Year: 2017

Record radiation level detected inside damaged Fukushima reactor

Markozen.com Catastrophes

fukushima-radiation

Japan Today

TOKYO —A record radiation level has been detected inside the No. 2 reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, with the estimated reading of up to 530 sieverts per hour, the plant operator said Thursday.

The reading means a person could die from even brief exposure, highlighting the difficulties ahead as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. grope their way toward dismantling all three reactors that melted down in the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

The plant operator also announced that based on an image analysis, a 1-square-meter hole has been found on a metal grating beneath the reactor pressure vessel, likely caused by melted nuclear fuel that fell through the vessel.

The new radiation level, described by some experts as “unimaginable,” far exceeds 73 sieverts per hour, the previously highest radiation reading monitored in the interior of the reactor.

An official of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences said medical professionals have never considered dealing with this level of radiation in their work.

According to TEPCO, the extremely high radiation level was detected inside the containment vessel, in the space around 2.3 meters away from the base of the reactor pressure vessel.

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According to the institute, 4 sieverts of radiation exposure would kill one in two people.

Experts say 1,000 millisieverts, which equals 1 sievert, could lead to infertility, loss of hair and cataracts, while exposure to radiation doses above 100 millisieverts increases the risk of cancer.

The latest discovery spells difficulty in removing the fuel debris as part of decommissioning work at the plant. The government and TEPCO hope to locate the fuel and start removing it from a first reactor in 2021.

The debris is believed to have been created as nuclear fuel inside the reactor pressure vessel overheated and melted due to the loss of reactor cooling functions.

In the coming weeks, the plant operator plans to deploy a remote-controlled robot to check conditions inside the containment vessel, but the utility is likely to have to change its plan.

For one thing, it will have to reconsider the route the robot is to take to probe the interior because of the hole found on the grating.

Also, given the extraordinary level of radiation inside the containment vessel, the robot would only be able to operate for less than two hours before it is destroyed.

That is because the robot is designed to withstand exposure to a total of up to 1,000 sieverts of radiation. Based on the calculation of 73 sieverts per hour, the robot could have operated for more than 10 hours, but 530 sieverts per hour means the robot would be rendered inoperable in less than two hours.

The latest analysis follows TEPCO’s discovery Monday of a black mass deposited on the grating directly beneath the pressure vessel, possibly melted fuel after the unit suffered a meltdown along with two other reactors at the six-reactor plant.

Images captured using a camera attached to a telescopic arm on Monday also showed part of the grating has gone.

If the deposits are confirmed as fuel debris, it would be the first time the utility has found any at the three units that suffered meltdowns.

Following the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe, the plant’s No. 1 to 3 reactors suffered fuel meltdowns.

Portions of the fuel in the reactors are believed to have accumulated at the bottom of the containment vessels. But the actual condition of the melted fuel remains unknown due to high radiation levels.

Abandoned store near Fukushima

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John Hurt and the Alien Legacy

Markozen.com Science Fiction

Sir John Vincent Hurt, CBE (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned six decades. He initially came to prominence for his supporting role as Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons (1966). After this, he played leading roles as John Merrick in David Lynch’s biopic The Elephant Man (1980), Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), Mr. Braddock in the Stephen Frears drama The Hit (1984) and Stephen Ward in the drama depicting the Profumo affair, Scandal (1989). He is also known for his television roles such as Quentin Crisp in the television film The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Caligula in I, Claudius (1976) and the War Doctor in Doctor Who.

Hurt’s other films include the prison drama Midnight Express (1978), the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), the adventure film Rob Roy (1995), the political thriller V for Vendetta (2006), the supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key (2005), the sci-fi adventure film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), the Harry Potter film series (2001–11), the Hellboy films (2004 and 2008) and the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). His character’s final scene in Alien has been named by a number of publications as one of the most memorable in cinematic history.

And it didn’t end there!

Eerie Demon Hotel Reverberations

Markozen.com Paranormal

For many decades the apartment building at 44 Hargrave Street in Winnipeg stood; the last decade, as an abandoned husk. Only local legends and street gossip hinted at strange occurrences that may have happened behind the eerie brick facade. However, after it was no longer a place for “human” tenants, some say the old abandoned brick edifice became a haunt for other types of tenants. Besides scurrying rats, cockroaches and crazed derelict squatters, downtown residents have reported tales of stranger occupants in the macabre location. From ghostly faces, demonic entities, hair-raising screams and other paranormal monstrosities, the Demon Hotel was a place to avoid, only to be approached by the bravest and most audacious souls.

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Devilish apparitions were photographed

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Then on April 6, 2015 the haunted hotel of downtown Winnipeg went up in flames. Blamed on teenage vandals, many have wondered whether paranormal forces were involved in any way. Some secretly welcomed the incident, hoping the cleansing flames may have at last exorcised the supernatural evil possessing the haunted halls. Others however, openly speculated that the destruction of the building by fire merely dispersed angry spirits into the neighbourhood, or perhaps even locked the unearthly forces into the ruins of the site, creating a zone of evil.

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Hellish entity spotted during the raging fire

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Now the site is an empty lot. Some people park cars there, at their own risk. No plans so far to rebuild on the cursed site.

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However, just in the last little while, reports have surfaced of strange and ghastly manifestations occurring on the site.  Onto the case comes intrepid paranormal investigator Dean Grimchuck.

Dean has been investigating the weird and terrifying most of his adult life. His premature grey hair is testament to that. He has crawled through haunted sewer holes, searched spider web infested attics and maneuvered inside demon possessed bedrooms. He is the preeminent paranormal investigator in Manitoba. His ghostly books are read by the likes of George Noory and Alex Jones.

That being said, Mr. Grimchuck took notice of the new activity at the Demon Hotel site. Reports were that phantasms were appearing. It was also purported that nightmarish nonhuman screams were waking up residents near the site. Grimchuck set up a motion camera across the street. He recently provided the anomalous photos to MarkoZen.

The photos.

Empty lot

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Then the camera picked up major strangeness:

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It gets crazier…

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The camera was checked for malfunctions, it was in perfect working order.

What the …

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It seems to be trying to regurgitate something!

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God help us all!!

To be continued…

Crazy Things You can Bet on before Super Bowl LI

Markozen.com Offbeat, Sports

superbowl-li-setup

CBS Sports

Entertainment props

What will Luke Bryan be wearing when he starts singing the U.S. national anthem? (Bovada)

  • Blue Jeans 1/2
  • Any other pants or shorts 3/2

 

How many times will Trump be said on TV during broadcast?

  • Over/Under 1½

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Will “Houston, we have a problem” be said on TV during live broadcast? (Bovada)

  • Yes 5/2
  • No 1/4

 

What color will Lady Gaga’s hair be when she comes on stage for the halftime show? (Bovada)

  • Blonde 1/4
  • Any other Color 5/2

FAMEFLYNET - Lady Gaga Heads To The Box In London Wearing A Chainmail See Through Dress

Which song will Lady Gaga play first during the halftime show? (Bovada)

  • “Born this Way“ 9/4
  • “Bad Romance” 5/2
  • “Edge of Glory” 6/1
  • “Poker Face” 10/1
  • “Just Dance” 10/1
  • “Any other song” 11/10

 

Will either team make a field goal in the first quarter? (Westgate)

  • Yes -120
  • No Even

Will either team score three straight times? (Westgate)

  • Yes -190
  • No +170

 

Will the opening kickoff result in a touchback? (Bovada)

  • Yes -200 (1/2)
  • No +160 (8/5)

 

Will there be a penalty for excessive celebration? (Bovada)

  • Yes 5/2
  • No 1/4

 

Bill Belichick’s hoodie color

  • Blue
  • Grey
  • Red
  • Any other colour

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Victory Gatorade colour

  • Orange
  • Blue
  • Water
  • None

For all you betters out there, don’t get carried away, we know how a betting addiction can take off:

Battle of Mosul continues

Markozen.com Military

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The Battle of Mosul is a joint offensive by Iraqi government forces with allied militias, Iraqi Kurdistan, and international forces to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The offensive, dubbed Operation “We Are Coming, Nineveh” (قادمون يا نينوى; Qadimun Ya Naynawa), began on 16 October 2016, with forces besieging ISIL-controlled areas in the Nineveh Governorate surrounding Mosul. The battle for Mosul is considered key in the military intervention against ISIL, which seized the city in June 2014. Outnumbering ISIL forces 10 to 1, it is the largest deployment of Iraqi troops since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The operation follows the Mosul offensives in 2015 and 2016. The offensive began with Iraqi troops and Peshmerga fighters engaging ISIL on three fronts outside Mosul, going from village to village in the surrounding area. More than 120 towns and villages were liberated from ISIL control in the first two weeks of fighting. At dawn on 1 November, Iraqi Special Operations Forces entered the city on the eastern front. Meeting with fierce fighting, the Iraqi advance into the city was slowed by elaborate defenses – including road blocks, booby traps, suicide bombers and snipers – and by the presence of civilians.
The Battle of Mosul is concurrent with the Battle of al-Bab by the Turkish-led FSA forces, and the Raqqa offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on ISIL’s capital city and stronghold in Syria.

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Red: Iraqi government control

Gray: ISIS control

Yellow: Kurdish control

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Iraqi army liberators

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Christian areas liberated

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Tough fight continues…

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Coalition airstrikes major component of the battle.

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Philippines jailbreak: MILF commander Satar Mandalongdong led daring midnight operation?

Markozen.com Military

Suspected Muslim rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front attacked a the southern Philippine prison and freed 158 inmates in a daring attack on Wednesday.

About 100 armed men, surrounded the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan city in the restive Mindanao region shortly after midnight. They opened fire at guards and stormed the prison, which had around 1,511 inmates.

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Philippine police said the attackers’ goal was to free their comrades in custody. “It’s to rescue their comrades under our custody. It is a rescue operation,” jail warden Peter John Bonggat said, according to local ABS-CBN television.

Jail officials could not confirm if all the escaped prisoners belonged to the Moro militant factions. Bonggat, however, confirmed that many Muslim rebel leaders were housed in the Kidapawan jail, 950 kilometres away from capital Manila.

“We have many Muslim personalities (in the jail) that are members of various organised, syndicated groups,” Bonggat told AFP.

Local officials said as many as six attackers and one prison guard were killed in cross-firing. “When the attack came, according to the report of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, it was a two-hour firefight” Philippine National Police Spokesperson Dionardo Carlos said.

“The jail guards were trying to stop the attackers and then our police responded … Unfortunately, because of the commotion, some inmates escaped using a wooden ladder that they stuck to the wall at the back portion of the jail,” he said at a press conference.

No group has claimed the attack, but the Philippine officials believe MILF is behind the prison attack. Officials suggested that MILF commander Satar Mandalondong is the kingpin behind the jailbreak, Al Jazeera reported, citing sources.

MILF, which demands autonomy for the Moro Muslim people of the southern Philippines, did not claim responsibility for the attack.

The Philippines has been plagued by an Islamic insurgency propelled by militant organizations like the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that operate in the Sulu archipelago and the Mindanao island.

The government signed a peace treaty with the MILF in March 2014, but various splinter groups including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that aim to create an Isis-style caliphate in the south of the county have engaged the military in pitched battles.

First impressions aside on this story, this is not the MILF rank and file insurgents:

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A Rock band ahead of its time named Death!

Markozen.com Music

Death was a garage rock and protopunk demo band formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1971 by the brothers Bobby (bass, vocals), David (guitar), and Dannis (drums) Hackney. The African American trio started out as an R&B band but switched to rock after seeing an Alice Cooper show. Music critic Peter Margasak (incorrectly denoting the youngest brother) retrospectively wrote of their musical direction: “The youngest of the brothers, guitarist David, pushed the group in a hard-rock direction that presaged punk, and while this certainly didn’t help them find a following in the mid-70s, today it makes them look like visionaries.” The band broke up by 1977 but reformed in 2009 when the Drag City label released their 70s demos for the first time.

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Guy crashes his car through the halls of City Hall

Markozen.com Crime

This is a rather old story, 2009. But it is one of a kind.

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for driving his car through Wichita’s City Hall. Marcus Johnson, 33, also was ordered Wednesday to pay $142,000 in restitution. He pleaded no contest to criminal damage to property, making a criminal threat, and battery of a law enforcement officer.

Prosecutors said that Johnson became enraged when police told him to turn down his car music in January 2008 and said he would crash into City Hall.

He then drove downtown and through the front doors of City Hall. The car continued past the elevators and crashed into security at the west end of the building.

Johnson asked for leniency Wednesday and told the judge that he was hearing voices that night.

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The cops are hot on his trail.