Month: June 2011

Air Conditioning Afghanistan Troops Costs $20 Billion Per Year – Cost Of One Soldier Is $1 Million A Year – Hotel California

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– Air Conditioning Afghanistan Troops Costs $20 Billion Per Year; Cost of One Soldier is $1 Million a Year; Hotel California (Global Economic Analysis, June 28, 2011):

If people realized how much we were wasting in stupid wars that should never have been fought, there might be far more protests.

Please consider Among The Costs Of War: $20B A Year In Air Conditioning?

The amount the U.S. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion, according to a former Pentagon official.

That’s more than NASA’s budget. It’s more than BP has paid so far for damage during the Gulf oil spill. It’s what the G-8 has pledged to help foster new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia.

Read moreAir Conditioning Afghanistan Troops Costs $20 Billion Per Year – Cost Of One Soldier Is $1 Million A Year – Hotel California

The Bank Of America Non-Settlement “Settlement” – Bank Of America To Pay $8.5 Billion To Settle Mortgage (Mis)Representation Suit With BlackRock, Pimco, New York Fed Et Al.

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– The Bank Of America Non-Settlement “Settlement” (ZeroHedge, June 29, 2011):

Some curious language in the BAC settlement: “…In addition, because the settlement is with the Trustee on behalf of the Covered Trusts and releases rights under the governing agreements for the Covered Trusts, the settlement does not release investors’ securities law or fraud claims based upon disclosures made in connection with their decision to purchase, sell, or hold securities issued by the trusts. To date, various investors, including certain members of the Investor Group, are pursuing securities law or fraud claims related to one or more of the Covered Trusts. The Corporation is not able to determine whether any additional securities law or fraud claims will be made by investors in the Covered Trusts and, if made, to reasonably estimate the amount of losses, if any, with respect to such asserted or potential claims…” Uh, just how is that a settlement.

Also, did Bank of America just admit its securitization trusts violated IRS laws:

“the settlement is conditioned on receipt of private letter rulings from the IRS as well as receipt of legal opinions under California and New York state tax laws and regulations.”

We can’t wait to hear for the cash strapped IRS’ response on this matter.

– Bank Of America To Pay $8.5 Billion To Settle Mortgage (Mis)Representation Suit With BlackRock, Pimco, New York Fed Et Al. (ZeroHedge, June 28, 2011):

Bank of America may be about to part with more money than it has earned since 2008 in what will soon be the biggest financial settlement in the industry to date According to the WSJ, the Charlotte, NC-based bank is preparing to pay $8.5 billion to settle mortgage (mis)representation claims (aka the Mortgage putback issue) brought on by such high profile figures as BlackRock, Pimco, MetLife and, of course, the Federal Reserve, previously discussed on Zero Hedge. “A deal would end a nine-month fight with a group of 22 investors that hold more than $56 billion in mortgage-backed securities at the center of the dispute, including giant money manager BlackRock Inc., insurer MetLife Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.” Keep in mind that this is actually not good news for the bank, contrary to what the company’s stock is doing after hours, as this still keeps the company exposed to a multitude of other rep and warranty litigation (which will now be largely underreserved), not to mention fraudclosure issues, which are totally unrelated, and which will plague the bank for years and years. Lastly, BAC is largley underreserved (see below) for a settlement of this size which means its Tier 1 capital ratio will likely be impacted due to a major outflow of cash.

From the WSJ:

The deal could embolden mutual-fund managers, insurance companies and investment partnerships to go after similar settlements with other major U.S. banks, arguing that billions in loans scooped up before the U.S. housing collapse didn’t meet sellers’ promises or were improperly managed. Most vulnerable would be Wells Fargo & Co and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which along with Bank of America collect loan payments on about half of all outstanding U.S. mortgages.

Read moreThe Bank Of America Non-Settlement “Settlement” – Bank Of America To Pay $8.5 Billion To Settle Mortgage (Mis)Representation Suit With BlackRock, Pimco, New York Fed Et Al.

US Bitcoin Laws Imminent

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Somebody is obviously getting concerned about Bitcoin.

Read the full article here:

– Bitcoin Laws Imminent (NERDr, June 28, 2011):

This week the US courts service (UScourts.gov) has shown increasing interest in Bitcoins.  Their research is ongoing but hastily scaling-up from where it was last week.

Seems we have new orders from the top.

TSA Forces 95-Year-Old Cancer Patient To Remove Adult Diaper!!!

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– Huge public outcry over TSA forcing 95-year-old cancer patient to remove adult diaper (NaturalNews, June 27, 2011:

The TSA has once again shown itself to be an agency utterly lacking in respect for human dignity by forcing a 95-year-old cancer patient to remove her adult diaper during the screening procedure. Jean Weber, a leukemia patient, underwent the humiliating procedure at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport where TSA agents, as usual, claim to be “protecting the public from terrorism.” (You have to question the intelligence, obviously, of any federal employee who believes that terrorists are hiding weapons inside the diaper of a 95-year-old cancer patient. More on that below…)

Outrage over the “adult diaper pat-down” has rapidly spread across the internet as more and more people are waking up and realizing the TSA has no concept of human dignity and can justify anything — yes, anything — as part of the “war on terror.” The TSA even justified this adult diaper pat-down, claiming what they did was conducted in a “respectful and sensitive manner.”

Is respectful and sensitive raping next?

Read moreTSA Forces 95-Year-Old Cancer Patient To Remove Adult Diaper!!!

High Levels Of Radioactive Cesium In Ashes FROM REGULAR HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE At Tokyo Trash Burning Plant

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WAKE UP JAPAN!

– #Radiation in Japan: Radioactive Cesium from Ashes from Household Garbage at Waste Disposal Plant in Edogawa-Ku, Tokyo (EX-SKF, June 27, 2011):

Not a water purification plant or at a waste water treatment plant, but a plant that burns regular, household garbage in eastern Tokyo was found with a high level of radioactive cesium in the fly ashes caught in the incinerator filter.

Edogawa-ku is located at the eastern end of Tokyo. Along with its northern neighbor Katsushika-ku, Edogawa-ku seems to have been in denial of the elevated radiation levels throughout the ward, and has only recently (June 18) started to measure the radiation at multiple locations within the ward.

The Edogawa waste disposal plant is located by the Edogawa River that separates Edogawa-ku and Chiba Prefecture. The plant can burn 600 tonnes of garbage per day with 24-hour operation, with 2 incinerators. It’s in a mixed residential/commercial neighborhood, with 2 elementary schools nearby, and a nursery school right next to the plant, according to the Google Map.

From Sankei Shinbun (6/27/2011):

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The Tokyo Metropolitan government and the “Clean Association Tokyo 23” (organization of waste disposal facilities in Tokyo’s 23 “ku” or wards) announced on June 27 that radioactive cesium in excess of 8,000 becquerels/kilogram was detected from the fine ashes from the waste disposal plant in Edogawa-ku. The plant burns regular garbage collected from households in Edogawa-ku. According to the Association, the ashes are collected by the filter, and the filter is in a sealed container during transport. The air radiation levels have been measured around the plant, and there appears to be no effect on the environment.

Read moreHigh Levels Of Radioactive Cesium In Ashes FROM REGULAR HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE At Tokyo Trash Burning Plant

Los Alamos Lab Home To The Nation’s Largest Supply Of Nuclear Weapons Calls In Special Teams To Monitor Levels Of Plutonium And Uranium In The Air As A Precaution

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– ‘Hoping for the best’: Firefighters battle blaze at edge of Los Alamos nuclear complex (MSNBC, June 28, 2011):

Flames licked at the boundary of the laboratory site, home to the nation’s largest supply of nuclear weapons.

The laboratory was shut down, and the town of Los Alamos, home to about 12,000 people, was placed under a mandatory evacuation Monday afternoon.

…

However, the facility called in special teams to track readings from a network of 60 monitoring stations that measure levels of substances such as plutonium and uranium in the air “as a precaution,” said lab director Charles McMillan.

…

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, who was visiting evacuees at the Santa Claran Hotel Casino in Espanola, said “there’s no doubt” the lab stores a variety of hazardous and radioactive materials that “you don’t want to escape in the atmosphere.” But he said he was confident lab and state environmental officials had monitoring systems in place to “evaluate exactly what we’re seeing here.”

Los Alamos Lab Officials Confirm Drums Of Plutonium-Contaminated Stored Above Ground

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See also:

– New Mexico Wildfires Force Evacuation At Los Alamos Nuclear Labratory:

Fires have burned as close as one mile from the government lab – threatening buildings, power lines and gas lines, officials said.

– Los Alamos lab still under threat from blaze (CBS NEWS, June 28, 2011):

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The anti-nuclear watchdog group Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety said the fire appeared to be about 3.5 miles from a dumpsite where as many as 30,000 55-gallon drums of plutonium-contaminated waste were stored in fabric tents above ground. The group said the drums were awaiting transport to a dump site in southern New Mexico.

Lab officials at first declined to confirm that such drums were on the property, but in a statement early Tuesday, lab spokeswoman Lisa Rosendorf said such drums are stored in a section of the complex known as Area G. She said the drums contain cleanup from Cold War-era waste that the lab sends away in weekly shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Read moreLos Alamos Lab Officials Confirm Drums Of Plutonium-Contaminated Stored Above Ground

Los Alamos National Laboratory: ‘World’s Largest Nuclear Weapons Arsenal Is Still Located There’

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– Los Alamos Evacuated; Fire Crews Concentrate on Nuclear Lab (Israel National News, June 28, 2011):

Los Alamos National Laboratory is indelibly etched in historical memory as the hatching site of the Manhattan Project, the effort which created the first atomic bomb. The world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenal is still located there. Now a raging wildfire has forced the evacuation of the surrounding town of Los Alamos (population 12,000)..

Given the recent Japanese disaster at Fukushima, the fear of course is that a natural disaster can morph into a nuclear one. Firefighters are therefore concentrating on keeping the blaze out of the laboratory. “If it spots on the lab, we’ll get really aggressive about putting it out,” Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said.

Read moreLos Alamos National Laboratory: ‘World’s Largest Nuclear Weapons Arsenal Is Still Located There’

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Bucket Brigade: Nuclear Workers Have To Carry Fuel Cans To Keep Water Pumps Running

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– Nuclear Plant’s Vital Equipment Dry, Officials Say (New York Times, June 27, 2011):

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — When safety regulators arrive for a tour of a nuclear plant, the operators usually give the visitors a helmet, safety glasses and earplugs. When Gregory B. Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, got to the Fort Calhoun plant on Monday morning, the Omaha Public Power District offered him a life jacket.

Read moreThe Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant Bucket Brigade: Nuclear Workers Have To Carry Fuel Cans To Keep Water Pumps Running

Website Of Anti-Nuclear Watchdog Hacked After Revealing That Plutonium Is Stored Above Ground At Los Alamos Lab

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Related info:

– Los Alamos Lab Home To The Nation’s Largest Supply Of Nuclear Weapons Calls In Special Teams To Monitor Levels Of Plutonium And Uranium In The Air As A Precaution

– Los Alamos Lab Officials Confirm Drums Of Plutonium-Contaminated Stored Above Ground:

Lab officials at first declined to confirm that such drums were on the property, but in a statement early Tuesday, lab spokeswoman Lisa Rosendorf said such drums are stored in a section of the complex known as Area G.

Probably just a coincidence!!!

– Los Alamos evacuated as wildfire nears (UPI, June 28, 2011):

The anti-nuclear watchdog group’s Web site appeared hacked early Tuesday morning, a United Press International check indicated. Its Facebook page had six messages from people alerting the group of the possible hacking, including a message commenting on the timing of the incident happening “just as the fires started.”

Former Goldman Sachs Managing Director Appointed European Central Bank President!

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– Mario Draghi (Wikipedia):

Draghi was then vice chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International and a member of the firm-wide management committee (2002–2005). A controversy existed on his duties while employed at Goldman Sachs. Pascal Canfin (MEP) asserted Draghi was involved in swaps for European governments, namely Greece, trying to disguise their countries’ economic status.

What could possibly go wrong?


– Mario Draghi appointed European Central Bank president (Telegraph, June 24, 2011):

In draft conclusions agreed at a summit in Brussels, EU leaders “appointed Mr Mario Draghi president of the European Central Bank from November 1, 2011, to October 31, 2019.”

The 63-year-old economist and banker will replace France’s Jean-Claude Trichet, who steps down at the end of October after eight years in the eurozone’s top monetary policy post.

Read moreFormer Goldman Sachs Managing Director Appointed European Central Bank President!

Prince Charles’s Income From Taxpayers Rises 18 Percent – Inflation? What Inflation?

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The Prince of Wales received £1,962,000 from taxpayers last year, up from £1,664,000 the year before.


Prince Charles’s income from his Duchy of Cornwall estate also rose last year.

– Prince Charles’s income from taxpayers rises 18% (Guardian, June 28, 2011):

The Prince of Wales’s funding from the taxpayer increased by nearly 18% last year, official accounts show.

Prince Charles‘s income from grants-in-aid and government departments rose 17.9% from £1,664,000 to £1,962,000.

Read morePrince Charles’s Income From Taxpayers Rises 18 Percent – Inflation? What Inflation?

Facebook Hires Hacker Who Cracked iPhone, Play Station 3

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– You’re hired! Facebook employs hacker who cracked iPhone and PlayStation 3 security codes (Daily Mail, June 27, 2011):

Facebook has employed a hacker who published a way of running any software, including pirated games, on the PlayStation 3 and cracked into the iPhone.

George Hotz, 21, has been a software engineer at the social network since May 9.

Read moreFacebook Hires Hacker Who Cracked iPhone, Play Station 3

LulzSec Hackers Abruptly Disband: ‘We’re Not Quitting Because We’re Afraid Of Law Enforcement’ – ‘The Press Are Getting Bored Of Us, And We’re Getting Bored Of Us’

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Announcement: Lulzsec announced their disbandment last night

– We’re not quitting because we’re afraid of the FBI, we’re just bored, claim LulzSec hackers as they abruptly disband (Daily Mail, June 27, 2011):

Hacking ground LulzSec are not disbanding because they are afraid of the FBI, they are simply bored, one member has claimed today.

The group has attacked the CIA, FBI and Sony, boasting of wreaking havoc across the internet.

But yesterday they announced on Twitter they are to disband – with the authorities fast closing in on them.

‘We’re not quitting because we’re afraid of law enforcement,’ the LulzSec member said in a conversation with The Associated Press over the Internet voice program Skype yesterday.

‘The press are getting bored of us, and we’re getting bored of us.’

Read moreLulzSec Hackers Abruptly Disband: ‘We’re Not Quitting Because We’re Afraid Of Law Enforcement’ – ‘The Press Are Getting Bored Of Us, And We’re Getting Bored Of Us’

(Express) German Mark Set For Comeback As Euro Crisis Deepens: ‘The Bundesbank Has Been Ordered To Print Marks’

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I know of several economics prof.’s in Germany that predicted the euro to experience a crisis around 2008 to 2010 and that the currency union will fail.


Almost three-quarters of Germans doubt the euro has a future

“The Bundesbank has been ordered to print marks.”

– MARK ‘SET FOR COMEBACK’ AS GERMAN EURO CRISIS DEEPENS (Express, June 27,2011):

ALMOST three-quarters of Germans doubt that the euro has a future, a poll reveals.

They also believe rescue attempts are futile as billions more euros will be paid to bail out Greece.

A poll by German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine, found 71 per cent had “doubt,” “no trust” or thought there is “no future” for the euro. Only 19 per cent expressed “confidence” in it.

Sixty eight per cent said they did not think the emergency bail out of Greece would work.

A separate poll last week showed more than half of Germans thought that Greece should be thrown out of the euro.

Rumours are also rife in Germany that Deutsche Mark bank notes are being printed again in preparation for ditching the euro.

It is said Germany’s central bank, the Bundesbank, has been ordered to print marks as part of contingency plans to leave Europe’s single currency.

Read more(Express) German Mark Set For Comeback As Euro Crisis Deepens: ‘The Bundesbank Has Been Ordered To Print Marks’

Global Hedge Funds Seek a Slice of Japan’s $740 Billion Pension Funds After Quake

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– Hedge Funds Seek a Slice of Japan’s $740 Billion Pension Funds After Quake (Bloomberg, June 28, 2011):

Global hedge funds are vying for allocations from Japan’s corporate pension fund managers, who oversee about $740 billion and are seeking alternatives to stocks following the March earthquake.

Prosperity Capital Management, the largest manager of Russia-focused funds with about $5 billion in assets, plans to open an office in Tokyo in August. Van Biema Value Partners LLC, a New York-based fund of hedge funds with about $800 million in assets, is targeting Japanese pensions by offering funds that buy securities seen as inexpensive relative to the market.

Japanese pension funds are redoubling their quest to offset the world’s lowest bond yield and a falling birthrate, which have curbed contributions, after the March 11 temblor sent the benchmark Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average to its biggest intraday drop since 1987. Thirty-one percent of 135 retirement funds plan to increase alternative investments such as hedge funds from this fiscal year starting April 1, according to a JPMorgan Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. survey in May.

“After the earthquake, there has been strong emphasis on gaining exposure to investments outside Japan, both for pure diversification reasons and to try to achieve higher returns,” said Michael van Biema, a former Columbia Business School professor and the founder of van Biema Value Partners. “The big problem is that most of the large pensions still have about 60 percent of their money in Japanese government bonds. You just can’t earn a reasonable rate of return doing that.”

Read moreGlobal Hedge Funds Seek a Slice of Japan’s $740 Billion Pension Funds After Quake

New And Improved Fukushima Reactor Cooling System Down After 1.5 Hours

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System down after 1.5 hours?

– #Fukushima I Nuke Plant: New and Improved Reactor Cooling System Using Treated Water Shuts Down After 1.5 Hour of Operation (Ex-SKF, June 27, 2011):

Yes, yes it is a big system, which should have been carefully prepared and tested for at least one or two years and they did it in 2 months.

A leak was found on a joint of PVC pipes that transport the treated water.

Read moreNew And Improved Fukushima Reactor Cooling System Down After 1.5 Hours

REPORT: Europe Working On A ‘Plan B’ If The Greek Government Blows It

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See also:

– European Leaders Admit Preparing For A Greek Default

– REPORT: Europe Working On A ‘Plan B’ If The Greek Government Blows It (Business Insider, June 27, 2011):

With the austerity vote potentially down to just a 1-vote cushion in the Greek parliament, the question suddenly becomes: What does Europe do if the vote fails, and therefore Greece becomes ineligible to receive further aide.

According to an article in today’s Financial Times Deutschland, a contingency plan is already being worked on.

Per our Google translated version it sounds like Plan B goes something like this: First, acknowledge that a vote failure would not represent instant bankruptcy. Perhaps some new deal could be worked out with conservative MPs to vote for something. That isn’t clear.

If that fails: ringfence Spain!

With Portugal and Ireland already out of the market (with government funded by the IMF for awhile), the focus then turns to the biggest country that’s in the market, and that’s obviously Spain. How you protect isn’t clear, but a country whose economy makes Greece the size of a gnat obviously becomes worry #1.

(via Megan Greene)

Hugo Chavez Critical? Adrian Salbuchi on RT: ‘Regime Change Flu Coming To Latin America’ To Establish ‘World Government’

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Chavez Critical? “Regime change flu coming to Latin America”

Added: 27.06.2011

Adrian Salbuchi – Members of the Global Elite who would love to see Hugo Chavez go

Added: 26.06.2011

US Admiral Admits NATO Trying To Kill Gaddafi

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The …

– Libyan Majority In Support Of Gaddafi: One Million Pro-Gaddafi Demo in Tripoli

Here is why Libyans support Gaddafi:

– Libya: John Perkins: It’s Not About Oil, It’s About Currency and Loans – Rothschilds Finish Off Gaddafi – ‘The Price of Freedom’, Highest Standard of Living in Africa

WW III has already started:

– The No.1 Trend Forecaster Gerald Celente’s Dire Warning For The World

– Gerald Celente Special Trend Alert: The 1st Great War of 21st Century Has Begun!

See also:

– Rep. Ron Paul on CNN: Libyan War Is ‘About Commercial Business!’ (And Totally Unconstitutional!)

– Matt Taibbi: Why is the Federal Reserve Bailing Out Gaddafi?


Rep Mike Turner claims Col Gaddafi is being targeted

– Libya: Nato ‘trying to kill Col Gaddafi’ (Telegraph, June 2011):

In the first such admission, Adm Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, said that efforts had been stepped up to target the Libyan leader, despite declarations by the Obama administration that “regime change” was not the goal.

The admiral’s comments were revealed by Representative Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican and member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr Turner has opposed the military intervention from the outset was among those who voted in the House of Representatives last week to deny President Barack Obama the authority to wage war against Libya.

Read moreUS Admiral Admits NATO Trying To Kill Gaddafi

European Leaders Admit Preparing For A Greek Default

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See also:

– Greece: ‘A Sovereign Debt Crisis of Sophoclean Dimensions’ – It’s Not Only Greeks Who’ve Lost Their Marbles

– European leaders prepare for a Greek default (Telegraph, June 27, 2011):

European leaders have admitted they are preparing for a Greek default as the eurozone debt crisis enters a pivotal week.

Greek politicians will vote on a radical €28.4bn (£25.2bn) austerity package in the coming days that they must pass if the country is to receive the vital fifth tranche of a €110bn bail-out agreed last year. The outcome is expected to go down to the wire as the ruling party’s slim majority is pushed to the limit by the opposition’s refusal to support the deal, a wave of national strikes, and another round of public protests.

Werner Faymann, the Austrian Chancellor, said on Sunday he “can’t rule out” a Greek default and Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, revealed that Europe is preparing “for the worst”.

Read moreEuropean Leaders Admit Preparing For A Greek Default

New Mexico Wildfires Force Evacuation At Los Alamos Nuclear Labratory

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A wildfire looms in the hills above Los Alamos National Labs Sunday.

– New Mexico wildfires force evacuation at Los Alamos nuclear labratory (NY Daily News, June 27, 2011):

Raging wildfires in New Mexico forced the evacuation of the famed nuclear lab at Los Alamos Monday, though officials insist that radioactive material is secure.

Fires have burned as close as one mile from the government lab – threatening buildings, power lines and gas lines, officials said.

“Lab emergency crews have been dispatched across the lab to protect key facilities and materials,” said lab spokesman Jeff Berger.

“Protected areas include all hazardous and radioactive facilities and our proton accelerator and super-computing centers.”

About 100 non-essential personnel were cleared from the area around the lab, where the first atomic bomb was built.

Read moreNew Mexico Wildfires Force Evacuation At Los Alamos Nuclear Labratory