Reflections On A French Break

A break from blogging for the weekend – because this has been the time for one of my occasional trips across the Channel. It’s the kind of occasion that points up what makes the UK and France different – and what is just the same, whichever side of La Manche you happen to be.

After a longer than intended spell navigating the UK’s state specified and funded motorway network – not a peep from the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance, though – I fetched up at the tunnel terminal near Folkestone. For me, this is the only way to cross the Channel: the shuttles depart on schedule, and to the minute, a contrast with the haphazard timekeeping of the ferries.

The only way to France (not my Bentley!)

And the journey takes 35 minutes, with arrival also on the dot. All the Customs business is done before you board, and so there is none of that driving slowly away from the passport check on arrival off the boat at Dover, with the assembled representatives of HMG staring you down for a bit of sport before you clear the roundabout and drive off towards London.

In France, as Charlie Croker observed in The Italian Job, they drive on the wrong side of the road. But much else is familiar: the iffy road surface following last December’s cold, the British names on the shops glimpsed as you pass Cité Europe, and the wind turbines. Yes, there are wind turbines.

Delingpole's delight near Calais

France gets almost 80% of its electricity from nuclear power – the plants all use Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) technology – yet there are those ubiquitous wind turbines everywhere. It’s the kind of thing that may be borne in mind when the Delingpoles of this world beat the drum for nuclear, while ridiculing wind power.

France still uses a mixture of power generation types. One reason for this is that nuclear power is not good for demand patterns that vary significantly over time: some nuclear stations come off load at weekends and have to shut down, which isn’t good for the economics of the technology.

And renewables are an increasing part of that mixture. Oh, and for those thinking that an overnight stay in France might be something special, I can report that the facilities on offer at budget chain hotels, and the view across an industrial park, is pretty much the same as in the UK. So that’s another similarity, then.

TPA – Sinclair The Shameless

Having studied the modus operandi of the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) for a while now, I had thought that the whole range of dubious methods and tactics had passed before my inspection. Until yesterday. The TPA’s annual demonising of local Government managers, the so-called “Town Hall Rich List”, and the feedback therefrom, brought into view the less than totally professional behaviour of their chief non-job holder Matthew Sinclair.

Sinclair first came to my notice back in summer 2009, when the TPA published a “report” called Taxpayer Funded Lobbying. The “research” for this had established that the Government had made payments to bodies that also did lobbying, though it did not prove what the payments were for – the (highly questionable) assumption was made that they were for lobbying.

Mick Fealty at the excellent Slugger O’Toole blog called out the TPA. Sinclair characteristically blamed anyone but himself, and would not answer the point Fealty put to him. Thus the attribute evasive. Sinclair also tried to smear Fealty by questioning his judgment, so that’s smear merchant too (see also below).

Then, last January, Liberal conspiracy used an edited version of a Zelo Street post calling out Sinclair’s gofer Chris Daniel over another use of dodgy figures. Sinclair was clearly distressed, and attempted to call me out for setting up “a complete straw man”. There was no straw man, and Daniel was caught with his hand in the till. Sinclair’s attempt to state otherwise earns him the additional attribute of dishonest.

But it’s Sinclair’s behaviour yesterday that earns him the greatest harvest of new attributes. Staff at the London Borough of Hillingdon were unhappy about the TPA’s presentation of some figures, and there was an exchange of emails. Sinclair then published the exchange without first asking the other party, so that’s unprincipled and untrustworthy as well.

He also attempted to smear the authority by unnecessarily bringing up the subject of Icelandic banks, then finished off by suggesting that readers of the TPA’s site complain about the unfortunate PR person to the council leader. There’s one word for that, and that’s bullying.

So what does that give us? An evasive, dishonest, unprincipled, untrustworthy, bullying smear merchant, that’s what. And anyone coming into contact with Matthew Sinclair should remember to count their fingers if they are somehow compelled to shake hands with him.

This character portrait has been brought to readers of Zelo Street in the interests of full transparency, so I’m sure the TPA will be more than happy about it.

Daily Mail – Gratuitous Beeb Bashing

The obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre never pass up an opportunity to kick the BBC, and it is now clear that not even an exercise in giving staff information about their new home in Manchester is off limits. In this story, under the by-line of Paul Revoir (who he?), all the customary smears are deployed, with the easily predictable comment from supposedly Tory MP Philip Davies, who achieves the near impossible by making me nostalgic for Marcus Fox.

The Mail kicks off as it means to go on, with BBC Childrens’ and Sports staff described as “globe-trotting”: see, they’re spending lots of your money! The Beeb is “happy to dispatch staff to far-flung corners of the globe at the drop of a hat”, to which most of those concerned might well respond “I wish”.

What is this sin that the BBC has committed? They have organised sessions for those moving to MediaCity UK on Salford Quays, to give them information on car parking, walking and cycling routes, and the workings of the city’s bus and Metrolink services. Speakers at these events are not being paid.

Thus the opportunity for the Mail to go overboard: “In a move that was yesterday greeted with incredulity” it thunders, although nobody given the facts would be incredulous. After all, Television Centre has two Underground stations right outside, buses pass the front gate, and folks know and understand the ubiquitous Oyster card.

Manchester – or indeed anywhere outside London – is a very different proposition when it comes to public transport. Metrolink doesn’t yet have such a wide range of destinations (and at some times of day doesn’t run to MediaCity), bus services may run less frequently after 1800 hours (or not at all), the nearest “heavy rail” station is not exactly next door, and the whole area will be unfamiliar. And don’t even ask about ticketing.

So why not give those staff information on how to get around? Instead, the piece goes on about “gold plated” relocation packages (although it manages not to give any comparison with other industries), that those moving get “expenses” (ditto), and allowances for stamp duty (ditto).

On top of this is rent-a-quote Philip Davies laying in to the Beeb: one might hope that all this punditry does not detract from his duties as MP for the unfortunate town of Shipley. Why does Paul Dacre have a problem with the BBC? Did the corporation once turn him down? Did they not reply to his letter?

None of the above: the Beeb is trusted, Dacre is not, and so the Beeb has to be kicked. Regularly. Ad infinitum, and in this case, ad nauseam.

It Was Just Two Years Ago Today

Time flies, so the saying goes, when you’re having fun. So by that definition, blogging is fun: Zelo Street is two years old today, and the time has certainly flown.

What has changed in the meantime? Well, the blog started after the supposedly momentous Crewe and Nantwich by-election, which as I pointed out, wasn’t anything of the sort. But Politics is still a regular topic, as are goings on in Crewe.

Air travel, a subject which this blog covers fairly regularly, has shown that our old friends at Ryanair, the Millwall of air carriers (everybody hates us and we don’t care) are not always the lowest cost solution that they would have you believe. And their appearances on the Air Accidents Investigation Branch site do not always instil confidence. Oh, and about that advertising ...

Zelo Street also looks regularly at rail travel, from the enthusiast perspective to the progress of the industry, and the state of the art high speed services being introduced across Europe today. And there has been a pause to remember those to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

And the recent talk of high speed rail has caused Zelo Street to shine a little more light on another favourite subject, the Astroturf lobby group that is the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA). This body, stuffed with non-job holders busily churning out propaganda in their constant crusade to demonise Government – any Government – together with public service and public works, claims to speak for taxpayers, and yet does not represent 99.9% of them.

The TPA demands transparency from others, but is remarkably coy about who backs it, and has not published full up to date accounts for some time. Zelo Street would like to help the TPA rectify this shortcoming, and any information that would enable this assistance would be gratefully received.

But to show that it’s not “all work and no play”, there has been blogging from around Europe: Zelo Street has come from Amsterdam, Vienna, the Algarve, Lisbon, Munich and Barcelona as well as Crewe. And of course there has been a more than occasional look at the Fourth Estate, and our political class. Sometimes the two come together. And this area would not be complete without a mention for our old friends at Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).

There will be more of the same in the coming weeks and months, and no doubt time will continue to fly. I hope that anyone and everyone looking in on Zelo Street finds their visit as enjoyable as it’s been to do the blogging.

Meltdown Shock Horror – Updated

One might have thought that things were bad, if the normally reclusive Emperor Akihito had to appear on TV to urge his subjects not to give up. Maybe things are bad, but that does not justify some of the panic inducing headlines of the past few days. But events have moved on from last weekend, so another look at the current state of play at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex is overdue.

At the outset, it has to be stressed that there are two nuclear power plants in the area: Fukushima Daini, which has had little media attention, has been shut down without any serious problems. Like its stricken neighbour, it uses Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) technology, although its four reactors are more recent and also more powerful.

The Fukushima Daiichi complex has six reactors, the oldest of which first “went critical” back in 1970. The others were added between 1973 and 1979. At the time of the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the three most recently commissioned reactors had been shut down for maintenance, and these are not causing any problem.

The oldest three reactors, as I’ve previously noted, had the shutdown process disrupted by the tsunami, and there were subsequent hydrogen detonations following release of excess pressure caused by overheating. Fortunately, the reactor containments appear to have held any serious leak of radioactivity, although one may have been cracked.

So thus far, even if some of the fuel within the reactors has melted, the effect is, as I previously predicted, that those reactors are no longer a commercial proposition and the consequences are merely economic. The problem now – and it could result in a serious release of radiation – is with spent fuel “ponds” attached to reactors 3 and 4.

Spent nuclear fuel assemblies are held in either “ponds” – like large swimming pools – or in dry stores. The last completed UK Magnox plant, Wylfa, uses a dry store. In both cases the spent fuel needs to be kept cool: this means water or carbon dioxide gas being regularly circulated. Not only is that circulation apparently not happening at reactors 3 and 4, but the water level seems to have dropped, exposing the assemblies to the atmosphere.

And that means an uncontrolled and possibly serious radiation leak. How serious? That depends partly on how long the spent fuel has been exposed to the atmosphere, and of course how much of it is on site. How the situation got to this point is not known, but it’s entirely possible that teams were so occupied with keeping the reactors cooled that the fuel ponds slipped from view. It could yet get worse: I’ll check back in the near future.

TPA – The List That’s A Bit Rich

As the end of the financial year approaches, the array of non-job holders at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) have published their annual attempt to promote hatred and envy towards those unfortunate enough to work in local Government: their “Town Hall Rich List” has been released and lapped up by media outlets that share the TPA’s mean spirited attitude towards public service.

And a look through this “report”, with its characteristically interminable lists of figures which most journalists will not bother reading, shows that the TPA is, as usual, indulging in acts of serial dishonesty in pursuit of demonising the public sector. To see the customary sleight of hand at work, you need to look no further than the very first table in the report (available HERE [.pdf]).

The title, The 20 Council employees in receipt of the highest remuneration packages in 2009-10, is at least correct, but the apparently high percentage increases in that remuneration are mainly because these are mostly senior managers taking early retirement or being made redundant – that means a reduction in headcount, which the TPA favours. So they are playing it both ways.

Elsewhere, those joining part way through a year appear to have been getting substantial pay increases in 2009-10, until the small print is examined: the part year payment was not annualised, enabling the TPA to claim that percentage increases are far higher than the otherwise prosaic reality of low single figures. And in Table 2, not only is the redundancy angle noted, but the TPA’s prize fat cat is shown to be the Chief Executive of Tory flagship council Wandsworth. So they won’t be getting much change out of the Government on that one.

Also, as I noted recently, the TPA are clueless when it comes to freelance workers and interim management. The payment of £278,750 for an “Interim Chief Executive” at Thurrock is conceded to be the amount paid to the agency that supplied the manager, and that “this may not be what the individual receives”. There’s understatement for you: that manager will be lucky to see much over £200k, and will have to find employer’s NI, pension costs, professional indemnity payments, and accountant’s fees themselves. More like 130 – 140k.

Moreover, if we’re talking total remuneration package, the comparison that the TPA likes to make with the Prime Minister’s pay of £142,500 would have to take into account all of Young Dave’s allowances, including that house just off Whitehall. This would raise his full remuneration package to well north of £500k.

So if the TPA are going to do the exercise properly, let’s make the comparison like with like. And to bring real credibility to this work, let’s see the TPA publish full details of their own remuneration packages. In full. On line.

Express - So Late It Missed The Boat

As I’ve pointed out more than once, the Daily Express has a circulation nowadays that is only a fraction of what it achieved in its heyday. So when Richard “Dirty” Desmond’s diminishing band of hacks lays claim to a campaign victory, the thought occurs that there may be a little exaggeration at work.

This is typified by today’s front page: while the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, together with events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, occupy much of the Fourth Estate, the Express majors on a reduction in mobile phone charges which it then claims is due to their campaign.

The reduction is in the cost of calls from land line phones to mobiles: the charge concerned is called the “termination rate”, in other words, what mobile operators charge for a call to be terminated at a mobile phone, rather than a conventionally connected one. That Ofcom has ordered a reduction in this charge is not in doubt.

However, the contribution of the Express is more problematic: the Guardian article does not mention the campaign, and neither does a similar piece in the Maily Telegraph. And nor does the report in the Daily Mail. But there has been a campaign, hasn’t there?

Well, yes there has, and it’s called Terminate The Rate. And it has been supported by a number of organisations: Three, BT, MoneySupermarket.com, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Post Office, and trade unions Unite and GMB are among the supporters listed.

But, as that list of supporters scrolls past, one name missing is the Express. And no, parent company Northern & Shell is not listed either. So much for the Express running any kind of campaign – they haven’t even bothered to join the official supporters.

That’ll be another Benchmark Of Excellence, then.

Del Boy And The Green Subsidy

The Zelo Street house has been visited today by the insulation men. That’s insulation as in loft: I’d been aware for a while, especially during last December, that the existing stuff was either patchy or even absent in part of the building. But, thanks to the Government’s green agenda, all is now well.

So who do I have to thank for this good fortune? Well, the visit doesn’t come free, but at 99 quid, the cost to me is a fraction of the market rate, which is around £450. This means – you guessed it – that there has been some kind of subsidy at work.

But, so what? I pay my taxes, so am entitled to benefit from the green agenda as much as the next householder. This, though, is too prosaic an explanation to yield as much pleasure as to think of it in terms of someone else having to stump up most of the cash – someone who cannot abide or otherwise come to terms with anything called green or environmentally friendly.

So it is that I have declared the new loft insulation at the Zelo Street house the James Delingpole Greenie Eco-Fascist Libtard Huhne Trophy Memorial Loft Insulation. I’m sure that Del Boy will be more than happy – well, maybe not – to have contributed something to the environment, even though it’s more than 160 miles away.

That subsidy hit couldn’t happen to a more deserving bloke.

Hello Dobbsy Lou, Bye Bye Glenn?

The New York Times started the rumour: the increasingly wayward Glenn Beck, “star” of Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse), might not be staying at the broadcaster after his contract comes up at the end of December. At first, the thought of Beck leaving what many see as his spiritual home may seem unimaginable – until you look at the numbers.

Cable news channel ratings had been on the wane throughout 2010, but Beck’s show has lost viewers at a rate far above the average: his audience declined by over a million during the year. Moreover, this year he has been out-performed by the man whose show follows Beck’s, Bret Baier. Baier is a steady, straight news kind of presenter, not one of Fox’ big guns.

Also, Beck is also eclipsed regularly by Shep Smith, whose 7pm ET “Fox Report” is another in the Fox “news” strand. What makes the latter comparison interesting is that Smith is liked by liberals as well as conservatives: he’s not always “on message”.

So why has Beck lost so much of his audience? Those who see only snippets of the Beck show, with the chalkboards, the hollering rhetoric, and the suggestions of wild conspiracies, might find two or three minutes of this amusing and novel. The trouble is, Beck goes on like this for the best part of fifty minutes every weekday, and it seems that much of the target demographic is tiring of it.

God's messenger?

And the boycott of advertisers, which has left breaks filled with commercials for Goldline – Beck likes to urge his viewers to buy gold – and little else, will not have gone down well with Fox management. Nor will his suggestion on his radio show yesterday that the Japanese earthquake might be a message from God.

Beck’s response to the rumour of his departure will not stop the speculation: he was non-committal on the subject yesterday, saying that “the only thing in life that is constant is change”. And Fox already have an ideal replacement under contract: former CNN man Lou Dobbs has been installed on the Fox Business Network, which has a fraction of the main channel’s audience.

Dobbs does not appear too unhappy about being on such a minority outlet, which will only add to the speculation that he is being pencilled in to replace Beck in 2012. Will Lou be less controversial than Glenn? Heck, no – he’s as far to the right as any of the better known Fox names. But he’s predictable and reliable, and with a Presidential Election coming next year, that may be just what Roger Ailes wants.

Meltdown Shock Horror – The Curse Of Del Boy

The aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami continues to bring the kind of news beloved of editors: concern over the state of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is grist to the mill for horror story writers. Typical of the genre are the Super Soaraway Currant Bun (with Nuke Cloud Could Reach Tokyo), the Mirror (48 Hours To Stop A Nuke Disaster), and the Daily Mail (Japan In Meltdown).

And events will continue to get the shock horror treatment as long as information from Japan is less than consistent, and the subject has “nuclear” in the title, this latter because, although we know that high radiation levels can do bad things to people, we can’t see them and don’t know what they feel like. So into the void of our knowledge comes a worst case scenario.

Reality, in the meantime, is more prosaic: the station’s number 1 and number 3 reactors may have suffered overheating of the fuel, and hydrogen released when pressure was vented has caused spectacular looking explosions, but the result will almost certainly be that the units are unable to continue generation and there is a big clean-up bill, as with Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI2). No need for panic.

What is more worrying is the talk of a fracture in the containment of number 2 reactor. Once again, the information to hand is not certain on events, but if there is a crack in the base of the containment, the most likely outcome is an even bigger clean-up bill. The increased levels of radiation are most likely to be coming from a spent fuel “pond” adjacent to reactor 4, which had been allowed to run dry, with the fuel heating up and causing a fire. There’s nothing to stop the subsequent escape of radiation from such an event.

So the situation is not good, although there has not been the nuclear apocalypse that some hacks have suggested. But there is also the need to keep the public from being too frightened about nuclear power, so the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre has deployed the worldly Max “Hitler” Hastings, self-proclaimed liberator of Port Stanley, to stiffen the backbone of Daily Mail readers.

But the most crass pro-nuclear intervention has to go to Maily Telegraph blogger James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole, who told yesterday that “the fuss about imminent nuclear disaster was greatly overdone” (the situation in Japan then worsened). And to demonstrate how nuclear power isn’t such a big deal, Del Boy got a guest poster to make light of the Chernobyl accident back in 1986.

How bad was that? Er, “up to 4,000 people could eventually die of radiation exposure”. And the conclusion? “Let’s not exaggerate. Stick to nuclear. Overall it is clearly a Good Thing”. Yeah, right. Good to see that Del Boy is making as constructive a contribution to the nuclear power debate as he is on climate change.

[UPDATE 1545 hours: Radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi have now fallen, which is consistent with the fuel pond fire, now extinguished, being the source of the spike in readings. On this point I am more relieved than happy to have been proved right. Also, James Delingpole has kept quiet since yesterday, which no doubt is mere coincidence]

Kicking The Guardian – 4: Phil Hendren

As if to show that putting the boot into the Guardian is a live, if pointless, pursuit within the right leaning part of the blogosphere, the reaction to the latest news on the Phonehackgate front has brought a piece of typically self-important bluster from one Phil Hendren, who blogs under the alias of Dizzy Thinks. This is doubly misleading, as he is not called Dizzy, and rarely shows much sign of thinking before posting.

Hendren is clearly concerned at the Guardian article that names convicted private investigator Jonathan Rees, so he has set out to show that the paper is rubbish and he is much cleverer. In attempting so to do, he suggests that the paper believes Rees’ recent trial to be key, a very big deal. This is typical Hendren: shouting “look over there” so that his readers will not see the more prosaic reason: the trial meant that Guardian man Nick Davies was unable to name Rees.

And he fails to take on board the obvious point, that not only did the Screws re-employ Rees after he had done time for planting evidence, but also that Rees was part of the “supply chain” of dubiously sourced information feeding major stories – a source that a hands-on editor, as Andy Coulson was held to be, should have been aware of.

Moreover, Hendren appears not to have noticed that all the howls of “non story” that he and others in the right leaning part of the blogosphere have been throwing out, as in a smokescreen, have not stopped Phonehackgate rumbling on, with more victims, journalists and informants being revealed along the way, along with Coulson’s recent resignation.

But the most delicious twist has been in the timing: Hendren posted his dismissal of the Guardian position before 0800 on Sunday, while, seemingly unknown to him, the BBC had an edition of Panorama ready to screen the very next day (to be broadcast on BBC1 at 2030 hours this evening). This programme unearths yet another informant, and implicates another senior executive at the Screws, Alex Marunchak.

The more that Hendren and his fellow Guardian kickers dismiss the paper’s efforts, the more the story comes back to bite them. Part of this is down to the knee-jerk reaction of trying to paint the affair as “right versus left”, rather than calling it for what it is – acts of straightforward criminality. Another part of the right’s problem is that they appear not to understand the Grubstreet maxim of “dog doesn’t eat dog”, so see the lack of coverage elsewhere as validating their stance.

The result is that Phil Hendren ends up turning himself into an involuntary comedy turn for those of a left leaning or independent stance, and he should know that the more he tries to wish this one away, the more he will become the object of ridicule. But then, his blog does advertise “opinionated arrogance” in its header, so no-one should be surprised.

Because the arrogant man never learns.

TPA And HS2 – Wasting Billions

While the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has been lobbying against the HS2 High Speed Rail project, to make sure it is not seen as just deploying knocking copy the group has put forward a package of improvements to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) known as Rail Package 2 (RP2). This is cited in the report HERE, and followed up HERE, HERE and HERE.

Having backed RP2, the TPA has then attempted to argue that HS2 and RP2 are directly comparable, though they are not: RP2 applies only to the WCML, and does not address the East Coast Main Line (ECML) or Midland Main Line (MML), both of which will have capacity freed up by the second phase of HS2, giving a link to Sheffield and Leeds.

Moreover, as I’ve already shown, the RP2 timetable, which uses 80% of theoretical maximum capacity on the southern WCML, is unworkable. And it makes no provision for extra peak hour trains. But there is a more glaring flaw in RP2, which the TPA has not thus far mentioned, and that is the need for a fleet of 97 new trains, each of eleven vehicles, and with both 125mph and tilt capability.

Alstom Pendolino: uncertain future under RP2

The capital cost alone of this fleet is likely to be around £2 billion. Moreover, the trains that would be displaced would be between 10 and 16 years short of even the most pessimistic life expectancy. RP2 does not tell where the trains might be otherwise employed, and the comparative costs of alternative use versus other train types.

Siemens Desiro: adequate for north of Northampton

It gets worse: services that at present are worked by single four coach trains (Northampton to Birmingham, and Northampton to Crewe) would use the new eleven coach sets, though the demand does not, and most likely will not, justify it. Thus, in order to wring out the most capacity from the southern WCML, parts of the network would be subjected to the economics of the madhouse.

So the TPA is backing a scheme that will bring an unworkable timetable, no relief to two of the routes where HS2 would release capacity, and significantly increases the cost of providing many services. Either commuters will face big fare increases, or the operating subsidy will increase.

Also, RP2 does not address the needs of the freight operators: there is more demand for paths for this profitable traffic than paths available right now. Completion of HS2 will free up around three freight paths per hour, every hour, in each direction. But the TPA is lobbying for RP2, which means less profitable traffic, and a far more expensive passenger operation.

And all that is something else that the TPA doesn’t want to tell you. So I will.

Meltdown Shock Horror – Still No Need To Panic

As the full scale of the devastation that the earthquake – now upgraded to a whole 9.0 on the Richter Scale – and subsequent tsunami have caused to north eastern Japan has come clear, there are more stories of problems with the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station.

Quite apart from the explosion in the auxiliary building of the station’s number one reactor, video of which is widely available, there is now reported to be a problem with the number three reactor. Once again, terms like “meltdown”, “radiation” and “exclusion zone” are being deployed, with the addition of the ultimately scary “plutonium”.

So, once again, some facts may be born in mind. As I noted yesterday, comparisons with the accident at Chernobyl in 1986 are fatuous, as the Japanese reactors have a containment around them, and the Russian RBMK reactor did not. Moreover, the Japanese plants use water as both coolant and moderator, unlike the RBMK which used graphite to moderate the reaction.

But how come there was an explosion? This is consistent with reports that pressure within the reactor had been lowered by venting off steam, with that steam being accompanied by hydrogen, the latter being a by-product of an overheating reactor. What does it take to set off a hydrogen detonation? Think back to chemistry lessons at school: the answer is, not much.

The important thing is that the containment held, and continues to hold, all the fissile material inside it, and that the operators keep enough water flowing through the reactor while its residual heat dissipates. The result may be that the reactor is no longer usable, but as with Three Mile Island unit 2 (TMI2), that is an economic reverse, rather than an environmental one.

And the talk of plutonium? Reactor 3 at Fukushima is fuelled partly with Mixed Oxide, or MOX. This uses between 1.5 and 3 per cent reclaimed plutonium: it’s not going to turn the plant into a nuclear bomb. Once again, keeping enough water passing through the reactor core as the heat dies down is what is needed, the process not differing merely because the make-up of the fuel rods is a little different.

Why, then, the exclusion zone? The authorities are dealing with an uncertain situation: there has already been substantial loss of life, and so the decision will inevitably err on the side of caution. There may be further leaking of radioactive material. But, provided the reactors affected are kept relatively cool, there is no need for anyone to panic.

Although panic sells papers.

Express – Maddie Bad Language

A while back, I noted that the Madeleine McCann story had briefly burst back into life, but that the empire of Richard “Dirty” Desmond, which had been so eager to talk about the toddler’s disappearance before being taken to the cleaners by her parents, had not mentioned the new news – at all.

But today, the Express has decided to rectify the earlier omission by running a piece about Kate McCann’s upcoming new book on her still missing daughter. Sad to say, the instantly memorable quality of the article is not Kate or Maddie, but yet another horrendous grammatical howler of the kind I highlighted recently.

Under the by-line of Tracey Kandohia, the headline declares “Kate McCann’s Helps Search For Maddie”. Er, hello? Maybe “Kate McCann Helps Search For Maddie”, or “Kate McCann’s Help For Maddie”, but not “Kate McCann’s Helps”. How does this kind of thing get through?

Simples. Almost all those sub-editors, who would have checked copy in the days when the Express was a credible newspaper, have been sent down the road. The remaining hacks have to input their stories direct and hope that what little “subbing” still takes place will catch any mistakes.

And there is another problem with this piece. It begins “Kate McCann has chosen the world-famous picture of daughter Madeleine as the cover for her book”, but that picture does not appear. So perhaps this is another howler that a sub-editor would have picked up.

The only credible alternative is that the Express was unable to use that “world-famous” photo, for which there are two possible explanations. Either the Desmond press has been forbidden from using it, or the copyright owner has demanded a fee for its reproduction – and the Express is too tight to stump up.

Either way, it merely contributes to yet more unacceptably bad journalism. So that’s another “Benchmark Of Excellence”, then.

Murdoch Is Served (31)

The Murdoch press is on the case: they’re covering events in Japan with some sense of relief, because there is a chance the attention will be kept away from more revelations on the Phonehackgate front. While Rupe’s downmarket troops at the Super Soaraway Currant Bun have been laying in to the BBC for – horror of horrors – paying appearance fees, Nick Davies and the gang at the Guardian have been shining a light on them.

And, once again proving true Davies’ dictum of “dog doesn’t eat dog”, the story is being ignored by much of the Fourth Estate – barring the Guardian and Independent. What both titles reveal is that Andy Coulson, Young Dave’s former spinmeister, re-hired a convicted private investigator with links to corrupt police officers back in 2005 while he was editor of the Screws.

But what makes matters worse is that both Cameron and Corporal Clegg knew of this act before Coulson was hired for the job at 10 Downing Street. The man thus re-hired, Jonathan Rees, had already been the subject of a Guardian investigation into police corruption and information gathering techniques like blagging.

Rees also bought information from crooked cops, and reckoned to have contacts across the banking industry and Government. The Guardian piece makes the point that the Metropolitan Police accepted the Screws’ defence of “one rogue reporter” on the Goodman and Mulcaire case, when they knew back in 1999 of Rees’ activities.

The impression is given that the Met may not be the most ideal police force to be trusted with Phonehackgate: there have already been calls for someone from out of town to supervise or at least monitor the case. And it may not be just the Murdoch empire on the wrong end of this one: Rees also worked for both the Daily and Sunday Mirror.

Non-Story? There are some in the right leaning part of the Fourth Estate whose judgment and reputation has already been tarnished: expect more in the way of reputation diminishment in the coming months.

TPA And HS2 – The View From The East Coast

While much heat has been generated by the non-job holders at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) over the HS2 High Speed Rail project, their favoured alternative to a new line has addressed only the West Coast Main Line (WCML) out of London’s Euston terminus to Birmingham and the North West.

And this suits the TPA fine, as they can compare the total cost of HS2 with a much lower cost for upgrading the WCML (which, as I’ve noted, may not be enough). However, HS2 in its entirety relieves not just the WCML, but also features a connection to Sheffield and Leeds, continuing to join the East Coast Main Line (ECML), and thereby relieve congestion on the latter route as well.

Moreover, serving Sheffield enables relief of the Midland Main Line (MML): HS2 frees up capacity on three rail corridors, not just one. The TPA, in not making this clear at the outset, is being dishonest about the comparative cost of the project.

Capacity is at a premium on both the ECML and MML, but it is the former where constraints are being felt already: this can be seen from Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line 2016 Capacity Review (available HERE [.pdf]). The very fact that a capacity review has to take place underlines the immediacy of the problem.

And there are a series of grim observations in the study: the section between Peterborough and Huntingdon is so constrained that for most of the day, slower freight trains are barred from it. Much freight between Peterborough and Doncaster has to be routed via Lincoln – away from the ECML – which makes for a significantly slower journey.

It gets worse: from Northallerton to Newcastle – almost fifty miles – NR concede is “already approaching full capacity” and any increase in services “is likely to make demand exceed capacity”. Fortunately, NR has also identified measures to solve this dilemma – being beyond the northern end of HS2, the new line will not be able to help, unless extended further.

In the short to medium term, NR has measures in place to provide more capacity and remove bottlenecks: grade separation (flyovers if you like) are to be provided at Hitchin, where the line to Cambridge diverges, and north of Doncaster, to enable local freight traffic to be kept clear of the ECML. But, as with recent upgrades to the WCML, these are merely in the category of sticking plaster.

Without HS2, NR will have to “Estimate the economic value of capacity trade-offs” [page 35] rather more: in other words, give preference to the trains that make NR the most money. As there are already more demands for paths than paths available, someone will lose out. Freight is profitable, but passenger services are heavily loaded. Hard choices lie ahead.

Not that the TPA is telling you this, of course.

Meltdown Shock Horror – Some Facts

Following on from the severe earthquake that has affected much of northern Japan, and generated a tsunami which has reached the west coast of the USA, much attention has been focused on the nuclear power station at Fukushima, where there has been an explosion and talk of one reactor melting down.

So there have been comparisons with other well known nuclear power station incidents, and this inevitably means Three Mile Island Reactor 2 (TMI2), near Harrisburg, Pa., and most notoriously Chernobyl, in the Ukraine near Kiev. Let’s start with the latter, and lay one scare story to rest immediately: the Russian designed RBMK reactor used at Chernobyl used water as a coolant, and graphite as a moderator. It did not feature a full containment structure.

The Fukushima reactors – there are six at the station – are Hitachi licensed Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) technology: this uses water as both coolant and moderator. There is no graphite in the core, so any “flaming graphite core” rumours can be disregarded.

However, the BWR use of water as a moderator is shared with the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) technology used in the UK’s last completed nuclear plant, Sizewell B. And TMI2 is a PWR. The main difference between the two reactor types is that the PWR containment also houses steam generators which supply the electricity generating turbine(s), and the primary coolant circuit therefore stays within that containment. The BWR primary circuit drives the turbine(s) directly.

But, as noted, both BWR and PWR technology features a full containment building around the reactor. At Sizewell B, this takes on the appearance of a giant dome. This made the difference during the incident at TMI2, where there was a leak of highly radioactive liquid from the reactor pressure vessel.

The leak at TMI2 led to a subsequent build up of hydrogen within the pressure vessel, and there was a (clearly audible) detonation, but the vessel held it. The containment building then ensured that the radioactive liquid went no further.

Thus TMI2 was ultimately an economic disaster, rather than a humanitarian one as at Chernobyl. TMI2 went from being a $1 billion asset to being worthless in short order, and with an open ended clean-up bill attached.

At Fukushima, if there has been any catastrophic melt-down, the containment is most likely to hold it, with a result similar to TMI2. As to whether nuclear power stations should be built in earthquake zones, well, that’s another story.

Express – At Paranoid Invention

Another day, another example of what former Daily Star man Richard Peppiatt was driving at in his now legendary resignation letter to Richard “Dirty” Desmond. Today’s Daily Express contains a piece not merely of fabrication, but also reeking of paranoia: under the headline “Liberal Democrats’ Secret Plot Is Revealed”, no plot is proved and therefore is not revealed, but the Euro-frightening is in full-on mode.

Just because Europe isn't out to get you ...

This flagrantly untrue assertion is made by Macer Hall, who claims to be the paper’s Political Editor: this person is unlikely to be replacing Nick Robinson, or moving to a credible job at a proper newspaper, any time soon.

The article takes a statement by Lib Dem minister Chris Huhne – where he talks of “a system where it is normal to work across party lines ... in a European manner”, and calls this “the Europeanisation of our politics”. Well, there are Governments around Europe that involve coalitions – as in Germany – so it’s an interesting and apparently unthreatening discussion topic.

But not by the time it gets into the Express: Hall tells the paper’s dwindling band of readers “Fears that the Coalition is edging towards a total surrender to Brussels were sparked last night”, although the only comment that is cited in support is a generalised snark against the Lib Dems on the Alternative Vote (AV) from Matthew “Gromit” Elliott of, coincidentally, the No2AV campaign.

Not surprisingly, the Daily Mail has not bothered with this angle, despite its impeccable Euro-bashing pedigree. That may be because this level of story fabrication is beyond even the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre.

For some value of "excellence" ...

And I’m sure that Richard “Dirty” Desmond had no involvement in the exercise. After all, he doesn’t interfere in the running of his papers. We know this because he said so in court. On oath.

TPA And HS2 – What They Aren’t Telling You

The various non-job holders at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) have been in complete harmony over their opposition to the HS2 High Speed Rail project. Equally, head man Matthew Sinclair has been steadfast in advocating what is known as Rail Package 2 (RP2) as an alternative. This study, drawn up by Atkins (available HERE [.pdf]), bears inspection, as it contains significant weaknesses.

RP2 requires sixteen fast train paths per hour on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). This demands 80% of total theoretical maximum capacity. The trains will be pathed just three minutes apart, with a three minute recovery allowance between “flights” of four services. Thus the first problem: one train stopping at Watford Junction – and one is proposed – will cause the service integrity to unravel, even if there is a “recovery” slot behind it. Running at 80% of capacity – all day – is risky.

Achieving grade separation – flyover to lay persons - at Ledburn (south of Leighton Buzzard), it is conceded, will mean “significant local disruption during construction”. And that grade separation will still mean slowing trains that cross from one pair of tracks to the other – so more potential for undoing service robustness.

A further grade separation at Norton Bridge (north of Stafford) is assumed to have been carried out as part of renewals and its costings are not included. Nor is the full reinstatement of a fourth track between Rugby and Nuneaton, so there is still the potential for service disruption as passenger and freight trains compete for the same stretch of track (a more detailed look at RP2 shows other weaknesses, too).

To enable Northampton to retain a reasonable service to and from London, a uniform train fleet is assumed, which will be capable of 125mph operation, and able to tilt through curves to maintain passenger comfort. Such trains are doubly more expensive than those used at present: tilt equipment makes the vehicles several tonnes heavier, and impact resistance requirement reduces seating capacity, especially in end coaches. And the door locations make station stops slower.

This all new fleet – the need for which I do wonder if the TPA even knows, let alone endorses – will make the cost of the Northampton service far higher than at present. Maintenance costs will also be high, but it is what is not mentioned in RP2 that is most important.

There is little mention of freight capacity, so how increased demand for freight paths will be met is not addressed. Nor is there any mention of the Midland or East Coast Main Lines, and how they will manage without several of their destinations being served by the second phase of HS2. What future for these routes? And to cap it all, RP2 makes no provision for any extra trains at peak times. That should make for interesting rush hours – maybe the TPA would care to explain that one away?

Daily Mail Hypocrisy – Film At 11

There must be some attribute only possessed by the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre and his motley band of obedient hacks that enables them to indulge in acts of blatant and serial shamelessness, yet not be concerned, or even miss a beat over their actions.

Whatever that attribute – maybe Daily Mail hacks really do leave part of their soul at the door – it has been employed in characteristic style today in a piece that has been written to satisfy a key plank of the Dacre agenda. And that agenda item is Beeb bashing, as I noted yesterday.

Anyone bothered about such details will know that long running political punditry show Question Time is being moved north to Glasgow. As with any move of this kind, there are those who decide not to go, and current editor Ed Havard is one of them. So the BBC has replaced him with a bloke called Nicolai Gentchev.

And, so what? Ah well. The Dacre hackery has found out that Gentchev once wrote articles for Socialist Review and the International Socialism Journal. This enables the Mail to claim that the Beeb is in hock to rotten lefties, and enables them to wheel out appropriately critical rent-a-quote Tory MP Philip Davies, who makes me very glad I no longer live in the Shipley constituency, to support their contention.

The fact that Gentchev last contributed to Socialist Review six years ago does not enter. Nor does the past of the Beeb’s political editor Nick Robinson, who is a former national chairman of the Young Conservatives. Moreover, former Beeb business editor Jeff Randall, despite his forthright dislike of Young Dave, has been more than ready to put the boot into Tone and Pa Broon is his role at the Maily Telegraph.

And of course the BBC has just been tapped for Andy Coulson’s replacement at 10 Downing Street. But, unlike the broadcast media, there is no obligation for the Dacre hackery to show any kind of balance in their reporting, and so they do not.

No change there, then.

[UPDATE: this particular battle has now been joined by Maily Telegraph blogger James "saviour of Western civilisation" Delingpole, who has demonstrated the civility and moderation of his discourse by captioning a photo of Nicolai Gentchev with talk of "killing a few million Kulaks". He also reveals his rapier wit by telling that "the current batch of Tories were a bunch of something beginning with 'C' (and it wasn't 'Conservatives')".

As Derek said to Clive, "that's good, that - you ought to be on the radio with stuff like that"]