authorities are also working with the center to protect the network and ascertain the scale of the damage, according to a spokeswoman for the House of Commons, who did not provide a name by British convention.

In a statement, the spokeswoman said that “the Houses of Parliament have discovered unauthorized attempts to access parliamentary user accounts. We are continuing to investigate this incident and take further measures to secure the computer network, liaising with the National Cyber Security Center.”

The parliamentary authorities are also working with the center to protect the network and ascertain the scale of the damage, according to a spokeswoman for the House of Commons, who did not provide a name by British convention.

“those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”.

SIEGEL: So far from being a pro-privacy quotation, if anything, it's a pro-taxation and pro-defense spending quotation.

The predicate here is, the government cybersecurity protections assumes I am very destructive Russian internet terrorist on incomplete information with knocking on the NRC’s IT door.  They have to have triplicate proof I am safe. There is very little differentiation between me (being a US citizen in good standing) and an internet terrorist. This thing is only get worst and increasingly prevent good citizens from participating in my government. You know, based on incomplete information, we are just going have to block you from participation. The cyber protection schemes are shredding democracy in the name of safety and protection. We got to be bigger than this.  

Mike Mulligan <steamshovel2002@gmail.com>	June 23 12:10 PM (5 minutes ago)
to NRC

Mrs. Warnek, 

Again, I am always the dummy in the room. Why am I obsessed with trying to figure out the big picture? Why are the circuits in my brain so screwed up? Why can’t I lead a normal life? I know what the Russians are up to.

Though a spasm of cyber security protection needs for survival, the government is blinding its outside view of the world and cyber security protection is disconnecting the peoples from government. The Russians and other internet terrorist are severely disrupting communication channels between the peoples of a nation and government itself through a spasm of excessive government cybersecurity protection. The Russians are seriously interfering with my participation in government. Somebody has to bring this up to high NRC officials. It’s a national and global imperative to figure this out and create workarounds.  Can you even imagine the magnitude of this problem though all US agencies and all levels of government? Massive cyber security protection levels are being jacked up all across our government.

You got to game this out. What if the Russians are increasingly disconnecting us from our government? I am certain we are disconnecting the Russian peoples from its government in a similar way or worst way. What is the world going to look like with two nations spinning around with its people being disconnected from its government? This is not a dialectic issue between two nations…it is going on across ever advanced nation. How is the world going to look like with most of the advanced nations being disconnected from its people?

This began today as an innocent discussion between the 2.206 coordinator and me. We just backed into three cyber security protection issues that impaired my participation in communicating with my government. You need to talk to her about our discussion today. You know, outside this issue, she impressed me. We had a free and open discussion within rules about the security…

She was blocked from going onto my blog

The yahoo reputation problem

 A warning my response has to be checked out by cyber security people

Now the reason why I am communicating with you.  Would you send her this below?

http://steamshovel2002.blogspot.com/2017/06/more-on-belguim-nuclear-reactor-vessel.html

“More On Belgium Nuclear Reactor Vessel Cracks”

"However, a French newspaper revealed last week that metal specimens harvested from the Flamanville Unit 3 reactor pressure vessel, and subjected to shock resilience testing, fell dramatically below regulatory performance standards. A newly surfaced memo (jn French) from a leading safety physicist at the prestigious Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety said that, if subjected to violent pressure-thermal shock, the EPR reactor pressure vessel could shatter. Such a rupture could lead to a major loss of coolant accident and subsequently a nuclear meltdown."

I am so sorry for being an asshole!

Sincerely,

Mike Mulligan

Hinsdale, NH

1603336830

Kiss TMI Goodby

Owner of Three Mile Island nuclear plant notifies 2 agencies of intent toclose 

The owners of the financially failing Three Mile Island nuclear plant are taking official steps to pursue their previously announced plans to close the Dauphin County facility 15 years before its license expires.

Exelon recently sent letters to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the PJM Interconnection grid operator, officially notifying the two entities of  plans to shut down TMI.

Ex-Tepco execs to go on trial over Fukushima disaster

Three former Tokyo Electric Power Co. executives are set to stand trial this week on the only criminal charges laid in connection to the 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster, as thousands remain unable to return to their homes near the shuttered facility.
The hearing on Friday comes more than a year after ex-Tepco chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 77, former vice presidents Sakae Muto, 66, and Ichiro Takekuro, 71, were formally charged with professional negligence resulting in death and injury.
The tsunami-sparked reactor meltdowns at the plant set off the worst nuclear accident since 1986’s Chernobyl incident.
“We hope the trial will shed light on where the responsibility for this accident … lies,” Ruiko Muto, who heads a group that pushed for the trial, said. “The accident hasn’t been resolved. There is nuclear waste from the cleanup efforts everywhere in Fukushima and there are still many unresolved problems.”
The trial follows a prolonged battle over whether or not to indict the Tepco executives.
Prosecutors had twice refused to press charges, citing insufficient evidence and little chance of conviction.
But a judicial review panel composed of ordinary citizens ruled in 2015 — for the second time since the accident — that the trio should be put on trial.

There Junk Plant Grand Gulf Goes Again and Entergy's Poor General Reliability

Grand Gulf is at 61% today.

River Bend had recent turbine electronic problems causing a scram (June 23) and are slowly coming up to full power today or stuck at 81%.

Hell, I am on a role. Waiting for the preventable scram or huge down power on Arkansas Nuclear one Unit 1...

Junk plant and Extremely Unreliable Grand Gulf: A Solid Month of Operation

At A boy!

Junk Arkansas Nuclear Plant 2: A Secret Permanent Shutdown

Do they have one of them deals where if both units are shutdown, they are required to work on one at a time.

Unit 2 had feedwater heater leaks for most of the year. Then they shutdown on March 20th. What is that coming up to, three months and ten days shutdown. This is a extremely long outage.

Collectively this two plant facility, one of the most safety degraded facilities in the nation, has a horrendous and extremely unprofitable plants issue.

Its a regulated plant. What the hell, the ratepayer pick up the tab in this very pro nuclear plant state.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/poll-shows-us-tumbling-in-worlds-regard-under-trump/2017/06/26/87a4f1bc-5857-11e7-840b-512026319da7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_worldpoll-806pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.6b5a193c4839

Poll shows U.S. tumbling in world’s regard under Trump

The inside track on Washington politics.

By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Scott Clement By Isaac Stanley-Becker and Scott Clement

World

June 26 at 8:00 PM

BERLIN — President Trump has alarmed citizens of the nation’s closest allies and others worldwide, diminishing the standing of the United States in their eyes, according to a wide-ranging international study released Monday.

But in the survey of 37 countries, Russia is a bright spot for Trump. As beleaguered as the president is at home, a majority of Russians say they have confidence in him. And Russians’ attitudes toward the United States have improved since Trump took office.

Elsewhere, though, and with remarkable speed, Trump’s presidency has taken a toll on the United States’ image abroad…

USS Fitzgarald: The Immorality of the Navy With This Line

Would you even want to be in that Navy if they would leave you behind a flooding hatch unless they have 500% you were dead.  Somebody was saying another sailor rescued 20 sailors in those flooding compartment. Does it even matter if they were dead or alive, if you didn't have 100% proof everyone was dead.  

 

New details emerge in USS Fitzgerald collision investigation

By CNN Published: June 26, 2017, 9:09 pm

(CNN) — Five of the seven Navy sailors who died aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a cargo ship off the east coast of Japan may have been almost instantly “incapacitated” and died quickly, according to a preliminary Navy analysis, a defense official told CNN.

That assessment is based on an examination of the point of impact and the berths in which the sailors were likely sleeping.

The two ships collided on the Fitzgerald’s starboard side directly next to the berthing area, where sailors sleep. The impact ripped the Fitzgerald open and caused water to pour in.

The official also noted the Navy is trying to corroborate accounts which suggest that the two sailors who weren’t almost instantly “incapacitated” attempted to help the other five escape the incoming water.

“But at some point the ship somehow lost communication,” with the two sailors and they also perished, according to the official. All seven were found dead in the flooded area…

A Quick Retrospective On The Obama's Presidency: He Was A Traitor To The USA's Greater Interest.

Grave war clouds were approaching our nation. All he was interested in was a so called fair elections and the middle of the road politics. The old no drama Obama. All the politicians can be seen in the same vein. He should have been preparing the nation for war no matter what is did to this election cycle or any . He shouldn't have cared if it ruined his popularity or legacy. That is called being a patriot.

I have always been with disgusted with extremist right wing government hating politicians.

Can you see it ready, Trump must have trumped up this war. Even before the war, it was illegitimate in the eyes of the citizens. We are going to have no cohesion.

This is what extreme partisan politics has brought us.

USS Fitzgerald: ACX Crystal's Bridge Was Manned?

I don't believe this captain and flashing of the lights was recordable. He might have a point if the bridge voices was recorded.

These ship owners have gotten pretty smart. They get the lawyers involved in ship construction. I doubt the auto pilot manual inputs get recorded on liability issues. Why record information that would damn you in court?  

Did the NYT's article force ACX Crystal's owner's hand to disclose? 

Report: US warship was warned of collision

A U.S. warship that collided with a container vessel earlier this month was reportedly warned ahead of the collision.

An incident report by the ACX Crystal's captain said the Philippine cargo ship flashed lights warning the USS Fitzgerald was on course to cross its path, Reuters reported.

Will NRC's Svinicki Get Renominated

Update 6/27

She is in. What about the other two positions. 

Friday is the drop dead date.

Her current term is set to expire Friday, which would leave the NRC one seat shy of a quorum on the five-seat commission. Catherine Douglas Moran will cover

The gutless democrats will renominate her just because she is a women. Remember all the talk about obstructing Trump. If they don't vote on her she is out of the NRC.

Svinicki's confirmation vote set for today

Sam Mintz, E&E News reporter

Published: Monday, June 26, 2017

Kristine Svinicki could be reconfirmed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as soon as this evening, with the Senate set for a final vote on her nomination.

US Needs to Declare War, Put Nation On The Highest War Footing and Declare Devcon1

This is the real shape of the Navy. Seen in every ship in the USA and implicated in the USS Fitzgerald. Are we really ready for global war??? Competent Navy and Congressional investigators would demand a fleet wide investigation to see if similar issues there when this was written. 

Subj: COMMAND INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMBINING GEAR CASUALTY ON BOARD USS FORT WORTH (LCS 3) ON 12 JAN 16 

2. As with most mishaps, a series of factors often contribute to failure. This mishap is no different. A fundamental lack of procedural compliance was the principal cause but contributing factors included: a lack of effective leadership; a culture of complacency and overconfidence by some members of Crew 101 combined with a lack of experience and expertise; and a systemic failure to effectively arid completely resolve deficiencies. The investigation, supplemental investigation and endorsements adequately capture the proximate issues and co11'ective actions.

3. Several key senior-level leadership oppmtunities to intervene were either missed or poorly executed. Although intervention by leadership above the unit level might not have prevented this incident, leadership should have recognized and addressed the following shortcomings: failure to follow the governing instruction for Crew tumover, specifically not executing the necessary underway demonstration; lack of involvement by LCSRON ONE and DESRON SEVEN in the material assessment during the Exchange of Command; lack of evaluation or certification for the LCSRON ONE Engineering Training Team in accordance with the LCS Training Manual; failure of Crew 101 to complete Engineering Assessments- Pacific's recommended actions prior to conducting Exchange of Command as well as Crew 101 's failure to successfully complete full deployment certification. Perhaps most importantly, both the parent ISIC and the operational !SIC recognized they had a Crew whose perfmmance was below that expected of a deployed unit and little to no mitigating actions were taken. It was not an issue of recognizing the performance but more of taking effective action to correct it. These 63 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Subj: COMMAND INVESTIGATION INTO THE COMBINING GEAR CASUALTY ON BOARD USS FORT WORTH (LCS 3) ON 12 JAN 16

opportunities were largely missed due to organizational issues above the LCS unit level. Clear, unambiguous command and control functions—who owns what, when —above the unit level are mtssmg.

It's a national disgrace. This is telegraphing to us how startling tight the USA's military resources are. Why didn't we have a spare ship to take over the Fitz's job...  

Cease all commercial shipyard work and focus it on fleet maintenance and rebuilding our navy.  

Hmm, a Russian inspired proxy war with North Korea could take out the USA, the western world and China. How would a global collapse favor the Russian authoritarian regime?    

Remember Obama's silence on Russia's meddling in our election. They are all the same.  

CNN:Trump Risk Stumbling Into War

Trump doesn't have a Choice. Our adversaries perceived us as weak and politically in the ditch. The citizens hates and mistrust its government. Chances are if war was started, our financial system and nation in general will splinter. The western economies will collapse and humongous terrorism. The natural result of this is the west will be forced into interment camps in most nations. This is the best bet in a hundred years to knock the USA off world stage permanently.    

The writing is on the wall, global war has already started. The fuse has been lit. It can't be reversed. 

Its now time to hit first and attack!!!

I am putting up at USA flag on my front door in full support of my nation and to support of our military!!! It's time for everyone in the USA as a gesture of full support to put a US flag up in our yards and front doors..

A nation full of cars with USA bumper sticker!!!

Grand Gulf's Southern Polar Vortex In Their Spring

Update:

Don't forget the historic unreliability of the whole Entergy's fleet of nuclear plants!!!!

Check out all the grid and plant issues that conspired to create a grid emergency. Grand Gulf had horrendous grid availability for the last few years

Patton also noted that the transmission and generation outages and extreme weather in the South led to 22 days of conservative operations in load pockets and three days with maximum generation alerts in April. An emergency maximum generation event on April 4 was spurred by the loss of a large nuclear unit, apparently Entergy’s Grand Gulf 1 in Mississippi, which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported going out of service because of a condensate leak.

The Real Fitzgarald Story

Tells with why the accident occurred in this picture. Do not look in the accident area.

Trump lives in an symbolic and impeccable $100 million dollar palaces and resorts. The image boost his statue. Check out the beautiful and impeccable images of the Capital and White House. The image of this ship is seen throughout the world. The ship represents the statue, reach and power of the of the USA, This guy is a disgraceful rust bucket. Why isn't the outside paint job maintained impeccable.

We are talking about grossly defective Navy priorities and massive resource limitations. The key word is sequestration... 

Bet you the hidden crew culture-safety culture and inside maintenance, components and electronics, their reliability, looks and acts like the outside rust bucket. Bet you the Navy ships and this guy are operating at 50% reliability and combat effectiveness.       

Another key phrase, USS Fort Worth combining gear failure report. A abysmal crew culture based on indifferent Admirals and out of the loop. The on shore Navy senior staff was incompetent and distracted. I'll bet you they were feeding shipyard profits on the new build by throttling resources to the fleet. Widespread Navy corruption based on the "Fat Lenard" model stateside. The Navy is riddled with fraud and corruption and the 4th estate is asleep at the switch.

More On Belguim Nuclear Reactor Vessel Cracks

NRC Accepts My 2.206 On Possible Cracks like Belgium Reactors In USA Reactors

Beyond Nuclear stole my idea :) Good for him. They don't even give me credit for my creativity. It has always been that way between a bum(me)and somebody with a college degree. All these elites are the same. There is no honor with thieves.   

Permanently Closed U.S. Nuclear Reactor Should Be "Autopsied"

Examination could identify potential safety flaws in operating reactors with parts from same controversial French forge

TAKOMA PARK, Md. - A permanently closed nuclear reactor in Florida that, documents show, likely has a manufactured weakness in a vital safety component produced by a controversial French forge that also supplied components to 17  still operating U.S. reactors, should be “autopsied,” says Beyond Nuclear, a leading national anti-nuclear watchdog group.
The Crystal River Unit 3 reactor in Red Level, Florida, was permanently closed in 2013 and is in the decommissioning process. Research by Beyond Nuclear staff found that the Florida reactor likely shares an at-risk safety-related component manufactured at the French Le Creusot forge that is currently shut down and under international investigation for the loss of quality control of its manufacturing process and falsification of quality assurance documentation. The Crystal River reactor pressure vessel head was supplied by a factory at Chalon-Saint Marcel that assembles pieces forged at Le Creusot, both Areva-owned factories.
“The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should seize upon this opportunity and ‘autopsy’ Crystal River 3,” said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight Project at Beyond Nuclear. “A close examination of Crystal River could provide critical safety data to inform the decision-making on whether the seventeen U.S. reactors still operating with at-risk Le Creusot parts should also be materially tested,” Gunter said.
The Le Creusot factory forges large ingots into safety-related components such as reactor pressure vessels, pressure vessel lids and steam generators.
The French industrial facility was discovered to be operating with lax quality control procedures that allowed the introduction of an excessive amount of carbon contamination into its manufacturing process, a problem technically known as “carbon segregation.”
The excess carbon weakens the component’s “fracture toughness” in the face of the reactor’s extreme pressure and temperature. Failure of a weakened component during operation would initiate the loss of cooling to the reactor and a serious nuclear accident.
At-risk safety components potentially containing these flaws, and manufactured at the Creusot Forge, have been delivered to reactors in France, other countries and the United States over a period of decades.
The NRC published Areva’s list in January 2017 identifying the 17 operational U.S. reactors with the at-risk components from the French forge. However, the federal agency did not disclose that Crystal River also installed a Le Creusot-manufactured replacement pressure vessel head during the October 2003 refueling outage and then operated the unit for nearly a decade before permanently closing.
“This information provides the incentive to do material testing on a component here in the U.S. from the suspect forge,” Gunter added. “It is only common sense, when presented in effect with the corpse, that the NRC should autopsy Crystal River before the body is buried,” he continued. ”This is a chance to better understand scientifically what the potential risks are at operating reactors with Le Creusot parts rather than relying on computer modeling, simulation or speculation,” Gunter said.

“For the sake of science and public safety, it is fortuitous that Crystal River, which operated for nearly a decade with a possible Le Creusot replacement component, is now permanently shut down and can be materially examined,” Gunter concluded.
The carbon segregation problem was first discovered at the Areva-designed EPR reactor still under construction, and now well over budget and behind schedule, at the Flamanville Unit 3 in Normandy, France. French safety authorities are investigating and are expected to make a decision in September on whether to continue with the troubled Flamanville reactor which experts say does not meet the fracture resistance standards.
Beyond Nuclear petitioned the NRC on January 24, 2017 to suspend operations at the 17 affected U.S. reactors pending thorough inspections and material testing for the carbon contamination of the at-risk components and to open an investigation into the potential falsification of Le Creusot quality assurance documentation. To date, the NRC has accepted the petition in part for further review and in part referred the potential falsification of documents to the federal agency’s allegations unit.
Only one affected nuclear plant, Dominion Energy’s Millstone 2 in Connecticut, has conducted a visual inspection on a Creusot Forge component at the behest of the state energy authority, but did not observe any defects or cracking.
However, a French newspaper revealed last week that metal specimens harvested from the Flamanville Unit 3 reactor pressure vessel, and subjected to shock resilience testing, fell dramatically below regulatory performance standards. A newly surfaced memo (jn French) from a leading safety physicist at the prestigious Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety said that, if subjected to violent pressure-thermal shock, the EPR reactor pressure vessel could shatter. Such a rupture could lead to a major loss of coolant accident and subsequently a nuclear meltdown.

###

Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic.

The Michael Flynn Problem: All Over a Joint US/Russia Mideast $100 Billion Nuke Plant Deal

It would be a great relationship building project for the US and Russia. It would be the installed doomsday bomb in Saudi Arabia. All Iran needs to do is to target one of the 16 nuclear plants...the results would be massively disruptive to the Saudis and the rest of the world. The world and this region is just too unstable for these nuclear plants. But if we clean out the Mideast swamp? Who knows?

 

Where is our $100 billion 16 nuclear plant infrastructure project is the USA? 

Was all this Russia thing about aligning Russia more closely to the USA against the China juggernaut?  Can one even imagine a world with the USA and Russia teammates?  

House Democrats demand info on Michael Flynn’s alleged Saudi Arabia visit over Russia nuclear plant deal

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are demanding that Michael Flynn disclose more information about an alleged trip to Saudi Arabia to promote a possible joint U.S.-Russian project there that he failed to disclose when he renewed his security clearance.

President Trump’s former national security adviser, already in legal trouble, reportedly made a trip to the Middle East in the middle of the 2016 campaign, when he was a senior Trump adviser.

According to Newsweek, he was there to try to negotiate a joint project with Americans and Russians to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East. That trip was not disclosed when he renewed his top security clearance ahead of becoming Trump’s top national security official, with access to almost all of the U.S.’s top secrets.

The top Democrats on the House Oversight and House Foreign Affairs committees are now demanding he share any documents he has from those trips.

“In contrast to this report, we have no record of Gen. Flynn reporting this trip or any contacts with foreign officials on his security clearance renewal application or in his interview with security clearance investigators,” wrote Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Eliot Engel (D-Bronx).

Shortly after the trip, Saudi Arabia and Russia announced a $100 billion agreement to build 16 nuclear power plants in the country.

Was the Philippine Container Ship Crashing Into The US Destroyer Fitzgerald a Terrorist Attack

Update 6/21

Honestly, is this really military honor. The ethos of we never leave a brother behind. The NYT's has a big spread on deaths of the sailors...most of them came from immigrant communities. They are basically foreign slaves because good American kids aren't that patriotic today enough to join the Navy. They are basically working immigrant slaves in the military. Is it survival of the fittest against the immigrant Navy sailors and good American sailors thousands of miles away from the USA, in the of dark night and the collision of two ocean vessels . It has always been the elites against lower class in the Navy. Do you close the hatch behind a flooding compartment to save the ship or do you never leave your brother behind in a flooding compartment even if it causes you to lose the ship. You got to know somebody ordered the hatch closed knowing sailors could be alive in the compartment. You got to wonder if the guy making the order was thinking, well, most of them are immigrant anyways?  So lets save the ship by closing the hatch. They could have continued working on getting everyone out alive and no bodies behind, or prepare the sailors to abandoned the ship and continue the operation to save lives and bring out the dead. Being next to Japan, there would have been a flotilla of aircraft and ships heading to the collision area in order to pick up the sailors floating in the seas if it came to that.

We are in era of fake heroism. The bankrupt forth estate is run by nothing but corporate right wing fanatics. This is a classic propaganda ploy by the admirals and administrative deep state to pump up fake heroism, protect the military industrial complex and politicians.You know they charged their administrative aids to juice up whatever heroism and altruism stories you can find about the collision. We want to flood the media with heroism stories in the opening stages of the catastrophe with preventable deaths. This sets the fundamental historic story of the event in a concrete foundation of altruism at sea. This is how we always successfully protected ourselves. The Navy is really good at this.

Do you remember the condition of our Navy in the second half of the Vietnam war. Ship sabotage by  demoralized sailors were rampant. Race riots abounded on many ships. There was tremendous preventable fires and explosions on aircraft carriers. All sorts of stupid accidents and fires everywhere. Maintenance on ships was horrific and ship safety took a back seat to meeting the goals of our war.  Are we in that condition today, but it is hidden from us. Is it more altruistic to crush your adversary as quickly possible using the full force of a nation's capabilities. To be as brutal as one can imagine. Get the dirty job done as quick as possible.  Or drag out a war for years and decades where  most of your troops are demoralized. You fight a long term was on the cheep. You hollow out your military forces with a extraordinary military tempo for decades. Right in WWII, we crushed our enemies as fast as we could. Then we rebuilt countries into Japan and Germany of today. Is it really moral and    

 


Update 6/20

Does this indicate the North Koreans did it?

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 24m24 minutes ago

"While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!

They say the ship bridge might not be manned during this. What a perfect opportunity to take over the ship.

Seems North Korea is preparing for nuclear explosion. Was the Fitzgerald  a North Korean intimidation project. When we detonate our bomb, if a USA retaliatory response...this is the example of our terrorism plague.

There seems to be a lot of organize terrorism events showing up in a short period of time coming from different entities. Iran, ISIS and North Korea among other. Now for us, death by thousands of terrorism paper cuts. What if effectively Iran, North Korea, ISIS declared war on us. Terrorism that creates massive chaos, but not enough for the US to go full scale war. A war or skirmish that illuminates our political weakness? Can you even imagine the chaos in the White House with this. Stock markets would crash world wide. You think this might discover more financial problems during the 2008 crash. It's not any war would should fear, but the financial implosion aftermath.   These bad actors must understand how politically vulnerable we at this point of time. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to permanently damage the USA. If war strikes, is the terrorism in Europe a bad actor plan to strip Europe for the American umbellar. Will Europe become a neutral player? I think our bad actors are setting up a big play...    

Update: This now should be a full national security investigation. Was the Fitz a target of opportunity or was the operation carefully planned and coordinated. The Japanese are saying the container ship captain is being investigated for professional negligence.

This guy from a on board sailor's mother letter says the container ship turned off it GPS tracking and all of its outside lights. He thinks its a North Korean operation as the Fitz was doing surveillance around North Korea. I am skeptical.  

What to make of this: (AFP) — Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it captured three Iranian Revolutionary Guards aboard an explosive-laden boat heading to an oil platform in the Gulf, further ratcheting up tensions in the region.

...It looks like the container ship was aiming directly for the bridge. It T-boned our ship right in the middle of our ship at ninety degree angle. The container ship went spearfishing for a US Navy ship.
You would think if this was a accident, the ships would have hit at a glancing blow, hit the US Fitzgerald in the forward or after quarter. If this was a accident, eventually either bridge would see each other, attempt to turn away from each other, but to late. That would get you to hit in the aft or forward quarter at a glancing blow. Honestly, it was a honey shoot for a torpedo hitting amidships and directly aimed at the bridge.    

Hmm, our Navy Seals just went into a Philippine town held by the ISIS. They wanted us to clear out the terrorist.  Remember, the Philippine president was recently bad mouthing us.  ISIS is mowing down people in cars, trucks and vans. Is it a reach saying a ISIS sympathizer intentionally drove the container ship to the Fitz as a terrorist attack...getting even? Was the container ship hunting the Fitz?  

Energy Secretary Rick Perry Just killed The Nuclear Industry

I would put it global warming is just too complicated to predict. Pricing green energy and the increasingly gamed systems, especially with electricity, is just too corrupt to do any good.  The electric system corruption leaking into our broad society is much more damaging to the planet than global warming. We need to reset everything...

Overnight Energy: Perry questions role of carbon dioxide in climate change

By  06/19/17 05:46 PM EDT 

PERRY QUESTIONS CARBON'S ROLE IN CLIMATE: Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he doesn't believe carbon dioxide is the "primary control knob" behind climate change on Monday, a position at odds with the conclusions of most climate scientists.

Asked by CNBC on Monday if he believes carbon dioxide is "the primary control knob for the temperature of the Earth and for climate," Perry said no, and that "most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment we live in."

"This shouldn't be a debate about is the climate changing, is man having an affect on it? Yeah, we are," Perry said. "The question should be, just how much and what are the policy changes that we need to make to affect that?"

Perry's position goes against the scientific evidence presented by most federal, international and private sector researchers, who have concluded that increasing greenhouse gas emissions, driven primarily by human activity, have directly contributed to higher temperatures around the globe.

Perry becomes the second of President Trump's energy and environmental officials to go on CNBC's "Squawk Box" to dispute well-established climate science. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said on the same show in March that he "does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor" to climate change.